Thoughts On Season Seven

[AdmiralScreed]

The general consensus seems to be that TNG took a little bit of a dive in quality during season 7. I personally thought that season 7 was almost as good as seasons 5 and 6, which are my two favorite seasons of the show. A lot of people criticize this season and say that there were a lot of really mediocre episodes, but there were only a small handful episodes that I didn't enjoy. Everything else ranged from borderline average to near perfect. Here's how I think the season stacks up:

Favorites: (in no particular order)
Gambit P1/P2
Parallels
Journey's End
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things P1/P2

Least Favorites: (in no particular order)
Force of Nature
Masks
Bloodlines

3 mediocre episodes in a season of 26 episodes is pretty good if you ask me. Everything else in season seven ranged from decent to good to great to near perfect IMO. All of the episodes I listed under favorites would make my top 25 list if I were to make one.

So, what does everyone else think of season seven? Like it? LOVE it? HATE it? I would love to hear everyone else's opinions on season 7 of TNG.

 

[TroiFan4ever]

I found it interesting that Season 7 was pretty much the "Family Reunion" season, and I did do a thread on this before.

I liked Season Seven a lot but I wish they had some better episode concepts.

Episodes that I personally liked (in no particular order):
"Gambit, Part 1"
"Gambit, Part 2"
"Force of Nature"
"Dark Page"
"Parallels"
"Lower Decks"
"Genesis" (I used to HATE this episode too!)
"Masks"
"Sub Rosa"
"Thine Own Self"
"Emergence"

Episodes that I'd like to avoid at all costs (in no particular order):
"Preemptive Strike"
"All Good Things..."
"Attached"
"The Pegasus"

The other episodes that I failed to mention on either list are just okay in my book.

 

[indolover]

It's an average season. Some very good/excellent eps, and some stinkers. IMO, it's similar to season 2 in that respect.

Most people cite Parallels, Gambit, All Good Things, etc. as the best of the season, and I agree for the most part. However, I like Descent Pt. 2, Bloodlines, Attached, Eye of the Beholder and Dark Page are good episodes.

 

[Shatinator]

I found it interesting that Season 7 was pretty much the "Family Reunion" season, and I did do a thread on this before.

I liked Season Seven a lot but I wish they had some better episode concepts.

Episodes that I personally liked (in no particular order):
"Gambit, Part 1"
"Gambit, Part 2"
"Force of Nature"
"Dark Page"
"Parallels"
"Lower Decks"
"Genesis" (I used to HATE this episode too!)
"Masks"
"Sub Rosa"
"Thine Own Self"
"Emergence"

Episodes that I'd like to avoid at all costs (in no particular order):
"Preemptive Strike"
"All Good Things..."
"Attached"
"The Pegasus"

The other episodes that I failed to mention on either list are just okay in my book.

Well,

Clearly the talent was distracted in trying to plan the launch of the new series on that funny little network that is no longer with us...

But while I thought Preemptive Strike was good, I really enjoyed Attached and have nothing but respect for All Good Things; however I'll never be able to view Pegasus in the same light again.

 

[BillJ]

I like seasons one and two far more than six or seven. TNG definitely lost its way late in the game.

 

[You_Will_Fail]

Least Favorites: (in no particular order)
Force of Nature
Masks
Bloodlines

3 mediocre episodes in a season of 26 episodes is pretty good if you ask me. Everything else in season seven ranged from decent to good to great to near perfect IMO. All of the episodes I listed under favorites would make my top 25 list if I were to make one.

In your thread in the Voyager forum, you gave 3 to Dark Page and 4's to Sub Rosa and Genesis though. So do you really consider them decent?

Episodes that I'd like to avoid at all costs (in no particular order):
"Preemptive Strike"
"All Good Things..."
"Attached"
"The Pegasus"

Wow are you serious? What on earth is wrong with those episodes? Are you really telling me you think Preemptive Strike and The Pegasus were of lower quality than Bloodlines or Force of Nature???
Preemptive Strike is my 20th all time favorite trek episode, I thought it was a fantastic and meaningful send off to Ensign Ro.
Also what was there to like about Emergence? I thought it was crap.

Anyway, I'd class the season 7 episodes thusly

Excellent
Parallels
Lower Decks
Thine Ownself
Preemptive Strike

Good
Liaisons
Phantasms
Dark Page
Attached
Inheritance
The Pegasus
Homeward
Sub-Rosa (its just silly fun)
Eye of the Beholder
Firstborn
All Good Things

Mediocre
Descent Pt II
Interface
Gambit
Genesis
Journey's End
Bloodlines

Poor
Masks
Force of Nature
Emergence

So overall, 63% of the episodes were "good" or "excellent" which is pretty good because even in the "mediocre" episodes there is normally something to enjoy. Although that is down from 71% for season 6.

Overall Season 7 was very Voyager-like in my opinion. Or rather Voyager was very "TNG season 7"-like.

 

[sonak]

I like seasons one and two far more than six or seven. TNG definitely lost its way late in the game.

I'd agree with this if you left off season six, which I thought was pretty good. I think season 7 showed a significant decline in quality and the show was running out of gas at that point. A good thing those clamoring for the show to continue didn't get their wish.

 

[AdmiralScreed]

Least Favorites: (in no particular order)
Force of Nature
Masks
Bloodlines

3 mediocre episodes in a season of 26 episodes is pretty good if you ask me. Everything else in season seven ranged from decent to good to great to near perfect IMO. All of the episodes I listed under favorites would make my top 25 list if I were to make one.

In your thread in the Voyager forum, you gave 3 to Dark Page and 4's to Sub Rosa and Genesis though. So do you really consider them decent?

4 is slightly below average, but still a decent score on my scale. 3 is creeping dangerously close to bad, but a 3 star episode still has at least a couple redeeming qualities, so it's not all bad. I should probably add Dark Page to my list though because it really is hard to sit through.
You should also know that I have reevaluated several episodes from season 7, so not all of my original scores from the Voyager thread are the still the same, although for the most part they are pretty similar.

On the whole, I am glad that I am not the only person who really likes season 7.

To echo You_Will_Fail, I thought Preemptive Strike was a fantastic episode. Not only was it one of my favorite episodes of season 7, but one of my favorite episodes of the entire show. A great send off to Ro, and on the whole a really great episode with the Maquis and the Cardassians.

 

[Captrek]

I'll never be able to view Pegasus in the same light again.

Because of TATV?

 

[The Dominion]

I've never understood why some people say it was weak. It was slightly less solid than 4 and 5, but only just. And the height of the great episodes make up for the low points. I also think it was a step up from season 6.

One of the main things that bothers me about it though, is Troi getting promoted over Data, which I think laid the groundwork for Data getting used poorly in the movies.

 

[You_Will_Fail]

I don't think it was a step up from season 6 at all, I felt season 6 was much more consistent and "Chain of Command" beats "Gambit" any day for me. "Gambit" felt like TNG at half impulse.

 

[AdmiralScreed]

I like Gambit a lot more than most people. The interplay between Picard, Riker, and the smuggler captain is really fun to watch, and on the whole I think Gambit is a really exciting, action packed, and well written episode. It's one of my favorite TNG two parters.

 

[AFEK ESLCAFE W]

I like Gambit a lot more than most people. The interplay between Picard, Riker, and the smuggler captain is really fun to watch, and on the whole I think Gambit is a really exciting, action packed, and well written episode. It's one of my favorite TNG two parters.

Eventhough I myself consider "Gambit" to be merely an "okay" 2-parter, the entire script as is would have been better served as the 9th feature film than Insurrection.

 

[Mojochi]

I'd say it was still on par with the previous few seasons, but perhaps had a slightly different overall tone. Some things worked well, some failed badly. One thing I greatly appreciate is how they began developing Worf on more of a personal level, with "Parallels" & his mentoring relationship with Sito in "Lower Decks"

 

[Ro_Laren]

I like Season 7... and Lower Decks is one of my favorite TNG episodes...

 

[Tina Lawton]

I think season seven suffered simply because it was season seven. Everyone involved in the production knew it was the end, so if a few filler episodes had to be included along the way, so be it.

Sub Rosa was such absolute crap, and Genesis, along with Masks, simply laughable.

 

[TroiFan4ever]

Sub Rosa was such absolute crap, and Genesis, along with Masks, simply laughable.

What was wrong with "Genesis"?

Know what I think? I think all "Genesis" haters should give this episode another chance before declaring that you absolutely hate it. I used to despise this episode then I grew into liking it. I don't love it as much as I love "Masks" but it's not all the trainwreck like "Attached" was.

Episodes that I'd like to avoid at all costs (in no particular order):
"Preemptive Strike"
"All Good Things..."
"Attached"
"The Pegasus"

Wow are you serious? What on earth is wrong with those episodes? Are you really telling me you think Preemptive Strike and The Pegasus were of lower quality than Bloodlines or Force of Nature???
Preemptive Strike is my 20th all time favorite trek episode, I thought it was a fantastic and meaningful send off to Ensign Ro.
Also what was there to like about Emergence? I thought it was crap.

Anyway, I'd class the season 7 episodes thusly

Excellent
Parallels
Lower Decks
Thine Ownself
Preemptive Strike

Good
Liaisons
Phantasms
Dark Page
Attached
Inheritance
The Pegasus
Homeward
Sub-Rosa (its just silly fun)
Eye of the Beholder
Firstborn
All Good Things

Mediocre
Descent Pt II
Interface
Gambit
Genesis
Journey's End
Bloodlines

Poor
Masks
Force of Nature
Emergence

Well, may I ask what on earth was wrong with "Masks", "Force of Nature", and "Emergence"? You just didn't like those episode like I just didn't like "Attached", "The Pegasus", "Preemptive Strike", and "All Good Things..." Whatever happened to "personal favorites"?

 

[AdmiralScreed]

I didn't include Genesis among my least favorites, but it definitely was a sub par episode. There was not much point to it. Showing the crew as hideous monsters was kind of silly and not very fun to watch. I give it 4/10 because I did like some of the creature designs and it had some exciting moments, but other than that it was pretty forgettable, IMO.

I thought Force of Nature was pretty bad, but not for the same reasons as most people. The message about environmentalism was fine, but in the context of the show putting a limit on warp was kind of ridiculous and pointless because the writers knew that the Enterprise was going to need to break that law over and over again in emergencies. In other words, if the law is going to be ignored and not enforced, then why make it a law in the first place? There are much better ways that an episode about environmentalism could have been done. I also found the guest stars in this episode to be uninteresting, and overall it was just a very boring episode.
I can't decide between 1/10 or 2/10 for this episode.

The only criticism I can make of Masks is that it was the first episode of Star Trek to ever make me fall asleep. Granted, I had had a long and hard day and when I got home in the evening I was really tired, but if Masks had been at least somewhat interesting I could have stayed awake.
I'd give Masks either a 2/10 or 3/10.

Some day I need to rewatch all of these episode so that I can give them more accurate ratings.

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

For me, easily the weakest season of TNG. Season 1 remains my favourite by a considerable margin.

 

[AdmiralScreed]

Not to get off topic, but why is season 1 your favorite? I like season 1 much more than most people do, but I wouldn't call it the best season of TNG, or even one of the best seasons of TNG. What are some of your favorite episodes? And as a whole, what made season 1 so much better than all of the other seasons in your eyes? Just curious.