I actually quite like that episode as well...
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I'm watching 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' for the first time.
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I actually quite like that episode as well...
S1 contains few of the most terrible television I have ever seen,but that's part of the fun. I recommend it.
Currently in S2, saw Q Who this morning. Season is a big step up. Hate the fact Pulaski will leave the show eventually. Gives a nice edge to the cast. Troi is the fucking worst, though. Why? Dunno, I can feel it, I guess. Ho-ho. *barf*
Currently in S2, saw Q Who this morning. Season is a big step up. Hate the fact Pulaski will leave the show eventually. Gives a nice edge to the cast. Troi is the fucking worst, though. Why? Dunno, I can feel it, I guess. Ho-ho. *barf*
biggersmaller
Banned
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Go back and watch episode 2 of season 1. "The Naked Now". It's my favorite and the only one from season 1 I find worth watching. Just for its absurdity.
The Royale is my favorite episode from season 2.
You sat through Voyager but can't watch TNG? What?
I wasn't aware people like you existed. The Royale is utter trash, it doesn't even have a proper ending. It just suddenly decides to stop.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
No it doesn't. It stops because they solve the puzzle. The planet waited decades for a buyer to show up and it turned out that it could be anyone from the outside. They just happened to have a super smart calculator with them.
It's like a time travel holodeck episode without time travel or a holodeck but with all the benefits of a fish out of water story.
alexandros
Banned
You really shouldn't miss that.
Good for you OP, TNG is awesome.
It's a shame you've already started because Max Temkin's guide to TNG in 40 hours is a really good way to go, then going back and watching the rest as you see fit.
It's a shame you've already started because Max Temkin's guide to TNG in 40 hours is a really good way to go, then going back and watching the rest as you see fit.
IISANDERII
Member
This film is basically a retelling of a TNG episode, guess which. Edit. I won't say which otherwise it'll spoil part of the film. It's not bad, Picard is a ballet instructor. I watched it on Netflix this weekend.
Episode 37: The Royale
"The Enterprise investigates the wreckage of a 21st century Earth spaceship orbiting a distant planet and the appearance of a casino with inhabitants based on a rather poorly written paperback novel."
A very fun episode with a rather sick twist. The actor who'd played Texas was pretty funny.
Episode 38: Time Squared
"The Enterprise discovers a duplicate of Picard from six hours in the future."
Possibly one of the more underrated episodes of this series, and I'm surprised that it isn't brought up more often. The fact that there was little explanation to what had happened to the future Picard & the USS Enterprise made the the whole scenario all the more unsettling.
Episode 39: The Icarus Factor
"When Commander Riker is offered command of the starship Aries, his estranged father, Kyle Riker, is sent by Starfleet to brief him on the mission. Meanwhile, Data, La Forge, Dr. Pulaski, Wesley, and O'Brien help Worf celebrate the anniversary of his Rite of Ascension."
I liked the subplot of Worf to celebrate his "Rite of Ascension," but the episode didn't leave much of an impact for me.
Episode 40: Pen Pals
"Data makes contact with a young girl from a pre-warp civilization on a planet facing imminent annihilation. The Enterprise must wrestle with the moral dilemma of violating the Prime Directive or standing by while Data's friend dies."
I like the premise of the episode with Data's innocence being tested, but it felt lukewarm after watching it.
Episode 41: Q Who
"Q throws the Enterprise into uncharted space where it encounters and is engaged by a vessel of a previously unknown species: the Borg. When the vessel instantly and effortlessly overwhelms the Enterprise, Picard realizes that the Federation may not be as ready for the future as he thought."
Q is incredibly annoying, but he proved a point to Picard that there are some things in the universe that he isn't prepared for, no matter what he thinks. The episode was otherwise a nice introduction to the Borg, even if I think they look kind of lame.
Episode 42: Samaritan Snare
"Picard must undergo a serious medical procedure while the Enterprise-D deals with a Pakled ship, which lures the Enterprise away in hopes of stealing its technology."
While I know people hate Wesley (&, to a lesser extent, his mother), I personally don't have a problem with him, and this episode was nice when he & Picard exchanged in some small talk & it explored why Picard never perused a relationship.
Episode 43: Up The Long Ladder
"The Enterprise discovers two threatened colonies which must cooperate to survive."
This episode would've been fine if it didn't have the hilariously bad Irish stereotypes. I get what they were going for, with regards to immigration, but why 19th century Irish immigrants? Brenna Odell's character, however, would've been a great as part of the cast, if she had stayed with the USS Enterprise.
Episode 44: Manhunt
"Lwaxana Troi arrives on the Enterprise, intent on finding a husband."
I liked the sequences that involved Picard going to Dixon Hill, as seeing Picard out of his element was fun to watch. The suff with Troi's mother was... Awkward, to say the least. (Do you guys feel the same?)
"The Enterprise investigates the wreckage of a 21st century Earth spaceship orbiting a distant planet and the appearance of a casino with inhabitants based on a rather poorly written paperback novel."
A very fun episode with a rather sick twist. The actor who'd played Texas was pretty funny.
Episode 38: Time Squared
"The Enterprise discovers a duplicate of Picard from six hours in the future."
Possibly one of the more underrated episodes of this series, and I'm surprised that it isn't brought up more often. The fact that there was little explanation to what had happened to the future Picard & the USS Enterprise made the the whole scenario all the more unsettling.
Episode 39: The Icarus Factor
"When Commander Riker is offered command of the starship Aries, his estranged father, Kyle Riker, is sent by Starfleet to brief him on the mission. Meanwhile, Data, La Forge, Dr. Pulaski, Wesley, and O'Brien help Worf celebrate the anniversary of his Rite of Ascension."
I liked the subplot of Worf to celebrate his "Rite of Ascension," but the episode didn't leave much of an impact for me.
Episode 40: Pen Pals
"Data makes contact with a young girl from a pre-warp civilization on a planet facing imminent annihilation. The Enterprise must wrestle with the moral dilemma of violating the Prime Directive or standing by while Data's friend dies."
I like the premise of the episode with Data's innocence being tested, but it felt lukewarm after watching it.
Episode 41: Q Who
"Q throws the Enterprise into uncharted space where it encounters and is engaged by a vessel of a previously unknown species: the Borg. When the vessel instantly and effortlessly overwhelms the Enterprise, Picard realizes that the Federation may not be as ready for the future as he thought."
Q is incredibly annoying, but he proved a point to Picard that there are some things in the universe that he isn't prepared for, no matter what he thinks. The episode was otherwise a nice introduction to the Borg, even if I think they look kind of lame.
Episode 42: Samaritan Snare
"Picard must undergo a serious medical procedure while the Enterprise-D deals with a Pakled ship, which lures the Enterprise away in hopes of stealing its technology."
While I know people hate Wesley (&, to a lesser extent, his mother), I personally don't have a problem with him, and this episode was nice when he & Picard exchanged in some small talk & it explored why Picard never perused a relationship.
Episode 43: Up The Long Ladder
"The Enterprise discovers two threatened colonies which must cooperate to survive."
This episode would've been fine if it didn't have the hilariously bad Irish stereotypes. I get what they were going for, with regards to immigration, but why 19th century Irish immigrants? Brenna Odell's character, however, would've been a great as part of the cast, if she had stayed with the USS Enterprise.
Episode 44: Manhunt
"Lwaxana Troi arrives on the Enterprise, intent on finding a husband."
I liked the sequences that involved Picard going to Dixon Hill, as seeing Picard out of his element was fun to watch. The suff with Troi's mother was... Awkward, to say the least. (Do you guys feel the same?)
But that's the problem, there isn't anything more to the story. They show up, get weirded out by the casino, win the game by having Data be Data, and leave. It's devoid of any substance. There isn't some cool mystery to uncover, we never meet the aliens that constructed the place, there isn't evolution or exploration of one of the main characters, there isn't any larger theme being discussed, nothing. They all just show up and then solve the problem while being under no real threat.
Now, compare that episode to another FAR superior episode set in a casino ("Badda Bing, Badda Bang") and tell me which is more enjoyable. The Royale is trash.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
It's just a fun episode. Just let it be what it is.
The Royale is basically an episode about nothing. It's Seinfeld's prototype.
Pretty much. Sometimes, you have to have the occasional light-hearted episode to balance out the drama.
I tried to watch Babylon 5, was appalled at how much worse it was than DS9
come on Netflix, DS9 DS9 DS9
Beren the Empty-Handed
Member
I'm watching this show for the first time too! I caught some episodes here and there over the years, but I just watched all of TOS and am now in Season 6 of TNG. Season 1 was fairly painful, but I powered through it and am enjoying the show quite a bit.
Troi seems to be completely worthless on the bridge, and I like her far more when she is actually counseling people in 1 on 1 sessions. If she's on the bridge she's just stating the obvious. "He's hiding something." Well no shit. The sole exception to this is when she senses life forms when there aren't any other indications. Her mother is a far more interesting character, but would probably be too much if she was a main character.
Other than that quibble I like everyone else, since Wesley is gone. Worf is turning to be far more interesting than I'd originally guessed, and Ro is criminally underused.
So far, I have to say I enjoy TOS more. I'm really not into scifi at all, so the wackiness and general nature of the show is more enjoyable to me. I think I'm in the minority though.
Troi seems to be completely worthless on the bridge, and I like her far more when she is actually counseling people in 1 on 1 sessions. If she's on the bridge she's just stating the obvious. "He's hiding something." Well no shit. The sole exception to this is when she senses life forms when there aren't any other indications. Her mother is a far more interesting character, but would probably be too much if she was a main character.
Other than that quibble I like everyone else, since Wesley is gone. Worf is turning to be far more interesting than I'd originally guessed, and Ro is criminally underused.
So far, I have to say I enjoy TOS more. I'm really not into scifi at all, so the wackiness and general nature of the show is more enjoyable to me. I think I'm in the minority though.
Seconding this guide. I've done it almost entirely and I've only encountered one episode I didn't like. (And it will make me super unpopular if I say which one it is, so just imagine it's one of the fandom's more beloved episodes.)
In retrospect, I think "Time's Arrow" could be removed, because it's middling as far as TNG goes, especially since it takes up two episode slots to watch it. Maybe that's just me.
industrian
will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
While we're on the subject of casinos and stuff, I hated all of the DS9 episodes with that holodeck bootleg Frank Sinatra. I've no idea what they were going for there, it just seemed so out of place with the rest of the show. Maybe they thought they needed the tone shift from war episodes though.
The show runner loved that genre of music. The rest of us had to endure it.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
There's some strange episode combos, or lack of combos on that list.
Recommends "Descent", but not "Datalore" or "Brothers", so the viewer would have no clue who Lore is.
Recommends "Ship in a Bottle", but not "Elementary, Dear Data".
Recommends "Ensign Ro", but not her final episode.
Recommends "Rascals" and "The Game" instead of just about anything else.
With regards to Guinan, what were your thoughts on the character? People seem to generally hate Whoopi Goldberg for being too "wholesome," but I always thought she was a competent actress & she was great whenever Guinan had appeared on-screen.
it's one of those nostalgic Earth things Star Trek seems to be so fond of. Like, every alien on board has to appreciate the magnificence of terrestrial culture and even have fun with it. Better if American
but Badda Bing Badda Bang remains awesome
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
I liked Guinan, I thought she played off the other actors (especially Picard and Worf) really, really well.
CarpeDeezNutz
Member
We need a Gaf top ten Star Trek TNG list and lay to rest whether The Royale is a great episode (it is) or not.
I feel like this happens in every TNG thread.
Guinan's great. An mysterious outsider with just the right amount of screentime. Picard and Guinan scenes are generally amazing (Measure of a Man AND Best of Both Worlds AND Yesterday's Enterprise? Come on)
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Best of Both Worlds
All Good Things...
The Innter Light
Tapestry
Darmok
Yesterdays Enterprise
The Measures of a Man
Chain of Command
Lower Decks
Q-Who
t-storm
Member
Seriously. I mean, wtf?
MrCunningham
Member
This is one of the stupidest episodes in the entire series. Worf suggests that they send a security officer to escort Geordie over to the Pakled ship. Riker waves off any of Worfs concerns and just sends over Geordie unarmed. It makes you wonder why the Enterprise bothers with a security team at all?
But, this is one of those season 2 episodes that was working with an incomplete script. There was a Hollywood writers strike when season 2 was in production, so a lot of episodes were made from unfilmed scripts of an old cancelled Star Trek show from the 70's called Star Trek: Phase II, or they were working with incomplete and first draft scripts. This is why season 2 is so uneven and all over the place.
In all honesty, Whoopi was one of the better actors on the show.
My favourite moment was when Forge was asking her for dating advice, and the way how Forge had to figure out that he was trying to hard was a personal favourite moment. And I agree, she really bounced off well with Picard. I do find it funny that the only reason why she's attracted to bald men, is how one had saved her life in the past. (Does this ever get explained in a future episode?)
It would definitely go for being a part of a Top-10 Underrated Episodes of The Next Generation.
Yeah, even though they came across as complete idiots, I wouldn't have send over anyone on their own, especially with how everything had conveniently went haywire on their ship.
CarpeDeezNutz
Member
Hmm yeah you're right but I am thinking like an OT with votes by all the TNG nerds.
That's a damn good list but man it's missing The Royale which I think is a point of contention when making these best of.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
You do get more of Guinan's backstory as the series progresses. I think you'll enjoy it.
I did find the Royale strangely alluring, but there's no way I'm going to make room for it on my top 10. Not even the top 20. Show's too loaded for that.
I've been following the "40 Hour" guide here
It's been pretty good, but some of the episodes have been a little iffy (mostly the Data focus episodes and the last episode I watched "The Game") I also didn't like finding out that Warf was a daddy in the middle of an episode out of nowhere, must have missed the setup episodes for that I guess, which sucks, because "Sins of the Father" was probably my favorite episode so far.
When I finish the guide, should I watch all of the movies? Or are there certain ones I could skip?
It's been pretty good, but some of the episodes have been a little iffy (mostly the Data focus episodes and the last episode I watched "The Game") I also didn't like finding out that Warf was a daddy in the middle of an episode out of nowhere, must have missed the setup episodes for that I guess, which sucks, because "Sins of the Father" was probably my favorite episode so far.
When I finish the guide, should I watch all of the movies? Or are there certain ones I could skip?
Succinct Verbosity
Member
What about The Drumhead?
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
I like The Drumhead, but unlike Measures of a Man, I didn't find The Drumhead solid the whole way through. That final scene is amazing, but it's a bit of a bore to get there. Measures of a Man was solid the whole way through.
thee are very few good STrek movies, the rest varies from mediocre to plain awful, so it depends if you want to finish the TNG saga and endure the pain or just skip them and read a wikipedia article, which I recommend
You made a list without including "Who Watches the Watchers?" Get "Darmok" off that list, I wouldn't even have that episode in my top 20.
What's wrong with you?
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Kiteo, his eyes closed...
firebricks3
Member
Wait, people didn't like the Royale? Really? It's supposed to be cheesy, and Data makes that episode great. Some people...
OneEightZero
aka ThreeOneFour
Darmok is my second favorite TNG episode.
I'm a linguist. ^_^
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
The final episode is going to make you flip your shit. Amazing storytelling.
Episode 1 is directly tied to the series finale.
Sweet, I'll be looking forward to it, then.
Episode 45: The Emissary
"The Enterprise crew has to deal with a Klingon sleeper ship whose occupants don't know the Federation and Klingons are at peace. On-board to help them is an emissary, who (coincidentally) is one of Worf's former love interests."
Not a bad episode. The bit where Worf had to fool K'Temoc to show that the Klingons had won the war he was the Captain of the Enterprise was great. In general, this was a nice episode to see more of Worf's past.
Episode 46: Peak Performance
"With the Borg threat in mind, Starfleet stages a war-game simulation pitting Captain Picard and the Enterprise against Commander Riker and the eighty-year-old starship Hathaway. However, when the Ferengi suddenly attack, the Enterprise is crippled forcing Picard into a seemingly no-win situation."
It was fun to see Riker go up against Picard, especially with how competitive they both were. Roy Brocksmith, who played Kolrami, was pretty funny. Probably another underrated episode, if there ever was one, for this season.
Episode 47: Shades of Grey
"Commander Riker fights for his life in sickbay after he is infected by an alien parasite while on an away-mission. Dr. Pulaski soon discovers that the only way to save Riker's life is to force his mind to relive painful memories."
As others have mentioned, this was essentially a clip show, so I didn't bother watching it. Also, goodbye Pulaski. I'll take the more mellow Doctor Crusher over your disruptive, loud mouth any day of the week. (Though thank you for saving Riker and his magnificent beard.)
And that's all for Season 2. Onwards, to Season 3. :3
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Seconding this. Watch the first episode. It's not that good, but it does tie into the finale, which is amazing.
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