Star Trek: The Next Generation 1.08

The Battle

Captain Picard starts to experience headaches just before an encounter with a Ferengi vessel. Dr. Ceusher checks him out but can't figure out what is wrong with him.

DaiMon Bok plus his first and second officers beam over to the bridge of the Enterprise. Bok explains that they have something for Picard, the USS Stargazer, his old ship. The ship was believed lost after a battle nine years earlier in which the Stargazer blew up a Ferengi ship that opened fire on it. The Ferengi want Picard to accept it as a gift and ask for nothing in return.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 1.04

The Last Outpost

The Enterprise pursues a Ferengi ship whose crew has been accused of stealing a piece of technology from Gamma Tauri IV. The Ferengi ship fires on the Enterprise. The Enterprise is unable to return fire but the Ferengi stop shooting at them. Something immobilizes most of the Enterprises computer systems. Captain Picard is ready to surrender to the Ferengi when it becomes clear that the Ferengi are suffering from similar problem.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 1.25

The Neutral Zone

Data and Worf investigate an old spaceship from 20th century Earth while Captain Picard attends a meeting on Starbase 718.  Data and Worf find three humans in suspended animation on the spaceship. They bring them back to the Enterprise where Dr. Crusher examines them and then revives them. She cures them of medical problems before reviving them.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 1.10

Haven

The Enterprise approaches the planet Haven. Commander Riker is summoned to Transporter Room 3 in time to see a wedding present for Counselor Troi beamed aboard.

Deanna shares the news (with Captain Picard) that she is about to get married. It is an arranged marriage that was agreed upon years ago when Deanna and her husband to be were much younger. Wyatt Miller (the groom), his parents, and Lwaxana Troi (Deanna’s mother) beam aboard.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 1.24

Conspiracy

Captain Picard is summoned to a secret meeting by Captain Walker Keel, an old friend. He is warned not to tell anyone about the meeting. Picard has the Enterprise divert from its current mission and head to Dytallix. Picard beams down by himself and meets with Keel and two other captains, Tryla Scott and Rixx. They warn him that something is amiss and to keep his eyes and not tell anyone about the meeting.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 1.19

Heart of Glory

The Enterprise crosses into the Neutral Zone to investigate a conflict that already happened. They find a Talarian ship that is in bad shape there are three Klingons on board. They bring the Klingons back to the Enterprise. One of the Klingons dies soon after they arrive aboard the Enterprise.

Worf interacts with Commander Korris and Lieutenant Konmel, the two surviving Klingons. They are surprised to find a Klingon serving aboard a Starfleet vessel. He tells them a little bit about himself. They are stunned by the revelation that he was rescued and raised by humans when he was very little.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 1.09

Hide and Q

Q arrives on board the Enterprise dressed like a Starfleet admiral. He interferes with a rescue mission and takes Riker, Data, Geordie, Tasha, and Worf from the Enterprise. He wants them to play a game with him. Picard is left behind on the bridge of the Enterprise by himself.

Tasha is sent back to Enterprise by Q. Picard and Q wager as to how Riker will respond to the test that Q has devised for him. Worf scouts ahead and finds aliens dressed like Napoleonic troops. They follow him back to the others. Q makes himself look like Data (for no discernable reason) and then gives Riker the same powers that he possesses.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 1.15

11001001

The Enterprise docks at Starbase 74 for repairs. Most of the crew leaves the ship for some time off. Commander Riker keeps an eye on the Bynars, aliens, who are making repairs to the ship's computers. He asks a couple of them about the repairs that they are making to Holodeck 4. They tell him that their repairs to the Holodeck are complete if he would like to give it a try.

Commander Riker has the Holodeck create a program that simulates a New Orleans nightclub. He enters and is blown away by how real it looks. He plays with a trio of musicians. There is one person in the audience, Minuet, also a hologram.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 1.12

Datalore

The Enterprise visits Omicron Theta, the world where Data was found over 20 years earlier. Omicron Theta once had a human colony of over 400 people but it has been abandoned for decades.

An away team consisting of Data, Commander Riker, Lt. Geordi La Forge, Lt. Tasha Yar, and Lt. Worf beams down to the planet. They find the pieces of what looks like an exact duplicate of Data. They bring it back to the Enterprise and Mister Argyle (from engineering) and Doctor Crusher assemble it.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 1.05

Where No One Has Gone Before

Something goes wrong when Kosinski, a visiting propulsion specialist, is upgrading the Enterprise's warp drive. The Enterprise travels faster and farther than any ship has ever traveled before and winds up so far from where they were that it would take them over 300 years to get back.

Kosinski attempts to get the Enterprise back to where it is but the starship winds up somewhere even stranger looking. Wesley Crusher was in engineering at the time and noticed something strange about Kosinki's assistant who is an alien, only identified as the Traveller. Wesley tries to tell Commander Riker but Riker won't listen and only considers the possibility after he witnesses the phenomenon himself.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 1.01

Encounter at Farpoint

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.