By Michael Goth

Word Count: 3522

Rating: PG for discussion of sexual situations in the series

Summary: A Retrospective on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”.

As unbelievable as it may seem now thirty years later, when Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered on September 28, 1987 it wasn’t exactly welcomed with opened hands by everyone. True, the series never received the level of hatred that the recently launched Star Trek: Discovery is undeservedly getting in some corners, but a new Star Trek set nearly a century after the original series and featuring an entirely new cast of characters seemed problematic at best and ludicrous at worst. As Leonard Nimoy said at the time, catching lightning in a bottle for a second time would be impossible.

When looking back on Star Trek: The Next Generation now, people look back on success. The series was a critical and ratings hit, earned and won many Emmys (including nominations for Outstanding Drama Series and Best Actor in a Dramatic Series) and the distinguished George Foster Peabody Award (for the first season classic “The Big Goodbye”), and became a pop culture phenomenon with Captain Picard taking his place alongside Captain Kirk and Spock as three of the most beloved and iconic characters in television history. However, the prevailing feeling in 1987 was one of extreme doubt. Patrick Stewart’s agent told his client that the series would never make it through the first season, with its now legendary star living in a hotel room out of a suitcase for six months, waiting for the series to be canceled.

In the fall of 1986, Paramount Pictures felt that it was the perfect time to launch a new Star Trek television series. The original series was celebrating its 20th anniversary and the soon to be released Leonard Nimoy directed Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was expected to be a big hit. However, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry felt differently. After the runaway budget on Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, Roddenberry was stripped of his producer’s title and was replaced by veteran television writer/producer Harve Bennett on future Star Trek films. Roddenberry was given the mostly ceremonial title of executive consultant and was seen as a has-been, sort of a one hit wonder who had only one success to his credit.

It was to prove his critics wrong, that the original Star Trek had not been a fluke, that Roddenberry agreed to develop a new series with Paramount executive John Pike. Because of ill health caused by years of alcohol and drug abuse, Star Trek’s creator entered a detox program before work on the new series could begin.

Rodenberry also realized that he would have to surround himself with a strong creative team, and brought in several veterans of the original series such as writers Dorothy “D.C.” Fontana, David Gerrold, and producer Robert H. Justman. Justman was soon joined by Rick Berman as a supervising producer, overseeing the physical side of production while Roddenberry and the writers focused on scripts. Joining the production staff early on were illustrators Andrew Probert and Rick Sternbach (both veterans of Star Trek: The Motion Picture), and graphic artist Michael Okuda (who had done some of the graphics for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), to design the new series, including the new U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D.

During the first half of 1987, as the show continued to develop and Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana wrote the two-hour premiere episode “Encounter at Farpoint”, the writing staff was joined by Robert Lewin (The Paper Chase, McMillian & Wife) and Herbert Wright (Night Gallery). Maurice Hurley, who was coming off the hugely successful series Miami Vice and The Equalizer (and later took over the writing staff), joined a month before filming began on “Farpoint”. The fact that Hurley and Lewin, who had no background in science fiction, were put into higher positions than Fontana and Gerrold, caused behind the scene friction. It did not help matters that Roddenberry’s longtime attorney Leonard Maizlish was given an unofficial staff position and participated in story meetings (and occasionally even did rewrites!) against Writer’s Guild regulations. Also, Roddenberry suffered several mini-strokes and began to show early signs of dementia, which often resulted in erratic behavior.

In television, along with the writers, the most important ingredient to a successful show are the actors. The writers create the characters on paper, but the actors then must turn them into flesh and blood humans (or aliens!). In the case of Star Trek: The Next Generation, much of its success would depend on the actor chosen to play the show’s lead character, Star Fleet veteran Jean-Luc Picard. Despite his limitations as an actor, William Shatner’s charisma played no small part in the popularity of the original series. As good as Jeffery Hunter was as Captain Christopher Pike in the original 1964 pilot “The Cage”, I doubt Star Trek would have eventually gained the level of popularity that it did if Hunter had stayed with the series.

While searching for the actor to bring Captain Picard to life, Gene Roddenberry, supervising producers Justman and Berman, along with Paramount executive John Pike saw countless actors, including Mitchell Ryan, Roy Thinnes and Yaphet Kotto. Kotto, who had played Mr. Big in the 1973 Bond film Live and Let Die and Parker in Ridley Scott’s Alien in 1979, impressed John Pike. However, certain actors are just born to play a part. That is unquestionably true of Leonard Nimoy and Mr. Spock as well as the person that Robert Justman suggested for Captain Picard…Patrick Stewart. Justman and been attending a lecture with his wife at UCLA given by Stewart when he knew that he had found the new captain of the Enterprise. Justman and Berman pushed for Patrick Stewart through several auditions until Roddenberry and Pike agreed that Stewart was the only person who could truly become Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Besides Patrick Stewart, Robert Justman also strongly recommended LeVar Burton as blind navigator Geordi La Forge. Burton was arguably the most well-know of the new cast, having starred in the landmark 1977 television mini-series Roots and hosted the PBC children’s series Reading Rainbow. Jonathan Frakes, who like DeForest Kelley prior to taking on the role of Dr. Leonard McCoy on the original series, was known primarily for playing heavies, but was cast as Picard’s executive officer William T. Riker (we would not learn until the sixth season episode “Second Chance” that the T stood for Thomas). Brent Spiner was cast as the android third-in-command Data, Martina Sirtis as the half Betazoid/half human ship’s counselor Lt. Commander Deanna Troi, Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher (who under her real name “Cheryl” had worked for Jim Henson as a choreographer on The Muppets Take Manhattan and Labyrinth).  Michael Dorn became Klingon officer Worf, Denise Crosby (the granddaughter of Bing Crosby) was cast as security chief and tactical office Lt. Tasha Yar, and Wil Wheaton (who had given a great performance in Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me) as Beverly’s brilliant son Wesley (originally intended to be a teenage girl named Leslie).

Bringing Star Trek back to television was never expected to be an easy task. Add to that Gene Roddenberry’s declining health, an admittedly uptight Patrick Stewart, and infighting among the writers, and the maiden voyage of the new U.S.S. Enterprise was problematic. The quality of the scripts was uneven and behind the scenes battles resulted in thirty writers and other production staff members being fired or having quit by the end of the season. Original series vets David Gerrold and Dorothy Fontana were the first to leave, both filing grievances with the Writer’s Guild against their former friend, Gene Roddenberry. Unpleased with her role, Denise Crosby asked to be released from her contract. Gates McFadden was let go at the end of the season (though rehired at the start of season three).

Despite the turmoil, Star Trek: The Next Generation was an instant ratings hit. Not all longtime fans warmed up to the new series, but it attracted new fans who had never seen the original Star Trek. The series also introduced audiences to a great new cast of characters, with Captain Picard, Data, and Commander Riker especially intriguing viewers (Worf and Geordi began to come into their own during the second season). And though the quality of the writing lacked consistency (though not nearly as much as some would have you believe) the season did have a number of classic episodes like “Where No One Has Gone Before”, “The Big Goodbye”, “Datalore”, “11001001”, “Heart of Glory”, and “Conspiracy”.

Episodes 1-15:

1-2 “Encounter at Farpoint” ****

Written by D.C. Fontana and Gene Roddenberry

On course to planet Deneb III to uncover the secret of Farpoint Station, the new crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D encounter the mysterious and powerful entity Q, who puts them on trial for the crimes of humanity. This excellent introduction to the new Enterprise and her crew is well directed by Corey Allen and features strong performances by Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard and John DeLancie as Q. The special effects are outstanding, as is the production design.  This will be the first and last time that Counselor Troi wears a standard Starfleet uniform, until season six.

3. “The Naked Now” ** ½

Teleplay by J. Michael Bingham/Story by John D.F. Black and J. Michael Bingham.

This is a mediocre remake of the far superior original series episode, “The Naked Time”, about a virus that acts like alcohol and causes the crew of the Enterprise to behave abnormally. The episode was initially written by associate producer and original series writer Dorothy Fontana, who used the pseudonym J. Michael Bingham when Gene Roddenberry rewrote the script adding in a number of sexual scenes such as Beverly coming on to Picard in his ready room and Data and Yar having sex. Also, as only the second episode of the series, the audience is not familiar enough with the crew to know if their actions are unusual for them or not.

4. “Code of Honor” *

Written by Kathryn Powers and Michael Barron

A much-despised episode by cast, crew, and fans. This is definitely a truly awful and extremely racist story about a society of black people that falls back on every racial stereotype one can image. This is perhaps the worst episode of the show’s entire seven year run. The music for this episode was composed by Fred Steiner, a frequent contributor to the original series. His score is very good, making it one of the few things that is memorable about this otherwise forgettable episode.

5. “Where No One Has Gone Before” ****

Written by Diana Duane & Michael Reeves and Maurice Hurley (uncredited)

A Starfleet warp specialist and his mysterious assistant known only as “the traveler” board the Enterprise to perform upgrades on the ship’s warp core, against the objections of Commander Riker and Chief Engineer Argyle. A giant leap in velocity sends the Enterprise spiraling into a dimension where thought becomes reality. This is an imaginative and inspiring story, beautifully directed by Rob Bowman. This is my favorite episode of the first season. Even more than “Encounter at Farpoint”, “Where No One Has Gone Before” was the episode that showed the excellent kind of storytelling of which the series was capable. Co-writer Diane Duane is the author of about a dozen popular Star Trek novels, including The Wounded Sky (published in December 1983), which inspired this episode.

6. “The Last Outpost” ***

Teleplay by Herbert Wright/Story by Richard Krzemien

The Enterprise pursues a Ferengi vessel into an uncharted star system where both ships are seized by an energy beam. The mysterious planet is discovered to be a dead world that was once part of the T’Kon Empire, gone for tens of thousands of years. This episode meant to introduce the Ferengi as the new series’ primary adversary. Though the Ferengi are ridiculous as adversaries (writer/producer Maurice Hurley once said that the Ferengi as an adversary was like making a villain out of a housefly), the concept of the long extinct T’Kon Empire and a portal that has been in hibernation for millennia is really imaginative, making this a much better episode than it usually receives credit for being.

7. “Lonely Among Us” ***

Teleplay by D.C. Fontana/Story by Michael Halperin

This is another episode that receives harsh criticism it does not deserve. While the Enterprise is delivering a pair of hostile races to a conference known as Parliament, an energy lifeform finds its way aboard ship, jumping from Worf to Dr. Crusher and eventually to Picard. This episode’s major failing is that it features an A and B plot that have very little to do with one other, which is not helped by the fact that the B plot about the warring ambassadors is not only idiotic but repetitive of the original series episode “Journey to Babel” (also written by Fontana). However, I personally really like the main story about the alien lifeform lose aboard the Enterprise. I think this episode terrifically captures the fact that space is mysterious but also dangerous.

8. “Justice” *

Teleplay by Worley Thorne/Story by Ralph Willis and Worley Thorne

I can clearly remember hating this episode at age eleven when it initially aired, and at forty-one I like it even less…if possible. “Justice” is about the people of the planet Edo, a race of childlike, scantily dressed humanoids who live in an Eden-like paradise. If the original series had the space hippies in “The Way to Eden”, then The Next Generation had the Edo. The Edo spend their lives rubbing oil on one another and running a lot. It’s like this episode was inspired by the eighties aerobics craze and you half expect to see the Edo running around wearing Walkmans, listening to “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John. This is one of the very few episodes that dates Star Trek: The Next Generation.

9. “The Battle” *** ½

Teleplay by Herbert Wright/Story by Larry Forrester

The Ferengi return, their leader Diamon Bok uncharacteristically offering Captain Picard a great gift…his former ship, the U.S.S. Stargazer, which has been adrift for seven years after it was abandoned in the wake of a battle with the Ferengi (referred to by Bok as “the Battle of Maxia”), a battle in which Bok’s son was killed. Picard is doubtful of Bok’s peace offering and with good reason, as it is part of the Ferengi Daimon’s attempt to get revenge on the captain for the death of his son. The Ferengi as adversaries work only slightly better than they did in “The Last Outpost”, but what makes this episode so good is that it provides the audience with some history on Captain Picard, and Patrick Stewart delivers possibly his best performance of the season. Brannon Braga, a writer in the later seasons of the series, once said that Patrick Stewart could read out of phonebook and make it sound good. Therefore, an episode like “The Battle”, where he is given something to really sink his teeth in, can’t help but be successful.

10. “Hide & Q” **

Teleplay by C.J. Holland and Gene Roddenberry/Story by C.J. Holland

The character of Q is second only to Khan as my favorite Star Trek villain and certainly my favorite on Star Trek: The Next Generation. I tend to really like episodes with Q. “Hide & Q”, however, is an exception. Producer Maurice Hurley became the second member of the writing staff to use a pseudonym after Gene Roddenberry heavily rewrote his script. In this rare Q misfire, the powerful entity returns, this time offering Riker the opportunity to join the Q Continuum. Part of the problem is that Roddenberry and Hurley saw Q in two very different ways. Roddenberry saw Q as sort of a cat torturing a mouse (like Trelane in the original series episode “The Squire of Gothos”), while Hurley viewed Q as sort of a godlike Mr. Rogers, who was there to teach Picard a valuable lesson. One of the reasons this episode fails is that Q’s purpose and role is still very unclear. “Hide & Q” is also pretentious and very talkie, and even Patrick Stewart and John DeLancie could not save this one.

11. “Haven” ***

Teleplay by Tracy Torme/Story by Tracy Torme and Lan O’Kun

This episode is another exception to a rule. While I tend to really like Q episodes but dislike “Hide & Q”, I equally dislike Lwaxana Troi shows, but actually like “Haven”. Lawaxna Troi, of course, is Deanna Troi’s obnoxious mother played by Gene Roddenberry’s wife Majel Barrett (who also played Nurse Christine Chapel on the original series). Barrett would play the role in seven episodes of The Next Generation and three on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, many of which are among the worst episodes of both series. The basic problem was Majel’s lack of any real acting ability and the inability of Lwaxana to keep her mouth shut. “Haven”, written by young staff writer Tracy Torme (the son of singer Mel Torme and a former writer on Saturday Night Live), is a nice romantic comedy set in the 24th century about the prearranged marriage between Deanna and Dr. Wyatt Miller.  However, the marriage does not go off as planned when the young physician learns about a woman aboard a Tarellian plague ship whom he has literally been dreaming about since he was a child.

12. “The Big Goodbye” ****

Written by Tracy Torme

Once completing “Haven”, writer Tracy Torme was asked to write a second episode, with Gene Roddenberry suggesting a murder mystery set on the Holodeck. Torme praised the entire writing staff for offering ideas for a story inspired by the film noir of the forties and fifties, especially the film The Maltese Falcon (the characters of Cyrus Redblock and Felix Leach were based on the ones played by Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre in that film). “The Big Goodbye” was the audience’s introduction to Picard’s love of pulp detective Dixon Hill. “The Big Goodbye” won the George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in drama and is simply a brilliant episode from Torme’s witty and savvy script to wonderful performances by Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, and guest Lawrence Tierney (Reservoir Dogs).

13. “Datalore” ****

Teleplay by Robert Lewin and Gene Roddenberry

Story by Maurice Hurley & Robert Lewin

Since we first saw him back in “Encounter at Farpoint”, it was quite obvious that Data was going to be one of The Next Generation’s most important characters. Data was clearly a fascinating person and Brent Spiner a great actor. With “Datelore” we are not only given some background on Data, but are introduced to his evil brother Lore. “Datalore” is one of my favorite episodes, not only of the first season, but of the entire series. The episode features a strong script truly brought to life by director Rob Bowman, and features an outstanding performance by Brent Spiner. Bowman and Spiner really convince the audience that Data and Lore are two separate individuals and not one actor playing duo roles. The design work by production designer Herman Zimmerman and the rest of the art department is especially impressive in “Datalore”. Lore would later return in the fourth season episode “Brothers” and the seventh season premiere “Decent”.  

14. “Angel One” *

Written by Patrick Barry

After a string of really strong episodes, we come upon an absolute dog show with “Angel One”. This episode is one of the lowest points for the entire series. The planet Angel One is ruled entirely by beautiful women, and men are regarded as second rate citizens. For an episode about feminism, “Angel One” is incredibly sexist. This episode was very unpopular with the cast and production staff. Patrick Stewart and Gates McFadden were especially displeased with its sexual stereotypes. Producer Maurice Hurley and co-producer Herbert Wright said the episode started out as a promising story about racial inequality that was ruined by countless rewrites. “Angle One” also features a ludicrous B plot about a holodeck-created virus that affects the entire crew in like ten minutes. Just awful!

15. “11001001” ****

Written by Maurice Hurley & Robert Lewin

Another superb episode by producer Maurice Hurley and co-producer Robert Lewin. “11001001” addresses the fine line between reality and fantasy in a really imaginative way, while also providing the audience with some history on Commander Riker. The scenes between Jonathan Frakes and guest Carolyn McCormick (Law & Order) on the holodeck are wonderful, showing us Riker’s love of jazz music for the first time. As Riker begins to fall in love with the computer created Minuet, the episode explores how love frequently begins with an illusion of love more real than the woman (or man). “11001001” also features a really interesting science fiction concept with a race known as the Bynars, a species interlinked with their planet’s home computer. This is one of the few first season episodes where the A and B plots go together hand-in-glove. The episode also features some stunning special effects (a few borrowed from Star Trek III-The Search for Spock). One of my very favorite Star Trek episodes!