What this really the worst holodeck episode of any Star Trek series?

Star Trek started using holodeck episodes with Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Not all of the series used them wisely, but, for some, they created stand out episodes such as “The Killing Game” in Star Trek: Voyager. That episode provided an excellent throwback to history, and, to this day, remains a must-watch episode to many viewers. Chad just recently wrote about Collider’s list of series that had the best holodeck episodes. Star Trek: Voyager topped the list at seven, but on that list is one of my least favorite episides, “Bride of Chaotica,” which I know is a matter of opinion.

But what about the series that had the absolute worst holodeck episodes? Whatculture weighed in on that, and while I agree with several of their choices, the one I don’t agree with was the choice for the worst holodeck episode of any series. That was “These are the Voyages” which aired as the series finale for Star Trek: Enterprise.

Many fans do think that Star Trek episode was the worst of the worst.

Overall, it was a bad episode, but not because it was a holodeck episode. There were many more reasons why it failed as a series finale and an episode overall that had little to do with the holodeck. The problems with “These are the Voyages” had more to do with the writers ineffective use of the main characters of the show and the absolute nonsensical reason for killing Trip Tucker, which only gave T’Pol yet another reason to be emotional along with a B plot that served little purpose.

Had this episode played out without the holodeck, I don’t think it would have been anymore liked than it was when it aired in 2005. Yes, fans had an issue with the inclusion of Star Trek: The Next Generation characters, but they also had a big problem with the poor scenes written for the actors who’d carried the show for four seasons.

Don’t get me wrong. I did not like the final episode of Enterprise, but it was because of the choices the writers made for the characters not because Commander Riker and Counselor Troi showed up and made it look like they were revisiting history.