Ragitsu

Riker...the true pride of Canada.

Also, this:
 
 

The best interpretation is that, within The Federation, essentials - shelter, nutrition, communication, healthcare, education, transportation, et cetera - are all free. If you desire a luxury or a specific occupation, you have to seek it or work for it. When it comes to interacting with non-Federation species, the Federation allots its citizens (or Starfleet members) a stipend of intergalactic credits that can be used for trade. With this system in place, the overwhelming majority of economic conflict is external.
 
Needless to say, I DEFINITELY prefer what they're doing over our bog standard capitalism.

"Sarek" was a great episode. The tragic fall of a mighty mind, and Picard's herculean effort to contain the powerful, roiling emotions of another man's tragic history because he was the only one with enough discipline to do it -- and nearly cracking under the strain.
 
Then there is "Yesterday's Enterprise", which gave the fanbase the story said fanbase thought they wanted (evil Klingons and a war in space) and showed it to be a horrifying nightmare. This wasn't the last time they would play with expectations. I wish we had seen more of Seela, but I suspect her failure to manipulate Spock intop doing her bidding was too much for her Romulan masters.
 
Speaking of Romulans, the episode with Hans Conried as a Romulan defector had a special power, to see a many greatest hopes turned against him. I don't remember the title of the episode.

Adjusts glasses and knocks on Ragitsu’s door “Excuse me, have you time he hear about the Nephilim?”

As he hurried to the opposite end of the camp, Kivan flitted between stacks of supplies while his bow continually loosed arrows at the human bandits - still half-drunk with sleep - emerging from their tents. Each _twang_ meant death for another would-be conqueror: an arrow through the neck, an arrow through an eye or an arrow through a lower organ that _might_ have been healed by a priest...were any around. Some of the more vigilant members sprinted towards the elf, grasping their knives and swords, a naked desire for vengeance displayed on each and every face. The seasoned ranger was much too quick for their amateur strikes however; his feet barely impacted the soil and his torso twisted away from those few steel edges that came close enough.

Unpopular opinion: I liked the early (space-pirate) Ferengi. We should have eventually seen more of them.

I like "Second Chances" (s06e24). The concept blew my socks off when I first saw it and I still love it.
Commander Riker comes face to face with an exact duplicate of himself, created years earlier by a transporter phenomenon.
 
"Tin Man" (s03e20) is also one of my favorites:
Telepath Tam Elbrun (Harry Groener) joins the crew to investigate a bio ship detected near a star about to go supernova. As the crew investigates, the Romulans threaten the Enterprise and the creature, Gomtuu, and Elbrun boards it with Lt. Commander Data.
 
Honorable mention: "The Outrageous Okona" (s02e04) because of Billy Campbell (didja know he was in the running to play Riker?). And Teri Hatcher is also in it.
As the Federation starship Enterprise, under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, passes through the Coalition of Madena, it detects a small cargo ship, under manual control by its single occupant. The crew makes contact with the pilot, Captain Thadiun Okona (Billy Campbell), who requests help to repair a part on his ship. Captain Picard agrees, and the Enterprise tows Okona's ship while Okona is brought on board. The crew soon finds that Okona has taken a keen interest in the women on the ship, beginning with Transporter Chief Robinson (Teri Hatcher in an uncredited role) and is in no rush to effect repairs.
 
I also enjoy any Ensign Ro episode. I just really like her character.

How about David Warner - JON FREAKING IRENICUS! - playing a Cardassian to the hilt?
 
 
Unfortunately, DS9 had to defecate all over his speech on principles by making war crimes look "badass".
 
 
It is easy to assume that Tom Paris is a new identity for Nick Locarno...if you ignore the fact his father is Admiral Paris. Okay, scratch that .

How about David Warner - JON FREAKING IRENICUS! - playing a Cardassian to the hilt?
 
 
Unfortunately, DS9 had to defecate all over his speech on principles by making war crimes look "badass".
 
 
It is easy to assume that Tom Paris is a new identity for Nick Locarno...if you ignore the fact his father is Admiral Paris. Okay, scratch that .

I don't know if this is my favorite episode, but a really good one that hasn't been brought up yet is "The First Duty". Picard's lecture to Wesley is one of Patrick Stewart's best moments in the series. The connection of this episode's events and people with the aforementioned "Lower Decks" was really poignant.
 
I understand that they couldn't do so for copyright reasons, but I wish they had used the character of Nick Locarno in Voyager.

It's a tossup between "Inner Light", "Lower Decks", and "Best of Both Worlds".

"Where Silence Has Lease" is great because the mystery of Nagilum is never explained. On a somewhat somber note, I find that this episode always forces me to recognize the fragility of mortality.
 
"Brothers" ends with Picard breaking down in the vineyard. That was a fantastic performance by Patrick Stewart.
 
"Man of the People" features a moment between Picard and the villain that indirectly takes the famous line from Spock ("The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.") and clarifies it so that "The end justifies the means." extremists are put in their place.
 
"Frame of Mind" and "Schisms" are standouts for me, because they're superb examples of horror-themed Star Trek episodes (the former is psychological horror whereas the latter is body horror).
 
"Face of the Enemy" shows us Marina Sirtis playing a ruthless Romulan. The tension when the cloaked D'deridex comes within a hair's breadth of blowing up the Enterprise is palpable.
 
"Tapestry" takes Picard and turns him on his head. You come to realize that no matter how egregious your past actions were, they define who you are today...so don't be too quick to wish they never happened.
 
 
I wish this episode had been a two-parter. Then again, we eventually received Star Trek: Voyager (arguably an entire series focused on the progression of holographic sentience/sapience plus rights).
 
  
 
It has been argued that if the reveal came later in the episode (near the end, in fact), this episode would have been much stronger. Still, two scenes come to mind:
 
1. Picard commenting that they've never needed a crew before.
2. The computer defining the boundaries of the known universe.
 
Both statements are chilling in their matter-of-fact delivery.

Season One: 
The Neutral Zone- The Romulans brought back as major antagonist and a pre DS9 Marc Alaimo.
Heart of Glory- We get the first real info about Worf's past.
 
Season 2: 
Elementary, Dear Data- Interesting philosophical debate in what qualifies as "sentient life". Daniel Davis is so good they bring him back later for round two.
Measure of a Man- More debate on the rights of "sentient life", but this time it involves Data.
Q Who?- Cop out choice maybe, but John de Lancie turns in a great performance.
 
Season 3:
The Defector-Great performances all around and one hell of an ending.
Yesterday's Enterprise-Probably the darkest episode in the series, but fascinating to see it play out.
Best of Both Worlds- One of Trek's greatest cliff hangers and perhaps the high point of their threat to the Alpha Quadrant.
 
Season 4:
Best of Both Worlds- Not as dark as Yesterday's Enterprise, but damn close.
Remember Me- Dr. Crusher got so few good episodes and this is one of her best.
Devil's Due- An intriguing premise made this one a fun watch.
Redemption- The best Worf centered story of the show until DS9.
 
Season 5:
Redemption- More Worf goodness. He's come a long way since season one.
I, Borg- Some people complain about the declawing of the Borg that starts with this episode, but this is executed pretty well to be honest.
 
Season 6:
True Q-John de Lancie again brings the acting chops and we learn more about Q culture...such as it is.
Chain of Command- An obvious choice. Lots of great acting in both episodes of this two parter. David Warner gives us yet another great performance and his scenes with Stewart are superb.
Ship in a Bottle- More "what is reality?" stream of consciousness stuff. Daniel Davis is again excellent.
 
Season 7:
Lower Decks- A great tale told from a different perspective.
All Good Things-Perhaps not the most exciting series ender, but having it all come back to the beginning definitely makes poetic sense.
 

Collecting old school tabletop RPG supplements has been costly...but worth the effort.

After a small-time (but vicious) bureaucratic villain got away scot-free during the course of our latest escapade, we met with the NPC that hired us to investigate said fiend.
 
NPC: *still upset, but steadily beginning to cool down* "Merrius will get his due. Every rope has an end."
Me: "Comforting words. Your own?"
NPC: "My father's."
Me: "He must have been a wise man."
NPC: *takes a measured sip of his drink* "He was a hang man."
Me: *takes a swig of ale with nonchalance plastered on my features* "Doubly wise, then."