The Episode That Changed TV Forever

Comments · 762

• TH

  @theartofstorytelling1 · 6 days ago · pinned

  Can Star Trek ever reach these heights again?

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• NO

  @no-username69 · 5 days ago

  My 9 year old son and I started watching TNG this year. One episode a week, same way I watched it when it originally aired. We're in the back half of season 3, and I'm trying to time it so we see Best of Both Worlds right around the holiday break, so I can keep him in suspense until the new year. Can't wait to see his reaction. 🙂

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• MX

  @mx-it8qp · 6 days ago

  This is what I missed about old school Star Trek. Even the more action-packed episodes were still character-driven.

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• GW

  @gw7624 · 6 days ago

  People forget how big Star Trek was in the 90s. TNG was averaging 10-20 million viewers per episode.

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• AR

  @Aragorn7884 · 6 days ago

  ...that cliffhanger at the time was 😱

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• K1

  @K1NGinY3LL0W · 6 days ago

  It's a nice detail that the USS Melbourne is one of the ships destroyed at Wolf 359 - we see Riker's reaction when told of this. The character's decision to stay on the Enterprise ultimately leads to not only the successful resolution of this story but allows his arc to continue as part of the crew.

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• ME

  @MemeticsX · 5 days ago

  Picard's breakdown in Family really moved me.  It was a great moment in storytelling, acting, and character development.  And it wouldn't have been nearly so powerfully poignant without the two episodes, and indeed, the two seasons, that came before it to set up that moment.

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• AN

  @ange1uk · 5 days ago

  Cannot overstate how crucial this episode was to cementing TNG as its own thing, finally exiting the shadow of TOS. It's a bit of a shame though that after this point, Riker's character development essentially stops or at least, not much really happens with him until he becomes captain of the Titan some 10 years later.

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• HE

  @HeyApples · 5 days ago

  I think the thing that really sells the episode as an all-timer is the sense that the main characters could actually lose.  Sort of a pre-Game of Thrones before Game of Thrones.  If you watch all 2 hours, the ship and crew are losing for the first 110 minutes.  And not just losing, but losing badly to this faceless, overpowering force that offers no mercy and no reprieve.  At the time it was a very shocking thing to consider in an era where most shows ended in a type of happily ever after with a clean resolution every episode.

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• ST

  @starwinksbackfromtheskypit6790 · 5 days ago

  The music after Will says “fire” is OVER THE TOP.

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• RY

  @RynardMooreVstar1 · 5 days ago

  The one thing I distinctly remember is the reaction that my co-workers had to "The Best Of Both Worlds" cliffhanger the day after it aired.  I had initially thought that I was overreacting because I was so freaked out about how the cliffhanger ended.  However, when I arrived at work the next day -- I quickly discovered that I was not the only one who was freaked out because most of the employees in my department were also freaked out.  Totally unforgettable even to this day.

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• ST

  @studiohenge · 5 days ago

  Times that TNG blew my mind:<br>- &quot;Family&quot;, a whole episode meant to address the events of the previous episode<br>- &quot;The Inner Light&quot;, coming back from a commercial break so see that Picard had lived over 30 years<br>- &quot;Lessons&quot;, Picard pulling out his flute and talking about &quot;The Inner Light&quot;<br><br>All examples of breaking that episodic &quot;reset&quot; of most episodes. I loved it. Wanted more of it. (Then somehow got too much of it with DS9, haha)

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