10 Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes That Were Almost Completely Different

10. Encounter At Farpoint

Given that it's the only time where absolutely nothing is technically off the table, it's almost cheating to include the pilot of a show in an article about dramatic episode changes. But, nevertheless, the original treatment for Encounter at Farpoint (or Meeting at Farpoint as it was called originally) is so wildly divergent from what audiences ended up seeing that it's worthy of inclusion. The rough synopsis is as follows...

The Enterprise-D has just successfully completed a routine mission and heads to Farpoint Station for a change in crew. Captian Julien Picard, its commanding officer, is saying goodbye to his Frist Officer Kyle Summers who has been promoted to Captain himself to take command of the USS Starseeker. While Security Chief Lt. Macha Hernandez is staying on board, they are being joined by a host of new recruits including Lt. Commander Will Ryker, his best friend Lt. Commander Data, Dr. Beverly Crusher, and her daughter Lillian.

As they prepare to leave orbit, an Annoi ship appears and destroys the Starseeker. The Enterprise manages to avoid annihilation by beaming down to the planet's surface, but is captured by the highly advanced ape-like Annoi who enslave them and force them to mine the planet of its unique mineral ore. An adventure of sorts ensues, and the crew is finally freed by Councillor Troi who discovers that their captor's ship is, in fact, a lifeform who feeds on the planet's ore to survive.

Also Troi has four boobs.