Where No One Has Gone Before (⭑)
Though considerably better than the three previous episodes, this one is nevertheless still really bad. It lacks the sort of fantastically ill-conceived premise that ruined all three of the post-pilot…
Haven (⭑)
This episode sucks. The arranged-marriage story seems wildly out of place and at odds with the values and ethos of the Starfleet/Federation world; Troi seems like a volitionless pawn who…
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…
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 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…
The Schizoid Man (⭑)
The third of the four early-second-season Data-focused episodes, this one is, alas, a complete bomb. Its few paltry redeeming features are these: 1. Dr. Selar, though the reason why she…
A Matter of Honor (⭑⭑⭑⭑)
As my rating indicates, this is easily the best episode of the series thus far; it's not perfect, but it just towers over the majority of what comes before it. …
The Dauphin (⭑⭑⭑)
Despite its having significant weaknesses and being the sort of episode that many fans of the show automatically dislike (a love story for Wesley!), I personally enjoy this episode too…
The Icarus Factor (⭑⭑⭑)
This is yet another episode that, based on what I've read elsewhere, I gather that a lot of fans don't like very much, but of which I have always been…
Pen Pals (⭑)
It's a fair generalization, I think, that the majority of the episodes in roughly the first two thirds of this season are essentially mediocre (with a few big exceptions, of…
Samaritan Snare (⭑)
The yo-yoing inconsistency of the latter part of second season continues, plummeting all the way from the heights of "Q Who" to another low point with this clunker. When I…
The Emissary (⭑⭑⭑⭑)
This episode is a strong enough character piece, and does enough other things really well, that it easily earns a four-star rating, even if its main plot is arguably a…
Peak Performance (⭑⭑⭑⭑)
Apart from one bafflingly glaring, major plot flaw, this is a wonderful episode whose thematic depth/complexity, sophistication, and sheer enjoyableness surprise and impress me each time I watch it. It's…
Evolution (⭑⭑⭑)
With the start of season three, TNG finally attains its full maturity. As with "The Child," I can't really discuss this episode without also offering some broader observations—this time about…
The Ensigns of Command (⭑⭑⭑⭑)
I have always loved this episode. It's a classic Data story, it continues to showcase the show's emergent new style and identity, and the shipboard half of the plot is…
Booby Trap (⭑⭑⭑)
This is another difficult episode for me to rate; it's really on the line for me between two and three stars. I first went with three, then later downgraded it…
The Enemy (⭑⭑⭑⭑)
"The Enemy" has proven to be the episode that forces me to define exactly where the line is between four and five stars. I've gone with the lower of those…
The Price (⭑)
This, alas, is one of the few abject bombs of the third season; only one other episode besides it, I think, will warrant a one-star rating. It does have some…
The Vengeance Factor (⭑⭑⭑)
Though not an installment that has ever particularly stood out to me, this strikes me as a solid, watchable, and reasonably entertaining episode. It has some flaws, but it also…
Deja Q (⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑)
This pure classic is unique among TNG's Q episodes in that it's the only one that's actually fundamentally about Q; rather than serving as a foil, a guide, or a…
A Matter of Perspective (⭑⭑⭑)
This represents a sort of archetypical three-star episode and is better than many others to which I've thus far given three-star ratings (often somewhat reluctantly or with misgivings). It's a…
Yesterday’s Enterprise (⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑)
What an absolutely fantastic episode this is! A true classic, beyond any doubt. I almost don't even know where to begin in talking about it. Despite the many cool ideas…
Sins of the Father (⭑⭑⭑⭑)
Ah, the first entry in what will develop, via future episodes, into the Klingon civil war storyline! While it's a tad odd structurally, this is a strong character piece for…
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…
Hollow Pursuits (⭑⭑⭑⭑)
This is one of the delightful, relatively low-key sorts of episodes (I mean, okay, the ship almost flies itself apart at the climax, but still) that round out TNG as…
The Most Toys (⭑⭑⭑⭑)
This is another gem of season three that I've always treasured, even if it is marred by one weird, inexplicable moment near the end. TNG rarely went wrong (past season…
Sarek (⭑⭑⭑⭑)
"Sarek" was something of a big event for TNG when it aired, and is an episode that I almost reflexively hold in high regard—and yet, if I'm being honest, I…