Star Trek: The Next Generation

All Good Things... (S70E25/S7E026) Airdate: 23 May 1994 Written by: Ronald D. Moore & Brannon Braga Directed by: Winrich Kolbe Running Time: 93 minutes Comparing *Star Trek: The Original Series* with *The Next Generation* has always been a bit like weighing apples against oranges. They share a universe, certainly, but they occupy entirely different cultural moments and television landscapes. Still, you'd be hard-pre…

Preeemptive Strike (S20E24) Airdate: 16 May 1994 Written by: René Echevarria Directed by: Patrick Stewart Running Time: 46 minutes As *Star Trek: The Next Generation* approached its finale, the writers spent much of the final run tying up loose ends and giving proper goodbyes to beloved recurring characters. This process of closure became something of a preoccupation for the show's last episodes—whether through symb…

Emergence (S70E23) Airdate: 9 May 1994 Written by: Joe Menosky Directed by: Cliff Bole Running Time: 46 minutes The holodeck has been a fixture aboard the Enterprise since *The Next Generation* first beamed onto our screens in 1987. What began as a nifty bit of futuristic set dressing—a room that could become anything—quickly morphed into the writers' favourite crutch whenever they fancied a change of scenery. Rathe…

Bloodlines (S70E22) Airdate: 2 May 1994 Written by: Nick Sagan Directed by: Les Landau Running Time: 46 minutes By the time *Star Trek: The Next Generation* reached its final episodes, the series had settled into a curious pattern. Rather than venturing into uncharted space or grappling with cosmic anomalies, the writers increasingly turned their attention inward, mining the private lives of characters we'd come to…

Firstborn (S70E21) Airdate: 25 April 1994 Written by: René Echevarria Directed by: Jonathan West Running Time: 46 minutes *Star Trek: The Next Generation*, in its final episodes, made a concerted effort to bring a sense of narrative closure to certain character arcs that had been developing throughout the series. Following the successful conclusion of Wesley Crusher’s arc in the preceding episode, *Journey's End*, t…

Journey’s End (S70E20) Airdate: 28 March 1994 Written by: Ronald D. Moore Directed by: Corey Allen Running Time: 46 minutes As *Star Trek: The Next Generation* approached its long-awaited conclusion, the producers found themselves confronted with the delicate task of wrapping up the character arcs they had nurtured over seven seasons — and that obligation extended even to those figures who had long since ceased to b…

Genesis (S70E19) Airdate: 21 March 1994 Written by: Brannon Braga Directed by: Gates McFadden Running Time: 46 minutes Throughout its celebrated seven-year run, *Star Trek: The Next Generation* provided a unique platform for its ensemble cast to explore roles beyond their on-screen characters, with the opportunity to direct episodes being a particularly coveted prize. Jonathan Frakes was the first to step behind the…

Eye of the Beholder (S70E18) Airdate: 28 February 1994 Written by: René Echevarria Directed by: Cliff Bole Running Time: 46 minutes The final season of *Star Trek: The Next Generation* is frequently characterised by mixed critical reception, as the quality of episodes varied considerably, leaving some viewers to argue that this period did not represent the series' peak. Yet, amidst the uneven run of Season 7, there…

Masks (S70E17) Airdate: 21 February 1994 Written by: Joe Menosky Directed by: Robert Wiemer Running Time: 46 minutes *Star Trek: The Next Generation* produced some of the greatest pieces of science fiction television in the history of the medium, delivering iconic explorations of humanity, ethics, and the unknown. However, even the most illustrious franchises are not immune to producing stinkers, and TNG was certain…

Thine Own Self (S70E16) Airdate: 14 February 1994 Written by: Ronald D. Moore Directed by: Winrich Kolbe Running Time: 46 minutes As *Star Trek: The Next Generation* approached its terminal bow in the seventh season, the creative resources and narrative opportunities available to the production team began to dwindle significantly. There were fewer chances to pay off long-standing narrative debts, to introduce new "c…

Lower Decks (S70E15) Airdate: 7 February 1994 Written by: René Echevarria Directed by: Gabrielle Beaumont Running Time: 46 minutes Star Trek has undeniably enriched popular culture in ways that extend far beyond science fiction tropes, one of the most enduring being the term "redshirt." This word was coined somewhat ironically by fans and critics to describe the junior and frequently expendable members of the Enterp…

Sub Rosa (S07E14) Airdate: 31 January 1994 Written by: Brannon Braga Directed by: Jonathan Frakes Running Time: 46 minutes As the seventh and final season of *Star Trek: The Next Generation* drew to a close, the creative team at Paramount clearly felt the need to deliver something distinct to their dedicated fanbase. The writers, operating in the final stretch of the series, saw an opportunity to experiment with gen…

Homeward (S07E13) Airdate: 17 January 1994 Written by: Naren Shankar Directed by: Alexander Singer Running Time: 46 minutes Throughout the seven-year run of *The Next Generation*, Lieutenant Worf proved to be one of the most iconic and, arguably, the most popular character in the entire series. Stories centred on that character and his fascinating background – his discommendation, his struggle to balance Klingon hon…

The Pegasus (S07E12) Airdate: 10 January 1994 Written by: Ronald D. Moore Directed by: LeVar Burton Running Time: 46 minutes There is a curious irony at the heart of *Star Trek*'s so-called Golden Age: the very series that Gene Roddenberry conceived as an optimistic, utopian vision of humanity's future increasingly strayed from that founding ideal. Roddenberry imagined a civilisation that had abolished poverty, gree…

Parallels (S07E11) Airdate: 29 November 1993 Written by: Brannon Braga Directed by: Robert Widmer Running Time: 46 minutes Parallel universes have long served as one of the most cherished and versatile tropes within the Star Trek canon, allowing writers to explore the infinite possibilities of "what might have been." This narrative device does more than simply offer a change of scenery; it fundamentally alters the f…

Inheritance (S07E10) Airdate: 22 November 1993 Written by: Dan Koeppel & René Echevarria Directed by: Robert Scheerer Running Time: 46 minutes While *The Measure of a Man* was arguably the best instalment of Season 2, it was certainly the most important, delivering a courtroom drama so intellectually rigorous and emotionally resonant that it eradicated lingering scepticism about the series’ viability. That episode d…

Force of Nature (S07E09) Airdate: 15 November 1993 Written by: Naren Shankar Directed by: Robert Lederman Running Time: 46 minutes The Golden Age of Star Trek, spanning the late 1980s and early 1990s, did not merely coincide with the burgeoning environmentalist movement in the real world; it was profoundly shaped by it. This era was defined by a post-Cold War consensus that the singular existential threat facing hum…

Attached (S07E08) Airdate: 8 November 1993 Written by: Nicholas Sagan Directed by: Jonathan Frakes Running Time: 46 minutes The unresolved romantic tension between two central protagonists is frequently not merely a seasoning, but the very engine of a successful, long-running television drama. Savvy producers understand its potency and often treat it as a cardinal resource, to be husbanded carefully and never fully…

Dark Page (S07E07) Airdate: 1 November 1993 Written by: Hilary J. Bader Directed by: Les Landau Running Time: 46 minutes When Lwaxanna Troi was initially introduced as a recurring character in *The Next Generation*, many hardcore "trekkies" dismissed her as nothing more than a very obvious and rather weak attempt at comic relief. She was often viewed as a bumbling, flamboyant ambassador who served no purpose other t…

Phantasms (S07E05) Airdate: 25 October 1993 Written by: Brannon Braga Directed by: Patrick Stewart Running Time: 46 minutes Sir Patrick Stewart stands as arguably the most valuable member of the *Star Trek: The Next Generation* ensemble, his long tenure marked by a constant desire to push boundaries and try new things. This ambition extended beyond his performance to include directorial efforts behind the camera, wh…

Gambit, Part II (S07E05) Airdate: 18 October 1993 Written by: Ronald D. Moore Directed by: Alexander Singer Running Time: 46 minutes When a television series reaches the twilight of its run, particularly when it attempts to expand its narrative scope through two-part episodes, the stakes are significantly raised. There is an inherent danger in establishing a complex plot in the first instalment only to find oneself…

Gambit, Part I (S02E04) Airdate: 11 October 1993 Written by: Naren Shankar Directed by: Peter Lauritson Running Time: 46 minutes During what many fans consider the Golden Age of Star Trek, and particularly in the years following Gene Roddenberry's passing in 1991, the creators of Star Trek television shows began, perhaps inevitably, to drift away from some of the unofficial "commandments" that the Great Bird of the…

Interface (S07E03) Airdate: 4 October 1993 Written by: Joe Menosky Directed by: Robert Wiemer Running Time: 46 minutes As the curtain fell on the seventh season of *Star Trek: The Next Generation*, the writing staff found themselves in a peculiar position of closure. By this point, every single main cast member had their backstory fleshed out, their families explored, and their traumas laid bare. Picard had his brot…

Liaisons (S07E02) Airdate: 27 September 1993 Written by: Jeanne Carrigan Fauci & Lisa Rich Directed by: Cliff Bole Running Time: 46 minutes The final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation presented a fascinating and somewhat melancholic challenge for the series creators. With the franchise's reputation already secured by a decade of previous triumphs and a feature film on the horizon, the remaining season natural…

Descent, Part II (S07E01) Airdate: 20 September 1993 Written by: René Echevarria Directed by: Alexander Singer Running Time: 46 minutes The seventh season premiere of *Star Trek: The Next Generation* carries a burden of expectation that is rarely shouldered by any other episode in a series' run. It was not merely required to resolve the cliffhanger left dangling from the previous season’s finale, but it was also tas…

Descent (S06E26) Airdate: 21 June 1993 Written by: Ronald D. Moore Directed by: Alexander Singer Running Time: 46 minutes With the Season 3 finale *The Best of Both Worlds*, *Star Trek: The Next Generation* established a definitive tradition of ending seasons with high-stakes cliffhangers to be resolved by the following season. This practice was continued with varying degrees of success until the penultimate season,…

Timescape (S06E25) Airdate: 14 June 1993 Written by: Brannon Braga Directed by: Adam Nimoy Running Time: 46 minutes By the latter stages of *Star Trek: The Next Generation*, the series had reached such a pinnacle of general quality that the distinction between a truly classic episode and a merely competent one began to blur. What might have been lauded as a masterpiece in the show's inaugural year was often now look…

Second Chances (S06E24) Airdate: 24 May 1993 Written by: René Echevarria Directed by: LeVar Burton Running Time: 46 minutes The sixth season of *Star Trek: The Next Generation* represents a fascinating turning point for the series, marking the penultimate run before the eventual curtain fell on this iconic franchise. During this period, the showrunners seemed to operate with a profound sense of maturity. This confid…

Rightful Heir (S06E23) Airdate: 17 May 1993 Written by: Ronald D. Moore Directed by: Winrich Kolbe Running Time: 46 minutes When Gene Roddenberry first conceived his vision for Star Trek, he established a universe grounded in a rigorous adherence to scientific principles, where the human condition was defined by secular humanism and the advancement of knowledge over superstition. In this original framework, religion…

Suspicions (S06E22) Airdate: 10 May 1993 Written by: Joe Menosky & Naren Shankar Directed by: Cliff Bole Running Time: 46 minutes The enduring success of *Star Trek: The Next Generation* can be largely attributed to its willingness to experiment with narrative structures and genre conventions, seamlessly weaving elements of science fiction, drama, and even soap opera into its cosmopolitan tapestry. One of the most e…

Frame of Mind (S06E21) Airdate: 3 May 1993 Written by: Brannon Braga Directed by: James L. Conway Running Time: 46 minutes The episodic nature of *Star Trek: The Next Generation*, bolstered by its seven-year run, provided the production team with a unique opportunity to experiment with narrative forms that could easily stray from the franchise’s established formula. While many episodes leaned into the safety of scie…

The Chase (S06E20) Airdate: 26 April 1993 Written by: Joe Menosky Directed by: Jonathan Frakes Running Time: 46 minutes Star Trek has always functioned as a sprawling, interconnected fictional universe that has been continuously constructed and expanded over the decades. The era surrounding *Star Trek: The Next Generation* represents a "Golden Age" for the franchise, a period where the sheer volume of storytelling a…

Lessons (S06E19) Airdate: 5 April1993 Written by: Ron Wilkerson & Jean Louise Matthias Directed by: Robert Weimer Running Time: 46 minutes By the time *Star Trek: The Next Generation* reached its sixth season, the production machine had achieved such clockwork levels of efficiency and consistently high quality that even episodes built on weak, banal and unoriginal premises could become surprisingly memorable pieces…

Starship Mine (S06E18) Airdate: 29 March 1993 Written by: Morgan Gendel Directed by: Cliff Bole Running Time: 46 minutes Throughout the long and distinguished history of the USS Enterprise, across its various incarnations, the vessel has been the subject of numerous hostile takeover attempts, forcing a lone protagonist or a handful of remaining crew to rely on their ingenuity to thwart the invaders. Many such episod…

Birthright, Part II (S06E17) Airdate: 1 March 1993 Written by: René Echevarria Directed by: Dan Curry Running Time: 46 minutes In the long tradition of television drama, the two-part episode often follows a predictable pattern: the first instalment, with its compelling hook and cliffhanger, sets a bar that the concluding chapter struggles to meet. The initial episode thrives on mystery and escalation, leaving the au…

Birthright, Part I (S06E16) Airdate: 22 February 1993 Written by: Brannon Braga Directed by: Winrich Kolbe Running Time: 46 minutes Like most television spinoffs, *Star Trek: Deep Space Nine* began its life tethered to the umbilical cord of its predecessor. The inaugural episode, *The Emissary*, featured the commanding presence of Captain Picard and the *Enterprise D crew, a strategic crossover designed to cement th…

Tapestry (S06E15) Airdate: 15 February 1993 Written by: Ronald D. Moore Directed by: Les Landau Running Time: 46 minutes As *Star Trek: The Next Generation* entered its penultimate season, it had firmly established itself as a television phenomenon of remarkable consistency. Even at this advanced stage, the series maintained a high calibre of storytelling, possessing the alchemical ability to transform concepts that…

Face of the Enemy (S06E14) Airdate: 8 February 1993 Written by: Naren Shankar Directed by: Gabrielle Beaumont Running Time: 46 minutes The Cold War may have formally concluded by the early 1990s, but it continued to cast a long and potent shadow over the landscape of American popular culture, not least within the *Star Trek* franchise. Its fictional universe, for decades, has served as a fertile ground for allegoric…

Aquiel (S06E13) Airdate: 1 February 1993 Written by: Brannon Braga & Ronald D. Moore Directed by: Cliff Bole Running Time: 46 minutes It is a curious footnote in *Star Trek* history that the series’ televised journey began not with a bang but with a somewhat creaky monster-of-the-week tale. *The Man Trap*, the first episode of *The Original Series* to be broadcast, is nowadays regarded as one of its weaker instalmen…

Ship in a Bottle (S06E12) Airdate: 25 January 1993 Written by: René Echevarria Directed by: Alexander Singer Running Time: 46 minutes Among the many iconic recurring characters that populate the expansive universe of *Star Trek*, one of the most intellectually compelling and narratively unexpected is a figure who originally hailed from an entirely different literary canon. Professor James Moriarty, the archetypal ar…

Chain of Command, Part II (S06E11) Airdate: 21 December 1992 Written by: Frank Abatemarco Directed by: Les Landau Running Time: 46 minutes In the realm of grand television series, the two-part episode structure carries an inherent peril, particularly when the instalments are helmed by different writers or directors. The first part often establishes such a high standard of tension, character depth, and narrative intr…

Chain of Command, Pt I (S06E10) Airdate: 14 December 1992 Written by: Ronald D. Moore Directed by: Robert Scheerer Running Time: 46 minutes At the close of 1991, one distinct era of *Star Trek* drew to a definitive curtain with *Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country*, the franchise’s poignant farewell to the original series and its iconic cast. Roughly a year later, another era was beginning to stir, as *Star Trek:…

Quality of Life (S06E09) Airdate: 16 November 1992 Written by: Naren Shankar Directed by: Jonathan Frakes Running Time: 46 minutes The contemporary, often fevered debates surrounding the true nature and limits of artificial intelligence would feel remarkably familiar to any seasoned science-fiction enthusiast. For decades, the genre has wrestled with the profound questions of sentience, consciousness, and what truly…

A Fistful of Datas (S06E08) Airdate: 9 November 1992 Written by: Robin Hewitt Wolfe Directed by: Patrick Stewart Running Time: 46 minutes The marriage between *Star Trek* and the Western genre is a curious, decades-long affair, born as much from pragmatic television economics as from any profound artistic synergy. *The Original Series* appeared during the zenith of the Western’s popularity on American television. It…

Rascals (S06E07) Airdate: 2 November 1992 Written by: Allison Hock Directed by: Adam Nimoy Running Time: 46 minutes Star Trek, to put it mildly, has never possessed the most sterling record when it comes to plots, characters, or storylines involving children. Even *The Next Generation*, the series generally considered the golden age of the franchise, often struggled with how to deal with young or juvenile characters…

True Q (S06E06) Airdate: 26 October 1992 Written by: René Echevarria Directed by: Robert Scheerer Running Time: 46 minutes The enduring brilliance and strength of *Star Trek: The Next Generation* were not immediately apparent at its inception, although, in retrospect, one could have sensed its potential with the arrival of Q in the pilot episode. As the franchise's most iconic recurring character, Q has utilised his…

Schisms (S06E05) Airdate: 19 October 1992 Written by: Brannon Braga Directed by: Robert Wiemer Running Time: 46 minutes *Star Trek*, and *The Next Generation* within it, has always belonged squarely to the science fiction genre. Yet, audiences could be forgiven for occasionally forgetting that fact when confronted with episodes built around nostalgic fan service, melodramatic intrigue, or heavy-handed commentary on…

Relics (S06E04) Airdate: 12 October 1992 Written by: Ronald D. Moore Directed by: Alexander Singer Running Time: 46 minutes When the original cast of *Star Trek* symbolically rode into the sunset at the conclusion of *Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country*, it represented one of those rare instances where a franchise perfectly closed one of its most celebrated and foundational chapters. The gesture felt final, dign…

Man of the People (S06E03) Airdate: 5 October 1992 Written by: Frank Abatemarco Directed by: Winrich Kolbe Running Time: 46 minutes By its penultimate season, *Star Trek: The Next Generation* had matured into a remarkably well-oiled machine. Even when grappling with a palpable lack of inspirational fuel - a deficit that would have crippled a less assured series - the show could reliably deliver competent, watchable…

Realm of Fear (S06E02) Airdate: 28 September 1992 Written by: Brannon Braga Directed by: Cliff Bole Running Time: 46 minutes The enduring richness of *Star Trek* as a franchise often lies in its remarkable capacity to revisit established plot points, premises, and character types, reconfiguring them into fresh and compelling narratives. A prime, if understated, example of this alchemy can be found in *Realm of Fear*…