The year also explored the implications of Data, Lwaxana Troi, Geordi, and Dr. Crusher being in love, while Miles O'Brien (given a first name at last) married Keiko. There were old friends revisited: the ubiquitous Q in a hilarious Robin Hood romp ("Qpid"), perennial screwup Reg Barclay ("Nth Degree"), and even the mysterious Traveler from season 1's "Where No One Has Gone Before" (played by Eric Menyuk, who was nearly cast as Data). There were new races introduced who would have an important bearing on Trek's destiny: the Cardassians and the Trill. Most of all, though, there were the one-off stories that impressed: "Clues," with its memory-loss mystery; "Night Terrors," with some genuine frights; and "Identity Crisis," with possibly the only time Trek technology really helped Geordi solve a puzzle. Then right at the end, reinforcing the year's familial theme, Denise Crosby returned as her own half-Romulan daughter! --Paul Tonks

Synopsis
Picking up decades after Gene Roddenberry's legendary original Star Trek, The Next Generation follows the intergalactic adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew aboard an all-new USS Enterprise. This phenomenally successful follow-up, also created by Roddenberry, began airing in 1987 and ran until 1994. Episodes include: 'Family', 'Suddenly Human', 'Future Imperfect', 'Data's Day', 'Devil's Due', 'First Contact', 'Identity Crisis', 'In Theory', and many more.