We're not saying these episodes of Star Trek aren't great, but are they really the best?
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00:00So, we come to it at last. It's the list that's probably going to get me fired.
00:05Oh, but just bear with me, perhaps? I'm Sean Ferrick for Trek Culture, and here are
00:12the 10 most overrated episodes of Star Trek.
00:17Number 10. Survival Instinct.
00:20One of the bigger criticisms that Star Trek Voyager faced during its run was the over-reliance
00:24on Borg storylines. As the show went on, the Borg began to appear more often, thanks largely
00:29to stories dealing with Seven of Nine's backstory. While Jerry Ryan is always a standout in these
00:34episodes, that does not mean the episodes themselves stand the test of time. Survival
00:38Instinct was meant to show that in her past, Seven was faced with individuality, and she
00:43not only turned her back on it, but forced others into a state of permanent foe unity
00:47as well. While there is certainly a bittersweet story of growth here, the issue was that it
00:51was well-trodden soil by the sixth season. The performances are solid across the board,
00:57including yet another guest spot from Vaughn Armstrong, yet this story of Seven in the
01:01full Borg here just doesn't really do much to stand out. It wasn't even close to the
01:06final Borg appearance in Voyager, which lent a feeling of fatigue to the show. That said,
01:11Endgame did manage to give them a sense of menace again, for a time.
01:16Number 9. The Inner Light.
01:18The Inner Light was produced in the next generation's fifth season. It details one of the most profound,
01:23affecting, and ultimately traumatising events in Jean-Luc Picard's life, so one would
01:28assume that it would play a major role in his story going forward. One would be incorrect.
01:34To be fair to the episode, this lack of legacy is a victim of the period of television in
01:38which it was produced, so why does that place it on this list? The Inner Light is often
01:43cited as one of the perfect Picard episodes, and here's the twist, it truly is. However,
01:50for something that receives such universal acclaim as this, for it to receive the adulation
01:54that it had, it lands here due to the show's frustrating lack of follow-up. Consider this,
02:00the Best of Both Worlds seems to get a mention every second Tuesday in Star Trek, while the
02:04Dominion War left an impact on the Alpha Quadrant for years to come. Now, if we narrow the view
02:09to only those episodes dealing with characters, we still land on Best of Both Worlds. In effect,
02:14the Catan Probe was the benevolent mirror image of the Borg, taking control of Picard
02:19and forcing him to live on another person's timeline. Perhaps if it had been shown the
02:23same love by the production team as the fans has visited on it, it wouldn't find itself
02:28on this list here.
02:29Number 8, Dawn. There is a fantastic episode of Star Trek in which a human male and an
02:34alien soldier meet on a planet, unable to truly understand each other, make it work.
02:39There are frustrations, but they do come to an understanding. It's called Darmok, and
02:43it's in The Next Generation. Dawn isn't a bad episode, but the whole thing feels like
02:48a retread. Having Trip as the focus character was definitely an interesting idea. This was
02:53a character who wasn't trained in diplomacy or alien understanding like Captain Picard
02:58was. He knew how to make the engines work, and that was his job, so seeing him try to
03:03battle through his frustrations is almost certainly what earns this episode such a high
03:06ranking. In a way, it's symbolic of what Enterprise could have been. This was the first
03:11deep space Earth vessel sent out into the void, so one would assume that there would
03:16be more examples of this kind of first contact. Instead, it quickly fell into the pattern
03:20of trying to emulate The Next Generation, until its third season. Dawn then serves as
03:26a reminder that, had the show practised that little bit harder, excellent episodes really
03:31were possible.
03:33Number 7, Trials & Tribulations. Though I am effectively writing my own marching orders
03:38by including this episode on this list, bear with me, Trials & Tribulations is a fantastically
03:43fun, silly hour of television. It was produced to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star
03:49Trek, which it does with A-Pom. What it doesn't do is advance the plot. Take, for example,
03:55the other celebration of the anniversary, Flashback. Here, Star Trek Voyager used the
03:59framing device of Tuvok's service aboard the USS Excelsior to bring older performers
04:04back to the franchise, notably Gracie Whitney and, of course, George Takei. The Deep Space
04:10Nine offering is a marvel in its own right, combining the legacy and contemporary actors
04:14via the use of computer trickery. This is something that we do not in any way wish to
04:19brush aside. Perhaps it's best to enjoy this episode as a fun side-adventure, one
04:24brewing with love for the franchise rather than one of the greatest that Deep Space Nine
04:28or Star Trek itself had to offer. If this is a franchise that is boldly going forward,
04:33then this is an episode that looks back with rose-tinted glasses.
04:38Number 6. Extinction. So, I've never made any secret about how I feel about Extinction.
04:43Even the director of this episode, LeVar Burton, has said that he was embarrassed to be a part
04:48of this outing. So, imagine my surprise when it received a higher rating than zero on IMDb.
04:53Now, I'm going to try and be fair about this. Enterprise had entered its third year
04:57with the attack on Earth, the upgrade and improved arming of the ship, the loss of Trip's
05:02sister, and T'Pol's resignation from the Vulcan High Command. It was then to be a darker,
05:07denser year, once spent dealing with the Xindi threat. Along comes Extinction. First,
05:12the atrocious update of the opening theme, adding a jaunty tambourine beat to Faith of
05:17the Heart. This does not scream descent into darkness. Then, Scott Bakula and Linda Park
05:23get 40 litres of plastic stuck to their faces and are told to act like wild animals. None
05:27of it works, nor does it advance the plot in any way. Jolene Blaylock, as usual, does
05:32her best with the material given, but Extinction deserves to be quietly slid into an agony
05:36booth and left there overnight.
05:38Number 5. Project Daedalus. Star Trek Discovery got off to a shaky start in its debut year,
05:44but time has been its friend. The shock of the opening war with the Klingons has long
05:48since worn off, so the attempts by the show to push the franchise in a new direction are
05:53much more forgivable. The second year saw the introduction of Anson Mount as Pike, Ethan
05:57Peck as Spock, and the mystery of the Red Angel. With much of the focus on these new
06:01characters, the already limited screen time that the rest of the Discovery's crew received
06:06was now at a strain. Project Daedalus attempts, in a single outing, to get the audience to
06:11care about Ariam, then mourn her loss without any real build-up. In isolation, the episode
06:16is strong enough, with an excellent performance by Hannah Cheeseman. However, for its strengths,
06:21it's emblematic of the issues facing Discovery. The audience was being told that they needed
06:26to mourn the supposedly important character, rather than allowing them to develop feelings
06:30for her, only to tear her away. It's a challenge that Discovery has never truly overcome, with
06:36Project Daedalus, while a good episode in its own right, only serving to highlight this.
06:42Number 4 – Mirror, Mirror
06:44Mirror, Mirror is one of the more standout episodes of the original series. It's certainly
06:49iconic, the uniforms, Sulu's scar, Spock's goatee, the latter of those being the most
06:54immediately recognisable element from the story. The episode is a tremendous amount
06:58of fun, the actors all play against type, and the score, adapted by Fred Steiner from
07:02his earlier compositions, particularly for the Romulans in Balance of Terror. Mirror,
07:07Mirror has inspired many spoofs and parodies since. That, in my opinion, is where the true
07:13strength of the episode lies, not in the presentation seen on screen, but in the legacy that it
07:18left in its wake. The prequel to this, In a Mirror Darkly, was only possible because
07:23of the camp fun on show, while sequels like Crossover and Shattered Mirror doubled down
07:29on the dark side of this universe. The episode was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic
07:33Presentation in 1968, though it would lose out, and with respect deservedly so, to The
07:39City on the Edge of Forever.
07:40Number 3 – A in Arcadia, Ego, Part 2
07:44Star Trek Picard has offered some of the most uplifting celebrations of Star Trek side-by-side
07:49with a selection of deeply frustrating episodes as well. A in Arcadia, Ego, Part 2 falls into
07:55the latter camp. While much has been said about the copy-and-paste fleet, this episode's
08:00high-ranking feels a little… off. The good is easy to spot – Picard and Data's conversation
08:05is a highlight, as is Isabriona's vocal strengths on Blue Skies. The first hints of
08:09Seven and Raffi are teased, while Jurati's straight-up murder of Maddox is just swept
08:14to the side. What truly makes this a frustrating episode across the board is the entire lack
08:19of consequences. Picard is dying? Nope. Synths will destroy all organic life? Nope. While
08:25no one is out here arguing that it's a perfect episode, it tends to receive high-to-middling
08:30reviews. Picard arguably didn't find its feet until the third season, and while the
08:35first seasons weren't devoid of true standout episodes, it wouldn't be entirely fair to
08:41laud the praise on a season finale that didn't really do anything other than turn Picard
08:46into a golem?
08:472. Skin of Evil Skin of Evil is cemented in Trek history for
08:52one reason alone – the death of Tasha Yar. Without that particular storyline, this episode
08:57is another trip to planet Hell, rather a lot of standing around talking, and a big oily
09:01thing whose best legacy is setting up a joke in lower decks. When reviewing the first season
09:05of The Next Generation, there are a few episodes that tend to be given a slightly kinder evaluation
09:10than they perhaps truly deserve. This, in no small part, is due to the fact that the
09:15debut year of The Next Generation is one of the weakest in the history of the franchise.
09:19Honestly, and we say this as apologists for episodes like Threshold, it's a marvel that
09:24a second season was greenlit. Skin of Evil sees the exit of Tasha in a shocking yet pointless
09:30way. It did both the character and the audience a disservice, then the funeral scene that
09:35takes up much of the final act is a little hard to bear. Though there is some fine acting
09:40on show, this is an episode that largely rises to the top because of Yar's sacrifice,
09:46not for any particular strengths.
09:48Number 1 – Message in a Bottle
09:50Message in a Bottle is great fun. It's a Doctor-centric romp, so Robert Picardo gets
09:54to have the time of his life, beamed away through the Hirogen satellite network and
09:58appearing onboard the brand-new USS Prometheus. As an audience, we are treated to Starfleet
10:03vessels, battles with Romulans, and the return of Khan's right-hand man, Judson Scott.
10:08What lets the episode down is the appearance of the EMH Mark II. While there is certainly
10:13humour to be found in their interactions, this EMH is abrasive, annoying, selfish, and
10:18frankly had us rooting for the Romulans from time to time. Andy Dick's performance was
10:22meant to show a polar opposite to Picardo's, and in that respect the episode manages to
10:26land. However, there are simply not enough redeeming qualities for this new hologram
10:30to truly lift the episode from quite good to legendary. We're also somewhat spoiled
10:36by that tease over in Deep Space Nine. While, yes, Bashir was deemed ineligible, there
10:42is still a fabulous what-if scenario that sees Robert Picardo and Alexander Sadiq teaming
10:47up to take down those pointed-eared villains.
10:50That's everything for this list. Now, we respect that a lot of these ideas might be
10:54subjective, so we would ask that if you feel there are episodes that are overrated, let
11:00us know in the comments below or over on our socials. Speaking of, you can find us at Trek
11:05Culture over on Twitter, you can find us at trekcultureyt on Instagram, I'm at seanferic
11:10on Twitter, so do give us a follow and let us know. Thanks so much to our lovely editor
11:15Martin who made this video possible, you are all wonderful and awesome, make sure that
11:19you look after yourselves until I see you again, make sure that you live long and prosper,
11:23be kind, be thoughtful, be good people, you're all awesome, thank you so much.