Star Trek: The Next Generation
The Arsenal of Freedom
TV Flash files “The Arsenal of Freedom” as hour 21 of 178 in the TV Flash guide — Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) on Syndication, season 1, episode 21, aired 1988-04-11, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E21: listed hour 21 of 178 in the Star Trek: The Next Generation guide, hour 21 of 26 in season 1. It aired 1988-04-11 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Heart of Glory” (S01E20). Next is “Symbiosis” (S01E22).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
While investigating the disappearance of the star ship Drake, an away team beams down to a strange planet where they received a message about arms sales upon arriving in orbit. Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher vanish during the mission and the Enterprise comes under attack.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Arsenal of Freedom sit in the Star Trek: The Next Generation guide?
S01E21 is listed hour 21 of 178 — hour 21 of 26 in season 1, season 1 episode 21.
When did Star Trek: The Next Generation S01E21 air?
The Arsenal of Freedom aired 1988-04-11 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Should I skip season one?
You can sample it, then jump. The pilot and early hours wobble; fandom's own catechism is that the series finds its voice mid-run. Stewart's Picard is already the instrument.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Peak optimistic space opera with philosophical teeth — Stewart's Picard is a master class in quiet authority, and Data, Worf, and the Borg made franchise television feel weekly and serious. First-run syndication revived Trek without Kirk. Start with mid-run classics if the pilot feels stiff; Make it so is still a management style.
First-run syndication is a window, not a shrine. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) regenerated Gene Roddenberry's universe without Kirk by putting Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard on a new Enterprise and selling **178 hours across seven seasons** outside a single network night. Rex can keep the original series in amber. This was franchise television learning to drop weekly at scale: idea-driven starship hours, a more ensemble bridge, prestige sci-fi as appointment TV that did not need a peacock to…
Open the Star Trek: The Next Generation package · Season 1 hub
Filed against
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