20 Most Cringeworthy Star Trek: The Next Generation Moments

8. Troi's Empathy Goes Up To 11 From Encounter At Farpoint

It should come as no surprise that Troi is not generally chosen as a fan favourite character. She doesn't sink to the levels of hatred reserved for Wesley and Neelix, mind you, but it's an understatement that she's not well-liked. A great deal of this comes from our first impressions of her in Encounter At Farpoint, and those are clouded by the original decisions of the writers and producers to have Troi feel everything to the nth degree, whether it be pain, anger, or what have you. We should consider ourselves lucky that the producers decided that this might lead to overacting and had her tone it down a bit in later episodes, since we'd really have had some cringing to do once she met any race feeling sexual arousal of any sort. As it is, Troi's scenes in that first episode are tough to watch. She empathizes the hell out of the scenery every time the script calls for it, and while it's always amusing to watch Troi burst into tears, it does have its limits.