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Series Overview
Jean-Luc Picard - Patrick Stewart Will Riker - Jonathan Frakes Data - Brent Spiner Beverley Crusher - Gates McFadden Deanna Troi - Marina Sirtis Geordi LaForge - LeVar Burton Worf - Michael Dorn Wesley Crusher - Wil Wheaton 
OTHER SEASONS Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 OTHER STAR TREK SHOWS Star Trek Deep Space Nine Voyager Enterprise OTHER TREKS THROUGH SPACE Babylon 5 The new Battlestar Galactica 
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Series OverviewSeaon Four has the perfect opportunity to hit the ground running by bringing us the end to The Best of Both Worlds - Part 1, but immediately after that, it takes off on a completely different tack. The theme for the whole season is set by the title of the second episode Family. Virtually every episode in this season has some sort of link or soemthing to say on the subject of familial relationships to the point of getting annoying. Brothers needs no further explanation, but Suddenly Human revolves around the rights of adoptive families, Legacy is about how our perception of loved ones colours of view of their family members. Reunion gives Worf a family whilst Remember Me and Final Mission take Beverly's away. Fortunately there is some respite from this with great fun episodes Devil's Due and In Theory whilst the more serious side of life is taken care of in The Drumhead. In season 4, STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION is at the top of its game. Enjoy. TopThe Best of Both Worlds - Part 2The Borg cube is heading straight for Earth and has destroyed half the fleet on its way. The only ship that stands any chance of catching it is the Enterprise and they have the added advantage of knowing how Picard, now Locutus of Borg, thinks. The cliffhanger that was left at the end of season 3 demanded a resolution of quality and that is what it gets. This is a stunning conclusion to the story that not only plays on all the fears of the characters (of failure, of taking responsibility, of facing up to the loss of their captain and friend), but shows how unbeatable force can be defeated by means that are unfair and devious. Jonathan Frakes takes the big chair with ease, but is Patrick Stewart as Picard who gets the acting honours for playing Locutus of Borg, a drone containing a man unwilling to lay down and die. On top of all of that, this is the best action that the series has ever managed to produce. What a start. TopFamilyPicard goes home to France to visit his estranged brother, lick the wounds that were inflicted by the Borg and ponder on a change of career. In orbit, Worf is visited by the human parents that embarrass him so and Beverly presents Wesley with a message from the past, from the father that he never knew. It is a sign of a series confident in its own success that it can abandon what it does and spend a whole episode looking at the rather mundane family lives of its characters. Nothing (and I do mean nothing) happens in this episode, but the interplay between the crew members and their families reveal facets of their nature that might otherwise not be seen. This being THE NEXT GENERATION, none of this is too deep, or even believable, but it’s an interesting change of pace. It just won’t be an episode that you revisit very often and whoever thought up that last shot ought to be shot. TopBrothersA young boy is taken sick on the Enterprise as a result of a game played with his brother. He needs to get to a starbase quickly, but Data malfunctions, takes over the Enterprise with dangerous ease and heads off for a mysterious family rendezvous. I wonder if Brent Spiner got paid triple for this episode. Not only does he play Data and the brother android called Lore, thought destroyed, but also essays the role of his creature Dr Noonian Soong. The speed and efficiency with which Data takes over the ship is chilling and effective, but it all falls apart quite rapidly when it becomes clear that it is all an excuse to make a family get together for Data and the juxtaposition with the human brothers’ situation is as subtle as a brick to the forehead. TopSuddenly HumanRescuing a group of Talarians on a training flight gone wrong, the crew of the Enterprise discover a human child amongst them, a child who has apparently been brutalised by the man he calls father. As a Talarian war party races to regain their children, Picard must decide whether he is willing to go to war over the boy. This is a fascinating episode, although the whole family motif of this season is getting a bit wearing, so something else would be nice for a change. The moral dilemma facing Picard is interesting and his attempts to connect with the youth are well written and played (and not embarrassing like most of his encounters with children). What then elevates the show is the shock response of the boy to the discussions about his future. TopRemember MeBeverly Crusher gets concerned when an old tutor of hers fails to show up for a meeting and then disappears from the ship’s manifest and from people’s memories. Then other people start to vanish as though they had never existed, always being lost from the computer records and minds of others. As the crew dwindles until Beverly is left alone, she struggles with concepts that leave her in a universe that is a few hundred metres across and collapsing. Oh and there’s that stormy light show vortex thing that’s been following her around. Gates McFadden’s finest hour on the show as she takes centre stage in this episode and, for quite a time anyway, is the only person in the cast. This one is all about the loss of family (yes, there’s that word again) and friends, but seen through a sci-fi lens and suitably skewed. The resolution is pure formula, but the situation she finds herself in is intriguing right up until the point where she figures out what is going on. TopLegacyThe Enterprise visits the home planet of their fallen comrade Tasha Yar and are introduced to her sister. She is a fighting member of one of the factions that has created hell on the colony world, a war that has been reduced to ineffective skirmishes thanks to implants that warn when enemies are near. She helps them locate some missing crewmen and formulates a plan to get in save them, but it’s a plan that suits her purposes even more than the Federation’s. All right, enough with the family thing already! Actually, that aside this is a good episode with lots of character stuff going on alongside a fast-moving adventure story and, for once, the Federation don’t get things all their own way. TopReunionThe Klingon Emperor is dying and he has chosen Picard to act as arbiter of succession in order to guarantee impartiality. The two who would be king are sworn enemies and not likely to play fair. In the meantime, Worf is reunited with his lover K’Ehleyr (from Emissary) who presents him with a son he didn’t know he had. More families, more trouble. It’s absolutely wonderful to see Suzie Plakson back as K’Ehleyr and her fate is a disappointing one in the extreme. It does add a lot of edge, though, to the story and to Worf’s character. The political intrigue of the Klingons continues to be fertile ground for the writers and at least Worf has sense enough to get rid of his son off the show at the first available opportunity. TopFuture ImperfectWill Riker wakes up missing 16 years of his life. He has a rare affliction that causes amnesia from the point of contamination and he has forgotten being promoted to captain of the Enterprise, his wife (now dead) and his son. A slip in the use of Minuet (the hologram from 11001001) to represent his wife proves that he is being controlled, but is it really the Romulans that are behind it? More bloody families, this time someone who wants one. It starts off intriguing (though you are never in doubt that it’s all an illusion to be broken) and continues on in that vein quite nicely for a while, but the final revelation of the perpetrator is likely to put you off the show for a few episodes. TopFinal MissionWesley Crusher is off to the academy, but first he has to endure a long shuttle trip with the captain. This then goes wrong and Picard is badly injured. The shuttle pilot takes over, but is ill-equipped to deal with the energy creature protecting the only source of water. If you can’t write a story about a real family then write one about a surrogate family. Wesley Crusher has been Picard’s surrogate son on and off since the start of the show and here he finally gets around to admitting how proud he is of the boy. The rest of us admit to how pleased we are that he’s leaving. The rest is standard STAR TREKstuff. TopThe LossCounsellor Troi is affected when an interstellar being gets them caught in its wake, losing her empathic ability. Unable to sense what people are feeling, she is at first alarmed and then distraught at her inability to deal with the situation. The rest of the crew have to find a way to prevent themselves being dragged into a cosmic string or she won’t have to deal with the situation for long. The classic THE NEXT GENERATION set up, a global danger that particularly affects one of the members of the crew on a more personal level. Marina Sirtis gets to do some real acting as she comes to terms with her new disability, but you can’t help feeling that she’s just acting like a spoiled child whose favourite toy’s been taken away. TopData's dayAs part of a research project, Data narrates a day in his life. This turns out to be a busy day as he is to be the best man and Keiko and Miles O’Brien’s wedding. Pre-wedding nerves are more than he can cope with. Then there is the Vulcan ambassador who is taking them deep into the heart of the neutral zone for a rendezvous with a Romulan warbird. What a pointless episode this is. Ok there is a lot of fun seeing Data cope with humans at their most illogical, but the rest of it just feels like padding to disguise the fact that the concept of a Data diary has got no sort of story to back it up with. Not an interesting one anyway. TopThe WoundedA Federation captain has gone rogue, attacking Cardassian freighters without warning of provocation. As there is a new peace treaty with the Cardassians, the Enterprise is sent to stop him. Then the captain comes to Picard with a story of Cardassian treachery and threat to the Federation. When Picard refuses to intervene, the captain goes back to his own ship and warms up his phasers. How far would you go to reveal what you know to be a threat, but nobody else will recognise? That is the heart of the story here. Do the ends every justify the means? And is there any way in which we can make sure that Miles O’Brien is never allowed to sing in the show ever again. Intriguing, full of nice character moments and perhaps a little deeper than the average episode. TopDevil's DueThe devil returns to a superstitious planet to claim her rights as laid down in an ancient manuscript. Picard does not accept her for who she claims to be for one second, but the rules of law bind him. Data must act as judge of the claim with Picard’s freedom now part of the deal if he loses. Fantastic. Completely stupid and not for one second believable, but immense fun. This is one of those silly episodes that come along from time to time and are just so cheerful and happy that you can’t help but have a good time. And at least it has nothing to do with bloody families. TopCluesThe crew are knocked out by a probe and wake up to find that they were unconscious for only minutes. Things, however, don’t quite add up. There are inconsistencies in the time line that suggest they are missing several days and that they were conscious in that time. Data steadfastly refuses to tell the captain what happened, because the captain ordered him not to. The hunt is on for the truth. This is a nice episode that rattles along its mystery path at a good clip until all is revealed. Exceptional it may not be, but it is another example of the extremely high standard that has been set by this season, easily the best season so far. TopFirst ContactFirst contact is the tricky time when a species that is about to make its first warp flights gets a visit and invitation to join the Federation. The effect can be devastating if it goes wrong, so when Riker is injured whilst disguised as an alien on a recon mission preceding first contact, Picard and Troi are forced to act sooner than they wished. Galaxy's ChildThe Enterprise encounters a spacegoing lifeform never seen before. When it attacks, the crew are forced to kill it, but then realise that the creature was pregnant and the child is trying to escape. Using the phasers for a caesarean section, they save the child which then thinks the ship is its mother and starts to drain energy from it like milk. Can Geordi and the visiting engine specialist Leah Brahms save the day? Poor old Geordi LaForge. Way back in Booby Trap, he created a holographic copy of Leah Brahms and rather fell for her. Now the real thing has arrived and is nothing like the computer version. Worse, when she finds the holographic version she is less than pleased about it. She also has one last surprise for him. Considering that the whole plot is merely a premise to get Geordi and Leah together for real and destroy his illusions, this episode hangs together really well. Their interplay is fun and there are some really nice moments when things aren’t going so well. It’s also good that there wasn’t a true happy ending to spoil it all. TopNight TerrorsThe Enterprise gets caught in an area of space that drains energy and causes dream deprivation. If humans can’t dream they go insane and kill each other like the crew of the ship that the Enterprise came to rescue. Only one person is left able to dream and that is Counsellor Troi and she is having the same recurring dream. Could it be an attempt at communication and, if so, could it save them all? One thing that there never seems to be a lot of in this version of the future is interpersonal conflict. Everyone is so in control of their emotions and working together for the common good that there is little room for the drama of conflict. Not so here as it’s the interpersonal strife that is actually the story and it is refreshing to see the characters go for each other, even if caused by alien influences. TopIdentity CrisisGeordi is contacted by a female officer who was on an away mission with him before his assignment to the Enterprise. Everyone else on that mission has disappeared. One stole a Federation shuttle and headed back to the planet they were exploring. The Enterprise returns to the scene of the crime and just as Geordi realises that there might be creatures on the planet that have some sort of chameleonic ability that prevents them being see he starts to transform into one himself. The writers really seem to have it in for Geordi at the moment. After losing his perfect girlfriend in Galaxy’s Child he gets turned into someone who wears a bodystocking with UV veins all over it. As you might have guessed, the parasite creature effect is so obvious as to be painful to watch, but the rest of the episode is solid and different enough to be interesting. TopThe Nth DegreeReg Barclay, just about Starfleet’s least impressive officer, accompanies Geordi on an away mission and finds, on his return, that he is more confident, assertive and intelligent. He is soon the best engineer on the ship and before long plugs himself into the computer directly through a link in the Holodeck. Whilst the crew try to find a way to get control back without killing him, he hurls the ship halfway across the Quadrant. Reg Barclay is fun and he’s fun here as well. This is his Flowers for Algernon story where he is endowed with high intelligence that at first seems like a gift and then turns to horror before finally being stripped away. Dwight Schultz is once again on top form as Reg and only the formulaic resolution lets it down. TopQpidQ wants to give Picard a present, something that the Captain is in no mood to accept. When Vash from Captain’s Holiday turns up, Q sees his chance and transports the bridge crew to Sherwood Forest so that Picard can save the woman that he loves and thus reveal himself. The rest of the crew react differently to being dressed in doublet and hose. There are few NEXT GENERATION stories that are quite as silly as this one. Everyone looks like they’re having a whale of a time playing Robin Hood and the fun is infectious. True, it’s pointless, but sometimes having fun can be the point of the thing in the first place. With Vash and Q in the same room how could it be anything less? TopThe DrumheadWhen an explosion on the Enterprise is deemed to be sabotage, a top investigator is brought in to find out the truth and one man is put on trial. Trials and jury rooms and courts and cases are usually fertile ground for thinking drama and this is no exception, though it does stray into dull territory at times. It’s all very worthy, examining the short step from wariness to paranoia and the injustices that can follow, but it is saved by some fine acting from Jean Simmons as the investigator and Patrick Stewart as the Captain at his most outraged. TopHalf a LifeLwaxana Troi is on board, which means Picard is nervous, but this time she has her sights set on another. A scientist researching a means to save his planet has a grand experiment that fails, but from which he learns a lot. Unfortunately, he cannot continue the work as he receives the call that will take him home to his ritual suicide. And the subject for tonight will be…Euthanasia. Yes, the show’s in worthy mode, examining a current subject through the distorting lens of science fiction (which is what good science fiction does). What a shame, then, that whenever the series does an issue show it turns out so dull. Is it right to ask someone to take their own life just because they are a certain age? Is saving someone from inevitable decline and suffering the right thing to do? Chances are you won’t care too much. Even Majel Barrett as the irrepressible Lwaxana Troi can’t do much to redeem this one. TopThe HostDr Crusher falls for a charming alien who all but asks him to give up her career to be with him. When he is hurt, however, it becomes clear that he is not all he appears to be. Inside the humanoid there is a symbiont, a sluglike creature that will die if it does not find a new host. Riker agrees to take on the job for a few days until the new host arrives. The crew of the Enterprise seem to be able to fall in love with anything. In this case, the story questions whether a relationship can withstand dramatic changes in one partner. Normally this might be disfigurement or some disability, but in the future it means turning from a man into a slug and then into Riker. There is some fun in watching Riker come onto Beverly and just when she thinks she can cope with the future host it turns out to be a woman, which is one step too far for the good Doctor. TopThe Mind's EyeGeordi is kidnapped by the Romulans and brainwashed. He returns to the ship on an important mission with the Klingons, but there is someone on board who is working against them. It is, of course, Geordi, and his next assignment is murder. Geordi LaForge is The Manchurian Candidate. The torture scenes here are quite strong for younger viewers and gives the early parts of this episode a real edge that is lost as time passes and everything settles down into traditional fare. It’s a shame, because there was more that could have been done and the Romulans are turning out to be very tricksy customers. TopIn TheoryJenna is a friend of Data’s who turns to him for comfort when her relationship breaks up. She finds herself drawn to his reliability and the imagined moments of kindness. He, in turn, builds some subroutines to simulate a relationship. Naturally, it’s all going to end in tears. One of the most delightful and whimsical episodes that the show has yet produced. The idea of Data trying to romance someone was bound to come up sooner or later and the manner in which it is broached and plays out works really well, not least thanks to the chemistry between Brent Spiner and Michele Scarabelli. The final shot of Data, having deleted the romance subroutines is a heartbreaker in the fashion of The Offspring. TopRedemption - Part 1Civil War is threatening to engulf the Klingon Empire. Gowron, who Picard chose as Emperor in Reunion is struggling to find the support to put down a challenge from the Duras family. Worf joins with his brother to support the Emperor. It becomes clear that the Duras clan continue to collude with the Romulans, but Picard will not intervene on behalf of the Federation. As the crisis grows, Worf must choose between his Klingon heritage and his duty to the Federation. Possibly the apotheosis of the show’s examination of Klingon culture, this is a story of intrigue at court, clan and personal level. Politics is colliding all over the place and the likely outcome is going to be lots of dead people. Isn’t that always the way. At least the Klingon Empire seems to have a lust for life that the Federation could take note of. It’s not a cliffhanger to keep you tied in like THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS but we’ll all be back for the next season. Top |
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