The Next Generation is the show that made me a Trekkie. I watched it during its original broadcast run in the 1990s, and the earliest episode I can definitely remember watching is Season 2’s The Royale, which aired here in the UK in 1991.
Star Trek: The Next Generation ran from 1987 to 1994 in the United States, and was followed by four films from 1994 to 2002. At seven seasons and more than 170 episodes, it eclipsed The Original Series’ runtime, and set the stage for two spin-off productions set in the same 24th Century era. To this day, many Trekkies consider The Next Generation to be the franchise’s high-water mark. The series’ characters have reappeared in most subsequent Star Trek productions, most notably in Picard’s third and final season.
I’ve written quite a bit about The Next Generation since I founded this website! I have several episode write-ups, theories, character studies, head canon… and all sorts, really! This page is an archive of those posts. Beware spoilers for some of the more modern Star Trek shows – especially Picard!
Episode Re-Watches:
Check out my TNG episode re-watches here. And stay tuned for more to come!
Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode Re-Watch – Season 2, Episode 12: The Royale
“This is the very first episode of Star Trek that I can ever remember watching…”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode Re-Watch – Season 5, Episode 19: The First Duty
“I wanted to step back to the Academy’s first big appearance now that we have the new Starfleet Academy show…”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch – Season 7, Episode 17: Masks
“[Masks is] one of those solid standalone stories that Star Trek does far fewer of since the move to serialised story arcs and shorter seasons…”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch – Season 4, Episode 12: The Wounded
“The Wounded is incredibly important within the history of Star Trek…”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch – Season 7, Episode 15: Lower Decks
“On the 7th of February 1994, Star Trek: The Next Generation aired the fifteenth episode of its seventh and final season. The episode was titled Lower Decks…”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch – Season 2, Episode 9: The Measure of a Man
“I enjoyed going back to The Measure of a Man. I wouldn’t like to guess how many times I’ve seen it already; as with most of the rest of The Next Generation and its spin-offs I’ve watched and re-watched it on a number of occasions…”
Discussion/Essays:
These are all of my other articles and essays about (or making reference to) TNG.
The Worst Things That Star Trek Characters Have Done
“There are genuine moral and ethical issues with what each of these characters did in the stories discussed…”
Rating Your “Unpopular” Star Trek Opinions!
“I went to Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, TikTok, and other social media pages, scanning posts and comments sections…”
The Star Trek Fan Community’s Worst Theories
“This is just for fun, [and] it’s supposed to be a light-hearted exploration of some of the Trekkie community’s ‘wilder’ and more ‘out there’ ideas…”
What If…? Star Trek Edition!
“I’m back for a third crack at this idea…”
Star Trek Aliens That *Could* Have Been Terrifying…
“Star Trek is not primarily a horror franchise…”
Star Trek “Bottom Fives” – Arguing with IMDB Again!
“It could be a lot of fun to look at some of the stories that other fans and viewers don’t like…”
Don’t Miss: JTVFX’s Wolf 359 Fan Film
“Genuinely one of the best space battles set in the Star Trek universe that I’ve ever seen…”
Star Trek “Top Fives” – Arguing With IMDB!
“Some of these are going to be controversial…”
What If…? Star Trek Edition!
“We’re going to look at five stories from across the Star Trek franchise and ask a simple question: what if things went differently?”
Star Trek: The Borg Teasing Theory
“The Borg were not fully invested in assimilating Earth either in 2367 or 2373…”
Star Trek Films: My Tier List
“I’m going to revisit the Star Trek films, this time using the internet-friendly tier list format…”
Star Trek’s Scariest Alien Monsters!
“Let’s talk about some of Star Trek’s scariest aliens and villains!”
Star Trek Needs Sequels, Not Prequels
“If there is to be more Star Trek in the months and years ahead, it should continue to move the timeline forward…”
Ten Things That Have Always Bugged Me In Star Trek
“Let’s have a little bit of fun today at the expense of the Star Trek franchise…”
Twenty of the best Star Trek episodes!
“It was a blast to go back and revisit all of these wonderful episodes…”
Ten of the worst Star Trek episodes!
“I actually had fun revisiting some of these episodes…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – finale
“So this is it, then!”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 9
“As we head into the final episode, the theory list has been slimmed down…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 8
“This week marks the definitive end for a whole host of theories…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 7
“After last week’s theory massacre, Dominion didn’t actually move the needle very much…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 6
“I think this could be a big week for the story…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 5
“There are several big changes to the theory list this week…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 4
“In terms of mysteries, the story is just getting started!”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 3
“We’ve netted several theory wins already!”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories – week 2
“Despite a retirement and two confirmations, the theory list continues to grow…”
What to watch to get ready for Star Trek: Picard Season 3
“If nothing else, all of these stories are good fun, and worth re-watching for any Trekkie who may not have seen them in a while!”
Building the “ultimate” Star Trek crew!
“There are plenty of wonderful characters to choose from when making a list like this one…”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theory – the “rogues’ gallery”
“Like Marvel’s HYDRA or DC Comics’ Legion of Doom, perhaps [spoiler] has managed to create their very own rogues’ gallery!”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theory – who is Captain Vadic?
“We have enough evidence to put together a few theories about who she could potentially be…”
Star Trek: Lower Decks review – Season 3, Episode 1: Grounded
“Lower Decks’ tendency to go for the non sequitur ending meant that the season premiere, while fun and entertaining at first, fell flat as it reached its conclusion…”
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Trekking with Dennis 