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The Essential Star Trek: The Next Generation
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- čas přidán 7. 07. 2020
- What episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation are must-sees? I went through the entire series to pick out which ones are essential!
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The Defector in Season 3 is also an all time great with Picard pulling the ultimate boss move at the end, with the help of 3 cloaked Kilgon ships, and delivering the line "Shall we die together?".
It's a beautiful episode, for a certainty. Possibly my favourite. The whole time, you're wondering whether or not the defector is telling the truth, it's just so well written and acted.
I wish serialized storytelling was a thing on TNG and we could've seen a season-long story arch of Picard vs. Tomalak. He would've made an excellent adversary.
I grew up watching this show with my dad. It is literally the only Star Trek experience I have, but it holds a special place
I would suggest "Ensign Ro" (for introducing the Marquis, the Cardassians and showing that even the Enterprise crew isn't always morally justified) and "Ship in a Bottle" (revisiting Moriarty and posing some interesting questions regarding the rights of holographic beings).
Both are good suggestions.
May I add S6E21 Frame Of Mind in which Riker is both playing a mental patient in a play on board the enterprise while also becoming convinced that he is truly suffering from delusions.
In my mind that is the best episode of TNG.
Now do Deep Space Nine, the most underrated trek show
Some of us who grew up with the original series thoroughly enjoyed TNG but are not as fond of DS9 and Voyager. We grew up with the constant threat of nuclear annihilation. Star Trek was an optimistic series showing that not only would the human race survive, but that the future would be better. The darker tones of DS9 and Voyager made the future seem much more grim.
How is it underrated?
@@ThreadBomb It is arguably the best show of the bunch, with the most well-rounded and developed cast of characters, and some of the most engaging story-arcs of the whole franchise, but it barely had good enough ratings to keep going back in the day and today only hardcore trekkies ever bring it up.
I’d definitely appreciate an essential DS9 watch list. I loved TNG, then tried watching DS9 and stopped at the episode where a bunch of fairytale creatures appear for no reason. I guess it grows a beard after a season or two?
@@BarnabyWalters Just like TNG, Deep Space 9 struggles to find itself the first two seasons. The fairy tale episode is generally agreed to be the worst episode of the show. But if you can push through all that, DS9 is Star Trek at it's absolute best. Not only does it feature the best cast of any of the shows, the most engaging storylines, but it also takes themes and ideas that the entire franchise had been growing and working on, and really brings them to a satisfying culmination
"Half a life" is my favorite episode with Majel; it's about Love, death, suicide, euthanasia, and how two cultures can view these topics in a very different manner. It is both very philosophical and emotional. In general, when I try to convince people that star trek tng is about more than just lasers and spaceships (which is cool), I lead with this one.
One of my faves from the whole show; the first time I really enjoyed a lwaxanna episode; had me in tears by the end haha
Yes and it dispels some of the negative ideas around Lwaxana by showing her to be a highly principled and loving woman who can fight for what she believes and how she can also change and grow and not let pride hold her back. A good episode.
Episodes that are missing in my opinion are: The Defactor (one of the best Romulan and SciFi stories in general), The Most Toys (an episode that explores Data's characters way more than most other Data episodes, especially when looking at the ending) and Face of the Enemy (the essential Troy episode)
Wasp I agree, all 3 of those are in my (long) list of best episodes.
Yeah, but have you seen Farpoint?
The Most Toys is one of my absolute favorites. I’ve watched it so many times. Data is my favorite character, hands down, though I absolutely love them all. This episode really shines. Especially with how he fights against his humiliation, his willingness to finally be humiliated to save a life, and then realizing his worth as a person who once again is not a “thing.” He is amazing in this one.
I am curious about your take on DS9. For me it is the best of the Star Trek shows with the best writing, cast, character development as well as dealing with real world issues.
Oh, hell no! Good, but no way better than next Gen. If there hadn’t have been the success of next Gen there wouldn’t have BEEN a VOY or DS9. Period.
In my headcanon, Brent Spiner's character in "Night Court" is a distant ancestor of Noonien Soong.
Bob and June Wheeler! From West Virginia and Yugoslavia!
I never saw Night Cort. Was it any good?
Missed "The Nth Degree" (Best Barclay episode IMHO, big props for including Darmok.
I’m of 2 minds about Darmok. It’s a good example of “quintessential Trek,” but as a language/linguistics guy, the concept of a language based entirely on idiom is so absurd and unworkable, it makes it rough. I loved it when I was a kid.
@@hopsonkim4952 I feel you on that one. I have a tendency to communicate in bullet points, so the structure appealed to me. Also, Paul Winfield is the man. :)
Redemption part 2 has one of the best, arguably the best Data scene in the entire series... For all of Data's amazing abilities & the numerous times that he has saved the ship & crew, the episode reveals Picard's unconscious bias against putting Data in command of a starship. When confronted by this, Picard recognizes his bias, & places Data in command. Once in command, his subordinate questions his ability to lead based only on his own prejudice against Data. Of course, Data rises to the occasion and saves the day.
It was a big moment in Data's character development b/c to that point, I think the audience likely had similar reservations about Data's ability to command; he was a fantastic worker bee, but the one had to wonder whether the things that made Data different also made him unsuitable to command. In true Star Trek fashion, this subtly addressed (unintentionally or intentionally) prejudices others, particularly ethnic minorities or women, face in our society, where there are seen as great workers but unsuitable for positions of leadership...
Another great scene showing Data in command is Gambit part 2 in the show's 7th season. In this episode, Data is in command of the Enterprise, & Worf is his 1st Officer. When Worf is insubordinate, Data privately berates Worf on his performance. Great moment between the 2 characters...
Missing "The Wounded," introduction of Cardassians, great O'Brien episode and a fantastic story about the attitudes that linger after war. Spiritually the first DS9 episode and as far as I'm concerned that entire series is Essential.
Others left out, some noted below, include 11001001, Heart of Glory, Contagion, The Schizoid Man, Peak Performance, The Survivors, Who Watches the Watchers, Booby Trap, The Defector, Qpid, Half a Life (the real definitive Lwaxana Troi episode), Ensign Ro, Conundrum, Ship in a Bottle, Face of the Enemy, The Chase, Rightful Heir, Thine Own Self and Preemptive Strike
And maybe even The Last Outpost and The Battle (not great episodes but they at least establish the Ferengi, and The Battle has the Stargazer and Picard Maneuver).
Of course, the most "Essential" episode in terms of setting up both DS9 and Voyager might be Season 3's "The Price." It introduces not only the concept of a stable wormhole being something of value (a key plot point of DS9), but also the idea of getting trapped in the Delta Quadrant (leading to Voyager doing a direct sequel to the episode to find the Ferengi who get lost in this episode)
"The Wounded" is a brilliant episode. If you need essential Miles O'Brien episodes, that's the first one on the list! They reference Setlik III a few hundred times until the end of DS9 because of this episode. It also gives us Marc Alaimo for the first time as a Cardassian before his recurring role as Gul Dukat (he appeared as other alien races before, including the Romulan Commander in "The Neutral Zone").
I love Sub Rosa, it's pure pulp, I want a cheap painted cover with that bare chested ghost holding Beverly, hair flowing dramatically in the wind.
Great list, Dan. I am also a big TNG fan and I mostly agreed. Some of my other favorites include:
"Ensign Ro" (S5, E03) as it introduces the Bajoran race and leads into the events of "Journey's End" (below) and DS9
"Time's Arrow, Part 1" (S5, E26) & "..., Part 2" (S6, E01) - I love a good time travel story and to me it forms part of the essential Data collection, I feel it also adds something to the discovery of B4 in "ST: Nemesis"
"Journey's End" (S7, E20) - a great episode for Wesley, and further explores the Bajoran / Cardassian / Federation treaties that tie into DS9. I believe this species is the same one of which Chakotay (of ST: Voyager) is a member. Also, the forced re-location and treatment of native peoples was another smart way of hiding a then current issue (which is still topical) into an alien race so it is impacting the viewer sub-consciously and not hitting one over the head (and the forced relocation issue comes up again in "ST: Insurrection").
And for some more great holodeck adventures:
"A Fistful of Datas" (S6, E08) - where a malfunction creates multiple characters in the image of Data, an acting tour de force for Brent Spiner
"Ship in a Bottle" (S6, E12) - a great follow up to an episode which is on your list "Elementary, Dear Data" (S2, E03)
I lost track of DS9 about half way through Season 4 but if you are interested in doing an essential list of that series it would be great to reference when I get a chance to go back to it.
Thanks for all your content, love the channel, and good luck in your upcoming Schmoedown Title matches (singles and teams).
Dan, major oversight in skipping “Where No One Has Gone Before”! It establishes why Wesley is on the bridge and the Traveler who returns in “Remember Me”.
OK, I'm getting yelled at by my kid for getting too hyped while watching this.😂
"Probably literally." Made me laugh too loudly.
Wait wait WAIT. Picard getting turned into the Borg was the END of season 3?! Holy crap, people had to wait to find out what was gonna happen with that?! Oh my gosh, I didn’t notice that when my parents had showed me those two episodes. That’s WILD.
Amazing job at this video, especially with doing it without giving away too many massive spoilers!!!
Yeah...talk about spoilers, a la Game of Thrones...google would have force told me about part 2 somehow in those 3 months....and it was so clever a part 2, it would have been killer.
They put out part one, and then had the season break to figure out part two. It was not planned in advance!
Yeah, that was a long summer.
Apparently Patrick Stewart got yelled at on the Pacific Coast Highway over the summer by a family that was angry that they had to wait several months to see what happens.
not really a huge Trek fan, but your content is so well made that I’m still watching this full video.. well done
A Star Trek show by Dan = Instant press of the like button🖖
I realize the status quo has to prevail on a show like this, but as a disabled person myself, I dislike “miracle cure” stories that magically erase disabilities. It would have been nice to see Worf have to deal with a permanent injury, and struggle with his self-worth and identity as a Klingon as a result.
Would also recommend. Who Watches the Watchers, First Contact, The Wounded, The Defector, Frame of Mind, and Gambit.
If anyone wants an enjoyably bad episode “A Fistful of Data’s” is hilarious!
sounds like an erotic movie.
Gilbert Jacobs If your kink is an entire western town of nothing but Datas then it is.
Patrick Stewart directed “A Fistful of Datas”. It’s one of Marina Sirtis’s favorite episodes.
One of my FAVORITE episodes!! Worf at his best!
Even Bad TNG is better than the crap CBS produces. I'd watch "Fistful of Datas" 15 times over before I watch Discovery or Picard.
"So, here's my 57 favorite episodes..."
A trekkie after my own heart. I personally like the list of time travel episodes on memory alpha, and do a whole day of timey wimey shenanigans every few months.
Best of Both World's 1&2, All Good Things, Measure of a Man, Darmok, Encounter At Farpoint, Ensign Ro, Parallels, Yesterday's Enterprise, The Next Phase, Chain of Command, Tapestry, The Inner Light... could go on and on, it's just a great show. Didn't *really* hit their groove until season 3, IMO, but early stuff still has some gems like Measure of a Man and the "miss" episodes are few and far between after season 2, like Crusher banging the space ghost or "Masks." All time worst episode: Shades of Gray. :)
Shades of Gray is the one episode truly deserving a 0/10
Best of Both World's 1 will always have a special place for me - family happened to have alot of guests at the house when it played live on the TV, and there was a collective "ahhhh!" from the room to the cliffhanger ending.
"I dont know where to start." How about season 1, episode 1 :-)
Star Trek TNG is definitely my favorite Star Trek show! Currently rewatching it :-)
Too many to list! So many incredible episodes.
"Probably, literally," Dan? No, literally, literally. Riker is the best Kirk since Kirk, and he's one of the Kirkiest in that way.
Kirk never sat on a chair the wrong way around.
@@FatNorthernBigot Riker doesn't sit in a chair. Riker *mounts* a chair.
"The Inner Light" is my absolute favorite episode of TNG. I was crying by the time the credits rolled.
Yes, mine too, Nathan. It had superb writing and character development. You're rooting for these characters you just met - Kayman's family and friends. You know it's really Picard. But it's like Patrick Stewart is playing a totally different character. What a a GREAT actor he is! It ALWAYS brings tears to my eyes. This is a WONDERFUL episode! I think people who don't like Star Trek or even Sci Fi in general would enjoy it.
One of the most boring episodes ever
"Yesterday's Enterprise" is a dramatic, cleverly written episode that allowed Tasha Yar to come back from the dead, if only on a temporary basis. In "The First Duty", Jean-Luc's speech to Crusher is quite dignified and hard-hitting, allowing Patrick Stewart to showcase his formidable acting skills.
Appreciate the Closed Captioning that isn’t auto-generated. It gives a CZcams video that extra something special in the presentation.
Nice list. But Sela is seen in the shadows in "The Mind's Eye" and has a bigger part in "Redemption 1&2". "Unification" is not her first appearance.
I thought so, been a little since I've seen them but thought she was in the shadows first. Thanks :)
I would LOVE more lists like this, especially for any and all of the big sci-fi shows. I’ve watched all of ST:TNG, but not in a while, so I appreciated this stroll down memory lane.
The Drumhead episode is one of the all time greatest episodes ever put to TV.
Houuu nice ! My favourite episode is The Inner Light, it is not a typical one but I love it !
I would definitely love to see you do similar lists for DS9 and Voyager, although I suspect DS9’s list would be quite a bit longer and Voyager’s quite a bit shorter. 🙂
Just because of how much more serialized ds9 is very few skippable episodes cause even most of the meh ones get call backs later in good ones you need
Season 6 I have to include A Fistful of Data’s as a great episode for Alexander, Worf, Trio, Dr Crusher & Data. I would say A Fistful of Data’s is the only good Alexander Episode where we see a different side to the father and son dynamic.
Great list! I was pretty young when I watched TNG, and I don’t remember a lot of episodes but pretty much every episode on here stuck with me. ❤️ I would watch episode guides for EVERY Star Trek series! 😉 Thanks, Dan!
This was a fun trip down memory lane. Thanks, Dan.
Finally someone acknowledged the lower decks animated series being developed.would love to know more about this
Now you do
Final Mission has one of my favorite Picard lines in the series: "Oh I envy you, Wesley Crusher. You're just at the beginning of the adventure."
I barely started watching this show about a month ago and I gotta say I'm super invested in everything thats going on. At 35 I never thought I would be watching this
The only episode that I feel was overlooked is Schisms from Season 6. Great sci fi horror/suspense that’s hard to forget... especially that clicking in the dark.... Great list Dan!
I would include from season 5 Ensign Ro because it includes the introduction to the Bajoran’s setting up DS9 & Voyager. I would not put Disaster or the Game because other than setting up Trio’s rank & a Wesley Episode it does not do too much. Silicon Avatar is important for more back story about the Crystalline Entity. I would include A Matter if Time because it tells us a bit more about the characters like Data in processing and abilities, it tells us what the crew finds important and gives us one of the Best moments with Dr Crusher in the entire Show. I like Masterpiece Society as a Trio & Geordi Episode. Is shows us a more positive side of Genetically enhanced beings. The opposite of Khan. The The Next Phase is great for Bajoran culture and great on Klingon culture on death rituals as well as Geordi.
The content I crave! Great list, don't disagree with any of your choices, of course you left out some I'd have added, lol. "The Most Toys" is one that I just recently rewatched and it's a great Data episode, very powerful ending. "Q-Pid" is one of the comedic episodes I'd add to any essentials list. "The Nth Degree", "Ensign Ro", these are great too for exploring the other crew members outside of the main cast.
Only 57?! I am surprised there’s only so this little. Lol! I know tng is you favorite, but I would love to know your opinion on DS9. Even though I grew up with tng I love DS9 slightly more and think it’s the underrated series of the franchise.
DS9 is my first Trek series that I’m watching the whole way through. I adore it.
Awesome stuff man. You should do a similar list for DS9.
"Probably, literally " made me legit LOL. Well played, Dan.
Great picks. Some quick ones right off the top of my head that didn't make your list: Heart of Glory, The Defector, The Wounded, Ship in a Bottle.
Great list! I really enjoy "Schisms." Cool mystery episode.
Episodes I would have included
S1E22 - Heart of Glory - Explores Worf's backstory and explains why he has both Human and Klingon parents. Watching TNG without this episode can be confusing.
S3E10 - The Defector - The best Romulan episode
S3E21 - Hollow Pursuits - Introduction to Lt. Barclay
S4E12 - The Wounded - First introduction to Cardassians
S4E14 - Clues - Solid Sci-fi mystery
S4E15 - First Contact - The best TNG episode dealing with The Prime Directive and ethical issues surrounding it.
S4E24 - The Mind's Eye - Important episode in the Klingon Civil War story arc
S5E3 - Ensign Ro - Introduction to Ensign Ro plus sets up the whole Bajoran-Cardasssian-Federation conflict that's the backdrop for DS9
S5E14 - Conundrum - Another solid sci-fi mystery
S5E26 & S6E1 - Time's Arrow, Parts I & II - The crew being sent back to Earth's past is an essential Star Trek episode premise in all series and needs to be included. Plus, this is Guinan's best episode.
S6E12 - Ship in a Bottle - The follow up to the Moriarty episode in Season 2 and the best holodeck episode in the series.
S6E20 - The Chase - The most important epsiode in all of Star Trek in terms of lore and universe-building.
Great list! Missing a few awesome episodes, but tng has so much to love! I do wish you had mentioned how much a lot of the show setup Deep Space Nine; so many stories on tng were really fleshed out and brought to a conclusion on ds9.
I was a fan of the original series, and couldn't get into TNG. One thing that always stood out to me was the production design and make-up. Why did it look so cheesy in TNG? You would think they would have a bigger budget than the original series, right?
A lot of the show looks very beige and flatly lit, I think, which is a big contrast to the original series. A few TNG episodes were more dramatically lit but it was inconsistent. The film Generations also lit the original sets and costumes in a way that made them look a lot better. But some fans hate that because it doesn't look like the series!
'There's now 2 Rikers banging around the Galaxy, literally.' Had me creased over laughing!
Ship in A Bottle is good for Moriarty as a Hollowdeck program and a Barclay episode. Starship Mine is a great crew episode seeing how they can fight the odds while showing Picard’s love for Horseback ridding. Lessons is good tie back to The InnerLight. One of Picard’s better love relationships.
Great vid Dan. It was nice to take a quick trip through the entire run of TNG.
Please make a series of this, as a new (and slightly overwhelmed) Star Trek fan, I need it desperately!!
I’ve watched this about 4 times and I can’t explain why since I’m not a trek fan. Really love this deep dive, hope to see more like this in the future. This makes me want to dive into TNG. Thanks Dan!
I'm impressed by the self-control involved in getting your list down to just 57 episodes! You even had two on here that I had overlooked when doing my own viewing guide which now sits at 105 episodes!
Even though a lot of my favorites were left off, this is a really solid list. I do wish you'd used the honorable mentions to shout out some more genuinely good episodes, but I understand wanting to end on a laugh. Though, you could do a whole list of the worst/most cringe episodes of TNG.
I'd also love to see you eventually do recommendation videos for all the Trek series.
Thank you Mr Murrell.
You have just given me my next quarantine series to watch.
I tried rewatching X-Files but it just isn't working for me this time round.
I feel like "Identity Crisis" should be on this list. It one of the best La Forge episodes in the entire series and it might be my favorite episode of any in the entire Star Trek brand. It delves a bit in to Geordi's history as well as showcasing his investigative prowess, and if you like dark tones, well my friend, this episode gets down right Lovecraftian as several characters disappear and Geordi finds out where they went was worse than anything he could have imagined. I'd also include any episode involving the holographic James Moriarty data created to be able to challenge him intellectually. There aren't many of them, but the ones there are stand out in my mind. "Symbiosis" also gets an honorable mention IMO. It depicts a pair of worlds; one addicted to a drug, the other manufacturing it and selling it to the great profit; and not so subtly hints that the societal infrastructure created by the powerful to maintain their power benefits from wide spread substance abuse among the impoverished, a VERY relevant (and ballsy) episode in early 90's America.
I'd add 'The Chase' from season 6. Such a fun adventure episode. Also gives us a look at what Picard might have been if he had taken the path of an archaeologist instead of joining Starfleet.
I remembered 'Darmok' a lot when I was watching the movie 'Arrival'.
The Defector is my favorite romulan episode of the romulan defector. Good episode and story
Man, that has one of my favorite Trek moments when Tomalak has the Enterprise cornered deep within Romulan territory, and Picard pulls the great bit of revealing the cloaked Klingon Birds of Prey that had been hiding in wait alongside them. Brilliantly executed subtle subplot in an overall excellent episode.
I'm surprised you didn't mention Robert Duncan McNeill who appeared in The First Duty and went on to play Tom Paris in Voyager.
"they didnt do alot with dr pulaski"
pulaski gets a bad rap. shes great. shes stern. she gets stuff done. shes proactive. shes everything ppl say they want in a "strong female character" and has an actual arc unlike most main characters of TNG where the return to the status quo seems to be the norm. she starts and views data as nothing more than equipment and mean and unfeeling towards him (one reason why i think ppl dislike her so much, cause data is so loved) to where she comes around to him, values him, encourages him and in one episode even she becomes his only advocate. Pulaski is awesome and loads more interesting as a character in one season than crusher ever was in 6 seasons. imo.
Great episode, Dan! Love Star Trek: The Next Generation! Grew up on that show.
No yelling. Great job sir. A lot of hard work. Would love to see the original show essentials.👍🏾🍾💪🏿
Loving all the Q love. One of my favourite characters.
I remember watching the entire series in a couple of weeks during summer break from University. 7 seasons, 26 episodes, 45 mins per episode. That was fun. Still to date it's the only Startrek show I watched, didn't really get into the other ones, it feels different without Picard.
I did the same thing between junior and senior year of high school
I like saying "Shaka, when the walls fell" to people when they fail
To me, the special effects, while sometimes cheesy, are surprisingly immersive. There is something about the sets and atmosphere of the show that pulled me in.
Q isn't 'bad' his morality is beyond the comprehension of us mere mortals.
A great summary of the series.Thank you so much!!
I have seen every episode of TNG on several occasions, going back to when I was a little boy watching it with my dad, to watching it as an adult. For the most part, I was rarely disappointed with an episode.
Can we get a written list in the description? Been wanting to rewatch some key episodes now that Picard is over!
This! Just scrolled through all the comments hoping someone had
AlrightProductions posted a list elsewhere in these comments, but doesn't say which season the eps are from.
"Sub Rosa" is definitely NOT the worst episode of the series. The undisputed worst episode of TNG is the end of Season 2, "Shades of Grey." Not only is it Trek's only clip episode, it's a badly written clip episode.
Also Masks
There's a reason it was a clip show and was badly written. Season 2 was shortened to 22 episodes because of the 1989 Writer's Strike and related budget constraints (every other season has 26 shows). Episodes like "Sub Rosa" and "Code of Honor" had no such constraints and were still atrocious.
I dunno. Which would you rather see, a best-of-Riker clipshow or Crusher having an ectogasm? I'll take the former.
@@Welcometotheclipshow Masks is the best bad episode. It's my guilty pleasure episode. It's so ridiculous but Brent Spiner sells it.
@@Welcometotheclipshow For some weird reason I actually like Masks alot. Mostly childhood memories giving it a special nostalgia glow, and Brent acting his butt off to salvage what he can from a weird script.
Great Episode ! Thank you Dan. Please do an essential for Star Trek DS9
Awesome. Dan, you ever get into DS9? TNG is my main Trek, but some DS9 eps are arguably better.
What I like about DS9 is it takes the ideals of TNG and puts them under fire and tests them. Nothing like the threat of war to find out if you really believe in your values!
Or as Marina Sirtis calls, Deep Sleep 9
I’m almost done DS9 and there are some really incredible and powerful episodes.
@@_RT___ "Behold, I am the Goddess of Empathy...cast off your inhibitions and and embrace love, truth, joy."
The Next Phase with Ro and Geordi. A very fun SciFi episode and Rascals.
Fantastic selection of episodes, Dan! I think you pretty much covered every essential one and I'm especially glad you included "The Game," one of my personal favorites which I feel as though is rather under-appreciated and ahead of its time. Naturally there are many other solid ones, and a few other personal favorites of mine I would've included are "Where No One Has Gone Before," "Who Watches the Watchers," "Power Play," "True Q" and "Rascals" among others. However, I still feel as though you've assembled pretty much a definitive list for newbies, as well as those simply looking to give the series another look. Great job!
The Arrested Development drop-in was amazing!
I can't figure out why but I really struggled to get in to Next Generation, even after 4 seasons. I love the original series and I also really enjoy Voyager but Next Gen just never clicked and it's so odd because it's almost unanimously considered the best Trek.
The first TNG I ever watched was First Contact (the movie). If I started with the first season of TNG, no way I would have kept watching or gotten into it.
I wouldn't say TNG is "unanimously" the best Trek. A lot of people love DS9. TNG's great episodes are better than anything else but the TNG bad episode are really bad. DS9 is more consistent after season 1.
A huge number of people got into Trek by watching TNG when they were kids, and these people tend to dominate the fandom.
Have to agree...never developed that 'loyalty to the TNG crew that I felt for the original series...this crew lacked chemistry and there was never a feeling that these people would follow their Captain to the ends of the Universe...did love The Borg and Q though...
It's pretty great list for a sensational show. Sure, there's always an episode missing (from the lighter eps I love Captain's Holiday), but it's already a long list, so no complains. I'd love to see your list of essentials for DS9.
A couple good ones you missed. Captain’s Holiday (need a Vash shout out. Best Picard love interest), Power Play, Conundrum, Ensign Ro, Devil’s Due, Q-Pid (Q + Vash+ A Robin Hood performance that puts Kevin Costner to shame) , Fistful of Datas(Data in drag doesn’t make your list? Woukd Michael J. Fox playing Marty mcFlys daughter in Bttf 2 not make your list either? For shame, ;), ship in a bottle(great moriarty follow up), and finally The Chase(one of my personal favorites. I always like Picard in archaeologist mode. I wish Picard would have explored that more. I always pictured a retired Picard pursuing archaeology since that’s what seemed to give him the most joy.). My 2 cents. Also, Dan, I had been trying to get you read/listen to Some TNG audio books. Crossover is still my favorite, but Imzadi 2 by Peter David gives a good continuation of Thomas Riker’s storyline if you are interested to see what happens to him after being sentenced to a Cardassian prison camp in DS9.
5:30 That's no Romulan. It's a disguised Dukat!
Come on you skipped The Arsenal of Freedom. That is the best episode in season 1. The Arsenal of Freedom gives Geordi his highest moment in command. It also set him to get transferred to Engineering in season 2. It gave more back story to Dr Crusher, Commander Riker, and shows Data’s ability to survive a high fall. Another episode I include as a essential is the Bynars episode 11001001 which gives us Rikers love for Jazz and shows us a little more about what Worf, Tasha, Data, Geordi do on their off time. Heart of Glory is a good intro to Klingon ethics on death or morals. Where No One Has Gone Before is Good for introducing Wesley to the Bridge.
Great list. Though I disagree about Dr Polanski. On a recent rewatch, I really think she was great. Someone who challenged Picard when no one else on the ship was willing to. She was funny too.
You got nearly all Dan! (There are so many) HOwever, I would add "The Chase" (Involving the archaeology skills of Picard, and discussing the common link of the various Star Trek civilization through a genetics mystery), and "Schizms" which is a far superior science fiction horror than the one you cited, of Riker being experimented on and a great ending to the "click" sounds haunting the victimized crew.
And Quality of Life as someone reminded below..except perhaps too similar to the Horta episode from Star Trek TOS.
Quality of Life is a useful episode if it should play in Voyager EMH and Picard as far as Synthetic life and rights.
I am re-working my way through them. Currently on about half way through season 5. I remember watching it 1st time around and quite gunny watching it 25 years or so later ;)
I think i'm with you about my favorite episode. It's not the most heady stuff but i've watched Cause and Effect more than any episode by far and I can still throw it on and watch it any time and thoroughly enjoy it.
Season 4 I would Include Galaxy’s Child as essential for Geordi’s Back Story and helps tie in to the end of Relics. The Nth Degree is great for Barclay and his relationship with the crew. QPid gives us more on Vash & Q which is important for DS9 episode Q Less. The Mind’s Eye is a Great Geordi, Romulan and Klingon episode that sets up Seala and Redemption Part 1 & 2. I would include In Theory for Data and interaction with crew.
Those Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship models are amazing.
I feel like like Season 7's _Masks_ would be more highly regarded if everyone wasn't already agreed how good Spiner and Stewart were by that point in the series.
I was actually quite surprised when I looked online once and found that it's one of the least popular episodes of the series. It was always one my favorites. Loved the concept and Spiner getting to play.
@@danh7211 Apparently he only received the script at midnight the night before they started shooting the episode and was not best pleased about it.
No mention of the episode Ensign Ro? It's a strong episode, a great Picard episode, and introduces Ro and the Bajoran (even though we never see that alien race again in Star Trek). Also The Wounded (our intro to the Cardassians), Journey's End (Wesley's swan song and introduction to The Maquis) and Ro's final episode, which is another great Picard episode.
I'm glad Pegasus made the cut. I've seen it omitted from other TNG lists. Pegasus, Disaster, The Inner Light, Lessons and All Good Things are my top five episodes.
K'Ehleyr is definitely the sexiest character of the entire ST universe followed closely by jazdia dax.
I'd say Kamala (Famke Janssen) from The Perfect Mate is up there with K'Ehleyr in raw sexiness... though... Vina (Susan Oliver) as an Orion slave girl in The Cage is _still_ pretty damn hot.
I've been saying for years that K'Ehleyr was the kind of woman Worf needed. Someone to stick it back to his traditional Klingon stubbornness. I think she would've approved of Jadzia, too.
If not for her deplorable elitist attitude, I would say that Kaitaama from the Enterprise episode "Precious Cargo" is the sexiest character in Star Trek. But personality makes a big difference, imo. But Padma Lakshmi is still super-hot!
Great list, can never please everyone lol How about DS9 essentials? And by the way great edit it's a lot to put together and get the timing right to your voice etc
All I can say after seeing this video in my feed - “Great joy....and gratitude.” Thanks Dan. Loved this recap of my favorite series. Your picks were spot-on. I would add two episodes: Allegiance (a Picard double doing things that are very un-Picard) and Time’s Arrow (just for the shock of them finding Data’s head as a fossil).
This premieres at 3am my local time so won’t be able to chat along with it but I’ll watch it ASAP tomorrow 😄👍
I would add, "The Defector", "Allegiance", "Ensigns of Command", "Qpid", "Ensign Ro", "Who Watches the Watchers", "The Survivors", and "Legacy" just for Ishara Yar. Yum.