Possible the best scifi show of all times. The theme of all seasons is moral. An intellectual discussion about how an Utopian society meets, treats and handles space exploration in a very populated universe. At times a bit pretentious but its hardly a fault that changes its review score. The show should not be judged on its first season because its awkward and the actors are all finding their place. It also feels very dated visually in the first season. After that it just gets better and better.

"Shakespeare in space" is the phrase that comes to mind when I think of how to describe this series. To this day this is my favourite TV series of all time. It was based on the universe created by Gene Roddenberry in the original great Star Trek series, but it went on to expand that universe and its optimistic vision for the future of man, err... humankind (the speech at the beginning changed 'man' to 'one' to be more politically correct so I have to due the same ha ha..). The first season was a little shaky when the cast did not fully know their characters or the direction the show would head yet, and there were a few corny episodes spread over the seasons, but there were many, many high-quality episodes that were Hollywood movie quality. I liked this series best since it had really good character development of the regular crew and it was also thicker with subplots than the later watered-down spin off series. The show kept up with the times by having topics based on the latest theoretical science theories. This show was also more overtly intellectual than the original series which was mostly battles and fist fights. Of course TNG does have its share of battles and fist fights, but it is more about using wits and diplomacy to solve problems rather than brute force. Once the main characters knew their characters well the acting was really good too. Overall a great series and with the exception of The X-Files and the 2003 remake of Battlestar Galactica there has not been a Sci Fi series to match its quality since, including the Star Trek TNG spin-offs. Definitely a 10/10.

Set almost 100 years after the adventures of Captain Kirk and his crew, Star Trek: The Next Generation focuses on the 24th century adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise and its mission to go where no one has gone before. Resurrecting a long dead franchise, particularly one with a cult following like Star Trek, was a hugely risky proposition but in The Next Generation that gamble (eventually) paid off and it arguably found a bigger fan base than the original series. To be honest, a number of the episodes in this first season have not dated well in terms of storylines or visuals, but thanks to an impressive ensemble cast (lead by the legend that is Patrick Stewart) and a decent number of intelligent, well written, episodes it’s still worth a watch.

I need to say right off the bat that I enjoyed the Original Series quite a bit. I wasn't quite as fond of the Next Generation, however. A lot of my problems stemmed from a cast I largely didn't enjoy. Geordi La Forge and Worf are excellent characters, but all the rest of the crew are not on the same caliber as those of the original series. Picard I found to be especially irritating, often seeming arrogant, hypocritical, and ineffective. Way to much time is wasted on the crew's rather dull relationship problems. Additionally, the political metaphors are very poorly done, and seem tacky and out-of-place rather than thought-provoking. There's still a fair amount to like, though, with a decent number of interesting stories and neat concepts. It's definitely worth watching if you're a sci-fi fan, but be warned it is often a long, difficult, and-dare I say, stifling-journey filled with technobabble and boring relational drama.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]