It’s hard to believe that it’s been twenty years since the debut of Star Trek:
The Next Generation. I can still recall watching the pilot, Encounter At Farpoint,
with a mixture of skepticism and excitement. I was initially skeptical, like
most Star Trek fans at that time, that this upstart series would even dare to
call itself Star Trek, let alone carry on the interstellar saga begun by Captain
James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Set barely one hundred
years after the original series, in the 24th century, Star Trek: TNG chronicled
the adventures of a new U.S.S. Enterprise under the command of Captain Jean-Luc
Picard. Played with a calm, confident authority by British actor Patrick Steward,
Picard was an unusual choice to be a leading man, and he was all the more
fascinating because of it. Whereas Kirk was a soldier, Picard is an explorer
first, a soldier second. Although Picard would fight when needed, he always
made it clear that it was always better to talk than to fight--and oftentimes,
Picard used the very threat of violence to force a surly opponent to back down.
Making its debut in 1987, the world that TNG showed reflected the United States
in the late 1980s: at a time of peace and prosperity. It’s no mistake that the
new Enterprise looks more like a luxurious ocean liner, and that it’s crew--both
Starfleet and civilian--were often as scantily-clad as the passengers of a cruise
ship sailing the tropics. The Enterprise--with it’s close-knit family that
comprised of the bridge crew--represented peace and goodwill at its finest.
Where other SF series like Babylon 5 and Firefly showed imperfect humans still
grappling with their inner demons, the crew of TNG were enlightened beings who
barely even argued with each other. This was what helped make TNG the TV
equivalent of comfort food. It was soothing for a viewer to revisit these people
every week; they were open-minded, nonjudgmental, kind-hearted souls who strived
to make the universe a better place every week (with the possible exception of
Worf, but more on him later), and it was fun to hang with them.
If Picard was the father figure of the Enterprise, then Commander William Riker
(Jonathan Frakes) was the older brother of this little interstellar family.
Overly protective, even of the Captain, Riker always led the Away Teams on
dangerous missions to the alien planet of the week. He would wind up serving
aboard a starship with a former flame, Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sitris), a
psychiatrist with psychic powers whose presence aboard a starship also reflected
the 1980s trend of finding your inner self by consulting with a shrink. The
chief medical officer, Doctor Beverly Crusher (Gates Mcfadden), is a widow with
a precocious (often annoyingly so) teenage son named Wesley (Will Wheaton) who
had a past history with Picard. The helmsman is a blind man by the name of
Geordi Lafarge (engagingly played by Levar Burton) who can "see" by way of a
special visor, and the chief of security is Natasha Yar (Denise Crosby) a tough
as nails woman from a devastated colony. Sadly, due to Crosby's dissatisfaction
with what little she was being given to do, Yar would not survive the season.
Michael Dorn played Worf, the first Klingon to serve in Starfleet, and whose
primal warrior instincts are always being held in check by the lovey-dovey crowd
he hangs with. But along with Picard, the other real breakout character of TNG
is Data. An android with a pale face, golden eyes, and the innocence of a child,
Data was played to perfection by Brent Spiner. Spiner effectively imbued Data’s
lines with a sense of whimsy, and was very funny, thanks to his deadpan
reactions to comments or concepts that flew right over Data’s head. Watching the first
season episodes for the first time in years, I was surprised at just how well it
holds up. Yes, it was often corny and sometimes very sappy. And the introduction
of the Ferengi as villains was a major misstep; these twitchy, avarice-ridden
aliens were about as menacing as gerbils (it’s no surprise that the Romulans
were eventually brought back as the central threat). The far more scary Borg wouldn't make
their debut until the second season.
But like the Classic Star Trek series, TNG is still very enjoyable to watch,
mainly because of the family dynamic that existed within its large cast of
characters. And, TNG carries forth the basic message of the original series,
which stated that the human race will still survive to see a sunny future no
matter how dire present day events may be. It’s just this message, mixed with
TNG’s positive, uplifting outlook on life, that makes it worth watching over and
over again. It's no surprise that the series has gone on to run for seven seasons
on TV, and then spawning four movies. With it's optimistic message of hope and
acceptance having been embraced the world over, Star Trek: The Next Generation
has become a part of our modern mythology just as much as the Classic Star Trek
series has.
--SF
