Star Trek: The Next Generation, Complete Series

Star Trek: The Next Generation, complete series

Medium: TV
Created by: Gene Roddenberry
Network: First-run syndication
Dates Aired: September 28, 1987 - May 23, 1994
Consumption completed: June 5, 2012
Genre: Sci-fi, Drama
Rating: 7.5/10

About a year and three months ago, a friend and I, casually drinking and watching crap on Netflix Instant, got sick of watching episodes of various Power Rangers incarnations. He made me try out TNG, and much to my annoyance, made me watch an episode from the second season. He assured me it would be a much better introduction to the crew and their universe than the actual pilot episode would be. I thank him very much for that. The episode was "Q Who", and it served as the introduction to the Borg. And not only that, it was fantastic. The borg were scary as hell, and I could tell the crew of the Enterprise thought so, too. Jean-Luc Picard (an always on his game Patrick Stewart) didn't save the day or outsmart their foe; they ran away. I found it all very exciting. I was hooked.

The pilot episode, "Encounter at Farpoint", has very little in common with "Q Who" aside from the characters. It's long and bloated, the dialogue is atrocious, and the initial conflict (Q kidnaps Jean-Luc and puts him on trial for humanity's crimes) is a silly, stupid way to ease us into what was the new era of Star Trek.

But I knew it would get better. With only a couple exceptions, "Q Who" is really the first notable episode of the series, and it falls about midway into the second season. From there, the show takes off. The four-season stretch from 3 to 6 features some of the best science fiction television I've seen (as well as a few terrible episodes). No season of TNG ever was perfect.

But in its prime,even when it could be lazy and crummy, the crew of the TNG Enterprise was always a joy. My father says they were boring, but that's only because they were a bunch of (mostly) level-headed and stable, nerdish workaholics. Jean-Luc was a man in love with the idea of exploration and discovery, and he made his crew care about it as well. Worf was often the brunt of jokes, but episodes focusing on him and his Klingon culture were some of the series' best. Geordi Laforge and Data  had a great working chemistry that the show often exploited to great effect.

The female characters were less well-served by the scripts, but by season 6, even Deanna Troi was put back into a normal Star Fleet uniform and given meaningful things to do. Beverly Crusher never got as effective of a development, but she character was rarely an issue, just often under-utilized.

Oh, and Commander William Riker. He so rarely got to be the focus, but he's a total badass of a supporting character.

TNG is far from a perfect show, but it is a very good show. And a classic one, too. I'm excited about delving into Deep Space 9, just as soon as I've finished Babylon 5 (I have four and a half seasons left).