10 Worst Star Trek: Next Generation Episodes
9. Masks (Season 7 episode 17).
In this episode, the crew discovers an 87 million-year-old comet and inspect it in great detail. Within the core, they find an ancient alien archive whose hosts take control of The Enterprise and Lieutenant Commander Data in order to reenact its culture's mythology.
Why It Sucks: Essentially, this episode is almost an exact replica of the season five finale The Inner Light, just done a whole lot worse. Although there is nothing wrong with copying good ideas, the most disappointing thing about this episode was how easily the matter was resolved in the end. This episode, much like The Inner Light, had so much promise but it fell flat right at the end with its rushed and simplistic ending.
What Doesn't Suck: Data becomes possessed by the ancient alien culture and becomes a conduit for its many ancient gods and, it has to be said, Brent Spiner absolutely nails it. In terms of acting range, Spiner delivers multiple personalities in an incredible way with voice changes and incredible physical interpretations of the various entities. Also, the way he warns the crew of "Masaka" is especially chilling.