Its a tough watch

[Roacho]

Hello,
I've never watched TNG from start to finish and am curently finding it hard to get through the first couple of episodes of season 1. Please somebody tell me, when does it start to get good? Side note, Picard shouting at Whesley Crusher is hilarious and Riker is a bit of a dish.

 

[Ghel]

Season's one and two are very inconsistent at best. Many are recycled plots from the Phase 2 series as well. TNG starts really hitting its stride at season three.

 

[Iamnotspock]

Received wisdom seems to be that Season 1 is pretty bad with flashes of promise, Season 2 is a bit better and it gets really good in Season 3. I think Season 2 is a bit underrated, personally.

 

[Qonundrum]

Received wisdom seems to be that Season 1 is pretty bad with flashes of promise, Season 2 is a bit better and it gets really good in Season 3. I think Season 2 is a bit underrated, personally.

^^this

It's sad that TNG started out lukewarm with "Farpoint", then takes a huge step downward with "Naked Now" then jumps off the grand canyon with "Code of Honor". Amazingly, the three people that were still watching then finally saw "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and told everyone else and the numbers went back up...

...yes, that last paragraph is loaded with camp commentary, as if that needs to be said. I'm not a paid historian and did not look up official viewing numbers, which are as subjective as they are irrelevant because - objectively speaking - the early TNG episodes redefine "mixed bag" to a whole new level, and ratings do not always reflect something that's good. The low hanging fruit to counter that claim is "smoking anything that's like a cigarette on a regular and frequent basis (e.g. more than once)".

IMHO, the good-to-great episodes of season 1 are (titles abbreviated since carpal tunnel is not cool):
Farpoint
Where No One
The Battle
Datalore (barely)
11001001 (the first classic)
Bough Breaks (depending on mindset and target audience involved, season 1 was kid-friendly... at times)
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
Arsenal
Conspiracy

Note that most of those are in the second half of the season... those, combined with viewing figures (since those are what sponsors want to see the most), the sheer popularity of Trek at the time thanks to the movies, and the lack of competing sci-fi shows are what saved it.

Season 2 has a quite few gems, and season 2's new tone and style are real signs of hope:

Where Silence Has Lease (near-classic)
Elementary Dear Data (classic)
Loud as a Whisper
Matter of Honor (near-classic)
Measure of a Man (many love it, I'm lukewarm)
Contagion (classic)
Time Squared (near-classic)
Pen Pals (despite moments)
Q Who (classic)
Peak Performance (classic)

There are some I enjoy, but objectively speaking they're not near on the same caliber. (Schizoid Man, Unnatural Selection, Dauphin, etc...)

"Samaritan Snare" is the biggest oddball of the bunch. It's worth a watch, but it's hit or miss... maybe after seeing the good ones if the show doesn't disappoint you. (Season 3 sees a bigger qualitative improvement, building on season 2's robust strengths.)

The worst clunker by far is "Outrageous Okona". The acting's largely good, actually. It's also a great vehicle, unintentionally, for Spiner and Goldberg as The Comic should have been the standout star but how Guinan and Data react is so much stronger*, but the script is "Romeo and Juliet Meet Three's Company and Jerry Springer" and it's pretty much cringe.

* they could have had Rodney Dangerfield, Robin Williams, or any other top comic on the show and it wouldn't have been any different.

 

[danellis]

The worst clunker by far is "Outrageous Okona". The acting's largely good, actually. It's also a great vehicle, unintentionally, for Spiner and Goldberg as The Comic should have been the standout star but how Guinan and Data react is so much stronger*, but the script is "Romeo and Juliet Meet Three's Company and Jerry Springer" and it's pretty much cringe.

* they could have had Rodney Dangerfield, Robin Williams, or any other top comic on the show and it wouldn't have been any different.

Do you mean that Spiner/Williams would have been stronger than The Comic, or that Spiner/Goldberg would've still been the better performance even if Wiliams had played The Comic?

dJE

 

[Herbert]

I added some spoilers. Don't want to ruin anything for the OP

Season 1 gets a bad rap, unfortunately. Yes, there are stinkers but there are stinkers in all other seasons as well.

Spoiler: spoiler

The one thing that S1 has that they lost sight of in later seasons is the wonder, weirdness, and excitement of exploring space. In later seasons they waste too much time on fluff character stories.

In fact, if you watch the first season of any longer running show it will seem weird compared to later seasons because they were still feeling out the characters and what the show would look like. I love TNG S1 and would watch those episodes any day over.....

Spoiler: spoiler

the utter crapiness that is season 7

 

[JesterFace]

While there are few gems in the first two seasons I think TNG really got going in the beginning on season 3.
Thank you Michael Piller.

 

[GulBahana]

The writing was so different and they were still trying to figure the characters out. I usually recommend just a few season 1 episodes to people that have important moments like Datalore and Skin of Evil.

 

[Unicron]

Season's one and two are very inconsistent at best. Many are recycled plots from the Phase 2 series as well. TNG starts really hitting its stride at season three.

I generally agree with this. There are some good episodes in the first two seasons, but a lot of it is fairly awkward as well. Hit or miss. Some aspects are even a bit jarring in rewatch, like how S1 Picard doesn't seem particularly interested in history or more primitive humanoid cultures (like the 20th century humans in "The Neutral Zone" or the Bringloidi in "Up The Long Ladder") when this would be a significant character development in later seasons.

Season 3 is when things really seemed to click with both the writers and the actors, IMO. The quality of the scripts improved a good deal, leading to some of the series' best episodes in the next few seasons, and the actors felt a bit more polished in their roles. Picard, as an example, seemed more rounded and someone who has more of a command presence, and less like he had a stick shoved up his butt.

 

[Gul Sengosts]

In my opinion, S2 is where it gets mostly good (if not as great as S3). S1 has its moments and the potential shines through here and there, but it has a lot of problems, especially in the beginning.

Hello,
finding it hard to get through the first couple of episodes of season 1.

One of TNG's missteps is that it throws some of its all-time worst stinkers at you right after the pilot. A handful episodes in, I can't blame anyone for thinking this show is crap. In my opinion it doesn't get really interesting in the first half of the season, but then a few episodes pop up that are fairly good. Worth watching imo:

E13: Datalore (nice episode and important Data backstory)
E15: 11001001
E18: Home Soil (my favourite of the season, tries a little "harder" sci-fi, relatively speaking)
E20: Heart of Glory (the first of many Worf-centric episodes that explores his relationship to his Klingon roots, which will become a recurring core theme of TNG)
E25: Conspiracy ("wtf am I watching lol"--out of character, bizarre, over the top, entertainingly so)

Other mentions:

For Wesley development there's also E06: Where No One Has Gone Before, and E19: Coming of Age. I find neither of them very interesting, but if you're interested in the character they're pretty important.
E23: Skin of Evil: an important episode for Tasha Yar, sadly it doesn't do her any justice and I think is generally a bad episode.
E26: The Neutral Zone: reintroduces the Romulans and establishes some events that will be referenced by one of the main themes of later seasons. Sadly, the episode's main plot is a total dud if you ask me.

Again, just my personal take. Opinions can and will differ.

 

[Unimatrix Q]

I added some spoilers. Don't want to ruin anything for the OP

Season 1 gets a bad rap, unfortunately. Yes, there are stinkers but there are stinkers in all other seasons as well.

Spoiler: spoiler

The one thing that S1 has that they lost sight of in later seasons is the wonder, weirdness, and excitement of exploring space. In later seasons they waste too much time on fluff character stories.

In fact, if you watch the first season of any longer running show it will seem weird compared to later seasons because they were still feeling out the characters and what the show would look like. I love TNG S1 and would watch those episodes any day over.....

Spoiler: spoiler

the utter crapiness that is season 7

Yeah, i see it the same way. And the same is true for Season 2 imho.

 

[NCC-73515]

My favorites in S1-3:

S1
Datalore, 11001001, We'll Always Have Paris, Conspiracy, The Neutral Zone

S2
Elementary, Dear Data, The Outrageous Okona, Loud As A Whisper, A Matter Of Honor, The Measure Of A Man, Contagion, The Royale, Time Squared, Q Who, The Emissary, Peak Performance

S3
The Ensigns of Command, The Survivors, Who Watches The Watchers, The Bonding, Booby Trap, The Defector, The Hunted, Deja Q, Yesterday's Enterprise, The Offspring, Sins of the Father, Allegiance, Tin Man, Hollow Pursuits, Sarek, Ménage à Troi, Transfigurations, The Best of Both Worlds

You can see the numbers are increasing

 

[Swedish Borg]

The really bad ones, that you may wish to skip:

s1 - naked now, code of honor, the last outpost, justice, the battle, Hide and Q, haven, angel one, home soil, the rest of s1 are at least watchable.

s2- Okona, the dauphin, the royale, time square, samaritan snare, up the long ladder, and of course the infamous shades of gray.

The rest of the series is at least watchable.

 

[Qonundrum]

Do you mean that Spiner/Williams would have been stronger than The Comic, or that Spiner/Goldberg would've still been the better performance even if Wiliams had played The Comic?

dJE

The latter. I can't imagine any one playing The Comic that could outdo Spiner and Goldberg's double act as they had both great witticisms, reacting to The Comic, plus the end of story "moral of the story" (which is actually quite good, but a half-minute scene can't make up for the proceeding 42 minute episode...)

 

[Xhiandra]

As an aside, I feel like I'm the only one who hates Conspiracy. I liked the promise of intrigue, the volcano scene... but then it turns into... well, I won't say what to not spoil it for the OP.
I just wish it would've been more intrigue, less "horror/gore".

 

[Qonundrum]

My favorites in S1-3:

S1
Datalore, 11001001, We'll Always Have Paris, Conspiracy, The Neutral Zone

S2
Elementary, Dear Data, The Outrageous Okona, Loud As A Whisper, A Matter Of Honor, The Measure Of A Man, Contagion, The Royale, Time Squared, Q Who, The Emissary, Peak Performance

S3
The Ensigns of Command, The Survivors, Who Watches The Watchers, The Bonding, Booby Trap, The Defector, The Hunted, Deja Q, Yesterday's Enterprise, The Offspring, Sins of the Father, Allegiance, Tin Man, Hollow Pursuits, Sarek, Ménage à Troi, Transfigurations, The Best of Both Worlds

You can see the numbers are increasing

Neutral Zone DOES have its moments, though I'd put it on the same level as "Lonely Among Us" as being good but not great.TNZ is a bit higher. Both have great moments mixed with some stinker material. Though "Lonely" is closer to "TOS on acid" given what is said to happen to the delegates at the end, what the heck... TNZ is quaint but does treat the Romulans very well...

Emissary is a good little episode too. Heck, the fact I dislike "Okona" but still can point out something genuinely good is saying something for the underdog of TNG's run...

I was tempted to add "Royale" since it's so different. It took me a couple viewings to appreciate it, but the big plot revelation is refreshingly original, to be honest - and a bit unintentionally morbid... Season 2 has a gritty, dark universe being explored in its favor. Not done over the top but has just the right touch...

 

[Xhiandra]

The Neutral Zone is a very average/serviceable premise, but with terrible dialogue. Worst dialogue of the series, perhaps of all pre-Discovery Trek.

 

[Swedish Borg]

The Neutral Zone is a very average/serviceable premise, but with terrible dialogue. Worst dialogue of the series, perhaps of all pre-Discovery Trek.

You don't need to tell me where the bear sits...

 

[Qonundrum]

As an aside, I feel like I'm the only one who hates Conspiracy. I liked the promise of intrigue, the volcano scene... but then it turns into... well, I won't say what to not spoil it for the OP.
I just wish it would've been more intrigue, less "horror/gore".

I like it because it's not got the same feel. The problem with season 1 is, a different feel can lead to something that seems really good... or really bad. And it's more bad than good...

The horror/gore is just par for the course for late-80s culture. See Garbage Pail Kids, a few choice sitcoms and game shows of the era, or, better yet, the sci-fi TV show "War of the Worlds" (Season 1, anyway) for more on that and some of it's worthwhile, especially if you liked enough of the 1953 movie. The series endeavors to make a continuity between the radio play and the movie too, even bringing in some of the movie's cast at times for those available and it's interesting what they did. Definitely different. What they do with home appliances is pretty much up there too, but place the brain on the hatrack and enjoy the show - if one likes the gore and novel ways at containing production costs... Season 2's just an unredeemable dumpster fire that plays up generic 80s dystopian and - "cyberpunk"? - stereotypes far worse.

But I digress. Have you ever ate "pasta" made from zucchini and mushrooms mashed and cut into long strings? It's gross and makes you gassy. But it's gluten-free and tasty and somewhat nutritious...

 

[Mutai Sho-Rin]

One man’s advice - don’t skip any episodes. Even those at the opinionated bottom have many moments to enjoy.