Customer Reviews

Star Trek: The Next Generation

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Redemption, Part II -- Believing the Romulans are behind a Klingon civil war, Picard involves Starfleet in the conflict. (Return of Denise Crosby as Sela formerly Tasha Yar)

Darmok -- Picard is forced into a dangerous encounter with the captain of an alien starship. (Stars Paul Winfield from Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan, The Terminator, and Cliffhanger. Also stars Ashley Judd from Heat, and High Crimes)

Ensign Ro -- The Enterprise crew becomes an unwitting pawn in a deadly conspiracy masterminded by a Starfleet admiral.

Silicon Avatar -- The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise risks all in an attempt to communicate with a destructive force known as the Crystalline Entity before a visiting scientist can destroy it.

Disaster -- Troi holds the lives of the crew in her hands when she is forced to act as captain after the Enterprise is seriously damaged by a rare, natural phenomenon.

The Game -- The fate of the Federation is in Wesley Crusher's hands when he returns to the Enterprise to find the rest of the crew addicted to a dangerous new game. (Stars Ashley Judd from Heat, and High Crimes)

Unification, Part I -- Picard and Data travel to Romulus to investigate an unauthorized mission undertaken by the Federation's legendary Mr. Spock. (Stars Mark Lenard from Star Trek movies, and Planet of the Apes. Also stars Leonard Nimoy from Star Trek movies, voice in Transformers: The Movie and Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

Unification, Part II -- Picard learns Spock's mission to Romulus involves a plan to reunify its people with the Vulcans. (Stars Denise Crosby as Sela formerly Tasha Yar. Also stars Leonard Nimoy from Star Trek movies, voice in Transformers: The Movie and Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

A Matter of Time -- The U.S.S. Enterprise plays host to a mysterious visitor who claims to be from the future. (Stars Matt Frewer from Max Headroom, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and TV's The Stand)

New Ground -- While the U.S.S. Enterprise heads for Bilana III to participate in the testing of a new propulsion method called the Soliton Wave, Worf receives an unexpected visit from his mother Helena and his son Alexander.

Hero Worship -- A troubled young boy starts to emulate Data.

Violations -- Troi, Riker and Dr. Crusher fall into unexplained comas while the Enterprise plays host to an alien race.

The Masterpiece Society -- Picard's efforts to save a genetically engineered society from a natural disaster threaten to destroy it.

Conundrum -- While suffering an unexplained case of amnesia, the crew finds themselves fighting a war they do not remember or understand.

Power Play -- Picard is shocked when Troi, Data and Chief O'Brien engineer an unexplained overthrow of the Bridge.

Ethics -- The crew is torn when an injured Worf, paralyzed after an accident, opts to follow Klingon custom and commit suicide.

The Outcast -- Riker's romance with a member of an androgynous race causes conflict and complications for all concerned.

Cause and Effect -- Trapped in a time warp that forces the crew to endlessly repeat the same experiences, the U.S.S. Enterprise is doomed to destruction. (Stars Kelsey Grammer of TV's Fraiser)

The First Duty -- Wesley Crusher, involved in a cover-up of a devastating accident at Starfleet Academy, learns a painful lesson in honesty. (Stars Ray Walston from The Sting, Popeye, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Of Mice and Men, TV's The Stand, Addams Family Reunion, and My Favorite Martian. Also stars Robert Duncan McNeill from the Star Trek: Voyager TV)

Cost of Living -- Troi's freewheeling mother Lwaxana upsets Deanna and Worf when she introduces Worf's son to her rather hedonistic lifestyle.

The Perfect Mate -- Picard falls in love with a beautiful woman who is to be given as a peace offering to end a centuries-long war. (Stars Famke Janssen from Goldeneye, Rounders, House on Haunted Hill and X-men)

Imaginary Friend -- A little girl's imaginary friend becomes a frightening reality for the crew when she threatens to destroy the U.S.S. Enterprise.

I, Borg -- Picard and the crew suffer from conflicting emotions when the U.S.S. Enterprise rescues a critically injured Borg.

The Next Phase -- Geordi and Ro are pronounced dead after a transporting maneuver from a distressed Romulan ship goes awry.

The Inner Light -- After a mysterious accident, Picard wakes up living the life of another person on a faraway planet. (Star Richard Riehle from Glory, Mercury Rising, Desperate Measures, Office Space, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, and Bandits. Also stars Daniel Stewart, Patrick Stewart's son.)

Time's Arrow, Part I -- After Data learns of his own death in late 19th-century San Francisco, a freak accident transports him back to that period.

Season five in so many ways, is just an absolutely incredible season that is packed with stunning, thought provoking episodes. As one watched these shows aired for the first time or is working their way through the DVD's, the quality of the writing and the actors comfort with their characters just becomes better and better by the episode. The shows popularity is at an all time high during this season. This is evidenced by the high quality of the scripts and shows that deal with so many issues brilliantly. The one true oddity about the season is the lack of a "Q" episode due to the lack of a good script for the character. Of key interest is the fact that more and more of Hollywood's big names were inquiring about and or getting spots on the show. In my opinion, many of the series best episodes of its seven year run came from this season.

The following is a list with a synopsis of episodes that stand out among all of the great episodes of the season:

Redemption part II - The outstanding conclusion to season fours season ending cliffhanger. Introducing the return of Denise Crosby in the role of Commander Sela, Tasha Yar's daughter; this brings us back to the events of "Yesterdays Enterprise." Here we are treated to some of the best Klingon scenes of the entire series.

Darmok - Paul Winfield, better known in the Star Trek universe from Star Trek II, makes a guest appearance. This episode is quite intriguing in how Captain Picard and crew have to come up with a way to communicate with the Children of Tama, whose language is indecipherable, hopefully before Captain Picard gets killed.

Ensign Ro - The introduction of Michelle Forbes in the role of Ensign Ro Laren and the Bajoran people which will become quite prominent in Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Her addition to the cast at least in a part time status, is an outstanding addition, even for a show that really didn't need it.

Disaster - A great episode in which we get to see Counselor Troi in charge and Worf assist in the birth of Chief O'Brien's and Keiko's daughter, which is extremely humorous.

The Game - This is an interesting episode about Riker meeting a woman who introduces him to an "addictive" game. This episode also marks the first appearance of Ashley Judd as Ensign Robin Lefler.

Unification parts I & II - In no uncertain terms, this episode is among the tops in the series whole seven year run. Leonard Nimoy's appearance as Ambassador Spock and the intrigue involved is gripping to say the least. The conversation between Spock and Data is highly enlightening into both characters.

Ethics - This episode stands out because of its Klingon mythology aspect, bringing even further along in how the Klingon culture deals with issues, such as this one, suicide due to injury.

Cause and Effect - I just thoroughly enjoy how this episode was done. The Enterprise is caught in a causality loop. This causes them to repeat several days, over and over again, always ending in disaster until they figure out a way to stop it. Kelsey Grammer makes a brief but endearing guest appearance.

The First Duty - The Enterprise is home at earth, with Captain Picard planning on giving the commencement speech for Starfleet Academy. Wesley Crusher makes an appearance and he's part of Nova Squadron which is an Academy flying team. They've had an accident and there is an investigation. This episode has some of the best conflict between the characters out of the entire series. In this episode, we also finally get to see what the Academy looks like and meet Boothby, played by Ray Walston.

The Perfect Mate - This episode truly stands out among the shows of the entire series. Newcomer Famke Janssen appears a Kamala. She is a Metamorph, a woman who is empathic and in the final stages of her "maturing" process bonds perfectly with the man she meets when she comes out of stasis. Hers and Patrick Stewart's performance are exceptional!

The Next Phase - This is a great Ro Laren and LaForge episode that deals with what is initially thought of as their deaths. This show is very ingeniously written!

The Inner Light - This episode is by far the best of the season and among the top five of the entire series! Patrick Stewart's performance is heartfelt and touching and should've won him many awards! The Enterprise encounters an alien probe which "attaches" itself to him and he then lives a lifetime in the span of twenty five minutes. This is a beautiful episode which bears many viewings!

Time's Arrow part I - The season ending cliffhanger. While not being one of the best cliffhangers of the series, this one is still quite interesting as the crew deals with time travel and Guinan takes a prominent position in the script. Jerry Hardin's performance as Samuel Clemens is marvelous!

Special Features:

Mission Overview: Year Five
Departmental Briefing: Year Five, Production & Visual Effects
Memorable Missions: Year Five
A Tribute to Gene Roddenberry - This special feature above all others, offsets the costs of the DVD sets as it is priceless, especially the surprise ending!

Also included:

A separate mini-CD containing some great Star Trek Nemesis wallpapers, screensavers and a theatrical trailer.

A Season Five Bonus Featurette containing a great "Intergalactic Guest Stars" clip that is enlightening! Also included is "Alien Speak" which is a wonderful clip about how some of the alien writings and speech came about! {ssintrepid}

Entire episode list:

Redemption Part II
Darmok
Ensign Ro
Silicon Avatar
Disaster
The Game
Unification Part I
Unification Part II
A Matter of Time
New Ground
Hero Worship
Violations
The Masterpiece Society
Conundrum
Power Play
Ethics
The Outcast
Cause and Effect
The First Duty
Cost of Living
The Perfect Mate
Imaginary Friend
I, Borg
The Next Phase
The Inner Light
Time's Arrow Part I

This season of Star Trek: The Next Generation is full of "society episodes" for example, Violations, the Masterpiece Society, the Outcast and the Cost of Living. They're all actually very good, it's the other episodes that the writers can't seem to get right this season. For a start the 2 part special "Unification" featuring Spock is long, drawn out and only has the last 5 minutes with any action. It's still good as a thriller but nothing really happens.

Jonathan Frakes continues his directing with "Cause and Effect" - the Enterprise caught in a temporal loop, leading to it's continual destruction each time. Frakes manages to film each of the 5 or 6 times it happens from a different perspective stopping it from grating. "I Borg" features the return of the Borg with the twist - a faction of them are individuals now. We didn't expect another Borg episode to take such a different stance, that's why it works. "Power Play" and "Disaster" are action packed - Die Hard - type episodes, and this is where Star Trek tends to lose out over Babylon 5, is that everything goes back to normal the following week. Any trauma these characters might have experienced or any changes in their character aren't continued throughout the rest of the series.

"The Inner Light" is often sited as one of the finest episodes, where Picard lives the rest of his natural life (or believes he does) and has to deal with returning to the Enterprise after having come to terms with his new "life." It's very well made and Stewart shines as always. The season finale "Time's Arrow" is an enjoyable romp but a bit pointless, it feels more like Doctor Who than Star Trek. Still, there are some good episodes here and this box set is well worth having.

Episode List;

Redemption, Part II
Darmok
Ensign Ro
Silicon Avatar
Disaster
The Game
Unification, Part I
Unification, Part II
A Matter of Time
New Ground
Hero Worship
Violations
The Masterpiece Society
Conundrum
Power Play
Ethics
The Outcast
Cause and Effect
The First Duty
Cost of Living
The Perfect Mate
Imaginary Friend
I, Borg
The Next Phase
The Inner Light
Time's Arrow, Part I

This is the only season I really want, as it is by far the best. Seasons 3 and 4 were good, but without the polishing and wonderful dialogue & writing of the fifth year. After the peak of the fifth year, things went downhill, with the two-parter-saturated sixth and seventh years, where technobabble soared and real storytelling declined.

The fifth year can boast two of Star Trek's best episodes: "Darmok", a truly Star Trek episode, one where you actually think there are real aliens that don't look and talk like your next door neighbor; "The Inner Light", which, along with DS9's "The Visitor" are the only two Trek episodes I ever actually teared up at - is truly outstanding.

I thought "Unification" was okay, but I think Spock probably deserved a less political and more sci-fi storyline, "The Game" was fun (just love to see chases through the Enterprise), I thought Ro Laren ("Ensign Ro", "The Next Phase"), etc." was a great secondary character I wished we'd seen more of; I just liked that there was someone who didn't just fall into the stuffy chain of command.

Overall a solid season with outstanding episode after episode. Other goodies include "Disaster", "A Matter of Time", "Conundrum", "Power Play", "Ethics", "Cause and Effect", "I, Borg" & "Time's Arrow".

This was a great season of the next generation, in fact it was the season that got me hooked on the show. It did have a few stincker episodes like 'imaginary friend' and 'the perfect mate', but i don't want to get into them. I want to talk about the episodes that left the rest of tv-and science fiction, looking at what was possible.

First off there was 'Cause and Effect' similar to the theme behind Stephen King's the 'Waste Lands' as the Enterprise gets caught in a causality loop, throwing it back and forth in time, always to end in the same devistating outcome. Great cameo by Frasier Crane to boot.

The next great episode was 'Unification parts 1&2' they brought back Spock with an amazing, Spock worthy tale. He is still fighting for what he believes in and he still has his damn vulcan stubburness. Great sparring matches with Picard while they try to develop peace between the Federation and Romulons.

'The Next Phase' is a personal favorite of mine as it looks at the relationship between Ricker and Ro, in a subtle fashion. Ro and Geordy seem to have died and as the crew try to put on a wake, while helping the devious romulons get back into romulous space, Geordy and Ro try to stop the Romulons plot and bring their lives back together at the same time. There were holes in the story, like how did their shoes retain contact with the decks? But other than that it is lots a fun. Other not worthy eps include 'Ensign Ro', "Cost of Living', my personal season ender(behind Best of Both Worlds) was Times Arrow.

The episode that i really want to talk about. If you haven't seen it, i won't give any of it away, but to this day, this episode has a deeper effect on the way I think than any TV show I have ever seen, it introduced me to brilliant Sci/fi and radical thinking, "The Inner Light". This episode starts with the crew finding a derilect satillite floating through space. Well Picard gets trasported "Somewhere else" and the greatest journey begins. It asks us to open our eyes, look around and appreciate what we have, but nothing is forever-NOTHING. Not even diamonds. Our memories fade, loved ones die, and worlds collapse. It is perspective and dream recall, amalgamated into posssibly the greatest short story since "Plato's Allegory of the Cave". Enjoy

Previous reviewers have hit the high points of Season 5, which include Inner Light (best ep of the year and one of the best in the entire series), Time's Arrow, Damrok, and Ensign Ro. There are also a run of pretty good episodes, including Ethics, Disaster, The Perfect Mate, and A Matter of Time. Even when you take another step down to the average stuff, such as Unification, Cause and Effect, Silicon Avatar, Violations, The Next Phase, and so on, it's reasonably engaging SciFi fare that while I can joke about the writing, I still enjoy.

However, there are also a slightly uncomfortable number of episodes here that range from boring and/or obvious (Hero Worship, Connundrum, Cost of Living, Power Play) down to the truly awful (The Game, The Outcast). What's with the kids? So many episodes in this season have small children as central or major characters, it gets a little tiresome at some point. I thought Star Trek: TNG had gotten past that phase with the departure of Wesley. And what's with alien possession thing? A lot of those eps also, given it's not exactly a great plot device. At least the holodeck seems to be out of commission for a while.

It's interesting to see the texture - much like Seasons 3 and 4, Season 5 starts out with a so-so cliffhanger resolution, but then picks up with a number of very strong episodes - only to fade hard and fast in the middle, but redeem itself with generally strong final episodes.

So as with some previous seasons, I have to sigh, and say yes, as a Star Trek fan, I'm glad I have this season, which has some very nice highlights and eps that are fun to watch. But, as I work my way through the new DVD releases, I am always shocked at just how uneven the writing is; especially in light of the new standards that have been set by Babylon 5 and especially the X-Files (compare Cause and Effect, an episode I thought was good at the time, to the X-Files Season 6 episode "Monday" - same premise, almost exactly the same general idea, but see how much more skillfully it's executed by that show). A somewhat unfortunate feature of Season 5 is the preponderance of "soft" episodes, episodes that focus on characters and ideas more than plot. Sometimes (The Inner Light, The Perfect Mate, The Masterpiece Society), their efforts are very impressive; then they turn around and churn out Ethics, The Game, The Outcast, or The First Duty, which feel more like being beaten with a club. Then there are episodes like Power Play, in which things happen for the sole reason that they have to happen to set up later things. Entire scenes are frequently wasted with worthless technobabble, a tradition unique to Star Trek that continues to this day, and that they could afford to lose. Opportunities for real character exploration are routinely missed. Episodes with dual plot lines rarely support each other.

So as I say, I'm a bit conflicted. A few really good eps; it's impossible to say too many good things about Inner Light or Darmok. Many solid ones, a few terrible ones; inconsistent writing even in episodes that generally succeeed; not a terrifically consistant season. I'm still happy with my purchase, but realistically these DVDs remain too expensive in my opinion, and I wish they had been a bit cheaper or better.

Season 5 was a mixed season, with a few episodes shining as gems and others easily forgotten. The opening episodes, which include "Redemption Part II, Darmok, and Ensign Ro" are examples of truly magnificant episodes which define Trek. Darmok, which inolves communication with an alien race, stands out as one of the best episodes of the season.

Two big episodes were "I, Borg" and "The Inner Light". "I, Borg" has been critized because it injects humanity into Trek's coldest villains. The message in this episode is what stands out, however, as both Guinan and Picard have to deal with their feelings towards the Borg, and it conveys a powerful message about prejeduce. "The Inner Light" is an incredible episode in which Picard wakes up in another life and experiences things that he could never have aboard the Enterprise, including a family.

However, there are episodes which take away from this season. Two episodes, "The Cost of Living" and "Imaginary Friend" are examples of such. Nothing gets accomplished and the only feeling received after viewing these episodes is something akin to relief that you can move on to a better one. Finally, Season 5 is the only season which does not feature an episode with Q, everyone's favorite God. Still, anyone who enjoys Trek will be able to see past minor flaws and take comfort in watching some brilliant episodes.

I've been a TNG fan since the beginning, but was hesitant to purchase these dvd's due to the high cost, and the fact that I've seen them all a million times in syndication. Then one afternoon I said screw it, since I'll end up getting them anyway some day.
This fifth season set is what I chose to start with, and I definitely don't regret it. Seeing these episodes again, in dvd format, was like seeing them for the first time. The picture quality is excellent, as well as the sound. It also seems that the special fx take on a new life. Very impressive.
Fifth season was probably one of the best. The season started wonderfully with the Klingon/Romulan plot of "Redemption" pt 2, and continued w/ a Klingon/Romulan theme for "Unification"(not to leave out a visit from Spock himself). We were introduced to "Ensign Ro", and the beginnings of what would be the DS9 universe. Lwaxana Troi and Alexander returned, Ashley Judd payed a visit, Denise Crosby showed up twice, Kelsey Grammer made a cameo, not to mention Stephen Hawking himself.
The Borg returned in "I, Borg", and "Time's Arrow" gave us "Data's head" (the second time Data's head was seperated this season). More highlights include the "Groundhog Day"-like "Cause and Effect", a visit to Starfleet Academy in "The First Duty", the "crew has amnesia" ep "Conundrum", and the cloaked/phased Geordi/Ro ep "The Next Phase".
I'm glad I started my collection with this season, an overall good one. Just wish the price was a little more reasonable considering DS9 is coming this year, and Voyager later on. That's a lot of seasons of Trek, at a high price. There goes all my extra cash for the next ten years!

It's hard to beat the third season of ST:TNG for its combination of the first two years' original-Trek-esque weirdness and more subtle modern sensibilities, but if any season of the show even comes close to edging out year 3 as my favorite, this is it. Season 5 was the year of brainy gems like Darmok and The First Duty, heart-on-the-sleeve classics like The Inner Light and The Perfect Mate, and good kooky fun with The Game, Conundrum, and A Matter of Time. There are a few dead-on-arrival entries too (including the series' all-time worst, Imaginary Friend), but it's hard to find a year of the series that doesn't have at least a couple of those. There are more bonuses than usual, the best of which is a touching tribute to Gene Roddenberry (who died during the production of the fifth season). It's also nice to see the visual FX guys get their own featurette - as nice as CGI is, it's good to remember that sometimes modelwork can get it done better, and perhaps even cheaper (the eight-story power generator that was only as tall as a fluorescent light tube). My only gripe is that I wish they'd space these out a little more for seasons 6 and 7 - some of us can scarcely afford to pop a hundred on one of these puppies every month. Then again, in the Star Trek spinoff library (and not counting Enterprise), Paramount has the equivalent of 21 years of television to roll out in DVD form, so I suppose they're making sure it doesn't take 21 years to make it to market. It's a no-win scenario. But, that said, this set is a winner.

After the third and fourth season, STAR TREK: TNG showed no intention of slowing down. And it never did.

The fifth season stars out with REDEMPTION: PART II. The fourth and last part of the rough quadrilogy involving Worf is by far the best of them all. It starts with a spaceship fight and never lets up. 10 times better than the first part.

What made this season so great was that it had many guest stars and character-based episodes:

1) In THE GAME and DARMOK, Ashley Judd guest stars.

2) Leonard Nimoy returns as Spock in UNIFICATION, PART II. There is a priceless conversation between Data and Spock in that episode.
3) Kelsey Grammer makes a brief apperance in CAUSE AND EFFECT.
4) Famke Janssen appears in THE PERFECT MATE. (She would later star with Patrick Stewart in X-MEN)
5) Ray Walston makes a memorable appearance in THE FIRST DUTY. Will Wheaton is in that episode as well and delivers a great performance.
6) In THE NEXT PHASE, La Forge and Ro get some time to deliver some good performances
7) ETHICS is a great Worf episode.

Also in this season were many funny and intersting episodes:

1) In DISASTER, Data's head is removed, Worf helps to deliver a baby, and Troi must run the bridge. Good stuff.
2) In POWER PLAY, Data, Troi, and O'Brien go renegade and take over Ten-Forward. Very cool.
3) I, BORG was a great episode. Very intersting. And watch for Hugh to come back late in the 6rth season...

Unfortunately, there were some bad episodes as well. IMAGINARY FRIEND and COST OF LIVING were horrible. Watch for yourself. (LWAXANA taking a MUD BATH?!?!?!?! Please, no!!!!!!!)

And last, the season's last episode, TIME'S ARROW. Unfortunately, it's not that great. Data accidentally goes back in time and meets Jack London, Mark Twain, and others while trying to stop aliens (again). Some of it is funny, but you're gonna have to wait until the end of the 6th season for a REALLY GREAT SEASON FINALE.

All in all, a great and crucial season.

1991-1992; all episodes are rated PG for mild sci-fi violence and breif language.