JUST FINISHED TNG FOR THE FIRST TIME! Here are my top 3 episodes of each season, would love a discussion…
Posted by drop_dead_fred_91@reddit | TNG | View on Reddit | 47 comments
I don’t care if it’s cheating, I’m counting 2-parters as 1 episode.
Season 1:
- When the Bough Breaks (1x17)
- Too Short A Season (1x16)
- We’ll Always Have Paris (1x24)
Season 2:
- The Emissary (2x20)
- A Matter of Honor (2x8)
- Pen Pals (2x15)
Season 3:
- Who Watches the Watchers (3x4)
- Sins of the Father (3x17)
- Yesterday’s Enterprise (3x15)
Season 4: [This is where choosing begins to get difficult]
- First Contact (4x15)
- Redemption (4x25-5x1)
- Half A Life (4x22)
Season 5: [Wow, what a season. It was difficult to exclude so many great episodes from my top 3]
The Outcast (5x17) lands in a league of its own. This is a very special one but it was held back in my ranking due to it being such a depressing one-off. So it had to place as my only honorable mention.
- I, Borg (5x23)
- Disaster (5x5)
- The First Duty (5x19)
Season 6:
- Lessons (6x19)
- Chain of Command (6x10-6x11)
- Second Chances (6x24)
Season 7:
All Good Things is an automatic honorable mention because of course this fantastic finale will land in any fan’s top episodes. I’m opting not to rank it to give my choices some variety.
- Lower Decks (7x15)
- Gambit (7x5-7x5)
- Parallels (7x11)
seaseaseattle@reddit
No “The Measure of a Man” on your list? I’d be interested in hearing why as it’s generally regarded as a turning point in the show.
kizami_nori@reddit
Speaking for myself personally:
Measure is great as a whole, but it does have some issues with its script. Snodgrass generally wrote some on-the-nose stuff and this has elements of that.
I love the episode, but a few things are very "no-collar seasons" about it: Maddox is a little too cartoonishly evil, the JAG romance subplot is very soap opera, and making Riker the opposing attorney is absolutely bonkers.
None of this is enough where I'd put it below Pen Pals, though.
dbldown11@reddit
Admiral Haftel from The Offspring is a much better version of Maddox, imo. Still kind of a prick about Data and his (and Lal's) rights, but has a somewhat reasonable position, seems to genuinely want what's best for Lal/androidkind, and doesn't hesitate for a moment to help Data try to save his daughter.
Ralph--Hinkley@reddit
"There was nothing anyone could have done. We'd repolarize one pathway, and another would collapse. And then another. His hands were moving faster than I could see, trying to stay ahead of each breakdown. He refused to give up. He was remarkable."
NatalieVonCatte@reddit
I’ve always been disappointed that they went in the direction of an “emotion chip” after this.
It makes more sense for Data to bootstrap himself to having emotions than get them from a chip, especially if we know from Lore that the emotions Soong could program into his androids aren’t really genuine, and his attempt at an emotional android was dangerously unstable.
An emotionless machine would know when to stop trying to save Lal. An emotionless machine wouldn’t care about Lal’s development or choices at all. An emotionless machine wouldn’t have a collection of medals, or possess a keepsake of a deceased friend and lover. An emotionless machine wouldn’t care about humor, or trying to be friends with Geordi, or earning respect or honor as a Starfleet officer. An emotionless machine wouldn’t care if someone mispronounces its name. It would remain still and do nothing and desire nothing until someone told it to do otherwise.
IMO the emotion chip was a betrayal of Measure of a Man. Data isn’t a puppet, he doesn’t need a puppeteer with strings to make him cry or laugh. He can learn to feel real feelings on his own, and just because they’re not the same feelings that a human being would feel doesn’t mean they’re any less real, or valid.
Ralph--Hinkley@reddit
You make a good point that I cannot argue with.
eritter688@reddit
😢
kizami_nori@reddit
From Renee Echevarria. His teleplays aren't always the most Star Trek, but he writes fantasticly "human" characters.
Even if I don't like an episode of his, I'll always remember the one-off characters from them.
drop_dead_fred_91@reddit (OP)
I don’t know if I can articulate exactly why. I watched most of the series blind but I had that episode spoiled for me in its entirety beforehand so I already knew what to expect and maybe that had an effect.
glsco@reddit
I actually really enjoy seeing your list as someone who came to the series blind. TNG has been around so long and debated so often that there is kind of a canon of best episodes that folks just immediately use to populate these kinds of lists. Nice to see a different approach, and really nice to see some love for a few episodes I’ve always loved (Disaster!) that often get overlooked since they aren’t part of that canon.
Ralph--Hinkley@reddit
"Congratulations, you are now fully dilated. You may now give birth."
kaptiankuff@reddit
How do you not have best of both worlds and redemption on your list
VVarder@reddit
I remember our local affiliate would do rankings of top ten episodes every few years. Best of both worlds and inner light were the top 3 every time
drop_dead_fred_91@reddit (OP)
The 2nd half of Best of Both Worlds isn’t as strong to me as the first half. I still love it in its entirety but Redemption is more consistent to me. Maybe Best of Both Worlds would have meant more to me had I seen the show in its original airing. I also went in with spoilers for that particular 2-parter.
wrosmer@reddit
What about family the unofficial 3rd part of the 2 parter
I_only_post_here@reddit
Not seeing Inner Light or Tapestry seem to stand out to me.
drop_dead_fred_91@reddit (OP)
Those would have been numbers 4 and 5 if the list was bigger. Maybe Inner Light would have ranked higher if the episode had a lasting effect on Picard but the only thing he carries forward is the flute. Having been a father and grandfather never factors in to how he behaves as captain.
Overall_Falcon_8526@reddit
Interesting S1 picks. I would go with Where No One Has Gone Before, 11001001, and Conspiracy.
YT-Deliveries@reddit
Neither The Royale, nor Cause and Effect, nor Night Terrors detected. List rejected. /s
Ralph--Hinkley@reddit
No 10011100? The Binars is one of the best season one episodes.
External_Mushroom674@reddit
I respect your list. You like the Klingon episodes more than I do, but I like that your list includes some episodes that aren’t always mentioned as some of the all-time favorites
drop_dead_fred_91@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I realized while making the list by the time I got to like season 4 how much I seemed to favor the Klingon storylines. Pretty much all they are great to me. Except Birthright is a mixed bag.
Ralph--Hinkley@reddit
That's okay, I really dig the Klingon episodes also. Something about the lore of the Empire, and how there is always a struggle to lead.
bbbourb@reddit
Gonna get a lot of these, I think, but the shocking omission for me is Measure of a Man.
But each viewer has their own taste, and the ones you liked ARE good episodes all.
GentlyBisexual@reddit
This is “Arsenal of Freedom” erasure!
…I jest. One of the best things about TNG (heck, about all Trek) I think is that there is actually something for everyone, and I love hearing what really hits for folks outside the commonly-accepted best episodes.
Worldly-Ad-9303@reddit
This one is one of those posts where everyone tells you that you've missed this episode or that episode. Well I'm not going to do that as we all have a right to our own opinions.....no I can't help myself!
BUT ARE YOU MAD? MISSING OFF 'BEST OF BOTH WORLDS' WHAT THE HELL WHERE YOU THINKING??? NO EXCUSES ACCEPTED!!
(Calms down)
Not a bad list though, as I say each to their own. 🙃
PS "Drumhead", "Schims", "Night Terror's" (those 2 because I liked a spooky episode)and "The Measure of a Man" would have been on my list, but TBH it would probably have been easier (and much quicker) to make a list of episodes I didn't like!
RegularAd8140@reddit
No The Inner Light? Blasphemy!
dexterous1802@reddit
No Darmok, Drumhead or Masterpiece Society either. 🙁
mvaaam@reddit
Or Measure of a Man
drop_dead_fred_91@reddit (OP)
I love Masterpiece Society, it was so close to making the list. But it should have been a 2-parter. The relationship between Deanna & Conor could have been flushed out more and not so rushed.
dexterous1802@reddit
I didn't care for that subplot. The A story was what appealed to me most. In fact, I once showed a friend this episode to settle our argument regarding eugenics. They believed selective genetic manipulation had widespread medical application to societal benefit outside of political/race-based ideologies.
I would've been much happier with a B plot that dealt with the nuances of the lives of individuals in the society and how predetermined roles affect things we take for granted in our daily lives.
drop_dead_fred_91@reddit (OP)
Like I said, season 5 was the hardest to choose. I didn’t want to make too big a list or cheat by including tons of honorable mentions. Had it been a top 5 for each season, it would have included The Inner Light & Tapestry.
RegularAd8140@reddit
I haven’t seen most of the show since it was on TV but I do remember the middle seasons being awesome! The first 2 are mid, 3-5 is classic TNG, and 6-7 is good too but after 6-7 seasons shows like this usually get stale
drop_dead_fred_91@reddit (OP)
5 & 6 were my favorites for sure. I think that’s when Ronald Moore became a consistent writer on the show.
JCEE4129@reddit
Any love for "The Most Toys"?
TiredCeresian@reddit
Parallels might be my favorite season 7 episode. :)
Emergency-Gazelle954@reddit
Where’s Cause and Effect?
drop_dead_fred_91@reddit (OP)
Not a favorite. Probably mostly has to do with the fact there’s no stakes. There’s no consequences if they don’t make it out, other than the begin the day (or however long) again. In Happy Death Day, the main character’s health degrades a little every time she dies so she has to figure out how to survive or she’ll legitimately die and stay dead. There’s no hook like that to Cause and Effect.
Jgolu12@reddit
How do you not have this two parter in your list! Unification 1&2.
Anooj4021@reddit
Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but I find this 2-parter to be rather mid.
Seeing Spock (and Sarek) again is certainly nice.
But the episode is incredibly muddled on what ”reunification” entails. Is it a political union? Spock being in discussion with Romulan government members implies so, but how can a totalitarian empire and a single planet in another political entity possibly undergo this? Why exactly would it be desireable even? If that’s the implication, why doesn’t Spock more strongly sense the Proconsul’s willingness as the obvious trap that it is? It makes him seem very naive.
Now, if it’s a matter of Vulcan-Romulan cultural interchange, that makes far more sense. But the episode never truly clarifies this. Also, we never see Vulcans (aside from Spock, maybe) who are curious about Romulan culture in this context, so the episode unintentionally makes it seem like it would be a kind of ”natural destiny” for Romulans to embrace Vulcan way of life.
We’re also told Spock and Pardek have known each other for a long time and all that, but no interesting dynamic between them is presented, so Pardek’s betrayal falls flat. Let’s not forget about Sela; The character already has a silly soap opera backstory, but this time around she has a moronic plan of conquering a core Federation world - that probably doesn’t even border Romulan space - with just a few thousand troops, somehow intending to kerp it, which makes no sense at all. Why would her superiors sign off on this? I know they’re an empire, but this also seems strategically random on top of being implausible.
Much of Part 1 also just false ”mystery plot” padding, even if often consisting of entertaining scenes, as we the audience know Spock wouldn’t really do some evil heel turn. It could maybe work if there was some dramatic tension of needing to prove he’s not a traitor (”I know Spock. I mind-melded with his father!”), but the episode isn’t obviously about that, so there’s a missed opportunity of having more Spock in Part 1, as that could allow some of the muddled ”reunification” philosophizing to be better clarified.
toasty99@reddit
My head cannon was that this was the “first wave” in a much larger invasion. (Like the equivalent of the paratroopers jumping in on the night before D-Day).
drop_dead_fred_91@reddit (OP)
One of my favorites of the series. Just goes to show how good season 5 is. But the way they escape the Romulans in part II is amusing but also anticlimactic so I think that’s what kinda held it back. But it was the best Spock we had got in a long time. He was closer to TOS Spock than he was in the films.
lifegoodis@reddit
No Shades of Gray!?
drop_dead_fred_91@reddit (OP)
And if I had to pick a favorite episode of all time, it’s probably a tie between Lower Decks & Lessons.
kizami_nori@reddit
I've rewatched TNG dozens of times now. If you ever get around to it, it'd be interesting to see what changes or stays the same in your preferences.
Episodes I didn't like as a kid are top tier now, and vice versa.
rdt_48695@reddit
I'm fascinated by Too Short a Season! I thought the Admiral's acting in that episode is terrible but his wife's acting was superb.
Genuine love or 'best of a bad bunch'?
drop_dead_fred_91@reddit (OP)
I genuinely like it (more than other season 1 episodes). I was surprised to find out it’s landed on many “Worst Star Trek Episodes” lists. I don’t love it or anything, it’s slim pickings in season 1.