My Top 10 ST:TNG Episodes

I became aware watching Star Trek: The Original Series. I enjoyed Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I nearly worshiped Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I loved Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Then when I was 13 Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered. I was hooked. Every Saturday night at 10:30pm, I was in front of the TV. I watched each episode carefully noting the title, the writers, directors and even guest stars. Here are my favorites.


1) The Inner Light

Picard lives an entire life on an alien world in twenty five minutes. A moving story about memory.


2) The Ensigns of Command

Data has to convince settlers that they will be slaughtered if they don’t relocate. Finely acted, finely written and finely directed.


3) The Measure of a Man

Data is put on trial to see if he has the right to choose. Powerful and thought-provoking this episode is capped off with a tour-de-force performance by Patrick Stewart.


4) Q Who?

Q introduces the Enterprise to the Borg. And nothing will be the same again. A terrifying challenge to human arrogance.


5) Conspiracy

Homage to 50’s sci-fi paranoia, this episode was scary when I first watched it. Parasitic aliens almost undo the whole of Starfleet.


6) Brothers

Simply excellent. An expertly crafted story of two sets of brothers trying to figure out what being brothers mean. Brent Spiner plays three roles to perfection.


7) Contagion

Picard rushes to solve a mystery that destroyed his friend’s ship and crew. An exciting adventure that leads the Enterprise into the Neutral Zone and to a world with remains of a people long dead.


8) A Matter of Honor

Riker serves aboard a Klingon vessel and has to face the Enterprise in battle. A nice glimpse into Klingon culture featuring the wonderful guest star, Brian Thompson.


9) Heart of Glory

Another great episode about Klingons. A fantastic look at Worf’s character early in the series with several cool fight scenes.


10) Tin Man

What’s with all the Tin Man hate? A Google reveals people all across the internet saying that this is a bad episode. Have they not seen The Game or The Royale? Or any episode in seasons six or seven (except Lower Decks)? The story is exciting and unique. It also features a musical score that is haunting and adds immensely to the atmosphere.

Honorable Mentions:
Reunion, The First Duty, Deja Q, Legacy, Datalore and Home Soil

ST:TNG - “Half a Life” A Review by SRC

This jewel aired in season 4 of ST:TNG, it is possibly my favorite Trek episode ever, from any series. David Ogden Stiers (Major Charles Emerson Winchester III from M.A.S.H.) guest stars as a scientist named Timicin, visiting the Enterprise to conduct an experiment that he hopes will stabilize his home worlds dying sun.


Aboard the Enterprise, he meets and falls in love with Lwaxana Troi, who is outraged when she discovers that after his mission is finished he is to return to his planet and commit ritual suicide. In Timicin's culture, people end their life at a predetermined age, both as population control and to avoid suffering the debilitating effects of old age. Timicin's mission is unsuccessful, and he believes that with more time, he can develop a technique that will work to save his home world from eventual destruction.


But, alas, he has no more time. He MUST return home and die with his family at the appointed time. Lwaxana Troi finally convinces Timicin that he should continue to live and he seeks asylum aboard the Enterprise. Picard’s decision to grant asylum to Timicin ignites an incident between Timicin’s home world and the Federation. Timicin’s daughter Dara (played by Michelle Forbes, who also played Ensign Ro in ST:TNG) visits the Enterprise to try to convince her father to come home and do what is expected of him by his culture and traditions. The situation is eventually resolved when Timicin decides to return to his planet and end his life. Even though she is adamantly opposed to his decision, Lwaxana Troi accompanies Timicin to his planet so that she can be with him as his life ends.


This episode speaks to me because it deals with issues that are relevant outside of science fiction, such as life and death, assisted suicide and true love. In fact, the "science" part of this episode, Timicin’s experiment, is basically lost in the background as the story of love and sacrifice is told. The episode is very well written and flows well. Majel Barrett Rodenberry plays Lwaxana Troi fantastically and shows us a more serious side of her character than previously seen. David Ogden Stiers is, in my opinion, one of the great actors of his generation, and truly underrated. He delivers a magnificent performance. ~ SRC

ST:TNG - "The Inner Light" A Review by SRC

If you've never watched the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The inner light", or if you have watched it and NOT watched it several times, then you owe it to yourself to enjoy this masterpiece.

To put it simply, this is one of the best, most original, well written pieces of science fiction ever produced.


A short synopsis: Captain Picard is entranced by a beam from a probe created and launched by a long extinct alien culture. During his short encounter, his medical condition is closely monitored by the crew of the Enterprise, meanwhile Picard lives an entire lifetime on the alien world, in his mind.

During Picard's encounter, he realizes that he's in an unfamiliar reality, accepts his situation and goes on to live a full and normal life. He takes a wife and has children and grandchildren, helps his community and makes and loses friends, including his best friend. As Picard ages in the alternate reality, his new home planet is threatened by global drought and a warming star and is doomed for destruction. Towards the end of his apparent lifespan, Picard helps to launch a rocket from his alien home world containing scientific equipment meant to study the drought problem.


To tie things together in the episode, the rocket that Picard helps to launch, actually contains the probe that eventually entrances Picard. The probe was actually meant to find someone to tell the tale of the alien culture to, long after the culture was extinguished, to preserve their history. That someone turned out the Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

When Picard wakes from his entrancement, the life that he lived was still vividly real to him, and he later finds an artifact (a flute-type instrument) from his encounter.


This is one of the top 3 or 5 Star Trek episodes ever created, and one of the best pieces of science fiction ever made. It tells a different story, from a different perspective in a different way. It is well worth the watch. ~ SRC