[Kyuusaku]

The Kyuu Continuum
By {UFP}Kyuusaku

Issue Seven: The Next Generation's 10 Best: Part One
November 18, 2011

NOTE: The following views are to be treated as opinions unless otherwise stated and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of {UFP}.

I continue to examine Trek's best by moving from The Original Series to The Next Generation. Seven seasons made for some difficult decisions, and I ended up with an honorable mention list just to be sure that I gave all the episodes proper credit for appearing on my list before being bumped off for another.

What do I look for? I'm looking for episodes that exemplify the essence of the series. I subtract some points when an episode relies too heavily on the heavy-hitting guest stars (Sarek, Scotty, Spock, Q, Lwaxana Troi); not because those aren't great characters, but I feel that TNG shone through on the strength of its regular cast of characters.

And now, here is my list in reverse order of TNG's top ten best episodes, broken down into multiple parts!

Beware: From beyond this point, there be spoilers!

#10: "Lower Decks"

Teleplay by René Echevarria.

Story by Ron Wilkerson & Jean Louise Matthias.

Episode 7x15

The TL;DR Summary: Enterprise operates on the Cardassian border and carries out a clandestine operation... all from the perspective of a small cadre of her junior officers.

Why this episode ruled: Anytime a show decides to turn the storytelling upside-down and present a plot from a unique perspective, I'm interested. One of the reasons I like to write stories set within the Trek universe not aboard a ship named Enterprise is because I absolutely love reading about those aspects of shipboard life that generally go unseen. Not only was this a great story, but it was carried out by a group of talented actors, especially Shannon Fill's portrayal of Sito. By the time the end comes about and you find out that she was dead... I was devastated. In one episode, she managed to turn me around on the Sito I knew from the prior story into a character with enough backbone to stand up to Captain Picard's perceived mistreatment of her. And Michael Dorn especially gets a nod from me on showing me a side of Worf that I'd not seen before, which added to the tremendous short-term development of the Sito character.

Proximity Alert: Sito Jaxa returns from having been held back a year at Starfleet Academy in the previous episode, "The First Duty." Her reappearance on the show as an ensign on Enterprise reinforced the continuity of TNG as a whole. The crew evaluations previously seen on the show also make another appearance, with the added benefit of seeing the junior officer's view of the monthly practice.

Behind-the-scenes: Writers Wilkerson and Matthias were also responsible for one of my Honorable Mentions, "Lessons." In their original draft, Barclay was to be included in the small cadre, and Sito's death was not as clear-cut and left open to interpretation in case they wished to bring the character back, but Michael Piller made an executive decision to have it changed to an unambiguous death. When Piller watched the completed episode, he called TNG's supervising producer, Jeri Taylor, and said, "We can't let her stay dead. We've got to bring her back. She was wonderful." It's unfortunate that they never did. Taylor also said that many people thought that these four officers would make up the crew of Voyager, but it was only a fan-fueled rumor that obviously did not hold any water.

#9: "The Best of Both Worlds"

Written by Michael Piller.

Episode 3x26

The TL;DR Summary: Enterprise responds to a distress call from a colony that has been destroyed by the Borg, who are intent on assimilating Earth.

Why this episode ruled: A lot of people didn't really care for Elizabeth Shelby, but I really did. For the first time since "Number One" from the original TOS pilot, "The Cage," was a strong woman who had ambition, drive, and determination right from the start. Coupled with a giant raising of the stakes by introducing a powerful enemy in the Borg cube heading for Earth, it seemed as though the story was set. It wasn't until later on in the episode when it was made clear that their objective was first to capture Captain Picard that things really started getting pretty sinister. By the time we reached the end of the episode and we were left with the words "TO BE CONTINUED" on the screen for the summer, I don't think there wasn't anything else me and my friends were talking about other than what was going to happen next on the show when it returned in the fall. So much was our anticipation that we held a fourth season viewing party the night the second part returned. We were left with a feeling of wanting more from the second half, which is why I choose to slot the first part of the story and not the second. But the fact remains that this was the first time in Trek history that epic storytelling was used to raise the stakes of the plot.

Proximity Alert: Locutus would rear his ugly head in mention during "I, Borg" and appear in DS9's "Emissary" and the film, Star Trek: First Contact. The impact of this story will be felt throughout Trek history, spanning DS9, Voyager, and even into Star Trek Online.

Behind-the-scenes: When Michael Piller was asked to make a Borg Queen in this episode, he shot the idea down, stating that "To me, there was something special and frightening about the Borg that their lack of character brought. For a show that dwells and specializes in character to be challenged and possibly destroyed by a characterless villain seemed, to me, to be a special kind of threat." When they realized they needed a central focus, Piller thought long and hard about the problem and then realized, "I've got it. Picard will be that queen bee." In his original draft, Picard and Data would be merged to form a single Borg unit, but they could not find a way to explain why the Borg would execute such a plan.


]Next time on The Kyuu Continuum: I'm off next week for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend here in the United States. But the top ten list will continue!

Until then,

[Chugster]

well as TNG is my favourite series im looking forward to reading the rest of your list....see if any of my fav eps make it in

[Airik]

I know Kyuusaku found this particularly difficult, there are so many great episodes from TNG and if im not mistake he did manage to get all except season 2 in there on his list, also a lot of episodes that where great got cut for purely relying on to many guest stars (Tapestry was one i know he dropped from the list for this reason and its a shame because its an amazing picard story but understandable)

[Chugster]

blonde moment....was Tapestry the one with Q and young Picard or the one with the flute?

[Airik]

Yes Chugster thats the one

[Airik]

Yes Chugster thats the one

[Chugster]

well thats a clear answer