Star Trek: TNG - Essential Episodes List: Season 7

This is part of a continuing series on what I consider the essential episodes of Star Trek: TNG. To view previous entries, click the Essential Episodes tag at the bottom of this post.

Star Trek: TNG - Essential Episodes List: Season 7

Star Trek: TNG - Essential Episodes List: Season 6

This is part of a continuing series on what I consider the essential episodes of Star Trek: TNG. To view previous entries, click the Essential Episodes tag at the bottom of this post.

Star Trek: TNG - Essential Episodes List: Season 6

Star Trek: TNG - Essential Episodes List: Season 5

This is part of a continuing series on what I consider the essential episodes of Star Trek: TNG. To view previous entries, click the Essential Episodes tag at the bottom of this post.

Star Trek: TNG - Essential Episodes List: Season 5  

Star Trek: TNG - Essential Episodes List: Season 4

This is part of a continuing series on what I consider the essential episodes of Star Trek: TNG. To view previous entries, click the Essential Episodes tag at the bottom of this post.

Star Trek: TNG - Essential Episodes List: Season 4

Star Trek: TNG - Essential Episodes List: Season 3

This is part of a continuing series on what I consider the essential episodes of Star Trek: TNG. To view previous entries, click the Essential Episodes tag at the bottom of this post.

Star Trek: TNG - Essential Episodes List: Season 3

Star Trek: TNG - Essential Episodes List: Season 2

This is part of a continuing series on what I consider the essential episodes of Star Trek: TNG. To view previous entries, click the Essential Episodes tag at the bottom of this post.

Star Trek: TNG - Essential Episodes List: Season 2

Star Trek: TNG - Essential Episodes List: Season 1

 
Recently I was asked by a friend to compile a list of TNG episodes worth watching for someone who doesn't want to go through the entire series. Personally, I think it's worth watching every episode once, but I know that for someone's first time through the show, picking and choosing the good ones is smarter. There are a lot of bad episodes in the first two seasons and in the seventh, so there's nothing wrong with skipping big chunks to get to the good stuff, since there's so little essential plot continuity, and going back to them later if you end up liking the rest of the show.

I'm compiling lists, by season, of which episodes are worth watching for someone new to the show. Some of these are legit great episodes, some are important to the show as a whole whether they're strong episodes or not, and some are worth watching because of how goofy they are. Feel free to debate if your favorite episode doesn't make the list, these lists aren't concrete and can be swayed by a good argument! Summaries copied from Wikipedia.

ST:TNG - The Next Phase: My favorite line of dialogue in season 5.

Site Update - Trek Reviews

When I started this blog, one of my objectives was to review every episode of Star Trek over the course of however many years that would take. Turns out, this isn't a whole lot of fun for me. I'm a big Trek fan, but writing about each episode felt more like work than fun and I found myself hesitant to continue watching a show I loved because I didn't want to get further behind in my review backlog.

For my game reviews and movie reviews, I can write about whatever fits my mood at the time and content flows easily; for something like the Trek project, I was required to write about each episode as I watched them, whether I had something to say or not, and that's really no fun for anyone. If you want episode summaries, Memory Alpha does a better job than I ever could. As of right now, I've got a backlog of 24 watched episodes waiting on reviews, and there's no way I want to catch up with that. Because of this, I'm retiring from reviewing Trek episodes. I'll be leaving the Trek Review Archive up for anyone who wants to browse the old articles, but frankly, they're not particularly good.

To anyone who read and enjoyed these reviews, I apologize. Hopefully the rest of the site is still fun for you!

Star Trek TNG - 4x15 - First Contact

"An injury to Commander Riker during a reconnaissance mission threatens the prospects for first contact with a culture on the verge of warp travel."

Star Trek TNG - 4x14 - Clues

"The crew of the Enterprise wakes up after apparently passing through a wormhole, finding mysteries surrounding their blackout. Data begins to act suspiciously, prompting the command staff to wonder if he has been compromised."

Star Trek TNG - 4x13 - Devil's Due

"The USS Enterprise-D responds to a distress signal from a science station on Ventax II, where the planet is in chaos over the return of a being who claims to be that culture's "devil"."

Star Trek TNG - 4x12 - The Wounded

"When Captain Benjamin Maxwell apparently goes rogue, the Enterprise is ordered to apprehend him before his actions result in another war between the Federation and the Cardassian Union."

Star Trek TNG - 4x11 - Data's Day

"Data records a day in his life for Commander Bruce Maddox, including observations on Chief O'Brien's wedding and the mystery of a Vulcan ambassador that apparently dies in a transporter accident."

Star Trek TNG - 4x10 - The Loss

"Deanna loses her empathic powers; the Enterprise is slowly pulled off course by an unknown force existing in two-dimensional form."

Star Trek TNG - 4x09 - Final Mission

"On his way to Starfleet Academy, Wesley Crusher must care for an injured Captain Picard after their shuttle crashes on a desert moon. "

Star Trek TNG - 4x08 - Future Imperfect

"After an away mission to Alpha Onias III interrupts Commander Riker's birthday party, the first officer suddenly awakens in sick-bay sixteen years in the future where he is the captain of the Enterprise and about to negotiate a peace treaty with the Romulan Star Empire."

Star Trek TNG - 4x07 - Reunion

"Captain Picard is selected to arbitrate the selection of a new Chancellor for the Klingon Empire and, in doing so, find out who dishonorably murdered the old Chancellor. Also involved is Ambassador K'Ehleyr, who has a surprise for Worf: their son."

Star Trek TNG - 4x06 - Legacy

"The survivors from a doomed freighter crash-land on Turkana IV, Tasha Yar's homeworld, and are taken hostage by a dissident faction. When the Enterprise moves to intervene, they are joined by Tasha's sister Ishara who has ulterior motives. "

Star Trek TNG - 4x05 - Remember Me

"Following an anomaly in a warp bubble experiment, Dr. Crusher finds that crewmembers are beginning to disappear, while she is the only one who seems to notice."