The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) is a spin-off of the seminal 1960’s science fiction series Star Trek (TOS) set about 95 years after the events depicted in TOS. The series debut on September 28, 1987 and ran in syndication for seven seasons. In my most recent rewatch of the series, I sought to stick to what I considered the “best of” the series in order to cut down on the time to view the entire franchise.

Each episode is indicated with either a “W” for watch or an “S” for skip. I also opted to order my viewing in “chronological order” as best determined by the initial stardate given in the episode. If there isn’t a stardate, I placed it where it made the most sense relative to the other episodes. Eventually, each title will link to a post that discusses the reasoning for seeing an episode or skipping an episode.

Lastly, episodes that are “essential” are indicated with an * in the Ep. No. column. Essential episodes are selected on a number of factors including character development, other cannon connections, and cultural impact. In other words, these often are best of the best of each season.

Season 1

Season One had 26 episodes. It takes the show quite a while to find its legs, however, there are a few episodes in the first season that end up driving a lot of the character arcs for the entire series. I ended up with 65% of the season’s entries worth watching with 5 episodes I consider essential viewing.

A note about chronological order in Season One- it’s a bit problematic given the story arc of a main character. Some of the episodes end up falling after a certain character leaves the show (this is as about as a spoiler-free a statement I can make on this point for a 30-year-old show.) Again, there has to be some head cannon handwaving for this to make sense. I outline all the possibilities in the episode notes, but until something on-screen fixes this issue, its just pure speculative fun.

Ep. No.	Title	Stardate	See/Skip
01×01* & 01×02*	Encounter at Farpoint	41153.7	W
01×03	The Naked Now	41209.2	W
01×04	Code of Honor	41235.25	S
01×13*	Datalore	41242.4	W
01×07	Lonely Among Us	41249.3	S
01×08	Justice	41255.6	S
01×06	Where No One Has Gone Before	41263.1	W
01×11	Haven	41294.5	W
01×16	Too Short a Season	41309.5	W
01×15	11001001	41365.9	W
01×05	The Last Outpost	41386.4	S
01×19	Coming of Age	41416.2	W
01×18	Home Soil	41463.9	W
01×20	Heart of Glory	41503.7	S
01×17	When the Bough Breaks	41509.1	S
01×10	Hide and Q	41590.5	W
01×22	Symbiosis	Unknown	W
01×23*	Skin of Evil	41601.3	W
01×14	Angel One	41636.9	S
01×24	We’ll Always Have Paris	41697.9	S
01×09	The Battle	41723.9	W
01×25	Conspiracy	41775.5	W
01×21	The Arsenal of Freedom	41798.2	W
01×26*	The Neutral Zone	41986.0	W
01×12	The Big Goodbye	41997.7	S

Season 2

Season Two had 22 episodes. It is considered the worst entry in the series, but does boast one of the more critically acclaimed episodes “The Measure of a Man“. Frankly, this season is also well-known for Star Trek’s only clip episode, “Shades Of Grey,” which ends the season and largely exists because of the 1988 Writer’s Guild strike. The strike affected production so much that the show was forced to use scripts written for the never produced Star Trek II (now referred to as “Phase II”) television series as well as script submissions from aspiring screenwriters to get to what was considered a full season of episodes. I ended up with only 50% of the season’s entries worth watching and 4 episodes I consider essential in the season.

It is also the first season where the stardates finally stop jumping about for the first time in the franchise (after episode six).

Ep. No.	Title	Stardate	See/Skip
02×01	The Child	42073.1	W
02×02	Where Silence Has Lease	42193.6	S
02×03	Elementary, Dear Data	42286.7	W
02×04	The Outrageous Okona	42402.7	S
02×06	The Schizoid Man	42437.5	W
02×05	Loud As A Whisper	42477.2	S
02×07	Unnatural Selection	42494.8	S
02×08*	A Matter of Honor	42506.5	W
02×09*	The Measure Of A Man	42523.7	W
02×10	The Dauphin	42568.8	S
02×11	Contagion	42609.1	W
02×12	The Royale	42625.4	S
02×13	Time Squared	42679.2	S
02×14	The Icarus Factor	42686.4	S
02×15	Pen Pals	42695.3	S
02×16*	Q Who	42761.3	W
02×17	Samaritan Snare	42779.1	W
02×18	Up The Long Ladder	42823.2	S
02×19	Manhunt	42859.2	W
02×20	The E mis sary	42901.3	W
02×21*	Peak Performance	42923.4	W
02×22	Shades Of Grey	42976.1	S

SEASON 3

Season Three is where TNG really begins to take off. The season is back to a full run of 26 episodes and has the highest Watch ratio of the series at 88%.

Thankfully, Dr. Crusher returns to the U.S.S. Enterprise, our favorite bartender makes several appearances, and some old faces return. Much of what happens in this season ultimately sets the tone and direction for the next decade of Trek.

Of this season, I rate a total of 12 episodes from this season as essential viewing.

Ep. No.	Title	Stardate	See/Skip
03×01*	Evo l ution	43125.8	W
03×02	The Ensigns of Command	43133.3	W
03×03	The Survivors	43152.4	W
03×04*	Who Watches The Watchers	43173.5	W
03×05*	The Bonding	43198.7	W
03×06	Booby Trap	43205.6	W
03×07	The Enemy	43349.2	W
03×08	Th e Price	43385.6	W
03×09	The Vengeance Factor	43421.9	W
03×10*	The Defector	43462.5	W
03×11	The Hunted	43489.2	W
03×12	The High Gro und	43510.7	S
03×13*	Déjà Q	43539.1	W
03×14	A Matter of Perspective	43610.4	S
03×15*	Yesterday’s Enterprise	43625.2	W
03×16*	The Offspring	43657.0	W
03×17*	Sins of the Father	43685.2	W
03×18	Allegiance	43714.1	W
03×19	Captain’s H oliday	43745.2	W
03×20	Tin Man	43779.3	S
03×21*	Hollow Pursuits	43807.4	W
03×22	The Most Toys	43872.2	W
03×23*	Sarek	43917.4	W
03×24*	Ménage à Troi	43930.7	W
03×25	Transfigurations	43957.2	W
03×26*	The Best of Both Worlds	43989.1	W

SEASON 4

Season Four of TNG picks up on several threads left over from Season Three. It is a season that focuses on the themes of family, loyalty, and honor, and it sees the departure of another cast member, while growing the character of Lieutenant Worf in significant ways.

77% of this season merits watching. Some of the episodes introduces characters and plot points that begin to lay the groundwork for TNG’s sister show, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which was still a few years out from its debut. Ten of these episodes are considered essential viewing.

Ep. No.	Title	Stardate	See/Skip
04×01*	The Best of Both Worlds \| P art II	44001.4	W
04×02*	Family	44012.3	W
04×03*	Brothers	44085.7	W
04×04	Suddenly Human	44143.7	S
04×05	Remember Me	44161.2	W
04×06	Legacy	44215.2	W
04×07	Reunion	44246.3	W
04×08	Future Imperfect	44286.5	W
04×09*	Final Mission	44307.3	W
04×10	The Loss	44356.9	S
04×11	Data’s Day	44390.1	W
04×12*	The Wounded	44474.5	W
04×13	Devil’s Due	44474.5	S
04×14	Clues	44504.7	S
04×15	First Contact	Unknown	W
04×16	Galaxy’s Child	44614.6	W
04×17	Night Terrors	44631.2	S
04×18	Identity Crisis	44664.5	W
04×19	The Nth Degree	44704.2	W
04×20	Qpid	44741.9	W
04×21	The Drumhead	44769.2	W
04×22	Half a Life	44805.3	W
04×23	The Host	44821.3	S
04×24	The Mind’s Eye	44885.5	W
04×26	In Theory	44932.3	W
04×26*	Redemption	44995.3	W

SEASON 5

Season Five of TNG boast not one, not two, but three of the most critically acclaimed episodes of the series. Riding high off of the prior season, a full 81% of the season is worth watching. Of note, this season aired with the premier of the final Original Series film The Undiscovered Country of which, Unification, Parts One and Two is a loose connection/crossover. Ten of these episodes are essential viewing.

Ep. No.	Title	Stardate	See/Skip
05×01*	Redemption \| Part II	45020.4	W
05×02*	Darmok	45047.2	W
05×03*	Ensign Ro	45076.3	W
05×04*	Silicon Avatar	45122.3	W
05×05	Disaster	45156.1	W
05×06	The Game	45208.2	W
05×07*	Unification I	45233.1	W
05×08*	Unification II	45245.8	W
05×09	A Matter of Time	45349.1	S
05×10	New Ground	45376.3	W
05×11	Hero Worship	45397.3	S
05×12	Violations	45429.3	S
05×13	The Masterpiece Society	45470.1	S
05×14	Conundrum	45494.2	W
05×15	Power Play	45571.2	W
05×16	Ethics	45587.3	W
05×17	The Outcast	45614.6	W
05×18*	Cause and Effect	45652.1	W
05×19	The First Duty	45703.9	W
05×20	Cost of Living	45733.6	W
05×21	The Perfect Mate	45761.3	W
05×22	Imaginary Friend	45832.1	S
05×23*	I, Borg	45854.2	W
05×24	The Next Phase	45892.4	W
05×25*	The Inner Light	45944.1	W
05×26*	Time’s Arrow	45959.1	W

SEASON 6

Season Six saw the launch of TNG’s daring new sister show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The road paved in Season Five is well-paid for in the two, two-part episodes that frame up the first half and the second half of the season.

The penultimate season pulls in a 73% watch ratio with nine episodes deemed essential viewing.

Ep. No.	Title	Stardate	See/Skip
06×01*	Time’s Arrow \| Part II	46001.3	W
06×02	Realm of Fear	46041.1	W
06×03	Man of the People	46071.6	S
06×04*	Relics	46125.3	W
06×05	Schisms	46154.2	S
06×06	True Q	46192.3	W
06×07	Rascals	46235.7	S
06×08	A Fistful of Datas	46271.5	S
06×09	The Quality of Life	46307.2	W
06×10*	Chain of Command \| Part I	46357.4	W
06×11*	Chain of Command \| Part II	46360.8	W
06×12	Ship in a Bottle	46424.1	W
06×13	Aquiel	46461.3	S
06×14	Face of the Enemy	46519.0	W
06×15*	Tapestry	Unknown	W
06×16*	Birthright \| Part I	46578.4	W
06×17*	Birthright \| Part II	46579.2	W
06×18	Starship Mine	46682.4	W
06×19	Lessons	46682.4	W
06×20	The Chase	46731.5	S
06×21*	Frame of Mind	46778.1	W
06×22	Suspicions	46830.1	S
06×23	Rightful Heir	46852.2	W
06×24	Second Chances	46915.2	W
06×25	Timescape	46944.2	W
06×26*	Descent	46982.1	W

SEASON 7

The final season of this triumphant sci-fi series, while good, doesn’t quite have the same drive as the prior four seasons of the show. That isn’t to say that there aren’t great episodes throughout, but, I ended up with only 65% of the season worth seeing. Of that percentage, six episodes are essential (including the feature-length finale).

Ep. No.	Title	Stardate	See/Skip
07×01*	Descent \| Part II	47025.4	W
07×02	Liaisons	Unknown	S
07×03	Interface	47215.5	S
07×04	Gambit \| Part I	47135.2	W
07×05	Gambit \| Part II	47160.1	W
07×06	Phantasms	47225.7	S
07×07	Dark Page	47254.1	W
07×08	Attached	47304.2	W
07×09	Force of Nature	47310.2	W
07×11	Parallels	47391.2	W
07×10	Inheritance	47410.2	W
07×12*	The Pegasus	47457.1	W
07×13	Homeward	47423.9	W
07×14	Sub Rosa	Unknown	S
07×15*	Lower Decks	47566.7	W
07×16	Thine Own Self	47611.2	W
07×17	Masks	47615.2	S
07×18	Eye of the Beholder	47622.1	S
07×19	Genesis	47653.2	S
07×20*	Journey’s End	47751.2	W
07×21	Firstborn	47779.4	W
07×22	Bloodlines	47829.1	S
07×23	Emergence	47869.2	S
07×24*	Preemptive Strike	47941.7	W
07×25 & 07×26*	All Good Things…	47988.0	W

At the end of the series 71% is worth watching. I do suggest watching the lovingly remastered version of the show. The CBS team did a wonderful job really pulling the color, clarity, and detail forward out of the original negatives and by re-compositing the original special effects.