When did TNG get good?

[Red Ranger]

As soon as they changed from jumpsuits to two-piece uniforms, so season three. I kid! A better way to phrase the question is when did TNG become consistently good? As others have pointed out, there are some excellent eps in both Seasons 1 and 2, each of which has its own "feel." TNG had fewer clunkers in Season 2, I'd say. -- RR

 

[CDP]

S7 was quite mediocre, but mainly due to the writer working on VOY pre production.

I enjoyed S2 when rewatching it.

where silence has lease
measure of a man
a matter of honour
Q Who
peak performance
time squared
contagion

spring immediately to mind

 

[Mojochi]

There are a few marks in season two, that showed the potential, which they would realize by season three. They found themselves in season three. they got firmly rooted in what they wanted the show to be, & it showed

 

[Chrisisall]

Low collars on the uniforms delineate suckieness. That's my 2 credits.

 

[trevanian]

S3 was the one really good year, because they didn't have time to fuck up the good scripts w/ rewrites ... and Snodgrass was still there. Probably the only season of ModernTrek I'd ever consider buying, outside of the later DS9s I already have.

 

[LaBarre]

From Season 3 onwards.

The first season was very much a hit and miss effort as writers and actors got into the groove, while having to deal with Roddenberry's vision.

From memory, Season 2 was hit by the writers' strike so that pretty much buggered up the second part of season - and it showed.

Season 3 was when everyone seemed to get their act together.

 

[RandyS]

On September 28, 1987.

 

[RyuRoots]

On September 28, 1987.

Y'know, this wasn't funny or clever in the TMP thread either.

 

[trevanian]

On September 28, 1987.

In the mirror universe?

 

[Maniarek]

As everyone has said…..season 3 and onwards.

Seasons 1 and 2 while average, just weren't as engaging as the rest of the seasons. All the main cast members hadn’t hit top form in the portrayal of their characters yet either.

Maniarek.

 

[TedShatner10]

TNG had a few memorable and entertaining episodes in S1 (like "The Battle" and "Conspiracy), but the rest of it was quite ghastly, cheesy, and poorly dated. S2 was a pretty big step up in story invention (the introduction of the Borg and hologram Moriarty), but still had its quality issues and cheese (the Pakleds?! Come on!).

Halfway through Season Three leading into Season Four was when TNG got genuinely excellent with "Yesterday's Enterprise", "Tin Man", "The Best of Both Worlds", and "Family". The quality generally kept up until the conclusion of Season Six.

The Next Generation definitely hit the creative buffers in Season Seven (with many weird, boring episodes like "Sub Rosa") but what was great, was still as great as anything from the S3-6 zenith ("All Good Things", "Parallels", "Below Deck", "The Pegasus", and "Preemptive Strike"). By S7, it was clear the core writers were getting creatively burned out, after many years on TNG, however the anti-S7 is a little excessive.

 

[RandyS]

On September 28, 1987.

Y'know, this wasn't funny or clever in the TMP thread either.

I wasn't trying to be funny or clever. I was, however, answering the question "When did TNG get good?", and that's when it got good.

 

[RandyS]

On September 28, 1987.

In the mirror universe?

I don't know, I was too busy combing my goatee and planing the death of my captain.

See, that wasn't clever of funny either, but it WAS relevent.

Well, slightly.

 

[Greg Cox]

"The Measure of a Man."

I remember that episode catching me by surprise. "Hey, that was actually pretty good!"

Before that, I was watching more out of obligation than enjoyment.

 

[Starbreaker]

S1 and S2 is still good in my opinion. There were some boring stories, but I really liked the character development.

 

[Maniarek]

S1 and S2 is still good in my opinion. There were some boring stories, but I really liked the character development.

You're right about the poor stories, but I disagree about the character development. I found it to be inconsistent and contradictory.

Maniarek

 

[trevanian]

On September 28, 1987.

In the mirror universe?

I don't know, I was too busy combing my goatee and planing the death of my captain.

See, that wasn't clever of funny either, but it WAS relevent.

Well, slightly.

I thought my post was screamingly funny ... but not as funny as your "planing the death of my captain." You gonna drive an aircraft into him?

 

[RandyS]

In the mirror universe?

I don't know, I was too busy combing my goatee and planing the death of my captain.

See, that wasn't clever of funny either, but it WAS relevent.

Well, slightly.

I thought my post was screamingly funny ... but not as funny as your "planing the death of my captain." You gonna drive an aircraft into him?

Nah, i'll just give him some of my homemade beer. That ought to do it.

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

Season 1 has some great episodes. Farpoint, Where No One, Conspiracy, Haven, The Big Goodbye, Datalore, Home Soil, Heart of Glory, Symbiosis, The Neutral Zone, Arsenal of Freedom(Well, I like it.)...

 

[Bostonian]

Although I may not entirely agree with your list, I have to agree that Season One had some great moments. “Home Soil” definitely has one of the best lines in Trek “ugly bags of mostly water!”), and “The Arsenal of Freedom” is one of my favorite episodes—although the planet sets are pretty bad, it we get to see Geordi in command.

Of course, part of the interest in watching Season One is seeing how TNG diverged from it’s original path. Season One has a lot more beaming-down and exploring, like TOS, and and less acting as a ferry for diplomats. We get a taste of the planned regular saucer separations in “Arsenal.” We get to see LaForge as a junior bridge officer, which is honestly where I think he should have stayed rather than being relegated to the stardrive section. I also prefer Season One Riker to later Riker—maybe I just like a drier Will, but he also has more to do than sit next to Picard. Of course, the Wesley factor can serve as a real dampener (“Datalore” comes to mind as an episode which would have benefitted from his absence), and a lot certainly is dated, but I think the first season gets written off a little too unfairly.

That said, for consistent goodness you definitely have to go to Season Three. It’s really the beginning of 24th-Century Trek As We Knew It.