Product Details

• Actors: LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden
• Directors: LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Gabrielle Beaumont, Robert Becker, Cliff Bole
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English, French
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: May 31, 1995
• Run Time: 46 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302744687
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #411,537 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The first season comes to a close with Captain Picard being called to an emergency conference on Starbase 718. While waiting for him to return to the ship, Data and Worf investigate the wreckage of an old space capsule they find, one that was launched from Earth in the late 20th century. On board the capsule are three humans in suspended animation: a businessman, an artist, and a housewife. Each were frozen at the moment they died from fatal diseases, hoping that sometime in the future they could be thawed out and cured. Meanwhile, Picard brings the Enterprise into the neutral zone to investigate the destruction of a few remote outposts. Rumor has it, after 50 years of quiet, the Romulans have returned to annoy and fight against the Federation. The gravity of the situation is lost on the unfrozen humans, particularly the blowhard businessman who is itching to find out how his stocks are doing after more than 300 years. The comic aspects are rather broad, but the reintroduction of the Romulans is well played. The question of the destroyed outposts isn't resolved until season 2 (hint: it's one of the series' favorite villains), but the most interesting revelation is that TV on Earth only lasts until 2040. Watch this episode now, before it's too late! --Andy Spletzer

From the Back Cover

While Picard (Patrick Stewart) is away at a Federation conference, Data (Brent Spiner) and Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn) discover a 20th-century Earth satellite containing three bodies perfectly preserved by cryogenics.

Picard returns with orders dispatching the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone, where two Federation outposts have been destroyed. The crew's mission: to investigate the incident, which may have been executed by the hostile Romulans as a prelude to war.

Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) is able to revive the three Earthlings who turn out to be a housewife, a business magnate and a country singer. Picard tolerates the visitors from the past, but as he heads toward a possibly violent exchange with the Romulans, it is the future he fears.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Romulans are Back!, December 25, 2000

By 

picardfan007 (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 26: The Neutral Zone [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Spoiler Alert: If you have not seen this episode read no further!

"The Neutral Zone" introduces us to the Next Generation version of the Romulan Empire. In this episode the Enterprise encounters a three-hundred year old ship containing cryogenically frozen humans who are from the 20th century. The story presents their dilemma of living beyond their shattered existence in the past. If only there was a follow up to see what happened.

The crew of the Enterprise have more to worry about. Something has destroyed Romulan outposts. It turns out this is the first sign of the Borg. Picard forms a truce with the commanders to share information. For all intents and purposes; this one is worth the cost of the video cassette. I love the part where the former stock broker storms on the bridge. He yells to Picard the Romulans are afraid to admit they "don't know who attacked them." The scene with the country singer telling Data about the "low mileage pet wolfies" was priceless.

3.0 out of 5 stars "Well, we won't be inviting these Romulans to our party, will we?", August 22, 2006

By 

Steven Y. "Pop Culture Addict" (Marvel Universe 616) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 26: The Neutral Zone [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Star Trek: The Next Generation concludes its first season by welcoming back an adversary from the original series in "The Neutral Zone." Unfortunately, their reappearance reveals that they had lost all fashion sense since they were last seen.

The Enterprise-D encounters a satellite containing three preserved individuals from the twentieth century. The crew revives them and helps them to adjust to the new century then find themselves in. However, tensions are running high on the ship because Federation outposts near the Neutral Zone have been destroyed. Upon investigating, the Enterprise-D comes face-to-face with a Romulan ship. After opening a dialogue with the Romulans, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) realizes something truly mysterious is going on in the Neutral Zone.

While it was undoubtedly a treat to see the Romulans once more, one cannot help but admit that their new fashion style left a lot to be desired. If they thought that silver bathrobes were an upgrade over their previous uniforms then they were sorely mistaken. The decision to add forehead ridges to the Next Generation-era Romulans also was questionable as it gave them a freakish and unsightly appearance. Certainly a far cry from their noble and dignified look from the original series. Yet, it was good to see Star Trek: The Next Generation acknowledging what had come before. Making this episode even more interesting was the way in which it paved the way for the coming of The Borg. The mystery behind the destroyed outposts was a great way to build up the suspense for the next season. It is just too bad those refugees from the twentieth-century were so annoying. Despite that fact that one of them offered a helpful observation that exposed a Romulan bluff, one cannot shake the feeling that it would have been no great loss to have kept the trio in permanent deep freeze.

3.0 out of 5 stars The human icicles are a distraction, October 30, 2004

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 26: The Neutral Zone [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This episode suffers from the serious affliction that occasionally happens in the Next Generation, in that they try to have too much in the plot. The main story line is that many of the Federation outposts on the edge of the neutral zone with the Romulans have been destroyed. There has been no contact with the Romulans for many years, so it is very possible that this is a probing action by the Romulans where they hope to ascertain the current technical status of the Federation. The Federation leadership decides to respond by sending a single ship, the Enterprise. As they travel to the neutral zone, the senior officers debate their options for response. The consensus is that they should be prepared to fight at the first provocation, as Romulan tactics are to attack without warning.

When they arrive at the neutral zone and find that the outputs are gone, "as if a giant force scooped them up." As they continue their investigation, the Enterprise sensors detect a distortion and a Romulan warbird decloaks directly in front of them. Captain Picard opens a dialog with the Romulan commanders and the Romulan commanders inform him that Romulan outposts on the border of the neutral zone have also been destroyed. Since the Romulan commanders have already concluded that the Federation is not responsible for the destruction, they agree to cooperate on this matter. The warbird then departs and the Enterprise continues on their mission.

This is one of the ways in which this episode fails. Since there has been no contact between the Federation and the Romulans for so many years, Captain Picard should have been eager to share information and shifting from soldier to diplomat, should have suggested a formal meeting. Given the atmosphere of suspicion, this is a tremendous opportunity to launch a new diplomatic initiative.

What transforms this episode from one that could have been very intense into one that is lackluster is the second plot of the episode. The Enterprise encounters a derelict ship with several people aboard who had been frozen at the time of death. Three canisters are still functioning and they are transported to the Enterprise and the people inside are revived. The interaction between the crew of the Enterprise and those who were revived after centuries of slumber has many possibilities, although the major plotline does not allow them. Given the major ramifications of re-establishing contact with the Romulans, and the possibilities of an interstellar war, this second story line is totally unnecessary.

Later in the series, we learn that the missing Federation outposts have been absorbed by the Borg, setting the stage for some of the best episodes of the series. That, and the fact that the Romulans are re-introduced to the series, makes this episode worth seeing. However, the handling is so cluttered with unnecessary verbiage that what could have been an extremely intense episode is occasionally boring.