Episode: Allegiance (3.18)
While Picard solving the one-room mystery is fun, and doppelganger Picard that sings drinking songs with his men and seduces Beverly is delightful, the ending is fantastic, where he turns the table on their new friends without saying a word. Then, after that ordeal is over, Crusher turns the tables on Picard as well, without saying a word.
Episode: Disaster (5.05)
This episode has several above-average moments. I nearly included the final scene where the little kids personally thank Picard on the bridge for saving them. But the winner goes to Data, who tells Riker to remove his head and use it to remotely access engineering.
Episode: Timescape (6.25)
I’m imagining the writers sitting around a table discussing how Picard should act when he goes into a narcosis and someone jokingly saying, “How about we have him draw a smiley face in the warp core breach?” I’m hoping it was Patrick Stewart’s idea.
Episode: Heart of Glory (1.20)
When boarding a Talarian freighter in the Neutral Zone, Geordi tests out his visual acuity transmitter so that the bridge crew can see what he sees through his VISOR. In a season short of character development, this scene significantly helps two characters. Geordi, as we get to understand him better, and Picard, who openly displays empathy and acceptance of another crew member. Plus, it looks kind of cool. It’s too bad they never used this device again.
Episode: We’ll Always Have Paris (1×24)
In between Picard reminiscing about the broken hearts he left behind, a broken time continuum keeps popping up. This episode shows several time glitches and this one’s my favorite:
Episode: The Neutral Zone (1×26)
Season one did not have a lot of bright moments, even for Picard, with whom the show would have been likely cancelled without. He was frequently loud, temperamental, and impatient. But he showed flashes of the great captain he became, including this moment, the Federation’s first meeting with the Romulans in decades. The Ferengi bombed just as quickly as they were introduced, and the show desperately needed a villain. Bringing back one from the original series could have been mishandled, but the writers managed to do well here. Not only that, they kind-of sort-of introduce the Borg threat that would get explored further in season two.
Death By Troggles was born with Star Trek: TNG, and one of my readers suggested a while back I go and do a top moments list for the show. The staff here went back and forth for a long time and finally settled on a list everyone can be happy with. Come back tomorrow to see #40 and #39!
Trek at its best put me on the edge of my seat, made me laugh, made me cry, gave me the chills, or gave me food for thought with a powerful message. Most of these moments got a mention during the episode countdown, so there shouldn’t be a ton of surprises; naturally, my favorite episodes tend to have my favorite moments as well. But there are some excellent episodes (Ship in a Bottle, for instance) that I love but don’t have a single moment that really stands out. And, naturally, there are a few moments from mediocre episodes that still get me to this day.
And in case there were any worries, Justice will not get a mention.
I started out the countdown by stating that it’s very possible I’ll never play an RPG again. If I do, here are a few that are on my list:
Breath of Fire series
Phantasy Star series
Final Fantasy V
Two questions for my readers:
1. Have you played any of the above games and do you think I’d like them?
2. What other RPGs have you played that would make your top list? Feel free to drop your own list if you like.
Developer: HAL, Ape
Publisher: Nintendo
Year: 1995
Platform: SNES, WiiU
Considered a cult classic, I have never known anyone personally to dislike this RPG. In fact, I am not sure I know anyone who doesn’t love it like crazy. But when the market for RPGs was still trying to gain steam in America, Earthbound had no place and the sales figures were awful. Released in a huge box with a huge strategy guide, Earthbound was obviously quirky from the start. While on the surface the game seems little more than a goofy parody of American culture and other RPGs, therein lies a high-quality adventure with a gripping story and superb game mechanics.
Developer: Square
Publisher: Square
Year: 1994
Platform: SNES, GBA, Playstation, PS3, PSP, Wii, Android
I got this for Christmas shortly after it came out, but didn’t play it for two months as I also received Link to the Past. I think that easily qualifies as the most bang for buck Christmas ever as a child. Other than Tecmo Super Bowl, I have never spent more time playing a video game. While this no doubt influenced the ranking, I can’t help but feel nothing but love for this game despite all of its obvious problems.
Death By Troggles 
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