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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 Farrick for Trek Culture, and here are the 10
00:13most overrated episodes of Star Trek. Number 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 to
00:29stories 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 not only
00:43turned her back on it, but forced others into a state of permanent faux unity as well. While there
00:48is certainly a bittersweet story of growth here, the issue was that it was well-trodden soil by the
00:53sixth season. The performances are solid across the board, including yet another guest spot from
00:58Vaughan Armstrong, yet this story of Seven in the full Borg here just doesn't really do much to
01:04stand out. It wasn't even close to the final Borg appearance in Voyager, which lent a feeling of
01:09fatigue to the show. That said, Endgame did manage to give them a sense of menace again, for a time.
01:15Number 9, The Inner Light. The Inner Light was produced in The Next Generation's fifth season.
01:21It details one of the most profound, affecting, and ultimately traumatizing events in Jean-Luc Picard's life.
01:27So, one would assume that it would play a major role in his story going forward.
01:32One would be incorrect. To be fair to the episode, this lack of legacy is a victim of the period of
01:38television in which it was produced. So, why does that place it on this list? The Inner Light is
01:43often cited as one of the perfect Picard episodes, and here's the twist, it truly is. However, for
01:50something that receives such universal acclaim as this, for it to receive the adulation that it had,
01:55it lands here due to the show's frustrating lack of follow-up. Consider this, the Best of Both Worlds
02:01seems to get a mention every second Tuesday in Star Trek, while the Dominion War left an impact
02:05on the Alpha Quadrant for years to come. Now, if we narrow the view to only those episodes dealing
02:10with characters, we still land on Best of Both Worlds. In effect, the Catan Probe was the benevolent
02:16mirror image of the Borg, taking control of Picard and forcing him to live on another person's timeline.
02:22Perhaps if it had been shown the same love by the production team as the fans has visited on it,
02:27it wouldn't find itself on this list here. Number 8. Dawn
02:31There is a fantastic episode of Star Trek in which a human male and an alien soldier meet on a planet
02:36unable to truly understand each other and make it work. There are frustrations, but they do come
02:41to an understanding. It's called Darmok and it's in The Next Generation. Dawn isn't a bad episode,
02:47but the whole thing feels like a retread. Having Trip as the focus character was definitely an
02:52interesting idea. This was a character who wasn't trained in diplomacy or alien understanding like
02:57Captain Picard was. 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 ranking.
03:07In a way, it's symbolic of what Enterprise could have been. This was the first deep space Earth vessel
03:13sent out into the void, so one would assume that there would be more examples of this kind of
03:17first contact. Instead, it quickly fell into the pattern of trying to emulate The Next Generation
03:22until its third season. Dawn then serves as a reminder that, had the show practiced that little
03:29bit harder, excellent episodes really were possible. Number 7. Trials and Troublations
03:35Though I am effectively writing my own marching orders by including this episode on this list,
03:40bear with me. Trials and Tribulations is a fantastically fun, silly hour of television.
03:46It was produced to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Trek, which it does with a pom. What it
03:51doesn't do is advance the plot. Take, for example, the other celebration of the anniversary, Flashback.
03:58Here, Star Trek Voyager used the framing device of Tuvok's service aboard the USS Excelsior
04:03to bring older performers back to the franchise, notably Gracie the Whitney and, of course,
04:08George Takei. The Deep Space Nine offering is a marvel in its own right, combining the legacy
04:13and contemporary actors via the use of computer trickery. This is something that we do not in
04:18any way wish to brush aside. Perhaps it's best to enjoy this episode as a fun side adventure,
04:24one brewing 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 of
04:48this 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 with the
04:57attack on Earth, the upgrade and improved arming of the ship, the loss of Trip's sister
05:02and Topal's resignation from the Vulcan High Command. It was then to be a darker, denser year
05:08once spent dealing with the Zindi threat. Along comes Extinction. First, the atrocious update of the
05:14opening theme, adding a jaunty tambourine beat to Faith of the Heart. This does not scream
05:19descent into darkness. Then, Scott Bakula and Linda Park get 40 litres of plastic stuck to
05:24their faces and are told to act like wild animals. None of it works, nor does it advance the plot
05:29in any way. Jolene Blaylock, as usual, does her best with the material given, but Extinction
05:34deserves to be quietly slid into an agony booth and left there overnight.
05:38Number 5. Project Daedalus. Star Trek Discovery got off to a shaky start in its debut year, but
05:44time has been its friend. The shock of the opening war with the Klingons has long since worn off,
05:49so the attempts by the show to push the franchise in a new direction are much more forgivable.
05:54The second year saw the introduction of Anson Mount as Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock, and the mystery
05:58of the Red Angel. With much of the focus on these new characters, the already limited screen time that
06:04the rest of the Discovery's crew received was now at a strain. Project Daedalus attempts, in a single
06:09outing to get the audience to care about Arium, then mourn her loss without any real build-up.
06:15In isolation, the episode is strong enough, with an excellent performance by Hannah Cheeseman.
06:20However, for its strengths, it's emblematic of the issues facing Discovery. The audience was being
06:25told that they needed to mourn the supposedly important character, rather than allowing them
06:30to develop feelings for her, only to tear her away. It's a challenge that Discovery has never truly
06:35overcome with Project 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 iconic,
06:50the uniforms, Sulu's scar, Spock's goatee, the latter of those being the most immediately
06:54recognisable element from the story. The episode is a tremendous amount of fun, the actors all play
06:59against type, and the score, adapted by Fred Steiner from his earlier compositions, particularly for the
07:05Romulans in Balance of Terror. Mirror Mirror has inspired many spoofs and parodies since. That,
07:11in my opinion, is where the true strength of the episode lies, not in the presentation seen on
07:16screen, but in the legacy that it left in its wake. The prequel to this, In a Mirror Darkly,
07:22was only possible because of the camp fun on show, while sequels like Crossover and Shattered Mirror
07:28doubled down on the dark side of this universe. The episode was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best
07:33Dramatic Presentation in 1968, though it would lose out, and with respect deservedly so, to the
07:39city on the edge of forever. Number 3. A In Arcadia Ego Part 2
07:43Star 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 the latter
07:56camp. While much has been said about the copy and paste fleet, this episode's high ranking feels a
08:01little off. The good is easy to spot. Picard and Data's conversation is a highlight, as is Issa Briona's
08:07vocal strengths on Blue Skies. The first hints of Seven and Raffi are teased, while Jurati's straight
08:12up murder of Maddox is just swept to the side. What truly makes this a frustrating episode, across the
08:18board, is the entire lack of consequences. Picard is dying? Nope. Synth will destroy all organic life?
08:24Nope. While no one is out here arguing that it's a perfect episode, it tends to receive
08:28high to middling reviews. 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 laud
08:41the praise on a season finale that didn't really do anything other than turn Picard into a golem?
08:47Number 2. Skin of Evil
08:49Skin of Evil is cemented in Trek history for one reason alone, the death of Tasha Yar. Without that
08:55particular storyline, this episode is another trip to planet hell, rather a lot of standing
08:59around talking, and a big oily thing whose best legacy is setting up a joke in Lower Decks.
09:04When reviewing the first season of The Next Generation, there are a few episodes that tend
09:08to be given a slightly kinder evaluation than they perhaps truly deserve. This, in no small
09:13part, is due to the fact that the debut year of The Next Generation is one of the weakest in
09:18the history of the franchise. Honestly, and we say this as apologists for episodes like Threshold,
09:24it's a marvel that a second season was greenlit. Skin of Evil sees the exit of Tasha in a shocking
09:29yet pointless way. It did both the character and the audience a disservice, then the funeral scene
09:35that takes up much of the final act is a little hard to bear. Though there is some fine acting on show,
09:40this is an episode that largely rises to the top because of Yar's sacrifice, not for any particular
09:47strengths. Number 1. Message in a Bottle. Message in a Bottle is great fun. It's a doctor-centric
09:53romp, so Robert Picardo gets to have the time of his life, beamed away through the Hirogen satellite
09:57network and appearing on board the brand new USS Prometheus. As an audience, we are treated to
10:02Starfleet vessels, battles with Romulans, and the return of Khan's right-hand man, Judson Scott.
10:07What lets the episode down is the appearance of the EMH Mark II. While there is certainly humour to be
10:13found in their interactions, this EMH is abrasive, annoying, selfish, and frankly had us rooting for
10:19the Romulans from time to time. Andy Dick's performance was meant to show a polar opposite
10:23to Picardo's, and in that respect the episode manages to land, however there is simply not enough
10:28redeeming qualities for this new hologram to truly lift the episode from quite good to legendary. We're
10:35also somewhat spoiled by that tease over in Deep Space Nine. While, yes, Bashir was deemed ineligible,
10:41there is still a fabulous what-if scenario that sees Robert Picardo and Alexander Sadegh teaming up to
10:48take down those pointed-eared villains. That's everything for this list. Now, we respect that a lot of these
10:53ideas might be subjective, so we would ask that if you feel there are episodes that are overrated, let us know in the comments
11:01below, or over on our socials. Speaking of, you can find us at TrekCulture over on Twitter, you can find us at
11:07TrekCultureYT on Instagram, I'm at SeanFerrick on Twitter, so do give us a follow and let us know.
11:13Thanks so much to our lovely editor Martin who made this video possible, you are all wonderful and
11:18awesome, make sure that you look after yourselves until I see you again, make sure that you live long
11:22and prosper, be kind, be thoughtful, be good people, you're all awesome, thank you so much.
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