Star Trek: The Next Generation, episode guide

In the main intro Gates McFadden's name has been removed, the new chief medical officer, played by Diana Muldauer, is not put in, and the new degrees of rank assigned Geordi La Forge and Worf has not been changed. Chief medical officer Beverly Crusher leaves the Enterprise (we are only told) and is replaced by doctor Katherine Pulaski, Geordi La Forge is promoted to chief engineer, Worf is security chief, Miles Edward O'Brien is transporter chief, to tend the bar, Ten Forward (on deck 10), is the mysterious Guinan, and first officer Riker has growed a beard.

"The Child"

(27:178)
Deanna Troi is penetrated by an unseen alien, the result is a rapid pregnancy and the birth of a son. This is potentially disastrous as the Enterprise is also transporting a very nasty virus.
US Air Date: 21 November 1988
The title sequence: Denise Crosby and Gates McFadden's names are removed and Diana Muldaur is not put in instead. Wesley is allowed to stay on board!

"Where Silence has Lease"

(28:178)
The Enterprise is engulfed by a hole in space and the crew find themselves the subject of an experiment performed by an alien called Nagilum.
US Air Date: 28 November 1988

"Elementary, Dear Data"

(29:178)
While enjoying some well deserved free time, Katherine Pulaski challenges Data to solve a Sherlock Holmes mystery to prove that Data cannot solve it when it is not written down in any books. When Geordi La Forge sets up a new mystery, the computer creates a dangerously clever Moriarty who not only threatens the life of Katherine Pulaski but the entire crew of the Enterprise.
US Air Date: 5 December 1988
Data is to solve his very own mystery as Sherloch Holmes.

"The Outrageous Okona"

(30:178)
The Enterprise assists a disabled cargo ship and we meet the charmingly roguish captain Okona. Data is unable to comprehend Okona's quick wit and asks Guinan for lessons in human humour. Meanwhile, two small spaceships from different planets lock their lasers on the Enterprise, both demanding the surrender of Okona who is now accused of being both a philanderer and a jewel thief. It is up to Picard to mediate.
US Air Date: 12 December 1988
Data contiunues his research of the concept humour.

"Loud as a Whisper"

(31:178)
Riva is a famous mediator who is attempting to stop a bitter conflict in the Ramatis star system. Picard is surprised to discover that the great mediator is deaf! Riva communicates through a group of three people known as chorus who each possess a distinctive feature of Riva's personality. Without chorus, Riva is unable to communicate. And the unthinkable is about to happen.
US Air Date: 9 January 1989
Geordi gets his eyes checked by doctor Pulaski.

"The Schizoid Man"

(32:178)
The brilliant doctor Ira Graves is dying. He has one of the greatest living human minds but is enduring the final stages of a terminal disease. The away team led by Data beams down after receiving a distress call from Graves' young assistant Kareen Brianon. Data and the dying scientist develop a strong rapport that continues even after Graves' death.
US Air Date: 23 January 1989

"Unnatural Selection"

(33:178)
The crew of the Federation supply ship USS Lantree are all found to have died of old age! Their last port of call was the Darwin Genetic Research Station. The Enterprise heads there to investigate and warn the scientists of the potential danger. At the research station they make some surprising discoveries, including a 12 year old boy the size of a fully grown man and some very old scientists.
US Air Date: 30 January 1989
Captain Picard and doctor Pulaski tries to understand each other.

"A Matter of Honour"

(34:178)
A special exchange programme brings a benzite aboard the Enterprise and gives Riker the opportunity to become the first Federation officer to serve aboard a klingon ship. While Worf endeavours to teach Riker the seemingly barbaric code that maintains command aboard a klingon ship, a virulent strain of bacteria is eroding the hull of the ship Pagh. Riker then learns a lot about klingons very quickly.
US Air Date: 6 February 1989
On Enterprise one can play a shooting game which is about shooting at light dots when moving.

"The Measure of a Man"

(35:178)
Data is ordered to serve under captain Bruce Maddox who wants to disassemble and study him. Data is not very keen on this idea and resigns from Starfleet. Maddox then disputes Data's ability to resign as he is not a sentient being. He is an android and therefore property of Starfleet. The scene is then set for a court room drama with Riker compelled as a prosecutor.
US Air Date: 13 February 1989

"The Dauphin"

(36:178)
A chance encounter with the next ruler of the planet Daled 4 sets Wesley's heart a flutter. Her name is Salia, is sexteen years old and is travelling from Klavdia 3 with her overprotective guardian Anya. However, when Salia is caught exchanging passionate kisses with Wesley by Anya, Anya then displays a side of her character which is potentially life threatening to the whole crew.
US Air Date: 20 February 1989

"Contagion"

(37:178)
The USS Yamato is in the Neutral Zone examining remains of an extinct civilisation called the iconians. Remains which indicate the iconians had knowledge that could tip the balance of power between the romulans and the Federation. The Yamato is suddenly destroyed, not by the romulans but by it's own failing computer systems. Then the Enterprise's systems begin to fail.
US Air Date: 20 March 1989
Captain Picard has been interested in archaeology since he was young and wanted to choose that path.

"The Royale"

(38:178)
On an inhospitable planet in an unmapped part of the solar system the Enterprise makes a remarkable discovery. Orbiting the planet is a jagged chunk of metal bearing the NASA log. On the surface of the planet in a pocket of breathable air is the Hotel Royale - a casino. Riker, Data and Worf beam down to investigate and find themselves trapped in the pages of a trashy novel.
US Air Date: 27 March 1989

"Time Squared"

(39:178)
The USS Enterprise encountes a Federation shuttlecraft cartwheeling out of control through space. It's lone occupant is an unconscious double of Picard. The shuttles unboard clock shows it to be 6 hours ahead of current Enterprise time. Picard then faces terrible self doubts and fears that he is about to make a decision that will leave him and his crew in a never ending cycle of torment.
US Air Date: 3 April 1989
Riker likes to cook in old fashion manner.

"The Icarus Factor"

(40:178)
Riker is offered a captains position and the Enterprise heads for Starbase Montgomery for his briefing. There, Riker is visibly shaken when me meets the father he has not seen for 15 years. This meeting forces Riker into making a decision about his future. Meanwhile, Worf is approaching the tenth anniversary of his age of ascension. His friends decide to use the holodeck to help him celebrate, with startling results.
US Air Date: 24 April 1989
One can play the martial arts of Anbou-jitsu aboard.

"Pen Pals"

(41:178)
Data's friends life is in nervous hands, when Wesley is put to the test probing dangerous geological activity in the Selcundi Drema planetary system. Unbeknownst to the crew, Data has made friends with Sarjenka who lives on Drema 4. She tells him that her world is in danger of imminent self destruction. Wesley is put in charge of the research team working to save the planet. But can they find the answer in time?
US Air Date: 1 May 1989
Captain Picard is interested in riding horses and has his own saddle in his quarters. Data interests himself in random signals in space.

"Q-Who"

(42:178)
Picard's nemesis, the alien Q, hurls the Enterprise into a distant galaxy after Picard refuses to let him join the crew. In this far place, the Enterprise meets the borg, part organic and part artificial beings of incredible power. The borg demand Picard's surrender, he refuses and a short but fierce battle ensues leaving 18 crew dead. It is obvious that the borg cannot be defeated. But will Q help?
US Air Date: 8 May 1989
Guinan knows Q - she also knows the borg, who drew her and her people from their homes. She warnes, that knowing of the Enterprise they will set the course to the Alpha Quadrant. It is made clear the mysterious destruction of the outposts along The Neutral Zone ("The Neutral Zone" (26)) a year ago was committed by the borg.

"Samaritan Snare"

(43:178)
Picard and Wesley both travel to Starbase Scylla 515 for completely different reasons: Wesley is to sit his Starfleet exams and Picard is to undergo cardiac surgery! At the same time, the Enterprise is assisting the pakleds to repair one of their spaceships. The pakleds show their appreciation by kidnapping Geordi. Riker has to outsmart the dim-witted pakleds to get him back.
US Air Date: 15 May 1989
On their trip Picard reveals to Wesley he has an artificial heart and that he got it as a young and green cadet in the Starfleet. He was stabed in the heart from behind.

"Up the Long Ladder"

(44:178)
The Enterprise crew is caught in a culture between two races. The bringloidis are a humanoid race whose planet is about to be destroyed by stellar flares. The mariposans problem is different, they are a race of clones and are suffering from replicative fading and require an infusion of DNA. The two races need each other but are apparently completely incompatible.
US Air Date: 22 May 1989

"Manhunt"

(45:178)
Deanna Troi's mother, Lwaxana ("Haven" (11)), makes a surprise visit to the Enterprise. She is entering the phase, a midlife period when a betazoid woman's sex drive increases tenfold. Unfortunately for Picard it is he that Lwaxana has set her sights on.
US Air Date: 19 June 1989

"The Emissary"

(46:178)
The Enterprise has been ordered to intercept a klingon warbird called T'Ong. T'Ongs crew have been in a cryogenic sleep for a century and are unaware that the war between them and the Federation is over. A klingon emissary has been sent to assistent Picard in this delicate situation. Her name is K'Ehleyr and was once linked romantically with Worf.
US Air Date: 26 June 1989

"Peak Performance"

(47:178)
A simulated war game suddenly turns into a real-life fight for survival. Riker and Picard are plying war games against each other and Riker is assigned to the Hathaway, a hopelessly unequipped 80 year old vessel. As an observer of the exercise is Kolrami, a master strategist from the zakdorn race. Riker does well against the superior Enterprise and then the ferengies arrive.
US Air Date: 10 July 1989

"Shades of Gray"

(48:178)
First officer Riker fights for his life when an alien organism attacks his central nervous system and invaded his brain. In a desperat attempt to keep his brain functioning, Pulaski begins electronically stimulating his memory. Soon Riker's mind is filled with rememberances of his experiences aboard the Enterprise.
US Air Date: 17 July 1989
Riker experiences flashback from previous missions.