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I'd like to rewatch the good parts of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but I don't have time to sit down and rewatch all seven seasons. Instead, I'd like an episode list that covers:

  1. All of the major multi-episode arcs (Q, the Borg, the Klingon succession, etc.)
  2. Standalone episodes that are important for individual characters
  3. Other outstanding individual episodes

... and I'd like it to fit on a list of no more than 50 episodes (approximately equivalent to two full seasons).

Feel free to compile a recommended list in your answer, or point me to an external resource if one exists.

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    I LOVE this question but I don't think it's necessarily appropriate for Stack Exchange because there isn't a definitive answer for it. Thank you for contributing though.
    – Mike B
    May 22, 2012 at 18:52
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    @MikeB, there might not be a definitive answer, but various proposed answers can certainly be ranked. I'm quite familiar with Stack Exchange, and I thought this was on-topic... but I leave it up to the mods to decide.
    – JSBձոգչ
    May 22, 2012 at 19:01
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    Currently list questions aren't on topic because they won't have a definitive answer. FAQ
    – OghmaOsiris
    May 22, 2012 at 19:17
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    Funny, I always felt all of them were worth watching.
    – Xantec
    May 22, 2012 at 20:05
  • @OghmaOsiris True, this is, by definition, a list question. But it is very close these two questions mashed together, scifi.stackexchange.com/q/6719/1234 and scifi.stackexchange.com/q/9036/1234
    – Xantec
    May 23, 2012 at 11:30

2 Answers 2

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This list will give you sufficient coverage of all significant Q, Romulan, Borg, Klingon Empire, Cardassian, and Lore episodes, as well as other good episodes thrown in.

Season 1

  • Encounter at Farpoint 1 (First TNG episode, Q)
  • Encounter at Farpoint 2 (First TNG episode, Q)
  • Datalore (Lore, Crystalline Entity)
  • The Neutral Zone (First Romulan encounter)

Season 2

  • Elementary, Dear Data (Professor Moriarty)
  • Q Who (First Borg encounter)
  • The Emissary (Introduced to K'Ehleyr)

Season 3

  • The Enemy (Romulans, Tomalak)
  • The Defector (Romulans, Tomalak)
  • Déjà Q
  • Yesterday's Enterprise (Yar goes back in time)
  • Sins of the Father (Kern, Klingon Empire)
  • Tin Man (Romulans)
  • Sarek
  • The Best of Both Worlds 1 (Borg)

Season 4

  • The Best of Both Worlds 2 (Borg)
  • Brothers (Data and Lore)
  • Reunion (K'Ehleyr, Klingon Empire)
  • Data's Day (Romulans)
  • The Wounded (Cardassians)
  • Redemption (Klingon Empire)

Season 5

  • Redemption II (Klingon Empire)
  • Ensign Ro
  • Silicon Avatar (Crystalline Entity)
  • Unification 1 (Romulans, Spock)
  • Unification 2 (Romulans, Spock)
  • Power Play
  • The First Duty (Wesley at the Academy)
  • I Borg (Hugh)
  • The Inner Light (Classic)

Season 6

  • Relics (Scotty)
  • Chain of Command 1 (Cardassians)
  • Chain of Command 2 (Cardassians)
  • Ship in a Bottle (Professor Moriarty)
  • Tapestry (Q)
  • Descent 1 (Lore, Borg, Hugh)

Season 7

  • Descent 2 (Lore, Borg, Hugh)
  • Gambit 1
  • Gambit 2
  • The Pegasus (Romulans)
  • Lower Decks
  • Journey's End (Wesley, Cardassians)
  • Preemptive Strike (Maquis, Cardassians)
  • All Good Things 1
  • All Good Things 2
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    THIS LOOKS AWESOME.
    – JSBձոգչ
    May 23, 2012 at 18:34
  • I'd add Season 1 - Skin of Evil (Yar dies).
    – Mark Hurd
    Sep 3, 2012 at 18:35
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    Some outstanding individual episodes: Season 2 - Measure of a Man Season 4 - The Drumhead Season 5 - Darmok
    – Yike Lu
    Apr 30, 2014 at 17:03
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    @MarkHurd: Skin of Evil was a terrible episode though. If you ranked every episode, I'm pretty confident it would land in the bottom third on almost everyone's list. There are episodes of Voyager I'd watch before it.
    – Jeff
    Jul 31, 2014 at 14:40
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    Measure of a Man is absolutely necessary for understanding TNG and the character of Data. It might even get you out of showing Yar's death, since it's at least referenced in that episode.
    – trlkly
    Aug 26, 2014 at 19:21
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Though this is likely to be closed, Wikipedia has an excellent list of TNG episodes, with short synopses as well. If you just do a quick search on that site for "Q" "borg" and "Klingon" you will find what you are looking for.

Q Episodes:

  • Season 1: Episodes { 1/2, 10 }
  • Season 2: Episode { 16 }
  • Season 3: Episode { 13 }
  • Season 4: Episode { 20 }
  • Season 6: Episode { 6, 15 }
  • Season 7: Episodes { 25/26 }

Borg Episodes:

  • Season 2: Episode { 16 }
  • Season 3: Episode { 26/ }
  • Season 4: Episode { /1 }
  • Season 5: Episode { 23 }
  • Season 6: Episode { 26/ }
  • Season 7: Episode { /1 }

Klingon Episodes:

  • Season 3: Episode { 17 }
  • Season 4: Episode { 7, 26/ }
  • Season 5: Episode { /1 }
  • Season 6: Episode { 23 }
  • Season 7: Episode { 21 }
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  • @Xantec Thanks for the edit :)
    – NominSim
    May 23, 2012 at 0:36

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