These Episodes of The Next Generation Quietly Broke 1 of Star Trek's Most Frustrating Curses

Star Trek: The Next Generation is remembered as an amazing science fiction show, a great continuation of The Original Series, and a vital part of the franchise's history. This doesn't mean it didn't get off to a rough start, however. Many Trekkies know that there was lots of drama behind the scenes during the first season, leading to conflict between the cast, crew, and writers, and creating a tense environment. This, along with uncertainty among the showrunners about what TNG should be and how it should develop, led to some truly terrible episodes. The second season was an improvement but, overall, the season didn't fare much better, with lots of poor episodes in the mix.

Still, this doesn't mean there weren't some notable exceptions to the rule. While the first couple of seasons of TNG were bad overall, they did feature some stories that were actually great, breaking the trend and showing fans and critics what the new Star Trek series could become. Some of these episodes weren't only comparatively good, but among the best of the whole series. While they were rare, they helped keep the series alive and are still remembered as excellent today.

5"Heart of Glory" Offers Updated Klingon Lore

The Season 1 Episode Helped Introduce Worf to Fans

"Heart of Glory" is an important episode in TNG history for what it contributes to Klingon lore and the character of Worf. When the new show began, set a century after The Original Series, it quickly established that the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire had made peace. The presence of a Klingon, Worf, on the bridge of the Enterprise hinted at this change, though the details weren't explained for some time. Several years later, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country would explore the beginnings of reconciliation between the Federation and the Klingons through the eyes of Captain Kirk and his Enterprise crew. In the meantime, however, fans of TNG were left wondering what was happening with the old Star Trek antagonists and what Worf's story was. "Heart of Glory" addressed these questions.

The episode begins with the Enterprise rescuing three Klingons, one of whom dies of injuries shortly after, from a damaged ship. Soon, it's revealed that these Klingons were renegades from the Empire, having stolen a ship and become pirates. Unable to accept a new, peaceful status quo, they are committed to recapturing the glory days when Klingons were warriors. While Worf ultimately proves an honorable and loyal member of Starfleet, subduing one of the criminals and saving the ship, he acknowledges a part of him shares their feelings. This makes for a fun and exciting episode that helped fans get caught up in Klingon history and, after being in the background for much of the season, gave Worf some much-needed characterization.

4"The Arsenal of Freedom" is a Fun Adventure Story

Geordi Gets a Moment to Shine on the Enterprise

While many of Star Trek's best episodes are complex morality tales and examinations of different beliefs and values, some are simply fun adventure stories. The Season 1 Episode, "Arsenal of Freedom," falls into the latter category. Seeing much of the bridge crew of the Enterprise, including Captain Picard, trapped on a deserted planet and being hunted by strange, floating drones, it tells three different action and survival stories simultaneously. Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher tries to survive when they fall into a cave and Beverly is injured, Commander Riker, Data, and Taha Yar fight to evade and defeat the drones that are hunting them, and Geordi tries to save the Enterprise and the crew on the planet at the same time. All three plots work well alone and as a combined narrative, adding up to a great action story.

Of course, as a Season 1 episode, it still has shortcomings. The lower budget of the early seasons meant the sets were notably poor, looking like someone placed a few potted plants on a sound stage. Still, if one can get past the visuals, it's a great episode. It also earns points for being an early episode that focused on Geordi, seeing him unexpectedly forced to take command of the Enterprise and ultimately save the day. For fans of the character, and less philosophical Star Trek stories, this is an excellent episode.

3"Q Who" is a Great Q Story

The Season 2 Episode Introduced the Borg

The entity known as Q was introduced in the premiere of TNG, "Encounter at Farpoint," and became a recurring character, and thorn in the side of Picard, for the rest of the series. Alternating between menacing and humorous, the writing team seemed to struggle with nailing down the character throughout the first season. The Season 2 Episode, "Q Who," managed to finally get a handle on the iconic character, and also introduced one of the greatest antagonists in the history of Star Trek. When Q suddenly appears on the Enterprise again, first kidnapping Picard and then confronting Guinan, it's clear that he's up to something. What follows is one of the most important stories of early TNG.

Sending the Enterprise into an uncharted region of space, Q facilitates first contact with the Borg. This gave fans their first glimpse of the hive mind that would menace the Federation for years to come. Immediately alien and terrifying, the beings that showed no individual concern for morality, self-preservation, or personal identity were the antithesis of humanity and the values of the Federation and Starfleet. The overwhelming power of the Borg made them a new sort of threat and launched them at the top of the list of Star Trek villains. "Q Who" managed to successfully introduce and characterize a great new alien civilization, tell a suspenseful story, and give Q some great moments all in one episode, making it one of series' best.

2"Symbiosis" Tells a Classic Star Trek Story

Competing Views of Ethics are at the Core of This Story

Star Trek has always been at its best when it examined social and political issues through science fiction stories. The Original Series touched on diverse subjects, from racism and the Cold War to poverty and civil rights. TNG picked up this torch, telling its own morality tales and exploring new facets of the human condition through narratives about aliens. "Symbiosis" was a great Season 1 example of the new series' ability to tell such stories even as it was struggling overall. Beginning with the Enterprise rescuing a ship carrying the inhabitants of two nearby planets and their cargo, it quickly turns into an examination of drug dependence, exploitation, and the nature of the Prime Directive.

The two neighboring civilizations claim to live in a symbiotic relationship, with one being overrun with a terrible, deadly disease, and the other producing a drug that can keep the illness in check if taken regularly. Dr. Crusher soon discovers, however, that there is no disease. The drug in question is a highly addictive narcotic and the entire population of one planet depends on it. Knowing this secret, the other planet sells the drug, telling their victims that it is needed to keep them alive, and has become wealthy. Picard faces how to respond to this knowledge, knowing that the Prime Directive forbids him from interfering with developing civilizations. Over the course of the episode, "Symbiosis" sees Picard and Crusher debating the morality of intervention vs. non-intervention when faced with a foreign crisis and Wesley learns about the ravages of drug addiction. While suffering from the same budgetary issues as other Season 1 episodes, it does an excellent job of telling a great story that epitomizes the nature of Star Trek, and its approach to social commentary.

1"The Measure of a Man" is One of the Best Star Trek Episodes of All Time

Data's Greatest Moment Came Early in the Series

"The Measure of a Man" isn't just a good early-series TNG episode. It's one of the best stories of all time, not just for its series, but the entire Star Trek franchise. Helping to establish one of the great tropes of the show, Picard acting as an attorney and giving moving speeches in court, it revolved around Data needing to establish his legal personhood. When a scientist tries to claim that the android has no right to refuse to undergo a dangerous procedure or resign from Starfleet because he is a machine, and thus property, it falls to Picard to argue against this miscarriage of justice.

The moving story still ranks among the best TNG episodes of all time and helped establish Data as a great character. Patrick Stewart gives a remarkable performance in his ending monologue and Whoopi Goldberg, as Guinan, shines as Picard's moral compass and ally in his struggle. It's strange that such an amazing episode came so early in the series, when it was struggling to find its footing. "The Measure of a Man" demonstrated what TNG could become even as it was still finding itself.