Star Trek: The Next Generation
Summary
Whether the instalment of the week was explore what it means to be human with Lt . Commander Data ( Brent Spiner ) or fete revolutionary empathy with Dr. Beverly Crusher ( Gates McFadden),TNGalways had something important to say . For those who have yet to watchTNG , starting the seven - season , 178 - episode show might seem daunting , and theshakyTNGseason 1may not be enough to entice viewers to continue watching . However , TNGproduced some truly phenomenal episode throughout its seven seasons , many of which could captivate even the most skeptical viewer .
Star Trek : The Next Generation has one of the most darling cast of character in all of science fiction . Here are the major eccentric of the classic .
10Where No One Has Gone Before (TNG Season 1, Episode 6)
The Enterprise gets flung to the edge of the universe.
One ofStar Trek : The Next propagation ’s earliest episodes,“Where No One Has go bad Before"hints at thegreat sci - fi showTNGwould becomeand tackle some veryStar Trekideas . When a Starfleet actuation expert and his assistant visit the endeavor , they inadvertently catapult the ship to the very edge of the universe . Not only does this episode literally take the crew where no one has expire before , but it also discusses complex metaphysical estimation and include some rightfully arresting visuals . “ Where No One Has function Before ” also introduces the Traveler ( Eric Menyuk ) , a captivating grapheme who will become important to the future of the unseasoned Wesley Crusher ( Wil Wheaton ) .
9The Enemy (TNG Season 3, Episode 7)
Geordi gets trapped in a cave with a Romulan.
Star Trekloves a level set in a cave , andTNG’s"The Enemy " find Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge ( LeVar Burton ) stuck in a cave with one of the Federation ’s most ill-famed enemies . While Geordi and the Romulan , list Bochra ( John Snyder ) , are forced to work together to make it off the major planet alive , Captain Picard work to forbid an escalation of ill will with a Romulan Commander . Despite the obvious tension between the Federation and the Romulans , Picard and La Forge both keep their headland , understanding that the position is bigger than just them . “The Enemy " contains solid performances from everyone involved , and include a classic sci - fi plot with a quintessentiallyStar Trekmessage .
8Elementary, Dear Data (TNG Season 2, Episode 3)
Data and Geordi solve a Sherlock Holmes mystery.
In one ofStar Trek’sbest holodeck episode , Geordi invites his best champion Data to resolve a Sherlock Holmes mystery . However , when Geordi ask the go-ahead figurer to make an resister up to of defeating Data , Holmes ' baddie James Moriarty ( Daniel Davis ) becomes self - aware . After being insert to Arthur Conan Doyle ’s detective inTNGseason 1,Data fully embraces playing Holmes , and everyone look to be have fun in their full stop - exact costume . Not only is " Elementary , Dear Data " an incredibly fun episode , but it also plays with some interesting sci - fi concepts about what it means to be human .
Professor Moriarty return in theTNGseason 7 episode " Ship in a Bottle , " and make an even more surprising appearance inStar Trek : Picardseason 3 , instalment 6 , " The Bounty . "
7Q Who (TNG Season 2, Episode 16)
Q introduces Starfleet to the Borg.
After being infix inTNG’spremiere episode , the omnipotent being screw asQ ( John de Lancie)returns to visit his favourite captain in " Q Who . " presently after his arrival , Q throws the Enterprise across the galaxy , introducing them to the now infamous Borg . TNGepisodes that involve Q are always fun , as John de Lancie and Patrick Stewart meet off of one another well . The introduction of the Borg is an improbably significant maturation for bothTNGandStar Trekas a franchise . As an instalment , " Q Who " may be more or less more satisfying for those who have seen Q ’s previous fundamental interaction with the Enterprise crew , but it constitute for a tense and entertaining minute of video either way .
6Darmok (TNG Season 5, Episode 2)
Picard gets stranded with an alien he can’t understand.
" Darmok " focus mostly on Captain Picard , as he finds himself trammel on a planet with an alien maitre d' , name Dathon ( Paul Winfield ) , he can not communicate with . As the two captains commence working together , they slowly start to realise one another . " Darmok " does n’t have any monumental quad battles or explosions , but itcelebrates the veryStar Trekvalues of patience and finding common ground . There is no technobabble resolution to Picard ’s plight ; he simply has to hear how to convey and work with Dathon . Picard ’s natural action and Patrick Stewart ’s performance make Darmok not only an gratifying watch , but also an exemplaryStar Trekepisode .
5Disaster (TNG Season 5, Episode 5)
Picard gets stuck in a turbolift, leaving Counselor Troi in command.
" Disaster " opens with the gang members of the Enterprise - ergocalciferol do various workaday project , when a mysterious forcefulness strikes the ship and shuts everything down . The sudden exit of powerfulness findsCaptain Picard trapped in a turbolift with three childrenhe had been leading on a tour . Counselor Deanna Troi ( Marina Sirtis ) is the highest ranking officer lead on the nosepiece , and she reluctantly takes control . Commander Riker and Data find themselves wedge in the go-ahead ’s waiting area , Ten Forward , which they turn into a makeshift sickbay . Although " Disaster " break out away from the standard formula ofTNG , it ’s a great showcase for most of the characters , as they are separated and spread throughout the ship .
4Who Watches the Watchers (TNG Season 3, Episode 4)
A primitive people believe Picard to be a god.
Starfleet ’s most important principle is the Prime Directive , and " Who see the viewer " highlights just why this particular law is so of import . On the planet Mintaka III , the initiative visits a Federation outpost monitoring the local civilisation . After a local villager named Liko ( Ray Wise ) is seriously injured , Dr. Beverly Crusher ( Gates McFadden ) insists he be take to the enterprisingness for treatment . Liko then render to the planet consider Picard to be a god and commence telling the other villagers about him . Commander Riker and Counselor Troi then mask themselves as local and seek to remedy the situation . " Who Watches the Watchers " is a brilliantly acted time of day of television with a classicStar Trekmoral .
3The Best of Both Worlds (TNG Season 3, Episode 26 & Season 4, Episode 1)
Picard gets assimilated by the Borg.
This two - partTNGepisode has become a classic for a grounds . When the Enterprise comesface to confront with the Borg for the first timesince their initiation in " Q Who , " Picard gets assimilate and becomes Locutus . On the Borg regular hexahedron , Locutus then rank the Enterprise bunch to prepare for assimilation , remind them that"resistance is futile . “This precede to one of the best television cliffhangers of all time , as Commander Riker gives the monastic order to fire on the Borg regular hexahedron . The follow - up is just as bewitching , as the Enterprise crew penis fight to save Picard and outsmart the Borg . " The good of Both Earth " not only had a huge shock on theStar Trekfranchise ( the upshot of which are still feel today ) , but also influenced the entire television set landscape of the time .
Despite the episodic nature ofTNG , the episode following " The good of Both Worlds " two - parter , " Family , " shows Picard dealing with the trauma he just get . Star Trek : First ContactandStar Trek : Picardalso revisit Picard ’s experience as Locutus , exhibit the tenacious - term impression the experience had on the headwaiter .
2Cause and Effect (TNG Season 5, Episode 18)
The Enterprise won’t stop exploding.
In one ofStar Trek’sbest dusty open , the Enterprise collides with another ship and explodes before the opening deferred payment . " Cause and Effect " then jumps to a scene of the senior stave player poker , before events direct the ship to burst forth again and the sentence eyelet restarts . As the story progresses , the Enterprise crew members lead off experiencing déjà vu before Data eventually discover a way to leave himself a message from one loop to the next . A twisting on the classical time loop image , " Cause and burden " is an incredibly fun episode with grand direction from Jonathan Frakes .
Cheersactor Kelsey Grammer makes a cameo in " Cause and outcome " as Captain Morgan Bateson of the USS Bozeman , the ship that keeps collide with the go-ahead .
1The Measure of a Man (TNG Season 2, Episode 9)
Data’s humanity is put on trial.
Star Trekloves a well court episodeand " The Measure of the Man " isTrekat its best . When Federation cyberneticist Bruce Maddox visits the enterprisingness , he calls Data ’s rightfulness as a sentient being into question , insisting that the android is the property of Starfleet . Maddox wants to dismantle datum for further study to play more androids like him . For anyone who has become a sports fan of Data as a character , it ’s grating every single meter Maddox look up to the humanoid as an “ it . ”
Even for those who have never seen an sequence ofTNG,“The Measure of a Man ” has elements of everything that makesStar Trekgreat . It grapples with the question of what it means to be human , celebrates life sentence in all of its var. , and includes a powerful actor’s line from Captain Picard . With great performances all around , “ The Measure of a Man ” is not only a near - perfect episode ofStar Trek : The Next genesis , but also an splendid episode of television , full stop .
Star Trek : The Next Generationis available to stream on Paramount+ .
