Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete TV Movies [DVD] [1990]

Season Two saw the welcome introduction of the cybernetic horror that was the Borg. Originally a powerful symbol of technological misuse in an otherwise technologically utopian universe, ultimately their hive-like existence served to reinforce the message that everyone would be much happier as a team player. Even renegade super-entity Q (John De Lancie) relied on Picard as much as his fellow god-like playmates; Data followed Pinocchio and Spock in a quest to discard what made him an individual; and there was even an episode that rationalised why all aliens basically looked alike (we're all one big family). Even the slogan change to "Where no one has gone before" acknowledges that there's no "one" in a team. But for all its earnest political correctness and an over-reliance on "technobabble", good stories played by an appealing ensemble cast were at the heart of the show's success. After seven successful seasons, "All Good Things" finally came to an end. Until Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise, that is. --Paul Tonks

Disc 1:

• 1. Encounter at Farpoint
  
• 2. The Best of Both Worlds

Disc 2:

• 3. Redemption
  
• 4. Unification

Disc 3:

• 5. Time’s Arrow
  
• 6. Chain of Command

Disc 4:

• 7. Birthright
  
• 8. Descent

Disc 5:

• 9. Gambit
  
• 10. All Good Things

Disc 6:

• Emissary (DS9)
  
• Star Trek: The Next Generation Journey’s End

Episode Synopses:

• Encounter At Farpoint:
  An alien force tries the crew for the crimes of mankind. Q challenges the crew to prove the humanity of the human race through a series of tests on Farpoint – if they fail, they face certain death! When an unidentified ship begins firing on the old Bandi city, they learn that the people of Deneb IV have captured its mate and are holding it against its will. Will the crew of the Enterprise reunite the estranged aliens and convince Q of their positive qualities before time runs out?
  
• The Best of Both Worlds:
  Will the evil Borg use Picard to conquer the human race? Picard is captured by the Borg who plan to conquer the human race, using Picard as their intermediary. Riker decides to use their plan to foil the Borg themselves, searching for a way to use Picard/Locutus to access Borg information in the same way the Borg tapped the captain for U.S.S. Enterprise secrets. As the Borg ship races toward Earth, Data attempts to use Picard/Locutus as a communications link to the enemy. With time running out, Riker must make an agonizing choice between Data's desperate attempt to end the Borg advance, or sending the U.S.S. Enterprise on a collision course with the enemy ship to stop them from reaching Earth.
  
• Redemption:
  Will loyalty to his people threaten Worf's duty to the Federation? A Klingon civil war, sparked by the installation of Gowron, signals a crisis for the Enterprise and especially Worf who must choose between his crew mates and his own people. When the Empire is threatened by the rebel Duras family, who wish to install their own family member as leader of the Klingons, the crisis deepens. The Romulan, Sela, who is in league with the Duras, gives Picard a fourteen-hour deadline to retreat, allowing the Duras and the Romulans to gain control of the Empire – can Picard save the Empire, defeating the Romulans and the Duras? Can Picard help to reinstall Gowron as the High Leader of the Klingons?
  
• Unification:
  Will his secret mission unite two worlds, or destroy them? Reports of Spock’s unauthorized visit to Romulus to meet peace advocate, Senator Pardek, causes a curious Picard to follow and discover the truth – that Spock plans to unite the Vulcans and the Romulans. The mystery is deepened when Vulcans deny all knowledge of stolen Vulcan ships found by the crew. Picard’s suspicions about the involvement of the Romulans are confirmed when Sela admits that she plans to take over Vulcan and admits that she stole the Vulcan ships, kidnapping Picard’s group in the process. The ships, disguised as a peace envoy, are manned by Romulans and have been dispatched to seize control of the Vulcan government. Upon their escape, the group sends an emergency signal to the Enterprise which responds by destroying the ships and overpowering Sela. Spock decides to remain on Romulus to continue to work towards peace.
  
• Time’s Arrow:
  Data learns he died in the 19th century! Can the crew save him from a fate that has already happened? Picard and the crew visit 19th Century San Francisco on a mission and discover that Data has died. The Enterprise crew must track down the aliens capable of assuming human form on earth to find answers about Data’s death - the aliens from Devidia II, disguised as humans, are slowly killing off the 19th Century human population by stealing their neural energy and sending it to the 24th century to feed their own people –can the crew save Data’s life and save him from a fate that has already taken place?
  
• Chain Of Command:
  Picard is kidnapped after resigning his post to lead a dangerous mission! As tensions between the Federation and the Cardassians grow, Picard leaves on a secret mission, leaving the Captain Jellico in control. Picard is captured by Gul Lemec, a Cardassian leader, who tells him that Picard has been trapped as a means of delivering him into Cardassian hands and getting him to reveal Federation strategy. Power hungry and headstrong, Jellico refuses to save Picard and plans to launch a strike on the Cardassians instead. Can Picard stand strong in a battle of wills against the Cardassian leader? Will Jellico swallow his pride and save Picard?
  
• Birthright:
  Will Worf risk everything for a chance to see his father again? Worf’s discovery that his father might not be dead leads him to a mysterious planet where Klingons and Romulans live side by side, under Romulan authority – uncharacteristic for the proud Klingon race. He learns that, after the Khitomer massacre, Romulans kept the Klingons from committing suicide and taught them to live in harmony with the Romulans. Worf is concerned and sets out to liberate the Klingons, teaching them about their heritage and history. Can Worf save his people from Romulan control and avoid execution in Romulan hands?
  
• Descent:
  When the Borg return to do battle with the Federation, they boast a new individuality - and tempt Data when they help him feel his first emotion. When Data murders a Borg after a confrontation with an alien vessel, the Enterprise crew set out to learn the reason for the spate of attacks upon the ship and Data’s uncharacteristic reaction to attack. They discover that Lore, Data’s brother, is leading the Borg – who regard him as a superior being and is encouraging Data to join him. Hugh, a former Enterprise crew member, helps to locate the captured crew and they set off to find out how Lore is controlling the Borg and Data - hoping to defeat him and restore the tranquility upon the Enterprise.
  
• Gambit:
  Picard poses as a mercenary to infiltrate a ruthless smuggling ring! Following Picard’s disappearance whilst investigating a series of thefts from archaeological sites, Riker leads a team to discover the truth about Picard’s presumed death and are kidnapped by mercenaries. Riker discovers that Picard is aboard the mercenaries ship and is disguised as a smuggler named Galen. And they set out to gain their captor’s confidence and the truth about the thefts. An encounter with Tallera, a Vulcan officer on a personal mission to save the Vulcans from elimination, reveals the truth about the missing artefacts.
  
• All Good Things…:
  Travelling between his past, present, and future, can Picard save humanity... from himself? Picard discovers that he has a mental illness that causes him to be transported between the past, future and present. The illness prompts him to search for the cause, an anomaly, in the Neutral Zone and learns that his old enemy ‘Q’ is responsible. However, whilst Q is causing Picard to shift through time, it is Picard, not Q, who is responsible for the imminent destruction of humanity unless he can prove that the spatial anomaly exists in the past – will Picard discover the truth before it is too late?
  
• Emissary:
  The time: the 24th century. The setting: Deep Space Nine, a ramshackle space station orbiting the planet Bajor. The mission: to help the Bajorans rebuild their world from the wasteland left by their enemies, the Cardassians. For Commander Ben Sisko (Avery Brooks), this will be no easy assignment. Especially when this crew includes a Bajorian ex-terrorist (Nana Visitor), a curmudgeonly shape-shifter (Rene Auberjonois), a Ferengi thief (Armin Shimerman), and a symbiont (Terry Farrell) whose beautiful human body is inhabited by a 300-year-old lifeform. Sisko’s leadership abilities are soon put to the test as he faces a war with the Cardassians and a fateful encounter with the one he holds responsible for his wife’s death- Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart)!