Does anybody have a TNG watching guide?

[conuly]

E, quite rightly, thinks Riker is attractive, but that show has too many crap eps, especially in the first two seasons. Unlike with Voyager, I don’t know which ones to avoid by title!

Comments

[jo]

Season 1 of TNG is largely forgettable, IMO, but there are a few episodes that maybe should be watched because they introduce characters or storylines that get picked up again or referenced in better episodes from later seasons. For example:

Datalore (ep 13): which introduces Data's "brother" Lore, who is a recurring character in the series, and also in Star Trek: Picard.

The Neutral Zone (ep 26): while the Enterprise actually meet the Borg in season 2 (Q Who), this is the first episode to introduce the Borg threat. It brings the Romulans back into Trekdom, and features Mark Alaimo (Gul Dukat) as the Romulan commander.

Where No One Has Gone Before (ep 6): avoid if you hate Wesley Crusher, but it is a key episode in Wesley's evolution and introduces what will become his final arc. The Traveller is introduced and comes back in a couple of later episodes.

11001001 (ep 15): introduces Minuet, who would go on to be the mother of Riker's son in another life.

The Big Goodbye (ep 12): avoid if you hate holodeck episodes, but it introduces Picard's Dixon Hill program, which is revisited in the series, and also in First Contact.

Heart of Glory (ep 20): first major reboot of the Klingons (notwithstanding Worf, of course).

For season 2:

Measure of Man (ep 9): just generally one of the best episodes of the entire series.

Matter of Honor (ep 8): Riker participates in an officer exchange program and serves on a Klingon cruiser. If you don't like Klingons, maybe not your cup of tea, but the officer exchange program comes up again in another season.

Time Squared (ep 13): pretty good episode dealing with doppelgangers, bending space-time, and the choices we make, but these ideas are much better handled in later episodes.

Q Who (ep 16): We meet the Borg!

The Emissary (ep 20): Already mentioned by someone -- and K'eyhlar returns later in the series. Key to Worf's evolution.