25 WORST Episodes Of Star Trek EVER
3. Sub Rosa - TNG
The Next Generation's seventh season was a mixed bag. Much of the acting on show was among the series' best, as the actors and writers had settled into their roles comfortably by that stage. Sub Rosa is an example of a show attempting do something a little different but getting so wrapped up in itself that it ends up sinking into silliness, unable to drag itself back out again.
Duncan Reaghar, who would later reappear as Shakaar in Deep Space Nine, appears here as Ronin, the ghost who Beverly gets off with. That's really kind of it, in terms of plot. The makings for a spooky ghost story are there but, whether the writing or acting is to blame, there is no atmosphere or mood on show.
The bright and sterile sets of the Enterprise simply do not suit the story and Beverly's descent into her feelings for Ronin, similar to Troi's obsession in Man of the People, just come out of nowhere so quickly. Yes, this is meant to be part of the spell that Ronin casts, but it is not handled with any kind of subtlety or grace. It is another story of a respected female character going bonkers at the first sign of a man's interest, robbing that same character of some dignity along the way.
Borrowing heavily from the movie The Innocents, based on Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, this was Jeri Taylor's attempt to have a paranormal romance in space. The other producers were less supportive and based on what we now have, it's not hard to see why.