37 Years Later, TNG's Best Episode Is Still Peak Star Trek

Published Jul 20, 2026, 6:01 PM EDT Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020. Sign in to your ScreenRant account While it is almost impossible to choose the best episode of The Next Generation, the Star Trek series never outdid one surprisingly early, innovative outing that shone a spotlight on its breakout character. There are a few actors who appeared in both The Original Series and The Next Generation, proving that there is plenty of continuity between outings of the franchise. However, it is important to note just how much The Next Generation changed the Star Trek franchise formula when the series first arrived. More focused on the politics of the Federation and its optimistic, utopian vision of the future than the space Western heroics of The Original Series, the show embraced serialized storytelling in a way its predecessor could never afford to. Picard made for a striking contrast with Kirk, and the enlightened outlook of the Enterprise’s crew meant that stories found room for everyone instead of primarily centering on a handful of higher-up characters. Admittedly, all these changes might seem old hat in 2026, when plenty of subsequent Star Trek shows have done more to expand the franchise’s story and vary its style, tone, and atmosphere over the years. However, long before the subversive daring of Discovery, the whimsy of Short Treks, the elegiac retrospection of Picard, the comedic relief of Lower Decks, and the kid-friendly animated adventures of Prodigy, The Next Generation was the first show to expand what was possible in the franchise’s fictional universe. Its best episode, season 2, episode 9, “The Measure of a Man,” encapsulates this experimentation. “The Measure of a Man” Is The Next Generation’s Best Episode In “The Measure of a Man,” Brian Brophy’s visiting cyberneticist Commander Bruce Maddox attempts to argue that he has a right to dismantle Data so he can create replicas of the android. While Picard is aghast at the idea, it quickly becomes clear that Data is not necessarily considered an autonomous being, and therefore might not have any right to stop Maddox. Picard takes the case to Starfleet Court, only to run into a complication when the judge presiding over the case turns out to be his old love interest, Amanda McBroom’s Captain Philippa Louvois. What follows is a clever legal drama wherein Riker must argue for Maddox’s side, while Picard argues for the android’s status as an autonomous, independent being capable of self-determination. While everything from Altered Carbon to the Blade Runner movies have addressed questions of sentience, artificial intelligence, and the line between man and machine in the decades since, “The Measure of a Man” remains unique in its ability to blend philosophical insight with mainstream network TV levels of accessibility. With a great supporting cast including guest stars McBroom, Whoopi Goldberg, and Colm Meaney, “The Measure of a Man” engages sincerely with the ethical issues of artificial intelligence, as well as offering viewers a straightforwardly fun courtroom drama in the process. It is perhaps not a shock, then, that Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, Den of Geek, Wired, and Nerdist, among others, ranked the season 2 standout as one of the show’s best episodes. Season 2 Episode 9 Highlights The Next Generation’s Versatility Notably, however, none of the above publications cited “The Measure of a Man” as the single best episode of the series. That accolade comes from yours truly and, although it will no doubt spark debate among the fandom, I’m as confident in this choice as I am on Picard’s best line in The Next Generation history. In both cases, Brent Spiner’s iconic Data happens to be central to the story of each outing. Spiner and Stewart’s chemistry makes “The Measure of a Man” a must-watch, but it is really the show’s versatility that makes this episode the show’s finest hour. Almost every Star Trek series before and since has its epic space battles or action sequences, as does this one, but the fact that The Next Generation could produce an all-time great courtroom drama proves that the sci-fi ensemble show truly could pull off anything at the height of its powers. Release Date 1987 - 1994-00-00 Network Syndication Showrunner Gene Roddenberry Cast Commander William T. Riker Directors Cliff Bole, Les Landau, Winrich Kolbe, Rob Bowman, Robert Scheerer, Jonathan Frakes, Robert Wiemer, Gabrielle Beaumont, Alexander Singer, David Carson, Paul Lynch, Corey Allen, Patrick Stewart, Chip Chalmers, Joseph L. Scanlan, James L. Conway, Robert Lederman, Tom Benko, Timothy Bond, Robert Legato, Adam Nimoy, Robert Becker, David Livingston, LeVar Burton Writers René Echevarria, Maurice Hurley, Richard Manning, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Tracy Tormé, Hannah Louise Shearer, Stuart Charno, Ira Steven Behr, Sara B. Cooper, Peter Allan Fields, Herbert Wright, Frank Abatemarco, Burton Armus, Hilary Bader, Morgan Gendel, David Kemper, Michael I. Wagner, Philip LaZebnik, Robert McCullough, Susan Sackett, Nick Sagan, Fred Bronson, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Sam Rolfe Franchise(s) Star Trek Creator(s) Gene Roddenberry