Star Trek: Worst 10 Crossover Episodes
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00:00One of the best events of a Star Trek series is the fan-serving crossover episodes, where
00:04characters from one series appear in another.
00:07These have occurred in all the modern series and wholeheartedly deserve their status as
00:11prestigious TV events, given how they unify fan bases and their inevitable effect on ratings.
00:17And while some appearances were brief, such as Commander Riker in the Voyager episode
00:21Death Wish, others had the entire episode built around them, like Sarek.
00:25And the results have often been a mixed bag, despite how well the idea of crossovers is
00:29invariably received.
00:31Inevitably, not all of the crossovers were such a good idea, like that Enterprise episode.
00:36And in other cases, we've had very brief nods to the fans with 30-second appearances in
00:40episodes such as Quark turning up in Star Trek The Next Generation, although he was
00:44also meant to appear in Star Trek Insurrection, but the scene was cut.
00:47Other episodes were just unsatisfying, like Sons of Moog in Deep Space Nine.
00:52Now, of course, the best episodes are certainly an easier prospect to swallow, but to commemorate
00:57the fact that not every episode can be as great as perhaps was intended...
01:01So without further ado, I'm Amy from WhatCultureHorror, and here are 10-
01:05Ahem.
01:06Uh, excuse me.
01:07What do you think you're doing?
01:08Shoo.
01:09This is my channel.
01:10Thank you.
01:11I'm Ellie with Trek Culture, here with a list of the 10 Worst Crossover Episodes in Star
01:18Trek History.
01:19Number 10.
01:20Caretaker – Star Trek Voyager
01:22Caretaker took the approach of having Deep Space Nine appear as a location at the start
01:26of the episode, with Quark and Morn both making very brief appearances.
01:31Of course, one little crossover point which is missed sometimes is the character of Gul
01:35Ivek, who appeared in Voyager, Deep Space Nine, and The Next Generation.
01:39And much like The Walking Dead, it spent an odd volume of time with the cast on a farm.
01:44The two-part episode really dragged in the middle, until Harry, Kim, and B'Elanna Torres
01:49finally get back on board Voyager.
01:51And frankly, destroying the Marquis vessel just made no sense in that manner at all.
01:55The entire episode felt like a missed opportunity.
01:58The crossover element of Caretaker was just to get the ball rolling for Voyager.
02:02Of course, towards the later series, you would have two The Next Generation characters appearing
02:06on a semi-regular basis, to the extent that Reginald Barclay ended up appearing in more
02:11episodes of Voyager than he did in The Next Generation.
02:14Whilst those could be considered crossovers at the start, by the time Troi appeared for
02:18the third time, it was less a crossover and more a recurring character.
02:23Number 9.
02:24Encounter at Farpoint, Star Trek The Next Generation
02:27Encounter at Farpoint was the pilot episode of Star Trek The Next Generation, and launched
02:32a continuous period of some 18 years of Star Trek on television, until the final episode
02:38of Star Trek Enterprise.
02:39It isn't a traditional crossover story at all, but does feature a cameo from the late
02:44DeForest Kelly as Admiral McCoy.
02:46Kelly refused to take anything more than the scale rate of pay for appearing in the episode.
02:51He felt that this was a way to say thank you for Star Trek, and hoped that his appearance
02:54would boost ratings and publicity for the new series.
02:58Apart from this and a mention of Captain Kirk's Enterprise in The Naked Now, this would be
03:02the only inclusion of any element seen in the original series for some time to come.
03:07Farpoint is looked upon fondly due to it being the pilot of The Next Generation.
03:11But really, it isn't a particularly fabulous episode, much like the other episodes in the
03:16first season.
03:17This was partly in how it was written.
03:19The Q storyline was shoehorned into the story in order to expand it to a two-part episode,
03:24and so it just didn't fit with the other story.
03:278.
03:28Q-Less – Star Trek Deep Space Nine
03:30Q-Less was a direct sequel to The Next Generation episode Q-Pid, and featured the return of
03:35Q and Vashj in their only appearance in Star Trek Deep Space Nine.
03:39It was the last of three appearances in the franchise for Vashj, but Q would make a couple
03:43more appearances in The Next Generation, as well as a bunch in Voyager.
03:47Much like Q's interactions with Picard has the standout scene of the courtroom, the entity's
03:51sole appearance alongside Sisko does, too.
03:54But this involves Sisko punching him in the face, probably one of the most memorable and
03:58funny moments from the first season of Deep Space Nine.
04:02Q was a bit untapped for Deep Space Nine, mostly because we just didn't get a sense
04:05of a similar relationship with Sisko that he had with Picard and would later have with
04:10Janeway.
04:11We never really got to find out what the Prophet or Q thought of each other, or if there was
04:15any relationship between the two.
04:17The only problem is that how do you explain Q coming back again and again to Deep Space
04:21Nine?
04:22And the character wouldn't have fit in at all during the Dominion Wars seasons.
04:277.
04:28Emissary – Star Trek Deep Space Nine
04:30Emissary was the pilot of Star Trek Deep Space Nine.
04:33It turned the crossover cameo in a Star Trek pilot into an expectation.
04:37A lot of setup occurs in this episode, but some of the more interesting scenes are those
04:41with Commander Sisko and Captain Picard.
04:44You see, at the start, there is quite a bit of animosity between Sisko and Picard, as
04:49while Picard was assimilated by the Borg during the best of both worlds, the Borg destroyed
04:53the USS Saratoga, resulting in the death of Sisko's wife.
04:57The Picard appearance is bookend Emissary in order to show the character growth of Sisko
05:01during the events that occur in the episode.
05:04It was initially planned for there to be a major crossover episode with Deep Space Nine
05:07and the Enterprise-D for the end of the first series of Deep Space Nine.
05:12This didn't happen, unfortunately for us crossover fans, and instead the first series
05:16was closed within the hands of the Prophets instead.
05:19Emissary is the best Star Trek pilot when considered in hindsight, but because some
05:24of the crossover episodes are of such higher quality, it pushes this one down to the worst
05:28list.
05:29A shame, really, because I'm sure this would appear in many people's top 20 lists of Deep
05:34Space Nine.
05:356.
05:36False Prophets – Star Trek Voyager
05:38This is probably one of the least-noticed crossover episodes as it didn't feature any
05:42well-known stars from a different Star Trek series.
05:46False Prophets was a Voyager episode which acted as a sequel to the Next Generation episode
05:50The Price.
05:51Both of those episodes featured the Ferengi character of Arador and Cole.
05:55While Dan Shaw came back to play the part of Arador, Cole was a non-speaking role in
05:59the first episode and so was recast for Voyager.
06:03After being stranded at the other end of a wormhole in the Next Generation episode, the
06:07Ferengi arrive at a planet and immediately pose as gods, leaving Voyager with a conundrum
06:11about how to remove them.
06:13False Prophets was an interesting follow-up to The Price, but didn't deliver the crossover
06:17spectacle that we've come to expect.
06:19The problem with False Prophets is just that there is nothing to stand out, and it ends
06:23up being a fairly average Voyager episode.
06:25You know what I mean.
06:26It involves some funny makeup for Neelix, who appears as a Ferengi, and some scenes
06:30that I can only describe as shenanigans.
06:33There are some good Ferengi episodes in Deep Space Nine, and this isn't even in their league.
06:38Number 5.
06:39Birthright – Star Trek The Next Generation
06:42One of the two stories in Birthright has Data working alongside Julian Bashir when the Enterprise
06:47visits Deep Space Nine.
06:49The android is caught by an energy discharge and begins to dream.
06:52Well, that's our crossover.
06:54It wasn't originally intended to have Bashir appear in the episode.
06:57Instead, it was meant to be Jadzia Dax, but Terry Farrell was busy filming the Deep Space
07:01Nine episode, Move Along Home.
07:03It is a blessing that Birthright isn't as bad as Move Along Home, but neither of the
07:07two stories are that engaging.
07:09On the one hand, you have Worf investigating a colony of Klingon-Romulan hybrids, and in
07:14the other story, you have Data dreaming about his father being a blacksmith.
07:17While both stories seem like they could have had ongoing effects to the characters, neither
07:21are ever mentioned again.
07:23Another actor who is better known for a different role in the franchise also appears in this
07:27episode, James Cromwell.
07:29He appears as Zefron Cochran in Star Trek First Contact, and appears in Birthright as
07:33Jaeglem Shrek, but is barely recognizable under the makeup.
07:37His part was to have been bigger in this two-part episode, but he broke his leg between the
07:41first and second parts, and he had to be written out.
07:45Number 4.
07:46Sons of Moog, Star Trek Deep Space Nine
07:48Sons of Moog featured the return of Kern, the brother of Worf, in his only appearance
07:53in Star Trek Deep Space Nine.
07:55Kern had a bit of a character arc alongside Worf in his Star Trek The Next Generation
07:59appearances, and frankly, it is always good to see Tony Todd on screen.
08:03Just take a look at his other appearance in Deep Space Nine as an older Jake Sisko in
08:07The Visitor if you want to look at what Todd can do.
08:10This episode was a proper crossover, but wasn't much of a surprise, as since Worf joined the
08:14crew of Deep Space Nine, it was just a matter of time before his brother showed up.
08:18Although Kern appearing was initially pleasing, it just seems very out of character to find
08:22that he wanted to die because of the dishonor to his house, something he had dealt with
08:27before.
08:28Kern ends the episode with his mind wiped and his face changed, and with no idea left
08:32that he is Worf's brother.
08:33It still would have been fairly easy to revisit the character in later episodes despite the
08:37memory loss, but it was a plot point that was left open, which the writers never returned
08:41to.
08:42Number 3.
08:43Past Prologue, Star Trek Deep Space Nine
08:46The first of two mentions of the Duras sisters in this list, Past Prologue is the only time
08:51they appeared in Deep Space Nine.
08:53This is an appearance that sometimes gets overlooked because the episode is remembered
08:56for a different reason.
08:58It features the first appearance of Garak.
09:00The Klingons are selling bomb-making chemicals to a Bajoran terrorist who is seeking to permanently
09:05close the wormhole so that Bajor will be left alone by both the Federation and the Cardassians.
09:11The episode has some highlights, but it is a mostly Kira-driven episode rather than a
09:15proper crossover.
09:17Including the Duras sisters was a nice touch, but really it's another nod to the fans rather
09:21than anything interesting.
09:22They could have been simply replaced by new characters and there would have been no difference
09:26to the plot.
09:27While it was an interesting episode to give an indication that not all Bajorans were fond
09:31of the Federation, it just didn't gel.
09:34While it was meant to introduce Garak, it actually ended up being the character's only
09:37appearance during Season 1.
09:39It was simply one of those dodgy aliens turns up on the station and medal episodes.
09:44Number 2.
09:45Firstborn, Star Trek The Next Generation
09:48Firstborn is that Worf-Alexander episode of The Next Generation that featured an Alexander
09:52from the future coming back in time to make his younger self become a warrior in order
09:57to prevent the murder of Worf.
09:58All in all, it's actually an interesting episode which is something akin to Deep Space Nine's
10:03The Visitor, although not nearly held up to such high esteem.
10:06It is an Alexander-heavy episode, which isn't necessarily a good thing.
10:10While this isn't as bad as fistful of daters or cost of living, it isn't great in hindsight.
10:15What makes it even less interesting or relevant is that Alexander later appeared in Deep Space
10:19Nine having not taken the path that the future Alexander here was concerned about.
10:24It features a very brief cameo from Quark as the Enterprise crew are investigating the
10:28actions of the Duras sisters and call on him to find out some information.
10:32He appears for a single conversation on the viewscreen of the Enterprise, but I guess
10:36the point of this episode wasn't to have it be a crossover.
10:40It's an interesting take on the idea proposed by The Visitor but misses out because it didn't
10:44have Tony Todd.
10:451.
10:46These Are the Voyages – Star Trek Enterprise
10:49These Are the Voyages had so many issues that it's difficult to list them all.
10:53The premise itself was okay.
10:55The final adventure of the Enterprise NX-01 is watched on the holodeck of the Enterprise
10:59Deep, but it was riddled with problems.
11:01The romance between T'Pol and Trip, which had been built up for two years, was totally
11:06brushed aside.
11:07Despite the course of several years having passed since the previous episode, the entire
11:11Enterprise crew, and the ship for that matter, looked exactly the same.
11:14Plus, both Jonathan Frey and Marina Sirtis are simply a great deal older than during
11:19the Pegasus, the episode that the holodeck scenes are meant to be during.
11:23It isn't their fault, and in fact Brent Spiner didn't appear in person as Data as he thought
11:27he was too old for the part at the time.
11:29Plus, you have the matter of Trip's death, which was just plain stupid, to the extent
11:34that they've tried to rectify it in the novelizations following the end of the series.
11:38All in all, the episode is just a silly way to foresum the next generation into Enterprise,
11:43and Rick Berman and Brandon Braga should be ashamed.
11:46It's not just the worst crossover episode, but a contender for the worst episode of the
11:50franchise.
11:51Period.
11:52And that concludes our list.
11:53If you can think of any other examples, then do let us know in the comments below.
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