In 1987 I, and many many others, were excited about a new show called Star Trek-The Next Generation. I still remember seeing the promo that they had on the VHS of Star Trek IV and it looked epic!
Years later and after the show has evolved into what it would be famous for being, I find that first season so unwatchable. Season 2 managed a few great, even iconic, episodes but season 1? Ugh. But in looking back I wonder if I’m being too hard on it. I mean it’s like Friends. A lot of people hate that shows first season because it’s so out of step with the series, but those episodes were great when they aired and are still great. So is season 1 so awful that nothing is redeemable?
I don’t need to spend time rehashing the whys of what happened that first chaotic year. But the season is filled with so much goofiness from awkward dialogue to absurd plots it’s truly hard to believe it’s a the same show. But that doesn’t mean it’s all awful does it? Ten years ago I listed a few good things the season gave but only mentioned a couple episodes specifically. As I have finally decided to revisit this season (I hate rewatching them) I decided to list a few episodes which stand out among the pack. In no particular order.
The Last Outpost
This is episode 4 and is the first decent episode I could think of! That’s kind of sad. We meet the Ferengi and immediately don’t take them seriously (yes, we were supposed to).
Where No One Has Gone Before
This may be the first legit decent episodes with its special effects and cool sci fi premise . Yeah Wesley gets to much damn attention (par for the course these early episodes) but the fantasies due to the space they are in are clever and everyone gets something to do
Lonely Among Us
I did whole article on this one so you can find more info there. But this is one of those episodes I like because of memories it brings back more than the quality of the show itself.
The Battle
This is an interesting one with Picard under the influence of a Ferengi mind thingy and leads to one of the better climaxes. Yeah there’s still season 1 silliness but at least the story is interesting.
Hide and Q
In the second appearance of Q we see that Q is trying to make Riker a member of the continuum. While it wasn’t the best Q episode any time you have John DeLancie you’re gonna have some fun.
The Big Goidbye
The first holodeck malfunction episode and has some nice moments in it. Not much to say about it, at least it doesn’t get as ridiculous as other holodeck episodes.
Datalore
This should have been a classic, still regarded as one of the best TNG episodes. Brent Spiner does a great job being the evil Lore making him one of the best TNG villains. But season 1 silly permeates, with Wesley getting to much screen time and of course being the only one to realize Lore was pretending to be Data- Making the crew look like morons. Standard.
11001001
This episode about the binars taking over the Enterprise is always under the radar for me. I always seen to forget it. But it’s still good, and we see a casual side of our characters we rarely do. Plus seeing Riker and Picard work together is fun.
Symbiosis
This is a great prime directive episode and one of the few season 1 episodes that really feels like Trek, taking a real issue and exploring it in a sci fi setting. The issue was drug addiction.
Skin of Evil
I have a real soft spot for this one, the episode that killed Tasha Yar. I did a whole article on it so you can find more there. Ignoring the insulting method Tasha died, it’s not a bad episode. It’s one I always keep coming back to, more than any other season 1 episode.
The final episode of the season is boring dreck I won’t even dignify The episodes here have the stench of season 1 on them but are at least passable. We can see the seeds of the amazing show that it it would become. While I rarely feel the need to revisit these shows, when I do I will admit I still enjoy watching them for the most part. After all, they’re still Next Generations, the show I loved.
Sone may wonder why “conspiracy” is not here. I’ll need a whole article for that one, and we’ll tackle it next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment