The Characters' Best Episodes

[Michael]

In your opinion, what are the best episodes respectively featuring one of the principal characters as the main protagonist? Oh, and why?

Captain Jean-Luc Picard
For me, it's a toss between Tapestry and The Inner Light, two outstanding episodes. Tapestry provides an interesting analysis of Picard's character, while The Inner Light is just a wonderful story beautifully told. Another favorite is The Perfect Mate, where I was pretty impressed by how well Stewart portrayed his character's affection for Kamala.

Commander William T. Riker
With Riker being my favorite character this is pretty hard to nail down to just one episode. Favorites include Second Chances, Peak Performance, The Pegasus, Future Imperfect, A Matter of Perspective, Frame of Mind, The Outcast and of course The Best of Both Worlds (which in many ways can be seen as a 'Riker episode'). Out of these The Outcast is probably the episode which utilizes the character in the most interesting way. Frame of Mind, though, is brilliant, too. I just can't make up my mind ...

Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Geordi I love almost as much as I love Riker. However, it's much easier for me to name my favorite 'Geordi episode': I like the situation which Geordi has to face in Galaxy's Child and think it made his character one of the most human in the series.

Lt. Tasha Yar
My favorite 'Tasha episode' would have to be Yesterday's Enterprise, which gave her character a much better send-off than Skin of Evil.

Lt. Worf
Hm, I never really liked Worf that much, but I loved him in Parallels. Dramatically, though, I think Ethics might be the better episode.

Doctor Beverly Crusher
Crusher was never one of my favorites either, but I mostly liked her in the episodes featuring her as the main protagonist. I loved her in Cause and Effect, which practically is a 'Crusher episode', if you think about it. Remember Me was cool, too. And I liked her in Sub Rosa. Yeah, I'm not kidding.

Counselor Deanna Troi
I know I'm kind of cheating here, but I loved Troi in Power Play, which gave Marina Sirtis the chance to show off a lot of her acting abilities. Likewise, Face of the Enemy provided a good opportunity to see Troi outside of the usual 'Captain, I sense ...' situations.

Lt. Commander Data
Data was the star of many episodes. I loved him in episodes like Data's Day and Birthright, Part I. But I think his strongest episodes were The Offspring and In Theory, because they actually made me feel sorry for a being incapable of having emotions.

 

[Kegg]

Interesting question!

Captain Jean-Luc Picard

There are far too many choices here. It doesn't hurt he's one of my favourite characters in the Star Trek canon and still my barometer for a great space opera lead, and on top of that even episodes which don't involve a Picard character study (like "Tapestry", "The Inner Light", "Lessons", "Family" etc.) can be very Picard-centric and have strong Picard material ("The Measure of a Man" and "The Drumhead", just for starters, feature brilliant speeches from our British-accented Frenchman and are all about his strong principles.) Oh, "All Good Things" is basically Picard story.

And then there's just "Darmok." My god, "Darmok." Given that, one reaches the point where the question is not, what are good Picard episodes, but what are the good TNG episodes where Picard is not a major character?

Commander William T. Riker
Not a favourite character of mine, but not a guy I dislike either. He's affable enough, and "Frame of Mind" would definitely be my pick simply by virtue of the fact it's just one of my favourite TNG episodes. It's a surreal, mind-bending episode that packs a powerful punch and Frakes is pretty good in it.

Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Yeah. "Galaxy's Child" is good, and pretty much Geordi's standout episode of the series. Nothing else springs immediately to mind, though of all Brannon Braga's episodes about people randomly mutating into another species, "Identity Crisis" is by far the best.

Counselor Deanna Troi
"The Face of the Enemy" is the obvious choice, naturally, but I also remember really liking "The Loss", though it's been years since I've seen it. What is Troi really like when you strip from her her empathic abilities? It's good stuff I remember thinking.

Lt. Tasha Yar
When "Code of Honor" is one of the handful of episodes centric to your character, there ain't a lot of options. That "Yesterday's Enterprise" is just so much fun definitely helps narrow down one's choices.

Lt. Worf
Worf! I love Worf! A lot of his stuff in the Klingon arcs just plain rock, like "Sins of the Father" and "Reunion" and also the "Redemption" two-parter. "Parallels" is definitely a good Worf episode that isn't about Worf being A KLINGON!, and I could probably think of others if I really tried, but "Reunion", where Duras kills his wife and he wastes no time in killing him himself? Worf really was the show's wildcard more often than not. While the rest of the TNG cast are strongly informed by idealistic Federation morality, Worf could sometimes be counted on to make an opposite choice ("The Enemy" is a notable Worf episode for this alone, even if it is a B-plot.)

Doctor Beverly Crusher
Uh. "Remember Me" was okay or so I recall. "The Host" was sort of interesting for the Trill, I guess. Can I go now?

Wesley Crusher
Ironically, Wesley got in my opinion probably his two best episodes after he left the main cast. "Final Mission", which wrote him off the show, is a lot stronger than his S1-3 material, and "The First Duty" is an honest-to-goodness good episode focusing on the young cadet.

Lt. Commander Data
Oh, Data. Data, Data, Data. God I loved him so. "Brothers" springs immediately to mind as all-Data, all-the-time - it's also the best of the Lore episodes by a very comfortable margin. "The Offspring" and "The Measure of a Man" are naturally also classic Data episodes, as is "Data's Day."

 

[Emnabtond]

Ugh, Riker is your favorite character?
I thought "Second Chances" was the biggest pile of garbage I'd ever seen, none of the behaviour in that episode is remotely realistic.

 

[Bertie]

Picard: "Chain of Command, Part II".

 

[DevilEyes]

Picard: "Chain of Command part 2"; "Tapestry"
Riker: "Second Chances"; "Best of Both Worlds"
Data: "Measure of a Man"; "The Offspring"
Worf: "Sins of the Father", "Reunion"
La Forge: ? I'm not sure
Deanna Troi: "The Face of the Enemy"
Tasha Yar: "Yesterday's Enterprise"
Beverly Crusher: I don't know... maybe "Ethics"? Although I barely remember it
Wesley Crusher: "The First Duty"

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Captain Picard. The old Picard stand-by list--"Darmok," "The Inner Light," "Tapestry"--exists for a reason. But, for my money, I'd go with either his catharsis at the end of "Family," his constant butting heads with Admiral Satie in "The Drumhead," or his masterful performance in "Chain of Command, Part II." For the lighter side, "Captain's Holiday."

Commander Riker. "Frame of Mind." It's a damn creepy episode and Frakes gives a very compelling performance. It's been years since I've seen this episode, yet I still find myself randomly quoting parts of it.

Geordi LaForge. "In the Mind's Eye" is another great, creepy episode, particularly when he kills the Chief O'Brien hologram. I also love his bonding with Scotty in "Relics."

Tasha Yar. "Yesterday's Enterprise." As has been said, not a lot of choices here.

Worf. "Sins of the Father" was brilliant.

Dr. Beverly Crusher. "Remember Me" is a very unsettling episode. I also have a lot of affection for "The High Ground" & "Attached."

Counselor Troi. "Face of the Enemy." Let's face it, Troi's touchy-feeley duties as ship's counselor weren't very interesting. Troi as Romulan infiltrator-- not THAT's good television!

Data. "Descent, Part I." For me, this was an even more compelling cliffhanger than "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I." Data's admission that he would kill Geordi just so he could feel anger again is a truly disturbing moment. (I'm noticing that a lot of my favorite episodes are the disturbing ones. This is what I get for watching too much modern TV.)

Wesley Crusher. I agree with "Final Mission" & "The First Duty." But now, whenever I watch "The First Duty," I get distracted because Nick Locarno looks so much like Tom Paris.

 

[WillsBabe]

none of the behaviour in that episode is remotely realistic.

In what way? Do you think the characters acted out of character, or do you think that they didn't act in a way that people would, in general?

 

[tomalak301]

Captain Picard - Tapestry

This just looked at the overall character of Picard as we know him and it just was a really fun exploration. Episodes like Darmok and Inner Light are great too, but I'm not sure if they affect Picard as so much it just lets Patrick Stewart act very very well.

Will Riker - The Pegasus

Again, while Frame of Mind was outstanding, this episode gave a lot of new insights to Riker.

Geordi La Forge - Booby Trap

One of the more underrated episodes of the series

Data - Brothers

So many to choose from, but this showcased Data the most and when you get Spiner playing three different Roles, there is nothing wrong with that.

Worf - Reunion

Again, many episodes to chose from, but this one really got deep into Worf, especially when K'Ehleyr died.

Dr. Crusher - Journey's End

Hard to chose one from Crusher, but this was my favorite

Dr. Pulaski - Shade of Gray

I know people will probably laugh, but I don't have a problem with Shade of Gray, and this was Pulaski's best episode I thought. She was a dedicated physician, and how she figured out what to do was really nice.

Wes Crusher - The First Duty

Wesley is an adult afterall. Nice to see

Deanna Troi - Face of the Enemy

Since we're only talking about TNG, this was her best episode.

Tasha Yar - Yesterday's Enterprise

No explanation needed I don't think.

 

[The Castellan]

I always liked "Masks" for Data.

 

[CaptainStoner]

^ Masaka is pleased.

 

[The Castellan]

^ Masaka is pleased.

How about Corgono, or that guy who was sacrificied.

 

[pleccy]

I dont know the episode names (my memory is bad) maybe someone could help me?

Picard: The one where they decide if data is a sentient being
Riker: one where he goes on the klingon ship exchange program
Data: the one when he is a captain and saves the federation agianst the romulans
Worf: episode where worf's family name gets dishonoured
La Forge: the one when he turns in to another species
Deanna Troi: episode when she has and loses a child
Beverly Crusher: cause and effect
Wesley Crusher: the one where he helps the traveller alien phase shift

 

[Tom Riley]

But now, whenever I watch "The First Duty," I get distracted because Nick Locarno looks so much like Tom Paris.

That's because it's the same actor

 

[WillsBabe]

I dont know the episode names (my memory is bad) maybe someone could help me?

Picard: The one where they decide if data is a sentient being
Riker: one where he goes on the klingon ship exchange program
Data: the one when he is a captain and saves the federation agianst the romulans
Worf: episode where worf's family name gets dishonoured
La Forge: the one when he turns in to another species
Deanna Troi: episode when she has and loses a child
Beverly Crusher: cause and effect
Wesley Crusher: the one where he helps the traveller alien phase shift

Measure of a Man
Matter of Honor
Unification
Sins of the Father
Identitiy Crisis
The Loss
Cause and Effect
Where No One

I'm not sure about the last one, or Unification. I think those are the ones you mean.

 

[tomalak301]

I'm glad there is some love for Identity Crisis. Nice episode to show around Halloween time.

As for Unification, he could have meant Redemption too, which exposed the Romulan cover up.

 

[WillsBabe]

^ I always get Redemption and Unification confused!

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Some of my answers might be against the grain...

For Picard, in addition to "Darmok", I would also pick...

"Lower Decks." His big scene with Sato, where he dresses her down was fantastic. Even better was his announcement to the crew at the end.

Oddly enough, that episode is also my Worf pick as well

For Riker, it would have to be "Frame of Mind" but high marks also go to "BOBW part 2," and "The Enemy." I chose the latter because Frakes is just plain bad-ass when he is pissed off.

For Troi, I would agree with "Face of the Enemy".

Crusher, I would have to say that her best was "I, Borg."

For Geordi, I think "Galaxies Child" and its prequel, "Booby Tap," should be spoken in the same breath. And he played it cool in "Elementary, Dear Data."

And, as for Data, my favorite is "Thine Own Self," and "The Ensigns of Command:"

That was the stun setting. This is not!

Has he ever kicked more ass?

 

[WillsBabe]

For Riker, it would have to be "Frame of Mind" but high marks also go to "BOBW part 2," and "The Enemy." I chose the latter because Frakes is just plain bad-ass when he is pissed off.

Good choices, I think. You're right, he is bad-ass when he's pissed off!

 

[BillJ]

Picard - 'The Big Goodbye'
Riker - 'A Matter of Honor'
Data - 'Datalore'
Worf - 'Heart of Glory'
Crusher - 'The Naked Now'
Yar - 'Skin of Evil'
Pulaski - 'Where Silence Has Lease'
LaForge - Any episode he's not in.

 

[pleccy]

I dont know the episode names (my memory is bad) maybe someone could help me?

Picard: The one where they decide if data is a sentient being
Riker: one where he goes on the klingon ship exchange program
Data: the one when he is a captain and saves the federation agianst the romulans
Worf: episode where worf's family name gets dishonoured
La Forge: the one when he turns in to another species
Deanna Troi: episode when she has and loses a child
Beverly Crusher: cause and effect
Wesley Crusher: the one where he helps the traveller alien phase shift

Measure of a Man
Matter of Honor
Unification
Sins of the Father
Identitiy Crisis
The Loss
Cause and Effect
Where No One

I'm not sure about the last one, or Unification. I think those are the ones you mean.

Thank you!