It’s universally considered one of the best episodes of all of Star Trek, up there with The Drumhead and The Measure of a Man. TNG is at its best when it touches contemporary philosophical subjects within the framework of sci-fi and an enlightened human golden age.

If you’re not committed to watching the entire series and don’t mind missing some minor context, you should probably start with season 2. Season 1 (“before the beard”) is an extremely mixed bag, including one hilariously racist episode.