Star Trek The Next Generation: Every Season One Episode Ranked From Worst To Best

4. Where No One Has Gone Before

Star Trek Wesley Traveller
CBS Media Ventures

This is one of the crucial episodes in Wesley's development as a character, also serving to introduce what would eventually become his final arc. The Traveller is first introduced here, who would return in Remember Me and Journey's End. He helps Wesley tap into his potential, something that would return in both later episodes.

The visual effects in the episode are both stunning and were a cause of many headaches for director Rob Bowman. Only 27 at the time, this was his first episode working on Star Trek and he was unused to large effects scenes. However the episode most certainly pulls it off and the depiction of Galaxy M-33 is a highlight of the first year.

Some of the reality bending scenes also stand out. For the only time in the show, Picard's mother appears. His father would later appear in Tapestry, and of course his brother and nephew appear in Family.

The USS Fearless that appears alongside the Enterprise in the opening scene is a reuse of the footage of the USS Hood from Encounter at Farpoint, in turn also a reuse of footage shot of the USS Excelsior. There was no new footage of the model shot for the Next Generation, instead relying on cleverly repurposed effects to bring it into the 24th century.

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"