PATRON TIER LIST - TNG S7E19 - Genesis
TIER RATE Star Trek TNG S7E19 - Genesis
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Comments (21)
Buffy level camp horror fun.
Once upon a time Trek took pride in making the science in episodes somewhat plausible. A significant swath of the fanbase really appreciated this. Genesis is the episode where they began to brake from that. I like the mayhem at the beginning and think the episode is passable, but I can see why there’s a real negative reaction from some.
I feel like the plausibility and scientific basis of Trek has always been dramatically overstated. Recall, for instance, how, in TOS, when Spock travelled back in time, he became emotional and aggressive, because that's what Vulcans were like back then. And then you have the typical science fiction entertainment stuff like Geordi and Ro being rendered insubstantial/dematerialized but still walking on the floor and breathing just fine. I do think "Genesis" feels a bit silly, with everyone turning into different animals (Data's cat being a literal lizard is the worst), so I understand and, to a certain extent, agree with the complaints, but I think pointing to the episode as some sort of turning point when it comes to scientific plausibility doesn't hold water.
Tough call for me. The science is so off. But it’s a fun episode and direction is amazing. B+
They really butchered the science, even by 90s standards.
A TNG creature feature...sort of. I'd definitely recommend this one for Halloween, alongside Night Terrors and Schisms, but those episodes are much better in my opinion. The explanation for them turning into monsters and the logic of it are stupid and nonsensical, though. C from me.
It's interesting how negative the comments here are. I will say that, for an episode clustered around A, it has an unusual number of D's and E's, so it's maybe a bit polarizing, but those decidedly negative votes still only amount to 10%. So the vote is heavily skewed towards being favorable, with more than half of people giving it an S or an A. But almost half the comments here are negative, so it could be that the episode is unusually inclined to rankle the people who don't like it.
I love that Ogawa and Barclay have roles in the episode without it being about them. I like the weirdness of it. It evokes an episode like Timescapes for me that has a similar style plot. Like this one or not, you don't forget it.
This one gets a big ol' E!
This episode started with promise, a lot of buildup, though it still didnt buy me in. The thing that absolutely tanks it is the "I can feed a magical cure we came up with into the air system and turn everyone back to what they were".... Such a hand wavey no stakes ending, basically makes the last 40 minutes completely irrelevant. E
Solid B. It’s a fun genre episode and is enhanced by seasonal viewing around Halloween. I’m not a horror guy, nor am I upset by the scientific absurdity so both extremes of the spectrum are out for me.
I hate this one. Stupid plot. Nothing else to say.
This episode is a wacky, silly, ridiculous guilty pleasure for me. I love it in spite of it not making any sense. A-tier!
Guilty Pleasure. I fucking love this shit.
Doesn't work at all for me. Nothing is believable, nothing makes sense. Another instant, magical solution with no consequences. A throwaway episode. None of this could have happened and, as far as I'm concerned, it did not happen. E-tier.
I agree, but can't quite give it an "E". The eerie body horror element is there, at least, and done well.
I enjoy it, but I don't think anything that special happens plot-wise, and the cool creepy atmosphere is somewhat offset by the silliness of the premise, so I can't quite justify an A, but it gets a solid B.
It will say that it did seem a bit rushed in the back half, and maybe if it had been a two-parter, it could've developed things better and pushed itself up to an A.
Awesome Abominations, Apes, Amphibians And Above All An Antsy Arachnid!
That is not how evolution (or de-evolution) works.
No, but the episode works.