The WORST episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation

Every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation!

A century after Captain Kirk's five year mission, the next generation of Starfleet officers begins their journey aboard the new flagship of the Federation. Commanded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard the Galaxy class starship Enterprise NCC-1701-D will seek out new life and new civilizations - to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Last Updated: 3/10/2026Network: SyndicationStatus: Ended
Shades of Gray
star
5.74
1883 votes

#1 - Shades of Gray

Season 2 - Episode 22 - Aired 7/17/1989

Stardate: 42976.1 Riker is infected with an alien organism that takes over his mind. Dr. Pulaski must force Riker's mind back to a state where it can access primitive survival skills.

Sub Rosa
star
6.41
1562 votes

#2 - Sub Rosa

Season 7 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/31/1994

Dr. Crusher attends her grandmother's funeral, to find that she had been in romantic encounters with a mysterious man who had been haunting the Howard family women for generations.

Imaginary Friend
star
6.51
1725 votes

#3 - Imaginary Friend

Season 5 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/4/1992

Stardate: 45832.1 - While exploring a strange form of energy in a region of space, a little girl's imaginary friend becomes real and places the Enterprise in great danger.

Masks
star
6.74
1679 votes

#4 - Masks

Season 7 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/21/1994

The Enterprise is slowly transformed into an ancient alien temple when Data discovers an alien archive full of information about an ancient culture. Shortly after opening the archive, Data becomes possessed with several different personalities.

Directors: Robert Wiemer
Writer: Joe Menosky
Man of the People
star
6.75
1797 votes

#5 - Man of the People

Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/5/1992

Deanna becomes attracted to an alien ambassador. Shortly thereafter, she starts ageing rapidly and starts becoming violent.

Directors: Winrich Kolbe
Aquiel
star
6.76
1728 votes

#6 - Aquiel

Season 6 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/1/1993

Geordie falls in love with a lieutenant who is the prime suspect in a murder case.

Directors: Cliff Bole
Manhunt
star
6.77
1969 votes

#7 - Manhunt

Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 6/19/1989

Stardate: 42859.2 While being escorted to a Federation conference by the Enterprise, Lwaxana hunts for a man to satisfy her needs when her sex-drive is quadrupled during a natural mid-life cycle.

Directors: Rob Bowman
Skin of Evil
star
6.78
2134 votes

#8 - Skin of Evil

Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 4/25/1988

Stardate: 41601.3 When Troi's shuttle crashes on an alien planet, a new being is discovered: an entity that thrives on the suffering of others.

Up the Long Ladder
star
6.78
2055 votes

#9 - Up the Long Ladder

Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/22/1989

Stardate: 42823.2 Picard must convince two dying civilizations that they must co-exist on the same planet to survive, however, they have other plans to ensure their survival: in the form of clones of the Enterprise crew.

Directors: Winrich Kolbe
The Loss
star
6.78
1870 votes

#10 - The Loss

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/1/1990

Troi loses her empathic abilities when the Enterprise is caught in the gravitational pull of a black hole.

Directors: Chip Chalmers
Cost of Living
star
6.78
1651 votes

#11 - Cost of Living

Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/20/1992

Stardate: 45733.63 - Deanna's mother pays a surprise visit to the Enterprise with even more surprising news: she plans to marry a man she has never met. After destroying an asteroid, the ship becomes infected with parasites that eat away at the ship's hull.

Directors: Winrich Kolbe
The Host
star
6.78
1553 votes

#12 - The Host

Season 4 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/13/1991

Dr. Crusher falls in love with a Trill Ambassador, until she discovers the Trill's symbiotic relationship.

Directors: Marvin Rush
The Dauphin
star
6.79
2117 votes

#13 - The Dauphin

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 2/20/1989

Stardate: 42568.8 Wesley falls in love with a passenger the Enterprise is escorting, who has the secret ability to shape-shift.

Directors: Rob Bowman
The Icarus Factor
star
6.79
2039 votes

#14 - The Icarus Factor

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 4/24/1989

Stardate: 42686.4 Riker is promoted to Captain of another Federation ship. Worf must confront his past and his Klingon heritage.

Interface
star
6.79
1754 votes

#15 - Interface

Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/1993

Geordi defies direct orders from Captain Picard in an attempt to rescue his mother who had recently been reported as missing.

Directors: Robert Wiemer
Writer: Joe Menosky
Suddenly Human
star
6.80
1756 votes

#16 - Suddenly Human

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/15/1990

A custody battle between Picard and a child's adoptive father arises when a boy showing evidence of abuse is discovered.

The Bonding
star
6.80
1992 votes

#17 - The Bonding

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/23/1989

Worf and Wesley must help a 12 year old boy cope with the death of his mother; an archaeologist killed during an away mission to a deserted planet.

Directors: Winrich Kolbe
Violations
star
6.82
1765 votes

#18 - Violations

Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/3/1992

Stardate: 45419.3 - While escorting a group of telepaths, crew members on board the Enterprise suddenly start to slip into comas.

The Price
star
6.84
2190 votes

#19 - The Price

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/13/1989

Stardate: 43385.6 The Enterprise hosts the negotiations for the rights to a newly discovered, stable wormhole to the Delta Quadrant. One of the negotiators, Devinoni Ral, becomes attracted to Deanna Troi, but he holds a dubious secret.

Directors: Robert Scheerer
Liaisons
star
6.84
1968 votes

#20 - Liaisons

Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/27/1993

During an exchange program, Picard's shuttle crashes on an unknown planet where he is rescued by the sole survivor of another crash.

Identity Crisis
star
6.84
1867 votes

#21 - Identity Crisis

Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/25/1991

Geordi and a former crew mate begin evolving into bizarre creatures when they return to a planet both of them were on during an Away Mission five years earlier.

Pen Pals
star
6.84
2043 votes

#22 - Pen Pals

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 5/1/1989

Stardate: 42695.3 Wesley must investigate the causes of strange tectonic activity on the planet where Data's pen pal lives.

A Matter of Perspective
star
6.85
2017 votes

#23 - A Matter of Perspective

Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/12/1990

Stardate: 43610.4 Riker is accused of murder when a scientist is killed in an explosion. Picard must recreate the recent events in the holodeck to prove his commander's innocence.

Directors: Cliff Bole
Writer: Ed Zuckerman
Samaritan Snare
star
6.85
1993 votes

#24 - Samaritan Snare

Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 5/15/1989

Stardate: 42779.1 A race known as the Pakleds kidnap Geordi La Forge. Picard must face surgery when he is left in a near-dead state.

Directors: Les Landau
The Perfect Mate
star
6.86
1778 votes

#25 - The Perfect Mate

Season 5 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/27/1992

Stardate: 45761.3 - The Ferengi try to abduct an empathic Metamorph who could bring peace between two warring worlds.