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The Best/Worst Seasons of TNG by my arbitrary judgment.

I never thought the first season was as bad as many say; it's major weakness being the actors were not fully settled into their roles yet (something you'll notice in the first seasons of many shows). The second season was let down by Dr. Pulaski, who never seemed to have any chemistry with the rest of the cast.

But for me, without doubt, the last two seasons stunk like a box of shrimp after three days in summer. Every other episode was time travel or some paranormal drivel. I don't know which season or episode it was, but it revolved around some Enterprise crew members who were killed sometime earlier working in a warp nacelle and their "life essence", or some such, was still in the nacelle and the crew had to find a way to remove this to put them to rest. Oh lord! A Star Trek ghost story, with an exorcism to remove spirits from the ship. I mentally threw up my hands in disgust, changed the channel, and never watched The Next Degeneration again til reruns years later.
 
Season 2
Season 1
Season 3...........Top Tier (The Best seasons)

Season 4
Season 5...........Middle (starting to decline gradually)

Season 6
Season 7...........Bottom Tier (If it ain't bland, it's bad)

As somebody who started watching this show during its original run (I was 7 back then), I've reached the age where I only want to watch my favorite episodes now. So, here's my BEST OF TNG:

~~~~~~~~Season 1 Favorites ~~~~~~~~~
Encounter at Far Point
The Naked Now
The Battle
Haven (I actually really like this one, most people probably hate it)
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
Heart of Glory
Arsenal of Freedom
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
The Neutral Zone (12 total)

~~~~~~~Season 2 Favorites~~~~~~~~~~~
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary Dear Data
Unnatural Selection
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
The Dauphin
Contagion
The Royale
Pen Pals
Q Who? (I'm not a huge Borg fan, and this is enough for me)
The Emissary
Peak Performance
Shades of Gray (13 total)

~~~~~~Season 3 Favorites~~~~~~~~
The Ensigns of Command
Booby Trap
The Enemy
The Price (The most atmospheric music ever, and the best Troi episode. I love it!)
The Defector
The High Ground (this level of grittiness was nearly GONE in later seasons)
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Offspring
Tin Man
The Most Toys (10 total)

~~~~~~~~Season 4 Favorites~~~~~~~~~
Family
Legacy (the saddest episode of the entire 7 year show. Wow. The chat between Data and Riker at the end.... so sad)
Final Mission
The Loss
Devil's Due
Clues
Identity Crisis
Redemption Part 1 (8 total)

~~~~~~~Season 5 Favorites~~~~~~~~~
Darmok
Silicon Avatar
New Ground
Hero Worship
The Masterpiece Society (I totally LOVE this episode. As you can see I prefer the down-beat, melancholy episodes)
The Next Phase
The Inner Light (7 total)

~~~~~~~~Season 6 Favorites~~~~~~~~~
True Q
Quality of Life (Exocomps)
Face of the Enemy
Tapestry
Suspicions (5 Total)

~~~~~~~Season 7 Favorites~~~~~~~~
The Pegasus
Thine Own Self (last great episode of the show)
Firstborn (3 total)
 
I'm honestly a bit surprised by some of the rankings here. I know it's a bit of a stereotype to say how awful Season 1 is... but after a recent rewatch I think it earns its reputation. Yeah, things went downhill in the later seasons, but not quite to that extent.

Okay. So I took a "fuller" approach to it and broke my ranks into this:

0 = Unenjoyable/Not rewatchable.
.5 = A "love to hate" episode.
1 = Meh
2 = Enjoyable/rewatchable.
3 = A classic/must-watch.

I quite like this approach, so I've decided to do it myself, although I've treated it more like
0 - I have no interest in rewatching at all
1 - Wouldn't choose it, but might watch if it was on
2 - Enjoyable
3 - Excellent

Season 1: Average: 0.77
Encounter at Farpoint - 0
The Naked Now - 1
Code of Honor - 0
The Last Outpost - 0.5
Where No One Has Gone Before - 1
Lonely Among Us - 0
Justice - 0
The Battle - 1
Hide and Q - 1
Haven - 1.5
The Big Goodbye - 0.5
Datalore - 1
Angel One - 0
11001001 - 1.5
Too Short a Season - 0
When the Bough Breaks - 1.5
Home Soil - 1.5
Coming of Age - 1
Heart of Glory - 2
The Arsenal of Freedom - 2
Symbiosis - 2
Skin of Evil - 0
We'll Always Have Paris - 0.5
Conspiracy - 1
The Neutral Zone - 1.5

Season 2: Average: 1.14
The Child - 0
Where Silence Has Lease - 0.5
Elementary, Dear Data - 1.5
The Outrageous Okona - 1
Loud as a Whisper - 1
The Schizoid Man - 0
Unnatural Selection - 0
A Matter of Honor - 2
The Measure of a Man - 3
The Dauphin - 0
Contagion - 1.5
The Royale - 0
Time Squared - 0.5
The Icarus Factor - 1
Pen Pals - 2
Q Who - 3
Samaritan Snare - 2
Up the Long Ladder - 0
Manhunt - 0.5
The Emissary - 2
Peak Performance - 3
Shades of Gray - 0.5

Season 3: Average: 2.02
Evoluton - 1
The Ensigns of Command - 2.5
The Survivors - 2
Who Watches the Watchers - 3
The Bonding - 1
Booby Trap - 1.5
The Enemy - 1.5
The Price - 2
The Vengeance Factor - 1.5
The Defector - 2.5
The Hunted - 2.5
The High Ground - 1.5
Deja Q - 3
A Matter of Perspective - 2
Yesterday's Enterprise - 3
The Offspring - 2.5
Sins of the Father - 2
Allegiance - 2
Captain's Holiday - 2
Tin Man - 2
Hollow Pursuits - 2
The Most Toys - 2.5
Sarek - 3
Menage a Troi - 1
Transfigurations - 1
The Best of Both Worlds Pt 1 - 3

Season 4: Average 1.96
The Best of Both Worlds Pt 2 - 3
Family - 3
Brothers - 2.5
Suddenly Human - 1
Remember Me - 2.5
Legacy - 2
Reunion - 3
Future Imperfect - 2
Final Mission - 2
The Loss - 1
Data's Day - 2.5
The Wounded - 2.5
Devil's Due - 1
Clues - 3
First Contact - 3
Galaxy's Child - 1.5
Night Terrors - 1
Identity Crisis - 0
The Nth Degree - 2
Qpid - 2
The Drumhead - 2
Half a Life - 1.5
The Host - 1
Mind's Eye - 2.5
In Theory - 1.5
Redemption Pt 1 - 2

Season 5: Average: 1.96
Redemption 2 - 2
Darmok - 3
Ensign Ro - 2
Silicon Avatar - 2
Disaster - 3
The Game - 1.5
Unification 1 - 2
Unification 2 - 2
A Matter of Time - 1
New Ground - 1
Hero Worship - 1
Violations - 1
The Masterpiece Society - 1.5
Conundrum - 3
Power Play - 2
Ethics - 1
The Outcast - 2
Cause and Effect - 3
The First Duty - 3
Cost of Living - 0
The Perfect Mate - 2
Imaginary Friend - 0
I Borg - 3
The Next Phase - 3
The Inner Light - 4 (I make the rules here)
Time's Arrow Pt 1 - 2

Season 6: Average: 1.81
Time's Arrow Pt 2 - 2
Realm of Fear - 2
Man of the People - 1
Relics - 3
Schisms - 2
True Q - 2
Rascals - 0
A Fistful of Datas - 0
The Quality of Life - 1
Chain of Command Pt 1 - 2
Chain of Command Pt 2 - 3
Ship in a Bottle - 2.5
Aquiel - 0
Face of the Enemy - 2
Tapestry - 2.5
Birthright Pt 1 - 2
Birthright Pt 2 - 1
Starship Mine - 3
Lessons - 3
The Chase - 2
Frame of Mind - 1.5
Suspicions - 2
Rightful Heir - 1.5
Second Chances - 2
Timescape - 2.5
Descent Pt 1 - 1.5

Season 7: Average: 1.31
Descent Pt 2 - 1.5
Liaisons - 1.5
Interface - 0
Gambit Pt 1 - 2
Gambit Pt 2 - 2
Phantasms - 1
Dark Page - 1
Attached - 2.5
Force of Nature - 1
Inheritance - 1
Parallels - 2.5
The Pegasus - 2.5
Homeward - 1.5
Sub Rosa - 0
Lower Decks - 3
Thine Own Self - 2.5
Masks - 0
Eye of the Beholder - 1
Genesis - 2
Journey's End - 0
Firstborn - 0
Bloodlines - 1
Emergence - 0
Preepmtive Strike - 1.5
All Good Things - 3

Assuming I did my math right, that's S3 > S4 > S5 > S6 > S7 > S2 > S1. I would've guess seasons 4 or 5 would've won before I started, but I'm not surprised by the results.
 
I never understood the fondness for "Lower Decks." Just a bunch of throw away characters that I never cared about. I think the writers purposefully made Riker and the other senior staff look bad, just for the sake of fabricating some "drama" with a bunch of whiny little kids complaining about their problems. PASS. Sorry.

Wow, you gave Starship Mine a 3. Now that's one annoying episode. It's the 24th century but technology is still too stupid to tell that life forms are still present inside the ship. No off switch anywhere? You know, just for emergencies. Please. No offense.

I just find it funny to see what episodes people rate highly.... I'm sure you think my choice of "Shades of Gray" as a favorite episode was horrible. LOL. I never minded that episode. I liked how they actually visited a planet with deadly plants and vines... instead of the usual paper mache rocks. :-)
 
Oh and, part of the reason I never liked Lower Decks is that I never liked that episode from Starfleet Academy where Wesley and "Tom Paris" disobey procedure and get their fellow cadet killed. Awful. What crap. Wesley would never, ever do that. Hence my added dislike for "Lower Decks." Fabricated drama for no reason. In reality they all would've been in jail or kicked out permanently for lying.
 
Wow, you gave Starship Mine a 3. Now that's one annoying episode. It's the 24th century but technology is still too stupid to tell that life forms are still present inside the ship. No off switch anywhere? You know, just for emergencies. Please. No offense.

This one is definitely a guilty pleasure for me. I'll fully admit it's not the best episode, but I find both plots really fun in different ways.

I just find it funny to see what episodes people rate highly.... I'm sure you think my choice of "Shades of Gray" as a favorite episode was horrible. LOL. I never minded that episode. I liked how they actually visited a planet with deadly plants and vines... instead of the usual paper mache rocks. :-)

I actually agree with you. I think the first third or so of Shades of Gray is better than many season 2 episodes. The planet is surprisingly interesting (and probably expensive, given they're trying to save cash) and it could've been a neat disease episode... until they immediately ran out of time and money and turn it into a clip show.
 
My season rankings, from best to worst (though note, I like them all!):

Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 1
Season 5
Season 6
Season 7

I definitely feel there was a gradual decline from season 5 onward.
 
Alright...I'm going for it....it's too damn hot out right now.

(1- not rewatchable, 2- rewatchable/average, 3- classic/favorite)

Season One:
Encounter at Farpoint 2.5
The Naked Now 2
Code of Honor 1
The Last Outpost 2.5
Where No One Has Gone Before 3
Lonely Among Us 1
Justice 1
The Battle 2
Hide and Q 2
Haven 1
The Big Goodbye 2
Datalore 1
Angel One 1
11001001 3
Too Short a Season 1.5
When The Bough Breaks 2
Home Soil 2
Coming of Age 2
Heart of Glory 3
Arsenal of Freedom 2.5
Symbiosis 1
Skin of Evil 2
We'll Always Have Paris 2.5
Conspiracy 3
The Neutral Zone 1.5

Season Average: 1.92
Season Total: 48 points
I love TNG. I could sit down and watch any episode of it right now!

Almost...

So, I went over a list of the episodes/seasons and sort of took a quick tally of which episodes out of which seasons I'd watch. Occasionally I'll do a watch-through of the series on BD and there are episodes I'll skip out of just not liking them, finding them boring, stupid, or really just ones I don't want to go through as better episodes are beyond them. I took the tallies for each season and generated a percentage. For the sake of the percentage I counted Encounter at Farpoint as one episode (25 episodes in Season 1) and same for All Good Things (25 episodes in Season 7.)

Without listing the episodes I checked off:

Season 1: 20 out of 25 episodes (80%)
Season 2: 20 out of 22 episodes (91%)
Season 3: 24 out of 26 episodes (92%)
Season 4: 22 out of 26 episodes (85%) (this one surprised me as I consider Season 4 pretty solid, but it had a couple more episodes in that I'm just very tepid on and could skip and not really "miss" it.)
Season 5: 23 out of 26 episodes (88%)
Season 6: 23 out of 26 episodes (88%)
Season 7: 14 out of 25 episodes (56%)

It's often felt that Seasons 1 and 2 of TNG are the weakest but, really, that comes more from just the tone and "feel" of the show compared to the other seasons. But really in those seasons there's not a whole lot I dislike. Hell I could watch all of Season 1 any day before watching all of Season 7.


So, without me getting into specific episodes here, what do you think of my "ratings" on the various seasons? Where would your numbers stack up?
Not going into it as deeply as you ill just give my impression.

I think about 80% are avg, above average to great. 10% below average. 10% awful.

I actually like watching avg episodes sometimes, ones off the beaten path.

A season ranking, though not in stone:

S4
S3
S5
S6
S1
S7
S2
 
The way I did my rankings, it ended up being:
Season 6
Season 4
Season 3
Season 7
Season 1
Season 2
Season 5

TNG Season 1
"Encounter at Farpoint" --> Okay (counted twice)
"The Naked Time" --> Good
"Code of Honor" --> Guilty Pleasure
"The Last Outpost" --> Poor
"Where No One Has Gone Before" --> Excellent
"Lonely Among Us" --> Good
"Justice" --> Bad
"The Battle" --> Good
"Hide and Q" --> Eh
"Haven" --> Good
"The Big Goodbye" --> Great
"Datalore" --> Excellent
"Angel One" --> Eh
"1101001" --> Excellent
"Too Short a Season" --> Eh
"When the Bough Breaks" --> Eh
"Home Soil" --> Okay
"Coming of Age" --> Great
"Heart of Glory" --> Excellent
"The Arsenal of Freedom" --> Great
"Symbiosis" --> Okay
"Skin of Evil" --> Eh (Armus is basically an Internet Troll, and I don't like how Yar died, but I did like the funeral)
"We'll Always Have Paris" --> Good
"Conspiracy" --> Excellent
"The Neutral Zone" --> Good

Excellent: 5
Great: 4
Good: 6
Okay: 4
Eh: 5
Poor: 1
Bad: 1
Guilty Pleasure: 1

TNG Season 2
“The Child” --> Okay (less for the plot, more the new Season 2 elements)
“Where Silence Has Lease” --> Good
“Elementary, Dear Data” --> Great
“The Outrageous Okana” --> Okay
“Loud as a Whisper” --> Okay
“The Schizoid Man” --> Good
“Unnatural Selection” --> Eh
“A Matter of Honor” --> Great
“The Measure of a Man” --> Excellent
“The Dauphin” --> Okay
“Contagion” --> Good
“The Royale” --> Guilty Pleasure
“Time Squared” --> Good
“The Icarus Factor” --> Good (“Eh” for the Riker storyline, “Great” for Worf’s)
“Pen Pals” --> Okay
“Q Who” --> Excellent
“Samaritan Snare” --> Okay (“Guilty Pleasure” for the Pakleds, “Good” for Picard’s storyline)
“Up the Long Ladder” --> Good
“Manhunt” --> Good (it’s a time-killer, but I enjoyed it)
“The Emissary” --> Excellent
“Peak Performance” --> Excellent
“Shades of Gray” --> Guilty Pleasure (Clip shows were a thing in the ‘80s. It was what it was.)

Excellent: 4
Great: 2
Good: 7
Okay: 6
Eh: 1
Poor: 0
Bad: 0
Guilty Pleasure: 2

TNG Season 3
“Evolution” --> Good
“The Ensigns of Command” --> Good
“The Survivors” --> Great
“Who Watches the Watchers” --> Great
“The Bonding” --> Good
“The Booby Trap” --> Great
“The Enemy” --> Excellent
"The Price” --> Good
“The Vengeance Factor” --> Okay
“The Defector” --> Excellent
“The Hunted” --> Good
“The High Ground” --> Good
“Deja Q” --> Great (“Only Great?!” There are some Q episodes I like better)
“A Matter of Perspective” --> Good
“Yesterday’s Enterprise” --> Excellent
“The Offspring” --> Excellent
“Sins of the Father” --> Excellent
“Allegiance” --> Good
“Captain’s Holiday” --> Good
“Tin Man” --> Eh
“Hollow Pursuits” --> Good
“The Most Toys” --> Eh
“Sarek” --> Great
“Menage a Troi” --> Okay
“Transfigurations” --> Okay
“The Best of Both Worlds, Part I” --> Excellent

Excellent: 6
Great: 5
Good: 10
Okay: 3
Eh: 2
Poor: 0
Bad: 0
Guilty Pleasure: 0

TNG Season 4
“The Best of Both Worlds, Part II” --> Excellent
“Family” --> Excellent
“Brothers” --> Great
“Suddenly Human” --> Okay
“Remember Me” --> Great
“Legacy” --> Good
“Reunion” --> Excellent
“Future Imperfect” --> Great
“Final Mission” --> Good
“The Loss” --> Good
“Data’s Day” --> Great
“The Wounded” --> Great
“Devil’s Due” --> Good
“Clues” --> Great
“First Contact” --> Good
“Galaxy’s Child” --> Great
“Night Terrors” --> Good
“Identity Crisis” --> Okay
“The Nth Degree” --> Great
“Qpid” --> Good
“The Drumhead” --> Excellent
“Half a Life” --> Good
“The Host” --> Good
“The Mind’s Eye” --> Great
“In Theory” --> Good
“Redemption, Part I” --> Great

Excellent: 4
Great: 10
Good: 10
Okay: 2
Eh: 0
Poor: 0
Bad: 0
Guilty Pleasure: 0

TNG Season 5
“Redemption, Part II” --> Great
“Darmok”--> Excellent
“Ensign Ro” --> Great
“Silicon Avatar” --> Okay
“Disaster” --> Good
“The Game” --> Good
“Unification I” --> Good
“Unification II” --> Good (wish this was better, but I can’t go any higher)
“A Matter of Time” --> Good
“New Ground” --> Eh
“Hero Worship” --> Eh
“Violations” --> Eh
“The Masterpiece Society” --> Eh
“Conundrum” --> Great (it’s about time the mediocre streak broke!)
“Power Play” --> Great
“Ethics” --> Good
“The Outcast” --> Eh
“Cause and Effect” --> Excellent
“The First Duty” --> Excellent
“Cost of Living” --> Eh
“The Perfect Mate” --> Okay
“Imaginary Friend” --> Poor
“I, Borg” --> Great
“The Next Phase” --> Great
“The Inner Light” --> Excellent
“Time’s Arrow, Part I” --> Good

Excellent: 4
Great: 5
Good: 7
Okay: 2
Eh: 7
Poor: 1
Bad: 0
Guilty Pleasure: 0

TNG Season 6
“Time’s Arrow, Part II” --> Good
“Realm of Fear” --> Okay
“Man of the People” --> Okay
“Relics” --> Great
“Schisms” --> Great
“True Q” --> Good
“Rascals” --> Okay
“A Fistful of Datas” --> Great
“The Quality of Life” --> Good
“Chain of Command, Part I” --> Excellent
“Chain of Command, Part II” --> Excellent
“Ship in a Bottle” --> Great
“Aquiel” --> Good (Unpopular Opinion)
“Face of the Enemy” --> Excellent
“Tapestry” --> Excellent
“Birthright, Part I” --> Great
“Birthright, Part II” --> Good
“Starship Mine” --> Great
“Lessons” --> Excellent
“The Chase” --> Good
“Frame of Mind” --> Excellent
“Suspicions” --> Good
“Rightful Heir” --> Good
“Second Chances” --> Great
“Timescape” --> Great
“Descent, Part I” --> Good

Excellent: 6
Great: 8
Good: 9
Okay: 3
Eh: 0
Poor: 0
Bad: 0
Guilty Pleasure: 0

TNG Season 7
“Descent, Part II” --> Good
“Liaisons” --> Good
“Interface” --> Good
“Gambit, Part I” --> Great
“Gambit, Part II” --> Great
“Phantasms” --> Good
“Dark Page” --> Okay
“Attached” --> Good
“Force of Nature” --> Okay
“Inheritance” --> Good
“Parallels” --> Excellent
“The Pegasus” --> Excellent
“Homeward” --> Okay
“Sub Rosa” --> Bad
“Lower Decks” --> Excellent
“Thine Own Self” --> Okay
“Masks” --> Good (Controversial Opinion?)
“Eye of the Beholder” --> Good
“Genesis” --> Guilty Pleasure
“Journey’s End” --> Great
“Firstborn” --> Good
“Bloodlines” --> Okay
“Emergence” --> Good
“Preemptive Strike” --> Excellent
“All Good Things” --> Excellent (counted twice)

Excellent: 6
Great: 3
Good: 10
Okay: 5
Eh: 0
Poor: 0
Bad: 1
Guilty Pleasure: 1

131 episodes out of 178 are “Good” or better, which would be 73.6% of the series.

.
.
.

Episodes I rated "Excellent"
1. "Where No One Has Gone Before"
2. "Datalore"
3. "1101001"
4. "Heart of Glory"
5. "Conspiracy"
6. “The Measure of a Man”
7. “Q Who”
8. “The Emissary”
9. “Peak Performance”
10. “The Enemy”
11. “The Defector”
12. “Yesterday’s Enterprise”
13. “The Offspring”
14. “Sins of the Father”
15. “The Best of Both Worlds, Part I”
16. “The Best of Both Worlds, Part II”
17. “Family”
18. “Reunion”
19. “The Drumhead”
20. “Darmok”
21. “Cause and Effect”
22. “The First Duty”
23. “The Inner Light”
24. “Chain of Command, Part I”
25. “Chain of Command, Part II”
26. “Face of the Enemy”
27. “Tapestry”
28. “Lessons”
29. “Frame of Mind”
30. “Parallels”
31. “The Pegasus”
32. “Lower Decks”
33. “Preemptive Strike”
34-35. “All Good Things”
 
Last edited:
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