Ranking every episode of the entire series (or franchise) is far too difficult a task, and to be totally honest I think I would find it virtually impossible, considering how many episodes there really are in Star Trek that are absolutely forgettable. So instead I will just do mini-countdowns like this, where I rank every episode from within its own season, and maybe I can expand on this a little further with a more updated favorites list; and perhaps even a few worst-of lists as well.
So let's start from the beginning, with the first season of TNG. I'm skipping TOS not because I don't like it, but because I'm currently watching through TNG, so it's still fresh on my mind as I'm writing this.
Oh, and as for two-part episodes, I am counting both parts separately only if they were released in different seasons. For example, Gambit from season 7 will only count as one single episode, but I'm splitting Best Of Both Worlds up, as it served as the season 3 finale and season 4 premiere. Now to the actual list, which will be much less wordy than this introduction.
25. Code Of Honor, episode 3
An ill-advised and weirdly racist episode depicting an alien race portrayed entirely by a black cast with bizarre and outdated rituals that can't help but to make you feel like the culturally aware and generally fair-minded sensitivities of Star Trek as a whole were totally forgotten for its entire duration. Not to mention the fact that a good deal of this episode focuses on Tasha Yar, who is undoubtedly the most bleh main character in TNG.
My grade: F
24. Angel One, episode 13
There are a lot of episodes through Star Trek that like to portray gimmick-heavy "all-male" or "all-female" type aliens and they barely ever work, as both heady science fiction as well as social commentary. This one didn't work. It barely even had a point. It's just stupid.
My grade: D
23. When The Bough Breaks, episode 16
An alien planet has become infertile, so they kidnap like 12 kids from the Enterprise. It's a really dumb episode with good intentions, but relying this heavily on so many child actors was never going to end in a positive result. It's not offensively bad, just very bland.
My grade: D
22. Haven, episode 10
A betrothal episode that introduces us to the very divisive Lwaxana Troi (who I like way more than her daughter Deanna), Haven just doesn't quite gel with me. I don't care about Deanna Troi, and it was all very mediocre.
My grade: D+
21. The Naked Now, episode 2
Starting off your show with an episode depicting characters no one is yet familiar with behaving differently than we don't know them to behave isn't exactly a great idea, but Roddenberry managed to make it work in the original series, so he decided to do it again here. And it doesn't work, unsurprisingly.
My grade: D+
20. Too Short A Season, episode 15
A very classic Trek style episode about an old man who manages to radically de-age, but it's all sort of derailed by some of the most hilariously awful old age makeup I've seen this side of Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar. Overall it isn't terrible, but it does have some distracting cosmetic issues and doesn't really hit hard on any emotional level.
My grade: D+
19. Hide And Q, episode 9
I generally enjoy Riker episodes, but this episode almost broke the character for me far too early in the show. Q is a very hit or miss character, but when he's at his best he's mostly just messing with Picard. Giving Riker Q powers and making him the focus of the episode didn't land, and it resulted in one of the worst Q episodes in the franchise, because they clearly didn't know how to handle the character yet at this point.
My grade: D+
18. Home Soil, episode 17
What can I say about an episode I rewatched less than a week ago that I've already forgot almost entirely about? Well, I didn't dislike it. It was just passably decent.
My grade: C-
17. The Last Outpost, episode 4
One of the first hilarious missteps of the series was attempting to make the Ferengi into a legitimately frightening villain species in the first season. While the episode itself isn't bad, that decision will always strike me as funny, and I have trouble taking the rest of it seriously because of that.
My grade: C-
16. Symbiosis, episode 21
Let me be clear with this one: this is not a good episode. In fact, in plenty of ways it's one of the most embarassingly transparent anti-drug PSAs I've ever seen, but it's so dumb and so on the nose that I find it kind of funny. It's just a big mess of social commentary from the Reagen era that I look at with humorous nostalgia goggles.
My grade: C-
15. Lonely Among Us, episode 6
One of many body-snatching episodes in the franchise, this one doesn't really stand out in any particular way, but has enough narrative polish to function properly as a very middling episode.
My grade: C
14. We'll Always Have Paris, episode 23
Picard romance episodes are always a little awkward for me, as I don't see him as a particularly sexual character, but there is a sort of charm to them either way. This one is very much the same, even if it's not directly romantic.
My grade: C
13. The Arsenal Of Freedom, episode 20
This isn't a particularly great episode, but I always remember it, which I see as something pretty special in its own right. A bunch of super killer robots on a planet with no life but a holographic salesman. It's a little wacky, but I still enjoy it.
My grade: C+
12. 11001001, episode 14
One of the earlier forays into the narrative capabilities of the holodeck, Riker winds up finding himself falling for a woman who doesn't exist, but has all the complexities and depth of a real person -- unlike other holodeck programs. This one helped open the door to exploring the humanity of holographic lives, which became a huge part of future episodes in the franchise.
My grade: C+
11. The Battle, episode 8
I know I said making the Ferengi into straight-up villains was hilarious to me, but I have to admit to finding it actually worked with this episode. Mostly this is a vengeance-based story that helped to develop the Ferengi as a race that were not only formidable in their own devious way, but also a logical people who put profit above all else.
My grade: C+
10. Heart Of Glory, episode 19
Klingons are one of the cornerstones of Star Trek, and this is the first genuinely strong Klingon episode of the series. Though the politics and customs of Klingons were developed in greater ways later on in the show, this one helped set the bar for what was to come.
My grade: B-
9. Where No One Has Gone Before, episode 5
One of the most important aspects of Trek has always been exploration, and this is one of the few good exploration episodes from the first season. This is also the episode that introduced us to the Traveler, a and powerful being whose curiosity for the mysteries of the universe surpass even that of Starfleet.
My grade: B-
8. Datalore, episode 12
I have some difficulties with Lore. I think there is a great deal of potential for him as a villain, but due to Brent Spiner's over-the-top acting and mawkish facial exaggerations, Lore becomes far more annoying to me than he should be. Still, as a villainous threat, he is formidable, and his rival/brother relationship to Data makes him all the harder for the Enterprise crew to handle.
My grade: B-
7. The Big Goodbye, episode 11
Picard plays a gumshoe in a holodeck program based on a set of books he admires, but the holodeck malfuctions and the villains within the program become self-aware and threaten the lives of the people involved. It's one of the most replicated formulas in '90s-era Star Trek, and it all started here. A fun episode with wide-reaching influence on the franchise.
My grade: B
6. Coming Of Age, episode 18
Wesley Crusher is an unjustly despised character in Star Trek that I found mostly quite tolerable. And this episode is one of his stronger appearances, where he attempts to enlist in Starfleet Academy with mixed results. It's a good character episode that I think gets overlooked due to being about Wesley, but I still find it quite good.
My grade: B
5. The Neutral Zone, episode 25
The season one finale, and the reintroduction of the Romulans as one of the most dangerous and resilient of all alien races the Enterprise (and the United Federation as a whole) must face. A great way to cap off the season, leaving you wanting more.
My grade: B
4. Justice, episode 7
The Prime Directive is often overlooked in modern Star Trek, which seems odd when compared to episodes like this, where the entire point of the episode revolves around the difficulty of working around it. It's a moral quandry, and an episode that I find encapsulates Star Trek quite well; at least, the Trek I know and love.
My grade: B
3. Skin Of Evil, episode 22
The end of Tasha Yar as a series regular is reason enough for me to love this episode, but really it's the darkness within the story and the lack of depth in its villain that really sticks out to me. Usually in Star Trek the villains are able to be reasoned with, empathized with. But not here. This is a truly evil being who kills and tortures without remorse. It's a dark episode, and one of the few from season one that I feel really stands out.
My grade: B+
2. Encounter At Farpoint, episode 1
I didn't care for this series premiere the first time I watched this show, but going back through it again I found myself really loving it this time around. The characters are established well, the stakes are high, and the multi-faceted story handles all of these difficult tasks surprisingly well. It just might be the best series premiere in the whole franchise -- though I am pretty partial to Broken Bow.
My grade: B+
1. Conspiracy, episode 24
The second-to-last episode of the season, and while I do appreciate The Neutral Zone, this one felt much more to me like a culmination of the events that preceeded it. It's a dark episode that shows corruption from within Starfleet, and also throws in a bit of body horror, almost as if it were specifically designed for me. Easily my favorite episode of season one, and the first great episode of the show.
My grade: A-
So let's start from the beginning, with the first season of TNG. I'm skipping TOS not because I don't like it, but because I'm currently watching through TNG, so it's still fresh on my mind as I'm writing this.
Oh, and as for two-part episodes, I am counting both parts separately only if they were released in different seasons. For example, Gambit from season 7 will only count as one single episode, but I'm splitting Best Of Both Worlds up, as it served as the season 3 finale and season 4 premiere. Now to the actual list, which will be much less wordy than this introduction.
25. Code Of Honor, episode 3
An ill-advised and weirdly racist episode depicting an alien race portrayed entirely by a black cast with bizarre and outdated rituals that can't help but to make you feel like the culturally aware and generally fair-minded sensitivities of Star Trek as a whole were totally forgotten for its entire duration. Not to mention the fact that a good deal of this episode focuses on Tasha Yar, who is undoubtedly the most bleh main character in TNG.
My grade: F
24. Angel One, episode 13
There are a lot of episodes through Star Trek that like to portray gimmick-heavy "all-male" or "all-female" type aliens and they barely ever work, as both heady science fiction as well as social commentary. This one didn't work. It barely even had a point. It's just stupid.
My grade: D
23. When The Bough Breaks, episode 16
An alien planet has become infertile, so they kidnap like 12 kids from the Enterprise. It's a really dumb episode with good intentions, but relying this heavily on so many child actors was never going to end in a positive result. It's not offensively bad, just very bland.
My grade: D
22. Haven, episode 10
A betrothal episode that introduces us to the very divisive Lwaxana Troi (who I like way more than her daughter Deanna), Haven just doesn't quite gel with me. I don't care about Deanna Troi, and it was all very mediocre.
My grade: D+
21. The Naked Now, episode 2
Starting off your show with an episode depicting characters no one is yet familiar with behaving differently than we don't know them to behave isn't exactly a great idea, but Roddenberry managed to make it work in the original series, so he decided to do it again here. And it doesn't work, unsurprisingly.
My grade: D+
20. Too Short A Season, episode 15
A very classic Trek style episode about an old man who manages to radically de-age, but it's all sort of derailed by some of the most hilariously awful old age makeup I've seen this side of Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar. Overall it isn't terrible, but it does have some distracting cosmetic issues and doesn't really hit hard on any emotional level.
My grade: D+
19. Hide And Q, episode 9
I generally enjoy Riker episodes, but this episode almost broke the character for me far too early in the show. Q is a very hit or miss character, but when he's at his best he's mostly just messing with Picard. Giving Riker Q powers and making him the focus of the episode didn't land, and it resulted in one of the worst Q episodes in the franchise, because they clearly didn't know how to handle the character yet at this point.
My grade: D+
18. Home Soil, episode 17
What can I say about an episode I rewatched less than a week ago that I've already forgot almost entirely about? Well, I didn't dislike it. It was just passably decent.
My grade: C-
17. The Last Outpost, episode 4
One of the first hilarious missteps of the series was attempting to make the Ferengi into a legitimately frightening villain species in the first season. While the episode itself isn't bad, that decision will always strike me as funny, and I have trouble taking the rest of it seriously because of that.
My grade: C-
16. Symbiosis, episode 21
Let me be clear with this one: this is not a good episode. In fact, in plenty of ways it's one of the most embarassingly transparent anti-drug PSAs I've ever seen, but it's so dumb and so on the nose that I find it kind of funny. It's just a big mess of social commentary from the Reagen era that I look at with humorous nostalgia goggles.
My grade: C-
15. Lonely Among Us, episode 6
One of many body-snatching episodes in the franchise, this one doesn't really stand out in any particular way, but has enough narrative polish to function properly as a very middling episode.
My grade: C
14. We'll Always Have Paris, episode 23
Picard romance episodes are always a little awkward for me, as I don't see him as a particularly sexual character, but there is a sort of charm to them either way. This one is very much the same, even if it's not directly romantic.
My grade: C
13. The Arsenal Of Freedom, episode 20
This isn't a particularly great episode, but I always remember it, which I see as something pretty special in its own right. A bunch of super killer robots on a planet with no life but a holographic salesman. It's a little wacky, but I still enjoy it.
My grade: C+
12. 11001001, episode 14
One of the earlier forays into the narrative capabilities of the holodeck, Riker winds up finding himself falling for a woman who doesn't exist, but has all the complexities and depth of a real person -- unlike other holodeck programs. This one helped open the door to exploring the humanity of holographic lives, which became a huge part of future episodes in the franchise.
My grade: C+
11. The Battle, episode 8
I know I said making the Ferengi into straight-up villains was hilarious to me, but I have to admit to finding it actually worked with this episode. Mostly this is a vengeance-based story that helped to develop the Ferengi as a race that were not only formidable in their own devious way, but also a logical people who put profit above all else.
My grade: C+
10. Heart Of Glory, episode 19
Klingons are one of the cornerstones of Star Trek, and this is the first genuinely strong Klingon episode of the series. Though the politics and customs of Klingons were developed in greater ways later on in the show, this one helped set the bar for what was to come.
My grade: B-
9. Where No One Has Gone Before, episode 5
One of the most important aspects of Trek has always been exploration, and this is one of the few good exploration episodes from the first season. This is also the episode that introduced us to the Traveler, a and powerful being whose curiosity for the mysteries of the universe surpass even that of Starfleet.
My grade: B-
8. Datalore, episode 12
I have some difficulties with Lore. I think there is a great deal of potential for him as a villain, but due to Brent Spiner's over-the-top acting and mawkish facial exaggerations, Lore becomes far more annoying to me than he should be. Still, as a villainous threat, he is formidable, and his rival/brother relationship to Data makes him all the harder for the Enterprise crew to handle.
My grade: B-
7. The Big Goodbye, episode 11
Picard plays a gumshoe in a holodeck program based on a set of books he admires, but the holodeck malfuctions and the villains within the program become self-aware and threaten the lives of the people involved. It's one of the most replicated formulas in '90s-era Star Trek, and it all started here. A fun episode with wide-reaching influence on the franchise.
My grade: B
6. Coming Of Age, episode 18
Wesley Crusher is an unjustly despised character in Star Trek that I found mostly quite tolerable. And this episode is one of his stronger appearances, where he attempts to enlist in Starfleet Academy with mixed results. It's a good character episode that I think gets overlooked due to being about Wesley, but I still find it quite good.
My grade: B
5. The Neutral Zone, episode 25
The season one finale, and the reintroduction of the Romulans as one of the most dangerous and resilient of all alien races the Enterprise (and the United Federation as a whole) must face. A great way to cap off the season, leaving you wanting more.
My grade: B
4. Justice, episode 7
The Prime Directive is often overlooked in modern Star Trek, which seems odd when compared to episodes like this, where the entire point of the episode revolves around the difficulty of working around it. It's a moral quandry, and an episode that I find encapsulates Star Trek quite well; at least, the Trek I know and love.
My grade: B
3. Skin Of Evil, episode 22
The end of Tasha Yar as a series regular is reason enough for me to love this episode, but really it's the darkness within the story and the lack of depth in its villain that really sticks out to me. Usually in Star Trek the villains are able to be reasoned with, empathized with. But not here. This is a truly evil being who kills and tortures without remorse. It's a dark episode, and one of the few from season one that I feel really stands out.
My grade: B+
2. Encounter At Farpoint, episode 1
I didn't care for this series premiere the first time I watched this show, but going back through it again I found myself really loving it this time around. The characters are established well, the stakes are high, and the multi-faceted story handles all of these difficult tasks surprisingly well. It just might be the best series premiere in the whole franchise -- though I am pretty partial to Broken Bow.
My grade: B+
1. Conspiracy, episode 24
The second-to-last episode of the season, and while I do appreciate The Neutral Zone, this one felt much more to me like a culmination of the events that preceeded it. It's a dark episode that shows corruption from within Starfleet, and also throws in a bit of body horror, almost as if it were specifically designed for me. Easily my favorite episode of season one, and the first great episode of the show.
My grade: A-
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