Review: Star Trek – The Next Generation

The gold standard for Star Trek. Immutable and forever.

First airing on television in 1987 and running for seven full seasons, Star Trek: The Next Generation is the powerhouse sequel the likes of which many movie franchises enjoy. Set 100 years after the Original Series featuring Captain Kirk and Spock, this series followed a new crew aboard a new ship, the Enterprise-D, commanded by Jean-Luc Picard. Their mission, once again, to explore strange new worlds and to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry began the sequel show, even while the original crew were still having adventures on the big screen. The Final Frontier (1989) and The Undiscovered Country (1991) were releasing while Next Generation was running. Roddenberry would die in 1991, having seen the first three or four seasons of the show aired. Creative control would slowly pass over to producer Rick Berman for years to come.

There might be a lot of bias towards it. It was always on television, Wednesdays at 6pm or 6.30pm. It was a (mostly) reliable constant, and it was immeasurably sad when it ended. I can still remember how bittersweet the ending was. Now that companies try to extort the nostalgia of it, this bittersweet sensation only intensifies.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t see the flaws and the bad episodes. Some of which have always been bad. Others which have aged badly over time.

Awkward school class photos. Star Trek edition


Starring Sir Patrick Stewart (three years after he starred in David Lynch’s adaptation of Dune) as Captain Picard, the tone is quite different from the Original Series. The Next Generation is a positively utopian view of Humanity’s future. Where the vast majority of people are content in bettering themselves for the good of everyone. The Federation and Starfleet keep a firm hand of this liberal attitude; people are expected to deliver their very best, and stick to the rules that govern the endless trek through the stars.
The Enterprise-D is less of a submarine (such as in the Original Series) and is instead a lavish cruise-liner that doubles as the fleet’s flagship. This broadens the shows perspective by having more variety of characters and ship-bound incidents. It also gives character to the Federation: their flagship has children, schools, and families aboard.
We have a wide cast of characters, making for a diverse range of personalities to focus on across 20+ episodes per season. From the self-assured Commander Riker, to the Klingon warrior-turn-Starfleet officer Worf, or the blind Georgi LaForge, and the telepath Deanna Troi. Despite episodes often being singular situations (with some double-bill features scattered throughout) the narrative is constantly developing. One episode will reference another in even the most subtle of ways. An episode’s “monster of the week” will develop into the most deadly adversary the show will ever have.

There is a delightful steadiness in the storytelling. We experience the wonder of exploration on both personal and grand scales, and the tension it can bring.

Many say that the first seasons are the weakest, and it’s true that they have a lot of growing to do. The spark of chemistry between the characters is present but unrefined, the effects are ambitious but now a little tired. Riker doesn’t have a beard. But the show is displaying great strength by season two; there is a quality and a roundedness to the personalities. It is a shame that Gates McFadden’s Doctor Beverly Crusher is absent from season two, and Denise Crosby’s Security Chief Natasha Yar didn’t progress much beyond season one…

Data (Brent Spiner) and Spot. All good shows have a cat!

Even modern audiences are familiar with The Borg; the recent Star Trek: Picard series featured the cybernetic race prominently. Of course, this wasn’t the only race to be introduced by The Next Generation. The double-dealing Ferengi were originally meant to be the true antagonists. While the militaristic Cardassians and spiritual Bajorans would become extremely important in the subsequent show: Deep Space Nine. Even Star Trek: Voyager‘s start was heavily influenced by The Next Generation, with the introduction of the human faction known as The Maquis.
The show had notable stars mixed in there too: Whoopi Goldberg was a recurring character, James Cromwell readily appeared as an alien or two. The late Tony Todd, as well.

For all the best episodes, such as Best of Both Worlds (a resounding childhood memory) Inner Light, Cause and Effect, there are a host of stinkers as well. Sub Rosa, which features a planet of Scotsmen and a ghost story, is notorious. Most episodes with Deanna’s mother. Or the few episodes that diminish the show’s otherwise capable women into punching bags. It is sad to see that a show so full of nobility and respect for morals, codes, and beliefs, now has outmoded and narrowminded stories within it. These are the exceptions, but new viewers might see these as serious blemishes. Poor Deanna Troi… Can she have one episode that isn’t about mental violation? or aerobics?

The best ship there is


Otherwise, watching all of the show again, was quite a delight. Unlike the Original Series, which was either campy time travel, or boorish behaviour from Captain Kirk, TNG feels intellectual. Picard is the steadiest hand on the wheel. He protects those he commands, but will reprimand or lecture any of them that need it in the moment. Each crewman has a purpose to the running of the ship, and their consistency over seven years is astounding.

One other aspect of the episodes: they can bring scares and heavy themes too. But they don’t overwhelm the overall vibe the show strives to deliver. The inclusion of such devices as holodecks (virtual reality rooms) means the action isn’t reserved wholly to science fiction trappings either. Android crew member Data takes quite a shine to Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. Picard fancies himself a bit of a 1940s private detective.

The production stories behind Next Generation can be frightful. With gruelling schedules (how often do we see shows running for seven years with 25 episodes per season?) and a developing hostility from the higher ups. Just read up on producer Rick Berman and the various allegations about him. Or how initially, there wasn’t much faith in the new crew succeeding like The Original Series. It says a lot about a show where the cast is much like a family.
It is lightning in a bottle: the total overhaul of a popular show; changing everything, doggedly persisting for seven years; and becoming one of the most beloved genre shows made yet. There is an overwhelming positivity throughout; when solutions are morally just and consistent. None of the modern dross where everything has to be miserable and dark, depressing and always ending in a fight.

If someone were to ask me which Star Trek show they should watch, The Next Generation is the easy answer. For its flaws, there is a boundless optimism and enthusiasm that is simply unique.

In this day and age when shows die after one season… is it any wonder why we fall back on nostalgia? We need less dreadful Star Trek: Picard, and more original shows that are given time to grow!

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