Star Trek TNG Season 1 - Top 3 Favorite Episodes

It's time to talk about The Next Generation!  I started this series still a little biased for the TOS crew, so let me get a few things off my chest.  First, I wish Captain Picard would put Riker in his place!  Riker's tut-tutting every time Picard wants to beam down is a little overbearing!  I get the reasoning, but he is the Captain!  And there is quite a bit of focus on Riker, which I guess is because he's young and handsome?  He totally is, but it is interesting that the first officer doesn't quite feel like second fiddle to the Captain.  The character of Spock was somehow perfect at not pulling focus from the Captain (just the right amount of deferment and respect) but never fading into the background.  It's just a little adjustment for me with Riker.

And am I alone in thinking the romantic relationships in this are really frustrating?  What the heck is Riker doing that he's interested in Troi, pulls a sad face when she's engaged, and then is making out with some other girl every other episode.  Riker you need to stop.  The Picard/Dr. Crusher feels are a little more palatable, but I feel like it's silly that they can't be together just because he's the Captain.  Can't he do his job and have a wife?  I'm sure that will be fixed in time ... right??  And one more thing - Q is the worst!!! I just couldn't stand his smugness and his character and I wanted to throw things when I saw he had another episode!

Things that I did like though - the crew is varied and there are lots of potential there with all those personalities.  And they all have such unique aspects as well which gives the group such different dynamics.  Data is kind of my favorite character right now so I look forward to seeing more of him.  McCoy's cameo and the little nods to TOS made me very happy as well!

I didn't really enjoy this as much as TOS, so I decided to pick only three favorite episodes for this post.  That might change in later seasons, as I'm really hoping I will love this series as much as the original. With so many characters in this, there was a lot of time spent on the drama in their dynamics and character development, and less on the adventures I think.  So hopefully with the characters firmly established in season 1, the next seasons will be much more adventure-focused!

3. Datalore

I've already admitted my soft spot for Data, so an episode with 'evil' Data was bound to make it in my top 3 list!  Even though I was hoping they would do something different and NOT have Data's copy be evil, I was really impressed by the episode in general.  Especially in the resolution because Wesley, after being so marginalized by the crew, was right and he was able to help Data.  It was also great to learn more about Data's past - though I find it odd that he is the only one of his kind, it seems like the Federation would have looked more into how Data was created and try to replicate it.

2. Skin of Evil

In an attempt to rescue a downed ship pod, the crew come across a creature with no traditional life readings, yet it is intelligent and dangerous.  And also super gross.  I was mesmerized by the creature in this - how much was practical effects, and what did they use as all that black goo?  Interesting.  Also interesting that it's like a Hyde version of whatever alien race left it on that planet.  I liked how Picard handled the thing, and how he was firm and cautious unlike Lt. Yar who met with a very unexpected fate in this episode!  Even though the eulogy/farewell speech in the end was a little too long, I thought her words and the attitude towards death were pretty profound, so I think this was a great episode overall.

1. Conspiracy

Ok, this was far and away the best episode of the season for me!  It was creepy and sinister with some pretty shocking moments and super creepy visuals!  A small group of Starfleet Captains are afraid something is infiltrating the higher ranks of Starfleet, and while they have mostly circumstantial evidence, it is when the Enterprise comes across the debris of the USS Horatio does Captain Picard start to do something about it.  The parasites are really unnerving, especially because they can take over the host and the host looks and acts so naturally.  When they no longer care about keeping the secret is when things really start getting crazy in this episode.  An old man is throwing people around, they are eating meal worms for dinner (yuck) and the scene when one of the officers lets the parasite crawl into his mouth was so gross!  But this episode has such a great story, and it's even kind of scary so I think it fully deserves my first place pick!