20 TV Storylines We Can't Believe Are Real

16. Going Warp 10 - Star Trek: Voyager

While Star Trek has maintained a lasting legacy, it's also produced its share of schlock. Given the franchise is constantly exploring ethical quandaries and metaphysical concepts, it's no surprise to learn some ideas work in theory, but not in practice.

That said, it's hard to fathom what the writers of Star Trek: Voyager were thinking with the Threshold episode. 

The story begins with Lieutenant Paris discovering a way for the Voyager to reach an unprecedented Warp 10. Simulations for this speed have been disastrous, suggesting something terrible will occur when Paris attempts Warp 10 in a test craft.

Now, there are plenty of directions this premise could've taken. Would the craft be flung into another time or universe? Will Paris' craft suffer irreparable damage? What if he gets lost and can't make his way back to the Voyager?

However, what happens next is... unhinged. 

Travelling at Warp 10 destabilises Paris' DNA, mutating him into an amphibian. After abducting Captain Janeway, the two end up on a swampy world, where they devolve into salamanders.

It's possible to defend many bad Star Trek episodes by trying to understand what the writers were aiming for, but with Threshold, it looked like it was written by a collection of Mad Libs.