Lega-sequels are all the rage these days. Any reasonably popular movie or television franchise is going to get one, it is only a matter of time. Most recently, a Days of Thunder sequel of all things has been announced. In 2026, the proliferation of revivals of media entities that were popular decades ago is indicative of a decline in creativity and risk within the whole industry and the regurgitative properties of late-stage capitalism in general. It is comical how far the billionaire moguls who run these corporations and don’t care a lick for art will go just to avoid making something new, convinced that a dedicated fanbase exists for every modestly popular thing of the last forty years and that will be what compels them to engage with this product and help it turn a profit.
Legacy sequels have been around for ages though, back to times when there wasn’t so naked a cynicism around them. Return to Oz, The Color of Money, 2010: The Year We Make Contact -not all good, but they endeavoured to encompass more than mere nostalgia for the previously popular thing. This was very much true in both ambition and execution of arguably the most successful legacy sequel of all: Star Trek: The Next Generation.
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Gene Roddenberry had always wanted to make more live-action Star Trek after the original series was canceled in 1969. In the late 1970s, a more direct continuation of the show was developed called Star Trek: Phase II and it even got to stage that several scripts were written, but it never got past the pre-production phase, Paramount instead re-calibrating and focusing more on developing Star Trek into a feature. Star Trek: The Motion Picture was indeed a partial re-working of the original pilot for Phase II. Nearly a decade later though, now a full twenty years since the first launch of Star Trek, the increased popularity of the film franchise, and specifically Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, resulted in Paramount approving another stab at live-action Star Trek on television. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were too expensive, so instead the show would centre a brand new cast of characters a full century ahead of where the original series left off. Nowadays, no lega-sequel would attempt such a risk. But in 1986 it was deemed the smarter option.
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The story of the troubled early production of The Next Generation is well-known; the influence that an increasingly ill and out-of-touch Roddenberry asserted over the show to both its detriment and that of the people who worked on it, and how it managed to survive in spite of this due to a more forgiving television environment where a couple years in it finally hit its stride, surpassing the original series in both episodes and success -the only Star Trek show to truly be called a hit. The first series ever produced directly for syndication, it is also the first Star Trek show that a lot of fans coming to the franchise late have started with, because it largely lacks the most dated elements of its predecessor whilst keeping to that show’s curiosity, its progressive principles and values -it manages to have the best of both worlds. It also has “The Best of Both Worlds”, one of the most famous broadcast cliffhangers in television history. It was a water cooler show, as much on its more action and concept heavy episodes as its provocative ones. Moreover, it broke the golden rule of legacy sequels as we identify them today in rarely featuring characters from its previous iteration. True, McCoy is there in the pilot in one small scene to pass the torch, and both Spock and Scotty later made appearances -but only after the show had found its own way, revealing itself to be every bit the original Star Trek’s equal if not, in some respects, its superior.
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Nevertheless, The Next Generation can likewise be tough to introduce to some people, in part because its first season is famously quite strange and bad. Some aren’t so willing to wade through a bit of crap to get to the good stuff -but there is some important stuff in that crap, despite the show not being especially serialized, that makes for a fuller understanding of the series. I can say it is worth it, and there are even defenders of the show’s first season -among them the teenage me who came to Star Trek through reruns of this show and was transfixed by its universe and characters even in those rocky episodes. Once the show does finally come into its own, in the second and especially third seasons, and once it abandons some of the more stickier Roddenberry rules (such as no interpersonal conflict amongst the crew), it truly becomes one of the most rewarding science-fiction series. Its cast is super endearing -both the characters and their actors (the tightest family of all the Star Trek casts). Its scripts when operating at their heights are colourful and engaging -the product of good producers and a terrific writing staff, its drama is sharply paced, its comedy for the most part is enjoyable, and its universe is big, more strongly defined than before and the stories available within it are seemingly limitless. And in all of this it is still a comforting picture of an ideal future worth striving towards.
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For an overview, Star Trek: The Next Generation is set just past the middle of the 24th century aboard a new starship Enterprise on the same kind of mission its predecessor had been on -exploring the universe in pursuit of discovery for its own sake, while occasionally serving diplomatic or (with exceptions) non-combative military functions or espionage. The ship is far bigger, a Galaxy-class, and its crew is once again a diverse array of characters, albeit with less focus on human diversity than alien. Unlike in the prior series, the focus is not limited to just a couple major characters, but a truer ensemble each with their own rotation of singular stories -character as much as plot and theme drives much of the action on the show. The Enterprise is commanded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), who in spite of that name speaks with an English accent of striking gravitas. He is a touch older than his original series counterpart, less an action hero and more a calm intellectual -however he is complimented by his first officer William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), whom he calls “Number One” and who at least in theory fulfills that more traditional masculine mold. Riker sits at his right side but always on his left is the ship’s counsellor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), a half-Betazoid empath. There is also the ship’s physician Doctor Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), a former love interest of Picard’s, her precocious teenage son Wesley (Wil Wheaton), and the chief engineer (after a short stint as helmsman) Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), who is blind but uses a mechanical visor across his face to see. Perhaps the most curious characters though are Worf (Michael Dorn), Starfleet’s first Klingon officer who rises to be chief of security, and Data (Brent Spiner), a hyper-intelligent android with a Pinocchio-like desire to be more human. These are the ‘otherized’ characters on the show equivalent to Spock -Data especially, whose goal to be human stands in exact contrast to Spock’s repression of his human side.
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This ambition for Data plays a part in many an episode centred on him, as well as in subplots of others. But generally, The Next Generation does not have the same genres of episodes that the original series had had -at least not to the level that they become clichés of the show’s identity. There are still social issue episodes and time travel episodes and once in a while a godlike being episode -though these tend to involve a singular godlike being, the entity known as Q (John de Lancie), who will show up now and again to trade wits with Picard. But broadly the series’ storytelling is diverse enough that the shows will more likely be grouped by their character of choice. An exception to this may be the diplomacy episode -with a figure like Picard at the head of the show the visiting dignitary or diplomatic relations plot device is often utilized as foreground to some other conflict or incident. But the bigger exception is the holodeck episode, a staple of the Next Generation that replaces an original series trope -namely the alien planet with a culture and aesthetic directly based on a period from Earth history- with a more internally believable alternative. Introduced in the pilot episode “Encounter at Farpoint”, the holodeck is a virtual reality recreation room in which holographic worlds and characters can be conjured up and interacted with for the amusement of the crew. Holodeck episodes, which happen about once a season, tend to involve the characters entering a reality based on some historical or genre aesthetic -1930s hard-boiled noir, Sherlock Holmes mysteries, westerns- only for something to go wrong, trapping or threatening the people engaging with the program. In spite of this, they tended to be lighter episodes and a fun chance to see the characters in a very different environment even from all of the worlds visited over the course of the series -which tended to be shot in recycled sets, most notably a cave that shows up in a lot of episodes.
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That’s not to say that the series was cheap by any means. Its visual effects, both practical and computer-based are very sophisticated and show relatively little of the series’ age. But it is at times a cautious show from a production standpoint, depending much more on elements outside of the visuals to grip its audience. And the filmmaking can sometimes be plenty interesting itself, especially in the early years when deliberate, unique shots, blocking, and camera movement are used to heighten the drama of a scene. Also the music of Ron Jones, which across the first three seasons is distinct and atmospheric in just about every episode. These production values do diminish as the show goes on ironically as the writing increases in quality -enough so that most viewers don’t notice or are content to overlook.
And it is some pretty strong stuff, often pretty consistently. In seven seasons the show never really runs out of ideas or comes up short in finding something to say. In that ethos set by the original series it was unafraid to take on social issues, through allegory or otherwise. In the first season especially it could get a little condescending as it strove for a very original series-style closing summation on a theme. And in the season finale, “The Neutral Zone” laid out directly to a trio of cryogenically frozen people from our time the virtues of their anti-capitalist society from a place of real smugness. But as the show went on it addressed its themes in more sophisticated though still potent ways.
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Civil rights came up a few times, most notably in the season two masterpiece “The Measure of a Man” which underscored Data’s agency within a philosophical discussion on sentience and slavery. This discussion is furthered in season three’s “The Offspring” when Data creates for himself an android daughter. Another very notable example is “The Outcast” from season five, intended as an inverted queer allegory about a member of a genderless alien species choosing to identify as a gender when falling in love with Riker -something taboo and illegal for their species. Imperfect but very interesting. Riker also is the subject of season six’s “Second Chances” which considers the ethical conundrum of a duplicate Riker created through a transporter accident and the social and logistical implications of his rights. A pair of episodes in season two and season six, discuss the topic of free will through the activity of a sentient hologram of Sherlock Holmes’s Professor Moriarty (Daniel Davis). “Ethics”, another season five episode, deals in the subject of euthanasia, when Worf is faced with a debilitating injury. Several times, themes of tolerance and understanding are stressed, cross-culturally as in episodes like “A Matter of Honor” and “The Enemy”, or cross-linguistically as in the still occasionally memed “Darmok”. There are episodes addressing issues of class, poverty, war, revolution, belonging, identity, disability, religion, trauma, eugenics, several kinds of bigotries, and even climate change. Xenophobia, McCarthyism, injustice in several forms are taken down systematically through elegant and righteous Picard speeches, which Stewart delivers with a palpable rawness encapsulating well a base of stern principles. The best of these is probably in season four’s “The Drumhead” an allegory for prejudice-based witch trials as strikingly relevant now as it was in 1991.
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Alongside these, the series explores a trove of fascinating conceits in the realms of time travel, mind manipulation, transience, and uncanny realities. The mystery episode is a particular favourite subset of these for me - “Future Imperfect”, “Clues”, “Cause and Effect”, “Conundrum”, “Frame of Mind”, and the very underrated “Time Squared” standing out starkly for using a sci-fi conceit to a build grippingly dramatic suspense. The show explores the implications of its own internal technologies and alien encounters; and on the topic of those aliens it widens the universe of alien races considerably. While the original series had only three or four recurring aliens, The Next Generation establishes a much greater intergalactic ecosystem. The Klingons come back (far from their original designs), and primarily through Worf storylines, their world, culture, and politics are explored much more thoroughly. And the Romulans take on the role of Cold War-analogous resident villains whom the Enterprise interacts with most frequently. But the show also introduces a swath of interesting new species, each aesthetically and politically fascinating. There's the Ferengi -a society defined by hyper-capitalism- who start out as serious enemies before being repurposed as recurring comic relief. The Cardassians, a totalitarian culture with whom the Federation had recently been at war; and the Bajorans -a steadfast, religious people whom they subjugated. But most significantly are the Borg, a cybernetic hive-mind that assimilates into its collective all races it comes into contact with -from their first appearance in season two they quickly become the breakout villains of the show. They all serve well their purpose as foils while enriching the universe.
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And yet nothing enriches the universe quite like the characters, and the focus on developing its core cast is a big if perhaps underwritten part of why the show resonates strongly. The show's length and its investment in these personalities, alongside the cast's real chemistry allow them to feel like a charming family, and you come to appreciate even the little details that derive from this -Riker's affinity for the trombone and his cooking, Worf's unusual love of prune juice, Picard's interest in archaeology, and the weekly poker game between any and all cast members, minus the Captain. All the main characters on the Enterprise cycle through their own stories, allowing the audience to get a better sense of their personalities through distinct struggles or conflicts for them and how they respond. And while the show is broadly episodic, through these kinds of stories the characters do undergo arcs throughout the series. Some are better than others: Riker's conflicted feelings around his own command is more engaging than Geordi's string of failed romances. The most interesting threads though concern Worf, Data, and Picard. Worf's consistent identity crisis as a Klingon from a great house but raised by humans and serving in starfleet, is a backbone of his choices in episodes like "Sins of the Father", "Reunion", "Redemption", "Birthright", "Rightful Heir", and "Firstborn" -at a point in the show he is even given a son, Alexander, to complicate things. Data's journey to becoming more human and learning all that entails evolves in interesting ways through the likes of "Pen Pals", "The Ensigns of Command", "The Offspring", "Brothers", "Data's Day", "In Theory", "The Quality of Life", "Descent", and "Phantasms" -at a point in the show he is even given a cat, Spot.
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Then there's Picard, developing in concert with his actor becoming looser and more amiable as the series goes on whilst maintaining his sense of presence and grandeur. A good early example of a more approachable, relaxed Picard is "Captain's Holiday" from season three. But a defining point of his story on the show is the trauma he undergoes in "The Best of Both Worlds", followed up on in episodes like "Family" and "I, Borg". "Family" is also one of several episodes to curiously explore his history, alongside "The Battle", "We'll Always Have Paris", and "Tapestry". Picard gets a few love interests over the show, his aversion to children is tested on a couple occasions, but his most memorable episodes tended to put him through life-altering situations and ultimately giving him a greater perspective. Among these are two major highlights of the series, "The Inner Light" -the show's only episode to win a Hugo award- and "All Good Things...", the series finale.
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Hugos were not in sight for the show when it started as duelling creative visions clashed with scripts and story ideas out of date for a show of the late '80s. There is a charm to these first season episodes, and perhaps an endearing though unintentional campiness. But the show does not gel together, its stories can be quite questionable (this season contains an infamously racist episode and relies way too much on positioning Wesley as a teen genius), and the mess behind the scenes spills over a number of times, to the point one main cast member -Denise Crosby, playing spunky security chief Tasha Yar- exited the show before the end of the season. Still there are a couple worthwhile episodes in there, such as "The Big Goodbye", the first fun holodeck story, "Heart of Glory", in which Worf's loyalties to the Klingons are first tested, and "Conspiracy" -the culmination of a recurring thread about sinister aliens infiltrating the highest echelons of starfleet -and features probably the gnarliest special effect of the whole series.
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Season two is a marked improvement -Riker's beard (which he first sports in this season) has come to be dubbed the reverse of 'jumping the shark'. Still it is awkward in places, hampered by an awful showrunner in Maurice Hurley who fired McFadden out of personal spite -she is replaced by Diana Muldaur, a veteran guest star from the original series, as Doctor Pulaski, in whose relationship with Data the show tries to recreate the classic casually antagonistic Spock-McCoy dynamic. It does not work. However this season also introduces a new recurring character in the mysterious alien bartender Guinan, played by Whoopi Goldberg -the show's highest profile guest star- who had been a fan of the franchise as a girl. Great episodes from this season include "Elementary, Dear Data" -in which Data and Geordi cosplay Sherlock Holmes on the holodeck and wind up confronted with a genuine mystery. "Loud as a Whisper" is a sensitive diplomatic episode about the hearing-impaired. "A Matter of Honor" sees Riker on a cultural exchange with a Klingon vessel. "The Measure of a Man" interrogates the notion of Data's rights splendidly -the series' first true classic. "Time Squared" is an eerie episode in which the Enterprise picks up a petrified duplicate Picard from a near future catastrophe in which the ship was destroyed. And in one of the most consequential episodes, "Q Who", the Borg are introduced as a frightful new enemy when Q sends the Enterprise into the far reaches of space.
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While the third season of the original series was characterized by a decline in quality, season three of The Next Generation is finally where the show attains its consistent groove. With Hurley gone, executive producer Rick Berman promptly rehired McFadden, and Michael Piller assumed the showrunner position. The cast were given slightly altered, more comfortable uniforms and drama behind the scenes largely came to a halt. Here it becomes a little tougher to discriminate as to recommended episodes. "The Survivors" is a curious episode about two elderly survivors of a genocide on a Federation colony. "Who Watches the Watchers" follows an alien civilization interpreting the Enterprise crew as gods. "The Defector" deals with the consequences of a Romulan defector to the Federation. "Deja Q" is a fun episode in which Q is forced to learn a moral lesson when he is made mortal. "Yesterday's Enterprise" brings proper closure to Tasha Yar in a time travel story involving a previous Enterprise. "The Offspring" is another potent exploration of android rights through Data's creation of a daughter. "Sins of the Father" sees Worf confront the Klingon political establishment over his father's honour. "Captain's Holiday" marks an important Picard adventure as he falls in love and becomes embroiled in an archaeological mystery while on vacation. "Sarek" sees the return of Spock's father in a tender episode about elderly illness. And of course, the first part of "Best of Both Worlds", the season finale, sees the return of the Borg as they invade Federation space and assimilate Picard.
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It was a hell of a way to drum up anticipation for season four, which opened on the resolution of that narrative and set a template for the rest of the show's season finales. The only major shake-up of this season is the departure early on of Wesley from the main cast. Meanwhile, "Family" serves as an intense and moving aftermath to the Borg incident as Picard carries his trauma whilst visiting his family. "Future Imperfect" makes for one of the finer Riker episodes as he is whisked to a future in which he commands the Enterprise. "Data's Day" is an incredibly charming light episode following Data's various interpersonal activities with his colleagues. "The Wounded" is a tremendous study of the psychological after-effects of war as a rogue captain tries to restart a tense conflict -an episode that both introduces the Cardassians and chooses as its character of interest Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney), the Enterprise's likeable recurring transporter chief. "Clues" is a terrific episode of paranoia as the crew grow suspicious of Data as inconsistencies pile up in the aftermath of a psychosis that affected everyone but him. "Qpid" is a great silly episode in which Q plays out Picard's romance with his past flame Vash (Jennifer Hetrick) via casting the crew as Robin Hood and his Merry Men. "The Drumhead" sees a magnificent Jean Simmons preside over an unjust court-martial in a vivid screed against bigotry, fearmongering, and the exploitation of justice. And "Redemption" closes the season by setting the stage for a dramatic Klingon civil war and Worf's obligation of involvement.
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Worth noting is that all of the resolution episodes to seasonal cliffhangers are never quite as good as the build-ups. But season five hits a high bar early with “Darmok”, in which Picard is stranded on a planet with an alien who speaks only in context-free metaphor, the two gradually learning to communicate and find common ground. “Ensign Ro” introduces Michelle Forbes as one of the standout recurring characters for the series. “Disaster” is a fun shake-up that sees the cast stuck in various parts of the ship during a power outage. “Unification” is an enjoyable political episode based around an attempt to rejoin the Vulcans and Romulans that features Leonard Nimoy’s return as Spock. “Conundrum” is another good mystery show that sees the crew attempt to ascertain their purpose and relationships after their memories are erased. “Cause and Effect” is the most thrilling time loop story I’ve ever seen as the Enterprise is caught in a loop that consistently ends with its destruction. “The First Duty” brings back Wesley for his strongest episode, in which he is part of a cover-up with his Academy squadron over the death of a classmate. “I, Borg” discuses the lingering humanity and free will of those assimilated by the Borg when the ship picks up a lone drone called Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco). And in “The Inner Light”, the penultimate episode of the season, Picard’s consciousness is subsumed by a probe that sees him live forty years of another life on a world that died centuries ago -noted for its depth of subject matter and Stewart’s moving performance, this episode is a science-fiction masterpiece and to my mind the best that the Star Trek franchise has ever produced. It earned that Hugo.
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In the throes of success by this point, the momentum continues into season six, which among other things includes two fun holodeck episodes. “A Fistful of Datas”, in which Worf and his son play out a western program that becomes infected with analogues of Data. And then there’s “Ship in a Bottle”, revisiting the Moriarty character from season two as he seeks freedom from the holodeck. The dramatic centrepiece of the season is the two-part “Chain of Command”, in which Picard goes on an espionage mission whilst the Enterprise is commanded by a harsh and abrasive though not ineffective captain Jellico (Ronny Cox). The second-half is perhaps the darkest the series has ever ventured as it hones in on the 1984-style psychological torture Picard is subjected to at the hands of a cruel Cardassian played by David Warner -the interplay between Stewart and Warner is some of the finest acting of the series. Another great episode that tests Picard psychologically is “Tapestry”, in which he dies due to a malfunction of his artificial heart, and in an afterlife is given by Q the chance to go back and change his past, averting the reckless accident that required it -ultimately making for an excellent and emphatic moral tale. “The Chase” sees the Enterprise and several adversaries in an enthralling archaeological race for a clue to their shared genetic origins. And “Second Chances” deals wonderfully in the theoretical ethics of clone humans, as Riker comes face to face with a duplicate created during a transporter accident eight years earlier.
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Star Trek: The Next Generation finally ended on its seventh season, one more than the cast were contracted for when the series began. And the last season of the show is a little weaker than the ones preceding it. Famously, it features the episode where Doctor Crusher falls in love with a ghost, and teases a new romantic relationship between Troi and Worf that never quite gels. Still, it has its share of strong points. “Attached” finally addresses the latent romantic feelings between Crusher and Picard that had been bubbling for most of the series and does so very tenderly. “Parallels” sees Worf moving between alternate timelines to captivating effect. “The Pegasus” explores another curious corner of Riker’s backstory and his involvement in a years-old cover-up involving an experimental starship. “Homeward” interrogates the practicality and ethics of the non-interference Prime Directive when Worf and his brother (played by Paul Sorvino of all people) have to evacuate a primitive planet. “Lower Decks” looks at the Enterprise from the perspective of a collection of junior officers, allowing new insights into the characters and the sacrifices of starfleet duty. “Preemptive Strike” brings to an end the arc with Ensign Ro in a politically complex way when she is sent undercover with a resistance movement the Federation opposes. After this, the series comes to a close with “All Good Things…”, a two-part finale in which Picard phases in and out of three time periods: the present, the future, and the past from the series’ beginnings. Q is involved and the fate of the universe; and it is an enormously exciting, meaningful, and cathartic resolution to the show, ending on a terrifically moving final scene that encompasses what these characters have come to mean over 178 episodes. For my money, it may well be the best finale to any show.
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Even after seven seasons though it was not the finale for these characters and their corner of the Star Trek universe. Almost immediately after filming on the series concluded, the Next Generation cast were transitioned by Paramount into the focus of the Star Trek movie franchise. It made sense given the level of success in their series. In November 1994, just six months after the final episode was broadcast they made their cinematic debut in Star Trek: Generations, in which Picard and his crew are called to thwart a mad scientist played by Malcolm McDowell from destroying a planetary system in his attempt to return to a paradisiacal dimension. The movie dealt in themes of change, loss, and regret, but its biggest selling point was a passing of the torch, as William Shatner appears one last time as Captain Kirk to team up with Picard. Directed by series director David Carson, it is a flawed movie, very insular to Star Trek fans, but it has some charms and effective moments.
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Its sequel Star Trek: First Contact, following in 1996, is a major improvement though. Bringing back the Borg in their most visceral role yet, it involves the Enterprise travelling back in time to the late twenty-first century to foil the Borg's efforts at undoing First Contact between humanity and aliens -while also fending off a Borg invasion of the ship. This installment is directed by Jonathan Frakes who, alongside co-stars Stewart, Burton, and McFadden, made his directing debut on the show. It returns to the Moby Dick motif that was a part of Wrath of Khan, the most acclaimed Star Trek film, allowing Stewart some of his most intense acting as the character. It incorporates Data’s aspiration of humanity in a unique way, connects to the modern era tangibly through strong "guest" performances from Alfre Woodard and James Cromwell, and makes for a really effective action-thriller. It would unfortunately though be the last great Star Trek movie featuring this cast.
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1998's Star Trek: Insurrection, again directed by Frakes, sees the Enterprise crew intervene to protect the people of an idyllic world from forced relocation and exploitation at the hands of an adversary species and the Federation themselves. More than any other movie, this one feels like an extended episode of the show, and though it has some good production values and memorable character moments, plus F. Murray Abraham as a hammy villain, it fails to capture any nuance in its premise (which has some politics that don't hold water), and it is just in general rather underwhelming. One last film was afforded this cast four years later with Star Trek: Nemesis, in which Picard is confronted with a secret clone, played by a young Tom Hardy, who has taken over the Romulan Empire. Its a weak and somewhat gimmicky premise, made worse by a first-time director Stuart Baird and a lot of trouble caused behind the scenes as a result of that. The film is full of strange moments including a car chase, an allusion of sexual assault, and the introduction of another family android to Data. It ends in a half-hearted death of a major character designed probably to mirror the death of Spock. But a resurrection was out of the cards this time as the film was poorly received commercially and critically -ending the Star Trek film series until J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot.
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This unsatisfactory conclusion though doesn't put a damper on the legacy of Star Trek: The Next Generation, which did get another equally messy shot at an epilogue with the series Star Trek: Picard and especially the hijacking of its third season as the Next Generation reunion tour. That too does not diminish what the series accomplished and stood for. It took on the mantle of being a sequel to a legendary, beloved show, and in a ton of respects surpassed it. Picard and Data are almost as ubiquitous as Kirk and Spock. Catchphrases like "Make it so' and "tea, earl grey, hot", and visual gags like the Picard and Riker maneuvers, have some of the same cultural cache as the iconic touchstones of the original series. But Star Trek: The Next Generation was able to achieve more, while updating and upholding the principles of Star Trek for a new generation of viewers.
Star Trek: The Next Generation I wouldn’t quite call the best series in the Star Trek universe, but I would call it the most Star Trek series in its universe -in that I think it epitomizes the best ethos of what a Star Trek show should be, in line broadly with that vision of the franchise that Roddenberry laid out. It stands very tall because of that, a perfect gateway into this universe and still a uniquely engrossing, exhilarating show in its own right. Engage with it.
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