Star Trek TNG - Essential Episodes
Skip the crappy episodes and watch these classics! (S1-4; WIP while rewatching)
Episodes that are essential for plot or character developments are included even if mediocre, so nothing is missed when just watching this list.
Episodes that are essential for plot or character developments are included even if mediocre, so nothing is missed when just watching this list.
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- 1987–19941h 32mTV-PG6.9 (7.3K)TV EpisodeDirectorCorey AllenStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonOn the maiden mission of the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), an omnipotent being known as Q challenges the crew to discover the secret of a mysterious base in an advanced and civilized fashion.
- DirectorPaul LynchStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonThe crew of the Enterprise is infected with a virus that causes them to behave as though they were intoxicated.
- 1987–199445mTV-PG7.5 (4.6K)TV EpisodeDirectorRob BowmanStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonEveryone accurately pegs a visiting propulsion scientist as a charlatan, but only Wesley Crusher recognizes his alien assistant as the real deal.
- DirectorRob BowmanStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonBeware Ferengi bearing gifts. Capt. Picard receives the Stargazer, a ship considered lost that he once commanded.
- DirectorJoseph L. ScanlanStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonCaptain Picard and some of his crew are caught in a deadly trap in the holodeck as the result of a ship-wide scan from an alien race.
- DirectorRob BowmanStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonThe Enterprise visits the planet where Data was created and discovers another android like him, but when he's assembled, he's not exactly like him.
- DirectorPaul LynchStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonThe Enterprise docks at a starbase for repairs where it is commandeered by a race of technologically-linked aliens intent on using the vessel for their own purposes.
- DirectorCorey AllenStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonOn Velara III, Geordi and Data discover a microscopic life form responsible for the death of an engineer stationed on the base.
- DirectorMichael VejarStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonPicard finds himself facing a strenuous test of his loyalty to Starfleet, one which the other members of the crew are struggling to cope with, whilst Wesley faces an equally challenging entrance exam at Starfleet Academy.
- 1987–199446mTV-PG7.2 (3.6K)TV EpisodeDirectorRob BowmanStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonThe Enterprise searches for answers as to why three Klingon warriors were the only survivors aboard a freighter just inside the Neutral Zone which was seemingly attacked by a Ferengi ship.
- 1987–199446mTV-PG7.1 (3.7K)TV EpisodeDirectorLes LandauStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonThe Enterprise encounters a planet long dead, but technical equipment still functions for the purpose of selling off its arsenal, along with self sufficiency.
- DirectorCliff BoleStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonAfter diverting to a secret meeting with an old friend and some of Starfleet's finest commanders, Picard finds the Horatio blown to bits just hours after the meeting and he returns the Enterprise to Earth looking for answers.
- 1987–199446mTV-PG8.1 (4.4K)TV EpisodeDirectorRob BowmanStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonAn attempt to provide Data with a challenging Sherlock Holmes holodeck program backfires when its Professor Moriarty character accidentally becomes self-aware.
- 1987–199445mTV-PG8.1 (4K)TV EpisodeDirectorRob BowmanStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonUnder an Officers Exchange Program, Riker serves aboard a Klingon ship, whose aging captain seeks an unwarranted bloody retaliation for suspected Enterprise treachery.
- 1987–199446mTV-PG9.1 (6.3K)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert ScheererStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonWhen Data resigns his commission rather than be dismantled for examination by an inadequately skilled scientist, a formal hearing is convened to determine whether Data is considered property without rights or is a sentient being.
- DirectorJoseph L. ScanlanStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonEncountering the superior technology of a very ancient race creates system malfunctions for a doomed Federation starship, for the Enterprise, and for an eavesdropping Romulan warbird.
- DirectorJoseph L. ScanlanStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonThe Enterprise comes across its own shuttlecraft adrift in space - a duplicate - with an unconscious duplicate Capt. Picard inside.
- DirectorRob BowmanStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonQ tries to prove that Picard needs him as part of their crew by hurling the Enterprise 7,000 light years away where they encounter the Borg for the first time.
- DirectorCliff BoleStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonThe Enterprise addresses the emergency of an old Klingon ship coming out of stasis and ready to fight the Federation. A half-Human/half Klingon emissary arrives to help, who once knew Worf intimately.
- 1987–199445mTV-PG7.7 (3.6K)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert ScheererStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonThe crew of the Enterprise participates in war games.
- DirectorWinrich KolbeStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonWesley's latest science project escapes the lab, threatening the Enterprise and an eminent scientist's life-long project.
- 1987–199445mTV-PG7.4 (3.7K)TV EpisodeDirectorCliff BoleStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonAfter 111 years of silence, an extremely litigious alien race asserts its agreed upon right to wipe out a Federation colony in its territory.
- DirectorGabrielle BeaumontStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonThe Enterprise triggers an ancient yet effective trap left by an extinct race, with a perfectly preserved derelict ship serving as cheese for Picard.
- DirectorRobert ScheererStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonWhen a Romulan officer defects to the Federation with a warning of a impending invasion, Capt. Picard struggles to decide if he is to be believed.
- DirectorCliff BoleStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonInvestigating a planet applying for membership into the Federation, the crew of the Enterprise finds a group of inhabitants who used to be soldiers, but now fight for their very existence.
- DirectorLes LandauStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonMuch to Picard's displeasure, Q reappears on the Enterprise, claiming to have been ejected from the Q Continuum, and therefore, lost his powers.
- 1987–199446mTV-PG9.2 (6.1K)TV EpisodeDirectorDavid CarsonStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonThe Enterprise C enters the Enterprise D's time and space continuum, where they find Picard and crew in a constant state of war with the Klingons, and only Guinan knows it.
- DirectorJonathan FrakesStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonAfter returning from a cybernetics conference to the Enterprise, Data creates his own "child," much to the chagrin of his captain, and without regards to the ramifications with Starfleet.
- 1987–199445mTV-PG8.2 (3.8K)TV EpisodeDirectorLes LandauStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonA Klingon commander comes aboard the Enterprise in an officer exchange program initiated by Starfleet, much to the chagrin of the crew.
- 1987–199446mTV-PG7.2 (3.6K)TV EpisodeDirectorChip ChalmersStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonAfter mediating a difficult trade agreement, Captain Picard is encouraged to take a much needed rest on a vacationing planet, where he's visited by a strange race from the future, in search of a dangerous weapon.
- 1987–199446mTV-PG7.7 (3.6K)TV EpisodeDirectorCliff BoleStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonA shy member of the "Enterprise" crew becomes addicted to the holodeck, where relationships are easier than in real life, when his knowledge is needed in engineering.
- DirectorLes LandauStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonLegendary Federation ambassador Sarek visits the Enterprise to conclude peace talks with a race called the Legarans. His arrival is accompanied with a rash of unusual emotional outbursts among the crew.
- 1987–199445mTV-PG9.3 (5.8K)TV EpisodeDirectorCliff BoleStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonResponding to a distress call on one of the Federation's outer-most colonies, the Enterprise arrives...only to find a big hole in the ground where the town used to be, and discovers the Borg are behind the attack.
- 1987–199445mTV-PG9.2 (5.4K)TV EpisodeDirectorCliff BoleStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonHaving absorbed Captain Picard and his knowledge, the Borg head for Earth, leaving Riker and the Enterprise desperate for an unanticipated way to defeat them.
- DirectorLes LandauStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonAfter defeating the Borg, the crew of the Enterprise experiences shore leave in various ways. Captain Picard's return to his family's vineyard in France has some extraordinary repercussions.
- DirectorRob BowmanStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonAfter an accident aboard the Enterprise leaves one of its children in grave danger, Data commandeers the Enterprise, driven to take the ship to an unknown origin, where an interesting figure awaits.
- DirectorCliff BoleStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonDr. Crusher's fear of losing loved ones becomes real when her worries create an alternate reality.
- DirectorJonathan FrakesStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonWhen the leader of the Klingon High Council dies, Picard finds himself in the middle of the struggle for the now-vacant position. Meanwhile, Worf reunites with a past love, only to find he now has a son.
- DirectorCorey AllenStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonBefore leaving for Starfleet Academy, Wesley Crusher accompanies Captain Picard on a dangerous mission.
- DirectorRobert WiemerStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonData tries to comprehend the complex emotions between O'Brien and Keiko, who are about to be married.
- DirectorChip ChalmersStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonAfter being fired upon by a Cardassian vessel, Picard races against time to find out the facts behind the Cardassian commander's claim that the Federation attacked one of their outposts.
- DirectorCliff BoleStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonDisguised as an alien prior to First Contact, Will's life becomes imperiled when incurred injuries reveal his foreign internal structure to a xenophobic alien population.
- 1987–199446mTV-PG7.0 (3.2K)TV EpisodeDirectorWinrich KolbeStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonAs Geordi La Forge finally meets the real Dr. Leah Brahms, a tragic first contact leaves the Enterprise with a gigantic galactic infant suckling the ship's energy.
- 1987–199445mTV-PG7.9 (3.6K)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert LegatoStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonWhen assigned to investigate an unknown probe, Lt. Barclay is hit by an energy surge, through a shuttlecraft's computer, and he receives an inexplicable boost of confidence and a vast increase in his knowledge.
- DirectorJonathan FrakesStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonA retired admiral boards the Enterprise in an effort to determine the actions aboard the ship surrounding an act of sabotage and possible treason.
- 1987–199445mTV-PG7.7 (3.2K)TV EpisodeDirectorDavid LivingstonStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonGeordi is brainwashed by the Romulans to start a war between the Klingons and the Federation.
- DirectorPatrick StewartStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonWhen a female crew member is infatuated with Lieutenant Commander Data, he decides to give a romantic relationship a try. Also, the Enterprise finds itself having to maneuver through a dangerous nebula.
- DirectorCliff BoleStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonBoth Captain Picard and Lt. Worf must decide where their priorities lie as the Klingon Empire descends into a bitter civil war.
- DirectorDavid CarsonStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonAs Worf fights in the Klingon Civil War, Captain Picard and his crew must stop the Romulans from helping their pawns achieve victory.
- DirectorWinrich KolbeStarsPatrick StewartJonathan FrakesLeVar BurtonPicard must learn to communicate with a race that speaks in metaphor under a difficult set of circumstances.