While Star Trek: The Next Generation boasts some of the franchise’s most thought-provoking and well-written episodes (“The Measure of a Man” comes to mind), the series also has its share of real stinkers. To be fair, though, a lot of these travesties come from the show’s first season, which encountered plenty of stumbles as the writers and producers tried to figure out what kind of role the Enterprise’s crew would play within the larger universe.
We could go back-and-forth on what episode takes the top (or rather, bottom) spot, but it seems the show’s cast has weighed in on that matter themselves. As reported by Bounding Into Comics, a handful of the principal actors – including Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker), Denise Crosby (Lt. Tasha Yar), and John de Lancie (Q) – made a virtual appearance at GalaxyCon and had a discussion about “Code of Honor.”
This season 1 episode has attracted plenty of criticism over the past decade or so, with fans and critics alike labeling it as racist, sexist and problematic overall. During their online chat, Frakes even went so far as to call “Code of Honor” an “embarrassment.”
For those who aren’t entirely familiar with the episode, here’s a bit of a recap. The crew of the Enterprise finds themselves on Ligon II, where they’re attempting to procure a vaccine that the Federation needs in order to cure an outbreak of Anchilles fever on Styris IV. The humanoid inhabitants of Ligon II are played by an all-black cast, and their clothing is cobbled together from disparate elements of African culture. Things kick off when the leader of Ligon II, Lutan, kidnaps Tasha Yar and tries to force her hand in marriage.
It comes as no surprise that “Code of Honor” continues to draw criticism from the Star Trek community at large, but we’d love to know, what’s your least favorite The Next Generation episode? Be sure to sound off in the comments below!