DVD Review: Best of Star Trek TNG
Paramount Collects Four Popular Episodes From Trek Spinoff on DVD
Very much like the classic Star Trek from the late 1960's, its loyal spin-off Star Trek The Next Generation didn't waste any time gathering its own fan base, when it began airing on October 3rd of 1987.
And so, having received recent coverage with the release of the new Star Trek movie, as well as having released a "best of" set for the original series, Paramount visits this same concept, with the release of a four-episode disc, containing some of the fan favorites from Next Gen's 7-year, 178-episode run.
In many ways, this set and the aforementioned classic set of four episodes, are very useful in giving newcomers to the Trek franchise, a taste of the new crew and their considerable adventures during their continuing mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out....well, you know the rest.
The Best of Star Trek The Next Generation
Here are the choice episodes as found on this set:
The Best of Both Worlds, Part I and II
In a two-part storyline which made best use of the arrival of a new enemy to the Federation, the Borg, "Best of Both Worlds" pits the Enterprise crew against this dangerous menace, as they face the possible impending invasion of Sector 001 (read: Earth, which is also Starfleet's home base).
Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his Number One, Cmdr. Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), work with Starfleet Command, to organize a coordinated attack, using the bulk of the fleet, in order to stop the progress of these cybernetic assimilators.
When Picard is abducted by the Borg and assimilated to act as their unique voice as a collective mind, Riker and the fleet must contend with the knowledge that their deadly enemy now knows everything Picard knew about fleet defenses, making this episode one of the most action-packed and gripping thrill rides of the entire series.
Picard's ordeal throughout this episode, becomes an important plot element of the theatrical film Star Trek First Contact.
Yesterday's Enterprise
The powers that be behind the Trek shows, decided to try a different approach to the often-used time travel plot device, and so in this case they opted to switch the perspective to the receiving end of the temporal paradox. How? By exploring what were to have happened, if a starship from 22 years back (in this case, the Enterprise-C, oh ironies of ironies) were to fly through a spatial anomaly, only to emerge to the present (the show's present, that is), thus changing the past they were to be a part of, in a no-win situation.
The result? By fleeing a decisive battle where the Enterprise-C was to have perished while saving a Klingon outpost, the Klingon peace initiative never takes place, and thus the Federation is still at war.
On board the Enterprise-D (Picard's ship, to those of you keeping track), the audience sees a sudden shift in reality, from a peaceful exploration vessel to a ship of war, in a losing battle against the powerful Klingon empire.
Only Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), a long-lived El-Aurian with higher perceptive powers, knows something has changed, and it is up to her to convince Picard and the others, that the Enterprise-C must go back into the anomaly, restoring history to its proper course.
A very powerful tale, well acted by all involved, and which also allowed first season casualty Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby, who left the show early on) to return, as part of this alternate timeline.
Measure of a Man
A Data-centric episode, "Measure" deals with the nature of Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), whose android nature as a sentient being is questioned by Starfleet, when Bruce Maddox (Brian Brophy), a cocky and ambitious cyberneticist, asks for permission to disassemble Data, in order to duplicate his inner workings, allowing for a potential army of androids, to serve on ships throughout the fleet.
The problem? Data believes Maddox's research hasn't yet reached a sufficient level of progress, to effectively re-create the positronic brain built by Data's creator, Dr. Soong. As such, there is no way to know whether Maddox could successfully put Data back together, without losing the essence of his experiences since activation.
With a Judge Advocate General at the newly built Starbase 173 relying on senior officers to act as prosecution and defense, it falls on Picard to defend Data's rights as a sentient being, and for Data's friend Will Riker to act as prosecutor, to prove Data is nothing more than the sum of its parts.
A very poignant storyline written with the best courtroom elements, the magic of this episode rests on the confrontation between Picard and Riker, when both are forced to act opposite each other, if Data has any chance to choose for himself.
The Best of Star Trek The Next Generation Overall Analysis
There is no argument to oppose these episodes as counting among the best of the series, however it is unclear why Paramount didn't opt for any other number of equally worthy episodes, with "Descent", "Time's Arrow", "All Good Things...", "Unification", and "Data's Day" to name but a few.
Very much like the aforementioned "Best of Star Trek The Original Series" set, is it possible that the good folks at Paramount have further of these sets in store? Regardless, this offering is a great primer to those inspired by the latest theatrical film, to explore this incredible series, which has surpassed the classic show in many ways, and inspired a new generation of viewers to hope for a better future.
8 out of 10, for being a great Next Gen primer, but for having overlooked other great episodes.
Best of Star Trek Next Generation DVD
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Data on Trial
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Yesterday's Enterprise
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Best of Both Worlds
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