Rewatching Season 1 TNG

[Chief Medical Officer]

I'm a lifelong fan and the newest member of Trek BBS. I am in the process of re-watching TNG Season 1. Would love to hear what others favorite episodes are, and why they have the favorite they do. Once I am done completely watching the first season, I am going to reveal my favorites. Anyone?

 

[2takesfrakes]

With the advent of CGI taking over virtually all aspects of FX, it's made everything look homogeneous in the sci-fi genre. Everything's either too crisp and detailed and/or seems like it has a lightbulb shining up its arse. There's nothing stylised about it, anymore ... that Artistry is gone, in favour of attempts at "realism."

The first season of TNG, however, came out at just the right time to allow for very interesting and novel approaches towards producing FX for television. And those in "We'll Always Have Paris" are quite memorable and visual pleasing. For example, the soft glow on and around the planetoid, due to its alien sun. Also, the "vertical blinds" of energy over the source of the Manheim Experiment. Even the way it illuminates Data, the saturations of colour are very eye-catching and gives the sequence a unique texture, or flavour.

The story, itself, offers layer upon layer of possibilities and intrigue. For example, the portent of the Experiment itself, having "opened a crack, a doorway, into another universe." The episode (and budget) knows to leave its people and worlds to the imagination. So-doing has also put into question Dr. Manheim's sanity and ability to help contain the run-away catastrophe he's caused. The stakes are truly Galactic, in this episode and it's good stuff, having a bit of science thrown in.

Then there's the added Human drama of Picard's "blast from the past," if you will. An older woman, in whom it's evident that she was quite an extraordinary beauty, in her day. The kind of woman who's easy to fall for and, apparently, Jean-Luc did. But he abandoned her, literally, in favour of something grander. Some feelings never die, despite the passage of time, or involvement with others. And the growing sense of "unfinished business" between them is just interesting enough to even get Bev jealous. It's not an "exciting," action-packed episode, no. But there's good drama and great artistry at work, here. Even the way they capped the episode was handled very well. One of my favourite.shows in the whole franchise and particularly as a "Picard" story. It's nicely done.

 

[RAMA]

With the advent of CGI taking over virtually all aspects of FX, it's made everything look homogeneous in the sci-fi genre. Everything's either too crisp and detailed and/or seems like it has a lightbulb shining up its arse. There's nothing stylised about it, anymore ... that Artistry is gone, in favour of attempts at "realism."

The first season of TNG, however, came out at just the right time to allow for very interesting and novel approaches towards producing FX for television. And those in "We'll Always Have Paris" are quite memorable and visual pleasing. For example, the soft glow on and around the planetoid, due to its alien sun. Also, the "vertical blinds" of energy over the source of the Manheim Experiment. Even the way it illuminates Data, the saturations of colour are very eye-catching and gives the sequence a unique texture, or flavour.

The story, itself, offers layer upon layer of possibilities and intrigue. For example, the portent of the Experiment itself, having "opened a crack, a doorway, into another universe." The episode (and budget) knows to leave its people and worlds to the imagination. So-doing has also put into question Dr. Manheim's sanity and ability to help contain the run-away catastrophe he's caused. The stakes are truly Galactic, in this episode and it's good stuff, having a bit of science thrown in.

Then there's the added Human drama of Picard's "blast from the past," if you will. An older woman, in whom it's evident that she was quite an extraordinary beauty, in her day. The kind of woman who's easy to fall for and, apparently, Jean-Luc did. But he abandoned her, literally, in favour of something grander. Some feelings never die, despite the passage of time, or involvement with others. And the growing sense of "unfinished business" between them is just interesting enough to even get Bev jealous. It's not an "exciting," action-packed episode, no. But there's good drama and great artistry at work, here. Even the way they capped the episode was handled very well. One of my favourite.shows in the whole franchise and particularly as a "Picard" story. It's nicely done.

Interesting take.I also quite like the episode, and feel it's underrated.

There are a few problems though. I loved the experiment but like much of STNG, we never found out what the repercussions of the discovery meant.

I enjoyed the "humanizing" of Picard, because at this point, while I loved the character. the perception was he was grumpy and out of touch with his crew. unfortunately, there was just no chemistry with Michelle Phillips.

As far as your lack of artistry claim goes, I tend to disagree, but I can't argue the strive for realism has continued, with FX improving over the years. I find the Expanse to be the best example of future space realism. I find artistry in the selection of shots CGI allows for...with beautiful, panning, rotating, sweeping shots that make existence and travel in space seem 3 dimensional and real.

So maybe CGI doesn't allow for happy accidents, but that's why JJ Abrams likes lens flares so much! We've seen many CGI artists put in imperfections to keep things looking "too real".

RAMA

 

[RAMA]

I'm a lifelong fan and the newest member of Trek BBS. I am in the process of re-watching TNG Season 1. Would love to hear what others favorite episodes are, and why they have the favorite they do. Once I am done completely watching the first season, I am going to reveal my favorites. Anyone?

I like quite a few of them, so I'll mention what i rewatch the most:

The Last Outpost: A first contact meeting and an attempt by Roddenberry at philosophizing for the last 3rd of the episode. It didn't go over too well. Either people didn't get it or they thought it was preachy. This was a rare early case where STNG utilized the oft used TOS straw man device..taking an obviously backwards or immoral race and judging it, because Ferengi are the 1%, the worst of the capitalists, with arbitrary morals based only on commerce. I prefer to look at it as a statement of human progress.

Where No One Has Gone Before: Kind of a best of quantum theory episode..where your thoughts are your reality. It's based on a novel that was even more in depth with this. I enjoyed it. It brought together all aspects of production, lighting, sound, FX and acting into STNG's first extraordinary whole.

Datalore: This has a lot to do with atmosphere. I liked the music and camera work. I also was learning Data would be a break out star of the show, and discovering his origins was fun.

The Big Goodbye: Hey, is the light still on when you close your refrigerator?

1100101: Binars are a little backwards for Trek. They shouldn't have any binary computers by this time, but who's counting. It's a cool idea about cyborgs that buffer their thoughts through computers and link information. Kind of a benevolent Borg. It also has a believable romance for Riker with good chemistry and a sad ending. The FX were terrific.

Home Soil: Humans put in their place again. We meet aliens who are a gigantic planetwide, inorganic computer lifeform. The human drama here is less interesting in how they react. Kirk would have probably shot at the planet at least once..Picard talks to them. Points for Picard.

Arsenal of Freedom: One of the quicker paced episodes. The theme may be all too familiar: anti-war, but wars haven't stopped just yet.

Conspiracy: My biggest problem with season one or any season of STNG is they could have opened things up a bit and been more dangerous. In this case they did it with format rather than story. The episode should also have been a 2 parter, it's wrapped up too soon. What we did get was creepy and effective.

There are other good ones. I just rewatch those the most.

 

[maneth]

My favorites are 11001001, even if I find the fact that the Enterprise was compatible with the Binar planetary computer a bit unbelievable and Conspiracy. I agree with RAMA that the latter should have been a two parter.

 

[jaime]

Wasn't conspiracy supposed to be setting up an arc that introduced the borg? Back when the were going to be insects, nd when the scooped up the outposts in The Neutral Zone?

 

[Chief Medical Officer]

What a great discussion..thank you all for giving feedback...I think I am going to enjoy this forum.

As for me, I judge episodes based upon a number of things, including story, type of alien, believability, and use of the core characters. With that in mind, I think the best episodes in Season 1 of TNG are (not in any particular order):

Encounter at Farpoint - This was a very nice introduction to the crew of the Enterprise-D which was also had a strong ethical dilemma as its backdrop. I will agree that when you see later episodes (after the characters have matured), some of the dialogue seems a bit silly; however, overall, I didn't find any glaring problems with the episode. A good first attempt to introduce us to TNG.

Datalore - In my opinion, this was best episode of the season. It allows us to learn some of the backstory of Data, and provides an action-packed and intriguing (no pun intended) story which showcases the talents of Brent Spiner. The only gripe I have with this is why it took so long for anyone in the Federation to go to Omicron Theta and find out the story of Data - given his already long tenure in Starfleet, wouldn't you have expected someone to have visited the planet already? It seems a bit of a coincidence that the visit would finally occur on the Enterprise-D that this would occur, but I guess you have to excuse this because it's a new show.

11001001 - This was just a really neat episode with some quirky aliens. It allows us to experience a Starbase, and some of the non-space drama that is TNG. The Binars could have been a bit more developed (and with better voices), but all in all, an enjoyable ride.

Home Soil - This is also one of the top episodes of the season. Very interesting concept that a inorganic life form could do what it does, and how humanity responds. My only gripe with this one is the voice of the alien (too sharp and robotic - but I guess that's the point) and calling the humans 'bags of water'? Really...the could have done better than that.

Heart of Glory - A very interesting introduction to the Klingons of TNG. There are so many good things about this episode - Worf's part in it; seeing the death ritual of the Klingons; appreciating the 'peaceful' relationship between Klingons and Humans; and the ultimate ending that took place. And the music in this episode is haunting.

Symbiosis - OK, now I know many have panned this episode, but I really like it. It has a very simple premise, has interesting aliens, and thoroughly explores both sides of the issue at hand (drug abuse) well. I particularly how heartless and cold Sobi and Langor are portrayed. And the ending is very neat as well.

We'll Always Have Paris - This is one of those episodes in which there are two intertwined stories (the Mannheim effect and Picard's former love interest) and it actually works. There are so many episodes in where there are more than one story and one of them turns out to be so lackluster as to not have been necessary (example - Lonely Among Us). But this one does it beautifully, with an interesting plot, beautiful music, and a stunningly beautiful guest star, Michelle Phillips. This one is just a joy to watch.

Conspiracy - The premise of this story is fascinating, but it is too underdeveloped. This one makes my list because of the 'could have been' factor. Because of that, I've watched it again and again. One major issue is that the aliens look so fake, it is unbelievable.

Now there are quite a few episodes which were pretty bad, but let me comment on a few:

The Naked Now - Lack of originality. They could really have tied this one better into ST:TOS. It was a missed opportunity.

Lonely Among Us - See above.

The Neutral Zone - The first time the Federation interacts with the Romulans in years and they take up such a small part of the story? What a waste!!

The rest lie somewhere in the middle along the continuum (again, no pun intended).

 

[Mutai Sho-Rin]

Oh, the range of opinions. If you look a bit further down in the threads, you'll find "Seasons 1 and 2 unwatchable?" Being somewhat of a geriatric Pollyanna, I always look for the good parts in every episode. There is so much to enjoy, why should I indulge in complaining about the weaknesses.

 

[Chief Medical Officer]

Oh, the range of opinions. If you look a bit further down in the threads, you'll find "Seasons 1 and 2 unwatchable?" Being somewhat of a geriatric Pollyanna, I always look for the good parts in every episode. There is so much to enjoy, why should I indulge in complaining about the weaknesses.

Agree completely...even the worst episodes are still worth watching. This is Star Trek, after all!

 

[Sans]

There are a few problems though. I loved the experiment but like much of STNG, we never found out what the repercussions of the discovery meant.

This one things is what bugs me the most about Star Trek, mostly TOS and TNG. We hardly learn of any repercussions of anything. DS9 was less affected by this with there use of larger story arcs. I don't recall VOY that much.

 

[jaime]

This one things is what bugs me the most about Star Trek, mostly TOS and TNG. We hardly learn of any repercussions of anything. DS9 was less affected by this with there use of larger story arcs. I don't recall VOY that much.

Its in the nature of the shows though, space is big and the ships move through it, in the case of TNG with a crew of a thousand. Ds9 almost has to do arcs, and feels awkward when it doesn't follow up, because they are right there in one place all the time.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I love the care and attention that the 1st Season received, because it's there, onscreen, despite the awkward characterisations, occasionally, as these brand new characters are being figured out. The cinematography was generally much better in the 1st season and the music was definitely it's own voice, to start, at least. So, I don't want to harp on just the one episode, but "We'll Always Have Paris" was a very scientific story and that kind of show definitely took a backseat in the later going to Human Condition stories.

I have to agree with RAMA that Michelle Phillips and Sir Patrick Stewart had no real chemistry. But they do seem to be trying and Stewart's acting so affected by her re-entering his life made her part seem much bigger and more important. As a matter of fact - and I don't know how true this is - but I've heard that an earlier draft of the story had Picard & Jenice getting it on, while Manheim's convalescing in Sick Bay. Patrick, even this early in TNG's run, exerted his influence to alter the script and remove that element. His instincts proved correct.

Some other episodes from the 1st Season that I'm very fond of are "Too Short a Season" (especially), "Angel One" just because I think it's cute, and "The Neutral Zone" because it touches on various points of interest. For example, Bev quite literally brings back the dead (!!!) and the housewife, whose name I forget, was very sweet and suitably lost and confused. The country singer was great, with how nonplussed he was. I truly wish I could be that accepting of strange, new situations. I get more like the business man, trying to get a leg up, til I'm feeling on top, again.

 

[Paradise City]

The Paris episode is a good episode. The Naked Now is a good episode. Conspiracy and the Neutral Zone are good episodes. I'm not that wild about the pilot tbh. I think it's a solid pilot. But it's only must-see because of old McCoy. Maybe I should revisit it again with a new perspective. I liked the Admiral Jameson one too.

The Klingon episode has the makings of a good episode but I kinda felt it was unfinished. Some annoying episodes was the one were Picard is a possessed by a gas, the wedding episode and the episodes were Wesley does alot of gushing. Datalore is pure comedy.

 

[RAMA]

I remember thinking EaF was grand and expensive looking, and bombastic..after the excitement passed, it felt kind of disappointing. It replicated my feelings when first watching STTMP.

I didn't mind Naked Now too much. I just felt it was too soon to retell the tale with these characters. Do a retelling at the end of the season or beginning of season 2.

Datalore. The implications of Data holding memories of so many people are staggering. There could have been a whole spinoff based on this alone!

The Binars are in the Federation, and accordingto Enterprise were known in the 22nd century, so I'm sure they developed a proper universal interface by the 24th century.

The voice of the crystals in Home Soil: I simply thought the aliens were so different or advanced, that the translator was doing a poor job in translation.

I actually like Lonely Among us. It's not one of the best. I like some character moments and once again the camera work is excellent.

STNG;s first season produced 2 episodes that would have been better if they were in the CGI era. Mechanical FX on their budget were not up to the task of creating Armus or the Insects from Consiracy.

Heart of Glory: I wish all Klingon episodes had Klingons like this.

Neutral Zone. An intro for the Borg. Only followed up with a single line in later Borg episodes.

RAMA

What a great discussion..thank you all for giving feedback...I think I am going to enjoy this forum.

As for me, I judge episodes based upon a number of things, including story, type of alien, believability, and use of the core characters. With that in mind, I think the best episodes in Season 1 of TNG are (not in any particular order):

Encounter at Farpoint - This was a very nice introduction to the crew of the Enterprise-D which was also had a strong ethical dilemma as its backdrop. I will agree that when you see later episodes (after the characters have matured), some of the dialogue seems a bit silly; however, overall, I didn't find any glaring problems with the episode. A good first attempt to introduce us to TNG.

Datalore - In my opinion, this was best episode of the season. It allows us to learn some of the backstory of Data, and provides an action-packed and intriguing (no pun intended) story which showcases the talents of Brent Spiner. The only gripe I have with this is why it took so long for anyone in the Federation to go to Omicron Theta and find out the story of Data - given his already long tenure in Starfleet, wouldn't you have expected someone to have visited the planet already? It seems a bit of a coincidence that the visit would finally occur on the Enterprise-D that this would occur, but I guess you have to excuse this because it's a new show.

11001001 - This was just a really neat episode with some quirky aliens. It allows us to experience a Starbase, and some of the non-space drama that is TNG. The Binars could have been a bit more developed (and with better voices), but all in all, an enjoyable ride.

Home Soil - This is also one of the top episodes of the season. Very interesting concept that a inorganic life form could do what it does, and how humanity responds. My only gripe with this one is the voice of the alien (too sharp and robotic - but I guess that's the point) and calling the humans 'bags of water'? Really...the could have done better than that.

Heart of Glory - A very interesting introduction to the Klingons of TNG. There are so many good things about this episode - Worf's part in it; seeing the death ritual of the Klingons; appreciating the 'peaceful' relationship between Klingons and Humans; and the ultimate ending that took place. And the music in this episode is haunting.

Symbiosis - OK, now I know many have panned this episode, but I really like it. It has a very simple premise, has interesting aliens, and thoroughly explores both sides of the issue at hand (drug abuse) well. I particularly how heartless and cold Sobi and Langor are portrayed. And the ending is very neat as well.

We'll Always Have Paris - This is one of those episodes in which there are two intertwined stories (the Mannheim effect and Picard's former love interest) and it actually works. There are so many episodes in where there are more than one story and one of them turns out to be so lackluster as to not have been necessary (example - Lonely Among Us). But this one does it beautifully, with an interesting plot, beautiful music, and a stunningly beautiful guest star, Michelle Phillips. This one is just a joy to watch.

Conspiracy - The premise of this story is fascinating, but it is too underdeveloped. This one makes my list because of the 'could have been' factor. Because of that, I've watched it again and again. One major issue is that the aliens look so fake, it is unbelievable.

Now there are quite a few episodes which were pretty bad, but let me comment on a few:

The Naked Now - Lack of originality. They could really have tied this one better into ST:TOS. It was a missed opportunity.

Lonely Among Us - See above.

The Neutral Zone - The first time the Federation interacts with the Romulans in years and they take up such a small part of the story? What a waste!!

The rest lie somewhere in the middle along the continuum (again, no pun intended).

 

[2takesfrakes]

One aspect about the first season which I'm particularly in favour of is the use of a "planet" set. Yes, it looks better to send the cast to go play in the woods, outside Paramount, or on some rocky foothills, beyond city limits, but there's nothing "strange" or "otherworldly" about doing it that way. Granted, the way "they" would set up the planet set often involved repetition, so that they all seemed to be different locations on the same planet. But not always ...
The jungle environment of "Arsenal of Freedom" looks great and different from the Styrofoam rocks and fog machine of The "Last Outpost" which, itself, looks unlike the planet of Far Point Station. There was some variety to be had there and alien worlds are bound to look false. Pictures of Mars, for example in "true" colour all look two-toned, like a colorised black & white photograph. Anyway, I just happen to prefer the planet sets. I love the artistry involved, how stylised they tend to be. It evokes "other worlds" to me.

 

[jaime]

The alien sets were more alien in those days too (literally influenced by the titular film in some cases) before everything became curtains, circle cut out corridor and that samn bit of wall. Farpoint really has the best corridors.

 

[RAMA]

I really hated those early planet sets. They used better techniques later on.."The Enemy", "Power Play", "Identity Crisis", "Inner Light", "Thine Own Self".

 

[STEPhon IT]

I've always been in the minority on the 1st season of TNG; I thought the season was interesting-Stewart selling the show for what it was, and he didn't hold back on the drama. Yes, there were episodes which mimicked some TOS episodes, but I appreciated the tone of the season. Especially, during the time the Star Trek films were steering to comedy in IV and parody in V.

TNG could've easily followed in the path of the films but rather go their own way. All shows have some bumpy roads, but TNG, besides Troi's off again - on again mysterious foreign accent, and some position changes from the core characters, was consistent, and the stories were Utopian. I hear all about the writers' frustrations about Roddenberry's guidelines, but I think it made a pretty great show overall. Which is still popular today.

Just look at the spin-offs that didn't have those guidelines, and what we had was a mixed bag of shows which was not really Star Trek. Its' "un-Star Trek" personalities boxed those spin-offs to cult status, and always failed to reach the potential of TNG. I'm happy Patrick Stewart worked so hard on the 1st season of my beloved series because it paved the way for more Trek for better or worse and later became a phenomenon.

 

[BillJ]

I remember thinking EaF was grand and expensive looking, and bombastic..after the excitement passed, it felt kind of disappointing.

I recorded "Encounter at Farpoint" and easily watched it five times that first week. It probably hasn't aged too well, but it definitely sold me on The Next Generation. The show would eventually lose that bombastic feel and that was when it lost me.

 

[Chief Medical Officer]

I recorded "Encounter at Farpoint" and easily watched it five times that first week. It probably hasn't aged too well, but it definitely sold me on The Next Generation. The show would eventually lose that bombastic feel and that was when it lost me.

Throughout the 1st season, I noticed that there were times when I was amazed at how silly or unbelievable a particular plot element was - examples I've mentioned include the inorganic life form in 'Home Soil' calling humans 'bags of water' or the fake appearing creatures in 'Conspiracy'. During 'Encounter at Farpoint', however, I didn't notice any of these little issues, so that fact, combined with its status is the introductory episode, is why it makes my list of best episodes of the first season.