



Space... the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission -- to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before." Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Opening Narration

Star Trek the Next Generation is a science fiction show created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Set in the 24th century, about eighty years after the original series, the program features a new crew, new perspectives on established cultures (a Klingon Empire as a semi-friendly ally against a Romulan Empire emerging from decades of isolation), new antagonists and a new Enterprise (Galaxy-class starship, registration NCC-1701-D).

After struggling for a few seasons trying to establish itself apart from the Original Series, it exploded into one of the most well respected television shows ever made, partially because of a change in direction (its creator had health problems starting around season two of the show's run leading to co-producer Rick Berman taking over most of the show's daily production and his promotion to executive producer during season three) and an increased willingness to experiment with the format and scope of the show, and science fiction as a whole. At 176 episodes in length, it was the longest running Star Trek series at the time, and won many awards for everything from visual effects to writing. Additionally, the series has proved wildly popular in Syndication, despite having broadcast its final episode in 1994, well over fifteen years ago. To date, in the U.S. alone, it has been broadcast on no less than five different cable / satellite networks: G4, Spike TV, Sy Fy, WGN America and most recently BBC America. Three of these networks, SyFy, WGN America & BBC America still regularly air episodes of the program, sometimes against each other in primetime.

Although much of the show shared the premise of the Original Series, there were also well-placed Story Arcs: the omnipotent Trickster character of Q would show up to put Humanity on Trial (becoming a Book End storyline epitomizing the series) or to amuse himself at the expense of others; redefining the Klingons as being Proud Warrior Race Guys instead of the original "black hats"; various encounters with the hive-mind, cybernetic Borg (creating what is regarded as the pinnacle episode for the series and even the franchise, "The Best of Both Worlds"); several episodes with Wesley that developed his character; and defining moments for several of the main cast and the odd minor character, in addition to plenty of development for the Romulans, the Vulcans, the Cardassians and the Ferengi.

The series formed the basis of the seventh through tenth Star Trek films: Generations (1994), First Contact (1996), Insurrection (1998) and Nemesis (2002). The success led to an expansion of the franchise and is single-handedly responsible for the creation of Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. Though fans will usually agree that the quality of the episodes varies wildly, the best make for compelling and thought-provoking viewing.

See also the Star Trek: The Next Generation Relaunch, a series of novels that follow the characters after the events of Star Trek Nemesis, as well as setting the direction for the Star Trek Expanded Universe in terms of the original continuity (as opposed to the latest film, which is an Alternate Timeline).

It now has a tool for gathering and voting for the Best Episode(s)

Character tropes for the main characters can be found in this character page. Episode recaps can be found here.

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This show provides examples of the following tropes:

Trope-based episodes

Q: If that child doesn't learn to control her power, she could destroy herself. Or all of you. Or your entire galaxy.

Data: You may retain the surplus for yourself.



Jack: Keep the change?



Data: Exactly.

"But it's what you've always wanted Data, to become human."



"Yes, sir. That is true. But I never wanted to compound one... illusion with another. It might be real to Q,... perhaps even you, sir. But it would never be so to me. Was it not one of the Captain's favourite authors who wrote, "This above all: to thine own self be true?" Sorry, Commander, I must decline."

God Test: Inverted in"Who Watches the Watchers." When the primitive alien tribe believes that Picard is God, they try to prove it by shooting him with a bow to prove that he can't be killed. Fortunately for Picard the alien misses his heart, but does hit him in the shoulder, injuring him and thereby proving to the aliens that he isn't God.

God. Government Drug Enforcement: "Symbiosis".

Groundhog Day Loop: "Cause and Effect" - Actually occurred two years in advance of the Groundhog Day movie. And unlike the Groundhog Day movie (in which Bill Murray's character is fully aware of what's going on, and only once does anybody else mention a slight feeling of deja vu-- everyone on the Enterprise, except Data, starts to get that feeling.

of the movie. Harmful Healing: Accidentally caused everyone to "devolve" in "Genesis".

Humanity on Trial: "Encounter at Farpoint" and "All Good Things..." Technically, the whole series, the movies, and everything else in the Star Trek universe . As Q points out the trial that starts in "Encounter at Farpoint" continues through "All Good Things..." and beyond.



Q: You just don't get it, do you, Jean-Luc? The trial never ends.





Tropes A-G

Picard: Make it so.



Data: It is possible



Data (again): Intriguing...



Worf: I an Worf! Son of Mogh!



Troi: I sense that...



The Borg: Resistance is futile.

Jean-Luc Picard: My apologies if I interrupted a waltz.

Picard: And yet he chose this way of life. He's made the same commitment to Starfleet we all have.

Picard: There are many parts of my youth that I'm not proud of... there were loose threads... untidy parts of me that I would like to remove. But when I pulled on one of those threads... it had unraveled the tapestry of my life.





Tropes H-M





Tropes N-S

Mr. Mot: ...and she said, "If they're not squirming, I won't eat 'em!"

Sounds like gagh .

Out-of-Character Moment

Pals with Jesus: Q, to Picard's chagrin. He even helped God with making life on Earth, Q's contribution? The platypus.

Parental Abandonment: Of the nine series regulars who had their names in the opening credits for all or part of the show's run, only Geordi had two parents as of the series's opening (and his mother died in the middle seasons). Worf, Beverly, and Tasha were all orphaned as children (though Worf wound up with a great set of adoptive parents). Riker, Troi, and Wesley each lost one parent when they were children (Riker's mother, Troi's father, Wesley's father). Picard's parents were both dead long before he became captain, though they probably died when he was an adult. The inventor who built Data disappeared when his home planet was attacked and was presumed dead until the middle of the episode "Brothers," then really died just a handful of scenes later. We also get to meet a woman who claims to be Data's "mother" in the Seventh season. She really is, after a fashion. She's actually an android duplicate of the (long-dead) woman who was both Data's co-creator and Noonien Soong's wife. Also,Guinan's family either died or were assimilated when the Borg all but destroyed the El-Aurians. Alexander, the only semi-regular child other than Wesley, lost his mother as a toddler (and was raised by her alone up to that point). And whenever we had a one-off guest star whose parentage was some sort of plot point, be it a child (Jeremy Aster, Salia) or an adult (Amanda Rogers, Jason Vigo), they had an excellent chance of being Conveniently an Orphan.

Phlegmings: Fek'lhr, the guardian of the Klingon hell, as seen in the episode Devil's Due .

. Principles Zealot: Captain Picard (and thus his crew) in "Homeward" where he chose to let an entire civilization die, one that they could easily have saved. They commit this genocide-through-inaction for the simple reason that the rules say so. Of course, it doesn't take long before a sympathetic civilian The Professor character goes all What the Hell, Hero? on them.

Promoted Fangirl: Whoopi Goldberg, who was a big fan of the original series

Whoopi (To Gene): I am a Star Trek fan, I was a Star Trek fan long before I was ever Whoopi Goldberg and I'm wondering if there's some part I can play in your show?

Psycho Prototype: Lore.

Racial Remnant: The early episode "Haven" has a shipful of Tarellians, the last survivors of a deadly plague.

Random Passerby Advice: After Lt. Barclay gained (and later lost) huge amounts of knowledge, as he's talking with Counselor Troi they pass by a chess game. He moves one piece and says "checkmate in nine moves."



Troi: I didn't know you play chess.



Barclay: I don't!

Dr. Crusher: I am delighted that Worf is going to recover. You gambled. He won. Most of your patients aren't so lucky. You scare me, Doctor. You risk peoples' lives and justify it in the name of research. But genuine research takes time... sometimes a lifetime of painstaking, detailed work to get results. Not you-- you take shortcuts... right through living tissue. You put your research ahead of your patients, and as far as I'm concerned, that's a violation of our most sacred trust. I'm sure the work you've done here will be hailed as a stunning breakthrough. Enjoy your laurels, Doctor. I'm not sure I could.

Remember The New Species: The Cardassians are introduced in the season four episode "The Wounded," where it is explained that it has been only a year since the end of the long, costly war between the Federation and the Cardassian Union. However, this information means that the first two years of the show occurred during a war that was never seen, heard or experienced. Just where, exactly, was the flagship of Starfleet while the rest of the fleet was engaged in active operations? It makes sense that the Federation's flagship would be one of exploration as opposed to one of war. At many points throughout TNG it's been made clear that the Enterprise' s mission is one of peace. Keeping it on this mission in a time of conflict may be Starfleet's way of demonstrating their commitment to diplomacy. Moreover, the Cardassians aren't exactly the Borg.

Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Guinan. In "Time's Arrow" Data notes that he knew that Guinan's species was long-lived, but he had no idea that she was actually on Earth during the 19th Century.

during the 19th Century. Requisite Royal Regalia: Lwaxana Troi brags she's "Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed", among other boasting of her position (which likely means she's high nobility at the very least.) Another of her boasts is "Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Riix", which her daughter quite bluntly points out is nothing more than:



"An old clay pot with mold growing inside of it."

Removing The Combadge

Robo-Family: Data has a 'brother', Lore, and even creates his own android 'daughter' Lal. Also, there's an android copy of his "mother" out there as well, who believes she is the REAL woman and is designed to age and eventually die like a human being And don't forget his 'father', who said he never liked living anywhere without an escape route, and was last seen, apparently mortally wounded, in his fully equipped lab and he already knows he can transfer a mind from an organic body to an android, having done it with the 'mother' above .

Robosexual: Data and Yar. Also Data and Jenna D'Sora in "In Theory", though not the sexual part. Everyone's robo for Data!

Rubber Forehead Aliens: So much so that it is often difficult to tell alien species apart.

Sapient Cetaceans: A frequent theme in the series. The Diane Duane Star Trek the Next Generation novel Dark Mirror involves an alien race that's essentially dolphins IN SPACE! (They're not related to the whales IN SPACE from Star Trek IV .) The Star Trek The Next Generation: Technical Manual notes that the Cetacean tanks on board contain the dolphin and whale navigational specialists. This is pretty much shout out to Gunbuster , where cybernetically enhanced dolphins form the main navigational computer of the Eltreum. One Star Trek the Next Generation novel had a dolphin as a supporting character, which held the rank of commander in Starfleet. At one point, Riker whistles a specific sequence of notes to get its attention, implying he can speak (or at least swear) in Dolphin.

Screaming Birth: If your midwife was a Klingon, you'd be screaming too.

Worf: [consults tricorder] Congratulations. You are fully dilated to ten centimeters. You may now give birth.



Keiko: THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING!



Worf: [[[Beat]]] Why has it not begun?



Keiko: I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T THINK IT'S UP TO ME! IT HAPPENS WHEN IT HAPPENS!



Worf: The computer simulation was not like this. The delivery was very orderly.

Dr McCoy: Now she's a new ship, but she's got the right name, y'hear? Treat her like a lady, and she'll always bring you home.

Start X to Stop X: In one episode, a scientist intentionally causes a tear in space with a self-destructed warp drive, just to convince the Federation to stop using warp travel so she can prevent that very type of tear from occurring elsewhere.

Stock Subtitle: This was the Trope Maker for the subtitle "The Next Generation".

Stoic Character Cheerful Actor: Brent Spiner, who plays the emotionless android Data, has a reputation as something of a cheerful, enthusiastic goofball off the set. Likewise Michael Dorn, who plays Worf, is known for being rather gregarious and a bit geeky once he break character.

Story Arc: Both the pilot, "Encounter at Farpoint" and the finale, "All Good Things" feature Q putting Humanity on Trial;





Tropes T-Z

Riker: How did you like your first command?



Worf: ...Comfortable chair.

Data: "And though you are not sentient, Spot, and cannot comprehend..."--Ode To Spot

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