Top 10 Episodes of Star Trek TNG Season 4

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The Target Audience are watching Star Trek: The Next Generation for the first time! Today we list our Top 10 episodes of TNG Season 4
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[@targetaudience]

UNCUT reaction to Unification & EDITED reaction to Ensign Ro hits Patreon this weekend - www.patreon.com/targetaudience

[@germanshepherdguy]

What I find amusing is that Alex and Josh don't seem to notice that when they first started watching TNG they mentioned how they had heard seasons one and two were terrible but when they watched the episodes they kept saying how good they were. Now when ever they mention seasons one and two they do so with disdain. For the record I myself love season two.

[@desoliver9712]

I really like Polaski, a proper strong female character to rival Picard, but with bags of humanity. I really dn't get why people hate her so much.

[@dankoba1]

Season 2 is a major upgrade from season 1, but mostly by raising the ceiling, not raising the floor. Season 3 is where the floor and ceiling got raised. And while it is funny to see them rag on s1 and 2 when they liked them at the time, this is true for many TNG fans.

[@bobmathis-friedman6742]

Re: Spiner's "courtroom" appearances: You're probably thinking of his appearances as the head of the Wheeler Family, on the 80's sitcom Night Court.

[@MusikCassette]

I think the fact that you are that mad at the death of K'Ehleyr actually speaks to the epicness of that episode and also to the ballsyness of that decision. I am a bit surprised, that you can not see that.

[@Reepicheep-1]

Alex & Josh: their eyes uncovered.

[@padoco73]

@@Reepicheep-1 Alex & Josh, with the dry erase boards.

[@robynsnest8668]

I cant wait to see you guys in season five. Buckle up

[@harrysarai3947]

Night Court he was Bob Wheeler, its from the late 1980 to early 1990's i remember watching it... im 44, i just checked, he played the same character Bob in 2024 in the new Night Court tv show.

[@amidthephantomsrose]

27:49 Family will always be my top episode of the season. I think it really does a nice job highlighting grief and PTSD.

[@thebigboo5]

I love these. Just chatting Trek for an hour. Great fun everytime, thank you. Can't wait to watch S05E01, it's next on my list!! Happy new year guys!

[@guntherpiedmont4529]

The Drumhead is my favorite. It's arguably my favorite tng episode too. There are a few others to come that compete with it.

[@owenmadden7577]

The Druhead is my favorite - not counting certain milestone episodes (some would call them gimmick episodes).

[@jeffgay4290]

Loved watching this and seeing your excitement at this seasons episodes and how well done they were. Some of the best Trek ever was in this season....and yet here comes Season 5 :)

[@jasont2986]

This conversation is why I like this channel.

[@greenbrown7776]

Yes. Might be their best discussion yet.

[@johnezell1628]

I'm a Star Trek kid. The series that raised the bar for quality storytelling for me is Babylon 5. The series that can change story type and tone every show is Doctor Who.

[@danspawn85]

The show Brent was on was Night Court. It was a comedy show starring John Larroquette, He was on Star Trek III as Maltz.

[@daniellanctot6548]

*Night Court was one of the greatest sitcoms of the 80’s and of all time! (Crazy show!) And every time Brent Spiner showed up as Bob Wheeler was as much a treat as him playing multiple characters in one episode in Star Trek!*

[@EvanG529]

We ate the Necco Wafers.

[@pigs18]

I think Josh knows that dramas don't have laugh tracks. Spiner made guest appearances on a few dramas after TNG.

[@greenbrown7776]

Some random thoughts: 1. It's official. You two are hopelessly, fully and forever Trekkies/Trekkers now. When you get to the point that you judge all TV by Trek (which I do) and usually think the rest falls short, there's no going back. You're 100% in. 2. This was probably your best discussion ever. I'm clearly coming down with the flu, and I still watched in just two sittings. 3. Before I watched Season 4 again with y'all, I said Season 3 was the best TNG season. I still think S2 and S3 have two episodes each that surpass anything in S4. But for overall consistency across the entire season, I think S4 is now the best season. 4. Season 5 is some excellent Trek. The quality ride for TNG ain't over yet! 5. I am so interested in your coming reaction to "The Undiscovered County." 6. This is the hardest season yet for rankings. So many of them are so close. It's like a basketball team where anybody on second string could easily be on first string.

[@paulkelley3901]

you can overlook Troi's ridiculous wire work in night terrors but not wesley talking to his father in family. picard's breakdown in family still hits hard today. whatever...

[@kojiattwood]

Agreed--

[@brettg274]

We are approaching peak TNG, imo. You guys are really going to like Season 5.

[@nonnobis2232]

Possibly, but I think series 4 slightly edges 5. Not least given the notion of the hope the next season might be as good if not better...

[@derekm79]

I’d say they’re right in the thick of it. Dare I say, peak Star Trek, period.

[@MattAlgren]

5.2 next week. Can hardly wait.

[@jonbolton3376]

I agree 5 and 6 are my favourites of TNG overall.

[@padoco73]

I can't say any season is my favorite, but I can say season 5 has the lion's share of my favorite episodes.

[@Daviddaze]

The episode that crew lost their memories with McDuff appeared in the crew... the McDuff actor passed away in 2024. R.I.P.

[@borodinring2]

1. The Drumhead 2. First Contact 3. Future Imperfect 4. Half a Life 5. The Wounded 6. Family 7. Data's Day 8. Night Terrors 9. Brothers 10. The Best of Both Worlds II and The Nth Degree Honorable Mentions: Remember Me, Legacy, Devil's Due, Clues, The Host, The Mind's Eye, Redemption I AND Qpid!!

[@TheElderBlotch]

1. The Best Of Both Worlds II 2. The Drumhead 3. The Nth Degree 4. The Wounded 5. Reunion 6. First Contact 7. The Mind's Eye 8. Family 9. Remember Me 10. Redemption I

[@rocco3381]

The X-Files would be a great series for you guys if you haven’t already watched it.

[@targetaudience]

I like the way you think Rocco

[@fakecubed]

I would definitely be down for some X-Files reactions, even if they'd seen it all before.

[@rocco3381]

@ there’s plenty to talk about from a technical standpoint and they seem to like redheads. It’s a match made in heaven lol

[@andrewshannon4950]

​@@targetaudience Well you guys love Beyond Belief, which is essentially cheap to produce bonus X-files content to wring a few extra bucks out of X-files fans. The X-Files is also a huge driver of "The show doesn't need to have consistent tone or format, let's just try stuff" TV

[@connorwatson6766]

I think The Wounded is one of the best episodes of the series and so when I showed it to a friend of mine as one of the first five episodes of Star Trek that they've ever seen they thought that Chief O'Brien was much more of a main character and expected to see him all the time

[@fakecubed]

Speaking of Brent Spiner in things, he was in a scifi show called Threshold with Peter Dinklage (before Game of Thrones). It was produced by Brannon Braga, also a TNG alumnus. That name will become more familiar to you over time. In season 4, he got hired on as a staff writer, first being one of the four writers on Reunion, and then he solo wrote Identity Crisis. Threshold only was picked up for a 13 episode first season. It did not get renewed for another season. I thought it was pretty good and was sad there wasn't more. Brent Spiner and Peter Dinklage are both good in it. You may or may not recognize any other members of the cast.

[@legionaireb]

I loved Threshold. Wish we'd gotten more of it.

[@josephtorgrimm]

Good talk gentlemen.

[@greenbrown7776]

Yes it was!

[@shallowgal462]

After several guest appearances, Brent Spiner was about to become a regular cast member of _Night Court_ when he got _TNG._ He returned to the character for a guest spot on the _Night Court_ sequel series last year. You may have seen him on _The Paper Chase._ "There are always possibilities." - Spock

[@Reepicheep-1]

"He was seduced by the glamour of it all."

[@pigs18]

He (and everyone else) has appeared on Law & Order (in this case, L&O: Criminal Intent)

[@JMUDoc]

He also appeared in _Threshold._ With Peter Dinklage, if memory serves.

[@greenbrown7776]

So what I've also been doing is continuing to rank every single episode at the end of the season against everything else we've seen to date. Here's that worst to best with a couple of ending thoughts: Seasons 1-4 TNG FAIL Justice S1 When the Bough Breaks S1 The Royale S2 In Theory S4 Devil’s Due S4 Code of Honor S1 Where Silence Has Lease S1 The Dauphin S2 Up the Long Ladder S2 The Last Outpost S1 The Lonely Among Us S1 Qpid S4 Captain’s Holiday S3 Angel One S1 PASSABLE The Child S2 Shades of Gray S2 The Naked Now S1 A Matter of Perspective S3 Hide and Q S1 Symbiosis S1 The Outrageous Okona S2 Evolution S3 Ménage à Troi S3 The Icarus Factor S2 Manhunt S2 The Loss S4 Galaxy’s Child S4 Encounter at Farpoint S1 The Battle S1 Samaritan Snare S2 Too Short a Season S1 We'll Always Have Paris S1 The Vengeance Factor S3 Datalore S1 Haven S1 The Schizoid Man S2 RECOMMENDED Ensigns of Command S3 Tin Man S3 Final Mission S4 Night Terrors S4 Unnatural Selection S2 Skin of Evil S1 Suddenly Human S4 Brothers S4 Home Soil S1 Arsenal of Freedom S1 Loud as a Whisper S2 Booby Trap S3 The Host S4 The Hunted S3 Allegiance S3 Coming of Age S1 Contagion S2 Transfigurations S3 (HEY ALEX!) Clues S4 Identity Crisis S4 The Neutral Zone S1 Time Squared S2 (SUBSET: Highly recommended) Legacy S4 The Bonding S3 The Big Goodbye S1 Where No One Has Gone Before S1 Pen Pals S2 The Price S3 (HEY JOSH!) Elementary, Dear Data S2 OUTSTANDING Deja Q S3 The Survivors S3 Future Imperfect S4 The Most Toys S3 Hollow Pursuits S3 Half a Life S4 Nth Degree S4 Heart of Glory S1 The High Ground S3 Remember Me S4 Who Watches the Watchers S3 First Contact S4 Conspiracy S1 The Mind’s Eye S4 11001001 S1 Peak Performance S2 Reunion S4 The Enemy S3 The Wounded S4 The Emissary S2 TRUE TREK CLASSIC A Matter of Honor S2 The Drumhead S4 Sarek S3 The Defector S3 Data’s Day S4 Best of Both Worlds Part II S4 The Offspring S3 Sins of the Father S3 Family S4 Redemption Part I S4 Q Who S2 Measure of a Man S2 Best of Both Worlds Part I S3 Yesterday’s Enterprise S3 So for me, what makes S4 the best season isn't the number of "True Trek Classics" and where they fall within the category (your "S Tier"), but the sheer volume of "Outstandings," which is pretty much your "A Tier." I have 20 "Outstandings," but eight of them are from S4. Also, I don't have a single entry from S1 for True Trek Classic. I probably like "Redemption Part I" better than even consensus Trek. I thought it was a brilliant culmination of every Klingon/Romulan episode to this point, and the Denise Crosby twist (let's twist again) was shockingly good. But I have four TNG episodes (so far) that beat it in my mind.

[@lostinbrent3737]

Watch the movie “Fat Man and Little Boy” - Dwight Schultz plays Oppenheimer brilliantly.

[@wrorchestra1]

The Drumhead is a Jeri Taylor episode. Brilliantly written, it's my second favourite episode in season 4 but one of my favourite TNG episodes overall. Family is always my go-to episode for this season. I absolutely love it.

[@saganmedvec2403]

If you like Picard’s brother, watch Top Secret. He’s in that movie and amazing.

[@owenmadden7577]

He's in Lethal Weapon 2. "Diplomatic Immunity!"

[@tideoftime]

In Re: Spiner in a court setting show -- assuming it's what I believe it was, it was Night Court (comedy) originally from the 80s and 90s. He made several appearances across two different seasons back then as Bob Wheeler; he later reprised the character in the Night Court reboot/continuation this year (2024), which is likely the clip you saw.

[@trickshotsmoviesandcubing2317]

10. The Wounded 9. The Drumhead 8. Data's Day 7. Clues 6. Family 5. Redemption 4. Future Imperfect 3. In Theory 2. The Best of Both Worlds, Part II 1. Reunion

[@VonPatzy]

Best of both worlds gets its high ranks from the nostalgia of the cliffhanger when it was airing. It was a cultural event for those of us who watched trek and it was a whispered conversation all summer - would Stewart leave the show? OMG Picard is a Borg! The actual finale and season premier are secondary to the months long moment that was Locutus and the dramatic musical sting. I don’t think anyone really ranks those complete episodes as favorites - but you WILL find views on the reaction because it’s ABOUT the elongated plot point not the episodes in isolation.

[@lancebloke]

I think you guys would really like Babylon 5. Maybe 1 day something to get to. Interseting discussions here and on the teir listing episode. I think it is easy to see other peoples point of view for their favourites. For instance, I think there are great moments in both Reunion and afterwards that are only possible with Kaylar's death. It makes Worf particularly who he is later so it needed to happen. In best of both worlds 2, the immediate failure of the big plan immediately takes away from Riker's ability to make the big decision as well as showing what looked like Starfleet's hopeless position now the Borg knew everything Picard did. Lots for people to take away depending on what they like or read in to at that moment.

[@richierich398]

Keep up the excellent content guys!

[@marydodsonmt]

My top 10 favorite Season 4 episodes (Not necessarily the best, but the ones I get the most enjoyment from): 1. (tie) The Best of Both Worlds II and Family 2. Data's Day 3. Remember Me 4. Future Imperfect 5. Devil's Due 6. Brothers 7. Final Mission (I love Wesley) 8. The Host (I love Trills) 9. In Theory 10. Qpid (I love when Star Trek gets silly) While The Wounded and The Drumhead don't make my list, they contain some of my top 10 moments of the series: O'Brien and Maxwell singing "The Minstrel Boy" together, and Captain Picard revealing Admiral Satie's true nature by throwing her father's words in her face.

[@philly83]

Making a top 10 list is difficult anytime but with such a great season, it's just that much more difficult.

[@bensmith5064]

TNG EP novelisations pretty much double the story of each, and usually a fairly extended cast. A particular novelisation of a season 6 episode is quite fantastic

[@GrandManor]

If you made a top 10 list of Trek (up to this point), how many TNG episodes from seasons 1 and 2 would make the list? From TOS?

[@targetaudience]

That’s tough. Will have to think about that.

[@kojiattwood]

Solid lists, but once again, I agree more with Siskel.

[@tetefather]

My top 2 is Alex's top 2. Clues and n.terrors are fantastic episodes with infinite rewatchability..

[@greenbrown7776]

Here's my whole Season 4 using a ranking similar to yours but a little different, with a Top 10 scale added in. I go from worst to best: STTNG Season 4 FAIL In Theory S4 Devil’s Due S4 Qpid S4 PASSABLE The Loss S4 Galaxy’s Child S4 RECOMMENDED Final Mission S4 Night Terrors S4 Suddenly Human S4 Brothers S4 The Host S4 Clues S4 Identity Crisis S4 Legacy S4 OUTSTANDING Future Imperfect S4 Half a Life S4 Nth Degree S4 10. Remember Me S4 9. First Contact S4 8. The Mind’s Eye S4 7. Reunion S4 6. The Wounded S4 TRUE TREK CLASSIC 5. The Drumhead S4 4. Data’s Day S4 3. Best of Both Worlds Part II S4 2. Family S4 1. Redemption Part I S4

[@carlosvergara4132]

Cool stuff~

[@totomomo18]

The N th Degree is the best or one of the best episode in Tng

[@silikon2]

Miles being fleshed out was a bit... worrisome at the time. I love me my Miles, but in that era, typically grooming a character like this was because a main character was going to depart for some reason.

[@riccardogemme]

THE CHIEF Yes, the Wounded is my favourite episode of the season.

[@PHDiaz-vv7yo]

Season 4 will not measure up to S5. Because Warp Speed (Engage!) is awesome and cannot be topped!!!! (Kidding - S5 is incredible and cannot wait for certain episodes)

[@scgreek1114]

I forgive you both for not fully agreeing with my objectively flawless personal opinions. 😅 Except for "The Host." I can't quite make that leap. 😊

[@hagbardceline7118]

As you've noticed, continuity is becoming a thing and as a consequence I think patreom votes are being more colored by future episodes. Can't say more

[@mattparsons433]

Guys you always start off worrying about people thinking your opinions are wrong, remember there’s no such thing as a wrong opinion… wait… Josh didn’t have Family on his list?! YOU MONSTER!!

[@eskreskao]

Someone's been watching Mr. Plinkett's Night Court tapes on TikTok?

[@5ilver42]

emotional Brent Spiner fellating in progress...

[@dupersuper1938]

10 First Contact 9 The Nth Degree 8 Reunion 7 The Mind's Eye 6 Devil's Due 5 Data's Day 4 Best of Both Worlds part 2 3 Family 2 The Wounded 1 Drumhead honourable mentions: Brothers, Remember Me, Legacy, Identity Crisis, Qpid, Final Mission, Half a Life, The Host, In Theory, Redemption part 1 I don't dislike any of the other 6 either, though Geordie's reaction in Galaxy's Child and Troi effing hanging there crying out ridiculously in Night Terrors easily put those two at the bottom of season 4 for me. They both really make me cringe, if for very different reasons. Overall though season 4 was definitely excellent. I don't think any other Star Trek was coming out during the last two seasons of Voyager...

[@michaelconnor1542]

While I hated the death of K'ehleyr, it make complete sense. She is headstrong and would not give up finding out the secret. Also D'uras is a duplicitous coward. Of course he would kill her to keep the truth hidden.

[@kerry-j4m]

I actually LOVED Worf killing Duras ( I didn't think the show-runners had the &&&&& to let Worf kill him ) but,they did !!! LOL.

[@Bagofsoup]

Family left off Josh’s list. Trekkie card denied. Redemption left off both lists. Probably because most fans rate part 1-2 together after years of watching, but Josh and Alex can’t do that. Still, Redemption is good stuff. The Host can be in the Walmart discount bin to make room for Family and Redemption. There’s a reason you will find consensus on a statement like that.

[@mattstrathis4328]

Yeah that's insane. "The Host?" Ughhhhhh

[@kevincoleman2092]

Let them like what they like. Every trekker has different taste, no need to gatekeep just cause they didn't rank your fav ep.

[@Bagofsoup]

@@kevincoleman2092 they said they purposely do things to troll their viewers. Obviously fans of wrestling, as we well know...

[@mattstrathis4328]

@@kevincoleman2092 You're right. Viewing these episodes for the very first time is a lot different than repeat viewings, especially knowing how the series ends up.

[@JD23455]

Hey Josh! I wanted to let you know that my favorite Brent Spiner cameo is in the movie "Phenomenon" from 1996. Legendary!

[@Bagofsoup]

That is a great movie, and a great scene, but for a longer cameo with more Brent Spiner action I would recommend Out to Sea with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemon, which is basically a third Grumpy Old Men movie on a cruise ship, with Data stealing all his scenes, and arguably his biggest part of the Spiner roles normally mentioned.

[@meganega123]

Is that the John Travolta movie? I loved that as a kid

[@Bagofsoup]

@@meganega123 yes, plus Robert Duvall and forrest Whitaker. great movie

[@nixedgaming]

not putting Family on your top 10 list because of one scene with jack crusher boggles comprehension

[@rmccombs66]

Future imperfect was good, but it seems like it could have been much better. For one thing why didn't we ever see the alien boy on the Enterprise?

[@kerry-j4m]

They didn't need to show that,he was a one hit'em and quit'em,the actors were always complaining about screen-time and episodes featuring their characters.

[@rlickers1946]

Because Chief O'Brien took one look at him and beamed him into space.

[@hagbardceline7118]

While I'm not personally huge on best of both worlds pt 2, i think the length you waited between the two is the least ideal. On release they had months and could sorta forget bits of part one and understand that end of season cliffhangers that don't amount to much where pretty normal for non trek TV and those who watched part 2 right after 1, the cliffhanger means nothing. Being somewhere between does for sure effect things. It's still a kinda mid pt 2 tho

[@meganega123]

This is a great example of how opinions can in fact be wrong. Night terrors? The host? Gtfoh

[@harryparsons2750]

Opinions by definition can not be wrong

[@daniellanctot6548]

*Man! Making my own list was super easy… But very surprising as to where on the list each episode ended:* 10 - Remember Me 9 - Family 8 - Reunion 7 - Brothers 6 - The Nth Degree 5 - The Drumhead 4 - Redemption 3 - The Best of Both Worlds, Part II 2 - The Wounded 1 - Data's Day *… Before I started the list, I would not have thought “Remember me” would have made the top ten or that “First contact” would not have (the latter ended up #11!). I also would have thought “Family” and “Brothers” would have been higher in the list, but: There they are! And even though it’s my second least favourite Q Episode, if only because of Vash, I would have thought it still would have made top 10! (And a few others off the list could have easily been included in the top 10!)*

[@Exarathas]

“Only one person” is a pointless measure if you don’t mention the total pool of people. How many voted? “One out of three” is something completely different than “One out of ten thousand”.

[@targetaudience]

We said at the beginning of the video that there were several dozen submissions

[@firegod001]

I sometimes think that you two are such close buddies that you absolutely feed off of each other in order to come up with some of these particularly bizarre choices, opinions and preferences. You'd most likely have to sift through many hundreds of random Star Trek fans to find two of them who don't love either Best of Both Worlds or Redemption. I'm glad that you think for yourselves and have such surprising favorites, dislikes, etc, but we're individuals, too, and you probably shouldn't be too disgusted or shocked when we tell you how we feel about some of this stuff.

[@helloweener2007]

Did not see anything of the video yet. I just want to say: You are Pakled for ranking this way. Just to fullfill your expectation that someone in the comments will call you idiot for that. 😛

[@harrybroos5691]

NO NO NO! WRONG WRONG WRONG, YOU FOOLS! lmao

[@breakingthenotion.6045]

I feel like if you like high concept wired episodes then you’re going to love Voyager.

[@jakk222rem]

Nothing to fear but fear itself.

[@jonbolton3376]

My top 10: 10 The Loss 9 The Best Of Both Worlds 2 8 Redemption 7 The Mind's Eye 6 Reunion 5 Night Terrors 4 Clues 3 Data's Day 2 Future Imperfect 1 Remember Me

[@jonbolton3376]

My honourable mentions are The Drumhead, and The Wounded.

[@pigs18]

No "Family"?

[@guyonbench]

Can't wait for Darmok. I doubt it'll get an S from them, but its absolutely an S for me.

[@meganega123]

They show really bad taste sometimes

[@samlanganke1262]

@@meganega123 Only Josh. ;-)

[@breakingthenotion.6045]

Looking back on it I feel like the guest stars on Star Trek get such juicy material.

[@F_Karnstein]

About Geordie not being given much in the first seasons: there's a clip from some talk show where the cast introduced themselves prior to season 1 and everyone is like "I'm Gates McFadden and I play Dr. Crusher, the chief medical officer and mother of Wesley" and "I'm Brent Spiner and I play Commander Data, an android" and LeVar literally said "I'm LeVar Burton and I play the negro" ... Like... Dude! Not shying away from communicating he felt like a token more than a character.

[@georgiev1746]

Wow, someone really likes Beverly Crusher

[@rocco3381]

They’ll have to take a number lol Nice seeing real 90s women again.

[@marydodsonmt]

Data, with ice in his veins. Sokath, his eyes uncovered. Uzani, his army with fists closed. Mirab, with sails unfurled.

[@padoco73]

@@marydodsonmt Target Audience with the white boards.

[@greenbrown7776]

@@padoco73 | LOL.

[@Lord-Elpus]

They had to kill off K'Ehleyr so that we could get Scrappy-Doo into the series...

[@Daviddaze]

The episode that crew lost their memories with McDuff appeared in the crew... the McDuff actor passed away in 2024. R.I.P.