Part of the magic of science fiction is making the wildest dreams of the creators come true, and Star Trek is a fabulous example of it. People meet aliens from far off world, explore the expanses of the universe, really challenge the fabric of reality. Where else can an android learn to love, or a bold Commander turn into a prophet?
Not all of these crazy ideas land very well, though. They cross the line from being fantastical to being absolutely bizarre, so much so that they can visually haunt a fan or make them want to forget the episode ever happened.
TNG - Phantasms
Throughout TNG, there's a theme of Data trying to find ways to be a little more human. One of his more problematic ideas was giving himself dreams. While they were fine for a while, there was one day where Data got his first nightmare. Slowly, they started to get out of control and make Data act more and more irregularly, putting the crew in danger.
While the concept isn't crazy, the episode does include Troi's head on a cake, Dr. Crusher sipping Riker's brain through a straw, and tiny mouths everywhere.
It's a visual buffet of bizarre.
DS9 - Let He Who Is Without Sin
The bizarre doesn't just include weird imagery. One of the weirdest and worst DS9 episodes was actually about fan-favorite couple, Jadzia and Worf. The two struggle with Worf's jealousy issues and inability to relax. It puts a real strain on their relationship.
Instead of normally coping with it, though, Worf joins a very violent cult of men who hate the free-ness of Risa.
Yeah, Worf basically became an incel.
Sure, he helped Jadzia in the end, but boy was it weird and no one talked about it ever again.
VOY - Spirit Folk
Voyager had a fair amount of weird holodeck episodes, since they were trapped in the Delta Quadrant with a lot of free time to create creative insanity. One of the most bizarre experiences happened in Fair Haven, though, Tom Paris' 24/7 Irish village simulator.
Somehow, the people of the town started to become aware of the inconsistencies of the Voyager crew, from their uniforms to the doors always opening and them disappearing. The village decided that meant they were witches basically and they tried to burn people at the stake. Even better, The Doctor tries to convince them to stop as a priest and it does not work out.
It's just a wild ride that comes out of left field and never feels quite sane.
ENT - Unexpected
As chronologically the first Star Trek, Enterprise had a lot of "firsts" to go through. In its first season it decided to go all out. Not only did Trip Tucker have a little flirtation with an alien woman, but they had her species version of sex without him knowing and she got him pregnant.
So yeah, the episode is bizarre on many levels, from the sexual coercion to the causal way his fling takes the little fetus off his hand and disappears into the galaxy.
And no one ever saw that half-Tucker ever again.
TNG - Genesis
Whether it's the science or the episode itself, Genesis is a weird one. After all, the premise of this TNG mini-horror is that something infected the ship and "devolved" the crew. In that case, one would think there were be a lot more monkeys running around. Instead, only Riker is a caveman, while Worf is a Cthulu venom beast and Troi a frog lady. And it's not just because they're aliens. The very human Barclay somehow turns into a spider?
The idea behind the episode is bizarre and makes little sense, but the looks are even wilder. Sure, the effects seem cool, but it's really bizarre to see a soaked amphibious Troi with gills pop out of a bath tub.
TOS - Spock's Brain
Infamously one of the worst TOS episodes, Spock's Brain takes the fan-favorite character completely out of commission by having someone literally kidnap his brain so that the crew have to remote control him like a toy robot.
The logic and science behind that alone is bizarre at best, but the fact that there's also child-like full-grown women in caves and computers running a mentally deficient community, it's all a mess.
Let's just say when someone said, "what if someone heisted Spock's brain?" the answer should have been "absolutely not." Because some things can be too weird for even Trek.
ENT - Rogue Planet
So Captain Archer fell in love with a slug.
That sentence alone wins 'Rogue Planet' a spot on this list, but actually experiencing it is only weirder. Apparently, a sentient, psychic slug makes itself look like a beautiful young lady to make Archer fall in love with it to convince him to save its planet. Seduction was number one on this slug's "ways to get help and save my people". That isn't weird at all.
Because Star Trek captains have never saved anything just because someone asked them to. Definitely not.
VOY - Threshold
At first, this episode seems pretty tame. Infected with something, Tom Paris' physiology starts rapidly mutating to become something completely alien. So much so that near the end of his transformation, the Tom Paris fans knew is not there anymore and instead it's just a foreign being running on impulses and instinct.
And that part is where it gets weird. In a few scenes, it goes from tragic medical problem to Tom kidnapping, infecting, and impregnating Captain Janeway real quick. They even have a little brood of Salamander babies before the crew finds them.
As on par with the rest of this bizarre episode, they just leave the salamander babies on the planet and no one ever speaks of it again.
TOS - The Way To Eden
Ah yes, the space hippies.
This episode is weird, awkward, and has absolutely the worst costumes. It's hard to pinpoint what's the most bizarre thing about this when it feels like such a fever dream. Then it ends with an odd, cheesy statement about not being able to find Eden because one has to make their own.
Makes Star Trek sound like a weird self-help seminar. No wonder this episode is called one of the weirdest and worst from all of TOS.
TNG - Conspiracy
Aliens taking over humans is not at all a new science fiction concept. Of course TNG would have its own hand at it. They all end up being sort of bizarre. There were slimy body worms, weird neck nipples, and an entire Starfleet-wide conspiracy.
However, the truly bizarre part is the post-episode implications. After all, they discovered several members of leadership were casually slug-infected and executed them with phaser pistols. Then, nothing. No one talked about that ever again, the fact so many people lost their lives. Nor the fact they'd been running Starfleet for months.
What a Twilight Zone of an episode.