Star Trek: The Next Generation produced 178 episodes in its seven-season run, so it’s no surprise that some worked far better than others. Following the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise-D, TNG introduced one of Star Trek’s most beloved casts and produced some phenomenal science fiction television. While some TNG episodes, such as season 5’s “The Inner Light” or the “Best of Both Worlds” two-parter continue to be lauded as some of Star Trek‘s greatest stories, other episodes didn’t quite make the cut.
The television landscape of the 1980s and 1990s was much different than it is today, and Star Trek: The Next Generation had long 22-26 episode seasons. This meant that the show’s writers and producers were often pressed for time, leading to scripts that could have used some more polishing. TNG’s first and second seasons, in particular, faced difficulties behind the scenes as writers came and went with surprising regularity even before the Writer’s Strike of 1988 impacted TNG’s production. Still, even the worst episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation feature the show’s compelling main characters, and the presence of Captain Picard or Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) often made up for a mediocre storyline.
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“Up The Long Ladder” (6.2/10)
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 18
Some decent scenes between Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) and Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur) cannot save this lackluster TNG season 2 episode. When the Starship Enterprise rescues a primitive human colony from Bringloid V, they soon find another, more technologically advanced colony known as Mariposa. Both colonies originated from the same Earth ship, but the Mariposans had to use clones to repopulate their colony. The two disparate plots are shoved together at the end, but the whole thing feels disjointed. Plus, the Bringloidi are based on outdated Irish stereotypes, and the episode is not nearly as funny as it tries to be.
“Too Short A Season” (6.1/10)
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1, Episode 16
“Too Short a Season” sidelines the main cast of TNG in favor of the unlikable Admiral Mark Jameson (Clayton Rohner). As a young man, Jameson dealt with a conflict on Mordan IV by providing weapons to two warring tribes – a clear violation of the Prime Directive. This led to a decades-long war, for which the Mordan governor blames Jameson. When en route to the planet to right his past wrongs, Jameson takes a combination of drugs that reverse aging. What should have been a revolutionary step forward for Federation science and medicine is glossed over in favor of a story that focuses too much on Jameson’s past.
The questionable old-age makeup and Clayton Rohner’s overacting do not do the character of Admiral Jameson or “Too Short a Season” any favors.
“Masks” (6.1/10)
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 7, Episode 17
When the USS Enterprise-D comes across a comet containing an archive from an ancient culture, Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) is overtaken by the personalities of people and mythological figures from that culture. As the personalities begin to affect the ship, Captain Picard takes on the persona of another mythological figure to confront the queen Masaka who has taken over Data. Even two of TNG’s best actors, Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner, cannot save this incoherent episode, which never provides a satisfactory explanation for anything that happens. Spiner himself laughs when looking back on “Masks,” calling his own performance “preposterous.”
“Aquiel” (6.1/10)
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 13
In this forgettable episode, the Enterprise arrives at a relay station to find it abandoned save for one of the officer’s dogs. Lt. Aquiel Uhnari (Renée Jones) is soon found with a group of Klingons who had been harassing the planet. Aquiel then becomes the subject of a murder investigation, and Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) develops feelings for her. Geordi falls for Aquiel based on her video logs before he ever sees her in person, adding another example to his list of creepy interactions with women. The murder mystery plot of “Aquiel” is fairly rote, the Klingons feel unnecessary, and the final reveal is ultimately underwhelming. At least the dog is cute.
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“The Loss” (6/10)
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 10
After Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) loses her Betazoid empathic powers, she resigns from her position as ship’s counselor. At the same time, the Enterprise becomes trapped within a field of two-dimensional lifeforms. Captain Picard and Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) convince Troi to try to communicate with the lifeforms, and she eventually realizes that her powers were overwhelmed by the creatures’ emotions. As a character, Deanna doesn’t fare particularly well in this episode, and it would have been interesting to see her take more time to truly come to terms with the loss of her power. As it is, everything returns to the status quo by the episode’s end.
The writing staff of TNG briefly considered making Troi’s loss of her empathic abilities permanent but ultimately decided against it.
“Justice” (6/10)
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1, Episode 8
In its first season, Star Trek: The Next Generation was still trying to establish the Starfleet of the 24th century, and “Justice” takes on the Prime Directive. The Federation’s most important rule, the Prime Directive states that Starfleet officers must not interfere with the progression of other cultures. When Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) accidentally crushes a flower display on the planet Edo, he is sentenced to death, as that is how the Edo people punish all crimes. Captain Picard must then find a way to save Wesley’s life without violating the Prime Directive. While the Prime Directive would be better defined as TNG went on, its application in “Justice” doesn’t quite make sense and the episode never fully commits to its moral dilemma.
“Man of the People” (5.8/10)
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 3
Another Troi episode that doesn’t do the character justice, “Man of the People” begins with the arrival of Ambassador Ves Alkar (Chip Lucia) on the Enterprise. Soon after his arrival, Alkar tricks Deanna into performing a ceremony that allows him to channel his negative emotions into her. This causes Troi to age rapidly and behave strangely, which eventually leads Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) to uncover the truth about Alkar. Alkar shows no remorse for his actions, making him one of the vilest characters in TNG. A spin on Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, “Man of the People” fails on almost every level, although Marina Sirtis does the best she can with what she’s given.
“The Child” (5.8/10)
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 1
Based on a leftover script from the never produced Star Trek: Phase II, “The Child” does not feel like a season premiere. The story focuses on Counselor Deanna Troi, who unexpectedly finds herself impregnated by an unknown alien species. Her pregnancy then progresses rapidly, and the child she bears, named Ian (R. J. Williams), then ages incredibly quickly. Ian’s motivations for his actions don’t make much sense, and the episode never acknowledges the nonconsensual way the alien used Deanna’s body. While it’s nice to see an episode that focuses on Troi, her character often gets saddled with questionable storylines, and “The Child” is no exception.
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“Angel One” (5.7/10)
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1, Episode 14
In this TNG episode that aged poorly, the USS Enterprise visits the planet Angel One searching for survivors of a crashed Federation ship. Commander Riker leads an away team, finding a matriarchal society led by a woman named Beata (Karen Montgomery), who quickly takes an interest in Riker. The Enterprise team discovers that the Federation survivors tried to make a life for themselves on Angel One, but were banished for questioning the rules of the society. In the end, Riker is the one who convinces Beata not to execute the fugitives, which undercuts the episode’s point. While “Angel One” attempts to critique sexism, the story falls into the same sexist tropes and stereotypes it tries to criticize.
Sometime after this episode, Angel One becomes a tourist destination, as revealed in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, episode 5, “Empathological Fallacies.”
“Code of Honor” (5.2/10)
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1, Episode 4
When the Starship Enterprise travels to Ligon II to collect a desperately needed vaccine, the planet’s leader, Lutan (Jessie Lawrence Ferguson), develops a fascination with Security Chief Lt. Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby). Even the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation cite “Code of Honor” as one of the series’ worst outings, with Jonathan Frakes going so far as to call it a “racist piece of s***” at Star Trek Las Vegas Con in 2011. The story does not work for a number of reasons and the decision to cast only Black actors as the primitive Ligonians is baffling and unnecessary.
“Sub Rosa” (4.9/10)
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 7, Episode 14
Despite being a compelling and likable character, Dr. Crusher does not often get to be the main character, and “Sub Rosa” certainly isn’t one of Beverly Crusher’s best episodes. Like Deanna Troi, Crusher often ended up with some of the show’s weakest storylines. In “Sub Rosa,” Beverly falls in love with the ghost of her late grandmother’s lover, who emerges from a candle taken from her grandmother’s home. The ghost turns out to be a non-corporeal alien who tries to possess Dr. Crusher’s body before she manages to destroy him. It’s an odd premise for any episode of television, but it feels especially out of place on Star Trek.
“Shades of Gray” (3.4/10)
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 22
After TNG blew its second season budget on episodes like the period piece “Elementary, Dear Data” and the effects-heavy “Q Who,” they needed a cheap episode that could be filmed quickly. Then-showrunner Maurice Hurley proposed the idea of a clip show, and “Shades of Grey” was born. The only plot here features a comatose Commander Riker, who must relive past memories in order to drive an alien virus out of his body. This is already a paper-thin premise that makes little sense, but the addition of 21 clips from previous episodes certainly does not help matters. Clip shows are tricky under the best of circumstances, but Star Trek: The Next Generation thankfully learned from its mistake and never did another one.
