10 Worst Star Trek: Next Generation Episodes
6. Imaginary Friend (Season 5 Episode 22)
Little Clara Sutter is yet to make any friends her own age on board The Enterprise but heads start to turn when she is found playing and talking to her imaginary friend Isabella. What makes things even more surprising is when Isabella suddenly materializes and begins scouting the ship and threatening to kill everyone on board.
Why it sucks: You get a few of these children episodes in each season but this one is by far the worst. In this painfully predictable episode, Isabella is angry at the crew because essentially, they're adults and adults are bad. Yeah that's pretty much the crux of it. She accuses the adults of forgetting what it's like to be a child and is upset with Clara when she refuses to do whatever she wants. The story doesn't really lead anywhere and the ending is as cheesy as it is forgettable.
What doesn't suck: You don't see this very often on Star Trek but my word, the child acting in this episode was fantastic. The actors playing Isabella (Shay Astar) and Clara (Noley Thornton) work brilliantly together and make a cheesy script come to life.