Review of Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 7 (7 Disc Boxset)

Introduction

Star Trek is dead. As I write, Paramount has put the final nail into the coffin of the long running franchise. After nearly forty years, there is no Star Trek on screen, no Trek destined for the cinema, no computer games, and even the novel line has seen a reduction in output. Enterprise became the first series since the original to be cancelled by the network, and unlike the fan response the first time, there hasn`t been much call for the resurrection of this last incarnation of Trek, aside from a few extremely vocal die-hard fans. I first reviewed Star Trek: The Next Generation nearly three years ago, and have been occasionally returning to a boxset to add to the reviews. When I wrote that first review, Enterprise had yet to reach British terrestrial television, and fans looked forward to another theatrical outing from the Next Generation crew. The intervening time has seen my status as fan change to disappointed, disillusioned, disgusted, and eventually utterly disenfranchised. The most recent incarnations of Trek have seen a dumbing down, a decline in writing quality and increasingly desperate grasps for declining ratings, with gimmicks and glimpses of flesh. When the last Trek feature, Nemesis broke the odd number curse, and became the first even numbered Trek to fail critically and financially, I joined many other fans to vote with my wallet, and look for my sci-fi fix elsewhere. I do keep an eye on Enterprise when broadcast, just to see how bad it can actually get. Just when I think they`ve hit the bottom of the barrel, they dig a little deeper. It`s with this sense of disenfranchisement that I approach the last of my TNG reviews.

What this does mean is that where I first approached the TNG boxsets with glowing adulation, I now find that I can no longer watch any episodes through rose-tinted spectacles, and criticisms spring readily to mind. That criticism is easy to apply to Season Seven of Star Trek The Next Generation, as with this being the show`s final year, there is an uninhibited feel to the stories. The trend towards darker and less optimistic stories continues, with the exploration of the Maquis, a Federation group resisting the Cardassians in defiance of treaty, there is also more of a sense of loss, with storylines telegraphing the end of the series, and many episodes feeling downbeat. Add to that the feeling that the writers were playing freely with concepts and ideas, resulting in unconventional episodes like Liaisons, Phantasms, Parallels, Sub Rosa, Lower Decks, Masks and Genesis. It`s fair to say that in many ways this is the most uneven season of TNG, while at the same time of exceptional quality. There is something for everyone to like here, and probably something to despise too, although opinions will be divided over which is which. Some of my favourite episodes in TNG`s run came from this season, and of course there is perhaps the only satisfying finale in Trek history, All Good Things…

Twenty-five episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation are presented on 7 discs, along with a couple of hours worth of extras. The episodes are reviewed individually below.

1. Descent Part II
Data has turned to the dark side, and with his brother Lore joined the Borg. The majority of the ship`s crew is on the surface of the planet looking for their missing crewmate, but Lore`s minions have captured Captain Picard, Geordi and Deanna. Things actually get worse when the Borg ship arrives and attacks the Enterprise, left in the care of Dr Crusher. While the ship plays hide and seek with the Borg, Data experiments on his former best friend. Things look bleak, but Worf and Riker find hope with a resistance movement of liberated Borg who fight against the cruel rule of Lore. There is a problem with Trek, one that DS9 avoided, that any villain introduced usually gets neutered as time passes. This certainly happened to the Borg, and here, while violent and growling, they have lost their gestalt, many-voiced menace. Similarly, Lore has been reduced to a pantomime villain, who`s bad just because he`s written that way. The story is enjoyable enough, but feels thin and insubstantial. 7/10

2. Liaisons
The Iyaarans visit the ship to open diplomatic relations. While Picard accompanies one of them back to the Iyaaran homeworld, two ambassadors remain on the Enterprise to become better acquainted with the people of the Federation. Soon Worf and Deanna have their hands full with their respective ambassadors. Events take a more serious turn when Picard`s shuttle crashes on a desolate moon. He awakens in a crashed ship, being tended by a human female who has been alone there for years. She soon develops an attachment to her new patient, but all is not as it seems. It`s another lecture on the wonders of diversity and the difficulties of communicating with odd cultures. It`s the sort of story that Star Trek is renowned for and usually does well. The trouble is that it`s a staple of the genre that gets revisited too often. It`s a case of having seen it all before, and while the Iyaarans are interesting; the tribulations of the crew seem trivial compared to their more taxing adventures. 6/10

3. Interface
Geordi is testing a new concept in probe interfaces to rescue a science ship trapped in a gas giant. Using his optical implants to link to a probe, he can operate it be telepresence, experiencing directly what the probe does. Then he learns that the Hera, the ship his mother commands has been reported missing. Geordi continues the mission regardless. When he sees his mother on the stranded ship, he becomes convinced that the Hera is also trapped in the gas giant, and becomes determined to save her despite his orders. This is a nice examination of obsession as Geordi becomes convinced his mother`s missing ship is within his reach. Unfortunately the episode uses one of those mechanical plot devices that is never seen again, an excess of technobabble and a convenient alien of the week solution that all get in the way of the drama. 7/10

4. Gambit: Part I
5. Gambit: Part II
Captain Picard is dead! At least that is what the rumours are. The Enterprise crew investigates while mourning their lost Captain, and learn of a mercenary ship that Picard was involved with. Following the trail to an uninhabited planet, the landing party get into a firefight with the mercenaries, and Riker is captured and taken aboard their ship. There he sees an unexpected face; Picard is one of the pirates. Riker learns that the mercenaries are hunting for archaeological treasure. Part II ties this all together with unscrupulous Vulcans, mysterious artefacts, undercover Starfleet officers, nefarious characters and underhanded conspiracies. Matters come to a head as the mercenary ship gathers the last of the artefacts and sets course for Vulcan. But the Mercenary leader isn`t as half as dangerous as the dissembling Vulcan member of his crew. She isn`t who she seems to be. These two episodes bring a little swashbuckling action to the 24th Century. The self centred and greedy characters bring a touch of noir to Trek, and the ancient weapon that they are all pursuing brings more than a hint of Indiana Jones. It`s an enjoyable ride for much of the way, but the denouement of the story is a definite anticlimax. 7½/10

6. Phantasms
Data`s dreaming again, only this time the dreams are turning into nightmares. Could there be some hidden meaning? The crew is implementing a new Warp Core, but like every piece of engineering, there are a few teething troubles. When Data begins acting erratically, his crewmates become concerned. This is one of those Data-centric episodes that afflicted the later seasons as well as the movies. It`s fine if you are a fan of the character, but for others a whole episode devoted to his interminable exploration of humanity seems a bit of a waste. Fortunately the actors know their characters so well that they have fun with the story, and some of Data`s dream imagery is hilarious to boot. 5/10

7. Dark Page
Deanna`s mother is back. Lwaxana is helping a purely telepathic species learn verbal communication. The hard work and stress is fatiguing her though, and a young child with the Cairn delegation awakens deeply buried memories, eventually causing her to collapse. Deanna must journey into her mother`s memories in order to help her. Lwaxana`s presence in TNG is usually a cause for merriment as she brings chaos to a staid ship. This episode on the other hand follows the trend towards darker storylines in this final season. Here we learn of a traumatic moment in Lwaxana`s past, and Deanna learns something about her family she was unaware of. An emotional story is made all the stronger as the central character is usually light and frivolous. With an early appearance from Kirsten Dunst. 9/10

8. Attached
Kesprytt III is an unusual applicant to the Federation. Still divided in two, the Kes have applied for membership, but the insular Prytt wish to remain isolated. When Captain Picard and Dr Crusher beam down to meet with the Kes ambassador, their transporter is diverted and the Prytt, who distrust the Federation, capture them. Riker must work with the paranoid Kes to recover the officers. Meanwhile, as a prelude to interrogation, Picard and Crusher are implanted with mental scanning devices. These devices have a side effect of telepathically linking the two. For those who had been waiting patiently seven years for the Picard Crusher relationship to blossom beyond the platonic, this episode is as close as they get. It`s interesting to see the relationship develop, and the paranoid inhabitants of Kesprytt provide a fun background to the story. 8/10

9. Force Of Nature
The Hekarus Corridor is the only route in an anomalous region of space that safely allows warp travel. The Starship Fleming has vanished in the area, and the Enterprise has to investigate. When the crew meet a couple of local scientists, they are reluctant to believe that their warp engines damage the fabric of space, and find the scientists` militant methods to verge on the criminal. A worthy attempt to impart an ecological message; even in the 24th Century humans are capable of fouling their own nests. Unfortunately while the message is worthy, the execution is less so, with the training of Data`s amazing transgender cat often taking precedence. To their credit, the ramifications of the episode do extend through the rest of the series, but the spin-offs conveniently ignore a restrictive plot point. 7/10

10. Inheritance
The Enterprise is helping a planet on the verge of disaster as its core cools. Fortunately there is a technobabble solution at hand. Meanwhile Data is surprised when one of the planet`s residents, Dr Juliana Tainer, recognises him and claims to be his mother. Dr Tainer was once married to Dr Soong who created Data, and the android takes the opportunity to get to know Juliana. But Dr Tainer hides a deeper secret, even from herself. More Data, more dullness. Another interminable exploration into the android`s personal life makes me recall fondly when Star Trek was about exploration. The story is vaguely interesting, but an excess of technobabble just increases the tedium. 5/10

11. Parallels
Worf is coming back from leave when he runs into one of those pesky spatial anomalies. This one is peskier than most though, as strange things begin to happen, the least of which is a surprise birthday party. But as time passes, odd changes keep manifesting, slowly getting more and more drastic. Worf is actually jumping between parallel universes, each getting successively stranger than the first. Will he ever find his way home? One of my favourite episodes uses the sci-fi staple of alternate realities. Parallels uses a healthy amount of special effects to show a whole host of possible Trek realities. It`s fun seeing the Trek not taken, with alternate sets, uniforms and crews, and the story itself is an exciting one. In one of those last minute turnarounds, the producers pull a Worf-Deanna relationship out of their collective hats that is explored through the rest of the series. 10/10

12. The Pegasus
12 years previously, Will Riker survived the last mission of the ill-fated Pegasus. Now the Pegasus` former Captain, Admiral Eric Pressman has come to the Enterprise with worrying news. The Pegasus has survived intact and the Romulans are searching for her in order to obtain her secrets. It`s a race against time to find the ship, but it turns out that Riker has been concealing a dark moment from his past. Pressman is intent on opening old wounds however, and Riker is faced with a dilemma, and should he choose poorly, history is destined to repeat itself. A stunning story showing the darker side of Starfleet and our hero no longer as perfect as he used to be. Frankly it`s nice to see an imperfect tarnished Riker, it makes the character infinitely more interesting. The character conflict is deftly handled and the story is tense and tightly paced. It`s a damned shame that the producers felt it necessary to resurrect this episode and shoehorn it clumsily into the Enterprise finale. But that fails to lessen the impact of the original episode. 10/10

13. Homeward
Worf`s foster brother Nikolai is an observer on a primitive planet. When that planet faces imminent destruction, he sends a distress call to which the Enterprise responds. Worf beams down to find the planet`s few survivors being sheltered by his brother. Nikolai is determined to save the society, despite the Prime Directive. A stubborn man, he rescues the inhabitants anyway, putting the Enterprise at risk with his convoluted plan. Paul Sorvino guest stars in this ode to the Prime Directive. Initially posited in the Original Series to show that the powerful Federation doesn`t meddle with vulnerable societies, it seemed a logical response to the Vietnam generation, but TNG took this to extremes, with a strict hands-off policy with everyone they encounter. This ridiculous premise sees Picard and his crew perfectly happy with the death of an entire world, and only Worf`s brother has the conscience to do the moral thing. Ridiculous premise aside, this episode has value in seeing Worf`s relationship with his brother. 6/10

14. Sub Rosa
Dr Crusher attends the funeral of her grandmother on a stereotypical Scottish Planet ™. Going through her effects, she finds a mysterious candle that has been in the Howard family for generations. Soon a tall stranger is sweeping her off her feet. Ronin claims to have known her grandmother, and is soon weaving his spell on another generation of the Howard family. Beverly is ignoring the curse of the candle and is soon ready to leave her life to begin anew with Ronin. Mixing genres can often result in great stories, but not always as this Star Trek ghost tale falls flat on its face. Dr Crusher gets intimately acquainted with a spirit that resides in a candle. The `love` scenes are laughable, the ghost story painfully clichéd and the Scottish stereotypes excessively American, with everyone wearing tartan and tossing cabers at every opportunity. 2/10

15. Lower Decks
It`s crew evaluation time on the Enterprise, as the officers decide the futures of the little people. Both Ensigns Sito Jaxa and Sam Lavelle are up for the same job, and while Lavelle tries clumsily to impress Commander Riker, Ensign Sito has to overcome the stigma of a mistake she made at the Academy, a mistake that cost the life of a fellow cadet. The day-to-day concerns of the ship`s Ensigns fade into insignificance when a mission into Cardassian space arises. This is a nice episode that was innovative at the time. A story that focuses on the people who prop up the ships while the Captains get the glory. It`s an interesting look at a story from another perspective, and it contrasts well with the usual TNG stories. In addition there is excellent continuity with the return of the Sito character, the cadet who was disgraced in the Season 5 story, The First Duty. 9/10

16. Thine Own Self
A Federation probe has gone astray, and Data has been sent to retrieve it. It has crashed on a primitive planet, and its radiation threatens the inhabitants. The townsfolk are surprised when an odd yellow-skinned stranger who has no memory of his past life walks into the village carrying some odd metal fragments. Soon the people are falling ill. Meanwhile on the Enterprise, Counsellor Troi decides to stretch her career, and attempts to take the Bridge Officers` test and get that extra pip on her shoulder. While this is one of those Data-centric episodes, it still is enjoyable in that we get to know the character anew, as he has to figure out whom he is. It is slowed down a bit by Deanna`s exams. It is an interesting look at this aspect of an officer`s career, but is poorly placed against Data`s story here. It`s also nice to see some real science on the show, as opposed to the usual torrent of technobabble. 7/10

17. Masks
Investigating a rogue comet, the Enterprise crew discover a space going library millions of years old. An energy surge begins having some strange effects on the ship. Data begins behaving oddly as well. Slowly the ship is transformed into an ancient temple. As the crew work to reverse the effects, it seems the only clue is in Data`s multiple personality disorder. Masks is a self-indulgent episode that has little to recommend it. The pseudo-Aztec imagery is certainly visually striking and inventive, but the story never engages, and Brent Spiner`s scenery chewing performance rapidly begins to grate. 1/10

18. Eye Of The Beholder
A crewmember commits suicide on the Enterprise. Lt Kwan`s actions were out of character, so Worf and Deanna are assigned to investigate his death. Deanna picks up empathic impressions from the location of the death, pointing to an incident that took place eight years ago while the ship was still being constructed. As they work together to get to the bottom of the mystery, they find themselves drawn closer together. As their feelings for each other intensify however, history seems destined to repeat itself. A pretty standard mystery gets a sci-fi twist at the end. This is the second time that Worf and Deanna have been paired off in an episode, and the second time the audience has been teased. 7/10

19. Genesis
Barclay`s hypochondriac tendencies send him to sickbay, where Dr Crusher diagnoses… the flu. A quick bit of cell synthesis deals with the problem. Meanwhile the Enterprise weapons are undergoing an upgrade. When one of the torpedoes goes astray, Picard and Data take a shuttle to retrieve it. In their absence, the crew begin to behave oddly, in an animalistic way. The Captain and Data return three days later to find the ship adrift and powerless, and the crew de-evolved. As the illness affects Picard, he and Data must race against time to save everyone. The answer may lie in the kittens of Data`s transgender cat. Star Trek doesn`t often do horror stories, and they rarely work. Catspaw was a Halloween failure for the Original Series, and Sub Rosa earlier in the season was laughably bad. But Genesis gets the atmosphere spot on, with some splendid shocks from the de-evolved crew, not least Worf, who turns into a cross between The Alien and Predator. While the shocks are good, the make-up excellent, the story feels distinctly out of place in the Trek canon. And poor Deanna and Worf, once it`s an alternate universe, next it`s a telepathic message, and this time while he`s a beast, she`s a fish. They just can`t seem to get it right. 7/10

20. Journey`s End
Wesley pays a visit to the ship while on leave from the Academy, but he is unusually disaffected and sullen, and finds it hard to hide his disillusionment with Starfleet. The Enterprise is ordered to the Cardassian border where a new treaty has taken effect. The agreement isn`t perfect, and certain Federation worlds are now in Cardassian territory. Picard must uproot a Native American colony from Dorvan V, but he finds it hard to carry out the mission, especially when he learns that a distant ancestor had a hand in a crime committed centuries ago when the Spanish conquistadors invaded America. Confrontation seems likely between the Cardassians and the Federation, with the colony caught in the middle. Meanwhile Wesley finds a new path among the colonists, one that will lead him to betray Picard. After seven years, Wesley finally gets some character beyond resident ship`s geek. It`s a shame it took this long, as were the character this rounded from the beginning, maybe fan response wouldn`t have been so negative. It`s also a shame that that the Traveller storyline was rarely touched upon, it makes the coda to this episode more of an afterthought. But this episode definitely marks the beginning of closure for TNG. 8/10

21. Firstborn
Worf is having trouble with his son again, trying to mould him into the perfect warrior. He tries taking him to a Klingon celebration, but assassins attack them, indicating just how much Alexander has yet to learn. Worf doesn`t have much luck with the boy, so it`s serendipitous that K`mtar, another member of Worf`s family shows up to take him in hand. As the boy`s instruction continues, the Enterprise searches for the people behind the assassination attempt. There`s more to K`mtar than meets the eye, and he has an outlandish tale to spin. Only six episodes left in the series, and an episode is devoted to a Klingon soap opera. TNG Klingons were rarely my favourite characters, and this episode has all their most tedious qualities in abundance. Add to that the annoying character of Alexander, and the twist in the tail does little to compensate. It`s an episode that lays some groundwork for the Generations movie though. 4/10

22. Bloodlines
Picard gets to explore the road not taken when the Ferengi Daimon Bok contacts him. Bok claims that he will get revenge for the death of his son, by killing Picard`s own son in return, a son that Picard was unaware of. The Enterprise goes to the homeworld of Jason Vigo, the young man that Bok threatens. Picard attempts to get to know the unconventional young man, and despite some false starts they eventually find some common ground. But Jason has a rare illness, and before Dr Crusher can get to the bottom of it, Bok kidnaps him. A sequel to the first season episode, The Battle, this does a good job of bringing the series full circle. It also sets up an important character arc for Picard in Generations. The story is enjoyable and it`s refreshing to see the reserved Captain confronted by an opportunistic and disreputable son. 8/10

23. Emergence
It`s past time for a holodeck malfunction, and this one is a peach. Data is practising for a Shakespeare play when a steam train interrupts him. This malfunction is merely a symptom of deeper troubles, as slowly the crew lose control of the ship. Meanwhile something bizarre is forming in one of the cargo bays. To solve the mystery, the crew will have to catch the train. There are very few pure sci-fi concepts in TNG, but this is an absolutely fascinating one. The idea that a machine as complex as a starship would be akin to a life form, would behave as such, developing a sense of self-preservation, a rudimentary intelligence and even a desire to procreate is certainly compelling. Unfortunately the execution is a little dry and lacks heart. It`s also a dead end in Trek, never referred to or thought of again. Besides, Farscape would do the living starship idea infinitely more satisfyingly. 6/10

24. Pre-emptive Strike
Ro Laren has returned to the Enterprise, freshly promoted to Lieutenant, and she is eager to put her new Advanced Tactical training to use. She doesn`t have to wait long as a mission arises when the Maquis attack a Cardassian ship. Picard assigns Ro Laren to infiltrate the terrorists, but her loyalties are severely tested. This episode has a heavy burden to bear, tying in with a DS9 storyline, and with Journey`s End also setting the stage for Star Trek: Voyager. In addition it also is the penultimate story in TNG, and has to provide a degree of closure for the series. That this episode also has coherence and tells its story well is a testament to the writing. It`s as dark as TNG gets, with the Federation turning on its own people. The bittersweet ending gives a melancholic feel that continues into the finale. 8/10

25. All Good Things…
In the feature length final episode of The Next Generation, Picard is having a bad day. He explains to his officers that he is jumping back and forth through time. He`s alternating between the day he took command of the Enterprise seven years ago, and a point over 25 years in the future, where he is an addled old man, a victim of Irumodic Syndrome. It`s all down to Q of course, who has judged humanity once and for all, and found it guilty. Humanity will be erased from history, unless Picard can solve the problem. As Picard jumps through time, he learns of a spatial anomaly in the Romulan Neutral Zone that threatens the Federation, getting larger the further back in time it stretches. In the past, Picard must abandon the Farpoint mission and divert the ship to head for the anomaly. It`s an easy decision in the present as well, but who will listen to a man verging on senility in the future. Picard has to call in all his favours to gather his old crew and head for the anomaly. Solving this problem would be hard enough, but he also has Q to snipe with. This is truly a spectacular climax to seven years of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It`s nice to revisit the ghost of TNG past, with appearances from Denise Crosby and Colm Meaney as Tasha Yar and O`Brien. There is also the contrast of seeing how innocent Data was. The future of TNG hold some intriguing surprises, with characters taking some odd and unexpected directions in their lives. The Worf Riker Deanna dynamic disintegrates into acrimony, as well as the aftermath of a marriage between Picard and Crusher. Perhaps the best thing about the finale is the return to form of Q. Initially a threatening being of immense power, he was gradually humanised and neutered until he became a mix of imp and clown. All Good Things… returns him to his omnipotent menace. For once the ever-present technobabble is easily ignored and it`s a joy to see the ensemble cast together one last time, in a way they never achieved in the subsequent films. Incidentally there are some extra scenes in addition to the old VHS version. 10/10

Video

Once final time, I can whinge about how horrible US television from a bygone age looks like on DVD. A 4:3 transfer reflects the shows origins with a soft, grainy and low-resolution picture. Of course, if you have seen The Next Generation before, then this will come as no surprise by now. Stylistically, the shows final years saw the use of CGI to an increasing degree, and finally someone decided to have more realistic looking planets as opposed to those balls of pastel from the earlier seasons.

Audio

Just like in Season 6, you get the same choice of DD 5.1 English and German, DD 2.0 Surround French and Spanish and DD 2.0 mono Italian. The sound is quite naturally a step up from the original television broadcasts, but it is hardly a revolution in sound re-engineering. I`ve also come to realise that Star Trek has been using the same style of orchestrated music for nearly eighteen years, the same French horns and anaemic sound. It must be an added factor as to why people have turned away from the franchise. There are subtitles in abundance for the show, but in a minor humorous diversion, I found that the subtitles don`t always match the technobabble.

Features

The packaging is identical to the other Seasons, making for a nice collection on your DVD shelf. A digipack houses the seven discs, with graphics of cutaway sections of the ship lovingly rendered on the discs and the cardboard. This all slips neatly into a rugged plastic case, identical to the ones used for the previous seasons. Also in the box, you will find the obligatory booklet, detailing the 25 episodes. This set of discs has menus based on the Captain`s ready room, but the layout has pretty much the same LCARS look. The extras are once again quite substantial in amount and are all subtitled.

This Season`s Mission Overview lasts 14½ minutes, and looks at the chaos involved this year, with three series and a feature film in various degree of production. There are interviews with the cast and crew, about the stories` emphasis on family and the final episode in particular.

A Captain`s Tribute (16 minutes) has Patrick Stewart speaking fondly of his fellow cast, how they worked together over seven years with some nice anecdotes and behind the scenes footage.

Departmental Briefing: Production (15½ minutes) points out some of the noteworthy episodes in the final season, shows like Genesis, Parallels, Bloodlines and Descent Part II.

Starfleet Moments and Memories lasts a full half hour and gives the cast and crew a chance to share the memories of the seven years that they particularly cherish. It`s a look at the goofing around, the ensemble nature and the legacy of the show. It also shows the seven years of effort that went into making the show.

The Making Of All Good Things (17½ min) is the finale featurette. It shows where the idea of the story came from, and the desire to bring the show full circle. It also looks behind the scenes at how the cast was aged and some of the effects used.

Special Profiles (15 min) looks at the characters of Q and Lwaxana Troi, with interviews with John de Lancie and Majel Barrett Roddenberry, who talk about their respective characters and the conclusion to their arcs.

In Dressing The Future (10 min), Marina Sirtis guides us through the Trek wardrobe, with emphasis on brassieres.

Finally there is a preview for DS9`s debut on the shiny silver disc, lasting a whole 5 minutes and advertising the show and the extras features.

Once again, I could complain about what has been left out, but with around two hours of extras with the final boxset, it`s still not to be sniffed at. The extras do seem somewhat eclectic though, and don`t really jibe with the extras chosen for previous seasons.

Conclusion

After 178 episodes I finally come to the last of my reviews of The Next Generation boxsets. After that many hours of programming, the show still manages to go out at the top of its game with a stunning two-hour finale. Having said that, Season 7 isn`t the most consistent of TNG`s run. Knowing that the popularity of the programme was unparalleled, the creators decided to experiment, to take the characters in odd directions and try stories that hadn`t been done before. Most series have one or two novelty episodes in their repertoire, but for the final season of The Next Generation, it seemed as if every other story was treading new ground. When these shows worked, they did so spectacularly, but conversely the failures were equally spectacular. Gripping stories like The Pegasus and Parallels are balanced with absolute stinkers like Sub Rosa and Masks.

What salvages the final season is that the cast are truly comfortable with their characters. Their easygoing interactions balance the stories, and by now we know the characters so well that watching an episode is like we are visiting with family. The writers also took the cast and actually developed the characters further, and occasionally in odd directions. Riker has a dark chapter in his past that resurfaces this year, fans of the Beverly and Picard dynamic finally get some resolution, and a Worf Deanna relationship comes out of the blue. Incidentally, this was actress Marina Sirtis` strongest season, with her character shining in the bulk of the stories. It makes a major contrast to the limited emotional barometer of the first two seasons. Given that this was the seventh season, the shift to strong character arcs and the desire to explore new ideas means that most of the stories are strongly original.

Looking back now, it`s plain to see that The Next Generation saw Star Trek at the height of its popularity. Tens of millions of viewers in the States tuned in weekly to see where the crew were boldly going this time. The first spin off DS9 practically haemorrhaged viewers. One reason was that it was running concurrently with the final seasons of TNG, another was that this was the time that sci-fi made a grab for the schedules in a big way. Where TNG was practically unchallenged in the schedules, DS9 had to compete against shows like The X Files and Babylon 5. Finally DS9 tried to do something new, it truly was a saga as opposed to episodic television, and it`s hard to come to something like that in the middle of its run. It`s interesting to see that of all Trek, DS9 is perhaps the most critically acclaimed. Other than that, all subsequent Trek has been an exercise in recreating that magic formula that The Next Generation had. Both Voyager and Enterprise were conceived as episodic television, with crews splitting infinitives and spouting technobabble to increasing degrees. But neither had the ensemble cast, the quality of writing and the originality that The Next Generation possessed. And while it took The Next Generation a while to get going, it held true to its vision of a better future and enlightened humanity, rarely pandering to the lowest common denominator among its audience. Over ten years since the end of the show, the stories still have an intelligence to them that is rarely matched in episodic television. I have been critical of certain aspects of The Next Generation, most notably Data`s search for humanity and Worf`s constant growling about honour. It`s true that these aspects were overdone in the show, but I feel the lasting legacies of these are more problematic with later Trek. All through later Trek we have been presented with the single dimensional Klingon stereotype, whose constant claims of honour, and intolerable singing have blighted my viewing for years. Especially the singing. Also halfway through Voyager`s run, we were presented with Seven Of Nine, or Data with breasts. This was so successful for the producers that the final series Enterprise gave us Spock with breasts. Recently, the producers have been talking about franchise fatigue setting in, that there has been too much Trek for an audience to appreciate. I feel that franchise fatigue set in the day they decided that Voyager should be a TNG replacement, with only the setting altered to make a difference.

When The Next Generation began, it was compared unfavourably to the original series. It quickly set about establishing an identity for itself, and where Kirk`s Trek is a camp swashbuckling adventure, very much a product of its era, with the occasional hippy popping up, mini-skirts as regulation uniform and every episode ending in a collective chuckle regardless of body count, The Next Generation at its best is truly timeless. These shows will remain relevant and watchable for the foreseeable future.

The Season Seven boxset rounds off the series in grand style, although the variable quality of the episodes can make it a bumpy ride. The good by far outweighs the dross however, and many of these episodes are truly innovative. It`s a chance to see an ensemble cast at the peak of their collective game, and the finale is simply the best climax yet written for any Star Trek series. This boxset matches up well with its six siblings, and the extra feature count is impressively high. I`m not going to watch any Star Trek for at least a year now.