The WORST episodes of Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles

Every episode of Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles!

As a newly assigned member of the mobile infantry unit Razak's Roughnecks, Main Character and soldier stud Johnny Rico finds himself in the middle of an interstellar war against a race of highly advanced insects intent on wiping out humanity. He and other Starship Troopers must find a way to destroy the gigantic bugs and save the earth, and a lot of soldiers will be lost during this struggle. Johnny Rico is the best Trooper on the force, he is the go to guy when needed (which is all the time). He has all the statistics straight and plans ready to order.

Last Updated: 4/11/2024Network: SYFYStatus: Ended
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Freefall
star
6.30
44 votes

#1 - Freefall

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/30/1999

Rookie troopers Rico, Flores and Jenkins journey to Pluto as part of Alpha Team ""Razak's Roughnecks"" on what is supposed to be a simple mop-up operation, but find a major threat to the research stations from plasma-shooting alien Bugs.

Betrayal
star
7.21
34 votes

#2 - Betrayal

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/16/2000

Arriving on the planet of Tophet, the Roughnecks are surprised to meet an advanced indigenous species. They claim the bugs came, but couldn't adapt to their climate and died... But where are all the corpses then?

The Inside Story
star
7.50
4 votes

#3 - The Inside Story

Season 1 - Episode 24 - Aired 1/17/2000

The Zephyr is still stuck on the ice asteroid. The Roughnecks are running low on ammunition and the Fireflies keep attacking. Gossard suggests they use the Toxin they've collected to set up a poison gas perimeter. To give him time T'Phai, Flores and Rico lead the Fireflies off as human bait. Things go wrong though and they are trapped with no apparent way out. Suddenly Zander appears and does a Pied Piper act with the Bugs - they all seem to fall into a giant crater. The team return to the ship and their report convinces every one Sander has bought the farm - but he suddenly reappears even crazier then before. Razak boots Rico up to a Corporal during the next battle session during which an tremor send the Zephyr into another crater. The ship eventually lands in a lake of corrosive liquid and is running low on air. Doc and Brutto go looking for an oxygen supply. T hey manage to find one but barely make it back to the ship. Doc though has other news! He is

Writer: Paul Diamond
Watch Now:Amazon
Stranded
star
7.75
4 votes

#4 - Stranded

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 9/2/1999

As the war moves to the planet Tophet, the Roughnecks go after Razak and Higgins, who are trapped behind enemy lines and about to be blown up by their own air strike.

Watch Now:Amazon
Mixed Signals
star
7.80
5 votes

#5 - Mixed Signals

Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/15/2000

The Zephyr remains crash-landed on a frozen asteroid. A team is sent out to collect Toxin B-3, a potent bio-weapon that they've found here (to their surprise, since it was supposed to be found on another asteroid entirely), while Gossard and others remain at the ship to try to get the communications system working to send an SOS... and to protect the ship from Firefries, fire-breathing bugs that the Roughnecks accidentally brought to the asteroid as eggs. The collection team fights Leeches, aggressive amorphous blobs, inside a cave; in the aftermath of the battle they discover that the Leeches are the source of the Toxin B-3. But while collecting them the team finds itself at the mercy of a hurricane-force wind coming from inside the cave. The wind blows Carmen away, and the team fears for her life. The episode climaxes in a massive battle with the Firefries around the ship. When it's over, Gossard is able to send an SOS, and Carmen returns. It looks like help is on the way. (from pazs

Plasma Bugs of Navarone
star
7.88
8 votes

#6 - Plasma Bugs of Navarone

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/31/1999

When the Roughnecks pick up a distress call from pilots Ibanez and Barcalow, who are under attack at a research outpost, Rico risks the safety of his own squad to save Carmen.

Letters Home
star
8.00
3 votes

#7 - Letters Home

Season 1 - Episode 29 - Aired 2/21/2000

The Roughnecks are dug in on Klendathu and are facing an inevitable Bug attack. High Command order them to hold the position at all costs. Higgins finds an unfinished letter home an anonymous trooper had begun but not finished. This gives him the idea of taping a series of ""Goodbyes"" from the rest of the squad to the folks back home - just in case. Through out the night the troopers individually record messages to their families on Earth. At day break the Bugs attack but the Troopers manage to hold them off just long enough for a major air strike to hit the Bugs. As they prepare for retrieval Higgins asks Lt Razak if he wants to tape a message to his family - Razak points him at the squad and tells him that these are his family.

Directors: Sean Song
Search & Destroy
star
8.00
4 votes

#8 - Search & Destroy

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/21/1999

Searching for the Rippler nest on Hydora, the Roughnecks come under heavy fire and Jenkins is severely wounded by an acid-tipped barb.

Writer: Dave Clark
Watch Now:Amazon
Water, Water Everywhere
star
8.11
63 votes

#9 - Water, Water Everywhere

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/12/1999

The ""Transport"" Bug that was found bringing reinforcements and eggs to Pluto is followed back to the watery planet Hydora, where it releases barb-shooting flying bugs of a previously unknown type.

Writer: Steve Berman
Basic Training
star
8.14
7 votes

#10 - Basic Training

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/3/1999

Rico has to train Higgins the reporter to defend himself in combat, as the Roughnecks try to defend themselves from new flying Bugs that seem impervious to laser fire.

The Ice Men Goeth
star
8.17
6 votes

#11 - The Ice Men Goeth

Season 1 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/9/2000

The Zephyr is trapped inside a giant Bug. Razak sends out a team to try and retrieve oxygen from the location found by Doc and Brutto. The way to the oxygen is down a shaft. Flores and Doc enter a strange portal in the side of the shaft but Brutto has a bad fall. Rico rescues Brutto and returns him to the ship then returns with Higgins to find Doc & Flores. These have been swept away in one of the Bugs arteries. Rico has to leave Higgins but finds Flores and Doc OK. Razak goes looking for them and finds Higgins who is suffering from lack of air in his suit. Air is now being pumped into the ship. Back at the ship, Zander is getting madder. Gossard gets the idea of using the Firefries as a fuel source from listening to him The rest of the squad return to the ship just prior to take off. Zander has been restrained but somehow escapes and attempts to sabotage the ship but the squad stop him. As they prepare to launch he escapes again and triggers the self-de

Writer: Dan Corsun
Missing in Action
star
8.17
6 votes

#12 - Missing in Action

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/11/1999

Trying to locate two missing squads that seem to have vanished into thin air, the Roughnecks find themselves battling giant amphibious beetles.

Watch Now:Amazon
Ice-Olation
star
8.20
5 votes

#13 - Ice-Olation

Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/8/2000

Returning from a combat mission in a retrieval ship, the Zephyr, the Roughnecks are re-routed to an asteroid to join scientists from another ship, the Sequoia, in a quest for a bio-weapon against the bugs. Just as they are coming in for a landing, tiny flame-breathing bugs, Firefries, hatch from Zander's skin. The ship crashes, badly damaged, but there are no serious injuries. Teams are sent out to locate the Sequoia. One team, Razak and Doc, falls into a subterranean network where they are attacked by marshmallow-like Leeches. Another team, Brutto and T'Phai, find themselves in a battle with adult, human-sized Firefries. Razak and Doc, joined by Dizzy and Gossard from the ship, join in this battle. Meanwhile, the third team, Carmen and Rico, is buried by an avalanche, and beneath the snow they share some intimate moments. Dizzy saves them. All return to the Zephyr, where Higgins awaits with the recovering Zander. They finally realize that they're on the wrong asteroid; the Sequoia awa

Sole Survivor
star
8.20
5 votes

#14 - Sole Survivor

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/4/1999

While trying to find out what happened to Lt. Ross, who was found wandering on Hydora with his memory gone and his entire squad missing, the Roughnecks are captured by the Bugs.

Writer: Jules Dennis
Watch Now:Amazon
Swarm
star
8.20
5 votes

#15 - Swarm

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 9/30/1999

The battle against the Bugs moves to the watery planet Hydora, where Rico and the Roughnecks again come to Carmen's rescue when she is stranded while evacuating wounded.

Writer: Dan Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon
Metamorphosis
star
8.25
4 votes

#16 - Metamorphosis

Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired 2/18/2000

The Valley Forge is enroute to their next campaign, a long trip. The Roughnecks drew the watch as most of the ship's crew is in stasis. Doc is suddenly attacked by Zander who has mutated into a new form of Bug. Zander escapes and runs amok in the ship, letting samples of other Bug types free to keep the Roughnecks busy whilst it heads for the bridge. There it captures Carmen and the Commander and, to stop the Roughnecks from interfering, kills power to the stasis tubes. Gossard manages to restore power to the tubes whilst Rico and Brutto go outside the Valley Forge to the emergency air lock on the bridge. As they enter the Sander Bug notices them and closes the door trapping Brutto in the process and damaging his legs. The rest of the team arrive and Zander escapes in a life-pod to the planet he was trying to crash the Valley Forge onto. Carmen manages to avoid the crash causing the Commander to withdraw earlier comments about automated pilots. The planet is t

Handle With Care
star
8.29
7 votes

#17 - Handle With Care

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/1/1999

The squad is assigned to assist intelligence officer Earle Walker in capturing a live Plasma Bug and bringing it back through enemy territory.

Trackers
star
8.33
3 votes

#18 - Trackers

Season 1 - Episode 31 - Aired 3/28/2000

The S.I.C.O.N. Fleet is hunting for the Bug Queen, after she escaped in a Transport Bug from Klendathu. Whilst in transit the Roughnecks get a mail delivery and find out Higgins had a girlfriend they weren't aware of who had just dumped him. The Roughnecks get annoyed that, whilst Higgins has the info. on them, they are ignorant about him. The Valley Forge intercepts what seems to be the Transport Bug the Queen is in and destroys it. As they make their report the same thing is received from the other fleet vessels. Carl twigs that the destroyed bugs were just decoys to distract the fleet whilst the Queen heads toward Earth. Due to Carls psychic abilities the Valley Forge is able to intercept the Queens Transport Bug. But the Bug seems resistant to all the ships weapons. 2The Roughnecks are sent into blow the Bug from the inside. They only have 48 hours before it reaches the Earth. Despite heavy resistance inside the Transport Bug they apparently achieve their missi

Writer: Jules Dennis
Requiem
star
8.33
3 votes

#19 - Requiem

Season 1 - Episode 34 - Aired 3/13/2000

S.I.C.O.N has discovered that there is a vast network of Bug tunnels and colonies beneath the city of San Francisco. S.I.C.O.N. decides the only way to ensure victory is to hit the whole city with nukes the city thus destroying everything above and below ground. Because an evacuation of that size would warn the Bugs it has been decided not to warn the civilian inhabitants. Lt Razak objects to this action and, surprisingly, is supported by his nemesis from INTEL, Lt Walker. The Sky Marshal gives them 24 hours to complete the only alternate plan. They need to blow massive holes in the tunnels that run underwater and thus flush out the bugs to street level where troopers would be waiting for them. As a safeguard the bombs will be mixed with the last reserves of Toxin B3. If they fail though San Francisco will be destroyed by S.I.C.O.N. as will the two squads. Overall the mission is a success despite a bomb going non-op and needing to be reset. But Lt Razak is killed by

Among Us
star
8.33
3 votes

#20 - Among Us

Season 1 - Episode 32 - Aired 3/3/2000

All S.I.C.O.N. forces revert to peace status after the Bug Queen has apparently been destroyed. Carl, though, keeps insisting the Queen is still very much alive and on the earth - somewhere. After another argument General Redwing sends him on leave to cool down. Meanwhile the roughnecks are reassigned - to the moons of Jupiter to repair the radio telescopes. Rico believes Carl is right and manages to convince Lt Razak too. Razak cuts through the red tape and gets Gossard to review satellite imagery of the earth before and after the Queens assumed arrival. Gossard finds an new, unexplained, hot spot near to Little Butte, North Dakota. The roughnecks divert their shuttle there without formal authorization but the town seems to be normal - until they realize the towns- people all look alike and sound alike. A s soon as they realize this they are attacked by the residents. The Roughnecks manage to capture a resident and get back to the ship. As they take off the r

Writer: Jules Dennis
Watch Now:Amazon
Checkmate
star
8.33
3 votes

#21 - Checkmate

Season 1 - Episode 30 - Aired 3/6/2000

Lt Razak is called to a mission briefing to find it being given by Sky Marshall Sanchez himself. The Sky Marshall tells the assembled officers about the of the Bug Queen. He then assigns Alpha and Echo squads the mission of locating and destroying the Queen. One bit of seemingly good news is the return of Carl to the squad. But the Roughnecks are dismayed to find an apparent change in his personality. Carl guides the Roughnecks to the queens lair but is captured by Bugs enroute losing his helmet in the process. The Roughnecks find the Queen but she is holding Carl as a shield and Rico is unable to pull the trigger on his friend. In the fire fight the Queen drops Carl and Rico returns his helmet. The squad give chase to the Queen but are unable to stop her escaping on a Transport Bug - enroute to Earth!

Marauder
star
8.33
3 votes

#22 - Marauder

Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 12/3/1999

As the squad tries to locate a brain bug on Tesca Nemerosa from underwater, Rico is trapped when his Marauder suit runs out of power.

Watch Now:Amazon
...And Then There Were Two
star
8.33
3 votes

#23 - ...And Then There Were Two

Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 12/9/1999

Rico still doesn't trust T'Phai, but In the jungle on Tesca Nemerosa, they are forced to work together when the other squad members start disappearing.

Writer: Cary Bates
Captured
star
8.33
3 votes

#24 - Captured

Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/28/2000

The Roughnecks are captured by the skinnies, and held for interrogation.

Watch Now:Amazon
No Substitute
star
8.40
5 votes

#25 - No Substitute

Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 11/19/1999

The Skinnies, formerly working for the Bugs, have changed sides but one of them meets considerable resistance when he joins the squad for its assault on Zegema Beach.

Writer: Jon Weisman