6 Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 Episodes You Can Completely Skip

Many fans will say that Star Trek: The Next Generation took a big leap forward in season 3, but some episodes can still be skipped over entirely. While TNG's first two seasons had some hidden gems, the third showed a marked improvement in terms of overall quality. The show felt more sure of itself, and the actors better understood their characters. From "The Offspring" to "Yesterday's Enterprise" to "The Best of Both Worlds," Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3 delivered some of the series' most iconic and beloved episodes.

Following the continuing adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise-D, Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3 featured the return of Gates McFadden's Dr. Beverly Crusher and a surprising appearance from Lt. Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby). Screenwriter Ronald D. Moore also joined the show's writing staff, penning episode 5, "The Bonding." Moore would become one of Trek's most accomplished writers and be instrumental in shaping the Klingons of the TNG era. Overall, TNG season 3 remains an incredibly strong season of television, but these 6 episodes can easily be skipped.

6"Evolution"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 1

While "Evolution" is certainly better than the season 2 opener, "The Child," this season 3 opener doesn't do anything particularly memorable. The story begins when Dr. Paul Stubbs (Ken Jenkins) comes aboard the Enterprise to study a stellar explosion. When the Enterprise begins experiencing strange malfunctions, Ensign Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) realizes that a couple of nanites from his recent project may have escaped. Eventually, Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) saves the day by finding a way to communicate with the nanites, and the Enterprise delivers them to a new home.

From a fake Borg cube attack to the computer blaring "Stars and Stripes Forever" across the ship, "Evolution" has some fun moments, but it's ultimately a lackluster start to what would turn into a great season. Wesley's project basically creates a new species, which should be a huge deal, but the implications of this are barely addressed. It's great to have Dr. Crusher back as the Chief Medical Officer, but ultimately, you can skip "Evolution" without missing much.

5"Booby Trap"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 6

When the Enterprise discovers an ancient Promelian battlecruiser, Captain Picard cannot hide his excitement about exploring a piece of history. Soon, however, the Enterprise finds itself stuck in the same trap that caught the battlecruiser. Picard tasks Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) with finding a way to free the Enterprise. Rather than gathering his engineering crew, Geordi visits the holodeck and brings to life a hologram of Dr. Leah Brahms (Susan Gibney), who designed the Enterprise-D's engines. It could've made sense for La Forge to consult Brahms, but things get weird when Geordi develops feelings for the hologram.

As fun as it is to see Picard geek out over archeology (and later pilot the Enterprise), it's difficult to get past Geordi's problematic "romance" with Leah. The real Leah Brahms is an actual (married) woman who does not consent to her image being used this way. It's weird, and it ultimately made me think a bit less of Geordi as a character. If you can just watch the Picard scenes, "Booby Trap" has some good moments. Otherwise, skip this one and go straight to "The Enemy," which is a much better Geordi-centric episode.

4"The Price"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 8

Despite being a fascinating character, Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) did not always get the best storylines on Star Trek: The Next Generation. "The Price" centers around the negotiator Devinoni Ral (Matt McCoy), who comes aboard the Enterprise to bid for the rights to control a supposedly stable wormhole. Troi and Ral quickly fall into a passionate romance, but their love story feels weird from the beginning. Ral mostly just comes across as sleazy, making all of his interactions with Troi feel cringey and not at all romantic.

"The Price" has some interesting scenes as Data and Geordi explore the wormhole (which turns out to be unstable, after all), but the episode never quite overcomes its sleaziness. And the less said about the scene of Troi and Crusher stretching while they discuss their sex lives, the better. The storyline involving the wormhole has some fun moments that almost make the episode worth watching, but Ral's cringeworthy romance with Troi brings the whole thing down. Skip this one to avoid the secondhand embarrassment of it all.

3"The Vengeance Factor"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 9

Following "The Price" is another dud, this time featuring a strange romance for Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes). In "The Vengeance Factor," the Enterprise tries to help negotiate peace between the Acamarians and the Gatherers. When one of the Gatherers is murdered, Captain Picard and his crew eventually uncover that old clan rivalries are to blame. Meanwhile, Riker engages in a romance with Yuta (Lisa Wilcox), the Acamarian leader's assistant. Yuta is ultimately revealed as the murderer and the last member of her clan, whose mission was to take out the remaining members of the rival clan.

When Riker is unable to talk Yuta out of killing her final rival, the Enterprise First Officer vaporizes her with a phaser. Although he gradually increases this phaser power as he pleads with her, it still feels like an odd choice for Riker to kill Yuta. With all the technology the Enterprise has at its disposal, surely they could have beamed Yuta away or found an alternate solution that didn't involve killing her. Even aside from this oddly violent ending, "The Vengeance Factor" is ultimately a forgettable episode that doesn't reveal anything new about the characters.

2"Ménage à Troi"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 24

Deanna Troi's mother, Lwaxana (Majel Barrett), is a divisive character, and combining her story with the Ferengi doesn't help matters. When Lwaxana follows Troi and Riker on their vacation to Betazed, the three get kidnapped by a group of Ferengi led by Daimon Tog (Frank Corsentino). As in most of their appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Ferengi here are cringeworthy, with their mistreatment of women and general incompetence. Lwaxana comes across better in this episode, offering herself to the Ferengi to protect Troi and Riker.

Riker gets some good moments, too, as he busts in to save Lwaxana. "Ménage à Troi's" best moment comes when Captain Picard must profess his "love" for Lwaxana to convince Daimon Tog to return her. While it's always fun to watch Patrick Stewart quote Shakespeare, this scene is not enough to redeem the episode. Much of the episode's comedy doesn't quite land, and the sexual elements just make everything uncomfortable. Overall, "Ménage à Troi" is a silly episode that can be skipped without missing much, and season 4 will deliver a much better Lwaxana episode in "Half a Life."

1"Transfigurations"

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 25

When the Enterprise rescues a critically injured alien passenger (Mark La Mura) from a crashed escape pod, the man awakens with no knowledge of his own identity. As Dr. Beverly Crusher helps the man (dubbed John Doe) recover, he appears to be experiencing a mysterious transformation. As the weeks pass, Beverly develops a connection with the man, who slowly begins to regain his memory. After Geordi recovers data from Doe's escape pod, the Enterprise makes its way to the man's homeworld, and he is revealed to be a member of the Zalkonian species.

Doe and some of his people had begun experiencing the next stage of their evolution, as they moved from a corporeal existence to one of pure energy. In the end, Doe completed his transformation and departed the Enterprise as energy. "Transfigurations" has some good ideas, and it's always great to see Dr. Crusher featured more heavily, but the episode ultimately doesn't leave much of an impression. Overall, Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3 delivers consistently solid episodes, which made choosing the entries for this list particularly difficult, but these six episodes don't add much to an otherwise great season.