Reviews of The Next Generation were written retrospectively from 2005-2013. Initially envisioned as a short project, the review format was shorter in the early seasons, but got somewhat longer as the project went on. Note: All reviews contain spoilers.
Content Listing
Season 2 (1988-1989)
11/21/1988. The Child — An alien entity impregnates Counselor Troi, leading to the child's birth and growth at an alarmingly accelerated rate.
11/28/1988. Where Silence Has Lease — The Enterprise becomes trapped in a mysterious void where strange and inexplicable events suggest the influence of a superior intelligence.
12/5/1988. Elementary, Dear Data — Geordi instructs the holodeck computer to create a Sherlock Holmes adversary capable of beating Data — an instruction that has unexpected results.
12/12/1988. The Outrageous Okona — The Enterprise plays host to the mischievous Captain Okona. Meanwhile, Data experiments with humor using a holographic stand-up comic as his tutor.
1/9/1989. Loud as a Whisper — The Enterprise provides passage to a war-torn world for a deaf mediator and the telepathic "chorus" of three that speaks for him.
1/23/1989. The Schizoid Man — A dying scientist who believes he can bridge the gulf between man and machine attempts to transfer his consciousness into Data's android brain.
1/30/1989. Unnatural Selection — Pulaski risks her life in an attempt cure a disease that causes rapid aging and has infected the population of a space station.
2/6/1989. A Matter of Honor — Riker learns a lot about the Klingons when he's assigned to one of their vessels in an interspecies crew-member exchange program.
2/13/1989. The Measure of a Man — A Starfleet scientist announces his plans to disassemble Data for scientific research, touching off a legal battle over Data's rights as a Starfleet officer and artificial life form.
2/20/1989. The Dauphin — Wesley develops a crush on an alien girl who is destined to become the ruler of a planet — and whose overprotective guardian intends to keep that path on track.
3/20/1989. Contagion — The Enterprise enters the Romulan Neutral Zone and inherits the mysterious investigation of another Galaxy-class Federation starship after it's destroyed in a disastrous explosion.
3/27/1989. The Royale — Riker, Data, and Worf become trapped in an alien approximation of a 20th-century Earth casino hotel.
4/3/1989. Time Squared — The crew discovers a double of Picard on a shuttlecraft adrift in space and learns that he came from a time several hours in the Enterprise's future.
4/24/1989. The Icarus Factor — Starfleet offers Riker his own command, which coincidentally reunites him with his estranged father. Meanwhile, Wesley discovers Worf's recent bad mood might be caused by his sense of isolation.
5/1/1989. Pen Pals — Data makes radio contact with a young girl on a doomed world, and the crew must decide whether to break the Prime Directive or let an entire civilization be destroyed.
5/8/1989. Q Who — Q asks Picard to join the Enterprise crew and, when denied, hurls the Enterprise into a conflict with an implacable race of cybernetic beings.
5/15/1989. Samaritan Snare — While Picard and Wesley share some time aboard a shuttle en route to a Federation starbase, the rest of the crew comes to the rescue of a distressed ship whose occupants are either more, or less, than they seem.
5/22/1989. Up the Long Ladder — The Enterprise investigates two very different colonies that originated from a single ship launched from Earth in the early 22nd century.
6/19/1989. Manhunt — Lwaxana Troi comes aboard the Enterprise in the midst of a biological phase in her life that vastly increases her sex drive, much to Picard's dismay.
6/29/1989. The Emissary — A half-human, half-Klingon emissary rendezvouses with the Enterprise to address a crisis involving a potentially hostile Klingon ship, and it turns out she has a history with Worf.
7/10/1989. Peak Performance — Starfleet assigns the Enterprise to a lopsided battle drill that pits Picard against Riker, the latter who is to command a vastly inferior ship that encourages improvisation.
7/17/1989. Shades of Grayzero stars — Riker is infected by alien parasites, which Pulaski attempts to repel by inducing Riker to relive his memories.