#viewing guide

𝑊𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑙 𝑅𝐸𝐷 𝐶𝐴𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑇 𝑜𝑓 2025 𝑀𝐴𝑀𝐴 𝐴𝑊𝐴𝑅𝐷𝑆, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑑.

Just found out one of my oldest friends, a huge sci fi guy, has never actually seen TNG, or indeed any Trek. He asked if I wouldn't mind writing a viewing guide. Not all that tiny, but the blurb for each episode is tiny. YMMV.

S1

Encounter at Farpoint - Goofy but iconic, series premiere

The Naked Now - Bad but hilarious and a little important

Code of Honor - terrible racist horseshit

The Last Outpost - first time we meet the Ferengi, they're not impressive

Where No One Has Gone Before - interesting enough

Lonely Among Us - I have no memory of this place

Justice - terrible outfits, Wesley episode

The Battle - Picard episode, not terrible

Hide and Q - Riker-centric Q episode, not the best Q episode, not the worst

Haven - first time we meet Lwaxana, don't remember anything else

The Big Goodbye - first of many holodeck episodes, pretty good

Datalore - important!!!

Angel One - totally forgettable

11001001 - meh

Too Short a Season - weird, generally meh

When the Bough Breaks - Wesley episode, don't remember it much

Home Soil - no clue

Coming of Age - more Wesley (can you tell Gene Roddenberry liked the character?), but not bad

Heart of Glory - first time the Klingons get real character, important

The Arsenal of Freedom - automated weaponry is bad, mmkay

Symbiosis - nope, no idea

Skin of Evil - dark, nasty, generally unpleasant episode, important for character reasons

We'll Always Have Paris - genuinely do not remember this one but wiki says there's time travel and that's always fun

Conspiracy - real mixed feelings about this one, it's tense and interesting TV but not really good Trek and it has huge implications that are never revisited

The Neutral Zone - Romulans are reintroduced, pretty cool

S2

The Child - pretty decent Troi episode

Where Silence Has Lease - interesting space puzzle episode sprinkled with Picard philosophizing

Elementary, Dear Data - first Sherlock!Data holodeck episode, excellent stuff

The Outrageous Okona - weeeaaaak, but kind of funny

Loud As A Whisper - cool deaf character, cringey late-80s implementation

The Schizoid Man - Data episode, good acting, cringey dialogue

Unnatural Selection - Pulaski-centric, and I dislike Pulaski so this is a pass for me

A Matter Of Honor - Riker serves on a Klingon warship, some good stuff

The Measure of A Man - Easily a top 10 Trek episode of all time

The Dauphin - Wesley has a crush, receives terrible romantic advice from entire crew

Contagion - interesting lethal archaeology

The Royale - love this episode, it's terrible and bad science but I love it

Time Squared - weird time-travel stuff, not one of the best

The Icarus Factor - lot of good character stuff, terrible future martial arts

Pen Pals - excellent Data episode, thoughts about the Prime Directive

Q Who - WATCH THIS ONE

Samaritan Snare - bad episode, funny moments

Up The Long Ladder - holy shit the Irish racism

Manhunt - Lwaxana Troi at her best, love it

The Emissary - Amazing Klingon stuff

Peak Performance - good episode, lots of fun character bits

Shades of Gray - TERRIBLE CLIP SHOW AVOID AVOID AVOID

S3

Evolution - Wesley episode, not bad but not great

The Ensigns of Command - Mediocre Data episode

The Survivors - space puzzle episode, OK

Who Watches the Watchers - more prime directive stuff, mildly interesting

The Bonding - interesting stuff about grief

Booby Trap - another space puzzle, high stakes, cool payoff

The Enemy - Pretty good, Romulans

The Price - fun episode

The Vengeance Factor - ehhhhhhhh

The Defector - More Romulan stuff, is good

The Hunted - will 100% make you scream at how terrible security is in the future, not a bad ep though

The High Ground - ugh, just not great

Deja Q - good Q episode

A Matter of Perspective - let's use the holodeck to prove Riker couldn't have committed this crime!

The Offspring - WATCH THIS BUT BRING TISSUES

Sins of the Father - first of many Klingon Politics episodes, I love these with a fiery passion and my wife is bored to tears by them so YMMV

Allegiance - space puzzle, not a great one but not bad

Captain's Holiday - WATCH THIS, IS AMAZING

Tin Man - literally put me to sleep once

Hollow Pursuits - First of many Barclay episodes, my beautiful autistic space boi

The Most Toys - alright, worth one watch

Sarek - SO IMPORTANT WAAAAAAAAAATCH

Menage a Troi - bad episode, worth it for the payoff

Transfigurations - Jason Ironheart called, he knows he came after this episode chronologically but he was better

The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1 - YAAAS

S4

The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2- YAAAAAAAAAAAAAS

Family - So important

Brothers - Very Important

Suddenly Human - meh

Remember Me - very interesting space puzzle, one of the Crusher episodes where she gets to be awesome

Legacy - not the most jaw-dropping ep but important

Reunion - KLINGON POLITICS YEEES

Future Imperfect - interesting enough

Final Mission - Wesley episode, not bad

The Loss - v. good Troi episode

Data's Day - fun, wholesome Data times

The Wounded - SO GOOD AND SO IMPORTANT

Devil's Due - I love this episode even if it's not that important or good

Clues - Awesome space puzzle

First Contact - eh? okay? sure?

Galaxy's Child - fine, whatever

Night Terrors - uuuuugh, no

Identity Crisis - this one scared the fuck out of me as a kid and may be responsible for my deep-seated body-transformation-horror triggers, now it's just kind of weird

The nth Degree - BARCLAY, LOVE HIM AND THIS EP

Qpid - YES SO GOOD

The Drumhead - This is Michael Dorn's favorite episode and it is worthy of the title

Half a Life - Lwaxana is great, the episode not as much

The Host - introduction of the Trill, kind of cringey almost 30 years later

The Mind's Eye - brainwashing stuff, meh

In Theory - Data tries to date, hilarities ensue

Redemption Part 1 - GIVE ME THE KLINGON POLITICS

S5

Redemption Part 2 - MOOOOOOOOOORE

Darmok - One of my top 5 episodes in the series

Ensign Ro - so important, introduces the Bajorans and Ensign Ro

Silicon Avatar - important for Data, not a terribly interesting episode otherwise

Disaster - Troi gets to shine! cool episode

The Game - by far the worst Wesley episode. everyone is seduced into acting like a brainwashed idiot by a terrible space future video game. fuck this episode and everyone who wrote it but especially Brannon Braga.

Unification 1 - WATCH

Unification 2- THESE

A Matter of Time - So good, waaatch

New Ground - I am not a fan of Alexander but he is so important to Worf's growth, so... yeah

Hero Worship - more stuff about grief, eh

Violations - I don't remember this one that much but I do not think I enjoyed it

The Masterpiece Society - read the above description

Conundrum - amazing space puzzle episode. easily one of my favorites in the series

Power Play - meh

Ethics - very important, good Trek

The Outcast - THIS EPISODE COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER IF THE LOVE INTEREST WAS MALE. JONATHAN FRAKES PUSHED FOR A MALE ACTOR. watch it anyway

Cause and Effect - fun space puzzle, a little repetitive but totally solid

The First Duty - one of the best Picard Speeches ever, watch

Cost of Living - fun Lwaxana episode

The Perfect Mate - pretty meh but Famke Janssen is fun as Kamala

Imaginary Friend - so bored

I, Borg - INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT

The Next Phase - interesting episode about the afterlife

The Inner Light - THIS IS MY FAVORITE EPISODE OF THE ENTIRE SERIES AND I CRY EVERY TIME

Time's Arrow 1 - Such good time travel

S6

Time's Arrow 2 - Such great Mark Twain

Realm of Fear - Yay more Barclay!

Man of the People - bad Troi episode

Relics - WAAAAAAAAAATCH

Schisms - space puzzle, kind of lame payoff due to effects limitations but the journey is worth it

True Q - By far the worst fucking Q episode ever written

Rascals - uuuuuuuugh. half the crew is regressed into children. Ferengi are involved. you are missing nothing.

A Fistful of Datas - amazing dumb holodeck episode, watch

The Quality of Life - boring episode, good message

Chain of Command 1 - So dark, so difficult, so totally riveting and important

Chain of Command 2 - See above

Ship in a Bottle - Sequel to Sherlock!Data, amazing

Aquiel - could have been written much better

Face of the Enemy - by far the best Troi episode, Marina Sirtis was incredibly happy when I told her it was one of my favorites

Tapestry - fantastic Q/Picard episode

Birthright 1 - Basically exists to set up DS9 but is pretty good and has important bits

Birthright 2 - See above

Starship Mine - DIE HARD ON THE ENTERPRISE

Lessons - Very important Picard episode

The Chase - amazing space puzzle episode, has one of my favorite one-off Klingon characters

Frame of Mind - is Riker's entire life a delusion he has created to mentally escape his imprisonment in a mental asylum? spoilers: no

Suspicions - Good mystery episode, Crusher gets to do stuff

Rightful Heir - Very important Worf episode, good Klingon stuff

Second Chances - uh, kind of bad, but it gets referenced later in DS9

Timescape - super interesting space puzzle, amazing character bits

Descent 1 - WAAATCH

S7

Descent 2 - as above

Liaisons - okay. not great. not bad.

Interface - OK Geordi episode

Gambit 1 - Amazing stuff

Gambit 2 - More amazing stuff

Phantasms - Psychological horror? in my Data? it's more likely than you think. watch

Dark Page - one of the few Lwaxana episodes I don't love

Attached - great Picard/Crusher episode

Force of Nature - environmentalism! is! good!

Inheritance - important Data episode

Parallels - SUCH A GOOD WORF EPISODE

The Pegasus - very important Riker episode

Homeward - Interesting Worf and Prime Directive episode

Sub Rosa - so cringey and terrible, oh my God

Lower Decks - a fun change of pace from the main cast

Thine Own Self - I don't love it, but it is good character stuff

Masks - weird space puzzle episode, I love it but I wouldn't call it Great

Eye of the Beholder - space mystery, it's not fantastic

Genesis - look. this episode is not good. but it has amazing costumework by Michael Westmore. and has some great Picard/Data stuff. watch it.

Journey's End - super important stuff. sets up a lot of stuff for DS9 and VOY

Firstborn - Good Worf/Alexander episode

Bloodlines - More Ferengi stuff, kind of lame

Emergence - space puzzle, weird but interesting

Preemptive Strike - So so so so important

I see posts once in a while saying how they keep meaning to get into Xena, but there;s a lot of episodes to get through (thank you 90s american television) and the first season in particular suffers from some “finding its feet”-ness. 

Now, to be clear, if you’re up for it and can enjoy it for what it is, there is no reason not to watch every single episode of X:WP: Xena, if nothing else, is never boring. BUT, it occured to me it might help some people if the task was a little less...daunting. 

So, here is my quick in easy “abridged” guide to season 1 of Xena: Warrior Princess. There are freakin’ 24 episodes in season 1, but in truth, imo, only about 8 of them are needed to get the vibe and be able to tell if the series is something you’ll want to explore more. I would say even that, strictly speaking, none of them are “required viewing.” With a little deductive reasoning, you’ll be able to get by alright going forward with the rest of the series staring right off in season 2, even with occasional references and callbacks. But, I’ve tried to pick out the most “Xena-ish” of the season 1 episodes, the ones that give the greatest indication of the the show really becomes. 

Here’s the list:

Sins of the Past: The very first episode, and needed to set up the series. Plus, Xena and Gabrielle meet here and that’s great. 

The Path Not Taken: A good example of a classic magic induced plot. References to Xena’s past and origin story, plus alternate timelines and part of the beginning of the establishment of Gabrielle>everything else. 

The Reckoning: This and the above kinda go as a set in my head. This one is more directly confronting the implications of Xena’s dark past and the difficulties she faces in seeking redemption, and also introduces Ares, who will be a major character and antagonist throughout the series. 

Hooves and Harlots: Introduction of the Amazons and Centaurs, who are super important to the world’s universe and lore. Plus Gabrielle gets her first mini-makeover, putting her on her path to “battling bard” rather than just “bard.” 

Warrior... Princess: This is the comic relief episode in the bunch. It’s goofy and awesome. Also, this doppleganger thing is gonna be a thing.

The Greater Good: A great episode that does that Xena thing where you think it’s just gonna be some comic fluff but then gets quite heavy. Hits a lot of concepts that will become Xena staples in the future. Seriously badass performance from Renee O’connor. Just watch this one, okay?

Callisto: Intro to one the most iconic characters in the Xena-verse...Joxer! I jest of course, but just a little, lol. Both Callisto and Joxer are introduced here, which is a hell of a thing when you think about it. Joxer fills a comic relief, fool with a heart of gold need for years to come, and Callisto is, hmm, how do I put this? One of the greatest antagonists in the history of television and possibly the world. 

Is There A Doctor In The House?: Not the first time we’ve gotten the “Xena as healer” thing established, but definitely the biggest example of it, and in a way that makes it a major aspect of the character. This episode also contains the scene that some writers of the show have cited as the moment they realized Xena was in love with Gabrielle. Plus: centaur baby. Which is, imo, a required rite of passage in the Xena fandom. It will haunt your nightmares forever, but it will be worth it. Cause Xena. 

 Aaaand, that’s basically it! Again, if you want to watch all 24 episodes, by all means do! There’s plenty of good stuff! But, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, these should get you started, and you can always go back and watch more later if you want. This is 90s television folks, so still very episodic for the most part, and watching out of order is actually not as catastrophic as with other shows (ahem). In fact, there are some episodes in season 1 that I very strongly suspect were aired out of order than they were filmed or originally intended. 

In any case, hopefully this will assist some people in breaking into the Xena verse, because it is absolutely worth it.

The first few episodes of S1 give a good example of the rest of the series, even if they’re all a bit heavier on the monster of the week side of things, with less about the main overarching plot. Focuses more on the worldbuilding early on, in getting the audience to know the main duo and their world, really, so I get it. Keeps a campy feel that, despite the drama of the episodic situations and main narrative, you can tell the show doesn’t take itself too seriously, which keeps it pretty light. 

Main grievance in the first few seasons is the fact that there’s a serious lack of strong women (and a tremendous amount of women in need of help in some way from episode to episode), and the women that are strong...close to half tend to be evil. So that’s frustrating. Some typical bro humour from Dean sprinkled around here and there will grate, but most of the homophobia and the few instances of transphobia come in the later seasons (7+) after the head of the show and main writers left. 

All in all, it’s a bunch of generally lighthearted, easy to watch paranormal-supernatural themed sci-fi that’s well executed enough. At least for the first 3, but I enjoyed S4 and 5 as well mostly, even if the quality dropped a bit in spots due to the length of the seasons.

In terms of Season 1, if I had to give a bare-bones list of shows to watch to push past some of the more filler-aligned episodes, I’d say:

Pilot (ep 1) Bloody Mary (ep 5) Home (ep 9) Scarecrow (ep 11) Faith (ep 12) Nightmare (ep 14) The benders (ep 15) Shadows (ep 16) Something Wicked (ep 18) Dead Man’s Blood (ep 20) Salvation (ep 21) Devil’s Trap (ep 22)

AKA “Lightspeed” guide—just the essentials. If you’re an adult, this is the way to watch this Y7 show.