Any
good ensemble series will have several episodes devoted to its various
characters. Course, that wasn’t the rule as much in the old days when
“supporting characters” did just that. They had a few lines and that was
it. I guess people didn’t think audiences cared that much about the
supporting characters. Take the classic Trek, where none of the other
cast members had episodes revolved around them, just Kirk and Spock.
Scotty sorta had one, in “Wolf in the Fold”. And McCoy kinda had one, in
“The World is Hollow”. But that was it. So it would be pretty hard to
do an article like this for that show.
As time went on creators realized fans wanted to see the “supporting characters” get the spotlight once in awhile. And series started to reflect that by having episodes where other characters were the focus once in awhile. This gave us a chance to not only spend some time with the characters, but learn a little more about them too. And by the time The Next Generation came around, that was the policy. Everyone got at least one episode a season where they were the focus. Some were good, others not. But I was wondering, which were the best?
So these don’t have the best episodes of the series, just the strongest episode for the particular character. The criteria here is more than just the actor getting a lot to do. It needs to be an episode that explores the character, and maybe even shows a side of them we’ve never seen. And since they can’t all be good, very briefly will mention what I think is the worst. And I can’t stress enoygh, this is all just my opinion. Here’s what I came up with:
Picard-“Tapestry”
Tough to choose between this and “Inner Light”. That episode is fantastic, but I decided Tapestry was better in this instance for one simple reason. In Inner Light, Picard is living another man’s life. In Tapestry, it’s his own life being examined. And thanks to Q, he learns just how important those early experiences were in making him who he is today. It seems most Picard episodes are snore fests involving his love life. This is different and very well written script.
WORST-“Lessons”, dull and stupid
Riker-“The Pegagus”
Yeah I know “Best of Both World’s” is fantastic but I think of that as more of an ensemble piece. And the dilemma Riker has in that one is a forced one. “The Icarus Factor” was set in season 2 and that’s one of the more forgettable episodes for me. It was this or “Frame of Mind” and really that one is just a mind warp episode. In one of the few gems from Season 7, we learn that Riker made a mistake when he was a young ensign and here he gets the chance to atone for that mistake. It’s one of the few times Riker is dressed down by Picard, and this dilemma was so well done it was shoehorned into “These are the Voyager” (for some ungodly reason).
WORST-“First Contact”, not the worst episode but it seems like poor Riker is just meant to suffer through it.
Commander Data-“The Offspring”
A VERY hard one to choose. Almost all of his episodes are great. I’ve raved about “Data’s Day” before. “Measure of Man” is wonderful but also more of Picard episode in some ways. And most of Data’s episodes involve his origins. This one we see Data thinking about his future. He creates a daughter and has to teach her how to function. Meanwhile a jerk Starfleet admiral wants to take her away and experiment with the new invention. For what is essentially a small episode, it deals with a lot of issues that affect most everybody.
WORST-“In Theory”, Boring!
Gerodi LaForge-“Booby Trap”
This was hard too. but for different reasons. It seems that Geordi has gotten stuck with some awful episodes of 7 years. “Aquiel” anyone? Though I do like “The Mind’s Eye” that’s hardly him at his best. “I,Borg” is more ensemble. In this episode we see how horrible Geordi is at dating, and then he “meets” a woman on the holodeck and falls in love with her. The best thing is how subtle the writing is, never hitting you over the head with it.
WORST-“Samaritan Snare”, Oh Season 2……..
Worf-“Sins of the Father”
Obviously we’ll forget DS9 for this list. It was real hard to pick one here, because all of the Klingon episode are fairly solid. Except “Birthright”. When I was young I hated those episodes but as an adult have grown to really appreciate them. This is the one that really got the Klingons going as they would evolve on TNG and DS9, so that’s why I chose it here. Everything that happens in this episode would resonate for the rest of the series.
WORST-“Rightful Heir”, so boring I forgot what Season it was in
Troi-“The Loss”
Ugh, Troi was so underused that even finding her episodes is a challenge. She did a little better the last two years. Course there was always season 2’s “The Child” which tried but failed. A lot of people like “Face of the Enemy” where she is forced to masquerade as a Romulan. But for me, it was this episode where she shined. We see her suddenly have to cope with her not having her Betazoid abilities and her struggle is a pretty genuine one.
WORST-“Haven”, how bad do you have to be in Season 1 to be considered one of the worst?
Beverly Crusher-“Suspicions”
This is the one character who was really shafted. When she was the focus it was usually some kind of weepy romance. “The High Ground” was good except Crusher bascially sits and talks for the episode. While I have a real soft spot for “Remember Me”, I think she shines a little more here. When an experiment kills a passenger, and then another apparently kills himself, Beverly hunts for the truth even if it means her career. It’s an episode where she comes off strong, for once.
WORST-“Sub Rosa”, Need I say more?
Wesley Crusher-“The First Duty”
Yeah we all know Wesley was annoying. I don’t think anyone cared when finally left the show. Then this episode came, and was a real surprise. Wesley does something illegal which results in an accident which kills a fellow cadet. Yikes. Even worst, he tries to cover it up! Until Picard reminds him what the first duty really is. Nice to see Wesley have a little rust on him.
WORST-“The Naked Now”, he was a little twerp and then having him save the ship ruined the character forever
Tasha Yar-“Yesterday’s Enterprise”
It’s ironic, two years after Denise Crosby walked off the show the character finally got a great episode. She got a romance with someone, which was believable, and of course she got the heroic death she always wanted.
WORST-“Skin of Evil”, yeah “Code of Honor” is considered one of the worst episode of TNG, ever, but she deserved a better death than what she got
Agree? Disagree? Comment and let me know. And while this wont work for classic Trek, I like how this came out and will try it for a few other series that did give their supporting characters a chance to shine!
As time went on creators realized fans wanted to see the “supporting characters” get the spotlight once in awhile. And series started to reflect that by having episodes where other characters were the focus once in awhile. This gave us a chance to not only spend some time with the characters, but learn a little more about them too. And by the time The Next Generation came around, that was the policy. Everyone got at least one episode a season where they were the focus. Some were good, others not. But I was wondering, which were the best?
So these don’t have the best episodes of the series, just the strongest episode for the particular character. The criteria here is more than just the actor getting a lot to do. It needs to be an episode that explores the character, and maybe even shows a side of them we’ve never seen. And since they can’t all be good, very briefly will mention what I think is the worst. And I can’t stress enoygh, this is all just my opinion. Here’s what I came up with:
Picard-“Tapestry”
Tough to choose between this and “Inner Light”. That episode is fantastic, but I decided Tapestry was better in this instance for one simple reason. In Inner Light, Picard is living another man’s life. In Tapestry, it’s his own life being examined. And thanks to Q, he learns just how important those early experiences were in making him who he is today. It seems most Picard episodes are snore fests involving his love life. This is different and very well written script.
WORST-“Lessons”, dull and stupid
Riker-“The Pegagus”
Yeah I know “Best of Both World’s” is fantastic but I think of that as more of an ensemble piece. And the dilemma Riker has in that one is a forced one. “The Icarus Factor” was set in season 2 and that’s one of the more forgettable episodes for me. It was this or “Frame of Mind” and really that one is just a mind warp episode. In one of the few gems from Season 7, we learn that Riker made a mistake when he was a young ensign and here he gets the chance to atone for that mistake. It’s one of the few times Riker is dressed down by Picard, and this dilemma was so well done it was shoehorned into “These are the Voyager” (for some ungodly reason).
WORST-“First Contact”, not the worst episode but it seems like poor Riker is just meant to suffer through it.
Commander Data-“The Offspring”
A VERY hard one to choose. Almost all of his episodes are great. I’ve raved about “Data’s Day” before. “Measure of Man” is wonderful but also more of Picard episode in some ways. And most of Data’s episodes involve his origins. This one we see Data thinking about his future. He creates a daughter and has to teach her how to function. Meanwhile a jerk Starfleet admiral wants to take her away and experiment with the new invention. For what is essentially a small episode, it deals with a lot of issues that affect most everybody.
WORST-“In Theory”, Boring!
Gerodi LaForge-“Booby Trap”
This was hard too. but for different reasons. It seems that Geordi has gotten stuck with some awful episodes of 7 years. “Aquiel” anyone? Though I do like “The Mind’s Eye” that’s hardly him at his best. “I,Borg” is more ensemble. In this episode we see how horrible Geordi is at dating, and then he “meets” a woman on the holodeck and falls in love with her. The best thing is how subtle the writing is, never hitting you over the head with it.
WORST-“Samaritan Snare”, Oh Season 2……..
Worf-“Sins of the Father”
Obviously we’ll forget DS9 for this list. It was real hard to pick one here, because all of the Klingon episode are fairly solid. Except “Birthright”. When I was young I hated those episodes but as an adult have grown to really appreciate them. This is the one that really got the Klingons going as they would evolve on TNG and DS9, so that’s why I chose it here. Everything that happens in this episode would resonate for the rest of the series.
WORST-“Rightful Heir”, so boring I forgot what Season it was in
Troi-“The Loss”
Ugh, Troi was so underused that even finding her episodes is a challenge. She did a little better the last two years. Course there was always season 2’s “The Child” which tried but failed. A lot of people like “Face of the Enemy” where she is forced to masquerade as a Romulan. But for me, it was this episode where she shined. We see her suddenly have to cope with her not having her Betazoid abilities and her struggle is a pretty genuine one.
WORST-“Haven”, how bad do you have to be in Season 1 to be considered one of the worst?
Beverly Crusher-“Suspicions”
This is the one character who was really shafted. When she was the focus it was usually some kind of weepy romance. “The High Ground” was good except Crusher bascially sits and talks for the episode. While I have a real soft spot for “Remember Me”, I think she shines a little more here. When an experiment kills a passenger, and then another apparently kills himself, Beverly hunts for the truth even if it means her career. It’s an episode where she comes off strong, for once.
WORST-“Sub Rosa”, Need I say more?
Wesley Crusher-“The First Duty”
Yeah we all know Wesley was annoying. I don’t think anyone cared when finally left the show. Then this episode came, and was a real surprise. Wesley does something illegal which results in an accident which kills a fellow cadet. Yikes. Even worst, he tries to cover it up! Until Picard reminds him what the first duty really is. Nice to see Wesley have a little rust on him.
WORST-“The Naked Now”, he was a little twerp and then having him save the ship ruined the character forever
Tasha Yar-“Yesterday’s Enterprise”
It’s ironic, two years after Denise Crosby walked off the show the character finally got a great episode. She got a romance with someone, which was believable, and of course she got the heroic death she always wanted.
WORST-“Skin of Evil”, yeah “Code of Honor” is considered one of the worst episode of TNG, ever, but she deserved a better death than what she got
Agree? Disagree? Comment and let me know. And while this wont work for classic Trek, I like how this came out and will try it for a few other series that did give their supporting characters a chance to shine!
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