166 – Sub Rosa

Grade: F

Summary

Dr. Crusher and some of the Enterprise senior staff attend the funeral of her grandmother. While on the planet, Crusher meets a very interesting man named Ronin, who was also romantically involved with her grandmother.

Commentary

Oh boy. This one was awful. Absolutely terrible. I can’t think of a single reason why anyone should watch this. Why would someone greenlight this? This should have been done way back in the first season before we knew any of the characters, and before any episode was any good. This would fit right in with Haven, Too Short a Season, Code of Honor, etc.

The storyline isn’t the biggest problem here, though it really doesn’t fit with most Star Trek episodes. I’d say the biggest problems are the melodramatic acting, the horrible script (did Picard really ask if the other man is Scotch?), and the ridiculous levels of technobabble. And there were also some extremely uncomfortable scenes that were very difficult to watch. There are very few episodes of any Star Trek series that I would want to watch less than this one.

This episode is so bad, some people consider it to be the worst one of all the Star Trek series. For what it’s worth, I believe that dubious honor belongs to Extinction in Star Trek: Enterprise, but Sub Rosa definitely gives it a run for its money. Don’t watch this unless you absolutely have to.

Of Note

This episode has a lot in common with an Anne Rice novel. I’m not sure how this was handled at the time, but IMDB lists the writer as Jeanna F. Gallo. Apparently, that is a pseudonym for Anne Rice.