Often, a lackluster episode is swiftly followed by a standout one, thanks to the show’s episodic format, which makes it easy to skip the less impressive installments. Yet, there are episodes often criticized as failures that might not deserve such harsh judgment. These particular episodes have sparked debates among fans, with some passionately defending them. We’re not just discussing underrated “Star Trek” episodes; rather, these are episodes commonly cited among the franchise’s worst, yet have a dedicated fan base advocating for their merits.

It’s important to note that we’ve chosen to omit episodes from “Star Trek” series produced in the 2010s and beyond. These recent additions haven’t had the time needed for reevaluation and potential redemption. Perhaps in a decade, episodes from “Discovery” and “Strange New Worlds” may find their defenders, warranting a reevaluation. For now, let’s explore five “Star Trek” episodes that are widely criticized but arguably not as bad as they seem.

Take, for instance, the Season 3 episode from “Star Trek: The Original Series,” titled “The Way to Eden.” During the 1960s, the hippie counterculture was at its peak, and this episode seemed to convey skepticism towards it—reflecting a sentiment shared by the creators of “Star Trek.” The episode portrays hippies as simplistic and naive, opting for singing and lounging over meaningful action.

Nevertheless, some fans have found a newfound appreciation for “The Way to Eden,” precisely because of its absurdity. “The Original Series” had its fair share of quirky moments, and these were rarely a deterrent for its audience. Beyond enjoying its campiness, some argue that the episode offers profound insights into the perils of blindly following charismatic leaders and exploiting the young and idealistic—making it a more nuanced and underappreciated installment of the series.

Of course, even the earliest “Star Trek” episodes frequently had messages and used characters to comment on contemporary issues. But “The Way to Eden” didn’t really land, deemed entirely too silly and on-the-nose in its approach. It would eventually find its way onto many worst-of lists, and, in fact, was even included in Looper’s ranking of the worst “Star Trek” episodes. Rewatching it now, removed from the counterculture that inspired it, “The Way to Eden” feels that much more jarring and ridiculous.

However, some “Star Trek” fans have come to appreciate “The Way to Eden” precisely because it’s so silly. “TOS” certainly got plenty ridiculous from time to time, and it was seldom a dealbreaker when it came to enjoying the show. In addition to those who enjoy the episode for its cheese, there are also those that argue that the surprisingly deep messages about the danger of following false profits and how unfair it is to take advantage of the young and idealistic make “The Way to Eden” one of the series’ more underrated and misunderstood episodes.

It is generally agreed upon that the third and final season of “The Original Series” is the weakest. The writers seemed to struggle to come up with new things to do and places to go for the crew of the USS Enterprise, resulting in a number of oddball novelty episodes. This was made clear right from the season premiere: “Spock’s Brain.” In this much-derided episode, an alien named Kara (Marj Dusay) invades the ship, takes out the crew, and literally removes the brain of Spock (Leonard Nimoy). And thus begins a race against time to find the brain and put it back into Spock’s head before he dies. 

Like “The Way to Eden,” “Spock’s Brain” tends to show up in every list of the worst episodes of “The Original Series.” It took a concept that should’ve been as high stakes as they come — having only a few hours to save the life of a member of the crew — and turned it into a goofy, cartoon-like tale. That being said, there isn’t unanimous hatred towards the episode. In actuality, “Star Trek” fans are divided over “Spock’s Brain.” 

Plenty of people have come to the defense of this episode, pointing to its fun, campy nature while dismissing those who are unable to handle “Star Trek” any time it ceases to be uber-serious. Because, let’s face it, “TOS” seldom stayed serious for any significant stretch of time. On Reddit, “Star Trek” fans routinely defend “Spock’s Brain” as an enjoyable romp. “I’ve never understood why people complain about ‘Spock’s Brain’ so much,” wrote u/LycanIndarys. “Yes, it’s ridiculous; but it’s still a fun ride that is perfectly watchable.”

Lesser episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” don’t seem to get as much flak as bad “TOS” episodes simply because there are so many more of them: It’s hard to be too tough on the occasional dud when an hourlong sci-fi show managed to turn out an astounding 178 episodes. That being said, “TNG” has worst-of lists, too, and there are a few episodes that are inevitable inclusions therein, including Season 7’s “Masks.”

Data (Brent Spiner) gets infected by a comet that the crew is investigating, which results in him forcing everyone to reenact the traditions of the ancient civilization whose history was recorded within said comet. Even the basic premise is borderline nonsense, and things only get more absurd and incoherent from there. Though it wasn’t entirely his fault given the impossible assignment he was given, Spiner would later reveal that neither he nor his castmates were able to take the episode seriously — and that the crew was growing increasingly frustrated at how long the shoot was taking because none of the actors could keep it together in the face of how stupid the whole thing was.

Yet, “Masks” does get some praise within the “Star Trek” fandom. Some fans simply appreciate that the episode at least went for it, unlike other hated episodes that are disliked for being boring and uninspired. The actors gave it their all — even if they were laughing between takes. “Spiner’s performance is so memorable in this episode, it’s been years since I’ve last seen it and I can imagine it so vividly because of that,” wrote Redditor u/Y0ki. “Overall pretty great episode imo.”

Some episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” do very little to advance the overarching narrative or contribute anything of lasting value to the “Star Trek” mythos. The Season 2 episode “The Royale” is certainly one of those episodes, the kind that fans typically skip when doing a re-watch. A writers strike during the production of Season 2 made things difficult for “TNG,” resulting in the show being forced to shoot the rough first draft of scripts — and in some cases, repurpose old ones that never got used. That was the case with the widely-panned episode “The Royale.”

The plot sees the crew of the USS Enterprise discover a small pocket of activity on an otherwise uninhabitable planet. When Data, Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and Worf (Michael Dorn) investigate, they find what is essentially a 1970s Las Vegas casino. Of course, they become trapped there, and they have no choice but to essentially gamble their way out. They have to deal with a man named Texas (Noble Willingham) who is more of a ’70s southern tycoon caricature than Rich Texan from “The Simpsons.”

It all sounds pretty ridiculous, but, like the other episodes we’ve covered here, there are those who adore “The Royale.” Defending the episode in a piece for StarTrek.com, Catherine L. Hensley called it “great ‘Star Trek.’” She begins by admitting, “There’s so much about ‘The Royale’ that shouldn’t work, on paper at least.” However, she goes on to say that the episode “drops its eclectic cast of characters into a wildly imaginative situation and lets them play. It’s a showcase of what ‘The Next Generation’ did best.”

There’s a fairly large number of Trekkies out there who proclaim “Deep Space Nine” as the best “Star Trek” series of all time, and it’s a tough opinion to argue against. While “TOS” had a rough home stretch and “TNG” struggled to get going, “DS9” arrived fully polished and self-assured from the beginning and carried that through all seven of the show’s stellar seasons. Still, “DS9” wasn’t exempt from its own fair share of creative missteps.

Episodes that focus on Quark (Armin Shimerman) and his Ferengi brethren tend to be picked on the most, and perhaps none more so than Season 1 episode “Move Along Home.” The episode was considered so bad, in fact, that legendary “Star Trek” writer Ronald D. Moore almost declined joining the “DS9” writing staff entirely after he watched “Move Along Home.” The main plot of the episode sees Quark having to play a board game against a group of hostile aliens called the Wadi, with the lives of the station’s entire crew in the balance.

On the popular forum Star Trek BBS, one user asked the community what the most underappreciated episodes of “DS9” are, and reply after reply came to bat for “Move Along Home.” Many expressed complete bafflement as to why the episode was even hated to begin with, arguing that it was not only a fun episode but one that served as a great example of “DS9” differentiating itself from “TOS” and “TNG.” Forum user DeepSpaceWine wrote that the episode “doesn’t deserve all of the vitriol it gets. I saw it again in 2010 after having last seen it sometime in the ’90s, and all the scenes people cringe at, didn’t seem remotely as bad as they made it out to be.”