When did TNG get good

[Captrek]

I’m currently in early S3 of a complete TNG rewatch. (Last seen: The Price.)

I noticed that early episodes like The Naked Now and Code of Honor, among the worst episodes by most measures, have a very amateurish quality about them, almost like well-done fan films. It feels like a trip back in time to 1987, imagining a plucky group (that’s how I like to imagine it, true or not) bringing live-action Trek back to television after an 18-year absence. It has a kind of charm, and it’s neat to watch the show figure things out and find its voice as it goes on.

Late S2 gets pretty bad: The Royale, The Icarus Factor, Pen Pals, Samaritan Snare, Up the Long Ladder, Manhunt, Peak Performance, Shades of Gray. Ouch, what a lousy group of episodes.

I think the second half of S3 is when the series really finds itself. Déjà Q, Yesterday’s Enterprise, The Offspring, Sins of the Father, Hollow Pursuits, Sarek, and BOBW1 all come from this period.

 

[datagal]

The first season was very meh with the exception of DataLore. The secord season was so-so with the exception of Measure of a Man and Contagion (sp?). The third was really (I love The Hunted. The fact that Angorian prisoner outfoxed the The Enterprise was too sweet). But it wasn't until the cliffhanger The Best of Both Worlds that I was actually hooked on TNG. After that, I was a fan. Seasons 4-6 are the best IMO. The last season was okay. I might be one of the people who simply can't stand The Gambit I & II. That was one of the few times that I really wanted Worf to kick Data's ass.