this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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My vote goes to that episode in season 1 of TNG where they're fighting black people on like a jungle gym.
Either that or just...all of Sub Rosa.
Ah yes the African planet. Real TOS reject episode vibes.
Self-plagiarism is the best form of plagiarism. Especially when you plagiarise a paper that got a D.
Shut up Wesley!
I have tried watching TNG and just can't. I keep being told to bear it for like 3 seasons till it gets better, but I'm not gonna slog through entire seasons, hoping it improves
Honestly, don’t put up with the slog. Just skip the first 2 seasons, with the exception of a handful of episodes that are big on context or are just really, really good.
Other than those, I’d suggest skipping seasons 1 and 2 entirely. The show gets much better and really does put out some of the best Star Trek has to offer. It’s not a serialised show at all so you can skip episodes with impunity. A few minor threads and general character growth happen, but they’re not significant and the episodes listed above give you enough context.
More importantly, if you've watched the great ones they give you a framework from which to really appreciate those minor threads and character growth from the less amazing episodes.
Many of us experienced star trek TNG like that anyway, because in the 90s you saw what was on when you had time to watch it. By the time we had the show on DVD or streaming and could watch it all the way through, we'd already seen and bonded with the characters and universe enough that it was worth it to watch all the episodes in order.
Incidentally, something similar to this is why I would never recommend The Inner Light as someone's first Star Trek episode. It's probably one of the best they've produced, but it's a terrible introduction. It relies far too much on you having a pre-established understanding of and feelings about the character. It's also structurally so different from normal Trek. Something like Measure of a Man feels much closer to normal Trek, and it contains enough in the episode itself to endear you to the characters even if you don't already know them.
Oh man, I get hit right in the feelings whenever that episode comes up. Watched the Picard the other day where he's talking about his possessions and holding the flute and just... damn. Gut shot.
I'm not sure how I feel about the new show. I'm trying to let myself enjoy it for what it is without judging it. I guess it's worth it if for nothing else than little moments like that.
I recommend starting with season 4. Then if you end up liking it, loop back to seasons 1-3. This is old TV where each episode is made to stand on its own.
In that case, you could skip the first two seasons. Season 3 is really where it starts to get better. It's where the phrase "grow its beard" came from.
Riker grows his beard in season 2. Season 2 might not be quite as strong as the show would go on to be, but it did bring us a handful of excellent episodes, including Q Who? and one of the best episodes of all Trek: Measure of a Man.
I’m currently getting into the Treks. Over the last year, I’ve slowly watched TOS twice, the animated series, and the first 6 movies. TNG was real hard to get into at first. I was coming off Undiscovered Country and had high hopes for TNG, but those first two seasons were a slog, especially in comparison to TOS which I loved immediately despite its age.
Third season is where it started to really find its voice. I’m up to the 5th season and I’m enjoying it. I think the biggest hiccups with the first couple seasons are the attempts to tie back to TOS and then Wesley. Once they reduced Wesley, stopped trying to force relationships within the ensemble, and stopped trying to be more of TOS but actually different from TOS, it really started to shine.
I recommend pushing through it. It’s the same advice given for TV shows like The Office and Parks & Rec. Those first couple seasons are harder to watch, but you are well-rewarded if you hang on for a bit longer.
With anything made when 20+ episode season was the norm, I'd recommend just searching for a skip list. I remember the /r/DaystromInstitute skip lists being pretty good: https://old.reddit.com/r/DaystromInstitute/wiki/index#wiki_episode_guides
I'd recommend the same with more modern stuff, because the ratio of good episodes to bad sure as hell hasn't gotten better despite shorter seasons, but the death of episodic story telling makes it pretty hard to skip episodes.
The entire season Patrik Steward had that "what have I done. This is shit, but I'm gonna get through this like a champ"-expression in his eyes.
I get this is a contrarian opinion and you are feeding off of downvotes, but one of the strengths of Star Trek is that the episodes and even seasons don't matter at all. Watch the best ones, if you like them watch some more, if you don't, then don't. The shitty netflix idea of low-effort serialized content with cliffhangers every episode sucks and I'm so glad that Start Trek didn't do that.
Data's Day The Drumhead, Measure of a Man Q Who? Qpid (silly but good) The First Duty Relics (if you liked TOS.) Tapestry.
Anyway that is enough. If you don't like those, then by all means don't watch anymore. But sitting down and watching the first season of TNG then declaring that it sucks, is doing yourself a disservice.