20 Most Cringeworthy Star Trek: The Next Generation Moments

4. Beverly's Molestation From Sub Rosa (1994)

In the minds of many fans, the entire episode Sub Rosa deserves to go at the top of this list, and there are many good reasons why it should be there. We've no doubt that many Scottish fans of the series just loved seeing their culture represented by the Planet of Darby O'Gill and the Little People, where tartans are the fashion, everyone lives in wooden cottages, and the best laid plans of mice and men no doubt gang aft agley. Every time a character in this episode opens his mouth, you find yourself wishing the Tenth Doctor were around to say, "No, don't, don't do that... no, really, don't." Would that Ten were around every time Beverly Crusher gets diddled by Ronin, the centuries-old anaphasic lifeform that has been bonding with several generations of the Howard family women and... well, diddling them. Ten might also have something to say about actresses talking in something approaching baby-girl voices, as Gates McFadden does here. On top of being just uncomfortable to watch, Crusher's molestations by Ronin lead to other questions, such as how the Howard women kept their ectomorphic vibrator a secret for so long, why no one ever noticed their eyes had changed colour, when they ever had time to have sex with their actual spouses to continue the bloodline... oh, forget it. It's seventh season Next Gen, and no one expects any of it to make any sense.