You know lots of people say that out of all the media that is to do with Star Trek, this is among the best of it.
The Next Generation is one show that most in my generation would've been bought up with, and it also became quite an influential one too. So influential that it helped the BBC figure out the way forward for
Doctor Who and inspired many sci-fi writers with their own works. It's largely a continuation of the original series, but as the name implies, it has a new generation using the Enterprise. But still with the mission to explore new life and civilizations while boldly going where no one has gone before. It was also one of the last things that franchise creator Gene Roddenberry helped create before his passing. So let's once again boldly go to that galaxy and see what's up:
Season 1
So the Enterprise in this series is known as Enterprise-D, and its captain is Jean-Luc Picard (played by the great Sir Patrick Stewart). Before setting off on its mission, the crew face against a being called Q (played by John de Lancie) who is best described as a trickster sort of being who puts the crew on trail for crimes against humanity. After that, they go on various adventures including time travel in the holodeck, new aliens becoming hostile
and of course some new characters to enjoy watching regularly with some bearing similarities to the original crew. Like with most new shows and in this case shows that are set in an already established franchise, the reviews were not great. Honestly though the only thing that really bothered me about this first series is the costumes. They just didn't feel like the uniforms of a crew in a starship (which would of course change over time to something that looked more appealing). Other than that, I enjoyed what I saw here and hope the rest of the series is enjoyable too. 8/10
Season 2
This season saw a couple of changes in casting. Dr. Beverly Crusher (played by Gates McFadden) was replaced for this season by someone else, but would return in the following seasons due to high demand from fans. We also see Whoopi Goldberg
joining the cast as the Enterprise bartender Guinan. Highlights from this season include Lt. Commander Data (played by Brent Spiner) taking on a Sherlock Holmes persona, First Officer Will Riker (played by Jonathan Frakes) being part of an exchange program between the Federation and the Klingon Empire and the crew face the Borg for the first time. Although it is the shortest season there is, it does feel strange not having Gates McFadden around given how popular her character is. Though having said that, much of what happens in this season in the way of character development becomes a permanent fixture for the rest of the show and into the films that would follow. That I think is good because like I said, most of us would've grown up with this series more than the original if you were a millennial like me. 8/10
Season 3
Along with the re-establishment of Beverly Crusher, we also meet a lot of other characters in this season who would go on to appear in multiple other forms of media in the franchise. The writing team also had some changes, and we also say goodbye (for now) to Wesley Crusher (played by Wil Wheaton) who goes on to enrol in Starfleet Academy in this season. And the uniforms feel more like the uniforms of a crew this time around which is great. Apart from Wesley, other highlights include Lt. Geordi La Forge (played by LeVar Burton) finding himself attracted to a holographic engineer and forming an alliance with a Romulan, Lt. Worf (played by Michael Dorn) trying to prove his father's innocence, Lt. Reginald Barclay (played by Dwight Schultz) developing an unhealthy addiction to the holodeck and Picard gets kidnapped by the Borg. This season is a strong one as it brings in some much-needed changes and additions to cast and crew. The writing is really good, the acting is great, and it goes on to some deep subject matters such as addictions, knowing the fine line between what you are supposed to do and what is the right thing to do and that help can come in all shapes and sizes if you look. Yeah, really enjoyed this one 9/10
Season 4
This season had a lot of ongoing storylines throughout which is a change from having largely single stories per episode except for the multi-part ones. In this season, Worf faces a challenge that threatens his family honour, and we get to meet his son, a plot against the Federation is afoot with the Duras-Romulans, transporter cheif Miles O'Brien (played by Colm Meaney) get married and has further character development in which we see his past and find out his full name, and we get a couple of family focused episodes too. Season 4 isn't a bad season by any means. It's got perhaps the most character development out of all the seasons here, but nice that we get those reoccurring themes and storylines that go on throughout the whole season instead of just one episode as it was before. A decent season this one is. 8/10
Season 5
This season is notable as the one that was made around the time when franchise creator Gene Roddenberry passed away. Because of this, a two part episode was dedicated to him which features the return of Spock (reprised by the late Leonard Nimoy) now an ambassador who Data shares similarities with. Picard also has a number of memorable moments this season which include helping children when the Enterprise loses power as well as the just mentioned meeting of Spock (Patrick Stewart also directed an episode for this season too). Other highlights include
a resolve to the Klingon Civil War, Wesley returning where he tries to get the crew to escape the addiction of a virtual mind-bending game, Counsellor Deanna Troi (played by Marina Sirtis) facing a few challenges that makes her a stronger character and Data faces his supposed destiny. This season is pretty good. Lots going on, plenty more character development (especially with Picard) and some good storylines too. What's not to like. 9/10
Season 6
In this season, we learn just how long Guinan has known Picard. Picard and Troi go on separate yet risky espionage missions away from the Enterprise, Q returns once again and helps Picard (instead of mocking him) with his personal development as a person, Riker faces an accidental transporter-copy of himself and battles with his sanity and Scotty (reprised by the late James Doohan) makes a return along with some other reoccurring characters.
I think this time around, more development was made on other characters besides Picard which I guess makes up for his significant development in the previous season. It's another great season overall with nearly everyone getting some kind of development and plenty of fan service too. 9/10
Season 7
In the show's final season, family history becomes the main focus in a number of episodes including one where Data realizes that his "mother" is still alive and another where Geordi attempts to save his own mother, but must come to terms with his loss. Worf meets a future version of his son, Picard time jumps to three different points in time in one final challenge left by Q and one episode sees the crew experience devolution. It is in every way, the perfect ending to the show. It gives us what is arguably one of the most intense yet breathtaking endings to a show and wraps up on the development of its main characters. Of course, it wouldn't be the last we would see of this Enterprise crew as most would later appear in feature films and of course some other shows that were being shown and/or being developed at the time. 9/10
You know, this could very well be seen as being among the best that Star Trek can offer with its shows. Like I said, it was this show that helped pave the way for how most other sci-fi shows after it would go moving forward (especially Doctor Who). It's a great series that has emotions, laughs, fun and lots of action packed moments in a galaxy that continues to boldly go where no one has gone before. 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment