25 Episodes for 25 years of TNG

While the first season isn't exactly consistent or particularly great, it is full of eagerness and shows at least a small beginning on a show that helped define my childhood. Of all of season 1, Skin of Evil is the most impressive for a number of reasons. It is one of the first episodes where you feel a sense of eerie seriousness that reveals something that very few TV shows ever have the balls to do. While the episode starts off slowly, ot of seemingly nowhere Tahsa Yar (played by Denise Crosby) is unceremoniously killed by a malevolent entity and marks one of the shortest main cast stints that I can remember. I still remember being stunned that a major character was just killed off, and in such a pedestrian manner. What is perhaps more interesting is what will come later from this move, but more on that later.

This episode brings together two often used and entertaining elements of Star Trek in general. An episode that wrestles with decisions of morality and a further exploration a main character, namely Lt. Cmdr Data. At the surface this episode's premise boils down to, "Is it alive?", and "does it have rights?" My investment however was far more personal as Data is one of my favorite characters of the series (thanks in part to Brent Spiner being a fantastic actor) and through certain elements of the episode (Riker being forced to become the adversary). This episode also begins to give rise to another and often used element in TNG, a platform for Patrick Stewart (sorry, sir Patrick Stewart) to flex his dramatic abilities. All in all, though this is an earlier episode and therefore a little clumsy still, it still represents some of the best of TNG for me.

While not the first episode to feature the Borg (The Neutral Zone), it is the first episode where it is made very apparent. While the opening and appearance of Q might seem initially that the episode might turn out as the last one (aeh), it swiftly changes into a deadly seriousness that has lasting repercussions. There are clues from the season 1 finale that are now connected, and a general foreboding of things to come. While the representation of the Borg isn't yet entirely consistent with their later iteration, it is still nonetheless is an important stepping stone that imparted an uneasiness and eerie feeling that bigger things are yet on the horizon.

The beginnings of season 3 marks a turn in both production quality and writing quality from the previous seasons (and new uniforms). While this episode doesn't exactly start out in the best fashion (though I do understand the apparent necessity), the backdrop of the Promelian battlecruiser and an unsuspecting trap provided a great background from which to explore this idea, and the accompanying "how the ____ do we get out?". It's a good episode for Levar Burton (Geordi La Forge), but I should also mention that after two years, the entire cast is now beginning to work very well with each other.

mmm, prune juice. Whoopi Goldberg is one of the more scarce characters on the show, but she provides an avenue for some very interesting insight or thoughts on varying situations such as in Q Who. She's never forceful with her suggestions, so when in this episode she visibly becomes so, it gives the situation an added level of uneasiness. Also, hi Tasha! I think the main thing that stood out to me was that it showed a very different and wearied picture of the federation, and adds a number of colorings on historical events, and of things to come.

Immediately following Yesterday's Enterprise is one episode that made a big impression on me when I was first watching it. While it is another Data episode this one is easily my favorite. Combine that with a number of cheeky humorous elements, or nice touches (verbal contraction/emotional awareness), as well as an interesting echoing of some of the issues in The Measure of a Man. Yes I am being a little sentimental but variety is the spice of life, and this shows a different, more emotional side of TNG that isn't seen as often.

A few times in its history, we are treated to a melding of worlds which bring characters from one Star Trek series into another. We first see this in Encounter at Farpoint and it really doesn't have much of an impact, save for a "passing the torch" exclamation. Here is where these universes are combined in one of the most compelling executions to date. Sarek a vulcan, is given the opportunity to seal an important treaty to end his long and prestigious career, but this isn't what is so compelling about this episode. Early on you know something is wrong and it only spirals downward into one of Cpt. Picard's best moments in TNG. For a brief period we get to see Patrick Stewart really flex his muscles in a dynamic way that we have not seen previously. This is the single thing that stayed with me all these years later, holy ___ he's a good actor.

Nothing I can say here adequately imparts how important this episode is. The Best of Both Worlds is one of the most important moments in Star Trek history, and probably one that needs no introduction due to how impactful and well executed it was. If you have never seen this one, enjoy it.

One of the great things that TNG solidified was the fleshing out of the Klingon people. Reunion builds upon two previous episodes and small elements her and there and sets the stage for something much bigger, but this episode is nonetheless a good one. In an unexpected turn of events, Picard must arbitrate the rite of succession of the leader of the Klingon Empire. We get Klingons, the introduction of Gowron (those eyes), and a measure of retribution along with it. Overall this is a fantastic episode, save for Alexander (an ok idea, but he is a problem that keeps coming back).

In another Klingon oriented episode, Geordi La Forge is abducted by Romulans to take part in an unknown gambit designed for some purpose. Originally I was leaning towards including The Enemy, which is another good Geordi episode, but what changed my mind is the last scene with Counselor Troi as it if in a small way, explored the idea of brainwashing and its psychological repercussions. I also felt that this had a much more foreboding feeling to it leading to some nice moments in the drama.

In the culmination of all of the previous Klingon centered episodes, the Empire is thrust into civil war over and it is up to the Enterprise crew to save the day. Ok so that's a little hyperbolic, but without revealing too much, we also find out some interesting connections to other episodes and eerie realizations about why all of this has happened in the first place. Again, this is some of the very best of TNG and a must see.

Following Redemption, we get to change gears significantly and meet The Children of Tama. It's not the most exciting episode, per se, but it is a clever excursion in communication and diplomacy that incited an investigative curiosity that I always appreciated. I think what was cleverly done was the choice of directed confusion by using English to disguise how they communicated. It also, along with something that Toi states in The Ensigns of Command, highlights how we perceive communication.

The third of four episodes to feature cast members of the original Star Trek, this is the probably most prestigious of them, though I still prefer Sarek. The premise of the episode prominently features Leonard Nimoy (Spock) in another defector/Romulan centered episode, but with Spock as the defector, or what is at least perceived that way. I generally like Romulan episodes because of their move, counter move nature and all of the subterfuge involved, and this one is very good, featuring Cmdr. Sela once again (Picard messed up this timeline badly) with Sarek also making a return, reinforcing a more closely personal investment to the mission. Overall it's just a well written and well executed episode.

Of all of TNG, this episode still stands out to me as one of the memories that had the biggest lasting impression. Surprise the Enterprise is dead!!!! Sorry, jk jk. This opening however is much like clues where you are tasked with figuring out what is going on, and eventually how do we prevent this calamity from occuring (also seen in a number of other episodes as well). Of all the other episodes where this idea is present, none execute it nearly as well as this one does. 8 A Q 4, now what?

Following a Romulan relief effort, Ro and Geordi are killed in a terrible transporter accident... or are they? This one is also one of my favorite episodes of TNG partially because they don't reveal anything for 8 minutes into the show, and only then does the episode really begin to develop in a really fun way. I like Romulans, they make for such good antagonists. The fly on the wall aspect can be pretty interesting and fun too. Oh and a phased cloak you say?

I will forget some of the conceptual problems with the phased not phased (e.g. floors don't count) thing as the rest of the episode is pretty darned good.

Yet another good Picard episode. I mean, what the heck is wrong with me? It's like I enjoy watching good actors or something...Anyway, I think this episode is also one of the more memorable ones due to a very creative way to impart cultural knowledge to others. It also won a Hugo award, so I guess other people consider this episode to be pretty good too.

I think we have a thematic development going on here...While I did like The Inner Light, for me personally I enjoyed Chain of Command far more. I guess It has to do with the political and military conflict between the Cardassians and the Federation. I am not as enamored with part one as it largely serves as escalation (not that it is bad by any estimation), but part two takes the scene and runs with it. The highlight of seeing Picard as a prisoner and the psychological warfare that commences between he and David Warner (whom I always associate with Gargoyles, a TNG heavy cartoon show) is simply superb.

Picard suffers a mortal wound to his heart, dies, and meets god. No, not Flash, and not that other guy either. In fact god turns out to be John de Lancie, and the afterlife is well...uh, white? This was an interesting excursion into how each decision we make shapes our lives and how being aware of them that we may be more reticent of the direction our life takes. Overall it was fun to see the perception of a young, brash, and arrogant Picard, and how a single event changed the outcome of his entire life.

"I may be surrounded by insanity, but I am not insane!"

What a Mindfuck. The word that probably best describes what a younger version of me would take from this episode. First Riker is in a play, then in an insane asylum, and then like a pendulum keeps shifting back and forth between the two realities in a way where you don't know what is real (there are subtle references to Future Imperfect). This perceptual breakdown was a really interesting look at how our mind creates defensive mechanisms in order to preserve our psychological stability, and how in a dramatic way we can manipulate this misdirection in an interesting and engaging way.

It's too bad that not much of Star Trek past TNG really does too well when dealing with the conundrum that is time travel. Most of it is poorly conceived or is akin to bad fan service (Enterprise wtf genius), however, the way in which time is dealt with in this episode is actually quite interesting. Instead of time being linear, it is simultaneously forwards, backwards, and stationary (for all intensive purposes). This is what makes this episode so interesting as it becomes a puzzle to correctly solve, and there's only one chance to succeed. Along with the past Romulan episodes it casts a level of wary behavior from us as we've seen something similar, that was an elaborate plot to try to destroy the Enterprise previously (The Next Phase).

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I'll forget that the first "huh?" moment defied physics (how troi isn't affected by the bubble is...oh, whoops XD), because this episode is another good one.

Much like the episodes Cause and Effect and The Next Phase, the opening of this episode begins with a bang, and then slowly reveals the truth behind the setting. However, like The Next Phase, it takes its time in revealing important pieces of the story (halfway into the first part), and the other pieces of the puzzle. The title fits nicely with a number of recurring elements of the episode and at a number of levels within that as well. Learning about some Vulcan history was also a nice touch, considering that this, along with the Andorians and other primary federation races aren't really explored much in TNG (much of that happens in Enterprise, but is rather contentious there).

Parallels is a great episode that deals again with this idea of shifting, but instead of reality shifting, or time, it is Worf who is shifting dimensions, with only small clues strewn here and there for him to put the puzzle together. Part of me liked the interesting development of Troi and Worf getting together, but in retrospect I disliked how it is executed because what eventually happens with Klingon culture is that it is slowly homogenizes with Human culture over the entirety of Star Trek, and loses its uniqueness and flare (the later Worf/Dax marriage is a big simultaneously good and horrendous for this reason). Anyway, it is also nice that within this episode we can catch a glimpse of other outcomes that could have happened in TNG's 7 season history, had things played out slightly differently.

"Captain Picard day? Oh yes, it's a, it's for the children.. (lower right hand corner )." So we start with some humor, then some intrigue and then a younger Terry O`Quinn (most recently known as John Locke from LOST) suddenly appears to complicate what is supposedly just a "search and recovery" mission and becomes far more complicated and surreptitious in nature. Add a Romulan flair to it and you have a mix of some very good elements that make for an entertaining episode.

This episode isn't exactly my favorite Data episode, but it is beyond a doubt my favorite Brent Spiner episode as he gets an amazing setting from which to dazzle with his dramatic skills. Part of the reason is that the perceptual requirements of the characters he portrays is substantially different than that of Lore, or Dr. Sung, and so they feel very new or foreign to us. This also brings into fruition the oft talked about but not as often shown expertise of Picard regarding archaeology (also seen in Gambit and a few others). Here it is presented in an interesting fashion in confronting an archive of information and having very little time in which to decipher its meaning. Regardless, Spiner is the real attraction to this episode.

Also Counselor, it is properly referred to as Dissociative Identity disorder. Welcome to the 21st century.

How could I not include this episode. It has so many exceptionally good things going for it that appear in a lot of TNG (and like The Inner Light won a Hugo), and though I noted that I did not include the Pilot episode, in a way the finale includes that as we end where we began. Finales can also be sometimes contentious as they have to appropriately wrap things up, and thankfully this does an excellent job at doing so. Not much else to say other than it's a great episode that wraps up the series very nicely.

I should also mention that there are a few irregularities strewn here and there, like if it's a paradox, how does the time distortion grow simultaneously forwards and backwards, and why the tachyon pulses come from 3 enterprises, but in fact one comes from the Pasteur. If you can ignore these things (which today are somewhat of a blemish) this is a highly engaging episode.