What was your favorite episode of Star Trek: TNG?

[RealSNR]

Okay okay okay... quit calling me late to the party. I do this with every popular show out there-- I start watching after it's been off the air for at least a few years. I did it with Frasier, Red Dwarf (although there are new episodes being made) and now I'm doing it with the Star Trek franchise. Back off. I know there are Star Trek fans on this forum, and if you've noticed my posting style (although I have no idea why you would) a lot of my posts are Star Trek-centric. This is why:

My job in the past few months had late hours, so I'd get home and be able to watch one episode per day at 1 in the morning. But man, it was great. I just turned it on one day and started watching and never stopped. Anyway, the series has run its cycle now. I've seen all seven seasons plus the movies (except for Insurrection, which I'll get around to eventually). I've also seen the new one by JJ Abrams. At the moment I'm slowly progressing through DS9 and a handful of the original series.

But until I get through it all, I know TNG is pretty much the only series beloved by ALL Trek fans, not just some.

Here are my personal top 5 episodes in no particular order. I couldn't rank them accurately.

1. "The Most Toys" (S3E22)- There's nothing incredibly powerful or ground-breaking about the plot or the way it was written. But it's very dramatic and quite colorful, which I think is what Star Trek is all about. I kind of have a weakness for Data-centered episodes, and this one is particularly good. It's odd, esoteric, and particularly intense considering he's being held captive as an object in a collection of toys, when really he's the being with the highest code of ethics on the entire rogue ship

2. "The Silicon Avatar" (S5E4)- Perhaps the most tragic of all the TNG episodes. I mean, TNG does this all the time where something bad happens but it ends on a hopeful note- Tasha Yar's death, Worf's vengeance against Duras, etc. Not in this one. It ends on a tragic note, with the doctor now only left to her own madness and questioning of her actions for the rest of her life.

3. "Yesterday's Enterprise" (S3E15)- This episode is on most peoples' lists. I normally hate causality/time travel shit in sci-fi movies/stories. It almost never works out. Here it DOES work out and it's absolutely brilliant. People claim that Picard's decision-making is totally irrational and not at all what a starfleet officer would even consider. Well guess what? He's Picard, and when his back is to the wall he often makes decisions that violate starfleet regulation/the prime directive. And it's not THAT unrealistic. He knows what Guinan is capable of and he also knows that the Federation is going to lose the war. May as well send Tasha Yar back, right?

4. "The Chase" (S6E20)- This is one of those episodes that years from now will be considered genius in a Jules Verne kind of way. This is exactly what science fiction is all about- create a universe and try to explain it. If/when humans discover life elsewhere in the universe we're going to have to answer some real tough biological questions. In the Star Trek universe, this one does a brilliant job of it. I was totally blown away. That takes some real creative-ass minds to think of that kind of shit.

5. "I, Borg" (S5E23)- I chose this borg episode instead of The Best of Both Worlds mainly because it exposes a different side to the story instead of just "We need to find a way to kill the borg nao!" And that different story is: "When we DO find a way to eradicate the borg, are we going to have the balls to do it?" Picard's actions in this episode come up time and time again later in the series/movies (especially First Contact, obviously) and here is one of the most questionable decisions he makes in his entire career as captain of the Enterprise. And yet it's so well-written that viewers of this episode more often than not finding themselves siding with Picard, even though they face a fictional race/character who is more violent, hated, and ire-raising than Nazis.

These are just some episodes I brought up. I'm not bringing up more incase this thread dies quickly. I've already wasted enough time typing this out as it is.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by ClayWhit

I plan to do it with the X-Files (I've seen one season, have them all on DVD) and I should probably do it with Babylon 5 and Stargate Atlantis.

I think you'll probably love the X-Files through about season 7. In the middle, seasons 4-6 or so (if memory serves), was some of the best stuff on TV, but the alien arc episodes running throughout the series (starting with the pilot) are all pretty awesome.

That's a show where you really see how the episodic nature works in a way completely different from the serial nature of shows like BSG. Wheras with BSG, it's better to just sit and watch them all, part of what made the X-files great was waiting for cliffhangers to resolve. And you just can't get that, not with reruns or DVD. So it may not be as magical now as it was then.

Atlantis is pretty good. It ends horribly.

Babylon 5 was also pretty good. It hasn't aged well, though. I never thought the CGI looked very good at the time, and it looks horrible now. But if you can get past that, the story of it's pretty intriguing.

[Predarat]

To me its 2,4,3,6,1,5
2 and 4 are by far the best for me, 3, 6, and 1 are pretty good, the one I did not like was 5. For TNG First Contact is by far the best, then Generations. Insurrection and Nemisis were meh.

[keg in kc]

I think I'm the only person who didn't like the save the whales movie.

[TrickyNicky]

Unfortunately, the one that is ALWAYS on whenever I happen to catch it on tv is the one where Wesley has to save the Enterprise because of everyone getting addicted to a videogame where they shoot discs into blue funnels or something. It also has Ashley Judd.

My favorite was when they found Scotty trapped in a signal or some anomaly, and they manage to unscramble him in the teleporter. He and Geordi spend a bit shooting the shit about the advancements that had been made since he was trapped. Scotty scolding the waiter about his Scotch tasting like crap because they used fake alcohol by that time is one of my favorite memories of the series.

[TrickyNicky]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

I think I'm the only person who didn't like the save the whales movie.

It had the best humor. I always loved it when Scotty tries to tell the Apple computer to give him information, then a 20th century guy comes up and tells him to use the mouse. Without missing a beat, he clears his throat, picks up the mouse and speaks into the bottom of it. "Hellooooooo computer!"

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

I think I'm the only person who didn't like the save the whales movie.

No, you're not. I mean, I don't hate it or anything, but it's just.... there. IV was like Star Trek for people who don't care about Star Trek. I want raging villains and phaser battles - who gives a shit about whales?

[Hammock Parties]

Star Trek is about the characters. In that light IV is wonderful and dear to me.

Double dumbass on you.

[Silock]

I love TNG and have seen every episode multiple times... but I sure as shit don't remember the episode names.

[Fishpicker]

the only episode that I watched all the way through (I dont remember the name of it) was about a crew member that was addicted to the holodeck. I dont remember all the details but the gist of it was that the guy would spend all of his time in the holodeck talking to women. Eventually the crew noticed the guy was never around and was neglecting his duties. So Riker shuts down the holodeck and gives the guy a talking to. then the holobater guy lost it and started crying.

it was so unintentionally funny.

Beyond that, I couldn't stand TNG. I've seen all of the original series and loved those. TNG didn't have the same appeal because the Captain Picard character doesn't have any swagger. Kirk was the shit. He wasnt afraid to slap a bitch if he had to, and if that didn't work, he would seduce a green skinned ho.

And nobody on TNG looks as good as Uhura did in her prime.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Fishpicker

And nobody on TNG looks as good as Uhura did in her prime.

Uh...

[Fishpicker]

both of those chicks have big noses

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Fishpicker

both of those chicks have big noses

Ahh so you're a Guinan kind of guy. That's cool. Whoopi is pretty sexy in that tender loving space mother kind of way

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Fishpicker

both of those chicks have big noses

How about big ****ing tits?

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Fishpicker

And nobody on TNG looks as good as Uhura did in her prime.

You're out of your mind. Troi blows her doors off.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Fishpicker

the only episode that I watched all the way through (I dont remember the name of it) was about a crew member that was addicted to the holodeck. I dont remember all the details but the gist of it was that the guy would spend all of his time in the holodeck talking to women. Eventually the crew noticed the guy was never around and was neglecting his duties. So Riker shuts down the holodeck and gives the guy a talking to. then the holobater guy lost it and started crying.

it was so unintentionally funny.

Beyond that, I couldn't stand TNG. I've seen all of the original series and loved those. TNG didn't have the same appeal because the Captain Picard character doesn't have any swagger. Kirk was the shit. He wasnt afraid to slap a bitch if he had to, and if that didn't work, he would seduce a green skinned ho.

And nobody on TNG looks as good as Uhura did in her prime.

That's got one of the funniest Picard moments, man