Can Star Trek ever reach these heights again?

My 9 year old son and I started watching TNG this year. One episode a week, same way I watched it when it originally aired. We're in the back half of season 3, and I'm trying to time it so we see Best of Both Worlds right around the holiday break, so I can keep him in suspense until the new year. Can't wait to see his reaction. 🙂

This is what I missed about old school Star Trek. Even the more action-packed episodes were still character-driven.

People forget how big Star Trek was in the 90s. TNG was averaging 10-20 million viewers per episode.

...that cliffhanger at the time was 😱

It's a nice detail that the USS Melbourne is one of the ships destroyed at Wolf 359 - we see Riker's reaction when told of this. The character's decision to stay on the Enterprise ultimately leads to not only the successful resolution of this story but allows his arc to continue as part of the crew.

Picard's breakdown in Family really moved me.  It was a great moment in storytelling, acting, and character development.  And it wouldn't have been nearly so powerfully poignant without the two episodes, and indeed, the two seasons, that came before it to set up that moment.

I think the thing that really sells the episode as an all-timer is the sense that the main characters could actually lose.  Sort of a pre-Game of Thrones before Game of Thrones.  If you watch all 2 hours, the ship and crew are losing for the first 110 minutes.  And not just losing, but losing badly to this faceless, overpowering force that offers no mercy and no reprieve.  At the time it was a very shocking thing to consider in an era where most shows ended in a type of happily ever after with a clean resolution every episode.

Cannot overstate how crucial this episode was to cementing TNG as its own thing, finally exiting the shadow of TOS. It's a bit of a shame though that after this point, Riker's character development essentially stops or at least, not much really happens with him until he becomes captain of the Titan some 10 years later.

The one thing I distinctly remember is the reaction that my co-workers had to "The Best Of Both Worlds" cliffhanger the day after it aired.  I had initially thought that I was overreacting because I was so freaked out about how the cliffhanger ended.  However, when I arrived at work the next day -- I quickly discovered that I was not the only one who was freaked out because most of the employees in my department were also freaked out.  Totally unforgettable even to this day.

The music after Will says “fire” is OVER THE TOP.

Times that TNG blew my mind:
- "Family", a whole episode meant to address the events of the previous episode
- "The Inner Light", coming back from a commercial break so see that Picard had lived over 30 years
- "Lessons", Picard pulling out his flute and talking about "The Inner Light"

All examples of breaking that episodic "reset" of most episodes. I loved it. Wanted more of it. (Then somehow got too much of it with DS9, haha)

I wish "new" Star Trek could still focus on real character development and thought-provoking philosophical questions.  They're all just action movies now.

It might be obvious to everyone, but Picard is the most tragic person that could be assimilated into the Borg, given how strong his individuality and culture is.

I saw Best of Both Worlds pt. 1 when it first aired. I didn't know about television seasons at the time and anxiously waited all week for the part 2... only to get a rerun. What followed was one of the longest summers of my life.

There’s a moment near the end of the second half that’s easy to miss, but a nice bit of supporting-character development. Wesley is at the helm when RIker orders the kamikaze run at the Borg cube. If Picard has been Wesley’s father figure, Riker has been his fun uncle.  Who has just told him to kill himself and everyone he knows and loves. The boy Wesley hesitates. But Captain Riker has given him an order, and officer Crusher… makes it so.

Can't talk about Best of Both Worlds without mentioning Ron Jones' incredible score! Can't imagine what these episodes would have been like without it.

For me, the emotional breakdown in front of his brother is the highpoint of stewart's rich acting life, and it does retroactively raise the whole story arc to the heigths we remember them by.
It is also why the Picard series feels so strange to me for long stretches of its running - the stoic Picard breaks apart for a moment in Family, only to regain his composure at the end.

I cannot see that picard in the new series. All i see is Patrick Stewart.

I already loved the series, but your analysis always makes me appreciate it even more. Thank you.

I think the TV series cliffhanger with the most widespread cultural impact was in Dallas and 'Who shot JR?'  It had huge impact at the time.