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.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Braincase

"The Survivors". Alien race wipes out everybody on the planet, except for one house and an elderly couple. Find out it's an illusion, she's really dead, and he's an omnipotent being... and in his rage over the loss of his love he destroyed an entire species. Poignant.

If he's omnipotent being, couldn't he have simply saved the planet?

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by milkman

If he's omnipotent being, couldn't he have simply saved the planet?

Yeah, there is that loophole. Because he once wiped out an entire race he could no longer bring himself to kill, but I don't see why he couldn't have just disabled their weaponry or put a big mental shield around the planet or something. I don't like omnipotence with loopholes. I prefer the Qs of the universe.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by JD10367

Yeah, there is that loophole. Because he once wiped out an entire race he could no longer bring himself to kill, but I don't see why he couldn't have just disabled their weaponry or put a big mental shield around the planet or something. I don't like omnipotence with loopholes. I prefer the Qs of the universe.

So let me see if I understand this.

He once wiped out an entire race, so he couldn't bring himself to kill again, and he was apparently too stupid to save a planet, and a woman he loved, so in his rage for his loss wiped out another entire race?

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by milkman

So let me see if I understand this.

He once wiped out an entire race, so he couldn't bring himself to kill again, and he was apparently too stupid to save a planet, and a woman he loved, so in his rage for his loss wiped out another entire race?

No. He had never wiped out anything previously - he was completely peaceful. It was because of his principles that he refused to kill the invaders - instead he used tricks to try to scare them away. Eventually the tricks failed, and everybody was killed, including his wife. It was then that he snapped and wiped them all out. And even though it was a violent, nasty race of beings, he was still consumed with guilt over it.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by frazod

No. He had never wiped out anything previously - he was completely peaceful. It was because of his principles that he refused to kill the invaders - instead he used tricks to try to scare them away. Eventually the tricks failed, and everybody was killed, including his wife. It was then that he snapped and wiped them all out. And even though it was a violent, nasty race of beings, he was still consumed with guilt over it.

Yeah, okay.

But still, for an ominipotent being, he sure as hell seemed an impotent protector.

Tricks?

Really?

[Braincase]

Originally Posted by frazod

No. He had never wiped out anything previously - he was completely peaceful. It was because of his principles that he refused to kill the invaders - instead he used tricks to try to scare them away. Eventually the tricks failed, and everybody was killed, including his wife. It was then that he snapped and wiped them all out. And even though it was a violent, nasty race of beings, he was still consumed with guilt over it.

Here's the REAL KICKER. Just a couple of months prior to the filming of that episode, John Anderson, who played Kevin Uxbridge, had lost his wife. I'm guessing he didn't have to dig too deep as an actor to portray his anguish. It is a really beautiful, emotionally wrenching episode. He wasn't really "omnipotent", but he was immortal, with vast powers.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Braincase

Here's the REAL KICKER. Just a couple of months prior to the filming of that episode, John Anderson, who played Kevin Uxbridge, had lost his wife. I'm guessing he didn't have to dig too deep as an actor to portray his anguish. It is a really beautiful, emotionally wrenching episode. He wasn't really "omnipotent", but he was immortal, with vast powers.

I actually do remember the episode, though not the details.

I do, however, remember having the same questions as I was watching then as I do now.

It was a poorly thought out concept, so I couldn't find anything poignant or emotionally wrenching.

If the guy had the power to wipe out a race, then he should certainly have had the power to protect a planet.

[ReynardMuldrake]

Today I learned that Alexander Siddig's [Bashir on DS9] real name is:

Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abderrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi

Holy shit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Siddig

[Royal Fanatic]

Originally Posted by milkman

I actually do remember the episode, though not the details.

I do, however, remember having the same questions as I was watching then as I do now.

It was a poorly thought out concept, so I couldn't find anything poignant or emotionally wrenching.

If the guy had the power to wipe out a race, then he should certainly have had the power to protect a planet.

As Frazod has already pointed out, it wasn't a question of whether or not he had the power to protect the planet.

He did.

But he was also very insistent upon not violating his principles, and his principles dictated his actions until he snapped and, let's just say, he over-reacted a teeny bit.

I understand what you're saying, but I bought into it when I watched the episode, and I'm usually pretty critical of episodes with plot holes and inconsistencies.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Royal Fanatic

As Frazod has already pointed out, it wasn't a question of whether or not he had the power to protect the planet.

He did.

But he was also very insistent upon not violating his principles, and his principles dictated his actions until he snapped and, let's just say, he over-reacted a teeny bit.

I understand what you're saying, but I bought into it when I watched the episode, and I'm usually pretty critical of episodes with plot holes and inconsistencies.

Seems like took the Jor-El code - You are forbidden to interfere with human history - to the extreme. At least until he snapped.

It was a good episode, but yet another instance where the high-minded ideals of the characters ultimately doom people around them. If Kevin had greased the evil aliens, everybody would have survived. And the fact that he did grease ALL of the evil aliens certainly saved the Federation a great deal of trouble, yet all Picard can do is look at him like he's the commandant of a Nazi death camp.

Happens a lot in Star Trek. But you learn to live with it.

[Frazod]

Further examples of goody-goody behavior meeting the cold realities of space with bad consequences:

I Borg: Picard could have wiped out the Borg and didn't. So what if Hugh ended up all cute and cuddly? Everybody who died in First Contact would probably disagree.

Silicon Avatar: Can you really fault the mother for wanting revenge? Had it been me, I'd have told Picard to kiss my ass after the damned thing blew up. Communicate with this, bitch.

Pegasus: The admiral was right - how do you not exploit that technological breakthrough? Seriously. It would allow the Federation to neutralize almost any threat. But don't do it just to make nice with the weasel-ass Romulans? Are you ****ing kidding me? Sure would have come in handy to have that phasing cloak while fighting the Borg or the Dominion, don't you think?

The Wounded: The captain was right - the Cardassians were absolutely up to no good. Hey, let's not listen to him - let's through him to the crows! I guess Picard had a little time to rethink that one while he was being tortured by the very same Cardassians in a later episode.

I could go on and on. Again, you just have to deal with it. But almost always, the guy who goes off half-cocked or tries to is usually 100% correct.

[BigRedChief]

Loaded up my Netflix Q with Star Trek stuff.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by frazod

Further examples of goody-goody behavior meeting the cold realities of space with bad consequences:

I Borg: Picard could have wiped out the Borg and didn't. So what if Hugh ended up all cute and cuddly? Everybody who died in First Contact would probably disagree.

Silicon Avatar: Can you really fault the mother for wanting revenge? Had it been me, I'd have told Picard to kiss my ass after the damned thing blew up. Communicate with this, bitch.

Pegasus: The admiral was right - how do you not exploit that technological breakthrough? Seriously. It would allow the Federation to neutralize almost any threat. But don't do it just to make nice with the weasel-ass Romulans? Are you ****ing kidding me? Sure would have come in handy to have that phasing cloak while fighting the Borg or the Dominion, don't you think?

The Wounded: The captain was right - the Cardassians were absolutely up to no good. Hey, let's not listen to him - let's through him to the crows! I guess Picard had a little time to rethink that one while he was being tortured by the very same Cardassians in a later episode.

I could go on and on. Again, you just have to deal with it. But almost always, the guy who goes off half-cocked or tries to is usually 100% correct.

I get your point, but that's what makes these episodes so juicy. These decisions have long-term negative consequences. Most of the episodes are spent deliberating and debating these decisions, and the obvious choice isn't always the one that gets chosen. If it was just the Enterprise running around blowing shit up and owning faces, that would be badass but the drama would be missing. It also wouldn't make Picard as deep of a character, and as a result his decisions to use force and rape shit in the future wouldn't have as much meaning.

[4th and Long]

While not a TNG episode, as a fan off all fhe series, one of my favorites is DS9s 'Trials And Tibbbleations.' Using footage from TOS and combinig it with DS9 actors was pretty damn cool.

[4th and Long]

Originally Posted by Royal Fanatic

As Frazod has already pointed out, it wasn't a question of whether or not he had the power to protect the planet.

He did.

But he was also very insistent upon not violating his principles, and his principles dictated his actions until he snapped and, let's just say, he over-reacted a teeny bit.

I understand what you're saying, but I bought into it when I watched the episode, and I'm usually pretty critical of episodes with plot holes and inconsistencies.

PICARD: What happened on Rana Four? The truth this time. All of it.

KEVIN: Very well. For what it's worth. I am a Douwd. An immortal being of disguises and false surroundings. I have lived in this galaxy for many thousands of years although until today, no one has known my true identity. Once, while traveling in human form, I chanced to fall in love with an Earth woman. I put aside my powers and became her husband. Our life was happy and rich. Eventually we came to this planet to live our final years. Now she is dead. She never knew what I really was.

PICARD: Your colony was attacked by a warship.

KEVIN: Belonging to the Husnock, a species of hideous intelligence who knew only aggression and destruction. I could have destroyed them with a mere thought, but I did not do so.

CRUSHER: You had the power to stop them but you didn't?

KEVIN: I refused to for the same reason I refused to stop the Enterprise. I will not kill.

PICARD: So you let the colonists fight a hopeless battle.

KEVIN: I tried to fool the Husnock as I tried to fool you. It only made them angrier. More cruel.

PICARD: And then what you most feared, happened. Rishon went to fight with the colonists, and died with them.

KEVIN: How I wish I could have died with her.

PICARD: But you couldn't. You were left alone.

KEVIN: Yes. I saw her broken body. I went insane. My hatred exploded, and in an instant of grief I destroyed the Husnock.

CRUSHER: Why did you try to hide this from all of us? Was it out of guilt for not helping Rishon and the others when they were alive?

KEVIN: No, no, no, no. You don't understand the scope of my crime. I didn't kill just one Husnock, or a hundred, or a thousand. I killed them all. All Husnock everywhere. Are eleven thousand people worth fifty billion? Is the love of a woman worth the destruction of an entire species? This is the sin I tried so hard to keep you from learning now. Why I wanted to chase you from Rana.

PICARD: We're not qualified to be your judges. We have no law to fit your crime. You're free to return to the planet and to make Rishon live again.