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The Best Episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation

Every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation!

Follow the intergalactic adventures of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his loyal crew aboard the all-new USS Enterprise NCC-1701D, as they explore new worlds.
Genres:Sci-Fi & FantasyAction & AdventureDramaMystery
Network:Syndication

Best Episodes Summary

"The Inner Light" is the best rated episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation". It scored 9.4/10 based on 8601 votes. Directed by Peter Lauritson and written by Peter Allan Fields, Morgan Gendel, it aired on 6/1/1992. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Best of Both Worlds (1)".

  • The Inner Light
    9.4/108,601 votes
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    #1 - The Inner Light

    Season 5 Episode 25 - Aired 6/1/1992

    Stardate: 45944.1. Picard awakes to find himself living in a small village where he is a well-known member of the community who is suffering from a delusion of being a starship captain.

    Director: Peter Lauritson

    Writer: Peter Allan Fields, Morgan Gendel

  • The Best of Both Worlds (1)
    9.3/106,060 votes
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    #2 - The Best of Both Worlds (1)

    Season 3 Episode 26 - Aired 6/18/1990

    Stardate: 43989.1 An Starfleet expert on the Borg, Lt. Cmdr. Shelby, is assigned to the Enterprise to investigate the disappearance of a Federation colony. Picard is abducted by the Borg and assimilated into the Collective, which forces Riker to attempt a rescue mission.

    Director: Cliff Bole

    Writer: Michael Piller

  • Yesterday's Enterprise
    9.2/106,360 votes
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    #3 - Yesterday's Enterprise

    Season 3 Episode 15 - Aired 2/19/1990

    Stardate: 43625.2. A rift in the space/time continuum brings the U.S.S. Enterprise - C forward into the 24th Century, and alters the timeline. In this future, the Federation is at war with the Klingons, Tasha Yar is on the bridge, Worf did not join the Federation, and only Guinan's unique perception of reality may restore the timeline.

    Director: David Carson

    Writer: Richard Manning, Ronald D. Moore, Ira Steven Behr, Eric A. Stillwell, Trent Christopher Ganino, Hans Beimler

  • The Best of Both Worlds (2)
    9.2/105,674 votes
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    #4 - The Best of Both Worlds (2)

    Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 9/24/1990

    Stardate: 44001.4. Riker must pull out all the stops in order to save Earth from a Borg invasion being lead by none other than Locutus - otherwise known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

    Director: Cliff Bole

    Writer: Michael Piller

  • The Measure of a Man
    9.1/106,532 votes
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    #5 - The Measure of a Man

    Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 2/13/1989

    Stardate: 42523.7. When Data's rights as a sentient individual are placed under trial, Starfleet forces Riker into a position where he must prove that Data is only an Android.

    Director: Robert Scheerer

    Writer: Melinda M. Snodgrass

  • All Good Things...
    9.1/109,460 votes
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    #6 - All Good Things...

    Season 7 Episode 25 - Aired 5/23/1994

    Stardate: 47988.0. Shortly after Picard is diagnosed with a long-term, potentially debilitating brain disorder, he starts experiencing bizarre shifts into three main time periods: 25 years into the future, a few days before the Enterprise-D is sent on its mission to Farpoint station, and the present. Picard realizes that Q is behind these shifts through time. Stardate: 47988.1. After his encounter with Q, Picard assembles the senior staff, and wonders if Q is actually giving him a chance to save humanity by showing him that the spatial anomaly also exists in the past. As they talk, the ship reaches the Neutral Zone, then Picard returns to the future, where Beverly's ship is also on the edge of the Neutral Zone. He convinces a reluctant Worf to accompany the group into Klingon territory, and then travels to the past, where he orders the crew into the Devron system.

    Director: Winrich Kolbe, David Carson

    Writer: Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore

  • Q Who
    8.9/105,321 votes
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    #7 - Q Who

    Season 2 Episode 16 - Aired 5/8/1989

    Stardate: 42761.3. Q hurls the Enterprise into the Delta Quadrant and introduces the Federation to a powerful new enemy that may destroy the Alpha Quadrant: The Borg.

    Director: Rob Bowman

    Writer: Maurice Hurley

  • Cause and Effect
    8.9/104,994 votes
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    #8 - Cause and Effect

    Season 5 Episode 18 - Aired 3/23/1992

    Stardate: 45652.1. While exploring the Typhon Expanse, the Enterprise is caught in a time warp in which they are repeatedly destroyed while colliding with another starship.

    Director: Jonathan Frakes

    Writer: Brannon Braga

  • Chain of Command (2)
    8.9/104,220 votes
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    #9 - Chain of Command (2)

    Season 6 Episode 11 - Aired 12/21/1992

    Stardate: 46360.8. Picard is captured and tortured by the Cardassians, while Riker tries to prevent a Federation attack on Cardassia.

    Director: Les Landau

    Writer: Frank Abatemarco

  • I, Borg
    8.8/104,524 votes
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    #10 - I, Borg

    Season 5 Episode 23 - Aired 5/11/1992

    Stardate: 45854.2. An injured Borg is discovered and brought back to the Enterprise where he is 'repaired' by Dr. Crusher and befriended by Geordi, who names him 'Hugh.' Soon, Hugh starts showing signs of individuality while Picard must choose between destroying him or returning him to the collective.

    Director: Robert Lederman

    Writer: René Echevarria

  • Tapestry
    8.8/104,500 votes
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    #11 - Tapestry

    Season 6 Episode 15 - Aired 2/15/1993

    Stardate: Unknown. A mortally wounded Picard is forced into re-living a time of his life when he was back in Starfleet Academy, with the intervention of Q.

    Director: Les Landau

    Writer: Ronald D. Moore

  • Parallels
    8.8/104,053 votes
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    #12 - Parallels

    Season 7 Episode 11 - Aired 11/29/1993

    Stardate: 47391.2. Worf returns from a Klingon competition to find that he is shifting through different realities.

    Director: Robert Wiemer

    Writer: Brannon Braga

  • Darmok
    8.7/105,339 votes
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    #13 - Darmok

    Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 9/30/1991

    Stardate: 45047.2. Picard must find a way to communicate with the newly discovered Tamarians, who speak entirely in metaphors, when a Tamarian Captain is brutally killed.

    Director: Winrich Kolbe

    Writer: Joe Menosky, Philip LaZebnik

  • Lower Decks
    8.7/104,367 votes
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    #14 - Lower Decks

    Season 7 Episode 15 - Aired 2/7/1994

    Stardate: 47566.7. Four young ensigns compete for a promotion that only one of them will receive. However, they are soon placed on a top secret mission that places some of their lives in danger.

    Director: Gabrielle Beaumont

    Writer: Brannon Braga, Jeri Taylor, René Echevarria

  • Déjà Q
    8.5/104,506 votes
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    #15 - Déjà Q

    Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 2/5/1990

    Stardate: 43539.1. A Calamarian starts attacking the Enterprise while seeking revenge on a powerless Q.

    Director: Les Landau

    Writer: Richard Danus

  • The Offspring
    8.5/104,822 votes
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    #16 - The Offspring

    Season 3 Episode 16 - Aired 3/12/1990

    Stardate: 43657.0. Data becomes a father when he creates a Soong-type android in the form of a daughter named Lal. Issues are complicated when Lal starts showing signs of a more evolved consciousness, including the ability to feel emotions, which attracts the attention of Starfleet scientists who want to take her away from Data and examine her advanced systems.

    Director: Jonathan Frakes

    Writer: René Echevarria

  • Relics
    8.5/104,140 votes
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    #17 - Relics

    Season 6 Episode 4 - Aired 10/12/1992

    Stardate: 46125.3. Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott is discovered suspended in a transporter beam 75 years after he disappeared. After the Enterprise crew re-materialise him, he has a hard time adjusting to the new society.

    Director: Alexander Singer

    Writer: Ronald D. Moore

  • Ship in a Bottle
    8.5/103,850 votes
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    #18 - Ship in a Bottle

    Season 6 Episode 12 - Aired 1/25/1993

    Stardate: 46424.1. While performing holodeck maintenance, Barclay accesses the stored hologram of Professor Moriarty, who wreaks havoc on board the Enterprise.

    Director: Alexander Singer

    Writer: René Echevarria

  • Timescape
    8.5/103,579 votes
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    #19 - Timescape

    Season 6 Episode 25 - Aired 6/14/1993

    Stardate: 46944.2. Picard, Geordi, Troi and Data return from a Federation conference to find the Enterprise frozen in time and under attack from a frozen Romulan Warbird.

    Director: Adam Nimoy

    Writer: Brannon Braga

  • The Pegasus
    8.5/103,601 votes
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    #20 - The Pegasus

    Season 7 Episode 12 - Aired 1/17/1994

    Stardate: 47457.1. Riker is placed on a covert mission to find the missing starship he was once a member aboard, but the mission holds a secret that could destroy the peace treaty between the Federation and the Romulans.

    Director: LeVar Burton

    Writer: Ronald D. Moore

  • The Defector
    8.4/104,382 votes
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    #21 - The Defector

    Season 3 Episode 10 - Aired 1/1/1990

    Stardate: 43462.5. A defecting Romulan warns the Federation about an impending attack by the Romulans, who are secretly establishing bases within the Neutral Zone.

    Director: Robert Scheerer

    Writer: Ronald D. Moore

  • The Drumhead
    8.4/104,414 votes
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    #22 - The Drumhead

    Season 4 Episode 21 - Aired 4/29/1991

    Stardate: 44769.2. Picard is accused of treason when an explosion aboard the Enterprise is investigated by a ruthless and paranoid Starfleet Admiral.

    Director: Jonathan Frakes

    Writer: Jeri Taylor

  • Redemption (1)
    8.4/103,619 votes
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    #23 - Redemption (1)

    Season 4 Episode 26 - Aired 6/17/1991

    Stardate: 44995.3. Worf must choose between his people and the Federation when a civil war threatens to destroy the Klingon Empire.

    Director: Cliff Bole

    Writer: Ronald D. Moore

  • Redemption (2)
    8.4/103,639 votes
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    #24 - Redemption (2)

    Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 9/23/1991

    Stardate: 45020.4. Picard suspects a Romulan influence in the recent Klingon civil war, and must force the Federation to intervene before the Empire collapses.

    Director: David Carson

    Writer: Ronald D. Moore

  • Family
    8.3/104,615 votes
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    #25 - Family

    Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 10/1/1990

    Stardate 44012.3. Picard meets with his older brother in France, and contemplates resigning his Starfleet commission after his ordeal with the Borg. Worf's adoptive parents spend time with their son on the Enterprise, and succeed in embarrassing him in front of his crewmates.

    Director: Les Landau

    Writer: Ronald D. Moore