The Star Trek franchise exhibits no indicators of slowing down, with an upcoming Starfleet Academy collection gearing as much as premiere and fan-favorite collection like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds setting its phasers for a return. Yet with all of the TV exhibits and flicks launched through the years, discovering an entry level into Star Trek generally is a difficult prospect. Fans even have opinions on what the perfect Trek entry level is, however for my cash, there’s one collection that serves as the proper entry level to the world of Star Trek …and that is Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Taking place a century after the occasions of Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek The Next Generation follows the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on their very own voyage throughout the celebrities. Yet it stands by itself two toes, due to its unimaginable solid and the way in which it launched after which constructed upon ideas and characters that will come to outline the Star Trek universe for years. Star Trek: The Next Generation can be notable for being the final main Star Trek undertaking that Gene Roddenberry was concerned with earlier than his dying, and it could even reignite curiosity within the franchise over time.

‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Thrives Due to Its Ensemble Cast

Star Trek is well-known for its ensemble casts, and The Next Generation might need one of many strongest ensembles within the franchise’s historical past. Each character was capable of shine throughout seven seasons, with loads of episodes that spotlighted their particular person strengths. But the most important draw is the character dynamics between the united statesS. Enterprise-D’s crew. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) has a detailed friendship together with his first officer, William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and buckets of romantic stress with Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden); Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton) and Data (Brent Spiner) usually are not solely shut buddies, however they share a number of the collection’ finest episodes. Even characters like Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) had their time within the limelight, which offered some much-needed selection that stored viewers tuning in week after week.

Star Trek: The Next Generation additionally thrived as a result of it wasn’t a carbon copy of Star Trek: The Original Series. The Enterprise-D crew has their very own distinctive traits and struggles; Worf (Michael Dorn) wrestles early within the collection with whether or not to embrace his Klingon heritage or proceed serving with Starfleet, which is a direct distinction to how Spock feels break up between two worlds due to his half-human heritage. Picard can be extra of a strategist than James T. Kirk however struggles with creating nearer relationships. Seeing these characters develop and alter is a part of the attraction of The Next Generation, and an incredible purpose why it will attraction to Trek newcomers.

‘The Next Generation’s Best Episodes Showcase Everything Great About Star Trek

Star Trek, at its core, is about humanity’s need to be higher than it’s — and Star Trek: The Next Generation places that component on the forefront of its finest episodes. Take Data; the android’s quest to be taught extra about his humanity leads to some compelling tales that discover what it means to be human. The Season 2 episode “The Measure of a Man” stays the perfect of those episodes, as Data is a part of a trial to find out whether or not he is Starfleet property or his personal particular person. Picard’s impassioned protection of Data stays one of many collection’ excessive factors, particularly because it faucets into that important Star Trek component of being higher than you have been. The episode “Elementary, Dear Data” is also a reminder that for all of the heavy subjects it tackles, Star Trek can nonetheless have a bit of enjoyable with itself – particularly in an episode that sees Data and Geordi reenacting a Sherlock Holmes story.

The episodes that really stand out introduce characters or concepts that will return to have an effect on the solid of The Next Generation. In the Season 2 episode “Q Who,” the Enterprise-D crew encounters the cybernetic intelligence often called the Borg, who assimilate complete worlds into their collective. The Borg would proceed to make appearances all through the collection, together with “The Best of Both Worlds,” which noticed the Borg kidnapping and assimilating Picard. This episode has every thing that makes Star Trek nice, because the crew of the Enterprise makes use of their data — significantly in Geordi and Wesley’s case — to beat again the Borg. There’s a significant human dilemma; can the Enterprise crew save Picard, or will Riker be compelled to take down his good friend? The Borg themselves stay a daunting presence, particularly at the moment the place synthetic intelligence is a significant level of rivalry within the inventive arts. “The Best of Both Worlds” is usually cited because the second the place Star Trek: The Next Generation cemented itself as a real successor to the unique Star Trek, however I’d argue that it is also one of many episodes to point out newcomers if you’d like them to know what Trek is about.

Some of the Best Star Trek Shows Wouldn’t Exist Without ‘The Next Generation’

As Star Trek: The Next Generation grew in reputation, it paved the way in which for quite a lot of spinoff exhibits in addition to a collection of function movies. These initiatives have been allowed to go in new instructions due to the groundwork laid by The Next Generation, and it resulted in some nice Star Trek tales. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine showcased the darker aspect of Starfleet, and in addition featured a powerful connection to The Next Generation within the type of Worf, who performed a key position after becoming a member of Deep Space Nine in its later seasons. The Next Generation movie Star Trek: First Contact handled the fallout of Picard’s abduction by the Borg, leading to one in all Stewart’s finest performances because the character.

The Next Generation continues to have an enormous affect on Star Trek initiatives, as its characters and storylines have impressed every thing from the ultimate season of Star Trek: Discovery to key plot factors in Star Trek: Prodigy. The greatest instance could be Star Trek: Picard, particularly its finale “The Last Generation,” which not solely reunites the unique solid of The Next Generation however has them piloting the Enterprise-D to as soon as once more battle the Borg. Once once more, every thing that makes Trek nice is on the display screen — and followers have Star Trek: The Next Generation to thank for it. The collection is the proper entry level for these new to Trek, each by way of the way it serves as the proper introduction to this world and the way it laid the muse for some actually nice tales.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is on the market to stream on Paramount+ within the U.S.

Watch on Paramount+