Encounter at Farpoint

This Story: Season 1 Episodes 1-2 (production code 101/2)
TNG Overall: Episodes 1 & 2
Trek Overall: Story 102, Episodes 103 & 104
Airdate: 28 Sep 1987
Written by D.C. Fontana & Gene Roddenberry
Directed by Corey Allen

Notes

• The first episode(s) of the series and the first episode for the entire primary cast.
• When this first aired in 1987, it aired as a single two hour “movie”, but ever since then, it’s been classified as two separate episodes.  I’m counting it as two overall.
• The first “official” episode of Star Trek to air on television for nearly 13 years at the time it went out.
• There was a cameo by original series actor DeForest Kelley as “Admiral McCoy”, who is said on screen to be 137 years old.
• The first time the Enterprise was shown as being able to separate the saucer section from the primary hull.  Kirk’s Enterprise was supposed to be able to see this, but we never saw it in proper Star Trek.  We did see it in an episode of Star Trek Continues, however (To Boldly Go, Pt 2).  It is also the only time we ever saw the reattachment of the ship’s two sections.
• The first mention of the Ferengi happens here, but we don’t see them for another couple of episodes.
• The ship has a navigation system on the walls which can direct people to where they want to go.  That feature was forgotten about pretty quickly.
• The first appearance of the Battle Bridge.

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