On his first mission as captain of the Enterprise, Captain Jean-Luc Picard is ordered to investigate the base at Farpoint. Before the Enterprise can get there it is intercepted by a humanoid alien who identifies himself as Q. He accuses humanity of being barbaric and puts the Enterprise on trial as a proxy for the human race. Captain Picard emphatically challenges Q's charges but ultimately accepts and agrees that their conduct at Farpoint will determine their fate.
Colm Meaney makes his first appearance but he is only given a title and not a name. The Ferengi are mentioned (but not seen) for the first time. They sound a lot more vicious from the way they are described in this episode than they turn out to be when they finally appear on screen, later in season 1. The separation of the saucer portion of the ship was obviously done more for effect than anything else. At the time this episode first aired I think I was very impressed. By today's standards the separation of the saucer seems very gimmicky. The first time I watched (when it first aired) I was impressed at how fast the Enterprise was able to move, warp 9 point something or other. My recollection from TOS is that the top speed for the Enterprise was 4 or 5, under normal circumstances.
This is Q's first appearance. There were a number of godlike aliens who appeared on the original series: Trelane, Apollo, etc. I don't think any of them showed up more than once. Q stands out because he was a recurring character on this show and I think he might have also showed up on Deep Space 9.
Not a great episode but I can see why this is considered essential viewing if one wants to watch a large sample of episodes form this series. It is not just the first episode of the first season but also the first mission together for most of the characters. Picard meets Riker for the first time. Picard has a prior history with Dr. Crusher and her son Wesley. Not much in the way of interesting character moments. The episode is very focused on introducing the characters and the Enterprise, not so much on exploring their personalities.
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