The Next Generation: Season 2

[trekjiro]

I just completed watching Season 2.

Faves:
Contagion
Q Who?
A Matter of Honor

Worst:
The Child
Up the Long Ladder


Star Trek TNG: Season 2 Grades

127 The Child: "C-"
Troi has a baby which matures very quickly.

128: Where Silence Has Lease :"B"
Enterprise discovers a huge black void which engulfs the ship.
Nagillum tests the crew.

129: Elementary, Dear Data: "B"
Data and Giordi as Holmes/Watson meet with Prof Morriarty
who gains access of the computer in the Holodeck.

130: The Outrageous Okona: "B-"
Playboy Okona on the Enterprise while his ship is being repaired.
In trouble cause of a love triangle. Data tries to learn to be a
comic from SNL Joe Piscopo.

131 The Schizoid Man: "B"
Genius doctor near death transfers mind to Data

132 Loud As A Whisper: "C+"
Riva the deaf mediator tries to bring peace between 2 alien races.

133 Unnatural Selection: "C+"
Mysterious virus ages Science crew and Dr. Polanski rapidly.
Enterprise needs to save them and genetic children

134 A Matter of Honor: "B+"
Riker is sent to a Klingon ship, "Pagh" serving in an exchange
program as first officer. 'Mordock' comes on to the Enterprise
as a guest exchange Ensign.

135: "Measure of A Man: "B"
Data is forced to resign cause of a commander who wants
to remove him for the Enterprise for experimentation. Picard
must take it to court to allow his rights.

136: The Dauphin: "B"
Wesley has a crush with Selia who is accompanied with her protector Anya.

137: Contagion: "A-"
Probe/Program destroys Starship Yamato. Enterprise
investigates and is confronted by Romulans near Neutral Zone.
Enterprise suffers same engineering problems. Picard goes
down to planet to discover Iconiun command center where
the problem source is discovered.

138: The Royale: "C+"
Enterprise discovers remnants of Nasa Space capsule on Gas planet.
Away team visits a stucture on planet that is a Casino from a Novel.

139: Time Squared: "B"
A second Picard from the future is found on a wandering shuttle. 6 hours in the future.

140: The Icarus Factor: "C+ "
Riker reunites with his father but is bitter cause of his childhood.
Worf celebrates 10th year of Ascension in Klingon ritual.

141: Pen Pals: "C+ "
Data contacts a little girl alien on planet that is in trouble.
Wesley leads his first command of a mineral survey of planet.

142: Q Who?: "A-"
Q pushes the Enterprise into deep space and introduces the Borg.

143: Samaritan Snare: "B"
The Pakleds, who makes things go, kidnap Geordi on their old vessel.
Picard and Wesley take the Shuttle to a Starbase for exams and a heart operation.

144: Up The Long Ladder: "C "
Irish folks with their animals are resqued from a planet that is in danger from solar ray activity.

145: ManHunt: "C+ "
Mrs Troi visits and is in her 'Phase' period. 2 fish ambassadors are assassins.

146: The Emissary: "B- "
Kehler, female Klingon/Human, meets with Worf to rendeveouz with Klingon Ship from past.

147: Peak Perfromance: "B- "
Wargame simulation puts Riker on a small crippled Starship versus Picard. Romulans sneak in
and pose danger.

148: Shades of Grey: "C+ "
Alien virus invades Riker and spreads to his brain.

 

[WillsBabe]

I enjoyed reading your comments. Is this the first time you've seen season 2, out of interest? Not that it makes any difference to your opinion, I'm just curious.

I see that you gave C- to The Child. I really like this episode. I'd give it a B. I like the people epiosdes. I enjoy the interaction between Troi and the men in her life - Data, Worf and Riker. I think it was a good way to introduce Pulaski. I don't think much of the Hester Delt B plot, but other than that, I think it's a nice people episode. I would give Measure of a Man a A+. I think it's one of the definitive Trek episodes: exploring what it is to be life, what it is to be human, self-sacrifice; civil and human rights.

 

[DostoyevskyClone]

Refreshing to see 'Shades of Grey' given a grade that isn't the 6th letter of the alphabet! Personally, I never thought it was that bad of an episode - certainly not excellent (or even good) by any means, but it hardly reaches the ineptitude of 'Code of Honor.'

 

[Trek Survivor]

Refreshing to see 'Shades of Grey' given a grade that isn't the 6th letter of the alphabet! Personally, I never thought it was that bad of an episode - certainly not excellent (or even good) by any means, but it hardly reaches the ineptitude of 'Code of Honor.'

An opinion I've expressed before, and wholeheartedly agree with. "Code Of Honour" is the very bottom of the barrel.

"Shades Of Gray" - not so bad. Hardly memorable, but EVERY US TV show seems to do at least one clip show ("Friends" and "The Simpsons" have done several). Aside from the odd montage (e.g. DS9 "What You Leave Behind"), SOG is the only true clip show in Star Trek's 43 year history. Not bad. And at least it tried to do it slightly differently than the old "everyone sitting around saying 'hey, remember when...'" scenario.

Interesting to see others' opinions on episodes. Surprised to see episodes like "Measure of a Man" get the same grade as "The Dauphin", but that's what makes differing opinions so fun!

 

[Evil_Kirkneivel]

Thanks for taking the time to write that up and post it.

I'm pretty much in agreement with you, generally speaking, although Contagion never thrilled me, whereas The Measure of a Man did. I'd rate Measure as perhaps the best episode of the season.

 

[trekjiro]

I enjoyed reading your comments. Is this the first time you've seen season 2, out of interest? Not that it makes any difference to your opinion, I'm just curious.

I see that you gave C- to The Child. I really like this episode. I'd give it a B. I like the people epiosdes. I enjoy the interaction between Troi and the men in her life - Data, Worf and Riker. I think it was a good way to introduce Pulaski. I don't think much of the Hester Delt B plot, but other than that, I think it's a nice people episode. I would give Measure of a Man a A+. I think it's one of the definitive Trek episodes: exploring what it is to be life, what it is to be human, self-sacrifice; civil and human rights.

Yeah, first time seeing all the episodes completely. I have seen a few of TNGS2 episodes in the past on rerun but only in pieces. Its pretty much like seeing it the first time. Its kind of hard to grade accurately but if i give Measure of a Man a 'B' and Dauphin a 'B' something isn't right. Will have to re-edit later. Appreciate the comments. I think what i really liked about Contagion is just i have a thing for time-warp/traveling type stories. Just like the 1st season Time Traveler episodes was one of my faves.

 

[Red Ranger]

Trekjiro:

Generally, I agree with your marks, with the big exceptlon of Shades of Gray. It's not just a crappy ep because it's a clip show, but because it's a bad clip show. Plus the framing story is weak.

Up the Long Ladder is my other most hated ep from this season. It was a bad idea, badly executed.

My faves in this season incude The Measure of A Man, A Matter of Honor, and Q Who. I also kind of like Where Silence Has Lease because of its creepy, eerie quality, and the great opening holodeck monsters scene.

Red Ranger

 

[RikerLover]

I don't know how I would grade most of the episodes but my favorites were A Matter of Honor, The Measure of a Man, Manhunt, The Child, and The Icarus Factor. I even liked Shades of Gray.

 

[sbk1234]

I put the Child somewhere in the middle. But what really bugs me about this episode is when Picard tells the senior officers that Troi is pregnant.
First he says "Councellor Troi is pregnant."
No reaction.
Then he clarifies: "She's going to have a baby."
Now everyone reacts. Shouldn't Starfleet officers - or anyone over the age of 8 - know that pregnant means one is going to have a baby?!

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

I enjoy Shades because of Frakes' performance.

It was Riker through and through, very personable, funny, and I thought he had some good lines that I even use to this day! ("If you drop a hammer on your foot, it's hardly useful to get mad at the hammer" and I liked his joke about his grandfather getting bitten by the snake)

Good character moments in there for him that will never allow this episode to be the worst of the worst.

That's still reserved, and forever shall be, to "Code of Honor".

 

[Lt.Cmdr.LaForge]

I think this seems like a fair analysis of the best worst episode of Season 2, however I would be inclined to put 'Shades of grey' into the worst category. That episode is just a series of flashbacks for about 30mins....very imaginative...

‘Q who’ and ‘Heart of Glory’ were definitely 2 of the strongest episodes.

 

[trekjiro]

Trekjiro:

Generally, I agree with your marks, with the big exceptlon of Shades of Gray. It's not just a crappy ep because it's a clip show, but because it's a bad clip show. Plus the framing story is weak.

Up the Long Ladder is my other most hated ep from this season. It was a bad idea, badly executed.

My faves in this season incude The Measure of A Man, A Matter of Honor, and Q Who. I also kind of like Where Silence Has Lease because of its creepy, eerie quality, and the great opening holodeck monsters scene.

Red Ranger

Its pretty cool that we're all on the same page. I am enjoying dissecting each episode. I actually like 'Samaritan Snare' for their characters 'the Pakleds'. Just one of the funnier goofy characters of all 2nd season. I hope they show up again. I would think that a beginning and end episode for a season should be one of the better ones but this 2nd season was not the case...not terrible but more like a regular mid-episode. They could've put Q-Who as a concluding episode. That was really excellent.

 

[I am not Spock]

Q Who should have been saved for the season two finale. It felt quite epic.

I liked the Pakleds in Samaritan Snare as well. They were just so goofy. You had to laugh. Where Silence Has Lease is one of my earliest Trek memories. I found that huge face in space that wanted to kill half the crew a terrifying concept as a child.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

I enjoy "Up the Long Ladder" for showing true colors of some of the crew. Riker is a murderous, vain womanizer. Picard is a bully motivated by his own prejudices and unsympathetic towards other people's morality (forced polygamy, forced sexual reproduction on those who find it abborhent). Pulaski's hippocratic oath goes out the window when she's been traumatized.

Also, luddites who spent centuries wallowing in mud are likeable, cloners who built a technological society where there was none are not.

One of those episodes that makes me thing "Well, f-ck you, Star Trek."

 

[DeeEss57]

"Shades Of Gray" - not so bad. Hardly memorable, but EVERY US TV show seems to do at least one clip show ("Friends" and "The Simpsons" have done several).

TNG didn't do a clip show because they wanted to. They did one out of necessity because of the writer's strike. If they'd had their druthers, they would have done a regular episode.


DES