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The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation on DVD
by Reg Seeton
 Taking
to the airwaves almost 20 years after the original
Star Trek series, Star Trek: The Next Generation
breathed new life into a franchise that no one
thought would ever expand into the future. Airing
from 1987 to 1994 and penned mainly four seasons
by the late, great Michael Piller who I once had
the good fortune of interviewing, Star Trek: The
Next Generation, for many, is the cream of the
crop of Star Trek properties. Interestingly, TNG
served as the creative launching pad for Battlestar
Galactica creator and writer Ronald D. Moore and
a slew of popular sci-fi writers of today who
got their start on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Looking back, it's hard to believe TNG went off the air 15 years ago. But like the original Star Trek series, The Next Generation has also been running in syndication and reruns all over the world, so TNG has been living on and prospering in the same TV tradition. Although the decision was made back in 1994 to continue the TNG legacy into the future on the big screen with feature films, the four Next Generation Enterprise crew movies, while awesome in their own right, didn't have the same weight and magic as the series. It's a shame, too, because The Next Generation was such a beloved series for almost all Trekkies before the fans turned against the TNG cast when Star Trek Nemesis hit theaters in 2002. It's the cyclical nature of "too much of a good thing" that will eventually infect the new Star Trek feature film reboot sometime in the future, so let's enjoy it while it lasts.
 I've
always looked upon Star Trek: The Next Generation
as the show that the original Star Trek never
was, or couldn't be, because of its time. On
many levels TNG was a modern remake of the original
series with new characters, new universes, and
deeper dramatic layers that resonated with people
in a real world way, with the same relevant,
multicultural and societal issues the original
series tackled. When The Next Generation hit
the airwaves, the excitement was palpable in
the same way as the new Star Trek feature film,
which exploded at the box-office with an opening
weekend take of $72 million, proving that the
Star Trek franchise is alive and well in the
21st Century.
Now, as a tie-in to the newly release Star Trek big screen reboot, Paramount Home Video has reached into the Star Trek vaults to give fans The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation, which consolidates four of the best Next Generation episodes into one single-disc DVD release. And if you ask any hardcore fan of TNG about there favorite episodes, you'll be hard-pressed to find any Next Geners that wouldn't agree with the four included on this latest Star Trek DVD release.
In The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series, fans will find the following classic Next Generation episodes that aired between 1989 and 1990:
The Best Of Both Worlds (Part I): After a spectacular battle and chase, the Borg cube overtakes the Enterprise and the Borg abduct Captain Picard, taking over his mind and body. A rescue mission to save Picard ensues and the crew of the Enterprise is forced to make a dreadful decision; the opportunity to destroy the Borg and rid the universe of absolute tyranny will also mean annihilating their Captain.
 The
Best Of Both Worlds (Part II): With Riker as
Captain, the Enterprise temporarily outwits
the Borg, allowing for the rescue of Picard.
Back in the Enterprise, the crew is desperately
trying to figure out how to stop the Borg from
reaching Earth. A still-assimilated Picard utters
a single clue: "sleep." But will it be enough
to save the Enterprise ... and the planet?
Yesterday's Enterprise: A rift in the space-time continuum brings the Enterprise-C 22 years into the future, where it encounters a transformed Enterprise-D, now at war with the Klingon Empire. As one of only two episodes to feature two versions of the Enterprise, the past and present collide with potentially catastrophic and mind-bending consequences.
The Measure Of A Man: When the Enterprise docks at a new Starbase, noted robotics specialist Cmdr. Bruce Maddox convinces Starfleet to allow him to disassemble the android Data. Told that Data is merely Starfleet property, Picard calls for a hearing to determine Data's rights as a sentient being. With Riker as prosecutor and Picard as Data's defender, the outcome is literally life or death for Data.
 Although
the disc doesn't contain bonus features, the
"Best of" episodes are the true bonus. For anyone
who doesn't have the time to delve into The
Next Generation season sets, each episode features
the stellar visual quality and three crisp Dolby
Digital 5.1 audio tracks (Englis, Spanish, and
Portuguese). Now that the new Star Trek movie
has hit theaters and there's renewed interest
in the franchise all over again 15 years after
TNG left the airwaves, fans can now truly have
"the best of both worlds" on DVD without a huge
Trek time investment. Good on Paramount for
giving fans the best of The Next Gen best.
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: May 12, 2009
Features: N/A
Video: Standard 1.33:1 Color
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
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