When did TNG get good

[Greystone_06]

Having just rewatched 'Encounter' after many years, I can honestly say I didn't really enjoy it. That is true of many 1st season episodes.

The first one I really enjoyed was 'Too short a season' but up until then it never felt like ST.

By the third season I was hooked and felt the show had escaped the shadow of TOS and truely found its own identity.

It's odd but, it seems to me, as Gene Roddenberry's influence over the show lessened the better it got.

I was just curious as to which episodes first hooked other people?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I liked it from the beginning, but there are only three or four first-rate episodes in year one. "The Big Goodbye" and "Conspiracy" are my favorites from that year.

The second year was pretty dismal, with a couple of bright exceptions - "The Measure Of A Man" being the chief one. "Q Who" introduces the Borg in a nicely creepy way, but otherwise it's half a story.

The swing upward in story quality at the beginning of the third year is attributable to the exit of Maurice Hurley and his replacement by Michael Piller.

 

[sonak]

yeah, most would agree that the show became CONSISTENTLY good only in season 3 instead of just being very uneven with about as many crap episodes as there are solid ones in the first two seasons.

Then it goes and gets weak again in season 7.

Really the period of great TNG is only from about seasons 3-6.

 

[RAMA]

Having just rewatched 'Encounter' after many years, I can honestly say I didn't really enjoy it. That is true of many 1st season episodes.

The first one I really enjoyed was 'Too short a season' but up until then it never felt like ST.

By the third season I was hooked and felt the show had escaped the shadow of TOS and truely found its own identity.

It's odd but, it seems to me, as Gene Roddenberry's influence over the show lessened the better it got.

I was just curious as to which episodes first hooked other people?

The show was good from the start, it had a certain feel and philosophical bent that appealed to people and this was captured right away, even if other elements took time to catch up. This is reflected in the ratings...people stuck with the show no matter what, breaking many records.

 

[SchwEnt]

Short answer, season two.

 

[TroiFan4ever]

In the start of Season 7 when Data was whoopin' some borg behind.

 

[Gojira]

I think TNG was always good. There have always been good episodes and episodes that were not too good. I think the first two seasons TNG was very much like TOS in the tone and spirit of the original. I think in season 3 they found their own identity.

 

[Winterwind]

It's odd but, it seems to me, as Gene Roddenberry's influence over the show lessened the better it got.

Nothing odd about it. Roddenberry in the 80s was completely different than Roddenberry in the 60s. His belief was that humans had completely evolved beyond any petty emotions and internal conflict. Several of the production staff and writers on TNG complained about that, feeling it limited their story telling.

GR is highly over-rated anyhow. Sure, he created the show but more credit than people tend to realise deserves to go to Coon, Fontana, Justman, etc, etc.

 

[mitchconner]

Short answer, season two.

I respectfully disagree. Season 2 did have some great episodes (Q Who, Measure of a Man, Peak Performance) but the writers' strike almost killed it. Plus they had just killed of Yar, replaced Crusher with Pulaski, and were still working out all the kinks in season 2. Season 3, in my opinion anyway, is where they really started to gain momentum, mostly because they stabilized the main cast. And although Wesley Crusher was annoying, he became less annoying with age (until he killed his classmate and then had his nervous breakdown).

Regardless of what people say about season 2, I still thought The Royale was kind of a cool episode... It was very abstract.

 

[Chensams]

Season three. One and two had some highlight episodes but for the most patr, sub par when compared to seasons 3 - 6. Season 7 slipped back down in quality, imo. Plus I couldn't stand Pulaski.

 

[Greg Cox]

"Measure of a Man" was the first really good episode.

 

[TrekAlliance92]

Deleted.

 

[TrekAlliance92]

Honestly, I find the earlier seasons (1 - 3) much more consistently enjoyable than the latter half (4 - 7). The early feel was better--more exploration, much better music, loved the no internal conflict personally. Later on, with the exception of a few good episodes per season, the show became more bland and more focused on character than plot. Thankfully, Voyager returned to more plot-based storytelling for the most part.

 

[Forbin]

"Measure of a Man" was the first really good episode.

Even I, a die hard TOS fan, often cite Measure of Man as one of the best Trek episodes ever, and an example of what I consider "true science fiction" (i.e. examining the human condition from an alien POV, or introducing a new technology and examining how it affects humankind)

 

[sonak]

"Measure of a Man" was the first really good episode.

Even I, a die hard TOS fan, often cite Measure of Man as one of the best Trek episodes ever, and an example of what I consider "true science fiction" (i.e. examining the human condition from an alien POV, or introducing a new technology and examining how it affects humankind)

"measure of a man" is a good episode, but weak on logic. The idea they'd be having a hearing to determine Data's rights as a sentient being when he's a LT. Commander in Starfleet already is ridiculous-they'd have determined that before he entered the Academy.

I can't get over that contrivance when I watch this episode.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Third season is where it got much more consistent. It remained as such through the sixth but the seventh and final season wasn't nearly as bad as the first two.

 

[WNMHGB]

The show seemed to be finding its stride towards the end of season one. Though, the writers strike killed any of that momentum. While there were some standout episodes, overall season two was a half-step backwards. However, it was the departures of Gene Roddenberry and Maurice Hurley after season two and the arrival of Michael Piller early in season three that turned the show around from the behind the scenes turmoil and on screen mediocrity that marked the first two seasons. (It's sometime forgotten that Piller didn't come on until a few episodes into season three after Michael Wagner suddenly quit.)

Seasons three and four marked the show's zenith. Seasons five and six were still good, but the best days were past. Season seven was weak, but still better than seasons one and two on average, though it had fewer standout episodes.

 

[WisTrekFan]

I think the show didn't get consistently good until the third season. The first great TNG episode in my opinion is Yesterday's Enterprise. In my area, we didn't receive TNG until near the end of the third season. Up to that point, my brother recorded the show for me, so every six weeks I received the latest episodes. I remember watching the third season and being really blown away by the episodes in ways that I never was by the first two seasons. Two other standout episodes from the third season that made me really excited about the series were The Defector and The Enemy.

 

[Tom]

For me Season 1 and 2, TNG was cool to watch TV and Season3 and beyond it became 'must watch' TV for me. After watching BOBW part 1 and having to wait that long summer of 1990 for the conclusion, really drove home the point of how much I fell in love with the show.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

"Measure of a Man" was the first really good episode.

I agree that was a great episode.