@nocontexttrek This had to be one of the terrible "Star Trek Phase II" re-writes that stunk up the first couple seasons of TNG.
I went back and tried to rewatched TNG, in order, and ended up skipping to the third season, because that's when the writers and cast think it started getting good.
There must have been pent-up demand for new Star Trek on TV because the first couple seasons of TNG were objectively terrible. DS9, VOY and ENT all got off to good starts, but TNG was pretty bad.