The least disliked episode of TNG - Season One

[Brennyren]

I'd like to bid farewell to "11001001" for being the first -- and much too far from the last -- Trek episode ever to introduce the concept of someone falling in love with a holodeck creation. Honestly, that's the sort of thing that always made me wonder if the character involved was all right in the head.

Where No One Has Gone Before
Datalore
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Conspiracy

 

[SpocksOddSocks]

I don't like Conspiracy. It didn't feel right, made me uncomfortable as a kid, but then was resolved too quickly for such a big threat (though I'm glad they didn't continue the planned arc).

Where No One Has Gone Before
Datalore
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom

 

[BigDaveX]

Where No One Has Gone Before is next to go. It's probably the first genuinely decent episode of the show, but from reading Diane Duane's original outline, it's clear that it could have been even better. And let's not even get started on the "Wesley is super-special" stuff...

Datalore
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom

 

[Armus]

Damn some of my favorite episodes are getting axed...hope "Heart of Glory" wins...

 

[BlueStuff]

Datalore is outta here. "Shut up Wesley!" HoG is excellent, and AoF has the good ship Lollipop.

Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom

 

[Sakonna]

Interesting final two! I'll give the win to "Heart Of Glory" -- it's character arc for Worf is just a bit stronger than the arcs in AoF, and I think it does a slightly better job of showcasing my favorite thing about early TNG, that mysterious-isolated-deep-space vibe. Space really feels vast and unknowable and a bit magic here, in a way it doesn't in later years.

Surprised Big Goodbye, 11001001, and Conspiracy went so early! Those are the stars of season one for me.

 

[BlueStuff]

Good win for a good episode. I'll have S2 up shortly.

 

[Mojochi]

Wow, I only left for a bit & came back to find it's done. Wasn't expecting this winner, but I'm not put off by it either. It's probably one of the few episodes from season one that holds up well in the context of the whole series that came afterward

 

[Tomalak]

I just finished a rewatch of season 1. On the whole it's less terrible than I thought. Wesley in particular wasn't anything like as annoying as folklore would have us believe - it's a couple of scenes in a handful of episodes that contributed to that belief - The Battle, Hide and Q, Naked Now, Justice. Aside from those, he's either fine, or he hardly features.

I think it picks up in the second half of the season when they've got a handle on the characters better. Patrick Stewart basically saved the series because he's the best thing in it by miles and miles.

He especially shines whenever he's on screen with Gates McFadden - it's criminal the writers didn't make more of that. Instead, she got sacked and it took another six years before they tried to rekindle that early chemistry.

The best episodes naturally feature him heavily:

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Big Goodbye
11001001
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy

They are probably the only episodes that really hold up from the first season.