Shades of Grey

[Stephen of Borg 2]

This is the "clip show" episode of the series, but I don't hate it. How many hate it? Everyone else

[Kor37 9]

I'm not a big fan of this episode. The producers themselves admitted that this was a "throw away" episode because they were short on cash.

[LoveMalePecs1 0]

Year 2 Finale where Riker gets infected from a alien plants thorn and Pulaski has to keep it from reaching Riker's Brain or he might die /showing many clips from Year 1-2 both the pleasant and unpleasant ones via dream state seems the bad memories is what killed the organism in the clip show it was ok average but glad that eventually they'd have better Finales after this one.

[Vulcan_lover 1]

I like clip shows. They recap all the sweet stuff that has happened so far and it makes me feel like a huge Trekkie when I can honestly say that I saw every episode that was featured in the clip show.

[youbroughtheryouRiker 2]

So what if it was a clip show? It was done responsibly, imo. Recalling those situations had a more tangible purpose instead of just nostalgia, or using them to argue a character's character.

[Takara_Soong 4]

I'm not a big fan of this episode. The producers themselves admitted that this was a "throw away" episode because they were short on cash.

Season 2 was also the year that there was an industry-wide writers strike so some of the scripts that year were actually unused TOS scripts that were changed for use in TNG.

Edited March 7, 2007 by Takara_Soong

[trekz 7]

Clip show - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In television, a clip show is an episode of a series, usually a sitcom, that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes, generally depicted as a sequence of flashbacks given plausibility by a frame tale.

 

Most clip shows feature the common format of a frame story in which cast members recall past events from previous episodes followed by a clip of the event. Another format that has been used is to have a host who describes various characters and characteristics of the show to introduce various clips from past episodes.

 

Rationale and viewer opinions

While clip shows do reduce production costs, they were originally employed in an era when there were far fewer program outlets and it was less likely that episodes from previous seasons would be aired again. Clip shows typically received strong ratings, and it was expected for any successful comedy series to feature clip shows regularly in its later years. However, the episodes were subject to some ridicule due to their forced or "corny" framing devices (such as a family sitting peacefully around a fireplace) and the frequently awkward transitions between the frame story and the clips (such as characters staring into space while the screen blurs to represent "remembering." )

 

More recently, fans and critics tend to view such episodes as an act of creative laziness, possibly even a sign that the show has jumped the shark, and the increasing ability of such scorn to reverberate around the viewing community in the Internet Age has tended to deter producers.

 

Clip shows today tend to offset such criticism by trying to make the frame tale surrounding the clips compelling, or by presenting clip shows without any framing device. A show might also diffuse the awkwardness by lampooning it, either by explicitly acknowledging or intentionally over-playing the device. Many series have included parody clip shows using "clips" from episodes which never happened.

 

Recently, the clip show has been employed more seriously as a means to bring viewers up to date on highly serialized dramas, such as on Lost and Battlestar Galactica. Despite being a newer concept with American dramas, many animé dramas used similar techniques, particularly when a series ran for more episodes in one season than could be reasonably rerun (such as Gundam Wing running for 49 episodes, which were originally aired weekly).

 

Sometimes clip shows air before a series finale as a way for audiences to reminisce about their favorite moments. Some examples of shows that have used clip shows in this sense are: Frasier, Seinfeld, Sex and the City, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Cheers and Ranma ½.

 

Examples

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Dramas

Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Shades of Gray," aired week of July 17, 1989. Riker falls into a coma after being attacked by an organism that targets his central nervous system. Dr. Pulaski is able to stabilize him but only after the organism has completely integrated itself into his nervous system, including the brain. Counselor Troi realizes that Riker's romantic dreams and happy memories (i.e., the clips) promote the organism's growth. She begins to stimulate the unhappy ones, and after some serious convulsions, the organism dies and Riker is restored to normal (This season was affected by that year's writers' strike and had only 22 episodes. For the finale, one more episode was needed and this show was written quickly and shot in three days).

Stargate SG-1 uses a clip show every few seasons, including "Politics", "Disclosure", "Inauguration", ...

END WIKIPEDIA EXERPTS

 

Some clips shows can be fun. Some soap operas do them as a tribute when a character is killed off or when the actor actually dies. Shades of Grey was ok imo, I don't "hate it." but it pales when compared to later season finales, including the cliff-hangers. Takara's point is excellent - that in the 2nd season they were dealing with the writers strike and needed to create another show fast and managed to highlight lots of previous action.

Edited March 8, 2007 by trekz