Summary
- "Angel One" is widely regarded as one of the worst episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation's first season, filled with clichés and lacking nuance.
- The episode attempts to critique gender roles but falls short, as the reversal of norms is undermined by a romantic storyline and the heroism of the male lead, Riker.
- In Star Trek: Lower Decks, Angel One has become a tourist destination, suggesting that the planet has become more welcoming to visitors and may have joined the Federation.
One of Star Trek: The Next Generation's worst episodes introduced the planet Angel One, which would go on to become a tourist destination by the time of Star Trek: Lower Decks. TNG got off to a rough start with its rocky first season, and a couple of episodes stand out as particularly infamous. While many of the stars of TNG cite "Code of Honor" as their least favorite episode, TNG season 1, episode 14, "Angel One" could also compete for that dubious honor.
While looking for survivors from a missing freighter, the USS Enterprise-D visits the planet Angel One, which has a matriarchal society led by Beata (Karen Montgomery). Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) leads an away team down to the planet where they discover that the survivors, all men, have been declared fugitives. According to Beata, the men introduced harmful ideas to their society and sowed the seeds of revolution. Although "Angel One" tries to critique gender roles, it devolves into an unsubtle commentary full of bad Star Trek cliches. When the Enterprise leaves the planet, Beata seems to have taken a small step toward change, but the planet is not referenced again until Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4.
