Really? I thought that was basically the universally held opinion at this point. Gene Roddenberry had all sorts of sentimental ideas about what he wanted to do with the show, and it wasn’t until he left that the story really started to ramp up. I can think of so many episodes in season one and two that just shouldn’t have been there at all.
Here’s a Quora thread I found which explains things quite nicely. Unfortunately I was unable to find a proper article.
https://www.quora.com/Beyond-writing-why-did-Star-Trek-The-Next-Generation-improve-so-much-after-season-2-The-extras-acting-music-and-everything-about-The-Royale-is-just-so-ridiculous-but-then-things-improve-so-much-Why
Roddenberry was definitely a genius, but he made his fair share of stupid decisions, particularly towards the end of his life.