PATRON TAKES - Star Trek TNG - Season 2 Episode 22

I always wondered if people coming into Next Gen during season were wondering what was going on with Riker's beard.

Season 2 isn’t bad it’s just that its episodes go from a 10 down to a 2 … where season 1 was consistently 5s all the way

This is definitely one of my favorite episodes. See S03E01 for more details. If you know, you know.

Josh/Alex- Did you expect Tasha Yar to be referenced in so many cutscenes after her death over a season ago? I believe this is the 2nd or 3rd episode they've shown her. Do you think there will be more references again?

MY FAVORITE PARTS- Great dialog between Picard and Riker, a new jungle planet set, more references to Deanna/Riker's especially strong bond, a unique medical mystery with a unique solution, a reminder that it's not just aliens that are a threat in space and the stakes are always high, MULTIPLE unexpected Tasha Yar clips, ending with a Data funny moment (honestly that's all I need to be happy 😊)

It's rare that TNG will get this bad again. It'll happen, but this is a low point. Still worth it for how good Elementary Dear Data and Q Who were, but I sortof wish they'd scrapped this and just had one fewer episode -- the season was already shortened. Just air a rerun, the episode is practically that anyway.

I think this episode is still better than the season premiere with Troi's baby or the Irish episode. But not by much.

My question: How would your guys' reactions to this have been different if you had known nothing about it beforehand?

My prediction: you bros won't hate it, but you won't be that impressed with it. You'll kind-of wonder what all the hate is about and then realize that Pulaski is in it and then you'll do that "knowing grin" simultaneously. And then you'll get (or already be) drunk. And Josh's wife will come crash the party and tear the set down.

The best you can say about this episode is that it definitely offers you a chance to look back on TNG so far ...

Wow! 137 comments already as I'm first seeing this! People must really love this one!! Edit: 202 comments T-3 hours before the stream! This is starting to rival "Measure of a Man"! People REALLY must LOVE this one!!!

anyway

Now you know why it's the line in the sand between bad and good TNG.

I forget this episode exists until it's time to skip it when I rewatch the show.

Prediction: You'll like this more than the TOS Season 2 finale! My guess is you'll think it's just a mediocre episode, but you'll enjoy seeing the clips from Season 1. The plot is actually a decent Sci Fi story, though it could be done better. Ragging on this episode has become a bandwagon, but I don't think it's truly deserving of the hate. (You've seen and will see worse!)

They defeated by turning the bad dreams up to 11... I know they were saving money, but my god did they literally run out of tape? This could have stopped anyone returning for S3.

This is it, guys. Once you get past this, you'll have... *checks notes* about 40 straight decent to amazing episodes until the next bad one.

Congratulations on making it through the two worst seasons of TNG! If you're still a fan after these two, then most of the rest of the show will be a lot of fun. Literally dozens of bangers, heart-tuggers, and wonderful dives into "The Lore!!!!!" lie ahead. (But still a few flat ones here and there. In a season of 26 epsidoes, they can't all be winners...or can they?)

Sorry you had to watch that clip show. Bit of back story the clip show was done because they had run out of budget but had been contracted for 22 episodes so had to finish on the cheap. Now let’s all collectively chug some fireball and forget this one ever happened. Cheers.

There were ways to do a good clip show, or at least a tolerable one. "And now for some random clips of Riker being... *spins wheel* ... horny!" wasn't one of them.

Would you guys have enjoyed it more if you were back in the day before streaming, when you haven’t seen episodes in ages because it’s on the Network?

"The Fireball is slowly paralyzing me... Quick, remind me of a better episode!"

I'm betting you will like seeing the clips and get a kick out of the exploding head and the 80 yr old admiral kicking the crap out of Riker. People are too hard on this one.

I think it is kinda ok. It might not be the most exiting season finally especially after the introduction of the romulans and borg to the series but it could also be another assignment earth. All in all it is just a compilation of clips of the journey we had so far. This is by far not the worst possible idea for a season ending. And it is the only episode like that in all of star trek as far as I can tell so it is alright with me.

The episode really isn't that bad. It's not great but it's really just an inoffensive clip show done to save money, I think it was filmed over just three days with a limited number of actors and sets. They spend a lot on Q Who and some other more expensive episodes and had to do a cheap episode to compensate for the splurging earlier in the season. They probably should have switched the episode order making Peak Performance the season finale. If this hadn't been the finale people would probably dislike it much less.

Based on what you guys say you love, I think you will say this is one of the best episodes EVER!!! After all you can not say the didn't have continuity with the previous episodes and reference previous events in the show. And add in Troi and Riker love story moved forward...... What's not to love?

Watching a series of star trek clips on YouTube isn't seen as the worst thing ever, and that's basically what this is. They did what they could with what they had. It's fine.

My prediction: you'll say this is far from great, but not as terrible as everyone says.

Audience sees a scene: that was great! Audience sees clip of same scene in clip show episode: THIS IS THE WORST THING THEY HAVE EVER DONE!

In truth, this episode could have worked, had the clips not been so randomly selected, but instead fit the thin narrative better.

So It's Come to This: A Star Trek Clip Show It turns out what so many people have been telling you is the 'worst episode' of TNG is just a clip show episode. These were super common in the 80s and 90s, practically every show did one at some point because they saved the show some money. While there may not be anything to love here, there was also nothing to hate. Audience, save your bestowing of the title of 'worst' for something that actually fails to do what it tries to do. Because that ain't this.

It's definitely a low point in TNG, but one thing people forget about this era of TV - 'clip episodes' were a *common* budget saving maneuver along with the bottle episodes etc - many other shows of the period had them. Really the only thing I dislike about this episode is its placement in the season, not a great way to end it.

A poor production assistant had to sit down and watch tape after tape for 80 hours to find the appropriate clips.

Here's how I hope the viewing to go... Josh: "Our audience really hates this episode. I don't get it, it seems normal so far."...... Alex: "Yeah, what's the deal....Oh my god, it's a f$%@ing clip show!"

I love how half the episode takes place in the transporter room just so they didn’t have to pay to light the bridge set

Season 2, Episode 22: "So It's Come to This: A Star Trek TNG Clip Show" ...D'oh!

While this episode is laughable, it "took one for the team". Production went overbudget on Elementary Dear Data and Q Who, so to make up for it, they made this quick and cheap clip show episode. We got two of the best episodes to date and intriguing new villains out of it, so it was definitely worth it.

My prediction is you will appreciate the continuity and the creepy planet set and just go "huh" to the thin framing plot about the disease.

Erase the clips, it's just a harmless episode with a decent dilemma and good character moments, like O'Brien teasing Pulaski. I'd rather watch it than The Outrageous Okona. It gets the same reputation as Spock's Brain did for TOS, but there were far far worse episodes (The Empath, And the Children Shall Lead).

Widely regarded as the worst Star Trek episode in the entire franchise. I think there are a few TOS episodes that are worse, and actually "Code of Honor" from next generation's season 1 might be worse, what with how incredibly racist it is. But this is definitely towards the bottom. The studio had blown all the money on previous episodes, (especially Q Who?") so they needed something that cost virtually nothing, and they got one. Unfortunately, it's pretty obvious that's what they did.

I am not a fan of this episode. I watch it every time it comes up in rotation though. I am curious are you as the Target Audience disappointed in this “clip show “episode? In my opinion, that a plot is the sea plot of a normal episode, and most of these clips, looking backward or out of context And they picked glimpses of Tasha that are mostly about her dying when they could’ve used clips like when she was in the penalty box and shown a much greater range of the character, ultimately chose weak clips by way of being out of context for other characters, as well. what is your opinion?

Prediction: You two will enjoy the callback to continuity as the show confirms it is more of an ongoing narrative than TOS, while openly decrying Pulaski's presence. You won't think it's the worst episode ever though.

How's that coma coming? Wake me for season 3

Ooohhhhhhhhh boy. Here we go. Strap in, fellas. In my opinion, this is the third worst episode in all of TNG.

“I wish there was a compilation of every great little Star Trek moment, you know what I mean?” – Alex, Target Audience “Unnatural Selection” reaction

I love you guys, but I might skip watching this one with you. Well, on the other hand, I kind of do look forward to the semi drunken, Fireball induced discussion/rant on the "worst episode ever" of Season 2. I'll watch the reaction 100%, but it would be a form of cruel self-induced torture to sit through THAT episode again. Have a shot for me, and hope that you blow out the braincells that stores memories of this episode. ;) LLAP

The guys should do a Season 2 reactions retrospective clip-show. Call it “Shades of Fireball.” Who’s with me??!! 😂

I rewatched it this week and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Troi is unintentionally amusing as she’s watching Riker suffer then narrating how he is feeling “now he’s horny…” etc. I bet Jonathan Frakes kept laughing while he was stuck on that bench. Can’t they give people a pillow on Star Trek?

I’m going to go against popular opinion and say this episode isn’t the worst of the series, nor is it even the worst of the season. There are several episodes from this season alone which aren’t nearly as good (Manhunt, Samaritan Snare to name a couple). I’ve always found the premise a somewhat clever way to do a clip show (which were very common in all shows of 1988 because of the infamous writers strike). They saved money by shooting the episode in 3 days and the episode aired in mid-July 1989 (way outside the normal broadcast season when most shows aired their season finales in May or early June.) For a clip show, it is what it is. Now let’s turn the page and get on to season 3 where the show starts to hit its stride!

Do you think that the scenes chosen for the show do a good job of reflecting the strongest aspects of the show so far?

I love how Riker's endless wealth of horny memories was almost the death of him.

Just missing the Golden Girls sitting around the kitchen table with a cheese cake.

The much despised showrunner (by the staff at the time and the fans) Maurice Hurley, who co-wrote the episode said in an interview, “Piece of shit. It was supposed to be a bottle show. Terrible, just terrible, and a way to save some money. I was on the way out the door." He quit after S2.

This lazy clip-show was written to save time and money as a result of the writers' strike of 1988. It was shot in only three days, while most take at least seven days. Director Rob Bowman told an interviewer, "It was Paramount saying, 'We gave you more money for "Elementary Dear Data" and the Borg show. Now do us a favor and give us a three-day show.' So that's what you do. It's an accepted part of the medium."

So it's come to this, a Star Trek clip show. "They'll never stop The Star Trek! Have no fear, they'll have stories for years, like, Data becomes a human, Maybe Troi gets a iguana, has Worf ever owned a bear? Or, how 'bout a crazy wedding? Where something happens and doo doo doo doo doo... Sorry for the clip show. Have no fears they'll have stories for years."* *This parody of a Simpson's song probably does not contain future plots. Or maybe it does, there's apparently 900 of these things now.

If you got your hopes up thinking this finale was about BDSM-kink between Pulaski and Picard, boy are you in for a let a down. #50ShadesOfEarlGrey

"My great-grandfather was once bitten by a rattlesnake. After three days of intense pain, the snake died." Apparently Riker's great-grandfather was Chuck Norris.

O’Brien knew what he was doing. He knew Pulaski was hesitant to beam down because of her transporter phobia, so he needled her. Irritated, she focuses on him instead of the process, and is able to go through with it. Her interaction with O’Brien is great, and it’s too bad they waited so long to have that moment happen.

What can I say it’s a clip show and the bad one at that. In Stargate, they would have clip shows every now and then, but they would even use them to still advance the plot but here you can tell the writers basically just phoned it in and basically thought it’s a clip show we know it will be bad. I do however, like Riker’s story about the rattlesnake bite and the little joke at the end that Picard goes along with.

We finally did it. We hit the bottom of the Star Trek barrel.

I'm an old man. A tired man. Maybe not the oldest here, but gotta be up there. I don't have time to rewatch this streaming pile. Not when death is perceptible ahead. But back at this time, season finales were not really a thing. TNG helps make them a thing in a big way. But not here.

So, Season 3 of Star Trek TNG is a real step up for the show, and we're all looking forward to that, and uh, we hope you guys enjoy your break from TNG and come back with regenerated enthusiasm in a couple weeks... Ah... Yeah.

WORST EPISODE EVER!

This was the culmination of the writers strike in 88 and just shows. So do a clip show get it over with. Season 3 starts the good stuff can’t wait for you all to see the night and day differences.

I'm going to be waiting to see that moment when our reacters realize it's a clip show. Even though some of these young whippersnappers may not even recognize a clip show.

Even by the standards of a clip show, they're really grasping at straws with this one. "Uh, so... how about Riker gets pricked by a thorn... and, like... it makes him remember things?"

ONE GOOD SCENE in this one is the bit where we see Riker trying to outwardly keep up his casual, playful "Commander Riker" persona while not really feeling that way. It follows along with Picard noting in Peak Performance that his "familiarity" is his way of connecting with those he's commanding.

Oh Lord... onwards and upwards to season 3 !

Yep, a dreaded @#$%@%^$ clip show! The only little thing this has going for it is ORIGINALLY the show wasn't even being shown in re-runs yet, so the old clip shows were a reminder of the past couple of seasons.

AAAAAHHHH!!!!! IT'S A CLIP SHOW!!! Seriously though, the framing device they came up with for this episode is actually pretty clever. A lot better than having the characters sitting around a table as one by one they thoughtfully rub their chin while harp music starts to play and the picture goes wavy. But clip shows always leave audiences feeling like they've been ripped-off. It is a complete waste of everybody's time.

(Star-Trek-Eye-Borg) I’d love to give a prediction, but quite frankly, if you like this episode (not just an aspect or two), then someone paid you off. I do sometimes like flashback episodes, but doing it’s WAY too early and it not right for a season finale. I can only assume lazy writing and behind the scenes drama gave us this monstrosity of an episode. The bad part was we originally needed to wait a few months to get the bad taste out of our mouths. On the bright side, you’ll only wait a few days. Bring on season three!!!!

So…………..were we right?

“Doctor, there must be something you can do.” “Dammit, Deanna, I’m almost out of clips!”

My mom really likes this episode

This episode is a relic. It's from a time before VHS took over and you could rewatch your favorite shows at will. The kind of episode this is (and I won't say the name here) was the kind that could only exist in the time before widespread home media. It is historically significant for that reason. But it's perhaps the worst episode of TNG because of this.

What do you think would be a more horrible experience - reading "50 Shades of Gray" or watching "Shades of Gray" 50 times?

Oh dear.

Join the recycling revolution, never refuse to reuse!

This episode is the April Fools joke of TNG, but nobody laughs.

You will not have to do a recap of TNG after you watch this episode 😉

This is a Troi/Riker episode, and you can really see that Deanna not only still cares for him, but still loves him. Fun fact: the reason this episode is mostly flashbacks is because they didn’t have a lot of money to do a proper finale, so they saved a lot of money. Plus, (I believe) the writer’s strike started, and they were unable to finish to 26 episodes.

When you go over budget and there’s a writer’s strike.. we can always play a clip show from Riker’s mind.

Does the new channel logo (reminiscent of your original logo) mean that your net will spread wider than the current ratio of ST & non-ST content?

Now for the worst episode -- one so bad that many don't even credit it as a proper episode when making Worst Of... lists. Because TNG was sold directly into syndication there wasn't even the guarantee of reruns between seasons in some markets, and you couldn't immediately get home media like you can today. Having this be the last impression people sat with for nearly 3 months is one reason Season 2 is so deeply disliked.

As an episode it’s terrible. But when you think of the behind the scenes challenge, it’s fun. “So the strike delayed our season start, we have to deliver one more episode… and we have 3 days.” Everyone involved knew they were just getting this done by the skin of their teeth to meet the episode quota. Not a dissimilar situation to “The Menagerie” in TOS.

I get the feeling that there is an expectation from some in the Target Audience community that you will be so angered by this episode that you will rage-quit the entire franchise, never to watch another episode or even speak of Star Trek ever again. Of course you’ve already seen worse, so I don’t think that will happen. As for everyone else, relax. It’s only a clip show.

This episode f@cking sucks

Okay, it's a bad episode, but do you suppose a lot of the disparagement is because it feels like filler with all the past episode clips? It's certainly disappointing as a season finale.

Here are some my partial, previous comments from past episodes: "The". "Riker". "Editing." "Alex and Josh." "ANYBODDDYYY???"

Simply awful. Even the good flashbacks lose all their potency in this context, and the best acting in the new footage comes from Frakes when he's unconscious.

Yup. It’s a…clip show. They ran out of budget. At least when TOS did the Menagerie, it was a clip show of scenes from the unaired pilot and definitely added value to the show. Good news is this is the undisputed worst episode of TNG. It can only get better from here…

Clip show. This is what you get when you have a writer's strike during your season. It's not a good Star Trek episode, but it's Star Trek, so in terms of TV in general, it's still at least decent.

Finally, here it is. Probably the most despised episode of the series, although there are a few other contenders. Funny how some of Riker's flashbacks have moments where he wasn't present or that weren't in his POV. The premise actually could have been sort of good if they hadn't needed a cheap episode. With a different way to cure Riker and a halfway decent B plot, maybe, maybe not. Needless to say, I have this ranked as “No. Just...No”.

You guys should just pull Patreon takes from other episodes and feature them here.

Personally, I think this is absolutely ok. Sure, it's pretty mid, but there's been far worse episodes in season 2.

This is NOT the season finale you’re looking for.