Star Trek The Next Generation: An Episode Roadmap for Beginners

Every incarnation of Star Trek has its fans and no one series rises above the rest as the definitive best, but Star Trek: The Next Generation probably comes closest.

Taking the format of 1960s Star Trek but updating it to the 1980s and 90s, while it has dated a bit, it’s far more modern than its predecessor and tackles a greater range of stories in more depth. If you want to try out a bit of Star Trek to see what it’s all about – well, I’d start by watching Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but you can follow it up with a few episodes of The Next Generation.

Route 1: So… why should I watch this?

Your basic Best Of. Like all Star Trek series, The Next Generation is largely episodic and most installments stand alone, with no prior knowledge required to enjoy them. The series did introduce some story arcs over the years, and some episodes are sequels to others. Plus, of course, the characters and their relationships do change and grow over the years – though, this being Star Trek, not as much as on other shows. This is not inherently a bad thing – it means you can jump in and enjoy the series without sitting through its teething troubles (and boy, did it have teething troubles – watch through all of seasons one and two at your peril).

Season One:

Skin Of Evil

The first season of The Next Generation was not a resounding critical success, but this episode started to show what it could do when it tried. While predominantly known for a particular character death, “Skin Of Evil” is also – somewhat ridiculous evil-oil-slick scenes aside – the stand-out dramatic hour of season one. The themes it explores are genuinely interesting, the acting pretty good and the stakes raised considerably by the afore-mentioned death. Add “Encounter At Farpoint” for a pilot that, while not the best ever made, isn’t really as bad as its reputation suggests.

Season Two:

The Measure Of A Man

Q Who?

The Measure Of A Man is the first and best of an often-repeated motif on Star Trek and really started to show what The Next Generation had the potential to be. “Q Who?” is an essential episode in Star Trek history, but it is also an excellent hour of television by itself, and stands far out from the crowd of otherwise still iffy second season episodes.

Season Three:

Déjà Q

Yesterday’s Enterprise

The Offspring

The Most Toys

Sarek

The Best Of Both Worlds Part 1

As you can see, season three is where The Next Generation started to take off. The comedy episodes start actually being funny (“Déjà Q”), the writers remember that Patrick Stewart can really act and start finding excuses for him to do so (“Sarek”) and while character development may be largely restricted to Data, it’s very effective and well done (“The Offspring,” “The Most Toys”). “The Best Of Both Worlds Part 1” is one of Star Trek’s finest hours and its best ever cliffhanger, but for my money, “Yesterday’s Enterprise” is the best episode of any series of Star Trek, ever. Yes, including “The City On The Edge Of Forever.”

Season Four:

The Best Of Both Worlds Part 2

Family

Data’s Day

The Wounded

It may have fewer truly stand-out hours than some others, but season four is where The Next Generation started to be really, consistently, good, with far fewer bouts of utter ridiculousness as well. “The Best Of Both Worlds Part 2″ also stands out as one of the series’ best conclusions to a cliffhanger, maintaining the tension and drama of the first part.

Season Five:

Darmok

Disaster

Cause And Effect

I, Borg

The Inner Light

“Cause And Effect” is one of the best time loop stories you’re likely to see, and all the better for the fact that, unlike most other examples, there is no character who completely remembers the events of every loop. “Disaster” offers a neat 45-minute disaster movie, while “The Inner Light,” another of the series’ top episodes, once again shows off Patrick Stewart’s acting range.

Season Six:

Relics

Schisms

Chain Of Command Parts 1 & 2

Tapestry

“Schisms” is a fun twist on the alien abduction trope that was about to really take off with The X-Files. Patrick Stewart acts everyone else off the stage again in both “Chain Of Command” and “Tapestry” (though the former can also be thanked for finally putting Deanna Troi in a proper uniform), while “Relics” is not only a treat for Trekkies, but a beautifully melancholic reflection on age and ageing. Add “Rascals” for a rather fun story about the exact reverse.

Season Seven:

Lower Decks

All Good Things

Season seven saw a bit of a decline in quality, but the series finale “All Good Things,” while not universally popular, provides a satisfying way to close the circle of the TV series.

Movies:

First Contact

Most of the Next Generation movies suffer from the complaint that they’re a bit like extended episodes of the TV show, but not “First Contact” – the eighth Star Trek movie is an action film with a solid backbone of character work, once again taking advantage of Mr Stewart’s acting ability.

Route 2: Crossovers and foundation stones

These are the episodes built on crossovers with or guest stars from other Trek series, and those that laid the foundations (deliberately, or those picked up on later) for other Trek series. We haven’t, however, listed episodes referring to Worf or Chief O’Brien, as that would be impractical, nor every episode featuring Majel Barrett, who not only plays Lwaxana Troi, but also voices the ship’s computer.

Season One:

Encounter At Farpoint

The Last Outpost

“Encounter At Farpoint” sets up The Next Generation of course, but it also features a guest actor from the original series, while “The Last Outpost” introduces the Ferengi, including one played by Armin Shimmerman, though it’s not Deep Space Nine’s Quark. Add “Symbiosis” for an episode featuring Merritt Butrick, who played Kirk’s son David Marcus in Star Treks II and III.

Season Two:

Q Who?

While not a direct crossover, you don’t want to miss the episode that introduces the Borg, who would be so important to Sisko’s backstory in Deep Space Nine and to Voyager. Add “Peak Performance” for another episode featuring Armin Shimmerman playing a Ferengi that isn’t Quark.

Season Three:

The Price

Hollow Pursuits

Sarek

The Best Of Both Worlds Part 1

“The Price” not only introduces the concept of stable or unstable wormholes, but it has a direct sequel in the Voyager episode “False Profits.” “Hollow Pursuits” introduces another character who would play a major recurring role on Voyager, Lt Barclay, while “Sarek” gives us the first major crossover episode in the franchise, as it focuses on the titular character. “The Best Of Both Worlds Part 1″ is the first part of the story that would later be incorporated into Captain Sisko’s backstory. Add “Ménage À Troi” for Voyager’s Ethan Phillips playing a Ferengi (that one isn’t Quark either).

Season Four:

The Best Of Both Worlds Part 2

The Wounded

The Host

All three of these episodes lay foundation stones for some of the basic set-up of Deep Space Nine; “The Best Of Both Worlds Part 2″ is an important part of Captain Sisko’s backstory, “The Wounded” introduces that show’s major villains, the Cardassians, while “The Host” introduces the Trill.

Season Five:

Ensign Ro

Unification Parts 1 & 2

The First Duty

“Ensign Ro” introduces Bajor, the Bajorans, and a character who could have been a regular on Deep Space Nine if Michelle Forbes had been interested, and who provided inspiration for the character of Major Kira. “The First Duty” features an even odder example of a character who inspired a later regular; Robert Duncan McNeil did return to play a regular on Voyager, and his character’s backstory is almost identical to that of “The First Duty’s” Nick Locarno but without the involvement of Wesley Crusher, and his name has been changed to Tom Paris. “Unification” is a more straightforward crossover with the original series, featuring Spock and Sarek. Add “I, Borg” for the inspiration behind Voyager’s Seven of Nine.

Season Six:

Relics

Birthright Part 1

“Relics” is another straightforward crossover with a beautiful holodeck-based homage to the original series, while “Birthright Part 1″ features a brief appearance from Deep Space Nine’s Dr. Bashir. Add “Starship Mine” for a non-Vulcan guest role for Tim Russ, later of Voyager.

Season Seven:

Firstborn

Preemptive Strike

In “Firstborn,” Armin Shimmerman actually plays Quark, Deep Space Nine having already started by then. “Preemptive Strike,” which introduces the Maquis together with Deep Space Nine’s episode “The Maquis,” once again tries to set up Ensign Ro as a regular, only to have to replace her with Voyager’s B’Elanna Torres, though the unnamed Starfleet-officer-turned-Maquis she refers to is presumably Voyager’s Chakotay. Add “Journey’s End” for more resistance against mean Cardassians.

Movies:

Generations

First Contact

Nemesis

“Generations” is the big one for crossovers, but “First Contact” features Robert Picardo as his character from Voyager and Ethan Phillips as a different character, as well as revisiting the character of Zefram Cochrane from the original series, while “Nemesis” introduces us to Admiral Janeway.

Route 3: Klingons and Romulans and Borg, oh my!

These are the major episodes featuring The Next Generation’s three main antagonistic forces, though the Klingons aren’t so antagonistic in most cases.

Season One:

Heart Of Glory

The Neutral Zone

“Heart Of Glory” introduces us to The Next Generation-era Klingons and explains Worf’s backstory, while “The Neutral Zone” sees the return of the Romulans.

Season Two:

A Matter Of Honor

The Icarus Factor

Q Who?

The Emissary

Klingons all around in “A Matter of Honor,” “The Emissary” and “The Icarus Factor,” which features the first time Chief O’Brien is persuaded to undergo a bizarre and uncomfortable Klingon ceremony. “Q Who?,” of course, introduces the Borg.

Season Three:

The Enemy

The Defector

Sins Of The Father

Tin Man

The Best Of Both Worlds Part 1

The Romulans, who would be the most frequently recurring antagonists in The Next Generation (many of the Klingon stories do not feature them as antagonists), start to feature more prominently here in “The Enemy,” “The Defector” and “Tin Man.” Worf has Klingon issues again in “Sins Of The Father,” while “The Best Of Both Worlds Part 1″ is the Borg’s big day.

Season Four:

The Best Of Both Worlds Part 2

Reunion

The Drumhead

The Mind’s Eye

Redemption Part 1

Worf’s stories in this season and those following focus primarily on his immediate family following “Reunion,” while the Romulans are still causing trouble in “The Drumhead,” “The Mind’s Eye” and the season-ending cliffhanger “Redemption,” which features both Romulans and Klingons in spades. Add “The Wounded” for the first appearance of the Cardassians, the primary antagonists of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in Star Trek.

Season Five:

Redemption Part 2

Unification Parts 1 & 2

I, Borg

The Next Phase

More Romulans and Klingons in “Redemption Part 2,” with the Romulans back again for “Unification” and “The Next Phase.” We’ll give you two guesses which antagonist features in “I, Borg.” Add “New Ground” for Worf’s parenting skills and “Ethics” for some more discussion of Klingon ethics.

Season Six:

Face Of The Enemy

Birthright Parts 1 & 2

The Chase

Rightful Heir

Timescape

Descent Part 1

Watch “Face Of The Enemy” and “Timescape” for Romulans, “Birthright” and “Rightful Heir” for Klingons, and “Descent Part 1″ for the Borg, while “The Chase” features Klingons, Romulans and Cardassians all together. Add “Chain Of Command Parts 1″ and 2 for Cardassians being particularly dastardly.

Season Seven:

Descent Part 2

Firstborn

Enjoy a final hour focusing on Klingon society and values before Worf moved to Deep Space Nine to carry on over there in “Firstborn.” Add “Lower Decks,” “Journey’s End” and “Pre-emptive Strike” for more Cardassians, who were featuring more and more due to Deep Space Nine already running, and the producers setting up for Voyager.

Movies:

First Contact

Nemesis

“First Contact” focuses on the Borg and “Nemesis” on the Romulans. The former is much better than the latter, though “Nemesis” does feature Tom Hardy before he was famous.

Route 4: The shipping news

These episodes highlight the various romantic relationships on the show. Romantic relationships are not, it has to be said, Star Trek’s forte in general, but The Next Generation had some beloved pairings nonetheless.

Season One:

Encounter At Farpoint

The Naked Now

Haven

Skin Of Evil

The Saga of Riker and Troi begins in “Encounter At Farpoint,” as does the seven year long flirtation between Picard and Crusher. This is highlighted especially in “The Naked Now,” which also features a pairing probably intended as a one-off joke, but which had surprisingly touching repercussions throughout the series, starting from “Skin Of Evil,” which also features a bad guy who discovers that Riker is Troi’s weak spot. “Haven” adds Troi’s entertainingly frisky mother Lwaxana Troi to the mix as well. Add “11001001″ for a Riker romance with a holodeck character, and “We’ll Always Have Paris” for an old flame of Picard’s.

Season Two:

The Child

The Dauphin

The Emissary

Manhunt

Shades Of Grey

“The Child” is a Troi-centric story, but Riker’s concern for her is rather sweet, and her concern for him in the framing device is pretty much the only reason to watch clip show “Shades Of Grey.” “Manhunt” brings back Mrs. Troi, but we get a break from the Betazoid family in “The Emissary,” which focuses on Worf. “The Dauphin” is a romantic story for Wesley, if your stomach can take that idea.

Season Three:

Booby Trap

The Vengeance Factor

Allegiance

Captain’s Holiday

Ménage À Troi

If you’re a big fan of Riker and Troi, or of Picard reciting Shakespearean sonnets, you might possibly find something to enjoy in the mess that is “Ménage À Troi.” This is Picard’s season, as “Allegiance” touches on his relationship with Dr. Crusher again, albeit via an alien imposter, while “Captain’s Holiday” introduces his Lara Croft-like on-off girlfriend Vash. “Booby Trap” is another story about falling in love with a holodeck character, this time featuring Geordie and with a bit of twist making it, essentially, Real Person Fic gone mad.

Season Four:

Reunion

Data’s Day

Galaxy’s Child

Qpid

Half A Life

The Host

In Theory

Love is all around in season four, whether for Worf (“Reunion”), Chief O’Brien (“Data’s Day”), Geordie (“Galaxy’s Child”), Picard (“Qpid”), Dr. Crusher (“The Host”) or even Data (“In Theory”). Nothing substantial on Riker and Troi this year (though add “The Loss” for more of them generally feeling sorry for each other), but “Half A Life” is the best story so far for Lwaxana Troi.

Season Five:

The Game

The Masterpiece Society

Conundrum

The Outcast

Cost Of Living

The Perfect Mate

More romance for Wesley in “The Game,” as well as a lot of rather dubious behavior from everyone else, and there’s romantic confusion all around in “Conundrum.” “The Masterpiece Society” pairs Troi with an Alien of the Week, “The Outcast” does the same for Riker, while “Cost Of Living” is even better than “Half A Life,” a really nice Lwaxana Troi story. “The Perfect Mate” is one for the X-Men fans, as it pairs Professor X (Patrick Stewart) with Jean Grey (Famke Janssen). Add “The Inner Light” for a very good Picard story with romantic elements, while “Violations” highlights Riker and Troi’s relationship, but in a more uncomfortable and unpleasant way than usual.

Season Six:

Time’s Arrow Part 2

Man Of The People

Aquiel

Lessons

Second Chances

“Time’s Arrow Part 2” is probably the closest the show came to implying that Picard and Guinan’s significant but platonic relationship might have romantic elements, while “Lessons” is another romance for Picard. “Man Of The People” once again creates a Troi story around her sexuality (thankfully the much better “Face Of The Enemy” took a different tack), while “Second Chances” is the annual instalment of the Saga of Riker and Troi.

Season Seven:

Liaisons

Attached

Parallels

Sub Rosa

Eye Of The Beholder

Genesis

All Good Things

Another Alien of the Week for Picard in “Liaisons,” but “Attached” returns to his consistent partner in flirtation, Dr. Crusher, who also has her own Alien of the Week romance in “Sub Rosa.” “Parallels” introduces a new romantic connection between two regular characters, which continues through “Eye Of The Beholder,” “Genesis,” and the series finale “All Good Things” (which also returns to the Picard/Crusher well). Add “Thine Own Self” for more Riker/Troi interaction, though mostly with a less overtly romantic tone in this season, “Bloodlines” for references to an old flame of Picard’s, and “Pre-emptive Strike” for Patrick Stewart directing himself in a relatively sexy scene with Ensign Ro.

Movies:

Insurrection

Nemesis

Being a Riker/Troi fan is the main reason to watch “Nemesis.” And “Insurrection,” really, though Insurrection is a pleasant enough film by itself with yet another new love interest for Picard as well.

Route 5: From the sublime to the ridiculous

As with all Star Trek series, while some episodes of The Next Generation are brilliant, others are just brilliantly entertaining. These are the episodes to hate-watch or make fun of with a group of friends and beverages of your choice. It’s tempting to list most of seasons one and two here, but instead, we’ve just highlighted the very worst of the worst.

Season One:

The Naked Now

Code Of Honor

Justice

Hide And Q

Angel One

Few things can be as hilarious as the barely dressed inhabitants of a planet where everyone seems to spend their whole lives getting massages in “Justice,” though the miserably failed attempt to address sexism in “Angel One” is also amusingly terrible. “The Naked Now” is actually deliberately funny, but too, too silly. The main reason to watch “Hide And Q,” which isn’t actually that bad overall, is that it features Wesley Crusher being impaled, while “Code Of Honor” is just racist and offensive.

Season Two:

The Child

The Dauphin

The Royale

Up The Long Ladder

“The Child” isn’t too terrible, but it is rather odd, especially if you bear in mind that it’s the season opener – it’s a very odd choice to open the season with. “The Dauphin” is a Wesley romance and “The Royale” is deliberately set within a bad novel, and those about as good as they sound. “Up The Long Ladder” would have held the crown for the most offensively stereotyped, utterly cheesy depiction of Irish culture seen on television, if “Voyager” hadn’t topped them with its own truly terrible take on Ireland and Irish culture a few years later.

Season Three:

Ménage À Troi

Season three was a vast improvement overall, but “Ménage À Troi” is a spectacularly misjudged hour that seems to expect the audience to find a prolonged attempt to rape Lwaxana Troi from an unpleasant Ferengi absolutely hilarious.

Season Four:

Remember Me

Night Terrors

Identity Crisis

In “Remember Me,” Dr. Crusher finds herself mysteriously alone on the ship and comes to the conclusion that, of there’s nothing medically wrong with her, there must be something wrong with the universe. “Night Terrors” is likely to give you the titular disorder, while “Identity Crisis” is just bad – Levar Burton is a gifted actor, but he struggles with the rather bizarre material here.

Season Five:

The Game

Season five was generally a strong season, but quite what anyone was thinking in writing, producing and acting “The Game” is a mystery. The titular electronic device is introduced to Riker while in bed with an Alien of the Week and produces the sort of sounds heard in restaurants in “When Harry Met Sally” by anyone playing it, because it stimulates the pleasure centres of the brain. Soon, the whole crew is playing it all over the ship. Ew.

Season Six:

A Fistful Of Datas

For some, all the holodeck-gone-wrong episodes would belong in this list, but we’re just going to highlight this one, which proves that you can have too much of a good thing.

Season Seven:

Phantasms

Sub Rosa

Masks

Genesis

Season seven saw something of a drop in quality overall, but these episodes stand out–“Phantasms” for Troi as a cake, “Sub Rosa” for Dr. Crusher having an affair with a ghost who also slept with her grandmother (as ridiculous as it sounds) and “Masks” because it is considered by many to be the worst episode of the series. “Genesis” lives in the shadow of Voyager’s even worse (but more entertainingly hilarious) “Threshold,” but deserves to be hate-watched on its own merits as well.

Movies:

The Next Generation movies are usually a bit dull rather than gob-smackingly ridiculous, and even “Generations” is better than its reputation would have you believe. If must hate-watch one, it should probably be “Nemesis.”

Route 6: The holodeck and Q 

Holodeck-gone-wrong episodes may have become the bane of many fans’ existence, but they were an integral part of The Next Generation, and often a fun way to step outside the usual parameters of the show. We’ve thrown in a complete listing of the episodes featuring Q as well, a character integral to The Next Generation and its set-up, since he appeared in both the pilot and the series finale, and whose ludicrously vast powers allow his episodes to take on a similarly absurd tone.

Season One:

Encounter At Farpoint

Hide And Q

The Big Goodbye

11001001

“The Big Goodbye” is the very first holodeck-gone-wrong episode in Star Trek, and at least half the episode is just the characters waxing lyrical about how amazing the holodeck is when it’s working. “11001001″ is also an important first – the first story about someone falling in love with a holodeck character.

Season Two:

Elementary, Dear Data

Q Who?

“Q Who?” is considerably more serious than most other Q episodes. Add “The Outrageous Okona” for a (painful) holodeck based subplot.

Season Three:

Déjà Q

Hollow Pursuits

“Déjà Q” is one of Q’s most fun hours, despite (indeed, because of) his lack of powers. “Hollow Pursuits” tackles holodeck addiction, but in a rather daft at times manner. Add “A Matter Of Perspective” for the holodeck used as a tool for a criminal investigation and “Booby Trap” for more falling in love with holodeck characters.

Season Four:

Qpid

“Qpid” more than makes up for the lack of a dedicated holodeck episode in this season with its Robin Hood setting. Add “Family” for a more emotionally touching use of the holodeck.

Season Five:

Season five features neither Q, nor a complete episode devoted to the holodeck, which is possibly why some consider it the series’ best season. The holodeck does appear in other episodes, such as “Cost Of Living,” where it is used for relaxation (not that the children’s holodeck programmes featured look remotely relaxing), and “The Inner Light” features a break from the usual sets and setting, but in a more serious context.

Season Six:

True Q

A Fistful Of Datas

Tapestry

Ship In A Bottle

Making up for lost time, with two Q episodes (“True Q” and “Tapestry,” an episode so serious it dropped the bad pun in the title) and two holodeck-gone-wrong stories (“A Fistful Of Datas” and “Ship In A Bottle,” though the latter is also a character/emerging technology story). Add “Schisms” for more use of the holodeck for investigative purposes.

Season Seven:

Emergence

All Good Things

As season seven drew to a close, The Next Generation went back to its roots in the holodeck (“Emergence”) and with Q as antagonist (“All Good Things”). Add “Thine Own Self” for the use of the holodeck for Starfleet examinations.

Movies:

Obviously, thankfully, none of the movies are set mostly on the holodeck, but Generations not only has the holodeck-like mindscape of the Nexus, but an extended sequence on the actual holodeck as well.