Star Trek: 20 Worst Episodes Ever

3. The Alternative Factor (TOS)

"There is, of course, no escape."

The Alternative Factor was a troubled episode before it even went before the cameras. The script, by Roddenberry's friend and former policeman Don Ingalls, never quite came together.

A romantic subplot between Lazarus and Lieutenant Charlene Masters was cut during scripting (possibly due to similarities to Space Seed, possibly due to concerns over depicting an interracial romance) and suitable material was never found to put in its place. As a result, the episode is replete with several sequences of Lazarus wandering around a desert planet and falling off cliffs that have little purpose other than to pad out the running time.

When the episode finally went before the cameras, things got even worse. Guest star John Drew Barrymore had signed a contract to appear in the role of Lazarus, but later he decided he didn't want to do the episode, and never showed up to set. Robert Brown was therefore cast at the very last minute and dragged to the set as fast as was possible. His lack of preparation is evident, although the script is confusing enough that it probably wouldn't have made much of a difference.

Then, when the episode was finally finished, it was such an incoherent mess that the producers elected to push the episode as far back in the season as possible. They were finally forced to air The Alternative Factor, which was filmed 20th, as the 27th episode of the season. It wasn't re-run over the summer.

Given the behind-the-scenes trouble, it's a miracle the episode is as coherent as it is, but that doesn't mean it makes a whole lot of sense, or is particularly good. It's definitely the worst episode of Star Trek's freshman season, and I suspect few fans would quibble with naming it as one of the worst episodes of the entire franchise.