Cite the WORST episodes and WHY
- “Requiem for Methuselah” (#76): Despite the intriguing premise of an immortal Earth man who was many significant figures throughout history, “Requiem” does not work. Bad writing and editing birth a story that doesn’t flow or make sense, resulting in the ultimate sin in entertainment — it’s boring. When Kirk fell in love with Edith Keeler in “The City on the Edge of Forever” it was completely believable. We actually felt Kirk’s anger and pain at the end. Here Kirk is totally out of character. Not for a second do we believe that he has fallen so mesmerizingly in love with Rayna.
- “The Alternative Factor” (#20): The story isn’t interesting, doesn’t make sense, and isn’t told very well. Plus much of the footage is repetitive with too many scenes of Lazarus falling off cliffs, getting facial wounds, fighting in the “corridor” and wandering around the Enterprise unsupervised. Its major highlight is the Vasquez Rocks sequences, but location shooting can’t make up for a poorly written/edited story. At the very end Spock informs Kirk that the Universe is safe. Kirk responds, “For you and me, but what of Lazarus? What of Lazarus?” After viewing this episode, Who Cares?!
- “Whom Gods Destroy” (#71): This one's atrociously boring, redundant and lacking depth; in other words, unadulterated Star Trek fluff — definitive proof that even our great Star Trek characters can’t pull off what is essentially a lousy story. It’s worth watching only for the lovely Yvonne Craig and Steve Ihnat’s exuberant performance.
- “The Empath” (#63): A big budget-saver as most of the episode was filmed on an empty darkened soundstage. The only thing that makes it worth watching is the ever-entertaining Kirk/Spock/McCoy troika, each of which reveals his willingness to sacrifice himself for the other two. Most people love or hate this episode, with the scales strongly tipped to the latter. The theme is worthy and it has a nice cerebral, mature vibe, much as Roddenberry originally envisioned for Star Trek as witnessed in the original pilot "The Cage" (speaking of which, the aliens in "The Empath" are just second-rate Talosians). I can appreciate this, but the dated, non-Trekian music doesn’t do it justice, not to mention the stripped-bare sets. We are left with the hands-down winner for Series Best Yawn Fest.
- “The Mark of Gideon” (#72): This one's so bad, so completely wrong, that it possesses its own charm — the utter absurdities of the story somehow make it fascinating to watch. It thus wins it for Series Golden Turkey (yes, even above “Spock’s Brain,” which at least entertains). Thankfully, the initial mystery is intriguing and the beautiful Odona doesn’t hurt. Beyond these factors it’s a bit of a bore. (If you're fuzzy on the "absurdities," let me know and I'll post 'em).