Star Trek: The Next Generation ran for seven seasons (178 episodes) between 1987 and 1994 and was set in the 24th century onboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. The action takes place a century after the original James T. Kirk series, and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) along with first officer Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner), Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn), ship’s counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Doctor Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), and Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton).
The first two seasons may have been of average quality, but by season three the series picked up massively along with intelligent, suspenseful stories, and an engaging crew who proved uniformly superb. There were numerous standout episodes over the course of Star Trek: TNG, and what follows is my own favourites list. A * by the side of the episode signifies a particularly excellent story:
Season One
Episode 1/2: “Encounter at Farpoint”
Season Two
Episode 3: “Elementary, Dear Data”
Episode 6: “The Schizoid Man”
Episode 8: “A Matter of Honor”
Episode 12: “The Royale” *
Episode 13: “Time Squared” *
Episode 16: “Q Who”
Season Three
Episode 15: “Yesterday’s Enterprise” *
Episode 18: “Allegiance”
Episode 26/1: “”The Best of Both Worlds”
Season Four
Episode 5: “Remember Me” *
Episode 8: “Future Imperfect” *
Episode 12: “The Wounded”
Episode 13: “Devil’s Due”
Episode 14: “Clues”
Episode 15: “First Contact”
Episode 17: “Night Terrors” *
Episode 26/1: “Redemption”
Season Five
Episode 18: “Cause and Effect” *
Episode 24: “The Next Phase” *
Episode 25: “The Inner Light” *
Episode 26/1: “Time’s Arrow”
Season Six
Episode 7: “Rascals” *
Episode 10/11: “Chain of Command” *
Episode 12: “Ship in a Bottle” *
Episode 15: “Tapestry” *
Episode 21: “Frame of Mind”
Episode 25: “Timescape” *
Season Seven
Episode 6: “Phantasms”
Episode 11: “Parallels” *
Episode 16: “Thine Own Self”
Episode 19: “Genesis”
Episode 25/26: “All Good Things…” *