Star Trek: The Next Generation
A new cast and a new ship, but still the same old split infinitive.
Set 80 years after the original Star Trek, this "new" series had a more modern sensibility. This Enterprise crew planned "to boldly go where no one has gone before" rather than the original series' "where no man has gone before", but the series still shared many of the original's characteristics.
The design of the USS Enterprise remained much the same, as did the general dynamic of the crew. Even the themes were similar. Just as the original Star Trek was often an excuse for thinly veiled moral messages, so was The Next Generation.
This middle-of-the-road tone is perhaps why the show started badly. However, by the third series writers were flexing their creative muscles. Storylines showed Captain Jean Luc Picard and his crew involved in more daring and action-orientated adventures, rather than lecturing one another on ethics. Individual characters began to make their presence felt (Patrick Stewart's Picard was outstanding), and themes were noticeably more varied.
By the time of its final show in 1994, The Next Generation had consummately revitalised Trek. The show's success in attracting audiences led to a second Trek spin-off, Deep Space Nine, and Trek films featured the Next Generation crew until 2002.
Home
More details
