What is the name of the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation?
Answer
Encounter at Farpoint
What is the name of the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation? The answer is “Encounter at Farpoint.”
“Encounter at Farpoint” is the pilot and series premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It introduced Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the crew of the USS Enterprise-D, and the redesigned Star Trek setting to television audiences in 1987.
The story sends the newly commissioned Enterprise to Farpoint Station on the planet Deneb IV. The Bandi people offer the mysterious station to the Federation, but the crew soon discovers that its unusual technology has a disturbing origin. At the same time, the powerful being Q places humanity on trial and challenges Picard to demonstrate that humans are capable of moral progress.
Written by D. C. Fontana and Gene Roddenberry and directed by Corey Allen, the episode first aired during the week of September 28, 1987. It was broadcast as a single two-hour television movie, although later reruns and episode guides often divide it into “Part I” and “Part II.” That counting difference explains why some listings describe it as two episodes rather than one extended premiere.