The Best of Star Trek the Next Generation volume 2

I’m a huge Star Trek fan, and while the Original Series is still my favorite I do enjoy some of the quality episodes that the Next Generation gave the fans.  Recently Paramount has been releasing some of the key episodes from the series on a Best of set of DVDs.  I really like this idea, especially since I would rather not fork out the cash that it would take to collect all the seasons.  This review is for volume 2 of the Next Generation collection and it contains some wonderful episodes. 

There are 4 episodes on the collection.  The first one is probably my favorite Next Generation episode, but then again I am fond of the original series.  The episode is called Relics and stars the great James Doohan, who reprises his character Scotty from the original series.  Basically the crew of the Enterprise stumbles upon the wreck of an old ship and realize that someone is trapped in a transporter beam.  When they rescue the person we find out that it is Scotty.  There is a crisis and the ship is in danger, but Scotty saves them.  For the most part this is the standard “ship in danger” type episode.  But what sets it apart from other similar episodes is that we get to watch the Scotty character deal with a world that has left him behind.  This includes a wonderful scene where they had painstakingly rebuilt part of the set of the bridge from the original series.  Of course none of this really works without the excellent performance from James Doohan. 

The 2nd episode in the set is called The Inner Light and is an award-winning episode.  As a fan I realize that many of the Star Trek episodes (regardless of the series) fall into predictable categories.  Like I mentioned earlier when I referred to the ship in danger, you also have away team stranded and race against disease episodes, for example.  But The Inner Light is one of those special episodes that fall into a category of being different.  When the Enterprise encounters a strange probe Picard wakes up on a strange planet.  The odd thing is that he has a family that claims he is suffering from some sort of amnesia.  Accepting that this is his life the episode basically follows him as he lives on the planet to a ripe old age.  Along the way he discovers that something is wrong with his home planet and the temperature is rising.  At the end we see him launching a rocket into the sky.  Picard wakes back on the Enterprise and realizes that the probe they encountered was the one launched in his vision and that the whole thing was an innocent way for a doomed race to pass some of their history and traditions on.  Sort of a way to let someone know they were there.  This is another really great episode. 

The last couple of episodes Tapestry and Cause and Effect are both pretty good as well.  One, Cause and Effect, has to do with a strange temporal phenomenon that has the Enterprise caught repeating the same day over and over again with tragic consequences.  Look for a nifty cameo from a familiar face.  The other one, Tapestry, is a Q episode.  I’ve never been a huge fan of the Q character, but this is one of the cooler stories featuring him.  Plus you get to see some history behind the Picard character, which was fun. 

These sets are pretty cheap, around $10 I think.  This makes them affordable and fun ways to get your science fiction fix.  I recommend The Best of Star Trek the Next Generation volume 2.

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer