Star Trek: The Next Generation is still widely regarded as the best of the Star Trek television shows, and for good reason. Through seven amazing seasons, the crew of the Enterprise-D explored strange new worlds, tackled a variety of challenges, and faced down some of the most terrifying galactic threats imaginable.
The show has gone on to become an icon in pop culture and sci-fi history in the same vein as Star Wars, and that's largely a testament to the amazing writing staff involved in the creation of the show. While the show had some rough patches, particularly in the early seasons, there are definitely plenty of TNG episodes that every Trekker must watch if they want to experience the best that the show has to offer.
10 "Booby Trap" Saw The Show Finding Its Footing & Picard Proving He's A Badass
Star Trek: TNG's writing team were on a creative spree by the time the third season had come along, and the stories proved it. These were some of the most entertaining scripts ever to grace the show, and "Booby Trap" was one of the best.
The plot centers around the Enterprise investigating an asteroid field which served as the last battle between two ancient spacefaring civilizations. While cataloguing this awesome discovery, the Enterprise becomes caught up in a thousand-year-old booby trap that threatens the lives of everyone on the ship. The episode is notable for an incredible final act where the heroic Captain Picard performs the coolest maneuver ever seen on a Star Trek show, which allows the Enterprise to escape.
9 "Remember Me" Is One Of The Best (& One Of Too Few) Episodes Focused On Dr. Crusher
Dr. Beverly Crusher didn't get enough good episodes during her time as a character on the show, but "Remember Me" is easily the best. The plot is incredibly inventive, revolving around a warp field experiment conducted by her son Wesley in the engineering section.
One by one, the Enterprise crew begins to disappear, with nobody the wiser except Crusher. As she contemplates whether she is losing her mind, she soon figures out that she's been caught in an alternate reality created within the static warp bubble— a reality that is collapsing around her.
8 "The Drumhead" Is A Great Example Of TNG's Skillful Handling Of Political Storylines
Big, bold visuals and interstellar exploration took a backseat to this politically charged episode surrounding an overzealous Admiral who boards the Enterprise to investigate a case of possible sabotage, only to take it to the extreme.
What begins as a routine investigation soon turns into a nightmarish, paranoia-driven witch hunt involving a punishment in search of a crime. Picard soon realizes that the true saboteur in their midst is one cloaked in a visage of benevolence, but her real intention is to erode the freedoms and rights of anyone she deems an enemy, which is a scary parallel of our current age.
7 "Cause And Effect" Tackled Time Loops In A Way That Felt Fresh & Not Tropey
One of the most brilliantly devised TNG scripts began with the mighty starship Enterprise literally blowing up before the audience's eyes, even before the initial credits ran. What followed was a spine-tingling mystery involving a temporal causality loop that caused the Enterprise to become stuck in the same recurring doomsday scenario.
Each time the catastrophe struck, the loop would reset, and the crew would remember a little more of the ordeal. Audiences bit their nails wondering how the crew would make it out of this terrible ordeal, and the solution was as unexpected as it was incredible. Truly a testament to the solid writing team on the show.
6 "Skin Of Evil" Featured The Death Of Tasha Yar & Announced That TNG Was Going To Be Darker Than TOS
The second Star Trek show was every bit as optimistic and jovial as the first, at least until "Skin of Evil" debuted late into the first season. It was the first time a major character died in such shocking fashion on a Trek show, and that would send shockwaves throughout the Trekker fandom.
When actress Denise Crosby asked to be written out of the show, the decision was made to have her character Tasha Yar murdered by a malevolent entity known as Armus who possessed frightening destructive power. Every Trek fan remembers that frantic scene in sick bay as Dr. Crusher fought valiantly to save her life. For a moment, it seemed possible, but when Crusher finally gave up, and the show cut from Picard's stunned face to a commercial break, audiences knew that Star Trek had changed in a big way forever.
5 "The Offspring" Introduced Data's Daughter — And Then Killed Her Off
This episode continues to make Star Trek fans weep to this very day, due to the very emotional subject matter. It all begins when Data builds an android "daughter" to continue his creator's legacy. He gives her the name Lal, and teaches her how to interact with humans, even as she bonds with him.
Things turn disastrous when Lal develops emotional responses, including a sense of fear that ends up causing an irreversible neural net cascade failure. While audiences had only begun to get to know this new character, she was taken from them in an emotionally charged final act that is every bit as tragic and touching today as it was back then.
4 "The Inner Light" Demonstrated TNG's Willingness To Take Creative Risks On More Unorthodox & Intimate Stories
Star Trek took on bold new ground when it debuted "The Inner Light," a gamble of an episode that found Captain Picard struck with an energy wave from a mysterious alien probe. For the next 25 minutes, Picard lives out a lifetime of memories as another man, on a world that died out long ago.
The objective was for the alien probe to teach other cultures about its own, lest they be forgotten. Picard awakens from his unconscious adventure with full memories of everything that took place, and the final scene of the episode is so touching that audiences still have trouble maintaining a dry eye to this very day.
3 "Yesterday's Enterprise" Rewrites Star Trek History & Gets Darker Than The Franchise Had Ever Been
Star Trek fans the world over know and love "Yesterday's Enterprise" for so many reasons. Not only does it upend the entire TNG universe by literally changing history, but it also introduced fans to the Enterprise's immediate predecessor, the never-before-seen NCC-1701-C.
This dark future sees the Federation at war with the Klingon Empire— and losing. In order to set things right, the Enterprise-C must head back through a temporal rift in spacetime, and take part in a suicide battle that will put history back on course. It's one of the bleakest Star Trek episodes, yet also one of the most heroic, demonstrating the courage and sacrifice each and every Starfleet officer must face.
2 "The Best Of Both Worlds" Introduced The Borg & Changed Captain Picard Forever
Star Trek was turned upside down once again in season 2 when the mischievous entity known as Q decided to fling the Enterprise light years from its current location, into the unknown regions of the galaxy. His purpose? To pit the Picard and his crew against the galaxy's most terrifying race: The Borg.
Next season, the Borg came knocking right on the Federation's doorstep, causing one of the greatest mass-catastrophes in Star Trek history and leaving Picard's fate in limbo. This two-part episode acted as a nail-biting cliffhanger between seasons 3 and 4, and the wait between was nothing short of agonizing. It remains one of the greatest episodes in television history, period.
1 "The Measure Of A Man" Was A Courtroom Drama That Masterfully Explored What It Means To Be Human & To Be Free
No episode in Star Trek history can match the sheer power and emotional weight of this one. It all started with a premise: Is the android Lieutenant Commander Data the property of Starfleet, and do his rights as a sentient being truly matter?
From there, the episode went full on courtroom drama as Picard battled valiantly for Data's rights and freedoms. The case soon went beyond "just one android," and morphed into a much greater debate about the nature of slavery, morality, and human ethical considerations.