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 3 (1989-1990)

  • 9/25/1989. Evolution 3 stars. — When the ship's computer begins malfunctioning on the eve of a once-in-a-lifetime scientific experiment, the crew learns that a newly developing artificial intelligence may be responsible.
  • 10/2/1989. The Ensigns of Command 2.5 stars. — Data must convince the inhabitants of an illegally located colony to give up their homes before the alien race that owns the planet arrives to colonize it.
  • 10/9/1989. The Survivors 4 stars. — The crew must determine why a Federation colony of 11,000 was completely destroyed except for one elderly couple and their house.
  • 10/16/1989. Who Watches the Watchers 2.5 stars. — A mishap at an anthropological research station leads to one of the primitive subjects of the study witnessing the observers and concluding that Picard is a god.
  • 10/23/1989. The Bonding 2 stars. — The crew must inform a 12-year-old boy that his mother has been killed on an away mission.
  • 10/30/1989. Booby Trap 3 stars. — Geordi must race against the clock to free the Enterprise from an ancient booby trap designed to kill its captives with deadly radiation.
  • 11/6/1989. The Enemy 3.5 stars. — Geordi is held prisoner by a Romulan who survived a mysterious crash on a desolate planet along the Neutral Zone.
  • 11/13/1989. The Price 2.5 stars. — When the Enterprise hosts negotiations for the acquisition of what appears to be a stable wormhole, one of the negotiators falls in love with Troi.
  • 11/20/1989. The Vengeance Factor 2 stars. — Picard attempts to mediate a deal that would return a lawless band of criminal outcasts to mainstream society, but a murderer threatens to derail the talks.
  • 1/1/1990. The Defector 4 stars. — A Romulan defector crosses the border into Federation space and claims that a Romulan invasion plot is imminent.
  • 1/8/1990. The Hunted 2.5 stars. — A biologically enhanced soldier escapes a government prison on his homeworld and runs loose on the Enterprise.
  • 1/29/1990. The High Ground 3 stars. — Crusher is captured by a ruthless terrorist organization that plans to use her as a bargaining chip to force the government to consider its demands.
  • 2/5/1990. Déjà Q 3.5 stars. — Q, having been stripped of his powers by the Q Continuum, expresses his desire to join the Enterprise crew.
  • 2/12/1990. A Matter of Perspective 3 stars. — When Riker is accused of murder, an extradition hearing is convened in the holodeck to consider witness depositions.
  • 2/19/1990. Yesterday's Enterprise 4 stars. — The Enterprise's predecessor, the 1701-C, passes through a rift in time, arriving in an alternate future where the Federation has been at war with the Klingons for 20 years.
  • 3/12/1990. The Offspring 3 stars. — Data creates an android that he calls his child, and Starfleet's resulting interest in studying her threatens to separate her from her father.
  • 3/19/1990. Sins of the Father 3.5 stars. — When Worf's deceased father is accused of being a traitor, Worf decides to stand trial before the Klingon High Council in order to clear his family's name.
  • 3/26/1990. Allegiance 2 stars. — Picard is kidnapped and replaced with a duplicate. While the duplicate takes the Enterprise on a new course, Picard and his cellmates attempt escape.
  • 4/2/1990. Captain's Holiday 1.5 stars. — While vacationing on Risa, Picard is pulled into an unanticipated conflict, romance, and a hunt for a mysterious item from the future.
  • 4/23/1990. Tin Man 3 stars. — With the help of a Betazoid with exceptional telepathic abilities, the Enterprise races to make contact with an unknown form of life before the Romulans can.
  • 4/30/1990. Hollow Pursuits 3 stars. — Geordi attempts to reach out to an officer whose career suffers from awkward social skills, tardiness, and an addiction to holodeck fantasies.
  • 5/7/1990. The Most Toys 3 stars. — A collector of rare items kidnaps Data and fakes his death in a shuttle explosion, intending to add him to the collection as its crown jewel.
  • 5/14/1990. Sarek 3.5 stars. — When Vulcan Ambassador Sarek comes aboard the Enterprise to negotiate an alliance, unexplained anger in the crew leads to violence that threatens the negotiations.
  • 5/28/1990. Ménage à Troi 1.5 stars. — Riker, Troi and Lwaxana are kidnapped by a smitten Ferengi opportunist.
  • 6/4/1990. Transfigurations 2.5 stars. — Crusher rescues a critically injured man who cannot remember who he is or where he came from, and he turns out to have extraordinary healing abilities.
  • 6/18/1990. The Best of Both Worlds, Part I 4 stars. — The Enterprise prepares for a deadly encounter with the Borg, who have invaded Federation space.

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