Top 10 Episodes Star Trek TNG Season 5
Added 2025-03-12 12:00:14 +0000 UTCTime to argue which order the episodes are more good than the other good ones!
Target Audience ranks their Top 10 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5
Comments
When Alex said "IT BROKE NEW GROUND" i KNEW WHAT THAT WAS AND I CLAAAAAAPED!
Mr Moxie
2025-04-05 11:24:19 +0000 UTCI'll rank the whole season: 1. The Inner Light 2. The First Duty 3. Darmok 4. I, Borg 5. Cause and Effect 6. Ensign Ro 7. Conundrum 8. The Next Phase 9. Unification I 10. Unification II 11. Disaster 12. A Matter of TIme 13. Redemption II 14. Ethics 15. Time's Arrow I 16. Hero Worship 17. Silicon Avatar 18. Power Play 19. Violations 20. New Ground 21. The Game 22. The Masterpiece Society 23. Cost of Living 24. The Perfect Mate 25. Imaginary Friend 26. The Outcast
Jim J
2025-03-24 21:02:02 +0000 UTCGood point, I just meant in terms of same ep in the same spot on the list. Still, 8 eps appeared on all 3 lists, so this might be the closest both of you and the audience have been to fully agreeing what the best eps of the season are.
Timothy Nikiforovs
2025-03-15 14:05:15 +0000 UTCI think Alex would still match more as I don’t have Darmok or Conundrum on my list
Josh (Target Audience)
2025-03-15 11:35:03 +0000 UTCObviously I love Unification, i ranked both parts A. As much as i love the Spock/Sela/Sarek stuff, and Picard and Data dressed as Romulans, my favourite part involved Riker, Troi, Worf etc on the Enterprise. Even so it just misses out on my top 10.
jon bolton
2025-03-15 09:18:58 +0000 UTCI understand the dilemma you guys have in ranking. I get it a lot especially with film rankings, for example in the simplest way i like A better than B, i like B better than C, but i like C better than A. At that point there is only one word to describe your situation, 'fucked'. 😂
jon bolton
2025-03-15 09:12:29 +0000 UTCAnd The Next Phase should really be a double S as it's my favourite TNG episode (Remember Me is my 3rd favourite, you are yet to see my numbers 2, 4, and 5.)
jon bolton
2025-03-15 07:53:41 +0000 UTCEasy top 10 for me: The Next Phase Disaster Cause And Effect Conundrum Redemption 2 Power Play Ensign Ro Cost Of Living A Matter Of Time Violations
jon bolton
2025-03-15 07:51:13 +0000 UTCOnce again I'll summarize so those of us with shit memory can compare Alex 1 - Redemption 2 HM - Hero Worship, Ensign Ro, Masterpiece Society 2 - I, Borg 3 - Darmok 4 - Ethics 5 - The Inner Light 6 - Disaster/Conundrum 7 - Unification (2 only, fuck part 1) 8 - The First Duty 9 - The Next Phase 10 - Cause and Effect Audience 1 - The Inner Light HM - Ensign Ro, Ethics, Time's Arrow 2 - Cause and Effect 3 - Redemption 2 4 - Darmok 5 - I, Borg 6 - The First Duty 7 - Unification 8 - Disaster 9 - The Next Phase 10 - Conundrum Josh 1 - I, Borg HM - Ensign Ro, Power Play, Conundrum 2 - Redemption 2 3 - Ethics 4 - Cause and Effect 5 - The Inner Light 6 - The First Duty 7 - The Masterpiece Society 8 - Disaster 9 - The Next Phase(3 for 3) 10 - Unification Is this the first time Josh's picks have lined up more with the audience than Alex?
Timothy Nikiforovs
2025-03-15 01:56:34 +0000 UTCDang I never thought about that
Evan Guthrie
2025-03-14 11:03:27 +0000 UTCRemember the German soldier that Tom Hanks let go back to the Nazis in "Saving Private Ryan"? How did that work out? It is only a movie but it depicts the possible/probable real-life consequences of not removing a mortal threat if you have the opportunity. In war, there are always unfortunate, even innocent, casualties.
thebeefmaster
2025-03-14 05:41:41 +0000 UTCRemember the German soldier that Tom Hanks let go back to the Nazis in "Saving Private Ryan"? How did that work out?
thebeefmaster
2025-03-14 05:40:54 +0000 UTCInner light is one of the best episodes of TV ever
Anthony Michaels
2025-03-14 02:08:48 +0000 UTCI highly doubt anything I say can get these guys overly hyped. People need to calm down. I only said there's better Klingon episodes ahead jeez. And I was wondering why these guys get upset over certain comments. They don't seem to mind hype. What they do mind is negativity.
THE Fans
2025-03-14 02:07:59 +0000 UTCI didn't get the point of hype here. They're already going to watch everything. There's really no need to hype anything. It just sets up what could be unreasonable expectations.
Wrestling With Gaming
2025-03-14 01:21:20 +0000 UTCIt's a classic "do the ends justify the means" dilemma. I think they do in this case. Picard would have been out on his ass in any other organization. His career would have immediately ended once his superiors found out how he handled it. I think the fact that he wasn't is a reach even by Starfleet standards. He'd be viewed as a massive security risk for not taking advantage of a situation like that.
Spencer Loften
2025-03-13 15:26:34 +0000 UTCI’m astounded at how differently people seem to take the message of the episode. The whole point to me was about Hugh being separated from The Borg, and everyone on the Enterprise coming to grips with the ethics of that. Similar to a zombie being cured. It doesn’t change my thoughts on the zombies (or the Borg in this case) as a collective. You shouldn’t kill an innocent person (Hugh) in order to have a chance to destroy the Borg. That was the message imo.
Josh (Target Audience)
2025-03-13 14:22:22 +0000 UTCMany, including myself, thought that I, Borg pussified the Borg and softened their menacing image. SO I was never really a fan of it going in that direction. Is it really a good idea to sympathize with them after they killed so many after season 3
blitz blotz
2025-03-13 14:00:49 +0000 UTCI, Borg is a top 5 episode of the season for me, but nope... I am not changing my mind about Picards' opinion for the large part of the episode just because one of them is cut off from the collective. They are still the biggest threat to the Federation. They need to be destroyed or at least the attempt needs to be made to do so. They attempted to do the same thing to humans in the recent past.. No one knows if the plan would even have worked trying to confuse them. I am not being sympathetic to an isolated part of their culture when 98% + of them (or more) organize together to assimilate species and share that collective mind to do so. I get the individuality done here, but nope... the destruction they have done and are capable of is of more importance, even if Hugh eventually becomes a somewhat sympathetic character.
SwAeromotion
2025-03-13 12:37:59 +0000 UTCYou people must have zero friends. My comment was a "hype" for future episodes. Have you never said to a friend "If you love that one, you won't believe what happens next." Or some variation? My daughter calls people like you "funsuckers".
THE Fans
2025-03-13 07:38:28 +0000 UTCFor a while there we were looking like quite the fools for having alluded to Season 5 being comparable to Season 4, but that back half really came through didn't it? - I, Borg - Ethics - Cause & Effect - Inner Light - The First Duty - The Next Phase Thankfully, Season 6 is the most Season 6 of all the Seasons
#MaxwellDidNothingWrong
2025-03-13 07:27:38 +0000 UTCAnd then he blinks somehow, wtf
#MaxwellDidNothingWrong
2025-03-13 07:24:04 +0000 UTCSwitch Cause&Effect with The First Duty and we're the same through the top six. Good episodes are just good.
#MaxwellDidNothingWrong
2025-03-13 07:21:26 +0000 UTCI have disagreed pretty heavily with the views on a couple of episodes, but this list is one I overall think is pretty strong. Incidentally, there were a few episodes in S5 that I have been looking forward to the reaction to for a very long time, but I just reviewed at the S6 episode list and it's like that times about 10,000.
Shane Coombs
2025-03-13 05:42:30 +0000 UTCAhh yes, the "All Star Trek is good Star Trek" crowd. Even with Trek shows I love, I never found that to be the case. I won't sit and watch a show that encourages me to use my brain to think about the topics it brings up, then NOT grant it the courtesy of using my brain to examine its story-telling merits and drawbacks. To me that goes against what Trek wants out of its audience: being critical thinkers. So I at least will call it crap if I think it's crap. And that doesn't make me a "bad fan" for not loving it unquestionably. It makes me a good fan for enaging with it in the manner the show strives for me to engage with things. With critical analysis and reasoned judgement. To not be critical of Trek is missing the memo of what Trek wants out of its fans.
Nolan
2025-03-13 02:22:21 +0000 UTCJust the kind of thinking that gets you, your family, your friends, your dog and everyone else killed/assimilated. I'll take "A bird in the hand" on this one. Ever heard the tale of "The Scorpion and the Frog"? Not a precise analogy, but close enough.
thebeefmaster
2025-03-13 01:47:39 +0000 UTCAgree. The "I know something you don't know" comments serve no purpose.
thebeefmaster
2025-03-13 01:42:07 +0000 UTCNo, I just hate how everyone forgets the existential threat the borg pose
Evan Guthrie
2025-03-13 01:33:47 +0000 UTCI, Borg is easy top 3 of the series for me. i still need to watch season 6 and 7 again. i'll do that with them.
penoyer79
2025-03-13 01:27:00 +0000 UTClol resenting i borg is just trying to be a contrarian hipster
penoyer79
2025-03-13 01:25:32 +0000 UTCand there's still two 52 episodes to go.
penoyer79
2025-03-13 01:20:49 +0000 UTCMy Top 10 I, Borg Inner Light Redemption Cause and Effect Ethics The First Duty Disaster Darmok Unification The Next Phase Bubble: Ensign Ro
penoyer79
2025-03-13 01:08:21 +0000 UTCThe more I think about I, Borg, the more I resent it.
Evan Guthrie
2025-03-13 00:30:19 +0000 UTCReally not sure what he's talking about. There are good ones but Redemption is up there.
Evan Guthrie
2025-03-13 00:10:25 +0000 UTCDELETE THIS COMMENT IMMEDIATELY!!11 Joking aside, I think we should stop talking about future episodes completely, don't you agree?
valen
2025-03-12 22:31:32 +0000 UTCKlingon episodes... Redemption. You guys ain't seen nothin yet. There's episodes that make Redemption look like Season 1 of TNG.
THE Fans
2025-03-12 21:49:01 +0000 UTCI recently got hooked on Celestial Seasonings teas, purchased Keurig versions for work... can't get enough. Had to special order the K-cup ones, hard to find. I find them on sale at great prices at the discount stores sometimes.
THE Fans
2025-03-12 21:47:26 +0000 UTCBest part of The Game is when they pry Wesley's eyes open at the end. Hilarious!
Kosh Naranek
2025-03-12 21:16:46 +0000 UTCSouthern iced tea recipe - Bring 2L (half gallon) of water to boil - Pour over (2) family size tea bags in sealable, fridge-safe vessel (Luzianne brand black tea only - get that Tetley and Lipton crap outta here) - Steep for 5 minutes - Add half-cup granulated sugar (poison, I know) - Stir and chill Adapted from my Atlanta-born mother’s recipe where she used a cup of sugar. Shit poured like motot oil it was so sweet. LOL!!!
Kosh Naranek
2025-03-12 20:54:35 +0000 UTCAbout to check out the video. Before doing that, stating I, Borg is my favorite of season 5. Possibly the series.
Kosh Naranek
2025-03-12 20:47:32 +0000 UTCIt goes to show you sometimes the best things are the things that grow on you. Like a song you were only kind of into when you first listened to it. And the more you listen the more you appreciate it. The Inner Light slowly developing into an S-tier on further reflection reminds me of that. It's something that sits with you and that's probably why it is so beloved by the fandom.
Deep Red
2025-03-12 20:26:29 +0000 UTCI put the game on my list solely to make Josh have to give it a point or two
Phil Ken Sebben
2025-03-12 20:22:29 +0000 UTCI love when you guys make these top 10 videos, because even if your favourites don't exactly align with my own, it's just nice to see your enthusiasm and enjoyment of the show on full display. Can't wait to start the next season. And I am also a tea drinker (just black tea though).
Ryan Caulfield
2025-03-12 20:08:03 +0000 UTCOr rather those final 40 seconds. Bulls down by 3, MJ scores, down 1. MJ steals the ball from Malone and scores again, Bulls +1.
Marko
2025-03-12 19:06:01 +0000 UTCI rarely agree with Josh, but I join him in the minority about Darmok. I get why people love it, but it just didn't hit for me.
Stevtrek
2025-03-12 18:39:05 +0000 UTCI understand perfectly your analogy about Kyrie's shot and LeBron's block. For me The Inner Light would be the GOAT's shot (or at least my GOAT) against Jazz for tittle number 6.
Marko
2025-03-12 17:47:15 +0000 UTCA bit off topic but I have to post this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu704p568-Y This is a great, new interview from Katee Sackhoff with Ron Moore about his TV shows. Naturally much about BSG. And of course Trek He confirms that all of his approach to story telling and love for SciFi came from watching TOS as a kid. Ron is truely one of us.
Sam Langanke
2025-03-12 17:34:26 +0000 UTCI think your list is pretty spot on based on your reactions. The thing is, while certain episodes may not be as good as others, those episodes may still play an important part in future continuity -- of both TNG and other ST in general. I can't say much, as I don't want to spoil anything, but I wonder perhaps at the end of TNG if you will look back on certain episodes (with the benefit of hindsight) and reorder somethings based on what you've observed through all of ST through that point. Excited for Season 6 -- keep the great reactions coming!
Matthew Ganz
2025-03-12 17:34:00 +0000 UTCAh yes I agree, 10 episodes in the top 5 🤣
Josh (Target Audience)
2025-03-12 16:31:28 +0000 UTCMost of those should have been in your top 5
Paul Hess
2025-03-12 16:18:59 +0000 UTCCamo meal? Meal’s o Brien? 😛
LonghillAndy
2025-03-12 15:18:06 +0000 UTCGenuinely laughed
Josh (Target Audience)
2025-03-12 15:04:58 +0000 UTCYou know how long they had to make each episode?
TwoWeeksGuy
2025-03-12 14:57:52 +0000 UTCPatreon is pretty civil I think. Youtube though, that beast scares me.
Paul
2025-03-12 14:39:15 +0000 UTCSeason 5 had some good episodes but some of my favourite episodes are in season 6.
HaMeR_It
2025-03-12 14:35:04 +0000 UTCIn before Apple releases the I-Borg.
James Knight
2025-03-12 14:30:36 +0000 UTCI completely failed to mention this during Redemption I, but since II is here, one of my all time favorite Picard quotes that is probably pretty underrated by most is, "Your discommendation is a facade to protect less honorable men. It is a lie. Lies must be challenged."
JMB
2025-03-12 14:18:59 +0000 UTCSurely these comments will be civil, the discussions sane, and will only get better as this is posted on more platforms. But also if Darmok isn't in the top10 you both can GET FUCKED, the lists are clearly RIGGED for engagement, and FUCK THE FREE WORLD MY LIST IS BEST.
tkitez (take it easy)
2025-03-12 13:55:57 +0000 UTCI think Spock would still be in a blue TNG uniform b/c he's a science officer and science and medicine are blue.
JMB
2025-03-12 13:54:04 +0000 UTCDid he try it hot?
Worf and Riker Ride Again
2025-03-12 13:31:16 +0000 UTCCoffee over tea?! How uncivilised
Worf and Riker Ride Again
2025-03-12 13:29:58 +0000 UTCCoffee >>>>> Tea. But I can forgive Picard for that flaw. Also, I like the love you both show to The Masterpiece society. Very underrated episode imo. I'll be curious to see if, in time over the years to come, Inner Light rises even higher on your list (where will it fall on the full TNG top 10 I wonder?) I think Jonathan Frakes is a better director than he is an actor, and that's saying something because I think he's a great actor too. Fully agree on the death scene for Worf in ethics. Obviously, I knew he didn't die, but somehow the show was almost gaslighting me into accepting that he did lol, very well done. I am closer to Josh when it comes to Darmok. I do like the episode but it's one I think is overrated. You have to enjoy the deeper nature of language itself to appreciate the episode, and I sort of do but eh, definitely not a bad episode, but not fully my cup of coffee?
Paul
2025-03-12 13:14:22 +0000 UTCI think Alex made a video where he tries Earl Grey on his own channel?
JMB
2025-03-12 13:07:18 +0000 UTCBtw, Alex, herbal teas are all caffeine free if you're trying to avoid it. Celestial Seasonings has a bunch of it (plug for my state lol).
JMB
2025-03-12 13:06:55 +0000 UTCimagine getting into tea while watching TNG and not trying Earl Grey
Jonathon Tsagris
2025-03-12 12:20:05 +0000 UTC
