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Worst Star Trek Episodes From Every Series, As Rated By Fans

By Michileen Martin | Published

The Worst Star Trek Episodes From Every Series

When the first episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiered on Paramount+ in May 2022, it brought the number of franchise television series, past and present, to eleven. We thought it would be interesting to look at the IMDb user ratings for every single series to determine which episodes were deemed the biggest stinkers for each show. Here they are, from the first days of William Shatner to the most recent series led by Anson Mount.

Star Trek: The Original Series - "And the Children Shall Lead"

Season 3 of The Original Series is generally considered the least impressive, with “And the Children Shall Lead” – with a user rating of 5.2 – proving no exception. The episode has the heroes discover a Federation colony in which all the adults have committed suicide while the children carry on as if everything is fine. We eventually learn the kids are under the influence of a malevolent alien named Gorgan (Melvin Belli).

Star Trek: The Animated Series - "The Magicks of Megas-Tu"

There were only 16 episodes of the oft-overlooked Star Trek: The Animated Series, and according to fans the least of them is “The Magicks of Megas-Tu.” The world of Megas-Tu is home to a strange version of physical laws in which magic becomes reality. The heroes befriend the Satyr-like Lucien (James Doohan), something the rest of the Megans aren’t very happy about.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Shades of Gray

As infamous as Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes like “Code of Honor” and “Sub Rosa” proved to be, no episode of TNG is hated more than the Season 2 finale “Shades of Gray.” In fact, based on its IMDb rating of 3.3, it’s the most hated episode in the entire franchise. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) suffers from a potentially terminal virus, and the only way to save him is to stimulate his brain activity, forcing him to relive his worst memories. The premise allows for Star Trek to give viewers what amounts to a “clip show,” somethings fans clearly didn’t want.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - "Let He Who Is Without Sin...

Early in their relationship, Jadzia (Terry Farrell) and Worf (Michael Dorn) take a trip to the pleasure planet Risa. Disgusted by what he sees on the planet, Worf joins forces with a conservative group who believes the people of the Federation have grown too soft. The Klingon helps them sabotage the technology controlling the weather on Risa, changing the idyllic paradise into an inhospitable mess.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - "Meridian"

“Let He Who Is Without Sin…” actually ties with “Meridian” for the least favorite Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode — with both earning an IMDb user rating of 5.6 — and interestingly both episodes involve Jadzia’s romantic life. A season before she meets her future husband Worf, Jadzia falls in love with Deral (Brett Cullen). The only problem is that Deral lives on the eponymous planet, which phases out of physical existence for decades at a time.

Star Trek: Voyager - "The Fight

With a rating of exactly 5, the Season 5 Star Trek: Voyager episode “The Fight” somehow beats out other famously hated episodes like “Threshold” and “Sacred Ground.” Chakotay (Robert Beltran) is the focus of this episode, as he suffers from hallucinations and embarks on a vision quest in hopes of figuring out what’s going on. He sees a pair of boxing gloves all over the titular vessel, and has visions of himself boxing under the tutelage of Starfleet Academy’s Boothby (Ray Walston).

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Star Trek: Enterprise - "These Are The Voyages...

Of all the series in the franchise, Star Trek: Enterprise is the only one whose lowest IMDb user rating (5.3) is for its series finale. All things considered, it isn’t much of a surprise. All of “These Are The Voyages…” is told from the perspective of Will Riker, who is witnessing it all on a holodeck during the events of the TNG episode “The Pegasus.”

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Star Trek: Discovery - "All Is Possible

The lowest rated episode of Star Trek: Discovery streamed in the beginning of its most recent season: Season 4’s “All Is Possible.” The story sees Tilly (Mary Wiseman) and Adira (Blu del Barrio) leading Starfleet cadets on a training mission when things turn dangerous quickly.

Star Trek: Picard - "Monsters

While Star Trek: Picard‘s third and final season was widely embraced, the same cannot be said of the season that preceded it. The seventh episode of Season 2, “Monsters,” is the least loved of the series. The chief focus of the story is Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) mental journey to uncover buried memories, with Battlestar Galactica‘s James Callis serving as his guide.

Star Trek: Lower Decks - "Second Contact

Just as Enterprise is the only Trek series whose series finale earned its lowest user score, the animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks is the only one whose series premiere, “Second Contact,” is the least regarded in the show. “Second Contact” introduces us to the quartet of lower decks heroes as the U.S.S. Cerritos stops by to check on the small, pig-like residents of Galardon.

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Star Trek: Prodigy - "Starstruck

The least loved episode of Star Trek: Prodigy is “Starstruck,” when the heroes have to find a way to get the U.S.S. Protostar to break free from a horrifying collision course. But “least loved” is fairly relative, considering of all the Trek series’ low points, “Starstruck” has the highest rating (7.1). You could argue that Prodigy has only had one season, and only twenty episodes, and so hasn’t had enough “chance” to make a bad episode — but it’s had more episodes than The Animated Series or Strange New Worlds, so this is an impressive feat no matter how you slice it.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - "The Elysian Kingdom

When it comes to the most recently released franchise series, Strange New Worlds, the least favorite episode among fans according to IMDb is “The Elysian Kingdom,” and it isn’t tough to imagine why. On one hand while the Enterprise has no holodeck at this point, the episode essentially is a holodeck episode, with the entire crew becoming characters in a fairy tale. On the other, it resolves a subplot involving Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and his sick daughter in a way that many didn’t agree with.

Star Trek: Short Treks - "The Girl Who Made The Stars"

Star Trek: Short Treks was a series of short films created in the Star Trek universe. It only lasted two seasons, probably because it wasn’t very well received. The worst received of all its episodes was one from season two called “The Girl Who Made The Stars.”  It’s an animated episode that, as far as anyone could tell, had almost nothing at all to do with Star Trek. Instead, it was some sort of unrelated African fairytale, and not one that fans seemed to think was very well told as reflected by its 5.4 rating.

Star Trek: Very Short Treks - "Worst Contact

Someone at Paramount thought it might be a good idea to make extremely short form, funny videos using the style of Star Trek: The Animated series. Fans seemed to agree that in fact, this was not a very good idea at all. The most disliked Very Short Treks episode is called “Worst Contact,” and IMDB users gave it a shockingly low 4.7. The entire episode entirely revolves around jokes about gross bodily fluids, so it’s not a surprise that not only would this be the most hated episode of Very Short Treks, but perhaps the most hated Star Trek episode ever made.