15 Star Trek Episodes That Have Aged Poorly

Since its begin, “Star Trek” has been a forward-thinking franchise that has used socially progressive themes and numerous casts to depict the longer term. That stated, the unique science-fiction collection and its offshoots are very a lot merchandise of their respective occasions. As such, typically complete episode premises falter when seen via a modern-day lens, making them uncomfortable to look at.

Insensitive depictions, dialogue about gender and race, socially regressive plot factors: “Star Trek” has had its fair proportion of narrative stumbles. In just a few instances, notably darkish scenes really feel like they push boundaries solely for reasonable shock worth. With that — and fashionable viewers’s sensibilities —in thoughts, listed below are 15 “Star Trek” episodes which have aged poorly.

Actor Grace Lee Whitney, who recurred as yeoman Janice Rand within the early episodes of “The Unique Sequence,” has a tragic historical past with the franchise. One among Rand’s most outstanding episodes is “The Enemy Inside,” which has Captain Kirk (William Shatner) break up into good and evil halves by a transporter accident. The evil Kirk assaults Rand in her quarters, and the yeoman is rescued by a technician after she scratches her attacker’s face. After Kirk is efficiently restored when his two personalities are merged, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) jokes that Rand might have discovered the evil Kirk engaging.

From the prolonged assault sequence, which really left Whitney black and blue, to Spock’s utterly inappropriate closing joke, “The Enemy Inside” is an uncomfortable watch. Kirk forcing himself on Rand feels a step too far; giving the alter ego his distinguishing facial scratches may’ve been achieved in a different way. The assault is made all of the extra disturbing by the circumstances underneath which Whitney was reduce from the present. That the episode ends with Spock’s tone-deaf joke makes “The Enemy Inside” all of the extra regrettable.

All through “The Unique Sequence,” the Enterprise visited many planets with civilizations impressed by totally different durations in Earth’s historical past. Probably the most controversial happened within the Season 2 episode “Patterns of Power,” which featured a society based mostly on Nazi Germany. The planet selected this path after it was launched by Starfleet Academy professor John Gill (David Brian), who felt the Nazis had probably the most environment friendly system of presidency. To make issues worse, the planet commonly launched interplanetary nuclear warheads in opposition to its peaceable neighboring planet.

Gill complimenting Nazism over its perceived governmental effectivity, utterly ignoring its apparent accompanying evils, is patently ludicrous. This additionally raises the query of why Gill inspired a 1:1 recreation of Nazi Germany, proper right down to its use of matching uniforms and imagery, as a substitute of his personal reimagined analogue. The truth that the episode additionally incorporates informal interplanetary genocide is simply one other poorly conceived plot level. Germany was understandably cautious of the premise, banning the “Star Trek” episode from its nation’s tv broadcasts for many years.

Indigenous North American societies have been depicted in a number of “Star Trek” collection through the years, usually in culturally insensitive methods. On this Season 3 episode, The Enterprise comes throughout a planet being threatened by an incoming asteroid, with the native inhabitants found to be descended from numerous Native American communities. Investigating an odd obelisk on the planet, Kirk endures an power surge that leaves him affected by extreme amnesia. Recuperating amongst an indigenous tribe, Kirk is revered as a god; he finally takes the native priestess, Miramanee (Sabrina Scharf), as his bride.

“The Paradise Syndrome” is an episode that actually turns Kirk right into a white savior archetype. Seeing Shatner cavort in indigenous clothes is a campy sight, to make certain, as he proclaims himself to be the godly Kirok. That the episode incorporates many non-indigenous actors enjoying indigenous characters provides additional insult to damage, even when it was a standard trade apply on the time. An odd episode throughout, “The Paradise Syndrome” continues the regular decline within the present’s general high quality in its ultimate season.

Due to a slashed manufacturing finances and artistic shake-ups, the third season of “The Unique Sequence” incorporates a number of the worst episodes in your complete run. This consists of the embarrassingly campy episode “The Approach to Eden,” wherein the Enterprise picks up a bunch of interstellar vacationers. Greatest described as house hippies, this groovy group is led by the manipulative Sevrin (Skip Homeier) to seek for the biblical Eden. As Spock deduces that Sevrin had gone insane earlier than enthralling his followers, the group strikes to proceed their journey, with or with out the Enterprise’s assist.

In comparison with the opposite episodes on this record from “The Unique Sequence,” “The Approach to Eden” has a sillier cause for not growing old effectively: Area hippies are one of the vital ludicrous encounters the Enterprise ever skilled. (For the file, it additionally crossed paths with Abraham Lincoln and Apollo.) Having the house hippies take part in an prolonged jam session with Spock seems like an effort to have “Star Trek” really feel hip and related to up to date audiences. Constantly ranked among the many worst episodes of the collection, “The Approach to Eden” is the present at its most laughably dated.

After three seasons, “The Unique Sequence” went out with what was one of many worst collection finales within the franchise, “Turnabout Intruder.” The episode has Kirk’s scheming ex, Janice Lester (Sandra Smith), swap our bodies with him in an effort to lastly advance her profession. Kirk, in Lester’s physique, tries to persuade his crew concerning the swap whereas they’re more and more involved by the conduct of the Lester-possessed Kirk. Issues come to a head when it turns into clear how unhinged Lester actually is as she tries to court-martial for mutiny anybody who opposes her.

There’s a lot incorrect in “Turnabout Intruder,” from the implication that Starfleet is overtly sexist to Lester herself. The episode posits that girls making an attempt to advance their careers are shrill and unreasonable, and it additionally has scenes depicting violence in opposition to ladies. Smith does an admirable job enjoying Kirk trapped in Lester’s physique, whereas Shatner’s efficiency as Lester includes extra scenery-chewing than normal. A doubtful finish for one among tv’s most groundbreaking collection, “Turnabout Intruder” stumbles because it brings the present throughout the end line.

Regardless that “Star Trek: The Subsequent Era” debuted practically 20 years after “The Unique Sequence,” it nonetheless had a number of questionable episodes. Probably the most arguably blatant on this regard is the primary season’s “Code of Honor.” The episode has the Enterprise go to a planet with a tradition echoing Forties caricatures of Sub-Saharan African society. The planet’s chief, Lutan (Jessie Lawrence Ferguson), takes an unhealthy curiosity in Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby), coercing her into dueling his present accomplice (Karole Selmon).

The inclusion of unmistakably dated African caricatures rightfully left the solid anxious concerning the present’s future. “Code of Honor” is probably the most overtly racist that “Star Trek” has ever gotten, on the very least inside “The Subsequent Era.” That this was solely the present’s fourth episode makes it a marvel that it survived this enormous stumble out of the gate. A number of solid members have spoken out in opposition to the episode since, with Jonathan Frakes going so far as wanting it faraway from streaming platforms.

The questionable content material within the first season of “The Subsequent Era” wasn’t restricted to its inappropriate depictions of race. The episode “Angel One” is called for a planet dominated by a feminine oligarchy, with males subservient to them. The Enterprise investigates the crash of a Federation vessel on the planet, with the male survivors accelerating the collapse of the native society. One of many planet’s leaders, Beata (Karen Montgomery), takes an curiosity in Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) when he beams right down to Angel One.

Whereas its female-run civilization presents the phantasm of feminism, “Angel One” is among the most sexist “Star Trek” episodes ever produced. Apart from its impressed gender-role reversal, the present additionally implies {that a} female-led society is doomed for failure. Like “Code of Honor” earlier than it, that is an episode that the solid and crew have rightfully distanced themselves from since its debut.  As one of many worst episodes of “The Subsequent Era,” “Angel One” is one other low level for the present’s inaugural season.

From the questionable outfits she was tasked with carrying to the flimsy storylines she was given early on, Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) deserved much better in “The Subsequent Era.” The worst of the present’s therapy of Troi was within the second season premiere episode “The Baby,” which finds her impregnated by an odd alien entity. The kid develops rapidly, is born and ages at an accelerated charge, with Troi naming him Ian (RJ Williams). In the end, Ian sacrifices himself to save lots of everybody when the crew comes underneath threat whereas transporting lethal virus samples.

The nonconsensual impregnation of Troi in “The Baby” begins off the second season awkwardly with a transparent violation of her physique. That the remainder of the crew comes off as unsympathetic and unsupportive makes this growth all of the extra head-scratching. To high all of it off, the being pregnant and Ian’s delivery, life, and dying do not actually have an enduring affect on Troi past this episode. That raises the query why this episode needed to occur in any respect, including nothing however one other demeaning story for Troi within the collection.

Regardless that “The Subsequent Era” Season 2 is mostly thought-about an enchancment over its mediocre first season, it nonetheless has a number of the collection’ worst episodes. This consists of “Up the Lengthy Ladder,” with its outstanding incorporation of Irish stereotypes that will’ve felt misplaced within the Nineteen Seventies, not to mention when the episode first aired in 1989. The hour has the Enterprise soak up a bunch of colonists resembling a rural Irish group from the early Twentieth century. This coincides with the Enterprise visiting one other distant colony, whose inhabitants depend on cloning to outlive as a consequence of their restricted gene pool.

“Up the Lengthy Ladder” is an episode that’s so absurd it virtually needs to be seen to be believed. The depiction of the Irish veers so onerous into outdated stereotypes that it is comical for all of the incorrect causes. This consists of the suggestion that the Irish could not advance past a Twentieth-century agrarian society, regardless of venturing numerous light-years away from Earth. An absolute travesty in its execution, “Up the Lengthy Ladder” is a reminder that “The Subsequent Era” nonetheless hadn’t overcome its rising pains.

Even by the top of its seven-season run, “The Subsequent Era” was nonetheless producing the occasional clunker of an episode. Among the many most notorious within the ultimate season was “Journey’s Finish,” which concerned the Enterprise forcibly relocating human colonists from planets claimed by the Cardassian Union. This features a colony descended from North American indigenous tribes, to the chagrin of a visiting Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton). On the tribe’s urging, Wesley undergoes a imaginative and prescient quest to study his cosmic future as Cardassians arrive to confront the Enterprise.

From the morally questionable mission, made all of the extra offensive by the ethnic background of the colonists, to its dealing with of indigenous cultures, “Journey’s Finish” is in poor style throughout. That the present repeatedly refers back to the colonists as “Indians” makes this episode’s execution much more unforgivably uncomfortable. And whereas Wesley’s imaginative and prescient quest proves to be extra cosmically all-powerful than anticipated by the closing twist, its preliminary presentation is poorly realized. Season 7 usually felt like a step backwards in high quality for “The Subsequent Era,” and “Journey’s Finish” underscores that doubtful distinction.

With all due respect to the solid and crew, the Ferengi-centric installments of “Star Trek: Deep Area 9” felt misplaced because the collection shifted to a warfare narrative. This consists of the Season 6 episode “Revenue and Lace,” which has Quark (Armin Shimerman) within the unlikely place of arguing for extra equitable rights for Ferengi ladies. This grand scheme has Quark disguise himself as a lady to be able to get nearer to the brand new Ferengi Commissioner Brunt (Jeffrey Combs). Extra than simply throwing on ladies’s clothes, Quark undergoes a full-on (albeit short-term) intercourse change as a part of this elaborate ruse.

On one hand, having Quark combat for ladies’s rights by any means vital is a pleasant evolution of the character. However the issue is that a lot of what Quark does to achieve his purpose, together with the intercourse change, is performed for weird, slapstick comedy. This continues with the episode’s denouement, as Quark’s hormonal adjustments make him act in a extra female method in a clumsy try at laughs. “Revenue and Lace” is one of many all-around strangest episodes of “Deep Area 9,” and may undoubtedly be skipped throughout a binge of the collection.

One of the crucial difficult characters on “Star Trek: Voyager” was Chakotay (Robert Beltran), the ship’s first officer of North American indigenous descent. One of many earliest episodes to highlight Chakotay’s heritage and historical past was Season 2’s “Tattoo,” with Chakotay main an away crew on a distant planet. Chakotay notices markings much like ones that his father would make on Earth, then he discovers a civilization with tattoos similar to his personal. This results in the revelation that this hidden society visited Earth within the distant previous, providing a blessing of kinds to Chakotay’s ancestors.

“Voyager” employed Jamake Highwater as its cultural advisor for Chakotay, although he had been discredited for faking his ethnicity years earlier. This makes any illustration that the character delivered to the present really feel extra hole, drawing closely from Hollywood stereotypes concerning First Nations’ cultures. Within the case of “Tattoo,” the concept that it was an alien race that tasked Earth’s indigenous populations with revering and safeguarding the surroundings, together with apparently giving them seen components of their tradition, felt notably uncomfortable. At any time when “Voyager” leaned into Chakotay’s cultural background, it stumbled onerous, and “Tattoo” is the primary main occasion of this.

Seven of 9 (Jeri Ryan) was one other “Star Trek: Voyager” foremost character that the collection by no means fairly handled with the total dignity that she deserved. The Season 4 episode “Retrospect” tries to handle Seven’s traumatic previous linked to her restoration from her prolonged assimilation by the Borg. The Physician (Robert Picardo) helps Seven recall repressed reminiscences of Kovin (Michael Horton), a touring arms seller who forcibly eliminated her Borg cybernetic implants with out her consent. Because the Physician and Seven examine the matter additional, they be taught that Seven’s reminiscences of the incident will not be solely dependable as a consequence of different trauma she’s endured.

“Retrospect” is constructed across the extremely uncomfortable idea that the reminiscences of the traumatized are compromised. That the episode takes this messaging to a procedurally investigative context makes the affiliation with precise assault survivors extra offensive. The thought of false reminiscences and the way they’re used to discredit assault survivors is a really actual dilemma. This episode’s dealing with of these comparisons and themes does precise assault survivors a disservice in its messaging.

Earlier than the collection ended, “Star Trek: Voyager” had yet one more questionable Chakotay-centric episode up its sleeve. Season 5’s “The Battle” revolves round Chakotay happening an prolonged imaginative and prescient quest after studying the ritual is his greatest approach to talk with aliens. That is coupled with Chakotay’s rising curiosity in boxing on the holodeck, main the 2 experiences to blur collectively in his thoughts. As Chakotay’s notion of actuality turns into extra unstable, the Physician identifies an inherited genetic dysfunction which may be the basis of Chakotay’s visions.

As complicated and murky because the ordeal that Chakotay endures, “The Battle” is among the many present’s worst episodes. Total high quality apart, the hour not solely prominently contains a stereotypical Native American trope of a imaginative and prescient quest however takes it into offensive territory. The Physician positing that imaginative and prescient quests are the product of a genetic dysfunction someway makes the trope’s inclusion even worse. After “The Battle,” Chakotay’s cultural background was performed extra peripherally in “Voyager,” which was a lucky and overdue change.

After a hiatus for greater than a decade, “Star Trek” returned to tv and formally entered the streaming period with 2017’s “Star Trek: Discovery.” Benefiting from the extra inventive freedom afforded by streaming reveals in comparison with broadcast tv, “Discovery” included extra graphic violence and even the occasional swear phrase. Nonetheless, the primary season episode “Into the Forest I Go” went a step too far in pushing boundaries. Within the episode, Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) endures traumatic flashbacks of being tortured and sexually assaulted by the Klingon warrior L’Rell (Mary Chieffo) after he reunites along with her.

Tyler seems like a personality that “Discovery” by no means fairly knew what to do with; he was quietly writtenout of the present after Season 2. “Into the Forest I Go” tries to supply Tyler with a painful backstory that informs his character, however it’s dealt with clumsily and heavy-handedly. Furthermore, the sexual assault features of Tyler’s flashbacks really feel compelled for shock worth. “Star Trek: Discovery” had a wobbly begin, and episodes like “Into the Forest I Go” reveal a present struggling to search out path and tone in its early days.