10 Best Star Trek: The Next Generation & Picard Scenes Set In Ten Forward

Star Trek: The Next Generation's Ten Forward lounge is an integral part of the USS Enterprise-D and serves as the setting for some of the show's best scenes. Over the course of TNG'sseven seasons, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew come to feel like family, not only to each other but also to the viewer. The introduction of Ten Forward at the start of TNG season 2 gave the characters a place to interact with one another outside of work, allowing the showto explore its characters with more depth and reveal more about their personalities.

Located on Deck 10, forward section 1, Ten Forward is operated by El-Aurian bartender Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), who is always willing to offer a listening ear and a word of advice. Guinan gave Captain Picard someone to talk to, and she became one of the few people he would seek out for advice. Since the introduction of Ten Forward, nearly every Star Trek series has featured a bar or lounge of some kind for its characters. Star Trek: Picard even resurrected Ten Forward in the form of an actual bar in San Francisco (run by Guinan, of course).

10 Picard & Guinan's Conversation

TNG Season 2, Episode 9: "The Measure Of A Man"

When cyberneticist Dr. Bruce Maddox (Brian Brophy) visits the Enterprise, he declares his intentions to dismantle Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) for further study. This leads to a trial that will determine whether or not Data is the property of Starfleet. Captain Picard agrees to defend Data, while Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) must argue for the opposing side.

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After Riker delivers a particularly effective argument, Picard seeks out Guinan in Ten Forward, worried that he won't be able to save Data. Guinan points out that if Data is determined to be property, Starfleet could create an entire race of"disposable creatures."It's a vital and poignant conversation that inspires Picard to rethink his approach, leading to one of Star Trek'smost powerful speeches as Picard defends Data's right to exist.

9 Data & Lal

TNG Season 3, Episode 16: "The Offspring"

In "The Offspring," Data builds an android daughter for himself named Lal (Hallie Todd), and teaches her how to be human. Starfleet wants to take Lal away from Data, but Captain Picard fights for the android's rights just as he did in "The Measure of a Man." Tragically, Lal's programming becomes too complex, causing a fatal cascade failure in her positronic brain.

After Lal dies, Data uploads her memories to his own positronic brain, ensuring she lives on in some way.

At one point, Data takes Lal to Ten Forward, leaving her in Guinan's care so she can observe the Enterprise crew members. After Lal sees two crew members kiss, she sets her sights on Commander Riker, pulling him across the bar to kiss him. Flustered and confused, Riker barely has time to react before Data walks in, hilariously demanding to know Riker's intentions toward Lal.

8 The Brawl

TNG Season 3, Episode 23: "Sarek"

Uncharacteristic chaos is always a good what to break up the status quo of a series and offer exaggerated comedy. When Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) father, Ambassador Sarek (Mark Lenard), visits the Enterprise-D to attend a conference, his untreated Bendii syndrome leads to emotional outbursts on board the ship. Eventually, Sarek initiates a mind meld with Picard, allowing the Enterprise captain to take on Sarek's emotions while the ambassador attends the conference.

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Before the Enterprise crew figures out the source of the strange behavior among the crew members, Riker and Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) walk into a massive brawl in Ten Forward. It's a short but fun scene,as several Enterprise crew members throw punches at one another. One person even gets thrown into a glass table, while another gets tossed over the bar, and Riker gets knocked down by a punch to the face.

7 Keiko O'Brien Gives Birth

TNG Season 5, Episode 5: "Disaster"

When an unknown force suddenly renders most of the systems aboard the Enterprise-D inoperable, the crew ends up trapped in various rooms throughout the ship. Riker, Data, and Worf are all stuck in Ten Forward with several other officers and civilians, including a very pregnant Keiko O'Brien (Rosalind Chao). They established Ten Forward as a makeshift triage area to tend to the wounded.

Riker and Data soon decide to go to Engineering through the Jeffries Tubes, leaving Worf and Keiko to treat the wounded. As she is tending to patients, Keiko goes into labor, to which Worf replies: "This is not a good time, Keiko."Keiko, of course, has little choice in the matter, forcing Worf to deliver her baby. After a tense delivery during which Worf notes that the practice "computer simulation was not like this," Keiko gives birth to a healthy baby she names Molly.

6 Troi, Data, & O'Brien Are Possessed

TNG Season 5, Episode 15: "Power Play"

While on an away mission, Data, Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meany) are possessed by noncorporeal alien entities. The three aliens then take control of the Enterprise, gathering a group of hostages in Ten Forward. Troi initially claims to be Captain Bryce Shumar of the USS Essex, which disappeared over 200 years before, but it's eventually revealed that all three beings are prisoners who escaped from a penal colony.

It's a lot of fun seeing Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, and Colm Meany play such different characters.

Before this reveal, most of "Power Play" takes place in Ten Forward, as Picard tries to negotiate with the beings possessing his crew members. At one point, Data grabs Picard's neck, lifting him off the floor and demanding that he cooperate. These scenes in Ten Forward are tense, but it's a lot of fun seeing Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, and Colm Meany play such different characters.

5 Geordi & Ro's Memorial

TNG Season 5, Episode 24: "The Next Phase"

In "The Next Phase," Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) and Ensign Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) are seemingly killed in a transporter accident. In reality, however, the transporter has rendered them out of phase with the rest of the universe. They can see their crew members aboard the Enterprise, but cannot communicate or physically interact with them. Believing Geordi and Ro to be dead, Data plans a jazz funeral for them in Ten Forward.

LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge in Star Trek The Next Generation and Picard

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Geordi tries to get Data's attention by creating chronoton emissions, and Data's sweep of anyon particles renders Geordi and Ro temporarily visible. While the viewer knows Geordi and Ro will likely be restored by the end of the episode, "The Next Phase" has some genuinely sad moments. Data takes Geordi's death particularly hard, sharing that Geordi showed him what friendship meant, and now he does not know how to say goodbye.

4 Data's Poetry Reading

TNG Season 6, Episode 5: "Schisms"

"Schisms" is a particularly unsettling episode of Star Trek in which the Enterprise-D crew discovers that sinister aliens have been abducting them at night and experimenting on them. At one point, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) examines Commander Riker and realizes that his arm has been severed and reattached. Geordi and Data eventually figure out how to close the subspace rift that the aliens came through, but not before someone is killed.

Although Spot does not feature in "Schisms," the orange cat appears in eight other episodes of TNG, played by six different cats - Monster, Brandy, Bud, Tyler, Spencer, and Zoe - and one lizard named Willie.

Before all of this, though, "Schisms" opens with a wonderful scene that shows Data reciting poems to a crowd in Ten Forward. Throughout The Next Generation, Data experiments with various human hobbies to explore his own humanity, and poetry is his latest endeavor. His poem, "Ode to Spot," suits Data perfectly, full of unnecessarily complicated words and obvious love for his cat, Spot.

3 Picard's Dream About Data

Picard Season 1, Episode 1: "Remembrance"

In 2020, 28 years after Star Trek: The Next Generation ended, Star Trek: Picard checked in on Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, who had retired to his family's French vineyard. The series premiere opens with a dream sequence featuring Picard and Data in a recreation of the Enterprise-D's Ten Forward. The two are playing poker as Picard realizes that Data is trying to bluff by faking a tell.

Picard's dream soon devolves into a nightmare about the synth attack on Mars, before the former Enterprise captain wakes with a start. It's a short but effective scene that sets up where Picard's head is at the start of the series. He's reminiscing about his old friends, but can't stop thinking about the Mars attack and its aftermath. For the viewer, though, it's a joy seeing Picard and Data again, dream sequence or not.

2 Captain Shaw's Wolf 359 Speech

Picard Season 3, Episode 4: "No Win Scenario"

After Admiral Picard and Captain Riker commandeer the USS Titan for an impromptu rescue mission, the ship is pulled into a deadly battle against the Changeling Vadic (Amanda Plummer) and her powerful warship. This fight leaves the Titan sinking into a gravitational anomalywith no way to escape, much to the frustration of its current commander, Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick). As the ship drifts to its death, some of the crew members gather on the holodeck in a recreation of Guinan's 10 Forward Avenue bar in San Francisco.

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Picard sits with his newfound son, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), as the two try to make up for lost time. Before long, Shaw enters and bitterly recounts his experience during the Battle of Wolf 359. At the time, Shaw was just a young engineer, and he remembers Picard as Locutus of Borg,"the only Borg so deadly they gave him a goddamn name." It's a powerful speech, thanks in large part to Stashwick's masterful delivery, and offers a fascinating insight into one of Star Trek's most infamous battles.

1 TNG Crew's Final Poker Game

Picard Season 3, Episode 10: "The Last Generation"

Star Trek: Picard's season 3 finale brought the show to a close with a pitch-perfect ending reminiscent of Star Trek: The Next Generation's "All Good Things...." After Admiral Picard and his crew save the galaxy yet again, they gather for another poker game at Guinan's 10 Forward Avenue bar in San Francisco. Picard delivers a final Shakespearean speech, and the camera keeps rolling as the old friends get into their poker game.

It remains to be seen if this is the last we'll see of Picard and his Enterprise-D crew, but if it is, it's a lovely ending that hits all the right notes.

It remains to be seen if this is the last we'll see of Picard and his Enterprise-D crew, but if it is, it's a lovely ending that hits all the right notes. Like the Enterprise-D's Ten Forward had been on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Guinan's 10 Forward Avenue bar became a vital part of Star Trek: Picard. In both shows, Ten/10 Forward served as a gathering place for the crew of the Enterprise-D, allowing them to be themselves and making them feel even more like family.

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