What Is The Next Generation?

via Memory Alpha

Star Trek belongs on television.  Movies are all well and good but Trek is at its best as a television series.  Even skeptics were excited for The Next Generation when it first hit TV screens in fall 1987.  Fans were hungry for new stories and if that required getting used to new characters, so be it.  The series took a season-plus to gain its footing but once it did, it surpassed the celebrated originals in the hearts of many, including mine.  

While NextGen itself was dragging to the finish line by the end of seven seasons, the franchise overall was stronger than ever.  One spin-off, Deep Space Nine, was off to a fantastic start and was already testing the boundaries of the Trek concept in refreshing ways.  Another, Voyager, was due to launch in January.  After a brief vacation break, the TNG cast and crew got right to work on their first film, Generations, to be released in November of 1994.  It would bring in $118 million worldwide at the box office.

Mission accomplished.

Over the long run, The Next Generation benefited significantly from the unusual circumstances of its birth.  Put off by the fact that none of the major networks would give them a deal they felt their valuable property deserved, Paramount decided on a new approach for getting the new Star Trek series on the air: first-run syndication.  They cut deals one local independent station at a time for the broadcast rights.  The benefit to the local stations was enormous and it put the studio completely in the driver's seat regarding the future of the show.  Whereas the creators would have had to appease a major network constantly, what local operation in its right mind would cancel Star Trek?

As a result, the new show benefited from two significant resources the original didn't have: patience and time.  Would NextGen have survived after its weak first season if it had aired on NBC instead?  Maybe ratings would have saved it but the pressure would have been on and growing tension over creative control might have harmed the product (and there was enough of that anyway).  The first-run syndication arrangement provided the space to grow slowly.  By the fourth season, a point by which the original series had already been cancelled, TNG was humming along beautifully.

The Next Generation quickly outpaced the original series in two areas: character development and world-building aboard the Enterprise.  While one could argue (as I did here) that those considerations were not the driving purpose of the originals, NextGen established templates for all Star Trek series to follow.  The new series emphasized relationships and a sense of home.  Each principal (eventually) has a developed personal life and not all of their interactions revolve around the captain.  In the 2020s, even with the return of many Kirk-era characters, the emotional pulse of Star Trek resonates more strongly with Jean-Luc's Enterprise than with James T's.  

via Memory Alpha

Politically, the basic message of Star Trek was the same: tolerance.  What was new was exploration of how the individual finds their place in a pluralistic society.  How is it to live in two cultures at once? (Worf)  How does one balance obligations to family with one's personal ambitions? (Deanna and Beverly, though from different perspectives)  What are the rights of an artificially intelligent life form? (Data)  What role does one's specific disability play in shaping the self-identity of a disabled person? (Geordi)

The racial attitudes still needed some work.  By the mid-'90s, White America wanted to believe it was living in a post-racial society.  Civil rights were a done deal, right?  We don't see color (race) anymore, right?  Obviously, the world is more complicated than that and even Star Trek had a lot to learn.  In 1994, the rhetoric still implied strongly that humanness was the ideal and the closer someone like Worf or Data could come to meeting that standard the better.  It's way too easy to extend that line of thinking to whiteness but the writing staff, at least, wasn't making the connection.  Over time, the franchise has gradually improved and 29 years later, the work continues - as it should.

*****

It's time to hand out the hardware...

Favorite Episode: "Darmok"

After this, my third time watching through The Next Generation, I have a new favorite.

Our heroes encounter the Tamarians, a culture whose language the universal translator has not been able to decipher.  Dathon, the Tamarian captain, and Picard must work to understand each other in order to fend off a common threat.  "Darmok" is the entire Star Trek concept boiled down to a single 42-minute episode.  It's also a perfect bottle episode which I think places it above the competitors for this top spot.  You get all the set up you need in the opening teaser.  

Least Favorite Episode: "Code of Honor"

Tasha Yar is kidnapped by a visiting delegation of Ligonians.  Obviously, our heroes must rescue her.  The basic plot is not the problem.  Episode director Russ Mayberry chose to cast all of the Ligonians as Black actors costumed in a "1940s tribal Africa" theme.  Mayberry was fired but the episode still aired, a truly appalling decision.  Star Trek has been preaching racial tolerance since 1966.  With "Code of Honor," the franchise fell well short of its own standards.

The Ranking of Captains

via Memory Alpha

The original series had a top tier of three characters: Kirk, Spock and McCoy.  The Next Generation has a top tier of one: Picard.  Yes, Jonathan Frakes (Riker) gets second billing in the credits after Patrick Stewart and before the "Also Starring" principals.  That's the sort of thing agents haggle over.  In practice, there's no doubt who the lead is in TNG.  As noted above, not every relationship revolves around the captain but it's Picard's ship and Patrick Stewart's show.  As such, comparing Picard to the other regulars is a silly exercise.  One can only compare him meaningfully with Kirk.

1. Jean-Luc Picard

2. James T. Kirk

Start with the actors.  Patrick Stewart is several grades above William Shatner as a thespian.  Stewart brought unprecedented class to Star Trek and as I've written before, his professionalism set a standard for the rest of the young and relatively inexperienced cast.  Without question, the entire series would have evolved differently with a lesser actor in the role.  Stewart's vocal and physical presence commands the screen yet he also understands how to support the scenes of others.  His emotional range in episodes like "Family" or "The Inner Light" far exceeds anything Shatner ever achieved as Kirk.  "Chain of Command, Part II"?  Not even worth discussing.

In his recently published memoir, Making It So, Stewart writes about his own journey as an actor in the role.  From what I've heard, it's not what you'd expect.  I'm eager to read it.

As discussed above, Picard's Enterprise is a warmer, friendlier place than Kirk's.  A great deal of material in the early going is devoted to exhibiting Picard as an appreciative leader and a good boss.  His ship is a rewarding place to work.

Favorite Principal Character: Worf

via Wikipedia

After Picard, the two characters who get the most development are Data and Worf.  They are also, not coincidentally, the two principals with the strongest sense of "otherness" among the rest of the crew, Data because he is an android, Worf because he is Klingon.  The two men approach their otherness with opposite attitudes.  Data is Pinocchio, wishing to be more human.  Worf has spent most of his life among humans and instead yearns to connect with his Klingon heritage.  

Both character threads are rich, each providing some of the most memorable episodes of the run.  Each arc has its strengths.  For Data, it is the fascinating questions regarding the possibilities for an artificially intelligent life form.  For Worf it is the deep exploration of a non-human culture.  Each has its weaknesses.  For Data it is his limited capacity for personal growth paired with Brent Spiner's over-acting whenever he's "let out of the box."  For Worf it is, in a word, Alexander.

Just as there are Led Zeppelin people and Rush people in the world (see here), I perceive both a Data camp and a Worf camp among NextGen fans.  How one feels about each of these character journeys goes a long way in determining how one sees the series as a whole.  I'm in the Worf camp.

No character grows more from first episode to last than Worf (though Deanna Troi is an interesting study in this regard - if only she'd been given more material).  With each new season, his narrative stature improves.  Through him, we learn more about Klingons than any other non-human culture on TNG.  Just as importantly, Worf is the most nuanced of any of the second-tier principals.  Bless him, he has quite a temper and his emotions frequently put him in tricky spots.  He is far more likely to challenge authority and/or ignore orders than his colleagues are and also more likely to be challenged in his assumptions.  Quite frankly, he pisses people off in ways you don't otherwise see aboard Picard's Enterprise.  He is more obviously flawed - a demonstrably terrible father.  All of these delightful imperfections add up to a highly relatable, if not always likable, character.  

Favorite Recurring Character: Guinan

via Memory Alpha

It's really no contest.  The producers hit a home run when they brought Whoopi Goldberg into the fold.  The actress had a busy movie career at the time and was thus unable to commit to a full-time role.  But she made the most out of her 29 appearances, each story improving the instant she comes on screen.

Guinan's value is manifold.  Between her "You're not supposed to be here" line in "Yesterday's Enterprise" and her exchange with Hugh in "I, Borg," she delivers in two of the most chilling moments of the series.  More importantly in the long term, she demonstrated the possibilities for a character outside the command structure.  Both Quark (Deep Space Nine) and Neelix (Voyager) are her obvious descendants.

Favorite Adversary: Professor Moriarty

via Memory Alpha

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle introduced Sherlock Holmes's nemesis Moriarty in "The Final Problem," published in 1893.  Moriarty entered Star Trek canon in Season 2's "Elementary, Dear Data," which I believe was TNG's first truly great episode.  Data and Geordi play on the holodeck as Holmes and Watson respectively.  Seeing how well his android buddy knows the source material, Geordi challenges the computer to find an adversary more worthy of Data's abilities.  The computer produces Moriarty and the game is on.

The long-term hook: Moriarty has self-awareness.  He knows he's a holodeck program and vows to extend the reach of his mischief into the rest of the ship.  His return episode in Season 6, "Ship in a Bottle," is my choice for best holodeck story of them all.  

I will go further than simply naming the professor as my top NextGen villain.  Star Trek's is my favorite interpretation of the Moriarty character, including Doyle's original.  A tip of the hat to actor Daniel Davis.

Favorite Guest Star, One Shot: Hallie Todd

via Memory Alpha

Todd played Lal, Data's daughter in Season 3's "The Offspring."  Lal is one of the most demanding roles in the series.  Her journey from birth to death is a whirlwind and Todd is all in every step of the way, from lifting Riker off his feet to kiss him to her final, heart-rending exchange with Data.

Favorite Blast from the Past: Scotty

via Memory Alpha

Scotty's return to the Enterprise in Season 6's "Relics" is bittersweet.  In the beginning, he is an annoyance to Geordi (and the audience) as he tries to assert himself in engineering.  Feeling the universe has past him by, he heads to Ten Forward for a bottle of Aldebaran whiskey, then to a holodeck to reconnect with the past.  That's where the magic happens...

The door opens to the bridge of a ship we know well: the Enterprise, Kirk's Enterprise.  I get goosebumps every time.  And a nostalgic tear for the first 1960s ping.

One could reasonably argue that Spock gets a better overall story - not to mention a Third Man-worthy entrance - in Season 5's two-parter, Unification.  But nothing in that episode pulls at the heart strings quite like seeing the original set again.

Top 10 Episodes

In order of original air date...

"Yesterday's Enterprise" (Season 3, Episode 15) - Our Enterprise (D) is thrown into an alternate history where the Federation is at war with the Klingons.  If that weren't complicated enough, Tasha Yar is back.  In this universe, she never died.  I'm usually not a big fan of time travel or alternate dimensions in Star Trek but this story hits all the right buttons.

"The Offspring" (3.16) - Data creates a daughter, Lal.  Even more fascinating than Data's experience of fatherhood is Lal's experience of being alive at all for a brief, tumultuous adventure.  Before "Darmok" changed my mind this time around, I had long considered "The Offspring" my favorite episode and it's still a not-too-distant second.  

"Sins of the Father" (3.17) - Obviously, I had to include a Worf episode and this is probably the most important one.  First, he discovers a brother he didn't know about.  Then he goes to the Klingon home world to help restore his family honor.  The episode is the third in the best three-episode run of the series.

"Family" (4.2) - Speaking of great three-episode runs, "Family" is the unofficial Part 3 of The Best of Both Worlds.  Picard visits the family vineyard in France.  We get a glimpse of the life our captain could have lived if he'd stayed on Earth, as well as insights into why he made another choice.  Most importantly, the story represents an emotional breakthrough for the character.  He exhibits a vulnerability we've never seen in an Enterprise captain before.

"Darmok" (5.2) - Simply the best.  See above.

"I, Borg" (5.23) - The Borg arc takes a crucial turn when our heroes rescue an abandoned drone.  If one of the collective can be restored to individuality, is there hope for the future in confronting the Borg?  Guest star Jonathan Del Arco is perfect as Hugh, the drone.  On top of everything else this story is, it's Geordi La Forge's best episode.

"The Inner Light" (5.25) - Picard is transported into another life.  He becomes Kamin on the planet Kataan where he lives for forty years, has a family and friends and learns to play the flute.  The episode is simply beautiful.  Paired with "Family" especially, we learn quite a lot about the man behind the uniform.

"Chain of Command, Part II" (6.11) - Picard is captured and tortured by the Cardassians.  No NextGen episode gives Patrick Stewart as much room to flex his acting muscles as this one does.  I don't know of any actor on stage or screen who plays Man Pushed to the Edge of Madness better than Stewart.

"Lower Decks" (7.15) - This episode almost deserves a spot on the list for the concept alone.  The story follows not our usual principals but a group of junior officers plus their bartender buddy, Ben, providing a glimpse behind the scenes of a world we've come to know pretty well seven seasons in.  It worked well enough to inspire an animated spin-off series 26 years later.  When they added the Sito Jaxa story, an already excellent episode became one of Star Trek's very best.

"All Good Things..." (7.25 & 26) - The series finale pushes all the right buttons.  Every great story ending feels like the beginning of a new, exciting chapter in the lives of the characters.  As Jean-Luc sits down with his senior officers at the poker table for the first time, we all know the moment marks a shift in his relationship with his subordinates.  The stage is set not only for the movies but for Picard's Season 3 which would air in 2023.

Essential Viewing Guide

The following list is admittedly subjective.  It's a tour through the NextGen storylines that are most important to me.  There's no Lwaxanna Troi nor Vash nor Alexander.  Time travel and space-time anomalies are kept to a minimum.  It is not an exhaustive list of all good episodes.  I've left out a few that are exceptional and, indeed, included a few that aren't but which are important for insights into arcs that are meaningful to me.  It's the quick tour I, your faithful Squid, would take you on if you asked because simply watching my Top 10 wouldn't be quite enough - whereas it would be sufficient for the original series.

In original broadcast order...

"Encounter at Farpoint" (1.1 & 2)

"The Naked Now" (1.3)

"The Big Goodbye" (1.12)

"11001001" (1.16)

"Coming of Age" (1.19)

"Heart of Glory" (1.20)

"Skin of Evil" (1.23)

"The Child" (2.1)

"Elementary, Dear Data" (2.3)

"The Measure of a Man" (2.9)

"Q Who" (2.16)

"Peak Performance" (2.21)

"Evolution" (3.1)

"Yesterday's Enterprise" (3.15)

"The Offspring" (3.16)

"Sins of the Father" (3.17)

"Hollow Pursuits" (3.21)

"The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1" (3.26)

"The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2" (4.1)

"Family" (4.2)

"The Final Mission" (4.9)

"The Wounded" (4.12)

"Darmok" (5.2)

"Ensign Ro" (5.3)

"The First Duty" (5.19)

"I, Borg" (5.23)

"The Inner Light" (5.25)

"Relics" (6.4)

"Chain of Command, Part I" (6.10)

"Chain of Command, Part II" (6.11)

"Ship in a Bottle" (6.12)

"Lower Decks" (7.15)

"All Good Things..." (7.25 & 26)

My Best Unused (So Far) Spinoff Idea: Star Trek: Klingon

As 2023 comes to an end with Star Trek still thriving, the franchise's greatest shortcoming is still the inadequate exploration of non-human cultures.  Thanks to Worf's character arc, The Next Generation examined Klingons more than any other species.  The next logical step would be a series actually based in Qo'noS, the Klingon home world.  If you must have a human protagonist (and for the record, that would defeat the purpose for me), they could be a diplomat or a spy.  The expat perspective is inherently interesting.  Or if it has to be on a spaceship, why not a Klingon vessel?  "The Inner Light" even reveals the power of stories in a civilian context.

Maybe Worf himself is the best in: a Klingon in whom the faithful are already invested.  Worf has more Star Trek screen appearances than any other character and yet there are still plenty of gaps in his life story left to explore.  

The Ranking of Series

The Next Generation would never have happened without the original series.  I readily acknowledge that.  I also acknowledge that in many ways, it's an apples to oranges comparison.  The narrative objectives of the two shows were different and thus judging one by the standards of the other is not entirely fair.

The fact is, by the third season, the originals were clearly running out of steam.  Some of the episodes - "Spock's Brain," "The Way to Eden" - were practically unwatchable.  Sure, TNG had its ups and downs, too, but they still made it to Season 7 before the well was obviously starting to run dry.  And they still managed to finish strong.

1. The Next Generation

2. The Original Series

3. The Animated Series

*****

This is a long post.  If you made it this far, congratulations and thank you.  It will be all Deep Space Nine for a while now and to be honest, I rather like it that way.