Customer Reviews

Star Trek The Next Generation: Season 5

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I appreciate that Paramount has finally released TNG seasons on DVD. Now if they could only get it right. First off, season five was another outstanding season. The Inner Light stands as one of the most touching and powerful episodes of any television show. Also, the tie in to Star Trek VI with Spock is one of the best written episodes of season five.

The picture quality is so-so. It looks sharper than VHS but is a little soft on many of the episodes. The extras are pretty skimpy with a interviews with various cast and production members about various episodes. It's not bad but it would have been far more inviting to have some actor/director/writer/producer commentaries. Still, the dual layer DVD's included in this set are the one of the fewStar Trek: TNG where I haven't had a some sort of flaw (the season three set had picture problems, dialog somehow out of synch, etc.). So Paramount has gotten the manufacturing difficulties out of the way.

The packaging is very nice all except the booklet. It would be nice to see some sort of overview on the season, comments, etc. Considering the amount of $ your paying I don't think this is too much to ask.

On the positive side--many of these episodes are among the best Trek produced. They also stand as some of the best science fiction, no, scratch that, drama produced for either television or the movies during the 90's. TNG was equaled (with some episodes and the story arcs that were developed they actually surpassed TNG) by the complex Deep Space Nine (which, by the way, is still not available on DVD thank you very much).

If you're a Trek fan, I'd recommend this set although I wish Paramount had included more extras. TNG surpassed The Original Series in terms of scope, writing, acting and optical effects.

So you like Trek, but you don't want to be lumped with the people who are obsessed with it? I'm your man. I know how you feel. And I'm prepared to evaluate Season Five from a relatively neutral perspective. I don't want to meet the actors at some sci-fi convention. The things that interest me about Trek are well-written scripts and the philosophical and political implications of Sci-Fi. When Star Trek becomes a space opera, I snooze.

With that, I present you with a full-scale review of all the episodes in this season. Evaluations range from 0 to 5 stars (*). Hope this helps.

Redemption, Part II (**) - The Enterprise tries to stop the Romulans from interfering in the Klingon Civil War. This is meandering and horribly written. The plot point about Tasha Yar's kid being a Romulan was never explained fully, leaving someone who wouldn't know better totally confused.

Darmok (*****) - Picard struggles with an alien, who seems to communicate in gibberish. Patrick Stewart is featured extensively, which is always a good thing. His scene where he explains the Gilgamesh story is priceless. Even better, this episode actually deals with metaphor and language in a fairly intelligent way. Well acted and well written. This season's gem.

Ensign Ro (***) - Introduces the character of Ensign Ro Laren, who tries to help the Enterprise with a dispute over the treatment of an oppressed people and their possible terrorist operations. There's probably a hidden message about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Decent political drama, but uneventful.

Silicon Avatar (**) - A scientist and the Enterprise try to thwart a large, deadly silicon being. Some pretty horrible special effects (which is atypical), plus the guest star can't act. Somewhere in here, there's a debate about science and ethics. But it's not worth bothering over.

Disaster (****) - The Enterprise is nearly destroyed, leaving the scattered crew to try and recover the ship. It's clichèd, but fairly entertaining as a disaster movie homage. Data's head comes off, Worf delivers a baby, and Picard sings Frère Jacques.

The Game (****) - Wesley Crusher and Ashley Judd attempt to save the crew from an addictive game. Plenty of action and effects, this episode ponders addiction, technology, and the combination thereof. Next time you're at a family gathering, see if your family's blank stare at the TV screen doesn't resemble Will Riker's anathetized look as he drools over The Game.

Unification, Parts I and II (**) - Something about Romulans and Vulcans. Spock shows up. Nothing outstanding as far as the show goes, although some people will go nuts over Leonard Nimoy's appearance.

A Matter of Time (***) - A historian from the future visits the Enterprise to do research, while Picard and crew are caught in an ethical dilemma. Not a horrible idea, and Picard solilquizes about ethical choices, but the denouement doesn't fit with the opening explanation. Further, it's obvious that the writers avoided any kind of questions about time-travel logic. Matt Frewer tries to be silly, which is always annoying.

New Ground (0 stars) - Worf gets a son. I'll pass.

Hero Worship (*) - A traumatized little boy is saved by Data, and then begins to imitate the android. The kid actor mimics Data fairly well, but other than that, this episode is pure space opera.

Violations (**) - Troi goes into a coma, while Geordi and Data play detective. A few annoying Nightmare on Elm Street sequences, and no good ideas.

The Masterpiece Society (***) - An isolated, genetically engineered society of humans is threatened with extinction. Star Trek tries to moralize about selective breeding and genetics. Picard utters several platitudes about "free-will" and "human rights." Thanks, Jean Luc, but you're an amateur philosopher, and the Federation is a socialistic, fascistic nightmare of a space government. Let these people live in peace, for God's sake.

Conundrum (****) - The crew loses their memories and are consequently suckered into believing that they are at war. Certainly watchable, though the guest star (yet again!) can't act. The premise is solid -- the characters have to figure out who they are, and this changes their relationships -- but the Riker love scenes are incredibly annoying and pointless.

Power Play (****) - Troi, Data, and O'Brien take over 10-Forward, holding hostages and shooting at anything that moves. This has a life-after-death theme. Entertaining, and probably the most action packed episode of the season. It's good to see Data sneer.

Ethics (*) - Worf breaks his back and then ponders suicide. This episode tries to be your Philosophy 101 class, but it's really just boring, textbookish space opera. Worf shoulda done it and ended my misery.

The Outcast (0 stars) - Riker falls in love with an androgyne. Boring, disgusting, a lot of pontificating about gender roles and society. Still, you'll get a few laughs out of lines like "The null space must be negating the anular confinement beam."

Cause and Effect (****) - The Enterprise gets stuck in a time loop, which ends with the ship blowing up four times. Another episode with a technobabble ending, but it's a good mystery, and the director gets to be intriguingly cute for a TV show (watch those changing camera angles each time the story repeats).

The First Duty (*) - Boring twaddle about Wesley Crusher's accident at Starfleet Academy. A throwaway episode, for sure, pretentious in its presentation of moral dilemmas. Plus, there are several guest stars who can't act (I'm sensing a theme).

Cost of Living (0 stars) - Troi's mom comes aboard the ship. I hit the fast-forward button.

The Perfect Mate (****) - A beautiful woman seduces Picard and crew. One of the few space-opera episodes that has a convincing pathos, particularly because Patrick Stewart does such a great job. It plays with the ideas of woman-as-sex-object and woman-as-seductress, and handles them well. Pretty good sci-fi drama.

Imaginary Friend (**) - A little girl's imaginary friend becomes all too real and threatens the Enterprise. Other reviewers seem to think this one is terrible. It's not that bad, but won't be in your top ten for this season.

I, Borg (***) - The Enterprise rescues a member of the Borg. Good pathos - the individual borg begins to show signs of a personality - but please, would his life be any better in Starfleet? He'd be going from one type of humanistic socialism to another. Repeat after me: they all think alike in the Federation. No religion, no yearning for independent state- or planethood, a desire to expand the empire, plenty of assimilated ethnic groups. Sounds like the Borg to me.

The Next Phase (***) - Geordi and Ro Laren "die" in a transporter accident, only to awaken on the Enterprise where they can't be seen or heard. This is the second episode of this season to flirt with life-after-death themes. However, this one relies heavily on its techno-babble solution.

The Inner Light (*****) - The Enterprise encounters a strange vessel, and Picard lives a second life. Probably the best Trek episode I've seen. While I can't stand the space opera aspect of the show, in this episode it works extremely well. Picard's experience always strikes me as analogous to what happens when we read books. Excellent writing, and, of course by featuring Patrick Stewart, excellent acting. I want a pennywhistle.

Time's Arrow, Part I (0 stars) - Data's head appears underneath San Francisco, so the crew ends up traveling back in time. Putting this episode in this DVD collection is entirely useless, since there's no Part II to watch. And Paramount expects me to fork over $120 just to see the second part? No thanks. But if you send me a copy, I'll review it, and the rest of Season 6, for free.

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.

C'est dommage qu'ils ne font pas une version de Star Trek TNG en français. J'espère qu'ils vont le faire.

The 5th season of STAR TREK TNG had it share of highs and lows, in front of, and behind the camera. The season brought original series star, Leonard Nimoy as Spock, out of t.v. retirement for a two parter called "Unification". The strange thing is, while it was great to see the Vulcan interact with Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Data (Brent Spiner), the 2nd part seemed rather flat. The first half though, was a great build-up to the historic meeting, featuring the last appearance of Sarek (Mark Lenard). Returning for 2 guest shots were former series regulars Wil Wheaton and Denise Crosby (in a clever twist, since her charater died in the first season) Other notable guest stars include, Michelle Forbes makes her debut as a renegade starfleet officer Ensign Ro Majel Barret as Lwaxanna Troi, the late great Ray Walston, as Boothby in the standout episode, The First Duty, Kelsey Grammer as a Captain stuck in time, and Jerry Hardin as Mark Twain Whoppi Goldberg continued her recurring as Guinan and made Time's Arrow something special. I think by far though my favorite episode of the year had to be The Inner Light.--truly a one of kind for TNG

One can't mention the 5th year, without talking about the death of TREK Creator, Gene Roddenberry. One of the extra features in the set sort of breaks the format of the other sets. There is a 26 minute tribute to Roddenberry that is well produced and welcomed. The rest of the featurettes are laid out in much the same way, as the previous sets of the series (season recaps and such) As a bonus, some will find a bonus disc. featuing promotional material for the film, STAR TREK:NEMESIS, released late in 2002

As with any TREK season, there were a few clunkers, along the way. Fortunately though the only really bad ideas of the year were to include Worf's (Michael Dorn) son Alexander (Brian Bonsall) into too many stories (I thought he was overused), and not to have Q (John De Lancie) return for an annual visit. Fans of the seris will want to add the set to their TNG collection

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

I got my shipment of ST: TNG in short order and it was in excellent condition. This is a great product and I highly recommend getting it for the Star Trek fan in your family.

By Season five, Star Trek: The Next Generation had matured enough that references to the Original series could be made without hurting the show's image. It is another great season of writing and ideas. The fifth season saw the end of the ongoing conflict with the Klingons that was building up over the past two seasons. I have just one phrase to sum up the season: HORRAY FOR SPOCK! Many great and interesting episodes with a few duds thrown in, but overall a great season. The cliffhanger at the end of the season is not the best of them, but I still like it very much.

Personal Favorite Episodes:

Redemption: Part II, Darmok, Ensign Ro, Disaster, The Game, Unification: Parts I and II, A Matter of Time, Conundrum, Power Play, Ethics, Cause and Effect, The First Duty, The Perfect Mate, I, Borg, The Next Phase, The Inner Light, Time's Arrow: Part I

One of the things I really like about this box set is how sturdy they are. They've survived two moves, one of several hundred miles, and with reasonable care and packing they come out just fine. It is nice to see that they not only look nice, but are sturdy as well.

Like season four, this season also has the split scene for the clips, with two playing in each window. It cuts down on waiting to see the clip of all four episodes, but it is a little difficult to follow if you're not sure you've seen all four of the episodes. The clips are played against part of the grid layout of the holodeck, which is a nice touch, but still a little tough to follow.