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00:00 One of the best events of a Star Trek series is the fan-serving crossover episodes, where
00:04 characters from one series appear in another.
00:07 These have occurred in all the modern series and wholeheartedly deserve their status as
00:11 prestigious TV events, given how they unify fan bases and their inevitable effect on ratings.
00:17 And while some appearances were brief, such as Commander Riker in the Voyager episode
00:21 "Death Wish," others had the entire episode built around them, like "Saruk."
00:25 And the results have often been a mixed bag, despite how well the idea of crossovers is
00:29 invariably received.
00:31 Inevitably, not all of the crossovers were such a good idea, like that Enterprise episode.
00:36 And in other cases, we've had very brief nods to the fans with 30-second appearances in
00:40 episodes such as Quark turning up in Star Trek The Next Generation, although he was
00:44 also meant to appear in Star Trek Insurrection, but the scene was cut.
00:47 Other episodes were just unsatisfying, like "Sons of Moog" in Deep Space Nine.
00:52 Now, of course, the best episodes are certainly an easier prospect to swallow, but to commemorate
00:57 the fact that not every episode can be as great as perhaps was intended...
01:01 "So without further ado, I'm Amy from WhatCultureHorror and here are ten-"
01:05 "Ahem.
01:06 Uh, excuse me.
01:07 What do you think you're doing?
01:08 Shoo.
01:09 This is my channel.
01:10 Thank you."
01:11 I'm Ellie with Trek Culture, here with a list of the 10 worst crossover episodes in Star
01:17 Trek history.
01:19 Number 10.
01:20 Caretaker - Star Trek Voyager
01:22 Caretaker took the approach of having Deep Space Nine appear as a location at the start
01:26 of the episode, with Quark and Morn both making very brief appearances.
01:31 Of course, one little crossover point which is missed sometimes is the character of Gul
01:35 Ivek, who appeared in Voyager, Deep Space Nine, and The Next Generation.
01:39 And much like The Walking Dead, it spent an odd volume of time with the cast on a farm.
01:44 The two-part episode really dragged in the middle, until Harry, Kim, and B'Elanna Torres
01:48 finally get back on board Voyager.
01:51 And frankly, destroying the Maquis vessel just made no sense in that manner at all.
01:55 The entire episode felt like a missed opportunity.
01:58 The crossover element of Caretaker was just to get the ball rolling for Voyager.
02:01 Of course, towards the later series, you would have two The Next Generation characters appearing
02:06 on a semi-regular basis, to the extent that Reginald Barclay ended up appearing in more
02:11 episodes of Voyager than he did in The Next Generation.
02:14 Whilst those could be considered crossovers at the start, by the time Troi appeared for
02:18 the third time, it was less a crossover and more a recurring character.
02:23 Number 9.
02:24 Encounter at Farpoint - Star Trek The Next Generation
02:27 Encounter at Farpoint was the pilot episode of Star Trek The Next Generation, and launched
02:32 a continuous period of some 18 years of Star Trek on television, until the final episode
02:37 of Star Trek Enterprise.
02:38 It isn't a traditional crossover story at all, but does feature a cameo from the late
02:43 DeForest Kelly as Admiral McCoy.
02:46 Kelly refused to take anything more than the scale rate of pay for appearing in the episode.
02:51 He felt that this was a way to say thank you for Star Trek, and hoped that his appearance
02:54 would boost ratings and publicity for the new series.
02:57 Apart from this and a mention of Captain Kirk's Enterprise in the Naked Now, this would be
03:02 the only inclusion of any element seen in the original series for some time to come.
03:07 Farpoint is looked upon fondly due to it being the pilot of The Next Generation.
03:11 But really, it isn't a particularly fabulous episode, much like the other episodes in the
03:16 first season.
03:17 This was partly in how it was written.
03:19 The Q storyline was shoehorned into the story in order to expand it to a two-part episode,
03:24 and so it just didn't fit with the other story.
03:27 Number 8.
03:28 Q-Less - Star Trek Deep Space Nine
03:30 Q-Less was a direct sequel to The Next Generation episode "Q-Pid," and featured the return of
03:35 Q and Vashj in their only appearance in Star Trek Deep Space Nine.
03:39 It was the last of three appearances in the franchise for Vashj, but Q would make a couple
03:43 more appearances in The Next Generation, as well as a bunch in Voyager.
03:47 Much like Q's interactions with Picard has the standout scene of the courtroom, the entity's
03:51 sole appearance alongside Sisko does, too.
03:54 But this involves Sisko punching him in the face, probably one of the most memorable and
03:58 funny moments from the first season of Deep Space Nine.
04:01 Q was a bit untapped for Deep Space Nine, mostly because we just didn't get a sense
04:05 of a similar relationship with Sisko that he had with Picard and would later have with
04:10 Janeway.
04:11 We never really got to find out what the Prophet or Q thought of each other, or if there was
04:15 any relationship between the two.
04:17 The only problem is that how do you explain Q coming back again and again to Deep Space
04:21 Nine?
04:22 And the character wouldn't have fit in at all during the Dominion Wars seasons.
04:26 7.
04:27 Emissary - Star Trek Deep Space Nine
04:30 Emissary was the pilot of Star Trek Deep Space Nine.
04:33 It turned the crossover cameo in a Star Trek pilot into an expectation.
04:37 A lot of setup occurs in this episode, but some of the more interesting scenes are those
04:41 with Commander Sisko and Captain Picard.
04:44 You see, at the start, there is quite a bit of animosity between Sisko and Picard, as
04:49 while Picard was assimilated by the Borg during the best of both worlds, the Borg destroyed
04:53 the USS Saratoga, resulting in the death of Sisko's wife.
04:57 The Picard appearance is bookend Emissary in order to show the character growth of Sisko
05:01 during the events that occur in the episode.
05:03 It was initially planned for there to be a major crossover episode with Deep Space Nine
05:07 and the Enterprise-D for the end of the first series of Deep Space Nine.
05:11 This didn't happen, unfortunately for us crossover fans, and instead the first series was closed
05:16 within the hands of the Prophets instead.
05:20 Emissary is the best Star Trek pilot when considered in hindsight, but because some
05:24 of the crossover episodes are of such higher quality, it pushes this one down to the worst
05:28 list.
05:29 A shame, really, because I'm sure this would appear in many people's top 20 lists of Deep
05:33 Space Nine.
05:35 6.
05:36 False Prophets - Star Trek Voyager
05:38 This is probably one of the least-noticed crossover episodes as it didn't feature any
05:42 well-known stars from a different Star Trek series.
05:45 False Prophets was a Voyager episode which acted as a sequel to the Next Generation episode
05:50 The Price.
05:51 Both of those episodes featured the Ferengi character of Arador and Cole.
05:55 While Dan Shaw came back to play the part of Arador, Cole was a non-speaking role in
05:59 the first episode and so was recast for Voyager.
06:02 After being stranded at the other end of a wormhole in the Next Generation episode, the
06:06 Ferengi arrive at a planet and immediately pose as gods, leaving Voyager with a conundrum
06:11 about how to remove them.
06:12 False Prophets was an interesting follow-up to The Price, but didn't deliver the crossover
06:16 spectacle that we've come to expect.
06:18 The problem with False Prophets is just that there is nothing to stand out, and it ends
06:22 up being a fairly average Voyager episode.
06:25 You know what I mean.
06:26 It involves some funny makeup for Neelix, who appears as a Ferengi, and some scenes
06:30 that I can only describe as shenanigans.
06:33 There are some good Ferengi episodes in Deep Space Nine, and this isn't even in their league.
06:38 Number 5.
06:39 Birthright - Star Trek The Next Generation
06:42 One of the two stories in Birthright has Data working alongside Julian Bashir when the Enterprise
06:47 visits Deep Space Nine.
06:49 The android is caught by an energy discharge and begins to dream.
06:52 Well, that's our crossover.
06:53 It wasn't originally intended to have Bashir appear in the episode.
06:57 Instead, it was meant to be Jadzia Dax, but Terry Farrell was busy filming the Deep Space
07:01 Nine episode "Move Along Home."
07:03 It is a blessing that Birthright isn't as bad as Move Along Home, but neither of the
07:07 two stories are that engaging.
07:09 On the one hand, you have Worf investigating a colony of Klingon-Romulan hybrids, and in
07:13 the other story, you have Data dreaming about his father being a blacksmith.
07:17 While both stories seem like they could have had ongoing effects to the characters, neither
07:21 are ever mentioned again.
07:23 Another actor who is better known for a different role in the franchise also appears in this
07:27 episode, James Cromwell.
07:29 He appears as Zephron Cochran in Star Trek First Contact and appears in Birthright as
07:33 Jaeglum Shrek, but is barely recognizable under the makeup.
07:37 His part was to have been bigger in this two-part episode, but he broke his leg between the
07:41 first and second parts and he had to be written out.
07:44 Number 4.
07:45 Sons of Moog - Star Trek Deep Space Nine
07:48 Sons of Moog featured the return of Kern, the brother of Worf, in his only appearance
07:53 in Star Trek Deep Space Nine.
07:55 Kern had a bit of a character arc alongside Worf in his Star Trek The Next Generation
07:59 appearances, and frankly, it is always good to see Tony Todd on screen.
08:03 Just take a look at his other appearance in Deep Space Nine as an older Jake Sisko in
08:07 The Visitor if you want to look at what Todd can do.
08:10 This episode was a proper crossover, but wasn't much of a surprise as since Worf joined the
08:14 crew of Deep Space Nine, it was just a matter of time before his brother showed up.
08:18 Although Kern appearing was initially pleasing, it just seems very out of character to find
08:22 that he wanted to die because of the dishonor to his house, something he had dealt with
08:26 before.
08:27 Kern ends the episode with his mind wiped and his face changed and with no idea left
08:32 that he is Worf's brother.
08:33 It still would have been fairly easy to revisit the character in later episodes despite the
08:37 memory loss, but it was a plot point that was left open which the writers never returned
08:41 to.
08:42 Number 3.
08:43 Past Prologue - Star Trek Deep Space Nine
08:45 The first of two mentions of the Duras sisters in this list, Past Prologue is the only time
08:51 they appeared in Deep Space Nine.
08:53 This is an appearance that sometimes gets overlooked because the episode is remembered
08:56 for a different reason.
08:57 It features the first appearance of Garak.
09:00 The Klingons are selling bomb-making chemicals to a Bajoran terrorist who is seeking to permanently
09:04 close the wormhole so that Bajor will be left alone by both the Federation and the Cardassians.
09:10 The episode has some highlights, but it is a mostly Kira-driven episode rather than a
09:15 proper crossover.
09:16 Including the Duras sisters was a nice touch, but really it's another nod to the fans rather
09:21 than anything interesting.
09:22 They could have been simply replaced by new characters and there would have been no difference
09:26 to the plot.
09:27 While it was an interesting episode to give an indication that not all Bajorans were fond
09:31 of the Federation, it just didn't gel.
09:34 While it was meant to introduce Garak, it actually ended up being the character's only
09:37 appearance during Season 1.
09:39 It was simply one of those dodgy Aliens Turns Up on the Station and Medal episodes.
09:44 Number 2.
09:45 Firstborn - Star Trek The Next Generation
09:47 Firstborn is that Worf-Alexander episode of The Next Generation that featured an Alexander
09:52 from the future coming back in time to make his younger self become a warrior in order
09:56 to prevent the murder of Worf.
09:58 All in all, it's actually an interesting episode which is something akin to Deep Space Nine's
10:02 The Visitor, although not nearly held up to such high esteem.
10:06 It is an Alexander-heavy episode, which isn't necessarily a good thing.
10:09 While this isn't as bad as fistful of daters or cost of living, it isn't great in hindsight.
10:15 What makes it even less interesting or relevant is that Alexander later appeared in Deep Space
10:19 Nine having not taken the path that the future Alexander here was concerned about.
10:23 It features a very brief cameo from Quark as the Enterprise crew are investigating the
10:28 actions of the Jorah sisters and call on him to find out some information.
10:32 He appears for a single conversation on the viewscreen of the Enterprise, but I guess
10:36 the point of this episode wasn't to have it be a crossover.
10:39 It's an interesting take on the idea proposed by The Visitor, but misses out because it
10:43 didn't have Tony Todd.
10:45 Number 1.
10:46 These Are the Voyages - Star Trek Enterprise
10:49 These Are the Voyages had so many issues that it's difficult to list them all.
10:53 The premise itself was okay.
10:55 The final adventure of the Enterprise NX-01 is watched on the holodeck of the Enterprise
10:59 D, but it was riddled with problems.
11:01 The romance between T'Pol and Trip, which had been built up for two years, was totally
11:06 brushed aside.
11:07 Despite the course of several years having passed since the previous episode, the entire
11:11 Enterprise crew, and the ship for that matter, looked exactly the same.
11:14 Plus, both Jonathan Frey and Marina Sirtis are simply a great deal older than during
11:19 the Pegasus, the episode that the holodeck scenes are meant to be during.
11:22 It isn't their fault, and in fact Brent Spiner didn't appear in person as Data as he thought
11:27 he was too old for the part at the time.
11:29 Plus, you have the matter of Trip's death, which was just plain stupid, to the extent
11:33 that they've tried to rectify it in the novelizations following the end of the series.
11:37 All in all, the episode is just a silly way to foresum the next generation into Enterprise,
11:43 and Rick Berman and Brandon Braga should be ashamed.
11:46 It's not just the worst crossover episode, but a contender for the worst episode of the
11:50 franchise, period.
11:51 And that concludes our list.
11:53 If you can think of any other examples, then do let us know in the comments below.
11:56 And while you're there, like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
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12:16 I've been Ellie with Trek Culture, I hope you have a wonderful day, and remember to
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