The Best Episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2
Every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2!
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.
Season 2 Ratings Summary
The best episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" season 2 is "The Child", rated 5.8/10 from 4091 user votes. It was directed by Rob Bowman and written by Maurice Hurley, Jon Povill, Jaron Summers. "The Child" aired on 11/21/1988 and is rated 1.2 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "Where Silence Has Lease".
5.8/10 4,091 votes#1 - The Child
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 11/21/1988
Stardate: 42073.1. Troi undergoes a mysterious pregnancy when the Enterprise tries to escape from a system that has recently fallen victim to a deadly plague.
Director: Rob Bowman
Writer: Maurice Hurley, Jon Povill, Jaron Summers
7.0/10 3,849 votes#2 - Where Silence Has Lease
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 11/28/1988
Stardate: 42193.6. A mysterious life form known as the 'Nagilum' threatens the life of the crew in his attempt to understand humanity.
Director: Winrich Kolbe
Writer: Jack B. Sowards
8.1/10 4,535 votes#3 - Elementary, Dear Data
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 12/5/1988
Stardate: 42286.3. Data and Geordi become involved with a holodeck program about Sherlock Holmes and his investigations, when they create Sherlock's arch nemesis, Moriarty; however, modifications to the Moriarty character include the capability of out-smarting Data, which leads to some unexpected consequences.
Director: Rob Bowman
Writer: Brian Alan Lane
6.2/10 3,910 votes#4 - The Outrageous Okona
Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 12/12/1988
Stardate: 42402.7. The Enterprise is placed in a compromising situation when the captain of a disabled starship places the crew in the middle of a love triangle.
Director: Robert Becker
Writer: Burton Armus
6.5/10 3,687 votes#5 - Loud as a Whisper
Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 1/9/1989
Stardate: 42477.2. A deaf-mute mediator meets with disaster while being escorted by the Enterprise.
Director: Larry Shaw
Writer: Jacqueline Zambrano
6.9/10 3,707 votes#6 - The Schizoid Man
Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 1/23/1989
Stardate: 42437.5. Data is possessed by the consciousness of a brilliant scientist. However, it has a disturbing impact on Data's personality.
Director: Les Landau
Writer: N/A
6.5/10 3,538 votes#7 - Unnatural Selection
Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 1/30/1989
Stardate: 42494.8. A mysterious hyper-ageing sickness kills the crew of a Federation cargo ship, and Dr. Pulaski must race against time to find a cure.
Director: Paul Lynch
Writer: John Mason, Mike Gray
8.0/10 4,143 votes#8 - A Matter of Honor
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 2/6/1989
Commander Riker participates in an officer's exchange program which lands him an assignment on a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. Meanwhile, a Bezite ensign has trouble assimilating to the routines of the Enterprise.
Director: Rob Bowman
Writer: Gregory W. Amos, Burton Armus
9.1/10 6,459 votes#9 - 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
6.2/10 3,729 votes#10 - The Dauphin
Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 2/20/1989
Stardate: 42568.8. Wesley falls in love with a passenger the Enterprise is escorting, who has the secret ability to shape-shift.
Director: Rob Bowman
Writer: Scott Rubenstein, Leonard Mlodinow
7.6/10 3,713 votes#11 - Contagion
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 3/20/1989
Stardate: 42609.1. A strange power source disables the Enterprise's computer systems, damages Data's programming and leaves the ship and crew vulnerable to a Romulan attack.
Director: Joseph L. Scanlan
Writer: Steve Gerber, Beth Woods
6.6/10 3,911 votes#12 - The Royale
Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 3/27/1989
Stardate: 42625.4. An away team is trapped in an alien environment based around a novel entitled 'The Hotel Royale.'
Director: Cliff Bole
Writer: Tracy Tormé
7.5/10 3,833 votes#13 - Time Squared
Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 4/3/1989
Stardate: 42679.2. Picard encounters his double from six hours in the future, whose Enterprise had been destroyed.
Director: Joseph L. Scanlan
Writer: N/A
6.2/10 3,376 votes#14 - The Icarus Factor
Season 2 Episode 14 - Aired 4/24/1989
Stardate: 42686.4. Riker is promoted to Captain of another Federation ship. Worf must confront his past and his Klingon heritage.
Director: Robert Iscove
Writer: Robert McCullough, David Assael
6.8/10 3,626 votes#15 - Pen Pals
Season 2 Episode 15 - Aired 5/1/1989
Stardate: 42695.3. Wesley must investigate the causes of strange tectonic activity on the planet where Data's pen pal lives.
Director: Winrich Kolbe
Writer: Melinda M. Snodgrass
8.9/10 5,265 votes#16 - 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
6.5/10 3,459 votes#17 - Samaritan Snare
Season 2 Episode 17 - Aired 5/15/1989
Stardate: 42779.1. A race known as the Pakleds kidnap Geordi La Forge. Picard must face surgery when he is left in a near-dead state.
Director: Les Landau
Writer: Robert McCullough
6.2/10 3,673 votes#18 - Up the Long Ladder
Season 2 Episode 18 - Aired 5/22/1989
Stardate: 42823.2. Picard must convince two dying civilizations that they must co-exist on the same planet to survive, however, they have other plans to ensure their survival: in the form of clones of the Enterprise crew.
Director: Winrich Kolbe
Writer: Melinda M. Snodgrass
6.1/10 3,449 votes#19 - Manhunt
Season 2 Episode 19 - Aired 6/19/1989
Stardate: 42859.2. While being escorted to a Federation conference by the Enterprise, Lwaxana hunts for a man to satisfy her needs when her sex-drive is quadrupled during a natural mid-life cycle.
Director: Rob Bowman
Writer: Tracy Tormé
7.5/10 3,820 votes#20 - The Emissary
Season 2 Episode 20 - Aired 6/29/1989
Stardate: 42901.3. Worf is re-united with his former lover, K'Ehleyr, while the Enterprise is ordered to intercept a Klingon ship whose crew has been in stasis for a century.
Director: Cliff Bole
Writer: Richard Manning
7.7/10 3,736 votes#21 - Peak Performance
Season 2 Episode 21 - Aired 7/10/1989
Stardate: 42923.4. Trouble begins when a Ferengi warship stumbles over a war simulation between Riker and Picard, each on different ships, and begins attacking them.
Director: Robert Scheerer
Writer: David Kemper
3.3/10 4,168 votes#22 - Shades of Gray
Season 2 Episode 22 - Aired 7/17/1989
Stardate: 42976.1. Riker is infected with an alien organism that takes over his mind. Dr. Pulaski must force Riker's mind back to a state where it can access primitive survival skills.
Director: Rob Bowman
Writer: Maurice Hurley, Richard Manning, Hans Beimler