Encounter at Farpoint (⭑⭑)
TNG’s pilot episode is a strange mixture of elements with real merit that show the potential of the new series (albeit a potential that would largely go unrealized for the…
The Battle (⭑⭑)
This episode is not very good, really. However, it is much better than any other episode since the pilot. Its plot contains no surprises, is executed clunkily, and isn't really…
The Big Goodbye (⭑⭑)
This episode is deeply flawed, and aspects of it are terrible—but it's still the best episode since the pilot. The framing story about the insect race that is anal about…
Datalore (⭑⭑)
Though much too flawed to merit a third star, this is the best episode of the series thus far. Halfway through the season, the writers finally got around here to…
Coming of Age (⭑⭑)
I used to think of this episode as a semi-bright-spot in the mostly dismal first season, and not without reason. Still, it's fraught with problems. On a character level, the…
Heart of Glory (⭑⭑)
Another difficult-to-rate episode, this one is a clear example of ideas with merit being seriously botched in the execution. Nineteen episodes in, the writers finally decided to explain Worf's presence…
Arsenal of Freedom (⭑⭑)
The plot of this episode doesn’t stand up to even casual scrutiny, and the backdrop is a typically hokey, first-season premise (a planet of arms dealers who destroyed themselves). But…
We’ll Always Have Paris (⭑⭑)
Way back in my early teens, when TNG was originally airing (and when its first-season episodes were about all I knew of the show), this one was one of my…
The Child (⭑⭑)
I get the impression that this episode is heartily loathed by most fans and critics—and, to be sure, it’s nothing special in most respects. I, however, will stand firmly behind…
The Outrageous Okona (⭑⭑)
The second in a series of early-second-season episodes with a character focus on Data, this is not one of the better such (but neither is it the worst). Its two…
Loud as a Whisper (⭑⭑)
This, unfortunately, is an episode about which every good thing that I might say is mitigated by a corresponding bad thing, but some of the bad things that I might…
Unnatural Selection (⭑⭑)
My main overall reaction to this episode is that it's a fundamentally forgettable one. While not entirely without merits, it needed a lot of work before it could qualify as…
Contagion (⭑⭑)
This episode is sort of the opposite of the previous one ("The Dauphin"), in that it has just never really worked for me, even though I gather that it is…
Time Squared (⭑⭑)
This episode wants really badly to be a good one, and significant portions of it are really engaging. It has an intriguing story idea, really great visual effects, and some…
Manhunt (⭑⭑)
I'll say this for this episode: the first time that I watched it after not having seen it in many years, it managed to pleasantly surprise me a bit. Maybe…
The Survivors (⭑⭑)
This is a really a tough one for me to rate, in that even though it lacks the sort of egregious flaws that normally prompt me to rate an episode…
The High Ground (⭑⭑)
This episode, while not without merits, is both muddled and deeply problematic. It strikes me, too, as sort of the inverse of the previous episode, "The Hunted," in some respects.…
Captain’s Holiday (⭑⭑)
Maybe the best way to sum up "Captain's Holiday" would be to say that it represents TNG kind of trying to be something that it's not—and, predictably, failing in that…
Tin Man (⭑⭑)
"Captain's Holiday" may have disappointed me on this latest rewatch, but "Tin Man" is one that I've never much cared for. It strikes me as a bit of a hodgepodge…
Transfigurations (⭑⭑)
Unfortunately, the last "regular" episode of season three (prior to the grand finale) is a lackluster offering. "Transfigurations" combines a nonsensical sci-fi premise with a narrative structure reminiscent of some…
Suddenly Human (⭑⭑)
I can understand parts of what this episode was trying to do, but I have never found "Suddenly Human" particularly effective—or enjoyable. Its main guest character, Jono/Jeremiah, never really comes…
Identity Crisis (⭑⭑)
This episode has multiple flaws, but I've always felt that its #1 problem is simply that it is unbelievably boring. It's got a sci-fi premise about weird, basically invisible aliens…
The Drumhead (⭑⭑)
I have generally remembered this episode as well-meaning but a bit too "easy," and I expected (before re-watching it) that I would give it three stars. I imagined commenting that…
The Host (⭑⭑)
Season four has some great episodes, and I think of it as a good season of TNG overall, but there's no denying that its latter third contains a dismayingly long…
Silicon Avatar (⭑⭑)
This episode is chock-full of problems and really isn't very good, but I usually remember it somewhat more fondly than one would expect from that statement. I think one reason…
Violations (⭑⭑)
"Violations," I'm sorry to say, is an episode that has "Jeri Taylor" written all over it (she co-wrote the teleplay with an intern, but I inferred her hand in it…
Ethics (⭑⭑)
This episode is a total mess. There are some worthwhile conflicts and ideas in it, but it lacks a consistent focus, and it's full of shoddy characterization and narrative cop-outs.…
True Q (⭑⭑)
This is the worst Q episode since season one's "Hide and Q," with which it has entirely too much in common. To be fair, it's not nearly as bad as…
Aquiel (⭑⭑)
Whatever it was that the writers were going for with "Aquiel," it seems to me that it didn't quite come together. The episode has assorted flaws, but the main one…
Descent: Part II (⭑⭑)
Part two of "Descent"—and, by extension/as a result, the entire two-parter—is a mess on pretty much every level. It began (in the first half or so of part one) as…