"THE BEST OF STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) STARRING Patrick Stewart as CAPTAIN JEAN-LUC PICARD Jonathan Frakes as COMMANDER WILLIAM T. RIKER LeVar Burton as LT. COMMANDER GEORGI LA FORGE Marina Sirtis as COUNSELOR DEANNA TROI Brent Spiner as LT. COMMANDER DATA Michael Dorn as LIEUTENANT WORF Gates McFadden as DOCTOR BEVERLY CRUSHER Majel Barrett as ENTERPRISE COMPUTER Wil Wheaton as WESLEY CRUSHER Not Rated Studio: Paramount Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
With a slew of “Star Trek” releases coming out on DVD and Blu-Ray, including a “Best of Star Trek: The Original Series,” it makes sense to remind the fans of the favorite episodes from “The Next Generation.” Four of the top episodes (which are also included on Entertainment Weekly’s Top 10 Episodes – spots 1 as a two-parter, 2 and 6) are featured on this single disc release.
“The Best of Both Worlds – Parts I and II” comprises the season three cliffhanger and the season four premier. The Borg finally make it to Federation Space. The Enterprise is dispatched to study the Borg cube and find a way to defeat them, but Captain Picard is taken prisoner and assimilated into the Borg collective. Now with all of Picard’s knowledge and experience, the crew of the Enterprise must find a way to defeat the enemy and save their captain.
In “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” the crew encounters a time distortion, which brings into the future the Enterprise-B, which had been in a deadly battle with Romulans attacking a Klingon outpost. As a result, the timeline has changed, featuring a centuries-old war with the Klingons and the Federation. Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) is the only one on board to notice the change, which also reunites the crew with fallen comrade Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby).
In season two’s “The Measure of a Man,” Data is literally fighting for his life. A scientist has come to the Enterprise and demanded that Data subject himself to dangerous testing. In an attempt to save his crew member, Captain Picard attempts to make the legal claim that Data is a sentient being and capable of refusing the tests.
WHAT I LIKED
While I caught the original “Star Trek” series in reruns, I watched the bulk of “The Next Generation” as it aired. It was a formidable element of my entertainment while I was in college, and I continued to be a fan through the later “Star Trek” films... even the ones that didn’t do so well at the box office.
Oddly enough, I only remember seeing two of these episodes in their original run. I started watching the series religiously with “The Best of Both Worlds (Part II),” so it was great to fill in the holes with the first episode. And I didn’t watch the show in its second season, so it was nice to see “The Measure of a Man” even this late in the game.
“Star Trek: The Next Generation” can be credited for the explosion of syndicated sci-fi television in the early 1990s, but few shows lived up to its greatness. These episodes showed the elements of brilliance of the series. Time travel is key to “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” and it is handled quite well, and it also ushered in the return of Denise Crosby to the series. Similarly, “The Best of Both Worlds” went on to develop the Borg, which is one of the best “Star Trek” villains ever conceived.
These may not be your favorite episodes, and there certainly are plenty more to choose from. However, “The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation” is a cool blast from the past for me.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
I have to admit that I was a bit shocked when I popped in this DVD to watch these four episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Having been a huge fan of the series in college (during which the students in my dorm wing would gather in the lounge to watch each week... we were the geek dorm, after all), I have very fond memories of the series. And in the early 1990s, this was the pinnacle of special effects on television.
Sadly, though, this series doesn’t hold up as well as the original series does to the modern eye. Sure, the stories are compelling, and the characters did evolve into some very interesting people. However, with this best-of disc pulling primarily from the first three seasons, it becomes all-too-apparent what a staggering low budget the series had. The effects look like they were made with a Video Toaster, and the sets seemed relatively drab.
From a week-to-week basis, “Star Trek: The Next Generation” was a great series, and I will always fondly remember it. However, this look into the past has put a few cracks in my rose-colored glasses.
DVD FEATURES
Like the release of “The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series,” this next generation DVD only comes with previews of the new “Star Trek” movie and the first season of the original series on Blu-Ray.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans who want to revisit some of the best episodes of the second series.
