Star Trek The Next Generation - Season 5 (Slimline Edition) [DVD]

1991/1992's Star Trek TNG series 5 continued to consolidate and go from strength-to-strength (even though Executive Producer and series originator, Gene Roddenberry, tragically died halfway through the filming). There are several standout episodes here and generally the quality of the plots and storylines of the 26 episodes is consistently high. Familiar friends and foes feature including Romulans, Klingons, Borg, Ferengi and Vulcans. The legendary Spock guests, Lwaxana Troi (the wife of Gene Roddenberry) makes her customary flamboyant appearance and the boy wonder, Wesley Crusher, also features in two episodes; however, there's no place for the Q entity or Data's errant brother, Lore, this time round. "Darnok" is a very popular episode, although in my view Picard is seen in much more character depth in the bizarre, but intriguing, episode "The Inner Light".

There are 7 Mission Log extras on the final disc: Mission Overview (18 mins), Memorable Missions (18 mins), Intergalactic Guest Stars (15 mins), A Tribute to Gene Roddenberry (28 mins), Alien Speak (12 mins), Production (15 mins) and Visual Effects (17 mins).

The following is my personal take on each episode in the order that I rated them:

*Episode 23: I, Borg (While exploring a cluster of 6 stars for colonisation potential, a crashed Borg ship is detected on the moon of a 4th planet. An away team finds four dead Borg, but one injured survivor, and then agonise over whether or not to help him. Picard agrees to beam him on board and hatches a bold plan to resuscitate him then try to infect him with a virus in the hope that when he is returned to the collective he will infect the other Borg through their neural connections. As the Enterprise crew examine him and contemplate the morality of how to wage warfare, they gradually shift his consciousness from the collective to the singular and even give him a name - Hugh)

*Episode 7: Unification 1 (Federation Ambassador and legend, Spock, is spotted on Romulus and a major defection is feared. After visiting the dying Sarek for potential leads as to his son's motives, Picard manages to convince the Klingons to loan him the use of a cloaked ship and sets off for Romulus with Data. Meanwhile, with Riker in command, the Enterprise investigates the disappearance of several old Vulcan starships and some damaged Vulcan hardware. An interesting episode for a look at Romulus, the Romulan home world)

*Episode 25: The Inner Light (The Enterprise is probed by an unknown object and Picard is knocked unconscious. He then wakes up in a parallel world as Kamin, an iron weaver on the planet Kataan. There he has several children with his wife, Eline, and lives out a 40 or so year lifespan on a planet that is gradually becoming untenable to live on due to a star about to go supernova. All this takes place as he is lying on the floor of the bridge for about 20-25 minutes while the probe connects itself through a beam to the Enterprise. This episode is also notable as Patrick Stewart's son plays his character son also)

*Episode 8: Unification 2 (Spock believes he is making groundbreaking inroads with his clandestine Vulcan/Romulan unification talks as he has the ear of senior Romulan senator Pardek and their new young proconsul. However, events turn sinister and the Romulan propensity for skulduggery is close at hand)

*Episode 19: The First Duty (Back at Starfleet Academy in San Francisco, Wesley Crusher gets caught up in a cover up with 3 other cadets who were taking part in a banned flight manoeuvre near Saturn that led to the death of Joshua Albert, one of their colleagues. Picard tries to get Crusher to see sense and the young cadet is torn between telling the truth and loyalty to his Nova Squadron friends. This is one of only two episodes in Series 5 to be set, in part, on Earth)

*Episode 24: The Next Phase (While helping out a Romulan ship in distress, La Forge and Ensign Ro are assumed to be killed in a transporter malfunction. However, they are both back aboard the Enterprise in a `phased' mode where they are invisible to others and can pass through objects. The Romulan skulduggery continues while La Forge targets Data as the person most likely to be able to retrieve them)

*Episode 21: The Perfect Mate (While transporting a 200 year old Kriosian ambassador to peace talks with their enemies the Valtese, his empathic metamorph companion, Kamala, comes out of stasis in the cargo bay. Every man's dream, she is designed to read their thoughts and be their ultimate partner. Riker has his brief requisite professional relapse; however Picard comes to regret ordering an end to her confinement to quarters as he also partly falls for her looks and charm. This episode also features an appearance by two typically devilish and opportunistic Ferengi)

*Episode 6: The Game (Will Riker brings a highly addictive game back from vacation on Risa and soon the whole Enterprise are under its neurological spell - except for the visiting Will Crusher, Ensign Robin Lefler and the incapacitated Data. The game stimulates pleasure in the brain, but is actually part of a malevolent plot by the Ktarians)

*Episode 26: Time's Arrow Part 1 (The Enterprise is recalled to Earth as Data's head is discovered in a cavern near San Francisco. Clues lead to a single cell entity exclusive to a certain star system and the Enterprise sets off to investigate. While on an away team mission, Data enters a time shift phase and is transported back to San Francisco in the late 19th century. A few comical moments ensue as he tries to get his bearings about him on his own and 500 years in the past)

*Episode 18: Cause and Effect (While exploring an unknown area called the Typhon Expanse, the Enterprise gets caught up in a temporal distortion of the space-time continuum and is condemned to repeat itself over and over in a sequence of events that always results in the destruction of the ship)

*Episode 1: Redemption Part 2 (With civil war raging in the Klingon Empire, the Enterprise coordinates the building of a tachyon net to help detect Romulan involvement in the form of relief supply convoys. Led by Commander Sela, who claims to be Tasha Yar's daughter, the Romulans maintain a game of cat and mouse in their efforts to assist the Duras camp, and the talents of Data once again are called upon. Worf, meanwhile, is at the heart of sinister events as they unfold on the Klingon home planet, Kronos)

*Episode 17: The Outcast (While helping an androgynous species called the J'Naii deal with a lost shuttlecraft in a zone of blank space, Riker falls in love with Soren, who claims to have secret feelings of being female. According to her customs, such feelings are illegal and a court case ensues on her home planet when they are found out. Picard, of course, cites the importance of the Prime Directive in such situations. If you can get beyond the notion that Riker would somehow fall for Soren over e.g. Troi, then this is an interesting sociological examination of the notion of gender and sexuality)

*Episode 16: Ethics (Worf is injured by falling containers and sustains a permanent spinal injury that paralyses him. Due to his Klingon beliefs he requests that he be allowed to commit suicide as he can no longer fulfil his warrior duties. His injury is accepted as a fait accompli and a moral dilemma ensues among the crew. However, a doctor arrives with controversial, unorthodox and innovative ideas and working practices)

*Episode 12: Violations (While transporting three telepathic Ullians, a number of crew members are struck down by disturbing mental images to the point that they are put into comas. There is little evidence to go on, but what they have leads back to the Ullians and their unusual ability to invade minds and trigger the memory area of the brain. Star Trek can do horror very well when it wants to and this is one of those disturbing episodes at times)

*Episode 3: Ensign Ro Laren (The Enterprise is sent to investigate an alleged terrorist attack on a Federation outpost by the Bajorans - a nomad race who were evicted from their home planets by the Cardassians. At a starbase, Admiral Kennelly also orders a Bajoran Ensign to join the Enterprise - Ensign Ro, a controversial character currently in prison for causing the deaths of 8 Starfleet members on an away mission. The Enterprise eventually makes contact with the suspected Bajoran warlord, Orta. However, a tale of high intrigue then unfolds and Picard's diplomatic skills are put to a severe test in the unfolding drama. A notable episode as it's the first time the Bajorans feature)

*Episode 13: The Masterpiece Society (The Enterprise helps an unknown and remote human colony to deal with the threat of a rogue stellar core fragment. The society is highly controversial as it is based on genetic purity and specific allocated roles for everyone. The very presence of the Enterprise's crew leads to much soul-searching amongst some of the inhabitants)

*Episode 4: Silicon Avatar (An old foe, the Crystalline Entity, returns and obliterates all life on Melona IV, a Federation planet - except for an away team who manage to shelter most colonists in a cave. A prominent scientist, Dr. Kila Marr, beams aboard the Enterprise to help track down the entity. After her initial reticence about Data - as his brother, Lore, was instrumental in her son's death on Omicron Theta - she then befriends him when she discovers that the android Lieutenant Commander holds some of her son's memories in his data banks. Read more ›

This is simply the best season of TNG, and contains some of there best episodes ever; incl cause and effect, the inner light, disaster, times arrow p1 and the best TNG episode ever 'the game', a must buy

This season is full of amazing episodes from the wonderful "Cause and Effect", to the cliffhanger "Times arrow part 1" to one of my personal favourites "Disaster". The qaulity of the story-telling in this season is never bettered (although seasons 6 and 7 are close) with great character development and inventive plots. I have all the seasons of TNG on DVD but this is the season I come back to time and time again.