Just watched Season 1 for the first time.

[GameOn]

The main difference is that Michael Piller took over as show runner in season 3 with a greater focus on characters and started the open submission policy allowing anyone to submit a scrip. Before that the writing room was a revolving door because people couldn't work within the limitations set by Gene Roddenberry.

The shows writing became much better overall with a lot of great episodes and the season ended with the shows first and best cliffhanger episode "The Best of Both World". Visually the show also looked better because they finally get rid of the spandex uniforms and replaced them with wool uniforms with a collar.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I would have said, skip seasons 1 and 2 except for Q Who and go right to season 3.

But you've already seen season 1, so just watch them in order.

Just remember one thing: DS9 is the series you watch next. You watch Voyager and/or Enterprise AFTER you've seen all of DS9.

 

[Third Nacelle]

^There are more non-skippable episodes in seasons 1 and 2 than just that!

I'd rate Datalore, 11001001, Symbiosis, The Neutral Zone, The Child, Unnatural Selection, The Measure of a Man, Time Squared, Pen Pals, The Emissary all at 7.0 or higher.

And if I had to recommend just one, Measure of a Man would come before Q Who.

 

[Obiwansolo18]

If you loved season one every season after is gonna blow your mind cause series gets so much better. I would have to agree that next series to watch ds9 next its sexond only to tng

 

[Tiberius]

I'm 35 years-old, a lifelong fan of sci-fi and fantasy, a technophile and an avid futurist, yet I never watched TNG until now. I just finished the first season, and I LOVED it.

Of course, throughout my life I was exposed to the characters, and generally thought I knew "what it was about." I think I avoided watching it because my older sister loved it, and it was always "her thing" to me.

Now I'm breaking out season two, and I'm marveling at the fact that I have the ENTIRE rest of the series ahead of me, not to mention voyager, deep space 9, and whatever the one is that has scott bakula.

I think about how badly I would love to watch some of my favorite things "for the first time" again, and I'm trying to savor the experience of watching this show, and do it right!

Question: (I was very tempted to write "Query:" -- I guess I just did.) Do you guys recommend I watch anything out of order, or that I consume any supplemental material as I go through the series? Or should I continue like this, just watching each episode until I've finished them all, then go back and read all about them, etc.?

I guess what I'm asking is: If you could do it all over again, how would you do it?

I recently finished a marathon of EVERY episode of Trek in viewing order. See the link in my signature for the order I suggest.

 

[Mojochi]

Did the writing just get better? Was it a matter of the show just "finding itself?"

Both of these. So much was still up in the air in S1 & S2. Not to say those seasons are a waste, but the consistency really found a rhythm by S3. The characters fell into place, & the stories were able to blossom. The whole comfort level seemed to gel with the cast, writers, & producers

 

[TheSeeker]

I think about how badly I would love to watch some of my favorite things "for the first time" again, and I'm trying to savor the experience of watching this show, and do it right!

I envy you!

Still, I just rewatched Season 1 on Blu-Ray and it's easily been over a decade since I had seen most of these episodes so it was almost as good as watching them for the first time. In fact I finally watched the one episode of TNG I had never seen just a few weeks ago. Overall I enjoyed the first season a lot more than I thought I would. I will totally watch it again some day soon.

 

[pirates_dc]

I hate to go against the grain, but I think that if you really wanted to skip episodes you would be fine. It is a great series and every episode is awesome, but truthfully the only ones you need to watch in order are the 2 parters. Of course you may miss the introduction of a few charecters, but they usually do a good job explaining who reoccuring charecters are. Anyways, welcome to the trek universe, it is a truly inpirational franchise that will make you envy those who will one day be able to truly travel the cosmos

 

[I am not Spock]

Enjoy TNG. I wish I could see it for the first time again. I'm getting into it again on Blu ray, after not seeing TNG for quite a long time, and really enjoying the stories.

The show really improves as it goes on. If you like season one, you should love it when it kicks into its stride in about season three.