LogFAQs > #972357680

End of season 5

Top 7: (because my path through this season was a little delayed and my previous topic is gone, I'm relying on memory for a lot of the early episodes. None of my rankings ever seriously tried to be objective, but, even so, this is the least objective I've ever done)

Darmok (utterly brilliant and surprisingly deep exploration of language and culture)

Unification Part I (its impressive how a story that's basically all build up manages to be such an engrossing watch.

Hero Worship (how a Data story should be)

Conundrum (a gimmick episode that success in striving for more)

Cause and Effect (immaculate production all the way)

I, Borg (the natural evolution of how to handle Borg stories done brilliantly)

The Inner Light (more than deserves its accolades)

Bottom 7: (there's an obvious theme to my choices)

The Game (hilarious for all the wrong reasons and insidious in its actual message)

Violations (it's just really uncomfortable, on reflection)

The Masterpiece Society (some debates simply don't deserve equal consideration of all sides)

Ethics (even beyond my disagreements, it's tediously paint by numbers to the point of being insulting)

The Outcast (pains me the most out of this bunch because I think it tried the hardest and came the closest to succeeding, but it misses it by too much)

The Perfect Mate (again, trying isn't succeeding)

Imaginary Friend (another one that pains me, but there is something really weird about the production in this one and I don't think it's all intentional. Plus, its another slightly bungled message)

Miscellaneous thoughts:

Redemption, Part II (good, especially for Worf's character development, but it's still a slightly unsatisfying ending to the arc)

Ensign Ro (I don't remember this one too much, but I'm impressed by how Ro has become just another member of the crew in such a short time)

Disaster (standing in for a bunch of similar episodes too, but we have had a lot of gimmick/genre shows this season)

Unification, Part II (I was tempted to include both parts as one entry in the top 7, but this has a similar problem to Redemption of not quite landing the ending)

New Ground (might've made the bottom 7 if I remembered enough about it. Worf being a difficult father is not a turn I like from him)

The First Duty (shitting on Wesley gives it a massive amount of points, but, fun though it would be, even I can't justify placing it in the top 7)

Cost of Living (similar weird vibe to Imaginary Friend. The two could be interchangeable)

The Next Phase (there were a decent number of contenders for the top 7. This was one of those that got closest. More interestingly, it was here where I noticed that good and bad episodes tend to be grouped together a bit)

The overall quality continues to climb, though the lows seem to be getting lower.

Next is a brief digression back in time to explore The Undiscovered Country.