Star Trek: The Next Generation is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe created by Gene Roddenberry. The first live-action television continuation of the 1966–1969 series Star Trek, The Next Generation is set nearly a century later and features a new starship and a new crew. It is often referred to as ST:TNG or simply TNG.

The series was conceived of and produced by original Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. It premiered on September 28, 1987 with the two-hour pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" and ran for seven seasons, ending with the final episode "All Good Things..." on May 23, 1994. The show gained a considerable following during its run, and like its predecessor, is widely syndicated. Its popularity led to a line of spin-off television series that would continue without interruption until 2005. The series also formed the basis of the seventh through tenth movies of the Star Trek theatrical film series.

The voiceover during each episode's opening credits was similar to that of the original series and was narrated by Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship Enterprise):

Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Plots

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), flagship of Starfleet

The episodes follow the adventures of the crew of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), a Galaxy class starship designed for both exploration and diplomacy but quite capable of battle when necessary. Her captain is the seasoned and charismatic Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who is more intellectual and philosophical than many typical protagonists in popular science fiction.

As in the case of The Original Series (TOS), the crew of the Enterprise-D meets many technologically powerful races. Many episodes also involve temporal loops, character dramas, natural disasters, and other plotlines without alien encounters. In contrast to the original series, where the ship was exploring unknown areas of the galaxy, the Enterprise-D serves almost exclusively as a vessel for diplomacy, defense, and humanitarian aid. TNG's crew seems to have a greater dedication to peaceful resolution to conflicts. As the Enterprise-D is much more powerful than the previous ship, the stories are able to focus more on moral implications, rather than the immediate need for survival. Though the ship is frequently threatened by unexpected phenomena, it is rarely at the mercy of a stronger technology or intelligence.

Another noticeable difference between TOS and TNG is the continuity of general story arcs across episodes — though the show is still episodic and not serialized, events in one episode might influence events in a later episode. For example, a major recurring character, Q, bookends the series, appearing as the first major antagonist in "Encounter at Farpoint" and closing the series in the final episode "All Good Things...". Characters also deal with evolving interpersonal relationships, as well as ongoing political stories, such as the power struggles within the Klingon government.

Previously-established alien races appear in TNG.

• The United Federation of Planets (Federation) is now at peace with the Klingons, former enemies, though vast cultural differences remain.
• A "cold war" with the Romulans, similar to the orginal series, continues in TNG.
• Three new recurring races are introduced into the mythology: the aggresively capitalist Ferengi, merciless cybernetic hybrids the Borg, and the corrupt and imperial Cardassians, loosely modeled after early 20th century fascists.

The Borg are the most powerful threat in this series, though they do not appear frequently until their expansive role in Star Trek: Voyager. In the episode "The Best of Both Worlds", a single Borg cube ship is initially challenged (ineffectually) by the Enterprise, abducts and assimilates Captain Picard, destroys thirty-nine Starfleet vessels at the Battle of Wolf 359 and continues to incorporate Earth, where it is stopped by the last-ditch actions of the Enterprise crew.

Themes

Enterprise in orbit above a planet.

The series greatly expands on a secondary theme of TOS: the idealism of humanity's dedication to improving itself. It also continues TOS's approach of using extra-terrestrial species and science fiction elements as a means of exploring many real-world social, political, personal and spiritual issues. Most episodes have an intentional philosophical or moral message. The series attempts to depict Gene Roddenberry's vision of a future in which the human race has done away with racism, prejudice, greed, and poverty, and dedicated itself almost entirely to peaceful scientific pursuits.

TNG has been praised for being more in the spirit of "traditional" idea-based science fiction than other action/adventure franchises which became more common between 1970 and 2000. However, it has also been criticized for shying away from conflict and character drama and too often having the crew solve its challenges through the discovery or invention of hitherto-unknown technology (known as Treknobabble).

Gene Roddenberry continued to be credited as executive producer of TNG though his influence lessened as the series progressed. He died in 1991 and producer Rick Berman took over, and under his guidance, the series came to rely more on action and conflict.

The series also contains many story elements that are found in all the Star Trek series. For instance, an alien or android is a member of the crew, and a lot of dialogue revolves around explaining human customs to the alien (supposedly enlightening the human viewer in the process). Another re-occurring theme across the different series is the idea of a temporal paradox.

Controversy

Star Trek: The Next Generation on the cover of TV Guide magazine.

The prospect of a new live-action Star Trek series after 18 years was much anticipated by the Star Trek fan community, but for some, anticipation turned to outrage when Gene Roddenberry announced that the new series would feature a brand new cast and be set in a time long after the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew, making even guest appearances by the original cast unlikely. Before production even began on the series, factions of Star Trek fandom were at work circulating petitions and organizing protests against the new series.

Although it is not known what, if any, impact these protests had on the producers, it is known that as early as the first season efforts were underway to arrange for an appearance by Leonard Nimoy as Spock (the event would not happen until the fifth season), and a script was reportedly written to feature the character of Harry Mudd, a recurring minor criminal from TOS. The episode was cancelled when actor Roger C. Carmel died. DeForest Kelley made a cameo appearance in the first episode as Admiral Leonard McCoy, and James Doohan was a central character in the sixth-season episode Relics, playing Captain Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott.

Influences

By the time TNG was produced, the term "Trekkies" had come to imply a certain nerdy fanaticism among fans and was considered pejorative by some, in spite of the fact that it was coined by creator Gene Roddenberry himself, with no such negative connotations. In response, some fans of the new series decided to call themselves "Trekkers." The terms have become interchangeable, though intense debate still rages over which term is the 'correct' one to apply to a Star Trek fan

Cast

(left to right) LaForge, Troi, Data, Picard, Worf, Crusher, Riker

Main characters

More so than with The Original Series, the cast of The Next Generation was subject to some change, most notably in the latter half of the first season following the death of the Enterprise's security chief and tactical officer, Tasha Yar, after actress Denise Crosby chose to leave the series. The scripts quickly adapted, having Worf, originally a junior officer, replace Yar as security chief and tactical officer. Crosby did return to portray Tasha Yar in the alternate timeline episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" and as part of a trip back in time to Picard's first days on the Enterprise in the series finale "All Good Things...".

Wesley Crusher was also written out of the show in order to join Starfleet Academy, after a few years of serving as helmsman under the rank of Acting Ensign and then as a full Ensign (after the result of a field promotion) (Actor Wil Wheaton has revealed on his website that he left the show because he was frustrated by having to fit other roles around his Trek schedule, when he had increasingly little to do on the series). Actress Gates McFadden was essentially fired after one season, and was replaced by Diana Muldaur, who had earlier been featured as a guest star in two episodes of The Original Series ("Return to Tomorrow" and "Is There in Truth No Beauty?," playing different characters). Muldaur's character, Dr. Pulaski, wasn't popular with viewers and she was dropped without explanation. After Muldaur departed for the NBC series LA Law (where her character would suffer similar fan dislike), Dr. Crusher returned.

Also, not all of the main characters had a place on the bridge, the ship's command center. After being promoted from helmsman, Geordi La Forge, the Chief Engineer, held his primary position in engineering, and Dr. Crusher, although holding privileges as a bridge officer, held her place in sickbay.

Picture	Character	Rank	Actor	Position
	Jean-Luc Picard	Captain	Patrick Stewart	Commanding Officer
	William Thomas Riker	Commander	Jonathan Frakes	First Officer
	Data	Lt. Commander	Brent Spiner	Second officer, chief operations officer, science officer
	Deanna Troi	Lt. Commander (1-6), Commander (7)	Marina Sirtis	Ship's counselor
	Geordi La Forge	Lt. Junior Grade (1), Lieutenant (2), Lt. Commander (3-7)	LeVar Burton	Conn Officer and Ops, later Chief Engineer
	Worf	Lt. Junior Grade (1-2), Lieutenant (3-7),	Michael Dorn	Tactical and Conn officer (season 1) Chief security/tactical officer after Yar's death (seasons 2-7)
	Doctor Beverly Crusher	Commander	Gates McFadden	Chief medical officer (seasons 1, 3-7; season 2, absent while Chief of Starfleet Medical); bridge officer
	Doctor Katherine Pulaski	Commander	Diana Muldaur	Chief medical officer (season 2)
	Natasha "Tasha" Yar	Lieutenant	Denise Crosby	Chief of Security (season 1, recurring otherwise)
	Wesley Crusher	Acting Ensign (1-3), Ensign (3-4), Cadet (Recurring)	Wil Wheaton	Dr. Crusher's son, Conn Officer (seasons 1-4, recurring otherwise)

Recurring characters

Majel Barrett (wife of Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry) has also been the voice of the ship's computer in most Trek incarnations, and played Nurse Chapel in the original series, as well as the First Officer in the first pilot of the original series, "The Cage." She also did voice-overs for two episodes of "Star Trek: Enterprise," allowing her to be the only actress involved in all five television series.

Guest stars

Notable guests have included:

• Ashley Judd, in "The Game" and "Darmok"
• Corbin Bernsen, in "Deja Q"
• Kirsten Dunst, in "Dark Page"
• Kelsey Grammer, in "Cause and Effect"
• Teri Hatcher, in "The Outrageous Okona"
• Joe Piscopo, playing "The Comic" (presumably himself) in a Holodeck simulation, in "The Outrageous Okona"
• David Warner, in "Chain of Command" (he also had featured roles in the fifth and sixth Trek films)
• John Tesh, playing a Klingon in "The Icarus Factor"
• Nikki Cox, in "Pen Pals"
• Vincent Schiavelli, in "The Arsenal of Freedom"
• James Worthy of the Los Angeles Lakers, in "Gambit"
• Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, in "Manhunt"
• Christopher McDonald, in "Yesterday's Enterprise"
• Tony Todd, in "Redemption" and "Sins of the Father"; he also guest-starred on DS9 and Voyager
• Bebe Neuwirth, in "First Contact"
• Famke Janssen, in "The Perfect Mate"
• Mae Jemison (the first minority female astronaut), in "Second Chances"
• Renée Jones of Days of Our Lives, in "Aquiel"
• Carolyn McCormick, in "11001001" and "Future Imperfect"
• James Cromwell, in "Birthright" and "Hunted"; he also guest-starred in DS9, and played the pivotal role of Zefram Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact and the premiere episode of Enterprise
• Stephen Hawking, playing himself in a Holodeck simulation, in "Descent"
• Michelle Phillips, in "We'll Always Have Paris"
• Ben Vereen, in "Interface"
• Sabrina Le Beauf of the Cosby Show, in "Gambit"
• Paul Sorvino, in "Homeward"
• Diana Muldaur, who joined the crew as Dr. Pulaski for the second season after guest-starring in the original series
• Carel Struycken, who played Lwaxana Troi's silent companion Mr. Homn in multiple episodes
• David Ogden Stiers of M*A*S*H, in "Half a Life"
• DS9 stars Armin Shimerman, in four episodes, and Alexander Siddig, in "Birthright"
• Voyager stars Robert Duncan McNeill in "The First Duty," and Tim Russ in "Starship Mine"
• TOS stars DeForest Kelley, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, and Majel Barrett in various episodes
• Several guest stars also became more well-known as a result of their recurring roles in the series, including John DeLancie, Dwight Schultz, and Majel Barrett.

Alien races

See List of Star Trek races

Influences from previous incarnations of Star Trek

While the series was of course influenced by the original Star Trek series, it perhaps was more influenced by the original series' pilot, The Menagerie (also known as The Cage). The pilot presented more of an ensemble crew (once it was officially picked up, the series would focus almost exclusively on the dynamic of Kirk, Spock and McCoy) and featured Captain Christopher Pike gathering his crew together to make consensus decisions very much in the Picard style. Pike also referred to his female first officer as "Number One" - the term Picard would use for his own first officer. The tone of this pilot was also relatively cerebral (indeed, the network ordered reshoots for just that reason) and Roddenberry deliberately sought a more thoughtful quality on TNG.

Although the animated Trek series is not always considered canon, TNG did borrow from it in some ways, including the use of the Holodeck. TNG was also particularly influenced by Star Trek: The Motion Picture; indeed, ST:TMP was itself spun from an aborted '70s Trek series that was to be called Star Trek: Phase II. The series would have featured Kirk working alonside the dashing young officer Willard Decker and the exotic alien Ilia, characters that were included in the film and later reworked as Will Riker and Deanna Troi in TNG. The Phase II character Xon (a Vulcan) also may have influenced the character Data. One episode of TNG, featuring Troi becoming pregnant with a mysterious alien child, was a script from Phase II that was hastily reworked during the writers strike of 1988, as was the courtroom drama "Devil's Due". Certain sets from ST:TMP were also reused for TNG, and the show followed the film's one-piece style of uniforms, which, according to the film 'Trekkies', gave some of the cast back problems. The uniforms were later changed to a two-piece style beginning with the series' third season.

Controversies within fandom

The prospect of a new live-action Star Trek series after 18 years was much anticipated by the Star Trek fan community, but for some, anticipation turned to outrage when Gene Roddenberry announced that the new series would feature a brand new cast and be set in a time long after the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew, making even guest appearances by the original cast unlikely. Before production even began on the series, factions of Star Trek fandom were at work circulating petitions and organizing protests against the new series.

Although it is not known what, if any, impact these protests had on the producers, it is known that as early as the first season efforts were underway to arrange for an appearance by Leonard Nimoy as Spock (the event would not happen until the fifth season episode Unification), and a script was reportedly written to feature the character of Harry Mudd, a recurring minor criminal from TOS. The episode was cancelled when actor Roger C. Carmel died. DeForest Kelley made a cameo appearance in the first episode as Admiral Leonard McCoy, and James Doohan was a central character in the sixth-season episode Relics, playing Captain Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott.

By the time TNG was produced, the term "Trekkies" had come to imply a certain nerdy fanaticism among fans and was considered pejorative by some, in spite of the fact that it was coined by creator Gene Roddenberry himself, with no such negative connotations. In response, some fans of the new series decided to call themselves "Trekkers." The terms have become interchangeable, though intense debate still rages over which term is the 'correct' one to apply to a Star Trek fan.

The show's gay fans complained that there were no gays represented in the future, something Roddeberry said he intended to address. A subsequent episode dealt with this issue of homophobia obliquely by having Enterprise First Officer Will Riker enter into a relationship with a genderless alien. Fan reaction to this was mixed.