“Symbiosis” (1×22)
This episode was both a wacky, outrageous science fiction story and a very evocative artifact of the Reagan era of America’s War on Drugs. I...
“The First Duty” (5×19)
This episode is a departure in a number of ways. It’s entirely character-driven, our series regulars are relegated to supporting roles, and it has nothing...
“Future Imperfect” (4×08)
This is an unusual time travel episode, because there isn’t really any time travel. And it’s an unusual holodeck episode because there isn’t a holodeck...
“Preemptive Strike” (7×24)
The penultimate TNG story, and the last Ro Laren story for over a quarter of a century, feels more like a DS9 episode: The Cardassians...
“Rascals” (6×07)
It’s kind of a ridiculous lark of a concept, but the writers mine it for some good character work and a satisfying resolution to the...
“Cause and Effect” (5×18)
This episode starts with a literal bang. Ensign Ro plays a very minor role, only appearing in one scene—albeit a scene that repeats many, many...
“Ensign Ro” (5×03)
This episode represents one of the boldest contraventions in the series to date of Gene Roddenberry’s edict about evolved 24th century humanity working in perfect...
“The Vengeance Factor” (3×09)
Riker has a reputation for being a womanizer among TNG fans, and this episode both embraces and complicates that narrative with a plot that feels...
“Bloodlines” (7×22)
This is a lovely little story that takes full advantage of its close proximity to the series finale. If we’d gotten this story earlier in...
“Remember Me” (4×05)
Some episodes I barely remember from when they originally aired in syndication, but this one I remember viscerally. The idea that everybody I know and...