The Next Generation had a bit of a rough start with its first season, but it showed a lot of potential to be even greater than The Original Series. While Season 2 has the series slowly begin to improve, there are still some kinks that need to be ironed out:
Season 2 makes a lot of big changes in its first episode. Dr Crusher left the show, we get two new characters, Geordi and Worf are promoted, and biggest of all, Riker grows a beard. That last point is particularly important because it shows just how much of an improvement Season 2 is on the original, primarily due to a stronger understanding of who the characters really are. Riker doesn't just feel like a Kirk clone anymore, he's a really interesting and likable character now, and that applies to a lot of the cast. Data is still the highlight, but now he gets a lot of thought-provoking and existential nature exploring his android nature. It also helps that the chemistry between the cast has much improved, and we get a lot more scenes of the characters just hanging out and interacting. The new characters are a bit of a mixed bag, though. Whoopi Goldberg's Guinan is awesome and a joy to watch, but Dr Crusher's replacement, Dr Pulaski, just feels like a Bones clone who's worse in every single way. As for the general story, this season introduces the Borg, which was that looming threat responsible for a lot of Season 1 events. The Borg may have only appeared in one episode so far, but they're cold and terrifying antagonists unlike anything seen in Star Trek, and their appearance does a lot to solidify The Next Generation as its own thing.
However, while this season is by all accounts an improvement over the first, it was severely hurt by the season's troubled production. The biggest issue was obviously the Writer's Guide Strike of 1998, which also affected Season 1's finale but to a much lesser degree. The season was originally supposed to start with a mini arc about the Federation and Romulans teaming up to fight the Borg, but it was replaced with a reused script from a canceled sequel series to TOS. That really could have been an awesome start to the season that built on Season 1's loose ends, but we ended up getting a pretty weak start to the season. This season also suffered from budgetary problems, as Paramount changed the way budgeting would work, leading to the season ending with a clip show rather than an actual finale. As much of a hodgepodge as The Neutral Zone was, at least that felt like a season ender, Season 2's clip show finale couldn't even do that. Not to mention all the behind the scenes drama along with Beverly Crusher being replaced by the much worse Pulaski, leading to a season that feels like it wasn't given the chance to reach its full potential. There are some great episodes here, much better than the high points in Season 1, but as a whole, this season ended up feeling less than the sum of its parts.
There were some really fantastic episodes in Season 2, far better than the best of Season 1:
Matter Of Honor: I really like TNG's dual storyline format, but I won't deny that sometimes, the two storylines don't fit together all that well. This is not the case with Matter Of Honor, a fantastic episode that explores the importance of understanding and accommodating other cultures. The highlight is definitely Riker's subplot where he has to be a first officer on a Klingon ship. It really lets us learn more about the Klingon culture and solidified Riker as a genuinely great character.
The Measure Of A Man: This isn't just a good episode of a Star Trek, it's a good episode of science fiction television. The central themes about bodily autonomy, slavery, what counts as a man, and robots in general are all well-explored and applicable to real life in their own ways. However, The Measure Of A Man is also a personal and tense story about how much the crew cares for Data, and a phenomenal showcase of Patrick Stewart's acting that proves Captain Picard worthy of the title.
Q Who: I wasn't a fan of Q back in Season 1, but his sole appearance this season was great. He went from a goofy annoyance to a genuine threat, and the reveal that he knows Guinan adds a really intriguing mystery that I hope gets resolved. And of course, as mentioned above, the Borg's first appearance was absolutely fantastic and allowed for one of TNG's most tense episodes yet. Just like last season's Conspiracy, this also would have been a much better finale than the one we actually got.
However, there were also some serious low points this season as well:
The Outrageous Okona: And I thought Mudd was bad! This episode really tries to make Okona seem like a lovable rogue but he's just a sleazy creep. Data's comedy subplot could have redeemed the episode, but wow, were those jokes bad (and this is coming from someone who likes cheesy puns). The real comedy was just how poorly-executed this episode was.
Up The Long Ladder: This was just not a fun episode at all. The clone storyline was scientifically confusing even by Trek standards, and those stereotypical Irish characters were painfully uncomfortable.
Shades Of Grey: I'm not as harsh on clip shows as a lot of people. If you can pick some great clips, reorganize them in some creative ways, or play with the format (like Korra's clip show episode), they can be really fun. However, Shades Of Grey doesn't do this. Its premise of Riker getting infected isn't fun to watch, and the clips it chose are from some of the worst episodes. But it's one thing to have a bad clip show episode, it's another thing for that clip show episode to be a season finale. Look, I get the crew had budget issues and only three days to shoot the episode, but they really chose the least interesting premise here. Frasier's first season finale was a bottle episode, entirely focused on the characters reflecting on their lives. Why couldn't we have something like that? Hell, we could've gotten a 45-minute-long poker game within the case and it would've been an infinitely more enjoyable finale than this one. Instead, the entire episode is the cast standing around the medbay intercut with poorly-chosen Riker clips. It's not a reflection on the characters, or a mission statement for the show, or anything meaningful, Shades Of Grey is just filler, and a horrific way to end the season. This episode alone dropped a point from this season for me.
Overall, Season 2 is definitely an improvement on the first, with a stronger grasp on its characters, more creative episodes, and the introduction of a great new villain. However, it suffered heavily from its troubled production, Dr Pulaski sucks, and the final episode was an absolute embarrassment, so there's still a lot of room to improve ever further.
2/5 Stars
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