[vonLuden]

"And the Children Shall Lead" is sometimes listed as the worst episode of The Original Series:

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/A...Lead_(episode)

It would certainly get my vote for that.

[Silynn]

Without children on the Enterprise, we wouldn't have had "Captain Picard Day"...

Attachment 6421

But overall, in a Star Trek episode, I felt that children were ok as supporting roles or a plot focus where the main characters can be seen in a different light that we don't see. As overall it provided some depth and growth for character development.

[Stormy]

Personally, I thought "Miri," TOS episode where children aged quickly and died when they reached puberty was pretty darn good.... but that's just my opinion. (As a side note- the set used for that episode was the town of Mayberry from The Andy Griffith Show. That set was used in at least two Star Trek episodes.)

[KickKat]

But overall, in a Star Trek episode, I felt that children were ok as supporting roles or a plot focus where the main characters can be seen in a different light that we don't see. As overall it provided some depth and growth for character development.

I was never big on Voyager, but some episodes do stand out. Innocence is notable for this very reason. The episodes largely centers around "children", but they really serve as a vehicle from which to explore Tuvok in ways the show was otherwise not equipped to do. I suppose the child acting in that one was pretty OK since it doesn't stand out in my memory either positively or negatively.

The same can be said for Hero Worship.

[Princess Mononoke]

I liked the episodes with the blonde girl with horns who was in the holodeck.

[Infinity]

I liked the episodes with the blonde girl with horns who was in the holodeck.

Do you mean Naomi Wildman in the Once Upon a Time episode?

[Mack]

The two children who I feel acted well in Star Trek Franchise were, Naomi WIldman and Icheb. Wesley was heck annoying in beginning in TNG, only later on did he become.. tolerable.

[Mobeer]

There have been some good episodes - TNG "New Ground" with Worf's son, "Imaginary Friend" was genuinely good and I can even just about like "Hero Worship" with Data's friend. DS9 probably did best at representing children and school, with Vedek Winn and Keiko arguing over science vs. religion ("In the Hands of the Prophets").

[Jaime]

I actually really like Rascals, and think it's a really underrated episode. Jake and Nog were well written as they grew on Ds9, and Voyager handled its various children characters well (including from certain perspectives, Kes, The Doctor and Seven, as well as the actual children....it even handled children that hadn't been born yet well...look at Miral Paris, who turns up in STO of course.) it's funny, because VOY used to get a lot of stick, but as time goes on I suspect it's actually the most rounded Trek series. I am probably getting old. I used to prefer Ds9. How old do I have to get before I can actually bother with ENT? I don't think they have any kid episodes, so that's OT. XD

[Allan Hood]

Those episodes were geared toward that particular age group, or lower. They are trying to recruit new viewers. Probably like many of you, I always identified with Wesley and any other kids they brought on board.

[T.M Smith]

Star Trek has had a number of episodes involving children, one that springs to mind in the one where Picard is in the turbo lift with 3 children. Of course, TNG also had good old Wesley Crusher for quite a few episodes. Now, my opinion is, episodes where children are the focus characters just aren't very interesting, usually the acting is bad (because most children can't act...) and I don't think the episodes are cute or anything like that, just, annoying.

What are your thoughts!

It is a known rule that you try to avoid child actors and characters.... Also, you are a good 20 years to late.

[McGillicuddy]

I like that episodes involve children simply due to the fact that it shows that the starships are not only occupied by star fleet officers. It gives the sense that exploration involves the entire officers family and elevates the safety responsibility that captains have for people onboard.

[Allan Hood]

The reason why they add children is because a large fraction of the fan base was their age, children. I didn't know the kids were bad actors because I was a kid at the time and thought it was awesome haha.