Watching an old favorite again can be a little embarrassing. That show you spent years defending suddenly has a whole episode about stolen brains, terrible computer graphics, or someone drinking magical beer. You remember the good stuff, of course. The characters you loved, the jokes you repeated, and the finales that had everyone talking. But nobody remembers every lousy episode until they accidentally watch it again. Even the biggest television classics had weeks when the writers seemed completely out of ideas. Some of these episodes were criticized when they aired, while others have aged especially badly. A rewatch can bring back a few unpleasant surprises. We’re not saying these shows are bad, on the contrary, these are some of the greatest shows ever made. But turn on a random episode, and there’s a good chance the quality is suspect.
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
“Shades of Gray” ends the second season with Riker fighting an infection while remembering previous adventures. Most of the episode consists of recycled footage from earlier installments.
Doctor Who (1963)
“The Twin Dilemma” introduces Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor, a wildly colorful coat, and giant slug-like aliens called Gastropods. The creatures aren’t exactly convincing.
Star Trek: The Original Series (1966)
“Spock’s Brain” has aliens stealing Spock’s brain to run their computer system. McCoy then has to figure out how to put it back.
1. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
“Shades of Gray” ends the second season with Riker fighting an infection while remembering previous adventures. Most of the episode consists of recycled footage from earlier installments.
2. Doctor Who (1963)
“The Twin Dilemma” introduces Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor, a wildly colorful coat, and giant slug-like aliens called Gastropods. The creatures aren’t exactly convincing.
3. Star Trek: The Original Series (1966)
“Spock’s Brain” has aliens stealing Spock’s brain to run their computer system. McCoy then has to figure out how to put it back.
4. The X-Files (1993)
Mulder and Scully enter a deadly virtual reality game in “First Person Shooter.” The dated computer graphics are hard to ignore, especially during the action scenes.
5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)
In “Beer Bad,” Buffy drinks enchanted beer and starts behaving like a cavewoman. Several college guys undergo the same transformation, complete with grunting and terrible manners.
6. Friends (1994)
“The One with the Sharks” has Monica mistakenly believing Chandler enjoys watching shark documentaries for an extremely personal reason. It’s one of the show’s stranger misunderstandings.
7. Seinfeld (1989)
Jerry agrees to look after a dog in “The Dog,” then spends the episode dealing with its relentless barking. The animal never actually appears on screen.
8. How I Met Your Mother (2005)
“Bedtime Stories” follows Marshall telling his son three stories entirely in rhyme. The gimmick lasts the whole episode, including conversations that probably didn’t need to rhyme.
9. Gilmore Girls (2000)
Luke spends much of “A Vineyard Valentine” complaining about his trip with Lorelai, Rory, and Logan. He even arrives without an appropriate Valentine’s Day gift.
10. Smallville (2001)
Lana joins a college sorority in “Thirst” and discovers its members are vampires. The episode also features a particularly memorable transformation involving Lana herself.
11. The Simpsons (1989)
“The Principal and the Pauper” reveals that Principal Skinner is actually a man named Armin Tamzarian. By the end, Springfield agrees to pretend the revelation never happened.
12. Happy Days (1974)
Fonzie jumps over a shark on water skis in “Hollywood: Part 3.” The stunt became so notorious that it inspired the expression “jumping the shark.”
13. Lost (2004)
“Stranger in a Strange Land” spends a considerable amount of time explaining how Jack got his tattoos during a trip to Thailand. The island’s bigger mysteries have to wait.
14. Grey’s Anatomy (2005)
“Song Beneath the Song” features the doctors singing songs during a medical emergency involving Callie. Even the operating room gets a musical number.
15. Dawson’s Creek (1998)
Dawson and his friends visit a supposedly haunted island in “Escape from Witch Island,” filming a documentary inspired by The Blair Witch Project and investigating local ghost stories.
