The Best Episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
   

   7.7/10(48 votes)

   #1 - Redemption (2)

   S5:E19/23/1991

   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

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   Director:David Carson

   Writer:Ronald D. Moore
2. 

   7.9/10(55 votes)

   #2 - Darmok

   S5:E29/30/1991

   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

   Writers:Joe Menosky, Philip LaZebnik

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   Director:Winrich Kolbe

   Writers:Joe Menosky, Philip LaZebnik
3. 

   7.4/10(46 votes)

   #3 - Ensign Ro

   S5:E310/7/1991

   Stardate: 45076.3. Picard exposes a planned genocidal attack on the Bajorans with the help of a new officer, Ensign Ro Laren.

   Director:Les Landau

   Writers:Rick Berman, Michael Piller

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   Director:Les Landau

   Writers:Rick Berman, Michael Piller
4. 

   7.0/10(45 votes)

   #4 - Silicon Avatar

   S5:E410/14/1991

   Stardate: 45122.3. Picard attempts communications with the Crystalline Entity - a life form responsible for hundreds of deaths throughout the Alpha Quadrant. However, a scientist on board the Enterprise has plans of revenge over the death of her only son at the hands of the Entity.

   Director:Cliff Bole

   Writer:Jeri Taylor

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   Director:Cliff Bole

   Writer:Jeri Taylor
5. 

   7.4/10(47 votes)

   #5 - Disaster

   S5:E510/21/1991

   Stardate: 45156.1. A natural disaster leaves Troi in command of the Enterprise, Picard stuck in a turbo lift with three small children and Keiko O'Brien stuck in Ten-Forward giving birth with an anxious Worf.

   Director:Gabrielle Beaumont

   Writers:Ronald D. Moore, R. G. Jarvis

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   Director:Gabrielle Beaumont

   Writers:Ronald D. Moore, R. G. Jarvis
6. 

   6.8/10(52 votes)

   #6 - The Game

   S5:E610/28/1991

   Stardate: 45208.2. An addictive game is distributed among the crew of the Enterprise, however, it appears that this game interferes with a person's logic and reason, which leaves the crew open to manipulation. Only a young Ensign and a vacationing Wesley Crusher are able to think for themselves, and must find a way to reverse the damage before the ship falls into the wrong hands.

   Director:Corey Allen

   Writers:Fred Bronson, Brannon Braga, Susan Sackett

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   Director:Corey Allen

   Writers:Fred Bronson, Brannon Braga, Susan Sackett
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7. 

   7.6/10(51 votes)

   #7 - Unification (1)

   S5:E711/4/1991

   Stardate: 45233.1. Ambassador Spock has disappeared and intelligence finds him on Romulus. Captain Picard is sent to Romulus to find Spock. Meanwhile Riker and the rest of the crew investigate the fragments of a Vulcan ship discovered in the wreck of a Ferengi vessel.

   Directors:Cliff Bole, Les Landau

   Writers:Rick Berman, Jeri Taylor, Michael Piller

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   Directors:Cliff Bole, Les Landau

   Writers:Rick Berman, Jeri Taylor, Michael Piller
8. 

   7.6/10(49 votes)

   #8 - Unification (2)

   S5:E811/11/1991

   Stardate: 45245.8. Picard and Data find Spock and discover the reason behind the secret meetings. However, a darker scheme planned by the Romulans is also uncovered in the process.

   Director:Cliff Bole

   Writers:Rick Berman, Michael Piller

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   Director:Cliff Bole

   Writers:Rick Berman, Michael Piller
9. 

   7.0/10(47 votes)

   #9 - A Matter of Time

   S5:E911/18/1991

   Stardate: 45349.1. While on a mission to help a planet recently struck by an asteroid, the Enterprise is paid a visit by a man who claims to be from the future.

   Director:Paul Lynch

   Writer:Rick Berman

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   Director:Paul Lynch

   Writer:Rick Berman
10. 

    6.2/10(45 votes)

    #10 - New Ground

    S5:E101/6/1992

    Stardate: 45376.3. Worf's son, Alexander, unexpectedly arrives on the Enterprise to stay with his father. However, Alexander wants to stay permanently.

    Director:Robert Scheerer

    Writers:Stuart Charno, Grant Rosenberg, Sara B. Cooper

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    Director:Robert Scheerer

    Writers:Stuart Charno, Grant Rosenberg, Sara B. Cooper
11. 

    6.2/10(43 votes)

    #11 - Hero Worship

    S5:E111/27/1992

    Stardate: 45397.3. The Enterprise investigates the cause of an explosion that destroyed a small ship and its entire crew, except for a small boy.

    Director:Patrick Stewart

    Writer:Joe Menosky

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    Director:Patrick Stewart

    Writer:Joe Menosky
12. 

    5.8/10(43 votes)

    #12 - Violations

    S5:E122/3/1992

    Stardate: 45429.3. While escorting a group of telepaths, crew members on board the Enterprise suddenly start to slip into comas.

    Director:Robert Wiemer

    Writers:Jeri Taylor, Pamela Gray

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    Director:Robert Wiemer

    Writers:Jeri Taylor, Pamela Gray
13. 

    6.5/10(43 votes)

    #13 - The Masterpiece Society

    S5:E132/10/1992

    Stardate: 45470.1. A natural disaster in the core of a system's sun threatens to destroy a colony of genetically engineered people on an otherwise desolate planet. However, the crew's intervention may cause more harm than good.

    Director:Winrich Kolbe

    Writers:Adam Belanoff, James Kahn, James Caan, Michael Piller

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    Director:Winrich Kolbe

    Writers:Adam Belanoff, James Kahn, James Caan, Michael Piller
14. 

    7.7/10(50 votes)

    #14 - Conundrum

    S5:E142/17/1992

    Stardate: 45494.2. The Enterprise crew unknowingly receives a new first officer who claims that the Federation is at war with another species.

    Director:Les Landau

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Les Landau

    Writer:Unknown
15. 

    6.8/10(48 votes)

    #15 - Power Play

    S5:E152/24/1992

    Stardate: 45571.2. While en route to the source of a subspace distress signal coming from a desolate moon, Data, Troi and O'Brien take over the bridge and force the ship to change course.

    Director:David Livingston

    Writers:Herbert Wright, Brannon Braga

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    Director:David Livingston

    Writers:Herbert Wright, Brannon Braga
16. 

    6.6/10(43 votes)

    #16 - Ethics

    S5:E163/2/1992

    Stardate: 45587.3. When Worf is paralysed in an accident he must undergo drastic back surgery. However, this experimental technique may cost him his life.

    Director:Chip Chalmers

    Writers:Stuart Charno, Ronald D. Moore, Sara B. Cooper

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    Director:Chip Chalmers

    Writers:Stuart Charno, Ronald D. Moore, Sara B. Cooper
17. 

    6.2/10(55 votes)

    #17 - The Outcast

    S5:E173/16/1992

    Stardate: 45614.6. While investigating the disappearance of a J'naii shuttlecraft, the crew finds reason to believe the missing ship is stranded in an abnormal pocket called "null space." Riker and Soren, a member of the J'naii race, begin preparing to rescue the craft, and the two strike up a friendship. Their relationship develops quickly as the pair question each other about mating habits, since the J'naii are androgynous and do not identify themselves as either male or female. Despite this difference, sparks begin to fly between them.

    Director:Robert Scheerer

    Writer:Jeri Taylor

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    Director:Robert Scheerer

    Writer:Jeri Taylor
18. 

    8.2/10(54 votes)

    #18 - Cause and Effect

    S5:E183/23/1992

    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

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    Director:Jonathan Frakes

    Writer:Brannon Braga
19. 

    6.9/10(49 votes)

    #19 - The First Duty

    S5:E193/30/1992

    Stardate: 45703.9. Wesley is involved in a cover-up at Starfleet Academy when a cadet is killed and five shuttles are destroyed during a forbidden maneuver performed by Starfleet Academy's best cadets.

    Directors:Naren Shankar, Paul Lynch

    Writers:Naren Shankar, Ronald D. Moore

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    Directors:Naren Shankar, Paul Lynch

    Writers:Naren Shankar, Ronald D. Moore
20. 

    5.6/10(44 votes)

    #20 - Cost of Living

    S5:E204/20/1992

    Stardate: 45733.6. Deanna's mother pays a surprise visit to the Enterprise with even more surprising news: she plans to marry a man she has never met. After destroying an asteroid, the ship becomes infected with parasites that eat away at the ship's hull.

    Director:Winrich Kolbe

    Writer:Peter Allan Fields

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    Director:Winrich Kolbe

    Writer:Peter Allan Fields
21. 

    6.8/10(47 votes)

    #21 - The Perfect Mate

    S5:E214/27/1992

    Stardate: 45761.3. The Ferengi try to abduct an empathic Metamorph who could bring peace between two warring worlds.

    Director:Cliff Bole

    Writers:René Echevarria, Reuben Leder, Michael Piller

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    Director:Cliff Bole

    Writers:René Echevarria, Reuben Leder, Michael Piller
22. 

    5.9/10(45 votes)

    #22 - Imaginary Friend

    S5:E225/4/1992

    Stardate: 45832.1. While exploring a strange form of energy in a region of space, a little girl's imaginary friend becomes real and places the Enterprise in great danger.

    Director:Gabrielle Beaumont

    Writers:Brannon Braga, Edithe Swensen

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    Director:Gabrielle Beaumont

    Writers:Brannon Braga, Edithe Swensen
23. 

    8.4/10(54 votes)

    #23 - I, Borg

    S5:E235/11/1992

    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

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    Director:Robert Lederman

    Writer:René Echevarria
24. 

    7.7/10(46 votes)

    #24 - The Next Phase

    S5:E245/18/1992

    Stardate: 45092.4. While the Enterprise helps a Romulan science vessel, an accident occurs which forces Geordi LaForge and Ro Laren slightly out of 'phase', causing them to become undetectable to everyone but each other. As a result, the crew thinks they are dead and make arrangements for their funerals, even though they are closer than the crew realise.

    Directors:David Carson, Robert Lederman

    Writer:Ronald D. Moore

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    Directors:David Carson, Robert Lederman

    Writer:Ronald D. Moore
25. 

    8.5/10(67 votes)

    #25 - The Inner Light

    S5:E256/1/1992

    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

    Writers:Peter Allan Fields, Morgan Gendel

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    Director:Peter Lauritson

    Writers:Peter Allan Fields, Morgan Gendel