10 Unintentionally Funny Moments In Star Trek

Frequently singled out as one of the worst episodes of The Next Generation (and in fact dubbed the very worst by British movie magazine Empire), “Masks” may be the most incomprehensible episode in the entire series—which is a pretty impressive feat when you consider some of the later series’ more oddball turns.

Following an alien which initially appears as an asteroid and can warp the crew’s reality at will, the episode sees Data jumping between personalities as inexplicable artefacts manifest all over the ship. This prompts the all-time howler of a line “Masaka is waking”, a statement which would have been impossible to take seriously even if it weren’t for Brent Spiner’s bizarre delivery.

The episode also sees Patrick Stewart’s Captain Picard wielding an artefact which is as almost inexplicably phallic as the original series’ rock dick carried by Kirk, leaving Jonathan Frakes’ Riker almost unable to maintain a straight face and the audience long since done trying.