Series Seasons 1 and 2 episode recommendations.
It is true that seasons 1 and 2 of TNG are not as strong as the others, but 'just skipping them' is an absolutely silly idea. There are some great gems, and a bunch of at-least-decent episodes that set up future developments.
Season 1 - 11 episodes:
- Encounter At Farpoint: Establishes various details on character backstories and is a good introduction to the series. Since that was its point.
- Where No One Has Gone Before: Arguably the best season 1 episode. Sets up a story arc that carries to the very last season.
- The Battle: Picard and Ferengi backstory.
- Hide And Q: In addition to being pretty decent on its own, this episode is part of the multi-season Q story.
- Datalore: The Origin Story of Data, also setting up a multi-season arc.
- 11001001: Interesting bottle story, and sets up an important plot point in a future episode.
- Coming Of Age: Sets up context for 'Conspiracy.'
- Heart Of Glory: Explores the current state of affairs with the Klingons and Worf.
- Skin Of Evil: Important story that sets up some future plot points.
- Conspiracy: Follows up on Coming Of Age. Best if you watch The Neutral Zone right afterward.
- The Neutral Zone: Sets up the Romulans as the show's Big Bad.
Season 2 - 8 episodes:
- Elementary, Dear Data: Sets up an episode much later. Pretty good on its own, though.
- The Schizoid Man: Discusses more of Data's backstory.
- A Matter Of Honor: Like Heart Of Glory, this episode discusses the Klingons.
- The Measure Of A Man: Simply unskippable.
- Contagion: Follows up on the Romulans after 'The Neutral Zone.'
- Q Who: Brings back Q and introduces the show's new Big Bad.
- The Emissary: Deals with Worf and the Klingons some more
- Peak Performance: A follow up to the events of Q Who, this is the season two finale.
Series Good all over, even the 'bad' bits
When I decided to go through Star Trek, this is where I started, and I think it still holds up for reasons a lot of people have already ennumerated: good scripts, good actors, decent special effects and set design and what-have-you. However, I don't really line up with how I'm supposed to think about the series.
Yes, I left supposed to out of air quotes. I don't doubt someone's going to pitch a fit about that, but I can't help it. The fact is, while seasons one and two have a few clunkers, they also have some good episodes. Yes, season one has Code of Honor and Datalore, but it's also got The Battle, 11001001, and Heart of Glory. Even several bad episodes had something good come out of them, like Lore. And regarding the charge of arrogance, I just can't agree. In the day and age of political punditry a la Tumblr and Facebook, they don't even make a blip. They're too nice to the other side, for one.
Season two was overall worse, yeah, but not outright awful. While it had Shades of Grey, it also had The Measure of a Man, Where Silence Has Lease, and Pen Pals (and Q Who, though I'm more mixed on that one). Again, even the underwhelming episodes had things I liked, such as Data's subplot in The Outrageous Okona (which my autistic self found pretty relatable). I don't hate Pulaski, either. I think she had more character than Crusher and a solid concept that could've killed with the right episodes. I also didn't think she was that bad bar when she was supposed to be bad or when it worked for the story (Peak Performance aside). And if her good moments were supposed to go to Crusher, tough; they're hers now, and I think they fit her well enough.
Seasons three to six were good, not too much to say. Personally, though, I was getting a little annoyed with Data around this point. He seemed a little too capable, like when he shut down the whole ship by himself. Also, I never hated Wesley Crusher. He just wasn't that grating and he didn't save the day as often as everyone seems to claim (bar season 1, and even then he only does it, like, three times in twenty-six episodes, which is OK for an untrained genius). Season seven is the weakest one for me, but that's just because it had the most episodes I hated (Force of Nature, Homeward, and Journey's End). Even then, it still has a bunch of great episodes (Dark Page, Thine Own Self, and Preemptive Strike), and it ends on a high note.
So, yeah. Despite what everyone tells me, I like the whole series. The worst parts aren't super bad (mostly) and the good parts really shine. Even when it's OK, it's still above-average. Give every season a try, decide for yourself.
Series I'd recommend skipping the first season and maybe the second
I usually don't like doing things like this, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to make an exception here. The first season, save Skin of Evil, isn't very good. Gene Roddenberry was still a big moderating force in the writing at this time, and it shows, as most of the characters come off as aloof, alien, and practically dripping with smugness. They love giving speeches on how much better they are than the humans of the past, how superior their non-capitalist lifestyle is, and how evil and stupid we are. I understand that Gene wanted to show *his* perfect future, but making your characters flawless and preachy does not make for interesting television. The only episodes that you'll really need to watch are the two part premeire, Datalore, and 'skin of evil', and I'm only recommending those because they have events which come up in later seasons.
Season Two isn't much better, but for different reasons; a writers strike at the time lead to much lower quality writing (hell, the season finale was a glorified season recap clip show), culminating in the simply awful 'The Outrageous Okana', but there are still plenty of episodes worth watching. If you want to skip this as well, then I'd cherry pick a few out that you should watch: A Matter of Honour (has pivotal moments for Worf's character), The Measure of a Man and Where Silence has Lease (Great all-round episodes), Q-Who (possibly the best Q story ever and the first appearance by The Borg). Season 3 was the point where the show really found its footing, and churning out quality stories.
Series Peak Star Trek, crooked, bent in some places and slimy, but still the peak.
While I honestly prefer TOS, I have to grant that in most aspects, TNG is superior.
This is the series where you'll see the best speeches, the best conversations, the best ethical dillemas. A simple Youtube search and you'll find many snippets where characters talk about their points of view and make arguments, and its not without a reason. The series picked every single point of TOS and was able to improve or expand it. Sure, you'll have to go through the awful mess of the first two seasons (pick a guide, seriously) and survive the infamous last season (where the writers were either out of the boat or out of ideas, although there are some really good episodes there), but after it, you'll be seeing Trek at its best. Patrick Stewart is a powerhouse as Jean Luc Picard, placed as Captain of the Enterprise because he represents the best of mankind: an arbiter and moral compass of the Federation that is guided both by his reason, sense of duty, ethics and empathy and isn't afraid of using neither kindness nor force when the situation calls for it, but always using force as a last resort and trying to see the situations through the lenses of his adversaries. The themes touched by the
For old (really old) trekkies, its interesting to see how the dynamics shifted between series. If in TOS mankind was able to step out of its greed into an enlightened state and offer help, here Mankind has to defend said state. Be arguing to insanely powerful beings that we are not savages anymore, prevent needless wars, fighting alien threats or simply be vigilant against threats from within. Its subtle, but to me, I prefer the raw optimism and joy from TOS.
Now, to the not so good aspects. Frankly this might be one of my least-liked crew outside of Nutrek, the cast was really green in their acting chops, needing three seasons, and there was a LOT of tampering from producers preventing characters from being truly fleshed out, such as the infamous 'No personal conflics' rule which was as much as a blessing than it was a curse, not letting the narrative be bogged down by cheap drama, but at the same time depriving much needed character growth. I ended separating characters to 'what they do at their best/ what they do at their worst' and found out that I gravitated towards Picard, Geordi, Worf and Dr. Crusher. I found Riker to be the kind of guy that is good to work with, but a nightmare to work FOR, turning into a self-conceited jerk whenever crossed for any reason by anyone and having little patience with underlings. Troi's treatment by the producers was downright criminal, with what could have been a shining example of a therapist in the next millenium being relegated to be a constant victim of sexual assault. Weirdly, while Data was often used to show the best in mankind while trying to learn to be human, I could never shake that people ignored how much of a threat he could be to the whole ship, being constantly hijacked, tampered with or altered, and nearly destroying the enterprise by himself, what, five times? I'm not advocating for treatment of synthetics akin to the Picard series, but acknowledging differences, and adapting to them, would feel better than just sweeping under the 'status quo' rug (probably because of the 'no-conflict' rule), discuss them! Its what makes this series superb, the willingness to discuss hard topics! Another point of contend with me is that, whereas Kirk often needed help and was often confronted by his bridge team, Picard feels more like he is surrounded by yes-men, rarely being opposed or questioned. But I enjoy the fact that they acknowledged the distance between Picard and his crew, and made it a plot-point in the finale.
And while many episodes and themes are far ahead of its time, its impossible to ignore that many other episodes didn't age well, with either blatant sexism, goofy annoying plots or a mix of those. This is also the series that rapmed up the use of Technobabble (with varying degrees of of use from 'needed to the plot' to 'ok they're clearly making up words now to pad up the plot', which would develop a blight in the franchise. The constant tug-o-war between writers and producers (and sabotaging from Gene, whom I think was the greatest enemy of his own franchise) also tossed the whole federation into weird loops, with 'this is the best ship of the federation, but a bunch of thugs can hijack it using a straw and a paperclip', 'pacifism to the point of stupidity' and the abuse of the prime directive, both used as a justification for the plot-of-the-week to happen instead of, you know, being the base of the plot.
In the end, even if it's far from perfect, I think that the best parts far outshine the rest. The interactions and meaningful dialogues between crew are far better than the characters, with a solid writing that delivers many great lessons even during bad or bland episodes and several points that are debated to this day. Many points were insanely far ahead of its time, with discussion about A.I rights, gender roles, drug use, euthanasia, medical ethics and many, many more, even the interior design of the ship itself was ahead: A deep-space exploration ship with wide corridors and clear colors and many recreational facilities in a design acknowledging that humans can't live in cramped grey corridors. So whenever you need an inspirational speech or see how good humans can be, give this series a chance.