What's your favorite or best-in-your-opinion episode from every season of Star Trek: The Next Generation? Here's my personal list with some honorable mentions. Season 1: "11001001" (Honorable mentions: "Home Soil" and "The Arsenal of Freedom") Season 2: "Where Silence Has Lease" (Honorable mentions: "The Measure of a Man" and "Peak Performance") Season 3: "Yesterday's Enterprise" (Honorable mentions: "The Ensigns of Command" and "The Enemy") Season 4: "Brothers" (Honorable mention: "Remember Me") Season 5: "The Outcast" (Honorable mention: "Violations") Season 6: "Timescape" (Honorable mention: "Starship Mine") Season 7: "Thine Own Self" (Honorable mention: "Dark Page") You don't have to add an HM for every season. I just only ended up doing so because there are so least two episodes I really liked from every season with one being better than the other. Now I'm curious as to what other people's list will look like.
Season 1: The Arsenal of Freedom (HM: The Neutral Zone, The Last Outpost) Season 2: Where Silence Has Lease (HM: The Measure of a Man, Q Who) Season 3: Yesterday’s Enterprise (HM: The Defector, Who Watches the Watchers) Season 4: Data’s Day (HM: Reunion, The Drumhead) Season 5: Darmok (HM: Cause and Effect, A Matter of Time) Season 6: Tapestry (HM: Starship Mine, Rascals) Season 7: Preemptive Strike (HM: Parallels, Lower Decks) Like in the DS9 thread I listed other favourites, but less mentioned episodes inside of obvious ones i.e. “The Best of Both Worlds” and “All Good Things…”.
I'm definitely more up to date with my TNG than DS9, so I feel more confident about these answers Season 1: Symbiosis (HM: Heart of Glory, The Arsenal of Freedom) Season 2: Measure of a Man (HM: Peak Performance, Q Who) Season 3: Yesterday's Enterprise (HM: Sarek, Best of Both Worlds I, Ensigns of Command) Season 4: First Contact (HM: Data's Day, Family) Season 5: The Inner Light (HM: Cause and Effect, Darmok) Season 6: Relics (HM: Starship Mine, Lessons) Season 7: All Good Things (HM: Lower Decks, Thine Own Self) While I think it's a good season overall, I had trouble picking out a single favorite for season 4. Likewise, while Season 5 has some stinkers, I could've named several more honorable mentions from it.
Season 1: Justice There are naked people and they wanted to kill Wesley Season 2: Q Who Q and the Borg in the same episode Season 3: The Best of Both Worlds pt.1 "Mr. Worf. Fire." Season 4: The Best of Both Worlds pt.2 "And now the conclusion" Season 5: Unification pt.2 Spock and Data in the same episode Season 6: Relics The Enterprise and The Enterprise D in the same episode Season 7: All Good Things and then it ended
I'm going from memory: Season 1: Winner: 11001001 Honorable mention: Home Soil (Both are neat sci-fi classics, with the latter being TNG's most "hard sci-fi" outing. A close third is "The Arsenal of Freedom" as it's a great Geordi episode and an example where the ship can pop its top to separate and the drama doesn't fly away as a result.) Season 2: Winner: Q Who Honorable mention: Elementary, Dear Data (Season 2 has many stories to highlight; about seven vie for the honorable mention position. "Q Who" just nails everything with the Borg threat and Q's antics, but "Elementary" comes very close as it is a top-notch Data/Geordi/Pulaski episode loaded with great scenes and great casting. Daniel Davis excels as Moriarty, and the exploration of Data being more than the sum of his parts definitely wouldn't have gone anywhere in season 1. I can't begin to see this episode with Dr Crusher being abducted, much less questioning Data's abilities.) Season 3: Winner: The Best of Both Worlds Honorable mention: Hollow Pursuits (Season 3 definitely has a number of greats and the race between top two spots is very narrow. TBOBW seems inevitable for its action fare, not to mention how easy cosplay is now since anyone can buy plastic plumbing hoses and cat laser toys to tie onto their heads for real cheap, but "Hollow Pursuits"', which was not poking at sci-fi nerds, was showing a new issue and new character and not in a condescending way. ) Season 4: Winner: The Best of Both Worlds pt 2 Honorable mention: The Nth Degree (The plot reversal of TBOBW is more than inspired and, IMHO, is one of the few times when pt 2 even rises above pt1 overall. As for the honorable mention, TNG always had a knack of introducing characters who aren't in the bridge clique and end up being more memorable. The Barclay/Geordi relationship being not quite as good as Geordi/Data, but it's high enough to really enjoy. Season 5: Winner: Ensign Ro Honorable mention: The Next Phase (Any Ro/Guinan scene never fails to steal the show and I adore Ro, but her premiere ekes out as being arguably the strongest story. "The Next Phase" may have woofy science, yes yes, but the philosophical underpinnings and Romulan guile more than make up for it and the writer of the story knew where and when to put the emphasis to get audiences to keep the suspension of disbelief going stronger and longer than the battery bunny cat toy. Even the music is on par, something season 5 was so uneven on. And, of all the characters who come in who aren't cliquey, Ro stayed the longest. ) Season 6: Winner: Ship in a Bottle Honorable mention: True Q Honorable honorable mention: Descent pt 1 (This season is one I don't remember much of, save for too often the bad episodes or misfires. Ship in a Bottle -- there's never a Barclay episode I couldn't like, and this one just hits perfection. Plus, Moriarty had an ECC checksum error and that's how he doesn't remember his desire to full Dr Pulaski with his crumpets but instead has a new fling as character foil. True Q makes a terrific allegory, despite some uninspired parallels to "The Wizard of Oz" that seem more unbecoming to TNG's script quality up to this point. On, the tornado from Kansas and why not just rename Amanda to Dorothy and be done with it? That said, it broadens the Q realm a lot, and the Q/Crusher scene is great on multiple levels. As for Descent pt 1, it starts with potential (even if the music is uninspiring) and enough to like that, despite it all, it deserves an honorable honorable mention. Especially when something like 70% of the season hasn't dated well. For me IMHO, YMMV, EIEIO. Hmmm, maybe the honorable mention and honorable honorable mention could be swapped, hmmm...) Season 7: Winner: The Pegasus Honorable mention: All Good Things (The good episodes really stand out because the show was burnt out and smell more than what I just saw my cat put into the litter box, what with everyone and the good plotting moved to DS9. Pegasus adds to Riker's backstory in a way that genuinely works, especially when rewatching older episodes. It fits. Add in Romulan guile but also the Federation reacting to it via the Treaty of Algeron, plus more phun with phasing. ATG is a great bookend and classic, and both are great, but the Pasteur shouldn't have generated the original tachyon pulse, so there. ) And now I need to go clean the litterbox. That unscented pine stuff does nothing for odor control...
Season 1: Heart of Glory (Full discourse, I don't rewatch this season much) Season 2: A Matter of Honor HM: The Measure of a Man Season 3: Yesterday's Enterprise HM: Deja Q, The Offspring, Sins of the Father, The Best of Both World's Season 4: The Drumhead HM: Reunion, Devil's Due, The Nth Degree Season 5: Cause and Effect HM: The Inner Light, Darmok, Silicon Avatar, Conundrum Season 6: A Fistful of Datas HM: Face of the Enemy, Ship in a Bottle, Starship Mine Season 7: Thine Own Self HM, Parallels, Inheritance, The Pegasus, All Good Things
Ooo ah, let me think... 1. WNOHGB 2. Q Who 3. BoBW 4. BoBW 5. Darmok 6. The Chase 7. Parralels Some of those seem obvious but my top 10 in each might be more surprising if I actually produced such a list.
1: Where no one has gone before I like the sense of deep mystery and wonder about what's out there, how fascinating and weird and limitless the universe can be, at a time when everything TNG was still very fresh. Also like the Traveler in this episode as a member of a species that feels genuinely old (much more so than, for example, the Q). 2 Q Who Meeting an implacable, relentless, alien enemy without a face, that is beyond their league, that doesn't even bother to fight in the most 'efficient' manner since they're so superior anyway, even if that isn't entirely apparent anyway. Giving a ominous sense of things to come.... (honorable mention: Measure of a Man. Great episode, even though I think these days that it is a bit too heavy handed). 3 Best of Both worlds, part 1 A tense episode, from the very first to the very last second. Better than part 2. Honorable mentions: Who watches the watchers, Sarek, Yesterday's Enterprise 4. Clues - I like the detective-like progression of the story. Very close contestants: The Wounded, First Contact which I like about equally. I also like Night Terrors, not because of the entire story, but because of the suspenseful atmosphere, the way the characters play their gradual deterioration, and the Beverley morgue scene. 5. Darmok Pretty much the ultimate expression of TNG in my view. If I had to give one episode to represent what TNG was about, it would be this episode and no other. Other episodes may perhaps have had a better plot, more compelling characters, or more exciting scenes, but this episode, in my view, best expressed the ideas closest to the heart of TNG. This season has several other great episodes (e.g. I, Borg, the Inner Light) but none comes close. 6. This one is hard. I like Frame of Mind and Ship in a Bottle. Both make you question reality. Ship in a Bottle is the reason I wasn't particularly blown by The Matrix - most ideas I had seen nearly 6 years before in this ep. Honorable mentions: Tapestry 7 All Good Things Great series finish, bringing the series full circle with the first episode. Honorable mentions: Parallels, Phantasms.
It's been a long time since I've watched TNG, but I do have some favourites or episodes that stand out in some way: S1 : "Conspiracy" - I don't remember much of season one, but this ep is on my mind as it's the subject of my latest fan art S2 : "Where Silence Has Lease" - I remember being creeped out by Nagilum when I first watched it back in the 80s. (HM : The bits of "The Outrageous Okona" with Billy Campbell in them - and ONLY those bits! ) S3 : "The Offspring" - S4 : "First Contact" - I wanted to be Mirasta Yale! (HM : "Qpid" - At the risk of sounding like Miranda's mum: Such Fun! ) S5 : "Cause and Effect" - I never get bored of watching this, despite it being the same thing over and over again. (HM : "Disaster" - Troi saves the day and it's Midwife Worf to the rescue in Ten Forward! And "I Borg" - Picard and Guinan question themselves in the face of Hugh's adorableness.) S6 : "Face of the Enemy" - An awesome Troi episode. I wish she was used more during the show's run. (HM : "Rascals" - and "Timescape") S7 : "Genesis" - Bizarre science aside, I thought this was a suspenseful and funny outing (HM : "Lower Decks" - Great concept that ultimately led to my favourite Trek series)
S1: Datalore HM: 11001001, Conspiracy, Arsenal of Freedom S2: Measure of a Man HM: Elementary Dear Data, Q-Who, Peak Performance S3: Best of Both Worlds Pt1 HM: Yesterday's Enterprise, The Defector, Sarek S4: Best of Both Worlds PT2 HM: The Drumhead, Reunion, Remember Me, Family, Qpid, Redemption Pt1 S5: The Inner Light HM: Darmok, Cause & Effect, I Borg, Ensign Ro, Redemption Pt2, The Perfect Mate, Unification 1&2, Time's Arrow 1 S6: Chain of Command 1&2 HM: Tapestry, Frame of Mind, Relics, Ship In a Bottle, Time's Arrow 2. S7: All Good Things 1&2 HM: Lower Decks, The Pegssus, Attached
We have another very similar variation on this, but..... S1- Conspiracy S2- Measure of a Man S3- The Best of Both Worlds S4- Data's Day S5- The Inner Light S6- Tapestry S7- All Good Things
S 1 - Datalore S 2 - Measure of a Man/The Child S 3 - The Offspring/Dejá Q/Sarek S 4 - Family S 5 - Disaster/Cause and Effect S 6 - A Fistful of Datas/True Q S 7 - Parallels/Genesis
Season 1 - 11001001 or Conspiracy Season 2 - Contagion or The Emissary Season 3 - The Defector or Sarek Season 4 - The Drumhead or The Mind's Eye Season 5 - Ensign Ro or The First Duty Season 6 - Chain of Command or Ship in a Bottle Season 7 - All Good Things or Pre-Emptive Strike (Gained even more appreciation for it after Season 3 of Picard)
Season 1 - Home Soil (honorable mention - Conspiracy) Season 2 - Samaritan Snare (honorable mention - Q Who) Season 3 - Sarek (honorable mention - Tin Man) Season 4 - Night Terrors (honorable mentions - Remember Me, Night Terrors, The Drumhead) Season 5 - Cause and Effect (honorable mentions - Ethics, The First Duty, Imaginary Friend) Season 6 - Schisms (honorable mentions - Frame of Mind, The Chase) Season 7 - Phantasms (honorable mentions - Parallels, Emergence)
One. "Heart of Glory" Two. "Contagion" Three. "The Survivors" Four. "Data's Day" Five. "Power Play" Six. "Schisms" Seven. "Parallels"
Season 1 = HAVEN, because it's the epitome of how I wish the show had stayed. Good new age music, more focus on interpersonal drama, it's low key and mellow, not militaristic.... makes space seem bigger than, you know, a Dominion War or something ridiculous like that. (Honorable mentions are WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS,THE NEUTRAL ZONE, ENCOUNTER AT FARPOINT, & THE BATTLE.) Season 2 = The Royale, because it's the epitome of wacky, far out, weird Season 2. I prefer the tone and feel of the first three seasons of The Next Generation, kinda Twilight Zone-ish. (Honorable mentions are Peak Performance, Pen Pals, Outrageous Okona, A Matter of Honor, Unnatural Selection.) Season 3 = TIN MAN, because it's a story about a loner, which I can identify with sort of. Anyway I just like it. Season three is overall probably one of the best seasons, so you can't go wrong. (Honorable mentions are THE DEFECTOR, ENSIGNS OF COMMAND, WHO WATCHES THE WATCHERS, THE ENEMY, THE MOST TOYS, & SINS OF THE FATHER). Season 4 = LEGACY, because Ishara Yar is easily the sexiest number to ever grace Star Trek. And the story is really cool too. For once the Federation gets outsmarted and whipped, for once they get played and come out on bottom. Definitely one of the best of the entire series if you ask me. (Honorable mentions are Clues, Redemption part 1, & Devil's Due. I don't think this season was as good as previous ones, however.) Season 5 = MASTERPIECE SOCIETY, because it's one of those downbeat, sad type episodes that I like, similar to We'll Always Have Paris. (Honorable mentions are HERO WORSHIP, THE INNER LIGHT) Season 6 = True Q, because I had a huge crush on Olivia D'Abo ever since I saw Conan the Destroyer when I was little. She was excellent here. (Honorable mention is FACE OF THE ENEMY because Marina Sirtis is one of the best actors on the show) Season 7 = The Pegasus, because it was the grittiest, smartest, least dull episode of the season, and Romulans were always used to great effect on TNG. Same with Klingons too, by the way. (Honorable mention is Thine Own Self which is another classic Data episode with great guest performances)
Here's my picks ( I enjoy the show so much, I can't pick just one episode per year). Season 1 - "Encounter at Farpoint", "Where No One Has Gone Before", "Hide and Q", "Haven" Season 2 - "Elementary, Dear Data", "The Outrageous Okona", "The Measure of a Man" Season 3 - "Deja Q", "Yesterday's Enterprise", "The Offspring", "Sins of the Father", "Sarek" Season 4 - "Brothers", "Remember Me", "The Drumhead" Season 5 - "Cause and Effect", "I, Borg" Season 6 - "A Fistful of Datas", "Lessons" Season 7 - "Inheritance", "Thine Own Self"
Where No One Has Gone Before Peak Performance The Enemy (but almost a tie with The Defector) The Wounded Darmok Chain of Command The Pegasus