Ranking All The Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes (Part 7)

This is the seventh and final part in a series; the first six parts can be found here (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 as well as the Picard tea pot piece). Oops! It’s been almost four years, but this series is finally finished!

20. Timescape (TNG 625)

Picard, Data, Troi, and Geordi return from a conference to find the Enterprise frozen in battle with a Romulan warbird.

Another disaster in space episode with a helping of temporal issue. If I was re-doing this list today, I would probably switch this episode with S5 “Cause and Effect,” which I think is probably the best space problems/temporal disaster episode, but 4 years ago when I initially started this project, I guess that wasn’t the case.

One of the things I like about this one is it starts with some road trip vibes. Picard and co. take a runabout to go to a conference and we meet up with them on the return journey as they discuss what they enjoyed and disliked about the conference and its just nice to get a glimpse into the recreational life of the Enterprise crew, especially this sort of off-ship activity.

This one also flips the script on the “Romulans are bad and treacherous” thing. Both ships are actually trying to work together and end up helping some aliens in the process. That time is moving at different speeds in this pocket of space is an interesting plot choice as well and its fun to navigate that.

Also, this is the one where Picard makes a happy face out of the warp core vapor and that’s a really terrific moment.

19. The Emissary (TNG 220)

Special Emissary K’Ehleyr arrives (after having travelled in a torpedo!) to deal with a Klingon battle cruiser that has woken up from suspended animation and still thinks the Empire is at war with the Federation. Small hitch: she’s one of Worf’s former lovers.

This episode is perfectly fine but is probably way to high for most people’s tastes. I don’t really think it’s among the ‘best’ TNG episodes, but it’s among my favourites for one simple reason: K’Ehleyr. She is awesome. Terrific. She manages to have great chemistry with Worf, despite him having all the personality of plywood in this one, because she brings it. She’s smart and insightful, strong and physical, vulnerable, funny, witty, and tender. And stylish! I love her outfits so much! We don’t get a lot of variety when it comes to Klingon civilian wear (we don’t get much in the way of non-military looks at all to be honest), and hers is undoubtedly the most memorable. It somehow manages to say: ‘I’m a young interstellar diplomat, but I’m always ready for callisthenics and chill.’ I wonder who her tailor is?

18. Unification (TNG 507, 508)

Without warning, the legendary Ambassador Spock travels to Romulus. Starfleet worries he’s defected and sends Picard and Data to investigate. They find out Spock is working with Romulan dissidents to reunite Romulans and Vulcans.

Full disclosure: I was never overly keen on the TOS guest stars on TNG (somehow we got everyone on TNG/Generations with the exception of Sulu and Uhura?? That seems bad). Do I absolutely love the familiar cameos we’ve seen on Picard? Yes!!! Do I love the nostalgia-fueled concept of that show? Yes!!! Am I a hypocrite? Yep! Do I care? I do not. One of the things that bugged me about rebooting Trek with the Kelvin Timeline and setting Discovery in the TOS era was….can we move on please? Now, I do also love Disco and I love 2 of the 3 Kelvin Timeline movies, but the constant nostalgia for 60s Trek just doesn’t take into account all the viewers who came of age during that golden 1987–2005 period of Trek on TV.

Anyway, given that this is a nostalgia Spock piece (and the first half is a nostalgia Sarek piece) it’s still pretty damn good. Unifying the distant cousin Romulans and Vulcans absolutely feels like the project Spock would undertake in the Emeritus period of his life. The Romulans are also peak TNG Romulans here: Pardek, Neral, and Sela (providing excellent TNG nostalgia with Denise Crosby) are all the Height of Treachery and that’s a good thing. But like we see in the earlier “The Enemy” and “The Defector,” we get glimpses of a better future with characters like D’Tan and some of the other dissidents. The additional layer of Sarek’s death and Picard having to deliver that news adds a personal element, but really Picard acting as an intermediary between estranged father and son is well done and Spock getting closure to a relationship first presented as strained 25 years earlier in TOS’ “Journey to Babel” is actually exceptional. That it also functions as a telling of real-world politics (the Reunification of Germany and the broader dissolution of the Soviet Union) really cements its place among the best Trek episodes.

17. Reunion (TNG 407)

Picard acts as arbiter for the Klingon Empire’s selection of a new Chancellor and uncovers who killed K’mpec, the previous Chancellor. Duras and K’Ehleyr return, the latter brings a son, Alexander.

Look, there are serious problems with TNG’s Worf-Klingon Empire arc. While TOS’ depiction of Klingons was overtly racist, TNG’s was a little more subtle. Still, portraying a species largely made up of people of colour as noble, honourable, yet primitive (in terms of intellectual curiosity, technology etc) warriors is incredibly problematic. What we see of Qo’noS (the Klingon home world) is “dark” and “mysterious”. TNG cemented what modern Klingon mythology and aesthetics are and it carried through DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise (which at least pushed back on the intellectual part). Even Disco, which re-envisioned Klingon aesthetics, still had to contended with the characteristics cemented in TNG. Having white dude Picard pick the next leader of the Klingons is a little on the nose. It’s times like these when the English accented, French captain provides a layer of colonialism that probably isn’t intended but is certainly telling, revealing a Starfleet/Federation that isn’t all that different from some of the forces in our world.

That several of the Klingon-centric episode rank relatively high on my list despite these issues is a testament to my love of certain, specific Klingon characters. When I was a little kid, Worf was my absolute favourite. He was big, physical, and funny and always got to go on away missions. These are appealing traits. He always tried to do the right, honourable thing. He was friends with Tasha and Riker, two of my favourites. He had friends, was part of a crew, but was still deeply lonely, and on some level, I connected with that as a queer person. Worf really struggles in this one, with the return of K’Ehleyr, with the realization he has a son, and with the realization that the discommendation he accepted to save the empire now has an impact on an innocent child.

We get introduced to Gowron, who is legendary. THOSE EYES. Duras is terrible, pathetic, sinister. Love how he brings the Romulans into everything. He makes the most of his limited screen time. When Worf kills him, the shot of the bat’leth sticking out of his throat is terrific. Even the dying K’mpec, who’s a metaphor for the state of the Klingon Empire, hits all the right notes.

K’Ehleyr is back and is wonderful. The way she goes toe-to-toe with Duras and Gowron is terrific. Her scenes with Worf and Picard are also wonderful. She really should have been the next chancellor. That the writers killed her off after only two appearances is another mark in the “actually, the TNG writers could be pretty misogynistic!” box, unfortunately.

16. Face of the Enemy (614)

Troi is abducted, surgically altered to look Romulan, and is forced to pose as a major in the Tal Shiar to aid the defection of several high-ranking members of the Underground movement.

I don’t have that much to say about this episode, it’s just really really enjoyable. Troi kicks ass in this one, and while some may claim it’s out of character, there are brief moments throughout the series that suggest Troi has absolutely no time for your petty shit. Troi has a lot of haters, but this one showed that she knows her stuff, that she’s an excellent critical thinker (she’s an excellent critical thinker throughout the show but that gets ignored because she’s the most femme regular in the Star Trek universe), and that she’s highly adaptable, all great skills for a senior officer.

Shoutout to Carolyn Seymour who plays Commander Toreth in this episode. Seymour plays a different type of Romulan commander in S2 and Mirasta Yale, a government official with a passion for space in S4. Seymour is one of the best guest stars on TNG; all of her work on the series is terrific. Watching her go toe-to-toe with Troi is a treat, but while in many ways she is a very typical Romulan in that she is treacherous, she brings a surprising amount of depth to the role and portrays a more nuanced Romulan devotion to duty and loyalty than we’re used to seeing. The dinner scene where Toreth is questioning Troi to try and figure out if she’s legit is wonderful: tense and awkward, through the course of the scene Troi really steps into her role. It’s great.

15. Redemption (TNG 426, 501)

The Enterprise is on hand to participate in the installation of Chancellor Gowron, which turns into a civil war when the Duras sisters, Lursa and B’Etor, appear on the scene. Worf leaves Starfleet to fight in the Klingon Civil War. Eventually, Gowron is victorious.

This episode concludes a narrative arc begun in S3 with “Sins of the Father” and continued in S4 with “Reunion”. A tidy bit of business for a storyline that began as a one-off. This is a classic action cliff-hanger involving some of our favourite aliens (Klingons and Romulans).

We get treated to a trio of great villain introductions: Lursa, B’Etor, and Sela (Tasha Yar’s half-Romulan daughter, the result of an alternate timeline where Yar served on the Enterprise C, see S3 “Yesterday’s Enterprise”). Picard gets to square off with both Sela and the Duras sisters and both scenes are very entertaining. Worf gets to bond with Kurn, which is nice! But Worf also devises a pretty cunning plan to support Gowron and restore the family’s honour, and its nice to see that work out for the Sons of Mogh.

I actually really love the B-plot in this one. There’s nothing like a well-executed blockade! (I’m being serious). The tachyon detection grid is a nice bit of engineering from Geordi, and the way it evens things out with the Romulans is a nice touch (I do not like the Treaty of Algeron). Data in command is awesome, JLP’s initial hesitation to give him a command is not. Data having to put up with the absolute shit that is Christopher Hobson is terrible but a great Starfleet villain and a worthy successor to Bruce Maddox for the crown of “bigots who deny Data’s personhood.”

While they give a tremendous performance, it’s truly infuriating that Lursa and B’Etor can’t just run for Chancellorship on their own (or joint!!), especially since Star Trek VI was being developed at about the same time and it features a WOMAN CHANCELLOR. Just another example of “actually the writers were primarily “shitty misogynistic dudes”. I love their armour: a dash a colour with those red sleeves and the cleavage! But I don’t think having a gap in your armour in the heart/lung area is a particularly good strategy for defensive equipment, even if you have redundant organs?

14. The Defector (TNG 310)

Picard grants asylum to an allegedly low ranked Romulan defector (who’s actually Admiral Jarok, claiming to have important info of a Romulan troop build-up in the Neutral Zone). Unfortunately, it was all a ruse by the Romulans designed to test Jarok’s loyalty — he doesn’t pass.

This is sort of an overlooked episode in the TNG canon and in Season 3, which is sort of Romulan heavy. Further, the Romulan episodes are generally about overcoming differences and learning to trust. This one is no different, but I think it’s more successful than “The Enemy” a few episodes earlier. Picard’s interrogation of Jarok in particular is a terrific scene because it’s a bit of a role reversal for Picard. He’s cold, calculating, doubting the possibility of peace and it forces us to empathize with Jarok, not Picard. Data’s Henry V cold open fits with the episode’s theme of disguise and Data acting out Shakespeare’s King as he walks among his troops on the eve of battle resonates with Picard throughout with great effect. Mostly though, I like this episode because it shows a character willing to sacrifice and risk everything for peace, but it’s not one of our enlightened heroes (who spend the episode interrogating and undermining Jarok) but a treacherous Romulan. His entire experience on the Enterprise is alienating, the replicators aren’t programed with food he’s accustomed to, the stars aren’t his, the holodeck creates a fake Romulus. This alienation makes it even more devastating when he utters his last words “I did it for nothing. My home, my family; for nothing.” Jarok takes the Romulan equivalent of a cyanide pill (it’s a Felodesine chip fyi) and Picard recognizes the legitimacy and courage of Jarok’s sacrifice.

13. Lower Decks (TNG 715)

Four junior officers endeavor to piece together why the Enterprise is near the Cardassian border.

The episode so popular it’s spawned its own cartoon series (and considerable fanfic)! This is just a terrific episode. We follow four junior officers, Sito Jaxa and Nurse Ogawa, who we’re already familiar with, and newbies Sam Lavelle and Taurik as they navigate the stresses of crew evaluations and being left in the dark as the ship enters a dangerous situation.

I think this episode is so appealing for so many Trek fans because we’ve often wondered about the other 1000 people onboard the Enterprise and what their lives are like and we get a glimpse of it here. For me watching this as a kid, it was far easier to picture myself as a young ensign than a department head or a member of the senior staff.

It’s a tight episode that does a lot of things well. The four protagonists work well as a group of friends, Sam and Sito are competing for the same job but remain steadfast and supportive throughout and the remaining three mourn together once they learn Sito has died. We also see the ways in which rank and position impact friendship when Sito and Alyssa can’t reveal what they know about the mission to Sam. The senior officers we’re more familiar with don’t often have to make those kind of choices since they all have the Enterprise equivalent of Level 5 clearance.

One of the great things about this episode is we get to see the interaction between the junior officers and their senior counterparts, and it reveals something interesting about main cast members we’ve been watching for seven seasons. Alyssa Ogawa and Bev Crusher have a warm and caring friendship that creates considerable trust in their working relationship. Geordi is a good department head who acknowledges the good work of his subordinates and rewards his junior officers with opportunities to succeed. Worf stands up for his subordinates and pushes them to believe in themselves. Perhaps surprisingly, Riker is a bit of a jerk.

Shannon Fill is great reprising her role as Sito (we first saw her in S5 “The First Duty”) and definitely does enough to get the audience to believe she deserves a second chance. Picard’s willingness to take a chance on her is both consistent (in some ways this is Ro Laren Redux) but also a departure. For most of the series, young officers set an incredibly high standard (Sonya Gomez, Wesley Crusher, Robin Lefler etc.) that it’s a welcome change to have one with some strikes already against them.

12. The Wounded (TNG 412)

The Enterprise is ordered to apprehend a rogue Starfleet Captain and prevent another war with the Cardassian.

O’Brien is never better than he is in this episode. If in the previous episode “Data’s Day” O’Brien became more fleshed out, less of a cardboard cut-out, in this one he gets some real depth. Prior to this one, it was hard to feel anything but general “I kinda like that transporter dude” about him (he’s a tad sexist in the S4’s “Family” when Worf’s waiting for his parents to transport). But after watching “The Wounded” I think it’s pretty easy not to know how to feel about him and to find him problematic.

In this one, he’s forced to confront his war trauma, his life as a soldier, and his racism. He goes from not understanding why anyone would have lingering feelings about the Cardassians to telling Keiko “I don’t feel anything about them! The war’s over!” during a dinner scene to admitting he actually hates himself for what he did in the war. O’Brien’s racism is certainly problematic on DS9 and unfortunately there aren’t a lot of episodes on that show where he’s forced to reflect on it like he is in this one.

The use of “The Minstrel Boy” in this episode is fantastic. A patriotic Irish song that works for the Irish Transporter Chief who spends part of the episode trying to get Keiko to eat corned beef (a worthy goal), it also fits quite well for two people (O’Brien and Captain Ben Maxwell) who are trying to process the trauma and loss of a deadly war. The song’s attachment to the Rutledge crew at the Battle of Setlick III seamlessly continues its military tradition from the 18th Century Irish Rebellion, to the 19th Century American Civil War, to the 20th Century First World War, to the 24th Century Border Wars. It’s the song that initiates his remembrance of his time on the Rutledge and illustrates his loyalty to Maxwell.

The song becomes a theme or leitmotif for O’Brien (haha it was first used on the show for Reg Barclay! At the end of S3 “Hollow Pursuits” and it works much better for the Chief!). We hear it at various times during his time on DS9. I really love the way it’s used, and it fits for O’Brien, the Irish musician. It’s use in the DS9 finale, positively breaks me every time I watch that episode, like still weeping 20+ years later, and I don’t even like him on that show.

It also contrasts with Picard’s actions in this one. Maxwell might well be fighting the good fight but risks another extended war. Picard undermines the loyalty the song talks about. Instead of siding with Maxwell, Picard intercepts the Phoenix, he gives the Cardassians its command codes, he chooses to ignore that the Cardassians are arming their border colonies as Maxwell maintains, and ultimately relieves Maxwell of his command. O’Brien spends much of the episode defending Maxwell, his loyalty blinding him to the horror of his former captain’s action. It’s very much the reaction of someone trying to live with war, but Picard might do the more difficult thing: betray his loyalties, abandon his principles, to preserve the agreement, to create lasting peace.

11. The Inner Light (TNG 525)

An alien probe knocks out Picard for 25 minutes and he experiences a lifetime, with a wife and children, on an environmentally doomed planet.

I don’t think I like this episode as much as most fans. I mean, I really love it, but for a lot of people, it’s simply the best episode of Trek ever produced, and I don’t quite feel that way about it. I think my feelings changed a little when I watched it with a friend several years ago. It was her first time watching it and I was really excited to introduce someone to one of the most celebrated episodes of TNG and it seemed to upset her. What upset her was the cruelty of giving Picard a “road not taken” episode, a family he loved and cherished, just to take them away immediately. And she had a point. They do some really shitty and traumatic things to Picard throughout the series and movies, and this might be the worst? I mean, he’s forced to shoot and kill his 6 hour future double in S2, is held at gunpoint, held hostage, and finally abducted, violated, turned into a Borg, and forced to attack the Federation and help kill over 11,000 people in S3, held prisoner and tortured in S6, and loses his whole family in a fire in Generations. Still, his life as Kamin might ultimately be the most cruel.

That said, this episode does so many things well. It’s a nice parable about climate change and the impact of that message only grows as more time passes. It introduces Picard’s flute/music which is carried through the rest of the series as well as the touching melody he learns to play while on Kataan. We get a glimpse of the kind of father he would be and the scene where he discussed the scientific realty that their planet will die with his teen daughter is quiet touching. Mostly though, like “Best of Both Worlds” before it, this episode resonates and changes Picard permanently.

10. Sins of the Father (TNG 317)

Worf fights to clear his dead father of treason and learns he has a long-lost Klingon brother in the process.

I like Klingons a lot but from the Original Series on, racism has always been part of their depiction (one of the drawbacks of a writers’ room comprised primarily of cis, straight, white dudes is that future utopia they envision reflects their limited priorities and experiences). The Klingons deal with a lot of the same stereotypes as the Ligonians from the horribly racist and sexist “Code of Honor” episode from S1. Most Klingons we meet are big Black men who solve their problems through violence in adherence to their traditions of honour. Until Worf and Star Trek VI, they are also the most hated and feared enemies of the Federation. It’s not a good look and its only partially challenged by the Klingons we meet on TNG, DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise.

Still, this is one of the first episodes that presents a more well-rounded Worf and its one of my favourites from when I was a kid. It also presents a different Klingon Empire, one with enough palace intrigue for a Shakespearean play. The High Council has discovered proof that the Khitomer massacre was the result of the one of their own prominent families betraying them to the Romulans and decides to take the least violent and most expedient route and blame Worf’s deceased dad. Worf’s challenge helps chart a unique and personal course for him, which we had only glimpsed, maybe? In “Emissary” prior to this.

Perhaps the strength of this episode is all the wonderful characters we meet. We get introduced to Kurn, K’mpec and Duras in this one and all are great, especially Duras (love him). We also get another prime example of Picard allowing and supporting (at personal risk!) Worf’s defense of his family/culture in a way that challenges what is typically a human-centric Starfleet/Federation way of life.

9. I Borg (TNG 523)

An injured, teenage Borg becomes the centre of a Picard-initiated plot to use him as a weapon of mass destruction. Once the crew realize the Borg, who Geordi names Hugh, has become an individual, it becomes harder for Guinan and Picard to maintain their hatred.

This episode is wonderful. Jonathan Del Arco is marvelous as the young Borg Hugh and it sets up where the franchise goes with the Borg from here on out (especially since the premiere of Picard). While “Best of Both Worlds” established you can physically revert back to being human after being assimilated, Picard was only a Borg for a short time. Hugh is fully Borg, without a sense of individuality before meeting the Enterprise gang yet establishes an understanding of self while on the Enterprise. This not only makes Seven of Nine’s story arc plausible but humanizes the enemy without making the Borg any less menacing.

This episode also shows us a different side of Picard, one where his capture and violation by the Borg resurface and impact his thinking. Michael Piller, writer of “The Best of Both Worlds” talked about Picard’s turn as Locutus as a rape and in this episode we see how that trauma still affects Picard. What we get as a result is a Picard who is willing to commit genocide. He justifies it because they are at war, because it’s the Borg, because it’s the only way to ensure the safety of the Federation but also as a way of removing the threat/method of his violation. We get a Picard grappling with what it means to be human, to act humanely. The interplay between Picard and Guinan in this episode is great as they both struggle to come to terms with what the Borg did to them and their people and what it will mean if they become a little more like the Borg by being a part of their mass destruction. All while fencing!

8. Yesterday’s Enterprise (TNG 315)

A temporal rift throws the Enterprise-C 22 years into the future, changing history in the process. In this alternate timeline, Tasha Yar is still alive, and the Federation is losing a longstanding war with the Klingons.

This is a pretty popular TNG episode and that makes a lot of sense to me. It brings back a fan favourite, Tasha Yar, and it upends everything we’re familiar with. Relationships are different, Riker and Picard butt heads a lot and that’s an interesting change after 2 and a half seasons of them having a cooperative working relationship. Visually, I like the changes to Ten Forward, it helps drive home that this is a troop ship and the leisurely elements of life on the Enterprise-D are gone.

Rachel Garrett is a great captain and her steadfast commitment to her crew and mission combined with her willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice makes her a spiritual precursor to Janeway (especially her back-and-forth with Bev).

Guinan brings this one up a notch (as usual) and her interactions with both Yar and Picard are both really terrific and set in motion a Romulan narrative arc that finishes with S6’s “Unification”. Now, I don’t think Guinan pushes Yar to ask about her senseless death, but she really does needle Picard into sending both Yar and the Enterprise-C back through the rift. When Picard and Guinan confront the result of this decision in S5 “Redemption” when they meet Sela, Guinan takes very little responsibility and that always kind of sticks out for me.

I don’t particularly love the actor who plays Castillo, but I like him in this role. Castillo is a great guest character and the romance between him and Yar feels natural and somehow not forced in an hour-long episode.

We get some great action sequences, great speeches, great debates on the notion of sacrifice and the pretty famous “Let’s make sure history never forgets the name Enterprise” speech from Picard. Essential viewing.

This is also the episode where Worf gets introduced to his favourite drink, prune juice (before the Enterprise-C goes through the rift).

One of the subtle changes in the alternate timeline is that Starfleet uniforms have black, chevron cuffs. However, when everything returns to normal at the end of the episode and Guinan and Geordi are sitting in Ten Forward and she asks him about Tasha Yar, he’s still wearing the cuffs (things aren’t the same normal!)

7. Darmok (TNG 502)

Picard is trapped on a planet with an alien captain who speaks a metaphorical language. They must learn to communicate and work together to defeat a beast.

“Darmok” is a universally praised TNG episode and its fully deserved. It’s quotability has maybe diminished some of its impact (even if you haven’t seen the episode you’ve probably heard “Darmok and Jalad… at Tanagra” or “Shaka, when the walls fell”), but this is still a great episode about not just overcoming linguistic difference but learning to trust and accept those you don’t understand. Before he can make any inroads in terms of understanding Captain Dathon’s language, Picard must get over his fear that Dathon is actually trying to kill him. Picard is great in this one (it also marks the debut of his suede jacket!)

Really though, it’s Captain Dathon that makes this episode (played by Paul Winfield of Wrath of Khan fame). He has the harder role: the viewer doesn’t understand him at the beginning of the episode and he manages to bridge that gap. That’s really his achievement in this episode; it’s not just Picard he manages to communicate with, by the end of the episode those of us watching at home can understand Dathon as well. It’s rare that we get this type of perspective from the alien’s viewpoint, and it’s so successful. It’s also what makes this a better episode than the similarly themed “Arena” from TOS. In that one we get Kirk’s monologue about the Gorn captain, who is unintelligible.

6. Tapestry (TNG 615)

Picard dies on an away mission when he’s attacked, and his artificial heart fails. He meets Q in the afterlife who gives him a second chance to change a fateful decision from his youth.

I absolutely love this episode and it’s quite good. Picard gets to re-live his youth in a type of A Christmas Carol/It’s A Wonderful Life story only better because Scrooge never gets stabbed through the back and George Bailey never had to fight three surly Nausicaans.

I’ve said before that Q episodes are either home runs or entirely skippable and this is a home run. Q not only has some quotable lines in this episode, but he does seem to really care about Picard here, hence the second chance.

I love these glimpses we get of young Picard because he’s very different from his idealized form as captain of the Enterprise, but there are still kernels of JLP in the young ensign who gets stabbed in the heart while playing casino games. I feel for him in this episode, having to go back and hang out with his academy friends 40+ years later but they’re still rigging dom-jot tables at seedy starbases and foolishly picking fights. Corton Zweller is both well-written and well-cast as that “jerk you were friends with in college” and even when the actor pops up in other programs, he’s always that Corey jerk who tried to rig the dom-jot table and gets JLP stabbed to me.

Picard’s alternate future is so disheartening, Ron Moore really rubbed salt in the now non-existent wound. Astrophysics? I feel like that department is like 12th of JLP’s list of top 5 dream jobs if qualification, time, history, and salary were no object. If, after avoiding being stabbed through the heart, Picard decided that life was too short not to go see the ruins of Tagus III, and he became a celebrated archeologist, he might have been ok with this new future even if command of a starship was his dream job. But no, he got to be a dreary officer, not even a full lieutenant (that’s the knife twisting right there), and never made any impression ever on anyone. Eesh.

I like that at the end of the episode he chooses to share his experiences with Riker. It just illustrates an intimacy between the two that’s often hinted at but rarely shown so plainly and a relationship that kind of gets overlooked.

Can we talk about the Nausicaans for a minute? They almost steal this episode for me. I love them, like a lot, even though they are shown nearly killing our hero multiple times in this one. They’re just so straightforward: they like dom-jot, gaming facilities, humour, and cheating. They seem pretty ok with brawling and casual acts of violence too. I think they’re lit in a pleasing way too? I like that one has the green spotlight on him, one a purple, and one an orange light. I don’t know, it gives them a Halloween vibe but also makes them more individual? I’m a huge fan of jokes where we just hear the punch line, but I’m also a fan of punchlines delivered in other languages but the meaning is still clear. Anyway, the lead Nausicaan gets to repeat some of my favourite TNG lines a few times during this episode: “Hu-mahn. Play dom-jot, Hu-mahn. Coward! Like all Starfleet, you talk and you talk, but you have no guramba!” We all know what guramba means! We still go around the house repeating this more than 25 years later.

5. Chain of Command (TNG 610, 611)

Picard, Worf, and Bev go on a secret mission that fails. Picard is captured by the Cardassians and tortured while the Enterprise, under the command of Captain Edward Jellico, work to prevent a war with the Cardassians.

This episode is famous beyond Star Trek circles for the famous line “there are four lights,” but there’s a lot more to like. The B-plot focuses on the crew as they struggle to adjust to Jellico’s leadership style. It doesn’t go well and I don’t blame them. Jellico’s an asshole who makes things a lot worse rather than work with the people he’s got. Who takes over a ship and doesn’t meet with the department heads?! Who assumes the flagship isn’t ready for battle? I doubt a 4-shift rotation has any merit over a 3!!!

He also brings the Federation to the brink of war as part of his negotiating with the Cardassians, which is a strategy, I guess. Jellico and Riker really but heads and it’s good to see Riker stand up for himself and his crew in the way he does. I think it’s fine to ask Troi to where her uniform to work, but he’s fairly dismissive of her. Still, she’s the only one who sees his confident performance for what it is, bullshit.

Obviously this is a gem from Patrick Stewart and the four lights thing is iconic for good reason. But David Warner (who also appears in Star Trek V St. John Talbot and is Gorkon in Star Trek VI) is fantastic as Gul Madred, Picard’s torturer.

4. All Good Things… (TNG 725, 726)

Q returns and informs Picard he’s the cause of the destruction of humanity. Picard journeys through time to prevent its destruction.

This is the series finale and damn it’s a good one. It’s routinely included in best TV finales in history lists and with good reason, it’s an exceptional episode. By shifting to seven years in the past/the pilot we get a sense of completion and the look to 25 years in one possible future (hey! We’re in Picard territory!) works remarkably well (minus the aging makeup). One of the impressive things this episode pulls off is it retroactively makes the pilot integral/so much better, which is hard, because well, we’ll call that one uneven. Q episodes are pretty hit and miss but when they hit, they’re truly great and this is no exception. It has all the hallmarks of a great Q episode: existential threats, time travel, and Q’s helping hand.

There are some interesting choices in this one too. A lot of fans are still upset about the blossoming Troi/Worf romance that seemingly comes out of nowhere in this one (it very much doesn’t, both characters are confronted with the possibility earlier in the season, and Worf takes the first steps at the end of “Parallels”). The longstanding feud between Future Riker and Future Worf is an interesting wrinkle given their strong friendship throughout the series. The big one though is the kiss between Present Bev and Present JLP and their future marriage in this possible timeline. Give the shippers something to talk about. Denise Crosby and Colm Meaney coming back was a nice touch too. Honestly, any of the episodes in the top 10 could fall anywhere within it and still be right but this one really is great, even if it suggests a future where Leah Brahms actually forgives Geordi and marries him.

3. The Drumhead (TNG 421)

A Starfleet admiral leads a witch-hunt aboard the ship, eventually accusing Picard of treason.

I’m guessing most people wouldn’t rate this episode this high, but I absolutely love it and think it’s some of the finest work of the series. I can’t say I thought much of it when I first saw it/when I was a kid, but as I’ve grown older/as the 21st C has unfolded, it’s really shown its worth. That’s one of the things I love about Star Trek more generally; with time I’m able to appreciate different things about episodes and characters I love and in many cases see something new and valuable in works I didn’t fall in love with the first time.

I also think this episode makes a great case for episodic television. Much of the conversation about great TV shows of the last two decades has highlighted the superiority of serialized storytelling and a general disregard of the episodic method. For a lot of fans, episodic TV deserves to be left in the 90s with laugh tracks and network television. This is one of the big reasons why Deep Space Nine is finally getting it’s due; fans point to its ongoing Dominion War narrative (S5-S7) as anticipatory of modern television styles. It’s absolutely a strength of Deep Space Nine. And yes, there’s something about Majel Barrett Roddenberry saying “and now the continuation…” instead of “and now the conclusion” that hinted not everything would be wrapped up, not everything would be okay for Sisko and co (RIP Jadzia, I will never forgive the writers for what they did to you). But I would argue the Best DS9 episodes (S1 “Duet,” S6 “In the Pale Moonlight,” and S6 “Far Beyond the Stars”) are largely episodic in nature. Sure, Benny Russell (“Far Beyond the Stars”) resonates through the remainder of the series and Sisko is changed by the experience, just as Kira is in “Duet,” but both episodes are largely self-contained as well. In fact, the episodic nature of “In the Pale Moonlight,” is part of what makes it so impactful; Sisko commits some rather significant war crimes in that episode but its able to compartmentalize it and move forward with (shocking) ease as a necessity of war.

Had I finished the last few entries in this post months ago (and this series years ago?), as I intended, I would have written something similar about this episode and episodic television. Without an overall episodic structure to TNG, this episode likely doesn’t happen. It’s a one off, much of what happens in this one doesn’t reverberate throughout the series and yet it is so important. It’s one of the reasons I can’t help but cheer at the news that the Strange New Worlds (Pike, Number One and Co) series is going to be more episodic in nature.

Anyway, back to “The Drumhead.” Ultimately, this is an episode about unjust persecution, fighting evil, and the banality of oppression. The dilithium chamber hatch explosion leads to an investigation that reveals Klingon exchange officer J’Dan is a spy. His real crime is his outfit that’s beige suede and features numerous tassels. Tassels?! He obviously doesn’t go to the same tailor as K’Ehleyr. But an investigation that should have ended with J’Dan, is allowed to continue when retired Admiral Norah Satie takes over the investigation and holds public hearings where known associates of J’Dan are informally put on trial.

The case appears to be blown wide open when medical crewman Simon Tarses is caught lying on the stand. Satie’s Betazoid aide (who’s outfits suggest he’s trying to fake a personality by wearing his coats backward) believes they’ve caught a fellow conspirator, Worf enthusiastically researches Tarses’ past, and Picard voices his concerns to the Satie about the way Tarses’ is treated. Worf and Picard are great in this one; both initially have admiration for Satie’s record and work, but slowly begin to see who she really is. In a particularly good exchange Worf insists if Tarses had nothing to hide he would simply answer the question:

W: “But we know there is a traitor here. J’Dan has admitted his guilt.”
P: “That’s true, and he will stand for his crime.”
W: “Tarses has all but done the same.”
P: “How?”
W: “He refused to answer the question about his Romulan grandfather.”
P: “That is not a crime, Worf! Nor can we infer his guilt because he didn’t respond.”
W: “Sir, if a man were not afraid of the truth, he would answer.”
P: “Oh, no. We cannot allow ourselves to think that. The Seventh Guarantee is one of the most important rights granted by the Federation. We cannot take a fundamental principle of the Constitution and turn it against a citizen!”

W: “Sir, the Federation does have enemies! We must seek them out!”
P: “Oh, yes. That’s how it starts. But the road from legitimate suspicion to rampant paranoia is very much shorter than we think. Something is wrong here, Mr. Worf; I don’t like what we have become!”

I like the sound of that Seventh Guarantee, tell me more, JLP.

Seriously though, the scene quoted is terrific. Picard walks into the Observation Lounge where Worf is holding a meeting with his security team and giving instructions for investigating Tarses. They’re dismissed and Worf and Picard face off across the entire length of the table, with Worf sitting in Picard’s usually position. The power dynamics in the scene are flipped and it’s really works.

When everything comes to the surface we learn that Tarses’ crime is falsifying his Starfleet application (claiming his Romulan grandfather was Vulcan, though no one ever questions the merit of Starfleet requiring this sort of information as a condition of employment) and Picard is called before the tribunal because of his vocal defense of his crewman. It’s in some ways the most mundane of lies, falsifying irrelevant data on a job application because the candidate knows the employer’s institutional discrimination will work against them. It’s the sort of detail that is familiar to many of us. That Tarses’ is attacked because of his Romulan heritage and that Worf’s loyalty is questioned because of his father’s alleged history of treason is concerning and all too relevant in a post-9/11 world. That Picard faces investigation because he dares defend his crew is also all too familiar.

Jean Simmons is great as Satie generally. The ending where she cracks after Picard quotes her dad used to irk me more (she’s an accomplished, strong, intelligent person who’s presumably been through worse) but works better for me now. She’s a classic example of banal, charming, pleasant evil (an Umbridge-type before Umbridge was a thing). Each time she receives pushback, she overreacts. Early in the episode the pushback is subtle, less over the top, but it escalates throughout. Her outburst when Picard publicly challenges her during his hearing tracks with every video of white women overreacting on twitter that I’ve seen this year so. There’s a nice symmetry too; Picard’s knowledge of her father’s work helps him bond with Satie and heightens his expectations for a fruitful working relationship and his commitment to her father’s principles while in the hot seat, reveals how far she’s strayed.

I can see why some find it heavy-handed, but I like Worf’s reflection of his role in Tarses’ persecution as well as Picard’s acceptance of how much work is required to consistently oppose this sort of evil:

P: “We think we’ve come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, it’s all ancient history. And then, before you can blink an eye, suddenly, it threatens to start all over again.”
W: “I believed her. I-I HELPED her! I did not see what she was.”
P: “Mr. Worf, villains who twirl their mustaches are easy to spot. Those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well-camouflaged.”
W: “I think, after yesterday, people will not be so ready to trust her.”
P: “Maybe. But she or someone like her will always be with us, waiting for the right climate in which to flourish — spreading fear in the name of righteousness. Vigilance, Mr. Worf. That is the price we have to continually pay.”

p.s.: there was no sabotage! They basically destroyed my dude Tarses for having a drink in Ten Forward with J’Dan!

p.p.s.: when Admiral Henry just gets up and leaves the hearing, it’s pretty great.

2. The Measure Of A Man (TNG 209)

Cyberneticist Dr. Bruce Maddox wants to study and disassemble Data, forcing Picard to prove Data’s a sentient being with rights and freedoms under Federation Law.

Yo. This episode is fantastic. It’s generally regarded as one of the best Trek episodes ever and it deserves that kind of praise. Shoutout to Melinda M. Snodgrass who wrote this episode. It’s one of her first scripts and she wasn’t a writer for the show when it was submitted. This is a home run.

This is another, fairly episodic, entry in the TNG canon. It wasn’t written by a series writer (she wasn’t at the time anyway), and was originally designed as a one-off. Obviously, it’s quality means we return to its themes multiple times (S3 “The Child,” S3 “The Most Toys,” S5 “Redemption Part 2,” and S6 “The Quality of Life”) not to mention the entirety of Season 1 of Star Trek: Picard). Another checkmark for episodic storytelling.

Bruce Maddox is a giant dick. Data is actually interested in Maddox’s research, but wants him to resolve some necessary safety issues before submitting to these procedures. These are reasonable concerns for anyone! These objections feel especially relevant right now! Good on Data for voicing them! And fucking Maddox comes back with “What about my right not to have my work subverted by blind ignorance?” Well, Bruce, perhaps if you’d done more on the details of your life’s work, you’d be getting somewhere! Don’t even get me started on his creepy falling in love with my grad student then running away when the synth ban comes into affect performance/work with Bjayzl, noted straight-up murderer, turn in Picard. Maddox was the sole member of Data’s entrance committee to oppose his acceptance to Starfleet Academy and some of this “let me take you apart and replicate you!” feels a tad personal. People like him should always get their funding cut and licenses revoked.

This one boils down to a courtroom drama between Picard (representing Data) and Riker (who has been ordered to represent Maddox) so it’s one of the Trek Law & Order episodes and is the best of the lot. Riker vs. Picard is an interesting dynamic that’s explored a few times in the series (most successfully in the episode that takes the number one spot) and creates interesting tension in this episode. Picard has the easier job in some ways, he gets to take the principled stand, the righteous argument, even if proving a machine is a lifeform is somewhat difficult. Riker’s pretty great in this one too, he comes out swinging pretty hard in Data’s defense and clearly articulates his friendship (something he’s done from the start of the series). And he really does try his best to prove Maddox right. When Data mentions that performing this role, which he was ordered to do or else the judge would rule in Maddox’s favour outright, saved Data but wounded Riker it hammers home what lengths he’s willing to go for his friend.

The B-plot in this one is introduced first. At Starbase 173 Picard runs into the JAG officer for the sector, Captain Phillipa Louvois, a former love-interest of Picard and who served as prosecutor during Picard’s court martial after the loss of the USS Stargazer. Anyway, they have fairly instant chemistry/the court martial acts as an old beef that sort of hangs over the trial. The episode is worth watching for her alone, so that says something about her performance.

Guinan also makes an important appearance in this one as she helps Picard realize that Maddox’s argument (and Starfleet’s by extension) is in favour of creating a permanent underclass of synthetic lifeforms.

G: “Consider that in the history of many worlds there have always been disposable creatures. They do the dirty work. They do the work that no one else wants to do, because it’s too difficult or too hazardous. And an army of Datas, all disposable? You don’t have to think about their welfare; you don’t think about how they feel. Whole generations of disposable people.”
P: “You’re talking about slavery.”
G: “I think that’s a little harsh.”
P: “I don’t think that’s a little harsh, I think that’s the truth. But that’s a truth that we have obscured behind a… comfortable, easy euphemism. ‘Property’. But that’s not the issue at all, is it?”

The interaction does a lot to force Picard to realize the true stakes of the case and also exposes the nasty side of Starfleet that is present in so many episodes and movies throughout its history (some can’t recognize the Starfleet they’ve seen on Picard and to a lesser degree on Disco, but it’s always been there, unfortunately).

There’s lots of great lines and excellent performances but another reason this episode is so successful is because it cuts to the heart of what Trek’s about, an exploration of humanity. What is humanity? Who should have human rights? How are the needs of the individual balanced against the communal good? How willing are we to extend rights and privileges to life that doesn’t look exactly like us? The way this debate is framed informs the way holographic life and rights is explored on Voyager and is instrumental to the discussion of synthetic life/bans on Picard as well as Borg autonomy on those shows. It’s truly a crucial, influential, and terrific episode.

Bonus: this episode features the debut of the senior officers’ poker game, which is an effective dramatic device throughout the series (even if the game play is a little…off).

1. The Best of Both Worlds (TNG 326, 401)

The Borg invade Federation space and capture and assimilate Captain Picard. Picard as Locutus, acts as spokesperson for the Borg as the move toward Sector 001, destroying the Federation fleet at Wolf 359, intent on assimilating Earth. Riker, now acting as captain of the Enterprise, races to defeat his former captain.

Is this the safe, predictable choice for best TNG episode? Yes. There are certainly other safe, predictable choices for this slot (“Darmok,” “The Inner Light”), but nothing is the same for TNG after this episode and I think that matters. There’s pretty much a direct line from this two-part episode to a movie (First Contact) and series (Picard). What’s more, Picard’s assimilation and liberation are the basis for Hugh’s sense of individuality and Seven’s liberation from the collective. It really does alter the course of the Trek franchise.

It’s hard for me to remember what it was like to watch this episode for the first time. I can’t actually, it has always just sort of existed in my mind. But if this was something you were seeing for the first time, I’d say it was truly a successful season-ending cliff-hanger. Was Picard gonna die? Was Riker going to permanently takeover? Was the Federation going to be assimilated? To make matters worse, you had to wait several months to find out. The suspense would have killed me.

While she clashes with Riker, I actually like Shelby and think her performance stands out in an episode that has a lot of moving parts. Riker’s somewhat of a dick to her and I suspect her ambition would look different to him (ie the writers) if she weren’t a woman. Still, it provides a good foil for Riker’s career meditations. We tend to think of this episode as a Picard-centric one (and with good reason!) but it’s also a lot about Riker. In some ways, it’s just a very functional way to describe the shift from the way he’s presented in S1 (ambitious, career-oriented, focused on earning a captaincy) to the character we know for most of the series (relaxed, friendly, a leader, focused on work-life balance). I think it’s actually pretty great the Riker gets offered his third ship at the same time Shelby shows up with all her drive and ambition and he’s like, you know what? I’m good. In many ways, Riker’s the 24th C idea of what dude bros can aspire to be: a masculinity that is generally not toxic, healthy sexuality that isn’t dominant but giving (I maintain if this was written now, Riker would be bi or pan), and priorities that aren’t exclusively career related.

But of course, Riker does prove he can take command (he saves Earth and the Federation, not bad for your first mission as captain!) and he does it his way (with his leg up on Data’s console, just kidding) with some coaxing from Guinan, who’s pretty damn good in her limited screen time in this one. And one of the reasons he’s successful is because he learns not to be threatened by Shelby’s ambition and use her considerable expertise to solve the current threat.

There are many who believe the second part (S4’s premiere) doesn’t quite live up to the expectations of the dramatic season three cliff-hanger and that’s probably true but that’s also a very tall order. Regardless, it’s a terrific action episode that packs an even greater dramatic punch.

Shoutout to Bev for twice coming up with great ideas to break the Borg; first on the Cube, then with the rescued Locutus. Take note, Worf.

So that’s it! It took almost four years and almost 50,000 words, but that’s all The Next Generation episodes ranked, according to me! Over the course of writing this project, my views on certain episodes changed and evolved and the rankings would surely look a little differently if I did this again today. But I like to think it would resemble the seven posts you read. An episode might be bumped up a few spaces or down a few numbers. It’s one of the things I like about Star Trek, I continue to appreciate new things about old episodes. I started working on this before Discovery or Picard were created and those new shows shine a light on different episodes and movies, I’m sure the impact of the TNG canon will continue to evolve.

P.S. I actually did go back through the episode list for TNG and find the two I originally missed when making the list, so I’m adding them here.

Shades of Gray (TNG 222)

Critically injured, Riker fights for his life in sickbay while infected by an alien parasite. Pulaski discovers a treatment that forces him to relieve certain memories.

So, this is a clips show and it’s really really bad. This was a way of saving some money and well, austerity doesn’t produce results. I don’t like Pulaski as a character (her treatment of Data is BAD!!!) but this is a tough way to make your final appearance. Other things we see the last of? The Type A spandex uniforms and the solar system credits. RIP to this eclectic trio. This is one of the worst episodes of Trek and if it were ranked by me, only “Code of Honor” is worse.

New Ground (TNG 510)

The Enterprise crew tests an innovative form of travel while Worf deals with being a full-time parent for the first time as Alexander comes to live with him permanently.

This episode is fine I guess, I just forgot it. I like the concept of “Starfleet officer deals with something normal” and watching someone find the balance between their job and parenting duties fits the bill. Bev is the first character we really get to see parent on Trek (and no, Kirk in Star Trek II and Star Trek III doesn’t really count) but Wes is a responsible teen for most of it an it’s not the same as Worf dealing with raising a small child. If this were ranked it would probably be somewhere in the 90–100 range? It’s fine, but not remarkable really.

Kudos for Alexander for insisting Riker save the Corvan gilvos, it’s my favourite part of this episode.