Justice

That's what happens if you make contact to species which haven't mastered warp engine technology or any kind of modern technology as it seems...

This is one of the worst TNG episodes.

While I liked the character of Wesley Crusher more later on, he was extremely annoying early on and here he's probably at his most irritating. Combine that with ridiculous "aliens" that are nearly naked and just run around all the time and a story that amounts to nothing, this is an easy one to skip.

You're not missing anything.

Typically ham-handed, but Roddenberry always had a weakness for that -- as he did for scanty costumes. "Justice" is probably the peak of both issues, and there's something to be said for a screen full of fit, young bodies. But this is Star Trek, and first-season TNG at that, so it's another round of superficial assertions on deep subjects that ultimately ends with a deus ex machina solution (rather literally in this case).

Most of the acting isn't bad, so it's almost good ... if the premise weren't quite so flimsy, nor the denouement rather anticlimatic. Special bonus points go to the female guest lead's earnestness, which actually makes this episode fairly believable. Also, Gates McFadden is quite convincing, while Marina Sirtis seems rather uncomfortable with the whole premise. Special groan to having Data (a machine) be 'unconscious', and administered by medical personnel instead of engineers.

So many upset reviewers here. I never knew until now that nerdish incels could be such drama queens. Perhaps if you put on your Spock ears and keep repeating to yourself, "it's only a TV show" you might feel better. I realize that seeing so many scantily dressed actors in this episode made you want to do odd things when you're alone later, but try to contain yourself until then. This episode wasn't the greatest, but it wasn't the worst either as some would have you think. It brought to mind the young, blonde eloi race featured in The Time Machine. Maybe Gene Roddenberry got the idea for the edo from that book/film.

I will be the first to say that some science fiction has a penchant of being kind of sexy. Flash Gordon has scantily clad ladies, as had the original Trek which was devised during the era of sexual liberation. Also, Barbarella anyone? There is of course more of this to be found in the comic book realm of science fiction. And since TNG builds upon TOS, having some of that tongue-in-cheek sexyness is certainly warranted.

However in this episode of TNG it is just completely over the top. The away team (including a minor) transports to what I can only describe as a planetary swingers club. The dubbed-in moaning background noises in some scenes is just plain ridiculous. The rerefences to sexual encounters that have happened or are about to happen are so overt they lose all charm.

The other (or main?) message of the episode is about the prime directive, but is is pretty much botched. It could have been good, Picard being in a predicament needing to choose between the life of the one versus the life of the many, weighed against the importance of the directive. But since it was all storied in such a stupid way, I find it an opportunity missed. Bad and lazy writing, really.