Star Trek: The Next Generation

Reviews of The Next Generation were written retrospectively from 2005-2013. Initially envisioned as a short project, the review format was shorter in the early seasons, but got somewhat longer as the project went on. Note: All reviews contain spoilers.

Content Listing

Season 5 (1991-1992)

  • 9/23/1991. Redemption, Part II 3 stars. — With civil war having broken out in the Klingon Empire, Worf fights on Gowron's side against the Duras family while the Enterprise investigates the possibility of Romulan interference in the conflict.
  • 9/30/1991. Darmok 3 stars. — Picard and an alien captain struggle through a difficult language barrier while re-enacting an ancient battle.
  • 10/7/1991. Ensign Ro 3 stars. — The Enterprise is assigned to capture a group of Bajoran terrorists who have allegedly attacked a Federation outpost, so they take on a troubled Bajoran crew member with unique expertise on the situation.
  • 10/14/1991. Silicon Avatar 2.5 stars. — The Enterprise pursues the crystalline entity after it destroys all life on a Federation colony.
  • 10/21/1991. Disaster 2 stars. — A spatial anomaly cripples the Enterprise, leaving crew members trapped in various parts of the ship with little hope for rescue.
  • 10/28/1991. The Game 2.5 stars. — Wesley Crusher, visiting the Enterprise while on leave from the Academy, finds that a popular new game may have sinister implications.
  • 11/4/1991. Unification, Part I 3 stars. — Picard and Data travel to Romulus to search for Ambassador Spock, who is rumored to be there on an unknown mission.
  • 11/11/1991. Unification, Part II 2.5 stars. — Spock reveals his plan to Picard to reunify the Vulcan and Romulan worlds, but may face political challenges and possible death in the process.
  • 11/18/1991. A Matter of Time 2.5 stars. — A man traveling in a small shuttle claims he is from the 26th century to observe a historic event the Enterprise is about to participate in.
  • 1/6/1992. New Ground 2.5 stars. — Worf's son Alexander returns to the Enterprise, providing Worf the difficult challenge of balancing parenthood with his duties as a Starfleet officer.
  • 1/27/1992. Hero Worship 1.5 stars. — A boy who was the sole survivor of a mysterious calamity on a science vessel decides to mimic Data's android qualities as a way of coping with his loss.
  • 2/3/1992. Violations 2.5 stars. — An alien race of telepaths visits the ship and offers their skills of retrieving long-forgotten memories, but suspicions arise when members of the crew fall into unexplained comas.
  • 2/10/1992. The Masterpiece Society 2 stars. — The Enterprise attempts to save an isolated colony from a stellar fragment, and find that they may be unintentionally upsetting the delicate balance of this closed system just by interacting with the colonists.
  • 2/17/1992. Conundrum 3 stars. — The crew's memories and all their personnel files are erased, and as they try to piece together their identities they learn they may in the middle of a deadly war.
  • 2/24/1992. Power Play 2.5 stars. — Hostile entities take control of the bodies of Data, Troi, and O'Brien and hold the Enterprise and its crew hostage.
  • 3/2/1992. Ethics 3 stars. — An accident that paralyzes Worf prompts him to ask Riker to help him commit suicide, but an experimental medical procedure might be able to reverse his injury.
  • 3/16/1992. The Outcast 2 stars. — A member of an alien race that has no gender goes against its society's norms upon admitting to Riker that she identifies herself as female.
  • 3/23/1992. Cause and Effect 4 stars. — The Enterprise becomes trapped in a repeating time loop where it is destroyed at the end of every cycle.
  • 3/30/1992. The First Duty 4 stars. — An elite squadron of Starfleet cadets that includes Wesley Crusher is investigated following a flight exercise accident that resulted in the death of one of their team members.
  • 4/20/1992. Cost of Living 1 star. — On the eve of her wedding, Lwaxana Troi comes aboard the Enterprise and interferes with Deanna's and Worf's attempts to teach his son discipline.
  • 4/27/1992. The Perfect Mate 3 stars. — An empathic woman with the ability to adapt to be the perfect husband for any man finds her role in an impending arranged marriage complicated when she takes an interest in Picard.
  • 5/4/1992. Imaginary Friend 1.5 stars. — An alien presence appears in the form of a young girl's imaginary friend.
  • 5/11/1992. I, Borg 4 stars. — The Enterprise crew rescues the sole survivor of a Borg scout ship, and Picard realizes the crew may be able to use the drone as a weapon against the entire Borg collective.
  • 5/18/1992. The Next Phase 3 stars. — La Forge and Ro disappear in an apparent transporter accident and are presumed dead, but have actually been turned invisible by an experimental technology and must figure out how to contact the Enterprise crew.
  • 6/1/1992. The Inner Light 4 stars. — An alien probe attaches itself to Picard's mind, who wakes up as a man in a small village on a distant world.
  • 6/15/1992. Time's Arrow, Part I 2.5 stars. — Data's head is discovered to have been lying buried beneath San Francisco for 500 years, leading the Enterprise crew on an investigation that uncovers an alien time portal.

◄ Home Page