Hi all. I only started watching TNG with season 3. I know season 1 & 2 are not held in high regard, but are there any episodes from the early years that you could suggest that I check out.
Thanks
Thanks
Recommend Season 1 & 2 TNG Episodes to Watch
- Thread starter Barking Pumpkin
- Start date
When I go into my marathon of TNG, I watch 'The Measure of a Man' and 'Q Who' from season 2.
'The Measure of a Man' is just great episode and in 'Q Who' we are introduced to a new enemy which appears later in some great episodes.
'The Emissary' is a part of Worf's family story.
'The Measure of a Man' is just great episode and in 'Q Who' we are introduced to a new enemy which appears later in some great episodes.
'The Emissary' is a part of Worf's family story.
Peak Performance?
Anyway... Like said above, might as well watch all episodes, who knows what gems you might find there.
From season one, watch "The Big Goodbye", the first and best holodeck gone awry ep written by Sliders creator, Tracy Torme. Torme also wrote "Conspiracy", TNG's most edgy foray into horror, which I also recommend. I think "11001001" is a great story that fleshes out the character of Riker. "Heart of Glory" is one of TNG's best Klingon episodes and it has aged very well.
I think season two is more solid because the first half of episodes is much better than the first half of season one. I recommend watching every episode except "The Child", "The Outrageous Okona", "Unnatural Selection", "Time Squared", "Manhunt", and "Shades of Grey". The ratio of good to bad episodes is not much different than the subsequent seasons in my view. "A Matter of Honor" and "Q Who" are my favorite episodes from season two, and are well regarded by fans, as is "The Measure of A Man", "Contagion", "Pen Pals", "The Dauphin", "The Emissary", and "Peak Perfomance".
I think season two is more solid because the first half of episodes is much better than the first half of season one. I recommend watching every episode except "The Child", "The Outrageous Okona", "Unnatural Selection", "Time Squared", "Manhunt", and "Shades of Grey". The ratio of good to bad episodes is not much different than the subsequent seasons in my view. "A Matter of Honor" and "Q Who" are my favorite episodes from season two, and are well regarded by fans, as is "The Measure of A Man", "Contagion", "Pen Pals", "The Dauphin", "The Emissary", and "Peak Perfomance".
Last edited:
G
Gul Sengosts
Guest
I partially agree with Vger23 in that I think one should watch all of TNG, but on the other hand I disagree in that there is a load of utter bollocks especially in season 1. Plenty of good stuff in season 2 though. My recommendations in order of airing:
Season 1:
Datalore (good)
11001001 (good)
Home Soil (good)
Heart of Glory (good)
Conspiracy (hard to rate, it's like some action b-movie unlike anything else in TNG, but good fun)
Season 2:
A Matter of Honor (great)
The Measure of a Man (top)
Time Squared (great)
Q Who (top)
Peak Performance (good)
Season 1:
Datalore (good)
11001001 (good)
Home Soil (good)
Heart of Glory (good)
Conspiracy (hard to rate, it's like some action b-movie unlike anything else in TNG, but good fun)
Season 2:
A Matter of Honor (great)
The Measure of a Man (top)
Time Squared (great)
Q Who (top)
Peak Performance (good)
I must have forgotten something in my earlier post...
One of them would be 'Datalore'
It's a good idea to watch that one to get onboard with the Data / Lore storyline which goes on in later seasons.
One of them would be 'Datalore'
It's a good idea to watch that one to get onboard with the Data / Lore storyline which goes on in later seasons.
My personal season 1 recommendations:
"Where No One Has Gone Before"
"The Battle"
"The Big Goodbye"
"11001001"
"Heart Of Glory"
"The Arsenal Of Freedom"
"Skin Of Evil"
"Conspiracy"
I'm interested to see "Datalore" on many people's lists, to me that's one of the stand-out flops of season 1. It is true it makes notable contributions to the series narrative, though.
For season 2, I agree with the approach suggested by @Armus: the whole season has merit, except for a handful. My skip list would be:
"The Outrageous Okona"
"Time Squared"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Shades Of Grey"
And possibly also skip "The Royale" and "Up The Long Ladder." Both eps are TERRIBLE, but they're so egregiously bad that they come all the way back around to being fun. For me, anyway. Individual mileage will vary.
"Where No One Has Gone Before"
"The Battle"
"The Big Goodbye"
"11001001"
"Heart Of Glory"
"The Arsenal Of Freedom"
"Skin Of Evil"
"Conspiracy"
I'm interested to see "Datalore" on many people's lists, to me that's one of the stand-out flops of season 1. It is true it makes notable contributions to the series narrative, though.
For season 2, I agree with the approach suggested by @Armus: the whole season has merit, except for a handful. My skip list would be:
"The Outrageous Okona"
"Time Squared"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Shades Of Grey"
And possibly also skip "The Royale" and "Up The Long Ladder." Both eps are TERRIBLE, but they're so egregiously bad that they come all the way back around to being fun. For me, anyway. Individual mileage will vary.
I'd say watch them all and know some are really good, some are horrible, others are the most bizarre mixed bags.
But my favorites from the first two years and noting I sorta prefer seasons 1-4 over 4-7 in general:
Season 1:
Encounter at Farpoint
The Battle
Hide & Q
Datalore
Home Soil
11001001
Too Short a Season
Heart of Glory
Arsenal of Freedom
Skin of Evil
Conspiracy
Season 2:
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary Dear Data
Unnatural Selection
The Schizoid Man
A Matter of Honor
Pen Pals
The Dauphin
Q Who
Time Squared (it reminds me of a Doctor Who story from 1965, only more polished)
Contagion
The Emissary
Peak Performance
But my favorites from the first two years and noting I sorta prefer seasons 1-4 over 4-7 in general:
Season 1:
Encounter at Farpoint
The Battle
Hide & Q
Datalore
Home Soil
11001001
Too Short a Season
Heart of Glory
Arsenal of Freedom
Skin of Evil
Conspiracy
Season 2:
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary Dear Data
Unnatural Selection
The Schizoid Man
A Matter of Honor
Pen Pals
The Dauphin
Q Who
Time Squared (it reminds me of a Doctor Who story from 1965, only more polished)
Contagion
The Emissary
Peak Performance
Seconded. The episode HAS flaws and some are laughable, but a lot of it still works wonders when it needs to and Ron Jones' score helps glue the thing together. Brent Spiner plays Lore with a certain zest - it's honestly not to be missed, the guy has range and to pull off sadist villainy convincingly... the guy's good.
Yup, I'm putting in season 1 tonight - "Redemption" can wait... a while.
Datalore is one of the worst episodes of the entire series, but unfortunately you're right...you need it to understand some of what comes later (some of which is almost equally horrific)
Lore is always a delight, and the first third of the episode, where the Away team discovers Soong's lab, and tries to assemble Lore, gives the episode scope and the sense of wonder that the latter seasons lack. I like that it doesn't become an "evil twin" show until halfway. I believe "Datalore" is the last Star Trek episode where Gene Roddenberry is credited on the story/teleplay.
Last edited:
"Arsenal of Freedom" was the episode that cemented my affection for TNG even after watching a good bit of season 3 first. So, I say that's a must-see episode.
But, if you have never seen seasons 1-2, you really should watch all of the episodes at least once.
But, if you have never seen seasons 1-2, you really should watch all of the episodes at least once.
This, basically.
Personally, I love both, in a lot of ways more than I do the later seasons. Just be prepared that they're both stylistically like a very different show to what followed. Certainly more action-based.
S1 and S2 have quite a few gems. No, they're not as polished as some of the truly outstanding episodes later in the series, but these are the seasons that established a show that we're still talking about 30 years later.
Season 1:
Encounter at Farpoint
The Last Outpost
Where No One Has Gone Before
The Battle
Hide & Q
Datalore
11001001
Heart of Glory
Arsenal of Freedom
Skin of Evil
Conspiracy
The Neutral Zone
Season 2:
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary Dear Data
Unnatural Selection
The Measure of a Man
The Schizoid Man
A Matter of Honor
Q Who
Contagion
The Emissary
Peak Performance
Season 1:
Encounter at Farpoint
The Last Outpost
Where No One Has Gone Before
The Battle
Hide & Q
Datalore
11001001
Heart of Glory
Arsenal of Freedom
Skin of Evil
Conspiracy
The Neutral Zone
Season 2:
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary Dear Data
Unnatural Selection
The Measure of a Man
The Schizoid Man
A Matter of Honor
Q Who
Contagion
The Emissary
Peak Performance
Both of these are solid lists that I would agree with
One thing I love about the first two seasons is that sense of the universe still being 1) mysterious; and 2) dangerous, just as it had been on TOS. The Borg are a kind of typification of the kinds of thing the first two seasons would dare to do that seasons 3-7 would not. Jonathan Frakes talks fondly not of the execution of Armus in "Skin of Evil", but as an example of how conceptually brave those first few seasons were compared to later when the writers and producers all got to be a little "safe". Personally, I'm a big fan of Maurice Hurley's take on Star Trek which is most personified in season two. As @Cutie McWhiskers says, some of Hurley's episodes have the mysterious-and-dangerous-shit-around-every-corner-anything-goes approach of a classic style Doctor Who. 
I love that vibe about both seasons "Not held in high regard"?? Season 2 is my favourite TNG season!
Agree with Vger23 that my first recommendation would be to watch the whole thing, but otherwise here is a list of what I consider some good - great episodes from the first two seasons.
Where No One Has Gone Before
The Battle
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
Conspiracy
The Neutral Zone
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary Dear Data
Loud as a Whisper
The Schzoid Man
Unnatural Selection
A Matter of Honour
The Measure of a Man
Contagion
The Royale
Time Squared
Pen Pals
Q Who
The Emissary
Peak Performance
Agree with Vger23 that my first recommendation would be to watch the whole thing, but otherwise here is a list of what I consider some good - great episodes from the first two seasons.
Where No One Has Gone Before
The Battle
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
Conspiracy
The Neutral Zone
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary Dear Data
Loud as a Whisper
The Schzoid Man
Unnatural Selection
A Matter of Honour
The Measure of a Man
Contagion
The Royale
Time Squared
Pen Pals
Q Who
The Emissary
Peak Performance
Yep, watch ‘em all. Even the lesser episodes flesh out the characters and have moments of excellence.
Lots of good recommendations here.
One I will make is to watch both parts of Encounter at Farpoint. It is not the best episode(s), but a lot of groundwork is laid in those two episodes. It helps future understanding. As does "Where No One Has Gone Before."
Other than that, my favorites:
S1: Lonley Among Us; Hide & Q, Haven, The Big Goodbye, Datalore, 11001001, Too Short a Season, Symbiosis, Skin of Evil, We'll Always Have Paris, Conspiracy.
Similar threads
