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Per a discussion brought up during NostalgiaKick's vignette series, I did a search for a thread where people could list their least favorite episodes. (There's already two threads for discussing favorite episodes: See here).

So, which episodes are your least favorite? Which ones do you skip when watching your DVDs / Videoes? Which ones do you love to rag (complain) about? Don't forget to explain why. Let's start with top 5 (we can always expand to more if necessary).

Last edited by VirginiaR; 06/11/15 12:46 PM. Reason: Added Link

VirginiaR.
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CoS is my own least favorite. I actually like SK; for me, Clark's speech about being different more than made up for the episode's shortcomings.

OP is simultaneously one of my most and least favourite episodes. I love the L&C relationship parts, but I skip over all of the Spencer Spencer parts.

Joy,
Lynn

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Originally Posted by Lynn S. M.
OP is simultaneously one of my most and least favourite episodes. I love the L&C relationship parts, but I skip over all of the Spencer Spencer parts.
Yeah. When you get into S3 & S4, they were grasping at straws for A-Plots.

I didn't really mind Chi of Steel. I liked some of the men vs. women jokes, especially between Martha and Jonathan. Although, implying that Jonathan couldn't cook after the first time Lois met him was while he was barbequing didn't hold much water. (Yes, that's a form of cooking.) I would've loved to have Lois say after sneaking into the men's club say, "It was rather boring. Why would anyone want to belong to such a club?"

Smart Kids bothers me, mostly because it was more about the kids than about Lois and Clark. The kids received more screen time than most villains do during an episode (Lex included). It seemed to me that the Network said, "Superman is a kids' superhero. You need more kids on that show. Write something with kids." Lois and Clark kind of stumble through that episode with no other point than to show how they interact with kids. (How funny, not.) That plot could've worked better for me if they used Clark's motivation from NostalgiaKick's vignette But for the Grace of God.

Voice from the Past annoyed me to no end. That's the one where Clark freezes Lois for a 2nd time, right? /cue eye-roll/ One time was bad enough.

Super Mann with the Nazi's reborn. Eh. No thanks.

I never really cared for Brutal Youth (despite it showing Lois and Clark's honeymoon). It seemed to only be written to showcase the actor from the original Superman show as an older Jimmy.

The Source. I'm not quite sure why I dislike it so much, except that it's the source's fault that Lois is put on leave, not hers. I also don't like Madame Ex for that reason. Here these people are supposedly Lois's friends, supposed to care for Lois, but they don't believe her when she speaks the truth. It's easier to believe the liars than Lois? Wow, what great friends. Lois stood up for Superman when he was blamed for a crime he didn't commit in MoSB but blame Lois for a crime, of course, she's guilty! /sarcasm intended/

Never on a Sunday portrays Clark as a bad reporter who (accidentally) framed an innocent man. Ugh. Are they trying to make us dislike our hero? Not being a big fan of anything mystic or voodoo-ish, I usually skip over this one too.

I know I haven't mentioned the ARGH arc, but I think those are better forgotten. Not a big fan of the NK arc either.


VirginiaR.
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Well...I think I'll give a play-by-play of how I tend to watch the series (if I'm not watching for a specific 'purpose' or watching the whole series beginnning to end).

What I tend to watch/avoid grin :

ONE
-Always watch the Pilot--Amazing!
-Skip SV, NB--Not sure why, great eps, but maybe because L&C aren't as close yet wink
-ILTY--Specks of 'friendship' beginning.
-Skip RFAS--Love them being partnered up dance, frustrated by the ending with Lex dizzy
-Never skip IGACOY--Love Lois' annoyance at Clark, Clark's teasing. FUN!
-Skip SK--One of my Least Favorite, don't like the plot, not a lot of L&C in the ep.
-GGGoH through Witness--Love, Adore, Could watch these on continuous repeat smile
-IOG through Flyhard--Besides, The Rival (which I get such a kick out of--love it!), these are all sorta 'in between' ones for me. They are First Season--so I very much enjoy the style of the eps, the banter--but not as much as those Mid-First season eps.
BATP-HOL--Completely obsessed with. Way up there in terms of being my favorites!

TWO
-MX--Ok, tend to watch, but mostly for L&C, not plot wink
-WOS--Love the interactions btween L&C!
-TS--Pretty low on my list, too...skip.
-Prankster-LOVE! Couch Scene notworthy
-COM--Love the end at Lois' apartment, Hate Mason butting into the dancing beforehand wink
-OB--Low on the list...only seen a few times. Skip.
-TOGOM-- notworthy
-ABFTB--Ok, never one of my favorites, but certainly not one of my least (favorites).
-SG and Metallo-- hyper
-COS--Skip.
-TEHI-- huh. Ok.
-Phoenix--LOVE LOVE LOVE. Couch Scene.
-TC--Watch for L&C and relationship talk.
-ROTP--Skip-able. No advancement of L&C splat.
-LL-- jump. Beautiful.
-Resurrection--Watch b/c I just saw LL and want 'more' from L&C, get frustrated that not much happens btw L&C wink.
-TF-- hyper
-TJO--Middle of the road for me. Ok.
-IR--The Last Scene...WOW grin. LOVE it!
-WWW-ATAI--Completely wore my tapes out back in the day. Way way up on the list of favs.

THREE
-WHALTTA-OP--Very much love (but agree, do not like Spencer Spencer--he gets the fast forward wink ).
-Contact--Skip. Argh!
-WIEAK--Like this ep, hate the ending.
-JSN through COTOC--Love love
-SM--Skip.
-VD--Amazing. So so good.
-HIWTHI--Always have really liked this one.
-NOS--Skip. Easily skip--have hardly watched it.
-TDWCIFTC--Sometimes skip...
-TA?--Lovely smile
-INPY through Seconds--Painful. Skip, Skip, Skip.
-FMN--Painful, but will normally watch. Like the scene at Clark's apartment with Lois.
-OW--Fast-forward through A-Plot, enjoying the rest. Finally together again...
-IASWAA--Ok.
-TAG,D-BBDF--Enjoyable. Love everything between L&C.

FOUR
-LOTF-BE--Like the NK Arch. LOVE the end scene on the fire escape hail.
-STG--Don't like A-plot, but the wedding vows make up for everything smile.
-SM through DLW--Some of my favorite episodes of the season. SM--I love. BY--Really enjoy everything L&C. Lois on trial and breaking out creates a great couple of eps.
-B&C&L&C--Skip.
-Ghosts--SKIP! dizzy.
-STP--Low on list. First married fight help.
-TTNBM--Least favorite Christmas ep.
-LW through AKAS--Some more of my favorite ones from this season.
-FTASV through TFH--A lot of the time, I'll stop watching after AKAS. I've sat through these probably three or four times in total. Some of my very least favorite eps (and knowing that the show is 'ending' on these eps is frustrating... mecry ).

I tend to focus primarily (ok--almost exclusively wink ) on anything and everything to do with Lois and Clark and them becoming partners, friends and falling in love. B-Plot is way up there grin. So if something romantic is happening...that's the episode I'm watching.

Enjoying the thread,
Laura










"Where's Clark?" "Right here."

...two simple sentences--with so much meaning.

~Lois and Clark in 'House of Luthor'~
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Keep in mind it's been ages since I've watched these episodes, precisely because I remember strongly disliking them. What would I think of them now, if I gave them a chance? Hmmm. Maybe someday I'll find out.

Anyway, they are...

I Now Pronounce You (Tony Curtis's character was just so ick, and then the ending of course. CURSE YOU.)

Forget Me Not (BAD amnesia. BAD Deter.)

STGTTWNK (This made me so mad when it aired. So anticlimactic after all we'd been put through. And amnesia jokes? NO. BAD.)

Brutal Youth (This one I should give another chance to, I suppose. It creeped me out when it aired, but I was a teenager at the time. I don't think I've seen it since the 90's.)

The People Vs. Lois Lane (Hated this one with a fiery passion and I don't think I've watched it more than twice since it aired.)

Ghosts (The episode we try to pretend never happened and isn't canon.)

Four episodes I didn't like back in season 4, I was NOT a happy camper, but I kept watching and the show got better again (for me). I have no major problem with any of the episodes after Ghosts.

Last edited by LNCroxmysox; 06/20/15 07:44 PM.

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I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I won't pass up an opportunity to gripe. wink

Contact
-- I dislike this one partly because of Lois's hairdo and wardrobe. (The scarf! Ugh!) I suppose that's shallow, but she went from looking like a young, energetic woman to looking like my mom. Mostly, I dislike the episode because why would Clark of all people not believe in aliens? He should be the first person to believe Lois when she claims to be abducted by aliens.

Soul Mates
-- Mostly because I can't stand the idea of soul mates. The whole concept implies that our relationships are pre-determined and that we don't really have a say in how our lives play out.


"It is a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then...he shoots fire from the skies, and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him." -Batman (in Superman/Batman #3 by Jeph Loeb)
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VERY late to the thread - sorry.

But since I'm going through season 4 for Suddenly Blond(e):

1 & 2: The People vs Lois Lane/ Dead Lois Walking has good Lois/Clark interaction and shows that Clark would do anything for Lois, including break the law. But the A-plot has holes in it big enough to float an oil tanker. Clemmons' motivation appears to be his upcoming election - which would be only a week away. Rule one, if you're going to BS, get your facts straight first: crucial evidence disappearing is cause to drop charges. Just verifying the evidence against Lois would take weeks if not months. Getting to trial: months. Capital case: years of appeals.

3: Meet John Doe - again, the A-plot revolves around an upcoming election. This would be the election where Clemmons was running for governor and Lois was in jail - unless you postulate that that in the L&C verse the presidential election is held six-seven months after state/local elections. huh Remember, Tempus is a time traveler. He could certainly have started the John Doe campaign at the correct place in time. So just on the basis of logical continuity, this one is a WTF.

4: Soul Mates - although I love seeing the previous incarnations and the soul group/traveling companions, the whole curse thing leaves me cold and having Wells imply that Clark only incarnates as a male and Lois only incarnates as a female and they always get together romantically/sexually is a WTF. splat


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The whole S3 amnesia arc. Sorry, I can't specify an individual episode.

Last edited by Marcus Rowland; 07/13/16 07:07 PM.

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Smart Kids and any episode that deals with magic.

Amnesia arc was a little weird.



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I'm a pretty new fan who tends to watch TV shows really slowly, so I haven't watched the entire series yet, so I won't have the most informed opinions. However, I do want to say:

Originally Posted by VirginiaR
Never on a Sunday portrays Clark as a bad reporter who (accidentally) framed an innocent man. Ugh. Are they trying to make us dislike our hero? Not being a big fan of anything mystic or voodoo-ish, I usually skip over this one too.

Yeah, I just watched this episode recently and while I thought it was decent overall, I REALLY hate all the black magic stuff. It's creepy and disturbing to me, and while I know that magic exists in the DC Universe, this type of intense "hard fantasy"* still feels pretty unfitting for Superman IMO.

I also wasn't really cool with the idea of Clark ruining someone's life so bad through his journalism and not expressing THAT much regret. I mean, he was regretful, of course, but they didn't focus on it that much. I actually think a story of Clark making a mistake in his journalism that causes some harm could be an extremely interesting, but not the way it was handled here. I think it would be a lot better if Clark's mistake wasn't as major or devastating, if he did more soul-searching as a result, and he atoned for it in a meaningful way. Hmmm...a fanfic idea? wink

It's been a long time since I've watched Smart Kids, but I recall it being pretty uninteresting to me due to the excessive focus on the kids and not on the main characters, too.

While I thought Vatman was mostly a really good episode, I HATED the ending so much that it made up for how much I liked everything else. It's very disturbing to me that Clark would just take the clone's word for it that there was no way he could be saved and perform the mercy killing without even TRYING to help, especially since this is a superhero who usually doesn't kill at all.

*Hard fantasy is a term I invented that's supposed to be equivalent to "hard sci-fi". Hard sci-fi has more to do with actual science, hard fantasy has more to do with real-life magical practices. When magic appears in stories, I much prefer it to resemble soft science fiction.

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Bwaaahaaahaa! Never on Sunday, Smart Kids, and Vatman...Talia picked three episodes on which I based stories. rotflol I guess I just like fixing what was broken. huh

Least favorite episode: My first instinct was to go with Super Mann (ugh, Nazis!). But I'm going with The Family Hour. Fat Head is unwatchable, the chemistry between Teri and Dean was non-existent at that point, and there's no redeeming a series finale that ends with a cliffhanger. razz


You can find my stories as Groobie on the nfic archives and Susan Young on the gfic archives. In other words, you know me as Groobie. wink
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For me it's a toss up between NOS and Ghosts. I just don't see how either voodoo or ghosts fit in to the show. Both A plots are just awful and I don't think I've read a story dealing with either episode. Maybe the plots are just too terrible to fix?

I actually like smart kids but maybe it's because I was that age when the episode originally aired (I was 10) and saw it live, so I base my opinion on my first time seeing the episode. What 10 year old wouldn't want to be able to be them, in control and run everything for a little while? It fit in with a lot of what was on tv at the time for my age group. I guess if I had been an adult seeing it for the first time, I would have a more negative opinion of it.

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For me, it's a toss up between Illusions of Grandeur, Never on Sunday, and Smart Kids.

Smart Kids- where was the plot? Seriously, just where? It kinda meanders along and doesn't really hit its target. And the annoying thing is, it could have been a really great introspective episode for Clark- but the writers didn't dig any deeper.

Illusions of Grandeur and Never on Sunday- the whole black magic/illusion thing just rings really hollow to me, and I dislike the idea that Clark would ruin someone's life and just *not care*. That's totally out of character for Clark.


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AKA Superman gets my vote. Seriously, I have less of an issue suspending disbelief about a man that can fly than I do about anyone being stupid enough to think Jimmy was Superman.


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Hmmm...dunno if I can name a specific episode....wasn't keen on the start of season 4, when he had to go with the other kryptonian people and they were talking bout him married with that other kryptonian..
That's the main one I can think of for now.

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I was not fond of their wedding episode the second time around. Swear To God, This Time We're Not Kidding could have been a lot better if they weren't married by a guardian angel and no one realized it. The anticipation of their first wedding and everything leading up to it was better.

The guardian angel part was almost a cop out for what happened before for what their did to us before hand. In my opinion, heck, it would have bee better if Perry had married them.


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