Best of Star Trek:TNG: vol 2

It has to be incredibly difficult to follow something that made history. Everyone knows he name of the commander of the first Apollo mission to land men on the moon; Neil Armstrong, but far fewer can name the commander of the follow up mission, Apollo 14; Alan Shepard. This even though Shepard had his own historic mark as the first American in Space. In the extremely fickle world of entertainment it is nearly impossible for a television series to come after one that has been completely loved and embraced by a generation of viewers, this was the dilemma that the production crew had in the late nineteen eighties when they set out to resurrect one of the most famous an influential series ever; ‘Star Trek’. By then over two decades had pasted sine the original series left the air but the franchise was still kept alive by the series of feature films set in the same point in the future and featuring the same cast as the original. Now a completely new cast and crew would have to do the unthinkable; replace a series with the most vocal and detail oriented fans ever. On the week of September 28, 1987 the theory of whether such rabid and loyal fans would accept an heir apparent to the Sci-Fi throne was put to the test and ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation hit the air waves. For quite awhile prior to the debut there was an enormous buzz around the slightest details allowed out by the production company. Fans anxiously waited with mixed emotions what the new crew would be like and, most importantly, how would the new Starship Enterprise look?

Fortunately for the millions of fans the man behind the Next Generation was the same creative genius that started the franchise in the first place; Gene Roddenberry. This went a very long way to calming the trepidation felt by the legion of 'Trekkers’ around the world. The new series would be an extension and elaboration of Roddenberry very specific and detailed view of our future. Thanks in no small part to the imagination sparked by TOS real life technology was rapidly approaching the level depicted on that series; the nifty flip out communicator was becoming common place as a cell phone and medical diagnosis equipment looked like it came directly from sick bay. By placing the new series about 80 years beyond the first the writers could push new technology embracing a new look and feel that was still consistent with TOS. The control panel lost the buttons and slide controls in favor e computerized touch screens and the new ship was larger, sleeker and more realistic looking than ever. The missions were less military taking on more of a scientific and exploratory focus; we were socially evolving as a species. This was reflected in the new captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) who was not only a tactical genius but was one of the Federation’s most able diplomats. The episodes n this collection were all considered new enough so that the great time and expense of digital re-mastering was not warranted. This was the first time I was able to re-watch some of these episodes on a high definition home theater and even without a re-master the result was surprisingly good. In general the colors were bright, vibrant and alive but they didn’t ‘pop’ like the re-mastered TOS sister set. The video did up convert well to 1080p without introducing any discernable artifacts. The Dolby stereo audio also did well when re-processed by my home theater receiver using one of the 7.1 enhanced modes. This allowed the dialogue to move forward on the sound stage without losing any of the audio effects.

Season 6 episode 4 October 12, 1992

This was an episode that would establish a bridge of continuity between TOS and TNG fans. The writers came up with a cleaver way to bring back an original cast member even though that series took place over eighty years in the past. The Enterprise discovers a Dyson sphere, gigantic structure that encloses a sun and is one earth orbit in diameter. On the surfaces is a vessel that crashed seventy years ago. The transporter was still active and alive in the pattern buffer was Montgomery "Scotty" Scott ( James Doohan). This allowed an interaction and subsequent contrast of the old and new guard of the Enterprise. It validated the new series for many of the TOS diehard fans. One foot note; the episode was written by Ronald D. Moore, the creative force behind the re tooling of ‘Battlestar Galactica’

Season 5 episode 25 June 1, 1992

This is a major departure for any aspect of the franchise. There are no space battles and little in the way of special effects. It is a gentle story Picard is affected by a deep space probe and in twenty real time minutes lives out the life on a member of an extinct civilization. Almost none of the episode takes place on the Enterprise and virtually none of the crew is present. It is a fantastic showcase for the acting ability of Stewart and a different aspect of the art of science fiction.

Season 6 episode 18 March 23, 1992

This is one example of something that became a mainstay of the Star Trek; playing around with time and space. Here the Enterprise is caught in a temporal loop constantly repeating the events that lead up to the destruction of the Enterprise. Data appears aware and has to find some method to transmit the solution from one iteration of the events to another.

Season 6 episode 15 June 15, 1983

One of the strangest characters introduced by TNG is that of ‘Q’ (John de Lancie), am omnipotent being with a perchance for deadly mischief and a strange fascination for the enterprise and its crew. His godlike powers are limited only by his wrapped imagination. Here he shows Picard an alternate life if different decisions were made after a near fatal accident in his past.

Posted 11/08/09