We've already taken a look at Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season One on Blu-ray (review here). In further anticipation of this awesome release, we decided to break the season down, episode-by-episode, with mini-reviews of all 25 Season One episodes.
Trek fans usually regard Season One to be the show's weakest. But, truth be told, there are some real gems here. And a great many episodes help not only establish the characters and further the mythology of the franchise, but the tone of the entire series.
There are some duds, to be sure, but Season One is better than you remember. If your memory is foggy, we've got reviews of every episode here to refresh you.
Note: The following episodes are available on Blu-ray (restored and remastered) in HD. Original standard definition broadcast versions are available on DVD, Netflix (in the U.S.) and Amazon Instant Video (in the U.S.).
1) Encounter at Farpoint
The new crew of the Enterprise meet up for the first time and immediately encounter a strange alien force on an otherwise routine mission. The crew also finds themselves face-to-face with Q, one of TNG's most popular pseudo-foes. Great start to a terrific series, Farpoint is visually alluring and moody, setting the mature, non-campy tone of the rest of the series.
Rating: 8.5/10
2) The Naked Now
The crew of the Enterprise gets drunk. Not nearly as bad as you remember, especially if you don't watch it as the second episode it was (might I suggest watching it toward the end of the season, ahead of Skin of Evil). The cast is amusing and it plays as a nice sequel to the classic TOS episode, The Naked Time.
Rating: 7/10
3) Code of Honor
Tasha Yar is kidnapped and forced to marry a member of a tribal alien culture, but must fight to the death beforehand. A solid episode that focuses on the female heroes of the show. Makes you wish Yar (Denise Crosby) was around for all seven seasons.
Rating: 7/10
4) The Last Outpost
The Enterprise officially meets the Ferengi, an odd, kinda racist alien race of traders, but the two discover they're not alone on their first encounter. A muddled, but mostly decent intro to these bizarre aliens, with more intrigue than just the introduction.
Rating: 6.5/10
5) Where No One Has Gone Before
The Enterprise accidentally travels to the edge of space and Wesley Crusher has his first meeting with The Traveler. Great effects and a knockout story really make this episode work, especially in HD.
Rating: 9/10
6) Lonely Among Us
Yet another mysterious unseen entity tries to take control of the Enterprise and her crew. It's basically the same episode as Farpoint, with a few minor, mostly dull, twists.
Rating: 5.5/10
7) Justice
The Enterprise beams down to a planet of nymphs. Starts out quite erotic and fun, but unravels a bit when the Prime Directive side of the narrative kicks in. Regardless, this episode is an interesting contrast to how TOS episodes like this would typically function.
Rating: 7/10
8) Battle
Picard is forced to relive an old mysterious battle that may be connected to the Ferengi. A second, and slightly better, introduction to the Ferengi. The episode also gives us an interesting backstory for Picard, including the history of The Picard Maneuver.
Rating: 8.5/10
9) Hide and Q
Q returns and once again throws the crew of the Enterprise into a fiendish game, giving Riker the power of Q. This episode delightfully displays Q's sense of playful menace, even if his second appearance comes a bit too soon after Farpoint.
Rating: 8/10
10) Haven
Troi's mother (played by Gene Roddenberry's wife, the late Majel Barret) drops by, unfortunately, and arranges her daughter to be married. Meanwhile, a nearby ship, a sort of floating leper colony, threatens to ruin the arrangement. Slow, illogical, silly and contrived beyond reason.
Rating: 4/10
11) The Big Goodbye
The first of many holodeck-centric episodes. This one takes you to the 1940s, a regular stomping ground for TOS as well as holodeck episodes, and has the holodeck malfunctioning (like always). While the vintage style can be fun, this episode largely serves fans of TOS.
Rating: 6.5/10
12) Datalore
Data discovers he has a twin brother named Lore. Sadly, it turns out his better-half is more than a little devious. A great character mythology episode that feels like classic TNG. Plus Picard screams "Shut up, Wesley." A great line that personifies Season One's "Grumpy Picard" meme!
Rating: 9/10
13) Angel One
The Enterprise travels to a planet ruled by women, a plot borrowed from a He-Man episode. Meanwhile, the crew who remains aboard falls ill due to a mysterious sickness. Clumsy and just goofy and overly melodramatic. Most hilarious scene: the plot twist reveal. The soap opera music, soft focus and dramatic zoom-in are the stuff of classic cheese.
Rating: 5/10
14) 11001001
A team of aliens try to speed up the ship's computer. Half of the episode is pretty awesome, with Data evacuating the Enterprise, but the other half is bogged down by the dry holodeck scenes. It is pretty funny watching Riker macking on a girl, for a second week in a row. He's a regular stud.
Rating: 7/10
15) Too Short a Season
An old, dying Admiral beams to the Enterprise and starts getting inexplicably younger. The story is terrible, but makeup effects on Admiral Mark Jameson are pretty damn good for the time. Sadly, Clayton Rohner's performance is just embarrassingly awful, dragging absolutely everything down. It's like he's poorly imitating an over-the-top performance. Not good.
Rating: 4/10
16) When the Bough Breaks
The children of the Enterprise are abducted by a mysterious alien culture incapable of having children. Think: Children of Men meets soap opera. Sloppy and boring. Wil Wheaton is pretty good, though.
Rating: 5.5/10
17) Home Soil
"You ugly bag of mostly water!" The crew of the Enterprise land on a terraforming planet and discover another mysterious non-traditional alien. A bit of a retread at times, but a decent return to form after a string of inconsistent episodes.
Rating: 7/10
18) Coming of Age
Picard is investigated and Wesley Crusher is tested for Starfleet Academy. Well balanced episode that adds context to Starfleet as a whole. Some great character moments, too. John Putch as Wesley's test buddy, Mordock, is a particular highlight.
Rating: 8.5/10
19) Heart of Glory
The Enterprise rescues a crew within the Neutral Zone and discovers the survivors are Klingon. A great Worf-centric episode that focuses on Klingons in the 24th Century. Pays homage to the Trek of old, but with a TNG twist. Plus, you get to see Geordi-vision at the beginning of the episode, which is totally trippy.
Rating: 8.5/10
20) Arsenal of Freedom
An away team, including Picard and Riker, are trapped on a planet ruled by a volatile weapon. Geordi as Captain is just badass. Only problem - the planet stuff isn't nearly as exciting, even though it should be. The scenes between Picard and Crusher are quite good, though.
Rating: 7/10
21) Symbiosis
It's space drug dealers vs. space drug addicts! It's also the first time TNG blatantly reuses an actor from TOS, in this case it's Kirk's son, played by the late Merrit Butrick, who plays a drug-addicted alien here. Enjoyable, if overly obvious with the episode's metaphor.
Rating: 8/10
22) Skin of Evil
The crew beams down to a planet and encounters a juvenile, bullying pile of black goo. A silly episode, riddled with terrible dialogue, that's only notable because of Tasha Yar's untimely death. The funeral scene is tragically hilarious. How did Yar, seen in a hologram at the end, know how she would die, and who exactly would be at her funeral? Worse, why didn't the show runners opt for a stronger nemesis, like the Romulans, to kill her off -- something that would have carried the sting of her death, as well as her memory, throughout the series? Bad call. Weak episode.
Rating: 5/10
23) We'll Always Have Paris
Picard reunites with an old flame and the crew of the Enterprise gets trapped in a wild distorted time paradox. Great episode that balances character, back story and a hearty dose of heady sci-fi.
Rating: 8.5/10
24) Conspiracy
A follow-up to Coming of Age, this episode dives into the previously mentioned conspiracy to completely infect and potentially dismantle Starfleet. Visually disturbing (see gif above) and creepy as hell, even if the plot is a little derivative of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. A kind of proto-Borg villain, too. The episode is also curiously still relevant, especially in the political arena.
Rating: 9/10
25) The Neutral Zone
The Romulans return! TNG has teased the Romulans all season, and finally we are reintroduced here in this fascinating story that also, frustratingly at times, focuses on a trio of 20th century citizens unfrozen from cryosleep. Picard is extra grumpy in this episode -- more so than he usually is this season. There's quite a bit of story here as well...perhaps too much. Two episodes instead of one might have better served the plot.
Rating: 8/10
That's it for Season One! Check back this fall for Star Trek: TNG - Season Two mini-reviews as well as a look at the Blu-ray.
In the meantime, feel free to sound off in the comments below with your favorite and least favorite episodes from this first season.
Source : feeds.ign.com
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