Captain’s Blog, Entry 2: Season 1 of TNG Finally Got Good… for One Glorious Episode

After the extremely rocky launch of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I bravely continued my mission through Season 1. And I do mean bravely - because folks, it's rough out there in early TNG territory. Some episodes are less terrible than others, but overall the vibe is "sci-fi dinner theater. but for some reason, very horny" Still, I hung on. Not because the show was good (it wasn't), but because I could feel something shifting.

Not in me - in the show.

Now, while I was committing to this full-on Trek binge, my wife would occasionally glance up from her book or phone, catch a few seconds of the screen, and politely ask: "Why does everything look like an SNL Star Trek Skit?" Which is fair. Worf's forehead looked like rubber slapped on with some gum, Data's makeup made him look like a haunted department store mannequin, and the lighting was so flat you could hang a picture off it. Most episodes had that "Camera 1, now Camera 2" vibe, and the acting was so wooden I was genuinely worried for the Enterprise's air circulation. Everyone is standing, talking, not moving.

But somewhere along the way, those cracks started to seal up.

The camera work grew more confident. Suddenly, instead of stiff shots of two people spitting exposition at each other across the bridge, we got dolly shots, walk-and-talks, actual blocking. You'd see someone leave the bridge, talk their way down a corridor, enter engineering mid-conversation - you know, like how people actually move and talk. Scenes flowed. Scenes connected. The lighting got interesting, and more importantly, the crew started to feel like a real crew.

And then it happened: Episode 24. "Conspiracy."

This was it. The moment I actually enjoyed the show. Still a little cringey, sure, but undeniably cool. And it was one unassuming shot that made me say "Ok, I think they got it now" - Picard beams down alone to a mysterious planet to meet with other captains in secret - already a great setup. But then came the shot. Just one shot. We linger on a static alien landscape. Debris in the foreground. Then, way off in the distance, Picard materializes. He’s tiny in the frame. Alone. Vulnerable. The music swells with unease. He starts walking toward the camera. Slowly. Nothing is rushed, it just builds tension.

And I thought to myself: “Wait. This feels… cinematic?”

Up until now, TNG felt like people in cheap costumes standing on foam rocks, saying silly lines. But this? This was mood. This was tension. This was television. And yeah, the last few minutes of the episode - featuring space parasites crawling out of admirals’ mouths - were completely ridiculous. Like, hard to look directly at ridiculous. But it was 1988. And it was TV. My bar is calibrated accordingly.

The only real letdown? Conspiracy has zero consequences. Starfleet’s upper brass is infiltrated by literal alien bugs that embed into people’s heads and control them, and... we never talk about it again? No follow-up. No “by the way, remember in the previous episode where Starfleet was completely compromised by evil worm creatures?” Just: “Cool story, onto Season 2!”

Also, yeah, they all casually eat worms and I am not ok.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Most of Season 1 is still extremely rough. The show doesn’t seem to know what it is. There’s no clear tone, no consistency. One week it’s slapstick, the next it’s Shakespeare in space. I think the main issue lies with the directors. For the first half of the season, it felt like the show was being treated as “that silly space thing for kids.” But then directors like Cliff Bole showed up and seemed to go, “Hey, what if we actually tried to make a good show?” And surprise - it worked.

So, I’m moving forward. Season 1: survived. Barely.

If “Conspiracy” is a sign of things to come, then I’m ready to engage.

Captain out.