Full disclosure, Star Trek The Next Generation is my second favorite TV show of all time. Much like my husband, I have known my whole life I was a nerd. Some of my fondest memories as a kid was watching TNG. As I got older, I went through my angsty teenage years where nobody understood me and I hated everything, especially things I used to love. (According to my mother, I was a nightmare from years 13-18 when I moved away for college.)
While I was in college, I decided to try and watch what a lot of people consider to be the greatest TV shows of all time (when you get a useless liberal arts degree you have a lot of free time for things like this.) After meandering through about 15 or so shows, some I liked and some I didn't, I decided to really delve into the world of Sci-fi and decided to start on an old favorite.
As I said before in my review, TNG is my second favorite TV show of all time, but it is also my favorite Star Trek show, and my favorite Sci-Fi show. For me, it has everything. It is a perfect successor to The Original Series.
Much like the original, it gives you characters you like and care about. You're waiting for Data to not understand what the humans are doing. You love that Picard is gruff on the outside but you also know he cares about everyone serving under him. LaForge is seeing more than any of us could ever dream of despite his blindness. Riker (my personal favorite character) is just floating around the galaxy being a man whore and weirdly sitting in chairs. And Deanna is...feeling things.
TNG also rewards you with engaging (see what I did there) stories. Sure, you have "The Best of Both Worlds" and "The Inner Light" two episodes that many consider to be some of the best television has to offer, but there are so many other amazing episodes this show has given us from season 2 onward. There are episodes like "Measure of a Man" where they hold a court case to determine if Data is a sentient being. It's an epsiode that brakes the sci-fi mold making us question everything we thought we knew about it. Then there's "Yesterday's Enterprise" an epsiode that gives us a glimpse of what TNG would be if it were set in the middle of a galactic war rather than the relatively diplomatic peace we see normally. Then there are some subpar episodes like "The Naked Now" which....exists even when we wished it didn't, but the good episodes definitely outway the bad.
With such a large library of episodes you may find yourself asking "where do I start?" Well first and foremost, skip the first season. It is not a good season and if you start there, you'll have a hard time getting through the rough stuff to get to the ones worth watching. I would start with "Measure of a Man" from season 2. It is not only an amazing episode, but is also where the show finally finds it's groove. Also, if you want to not stare at shitty 80s vhs quality episodes, I would HIGHLY suggest investing in the HD streaming episodes or picking up the blu-rays. The work they put into restoring the episodes really shows through, the quality is amazing. Not to mention the blu-rays have an amazing amount of special features, both the old features from the dvds, and also brand new stuff with the original cast and crew. They money for the blu-rays are definitely worth it if you enjoy the series.
Overall, I suggest Star Trek The Next Generation to both those who love sci-fi and to those who just enjoy great television.
-Beena
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