TNG Episode 1.1, 1.2: Encounter At Farpoint, Parts 1 & 2

In which we meet our noble crew, Riker enjoys an apple and Data is not really in character yet.

Memory Alpha says: Captain Jean-Luc Picard leads the crew of the USS Enterprise-D on its maiden voyage, to examine a new planetary station for trade with the Federation. On the way, they encounter Q, an omnipotent extra-dimensional being, who challenges humanity as a barbaric, inferior species. Picard and his new crew must hold off Q's challenge and solve the puzzle of Farpoint station on Deneb IV, a base that is far more than it seems to be. (Series Premiere) 

My Review

Here's how it's going to be: I am going to assume you have access to the episode in question. If you don't, you can follow the Memory Alpha link to read detailed information. I'm not going to provide a full summary of the plot because, well, Memory Alpha exists. This will just be me watching the episode and saying what I think about it, bit by bit, perhaps slightly pretending I am doing a DVD commentary.

'Encounter At Farpoint,' like most of the first two seasons of TNG, needs to be viewed with an indulgent eye, bearing in mind how good the show eventually became. (This also applies to the first couple of books in the Discworld series. I don't think anyone reading The Colour of Magic cold would understand why the series inspires the devotion that it does, or why Pratchett gets compared to Dickens.) It is hard to watch without experiencing a certain amount of contact embarrassment (oh hey, I think I got that phrase from Pratchett), but the same is true of pretty much any of us as a teenager, so I'm not on a high horse here. Let's boldly go.