Star Trek: The Next Generation was my favourite show as a kid/teenager. I watched the show, read the novels, got posters, toys, models... everything short of dressing up like a Klingon and learning the language. I watched the spin-off and saw the movies several times. I still think the Season 3 finale is the best cliffhanger in television history.
And now the entire series is up on Netflix Canada. Excuse me while I call in sick for the next week.
But to be honest, the series didn't really hit its stride until the third season, in my opinion. So, if you want to give the show a go but want to skim over the first 2 seasons while still getting a good base for the series later on, I've chosen a dozen episodes from Season 1 that you should watch to get a good feel for the start of the series: Six are must-watch and six are should-watch.
I'll keep the descriptions spoiler-free, in case you have never seen anything to do with TNG. But I'll say that I've chosen these episodes because they either have important character development or introduce something that is important later in the series.
Episode 1: Encounter At Farpoint. Must Watch. The series premier.
Episode 6: Where No One Has Gone Before. Must Watch. Introduces "The Traveller".
Episode 9: The Battle. Should Watch. Explores what Captain Picard did before the Enterprise.
Episode 10: Hide and Q. Must Watch. Any episode with Q is entertaining.
Episode 11: Haven. Should Watch. Introduces Lwaxana Troi.
Episode 12: The Big Goodbye. Should Watch. Entertaining Holodeck episode.
Episode 13: Datalore. Must Watch. Introduces Lore.
Episode 15: 11001001. Should Watch. Another good holodeck episode.
Episode 19: Coming of Age. Should Watch. A good episode that deals with Starfleet as a whole.
Episode 20: Heart of Glory. Should Watch. Explores the nature of the relations with the Klingons.
Episode 23: Skin of Evil. Must Watch. Important main character development.
Episode 25: Conspiracy. Must Watch. Kind of out of character episode. Quite graphic for its day. As the title suggests, it deals with a conspiracy at Starfleet.
Happy Trekking. I might look through Season 2 and do the same thing. But once you get to Season 3, you're into the good stuff.
I say important things of importance