Which ST:TNG episode introduced the warp speed limit?

Question

i'm pretty sure i only saw it once, was it pulled from the rotation or did i just keep missing it? was it always obeyed?

Answer 1

I know the episode you are talking about.  It is called Force of Nature, and it is season 7, episode 9.  

The speed limit is not always obeyed; there is allowance during times of extreme emergency.  I remember at least once during TNG that they are told the limit can be forgotten for the mission, and it happens a few times in DS9 as well.  Voyager routinely ignores it because they are trying to get home.

In episodes that show the future, there is no longer a warp speed limit, which seems to demonstrate that they learn to work around the problems that it causes.