In an early episode, Captain Picard delivers a line from Hamlet: "What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an Angel! in apprehension how like a god!" But he delivers it with conviction instead of irony, and by doing so creates the thesis of the entire franchise.
Star Trek was never meant to be a realistic depiction of what the future will be like; rather, it's an optimistic argument for what the future could be like. Our heroes on the new Starship Enterprise are noble and rational, and the writing is more concerned with ethics than with punch-ups. Fans of Captain Kirk's red-blooded man of action might be disappointed, but then this is a more mature version of Star Trek. As we mature, we realize there are better ways to solve our problems than with violence. Patrick Stewart's Shakespearean captain is a renaissance man, capable of using the right words and unexpected actions to overcome obstacles, and he needs neither a hairpiece nor a fight scene to prove his character.
The show's other standout star is the android Data, Spock's opposite yet kindred spirit. Where Spock repressed his emotions and was disdainful of illogical humans, Data is curious about our foibles and aspires to be more like us. That implies that being human is not a curse, but something wonderful and virtuous.
There are no space wars in The Next Generation, and for a good reason: creator Gene Roddenberry hoped that by the 24th century war would be a thing of the past. The interpersonal conflicts and domestic dramas of other shows are here replaced by adventure and exploration. Human nature doesn't have to be absolute: people can change, and humanity can grow and evolve. Star Trek: The Next Generation is seven seasons of optimistic, outward-looking space adventure for people who believe that the human race doesn't need to be defined by the villains it faces, but by its own innate spirit.
Star Trek was never meant to be a realistic depiction of what the future will be like; rather, it's an optimistic argument for what the future could be like. Our heroes on the new Starship Enterprise are noble and rational, and the writing is more concerned with ethics than with punch-ups. Fans of Captain Kirk's red-blooded man of action might be disappointed, but then this is a more mature version of Star Trek. As we mature, we realize there are better ways to solve our problems than with violence. Patrick Stewart's Shakespearean captain is a renaissance man, capable of using the right words and unexpected actions to overcome obstacles, and he needs neither a hairpiece nor a fight scene to prove his character.
The show's other standout star is the android Data, Spock's opposite yet kindred spirit. Where Spock repressed his emotions and was disdainful of illogical humans, Data is curious about our foibles and aspires to be more like us. That implies that being human is not a curse, but something wonderful and virtuous.
There are no space wars in The Next Generation, and for a good reason: creator Gene Roddenberry hoped that by the 24th century war would be a thing of the past. The interpersonal conflicts and domestic dramas of other shows are here replaced by adventure and exploration. Human nature doesn't have to be absolute: people can change, and humanity can grow and evolve. Star Trek: The Next Generation is seven seasons of optimistic, outward-looking space adventure for people who believe that the human race doesn't need to be defined by the villains it faces, but by its own innate spirit.