4.01 – The Best of Both Worlds, Part II: A

Airing as the conclusion to one of the best hours of science fiction is a daunting task. The Best of Both Worlds, Part II faced the overwhelming challenge of solving the unsolvable, and bringing our heroes back to safety from the very brink of obliteration. In a sense, there was no way for this episode to truly contend with its predecessor. And yet, somehow, The Best of Both Worlds, part II holds its own and impressively concludes what becomes the greatest two-part story in the entire seven season run of TNG. And it does so by changing perspective and focusing on the personal struggles and tragedy, rather than the epic scope of the Borg invasion.

4.02 – Family: A+

If The Best of Both Worlds was a tough act to follow, its conclusion, Part II raised the stakes even higher. Fortunately the writers did a very smart thing and explored the repercussions of the Borg incident with an installment that is as exceptional as it is a departure for TNG. The result is Family, an episode that is deeply emotional and profound and takes the developments of the past two shows and deepens the transformations of character with three distinct storylines: Picard, Worf, and the Crushers.

4.03 – Brothers: C+

Brothers is, unfortunately, a missed opportunity. It gives what could be argued as one of the best set of performances of the series. But those performances are drowned in a preposterous contrivance.

4.04 – Suddenly Human: C-

Suddenly Human is a significant step backward for the series. We’re given a sit-com cliché story, a mistake in character focus, and inconsistencies of character. The result is a story that, while directed fairly well, is a complete mess.

4.05 – Remember Me: B

Remember Me is a straightforward sci-fi installment of TNG. On the whole, it is a solid, if somewhat unremarkable episode that offers little by way of action, adventure or character development. Its success is based on an interesting (though admittedly esoteric) concept, an effective continuity connection to season one, and a well-rounded production.

4.06 – Legacy: B+

Legacy is a very good episode that combines action, drama, character development and the themes of trust and betrayal. The additional bonus of the episode is its continuity connection back to Tasha Yar and her sudden, if somewhat unceremonious, death in Skin of Evil.

4.07 – Reunion: B+

Reunion is an important episode on a variety of levels. It gives us a continuation from season three’s Sins of the Father, a deeper insight into the growing corruption of the Klingon Empire, as well some compelling character development from Worf, including his continued struggle with his Discommendation.

4.08 – Future Imperfect: B-

Future Imperfect is an entertaining episode that has very few glaring mistakes, but doesn’t give us anything particularly spectacular or challenging. Additionally, though the main focus of the episode is Riker, we don’t get much by way of character development from him. Instead, this installment seems to go straight for entertainment-only value. It succeeds at being entertaining, but not enough to set it apart as a superb episode.

4.09 – Final Mission: B+

Final Mission is Wesley Crusher’s last episode before joining Starfleet Academy. As such, it is meant as both a sendoff as well as to provide a measure of closure to a story arc between the Ensign and Captain Picard. The episode’s storyline is serviceable, but otherwise unimpressive. And yet, in its most important scene, the episode delivers.

4.10 – The Loss: D-

The Loss is an entirely forgettable episode that suffers from a critical overdose of Troi. Her emotional outbursts are more cringe-worthy than a George Lucas love scene and her holier-than-thou arrogance has a decidedly destructive consequence for the episode and the series.

4.11 – Data’s Day: A

Data’s Day is a subtle, nearly perfect episode of TNG. There is a major focus on character development, a successfully interwoven subplot about Romulans, as well as an altogether refreshingly different approach to storytelling.

4.12 – The Wounded: A-

The Wounded is an important episode of TNG for a variety of reasons. On the surface, it introduces the Cardassians, a militant alien race that has recently signed a peace treaty with the Federation, who will figure rather prominently in the remaining seasons of the series. Digging deeper, The Wounded gives us important background on the political and military vulnerability of the Federation, as well as some solid character development from Transporter Chief O’Brien.

4.13 – Devil’s Due: D+

The Devil’s Due is a very poor episode that can be easily ignored. Its premise, characters and execution are all entirely substandard for TNG. And no wonder, the original premise for this episode came straight out of Star Trek: Phase II — the ill fated continuation of The Original Series.

4.14 – Clues: B

Clues, as the title would suggest, is intended to be something of a mystery episode for TNG. The Dixon Hill introductory sequence with Picard and Guinan sets the thematic tone, and the unexpected appearance of a Class M planet transitions the episode from the holodeck to the Bridge.

4.15 – First Contact: B+

First Contact is an excellent episode that gives us a unique take on the whole “the aliens are already among us” concept. The acting, particularly from the guest stars, is very good. And the overall story is well-paced and engaging.

4.16 – Galaxy’s Child: C+

Galaxy’s Child gives us two plotlines — including one that provides continuity back to season three’s Booby Trap by introducing us to the flesh and blood version of Dr. Leah Brahms. If you will recall, she was the holographic engineer who assisted LaForge in figuring out how to escape the ancient booby trap. The other plotline involves an interstellar creature whose mother was accidentally, and tragically, killed by the Enterprise. All of the concepts and ideas behind the story in this episode are very smart decisions. Sadly, the execution of those storylines is lacking.

4.17 – Night Terrors: D+

Night Terrors is a mediocre episode that returns to the now cliché ploy of having the crew behave out of character — as we saw in The Naked Now & Sarek. Indeed, the episode begins in almost the same fashion as The Naked Now with the Enterprise finding a science vessel (the U.S.S. Brattain) adrift with the entire crew dead — by their own hands. But where The Naked Now strove to be somewhat of a comedy, Night Terrors is TNG’s foray into the horror genre. And the results are mixed.

4.18 – Identity Crisis: D-

Lame.

That’s the best way to describe Identity Crisis. This is an episode that just about fails on every measure imaginable. There is very little here redeem this episode and, ultimately, you can skip right over it and not miss anything except one very minor scene.

4.19 – The Nth Degree: D

The Nth Degree is an episode that takes some chances and falls flat on its face. This episode is just miserable in its concept, direction, pacing and conclusion. There are only a handful of redeeming qualities contained within an installment that is as ludicrous as it is boring.

4.20 – QPid: D-

QPid is about as close to failure as you can possibly get — which is downright tragic considering just how good the episodes featuring Q have been thus far. It’s a terrible concept that was executed extremely poorly. And but for a couple of humorous lines (mostly from Worf), this episode would have been a complete and utter failure.

4.21 – The Drumhead: B

The Drumhead strives to recreate the success of TNG’s previous courtroom drama installment: The Measure of a Man. It doesn’t quite reach the same lofty heights, but it does represent a significant improvement in quality over the last few episodes. Indeed, while not perfect, The Drumhead benefits from improved directing, acting and, in particular, writing.

4.22 – Half a Life: B-

Half a Life is an episode about the ethical and moral questions regarding a society that euthanizes its citizens at the age of 60. Its premise, acting and dialogue allow it to achieve a moderate level of success. Ultimately, however, the pacing as well as a few character issues toward the end of the episode keep it from reaching its full potential.

4.23 – The Host: C-

The Host is an episode works — but only up to a point. From there the story becomes inexplicable in its direction and concept. And, ultimately, it sabotages what could have been a solid, yet highly unusual, episode.

4.24 – The Mind’s Eye: B-

The Mind’s Eye is a dark, disturbing episode that provides both mystery and suspense. And, too, it serves as both a thematic and explicit bridge between Reunion and the season-ending Redemption. The acting and pacing and direction are all very well-done. But there is one issue with the plausibility of story, however, and the overall enjoyment of the episode greatly depends on how a viewer interprets this story element.

4.25 – In Theory: C+

In Theory is an episode that has a tremendous concept that ends up relatively disappointing because of its array of missed opportunities. The acting and directing are, for the most part quite good. But the writing and performance, as they pertain to an important character, are both fairly important mistakes.

4.26 – Redemption: B+

Redemption is an ambitious attempt to recreate, at least in some measure, the success of The Best of Both Worlds, the cliff-hangar ending to season three. And while there is a touch of audacity and hubris in hoping to reach such a lofty goal, one cannot criticize the attempt. To do so, Redemption calls upon threads of stories from episodes that date as far back as season one, including Skin of Evil, Heart of Glory, and The Neutral Zone. Two of the three connections are exceptionally well done. The third, while successfully shocking upon first blush, becomes rather problematic upon further reflection.