Star Trek fans don’t agree on everything. It’s generally accepted though, that unlike the original Star Trek (TOS), which had an excellent first season then a very good second and a disappointing third, Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) improved with time.
Behind-the-scenes conflicts between creator/executive producer Gene Roddenberry, writer/producers, and staff writers, resulted in a series early on that was a pale imitation of the original. Though some fine episodes were produced, such as “Where No One Has Gone Before,” “The Big Goodbye,” “11001001,” “Heart of Glory,” and “Conspiracy,” all too frequently viewers had to suffer through some of the franchise’s weakest entries: “The Naked Now,” “Code of Honor,” “Angel One,” and “Justice.” TNG eventually stepped out of the shadow of TOS in its third season, thanks in no small part to newly hired co-executive producer/head writer Michael Piller.
Separating the uneven first season and the excellent third, is season two. Many fans regard it as disappointing as the first. Some believe even more so. I’ve always found season two to be a good one, if flawed. Even though the series still stumbled at times (“The Outrageous Okona,” “Manhunt,” “Shades of Gray”) season two at its best (“The Measure of a Man,” “Q-Who,” “A Matter of Honor,” “Elementary, Dear Data”) demonstrated the excellent storytelling in earnest that the series would become known for.
TNG season two also saw character changes: Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton) as chief engineer, a bearded William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and introduction to new characters like Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan, that would reach well beyond this single season (including the current Star Trek: Picard). This, I believe, is enough reason for fans to go back and take a fresh look at TNG’s sophomore year.
Along with Guinan, TNG season two saw Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) replaced by Diana Muldaur as Dr. Katherine Pulaski. Muldaur was a longtime friend of Gene Roddenberry’s and had appeared twice on TOS (the episodes “Return to Tomorrow” and “Is There in Truth No Beauty?”). Pulaski is a character many fans love to hate. She’s a bit aloof, for sure, but I think that marked a nice contrast with a group of characters that at times got along too well. At season two’s end, Muldaur chose not to remain with the series. In no small part to Patrick Stewart’s insistence (and Gene Roddenberry and executive producer Rick Berman not wanting to create a third doctor), Gates McFadden was invited back.
Colm Meaney, who appeared in two episodes of TNG season one (“Encounter at Farpoint,” “Lonely Among Us”), beamed aboard as transporter chief Miles O’Brien. O’ Brien would remain transporter chief and a recurring character through season six before transferring to Star Trek-Deep Space Nine as a main character, the station’s chief of operations.
“The Measure of a Man,” the best episode of TNG second two and one of my five favorite Star Trek episodes of all time, greatly influenced the story arc of Star Trek: Picard season one. This episode was written by former attorney and Star Trek fan Melinda M. Snodgrass. Melinda had previously delved her hands into the Star Trek universe with the classic original Trek novel The Tears of the Singers, released by Pocket Books in late summer 1984. Snodgrass was interested in writing for television. Encouraged by her friend author George R.R. Martin, Snodgrass wrote “The Measure of a Man” as a spec script, which found its way to co-executive producer and season two head writer Maurice Hurley, who quickly put it into production.
This is a Star Trek morality tale at its finest. When cyberneticist Commander Bruce Maddox (Brian Brophy) wishes to study Data in an experiment that would see the Enterprise’s second officer disassembled and damaged perhaps beyond repair, Data refuses the procedure, a decision Maddox fights, believing that Data is the property of Starfleet and cannot resign. Picard orders a hearing by the J.AG. officer and a former love interest, Phillipa Louvois (Amanda McBroom), arguing that Data is not property and has rights. After a heartfelt talk with Guinan, Picard releases that the issue is not just about one android but the servitude of many. In other words, slavery.
Perhaps the most influential episode of TNG season two is “Q-Who.” The episode was written by Hurley and was his attempt to create a worthy advisory for the Federation. He believed (rightfully so) that the Ferengi fell flat. Hurley initially intended to introduce the half biological, half cybernetic species in the season one finale “The Neutral Zone” but had to shelve the idea because of the 1988 writer’s strike. This was for the best, as it’s fitting that the mischievous Q would bring on the first encounter between the Federation and the Borg.
This is exactly what happens when Picard refuses Q’s (John DeLancie) request to join the Enterprise crew. To prove that Picard does need him and does not know the horrors that exist in the uncharted parts of the galaxy, Q sends the starship spiraling into the Delta Quadrant, where the crew encounter the Borg. We learn that Guinan’s people were all but destroyed by the Borg centuries earlier. We also learn that Guinan and Q have a history (something that may finally be explained in Star Trek: Picard season two). Q had appeared previously in the TNG premiere episode “Encounter at Farpoint” and season one’s “Hide & Q.” However, in those two appearances, Q seemed more like Trelane from TOS’s “The Squire of Gothos.” Not until “Q-Who” is he the character, one with a fondness for Picard who apparently wants to teach the captain lessons in humanity, that we grew to love. This is a suspenseful and action-filled episode.
When TNG premiered, very little was still known about the Klingons. Created by writer/producer Gene L. Coon for the TOS classic “Errand of Mercy,” the Klingons would only appear in a handful of episodes. A new look for the Klingons with forehead ridges and body armor was introduced for their appearance at the beginning of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. They were the main villains in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Led by the ruthless commander Kruge (Christopher Llyod), the Klingons were even more aggressive in the third film than they had been in the television series.
One of the standout TNG season one episodes was the Klingon-themed “Heart of Glory.” Season two’s “A Matter of Honor” provided even more depth to a race we had seen for over twenty years but still had much to learn about. Short-tenured producer Burton Armus wrote the episode, from a story he devised with Wanda Haight and Gregory Amos, in which Riker is assigned to a Klingon bird of prey as part of a cultural exchange program. As Riker serves with the Klingons, we see the warrior race in off-duty situations and learn of their preferred cuisines (The introduction of Gagh!), attitudes toward family and duty. We see Klingons as a race, not just a villain.
In TNG season one, Data was introduced to the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. In “Elementary, Dear Data,” urged by Dr. Pulaski’s claim that Data could not solve a Holmes mystery that he has not read, Geordi accepts the bet. He and Data (as Dr. John Watson and Holmes) partake with the good doctor in a holodeck-created Holmes mystery. However, soon Pulaski is abducted by Holmes’s old nemesis, Professor Moriarty, who had tapped into the Enterprise computer and used it and Pulaski to get the attention of Captain Picard. “Elementary, Dear Data” featured an excellent performance by Brent Spiner as Data playing Holmes and brilliant work by the art department in recreating 19th-century London. This was one of the best uses of Pulaski: it was her prodding of Data, something that Beverly Crusher would not have done, that set’s the story in motion.
“The Measure of a Man,” “Q-Who,” “A Matter of Honor,” and “Elementary, Dear Data” are four examples of classic episodes from TNG season two. Several others include “Pen Pales” and “The Emissary.” I would even make arguments for “Time Squared” and “Contagion.” The season is far from being the disaster that many see it as. It’s not a perfect season by any means. Still, it’s one where the series as we know it began to come together and offers some great episodes along the way.