10 Best Episodes Of Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Ranked

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Star Trek: The Next Generation also experimented more with genre in its sixth season, delivering some of the series' most unique episodes. From the incredibly fun "Starship Mine" to the incredibly disturbing "Frame of Mind," TNG season 6 is full of some of the series' most memorable moments. As usual, Captain Picard gets some particularly great stories, starring in his own version of Die Hard and staying strong during brutal Cardassian torture. Season 6 has some of TNG's darkest stories, but remains one of the series' strongest seasons.

10 "Rascals"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 7

Based on its premise alone, Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Rascals" could have easily crashed and burned, but the episode actually works far better than it has any right to. When a transporter malfunction transforms Captain Picard, Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), Ensign Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes), and Keiko O'Brien (Rosalind Chao) into adolescents, their fellow crew members struggle to take them seriously.

The 12-year-old versions of TNG's characters are portrayed by: David Tristan Birkin (Picard), Isis Carmen Jones (Guinan), Megan Parlen (Ro), and Caroline Junko King (Keiko).

9 "Second Chances"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 24

When the USS Enterprise-D visits the planet Nervala IV, they find an exact duplicate of Will Riker who has been stranded alone on the planet for eight years. This Riker, who chooses to go by his middle name, Thomas, had been accidentally left behind after a transporter malfunction created a second Riker. Thomas Riker has more in common with the Will of eight years ago, and still harbors feelings for Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis).

Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) in Star Trek TNG & Star Trek Picard season 3

William Riker made a name for himself as the first officer on the USS Enterprise-D before finally accepting a promotion to command the USS Titan.

8 "Face Of The Enemy"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 14

In one of Counselor Troi's best Star Trek episodes, Deanna finds herself aboard the Romulan Warbird Khazara, having been surgically altered to look like a Romulan. With help from her Betazoid empathic abilities, Troi must then navigate an intense situation aboard the Romulan ship as she helps an important Romulan defect to the Federation.

"Face of the Enemy" was originally going to star Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), but the storyline better suited Troi's empathic abilities.

Counselor Troi often deserved better on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and "Face of the Enemy" proves she should have been given the spotlight more often. Marina Sirtis delivers a solid performance as Troi must continue to adapt to her ever-changing situation. In the end, the Enterprise-D arrives to help the Romulan Vice Proconsul successfully escape and rescues Troi just in time.

7 "Starship Mine"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 18

Tim Russ as Lt. Tuvok in Star Trek Voyager and as Captain Tuvok in Star Trek Picard

Tim Russ may be most remembered as Star Trek: Voyager's Tuvok, but the versatile actor has popped up many times throughout the Trek franchise.

Meanwhile, the array's staff members take the Enterprise crew hostage until they are able to escape just in time to save Picard's life. With a fun mix of action and humor, "Starship Mine" finally gives Captain Picard the chance to be a true action hero. The episode may not offer profound commentary on what it means to be human, but "Starship Mine" illustrates the ingenuity and courage of Picard and his crew.

6 "Ship In A Bottle"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 12

Jean Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in a fedora and Wesley Crusher (Whil Wheaton) sitting the in the holodeck in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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Captain Picard uses Moriarty's own idea against him, tricking the holodeck villain into believing he has indeed traveled into the real world. In the end, Moriarty and his companion fly off in a shuttlecraft to explore the galaxy in a realistic simulation, all the while believing that they have escaped their holographic confines. "Ship in a Bottle" is another fun episode that provides a fascinating exploration of holodeck technology and a nice conclusion to Moriarty's story.

5 "Timescape"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 25

Leonard Nimoy's son, Adam Nimoy, directed "Timescape" after previously directing "Rascals," his only two Star Trek directing credits.

Picard and his crew eventually discover that aliens from trans-dimensional space inadvertently caused the disaster. Picard, Data, and Troi then get to work on the Enterprise to prevent the impending warp core breach and rescue the Romulans from their damaged warbird. "Timescape" has some cool visuals of the Enterprise and its crew frozen in time, and the episode maintains suspense as its mystery unfolds in an interesting way.

4 "Relics"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 4

Aside from a brief cameo by DeForest Kelley in Star Trek: The Next Generation's series premiere, Gene Roddenberry mostly wanted TNG to separate itself from Star Trek: The Original Series. This unofficial rule became more relaxed as the series went on, and TNG season 6 saw the return of James Doohan as Captain Montgomery Scott. The Enterprise finds Scotty's transporter pattern stored in the pattern buffer of a Federation transport ship that went missing 75 years before.

After Geordi restores Scotty's pattern, the former Enterprise Chief Engineer struggles to acclimate to the 24th century. In the end, however, Scotty's expertise helps save the day, and he departs the Enterprise aboard a shuttlecraft to explore the galaxy. It's always great to see a TOS character return to the franchise, and Scotty's return is incredibly well done, complete with a heavy dose of nostalgia.

3 "Frame Of Mind"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 21

In one of Star Trek's most disturbing episodes, Commander Riker finds himself locked in a mental institution and unsure of his own sanity. "Frame of Mind" begins with Riker performing a play on the Enterprise about a man in an asylum, only for him to soon find himself in that same situation. The doctors at the institution try to convince Riker that his life on the Enterprise is merely a hallucination.

Jonathan Frakes as William Riker in Star Trek The Next Generation & Picard

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2 "Tapestry"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 15

Another particularly unique Star Trek episode, "Tapestry" also plays with reality, this time in the mind of Jean-Luc Picard. When Picard is badly wounded on a mission, he awakens in a strange white realm accompanied by John de Lancie's Q. Although Q tells Jean-Luc that he's dead, the Enterprise captain questions Q's assertion, saying he refuses "to believe that the afterlife is run by you."

The original storyline for "Tapestry" included more events from Picard's past in the style of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Q gives Picard the chance to correct a past regret from his time as a Starfleet cadet, but after Jean-Luc corrects the supposed mistake, he finds his life drastically altered. Picard realizes how much his near-death experience as a cadet shaped him, and he wakes up on the Enterprise unsure if Q was just part of a dream. "Tapestry" takes advantage of how well Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie play off one another, and delivers a fascinating story that offers insight into Jean-Luc's past.

1 "Chain Of Command"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episodes 10 & 11

In one of Star Trek's most brutal storylines, Cardassians capture Captain Picard and torture him for information while Captain Edward Jellico (Ronny Cox) takes command of the Enterprise. When Picard is captured by Cardassians while on a covert mission, he's brought before the intimidating Gul Madred (David Warner). As Madred torments Picard, the Enterprise captain refuses to break, but he comes closer than he has likely ever been.

The storyline is one of the most difficult Star Trek stories to watch, but Patrick Stewart and David Warner make it impossible to look away.

Commander Riker's conflict with Captain Jellico on the Enterprise has its moments, but it's the showdown between Picard and Madred that makes "Chain of Command" so captivating. The storyline is one of the most difficult Star Trek stories to watch, but Patrick Stewart and David Warner make it impossible to look away. Picard's admission that he was on the verge of breaking is truly heartbreaking and helps cement "Chain of Command" as the best storyline of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6.