Encounter At Farpoint

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 41153.7: The new USS Enterprise, en route to pick up its final crew members and investigate a mysterious space station, is confronted by a godlike entity known as Q who puts Captain Picard, Counselor Troi, Data and security chief Yar on trial for the crimes of all humanity in the past, a challenge Picard grudgingly agrees to meet.

Season 1 Regular Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander William Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Denise Crosby (Lt. Tasha Yar), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher)

Order the DVDswritten by Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana
directed by Corey Allen
music by Dennis McCarthy

Star Trek: The Next GenerationGuest Cast: John de Lancie (Q), Michael Bell (Groppler Zorn), Colm Meaney (Battle Bridge Conn), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Mandarin Baliff), Timothy Dang (Main Bridge Security), David Erskine (Bandi Shopkeeper), Evelyn Guererro (Young Female Ensign), Chuck Hicks (Military Officer), Jimmy Ortega (Torres), DeForest Kelley (Admiral McCoy)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Datalore

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 41242.2: Data visits his home planet and discovers that his creator also constructed – and, for some unknown reason, disassembled – a “twin brother” of the android: Lore. The crew welcomes Lore with open arms, but they soon discover that the greed Data lacks as a human emotion is indeed possessed by Lore.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Robert Lewin and Gene Roddenberry
story by Robert Lewin and Maurice Hurley
directed by Rob Bowman
music by Ron Jones

Guest Cast: Brent Spiner (Lore), Biff Yeager (Chief Engineer Argyle)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Child

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42073.1: Counselor Troi, impregnated by an alien entity, gives birth to a child whose mind is not that of a child but of an alien wishing to discover the variety of human experience. Meanwhile, the ship’s newly promoted chief engineer, Geordi, and newcomer Doctor Katherine Pulaski are faced with the possibility of a fatal shipwide epidemic…

Order the DVDswritten by Jaron Summers & Jon Povill and Maurice Hurley
directed by Rob Bowman
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), Seymour Cassel (Lt. Commander Hester Dealt), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), R.J. Williams (Ian), Colm Meaney (Transporter Chief), Dawn Arnemann (Miss Gladstone), Zachary Benjamin (Young Ian), Dore Keller (Crewman)

Notes: This story was originally conceived in the mid 1970s as an episode of the aborted late ’70s Star Trek Phase II series, which was to have been a new series with the original crew of the Enterprise. (That production later morphed into the first Star Trek movie.) The script was dusted off to serve as the delayed season premiere after a Writers’ Guild strike brought American TV production to a halt in the summer of 1988. It is also notable for being the first appearance of Guinan.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Where Silence Has Lease

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42193.6: Picard is confronted by an invincible alien intelligence who can alter the crew’s very perceptions of reality, and is horrified to learn that the entity plans on using half of the humans on board as lab animals to determine how many ways humans can die, so the captain, after exhausting all the options, sets for self-destruct.

Order the DVDswritten by Jack B. Sowards
directed by Winrich Kolbe
music by Ron Jones

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), Earl Boen (Nagilum), Charles Douglass (Ensign Haskell), Colm Meaney (Transporter Chief)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Elementary, Dear Data

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42286.3: Doctor Pulaski bets Geordi that Data would be overwhelmed if confronted with an intricate Holmesianmystery he has not yet read or experienced, and when the chief engineer and Data put this to the test, a too-perfect holodeck program almost ensures that not only will Data be beaten, but the Enterprise may be commandeered by Professor Moriarty.

Order the DVDswritten by Brian Alan Lane
directed by Rob Bowman
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), Daniel Davis (Professor Moriarty), Alan Shearman (Inspector Lestrade), Biff Manard (Ruffian), Diz White (Prostitute), Anne Elizabeth Ramsay (Assistant Engineer Clancy), Richard Merson (Pie Man)

Notes: Actor Daniel Davis won the part of a British butler on the series The Nanny largely on the strength of his performance in this episode and its sixth season sequel, Ship In A Bottle. Davis isn’t British at all, but actually hails from Little Rock, Arkansas.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Outrageous Okona

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42402.7: A nonchalant space rogue is welcomed aboard the Enterprise by Picard and the crew, but the pleasantries of his visit are cut short by two representatives of rival worlds demanding Okona’s life for crimes he claims not to have committed – yet he does know who the guilty parties are and it’s up to him to unite the aggressors.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Burton Armus
story by Les Menchen, Lance Dickson and David Landsberg
directed by Robert Becker
music by Ron Jones

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), William O. Campbell (Okona), Douglas Rowe (Debin), Albert Stratton (Kushell), Rosalind Ingledew (Yanar), Kieran Mulroney (Benzan), Joe Piscopo (The Comic), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Teri Hatcher (Transporter Chief)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Loud As A Whisper

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42477.2: The Enterprise is forbidden to interfere in negotiations to be conducted by their passenger, the deaf, mute mediator Riva, who seems more interested in Counselor Troi than in seriously bringing two warring factions together. It is only when his Greek-like Chorus, a vital element in his task since they translate his thoughts into speech, is destroyed by a trigger-happy alien that Riva truly worries about the task he must accomplish.

Order the DVDswritten by Jacqueline Zambrano
directed by Larry Shaw
music by Ron Jones

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), Marnie Mosiman, Thomas Oglesby, Leo Damian (The Chorus), Howie Seago (Riva), Colm Meaney (Transporter Chief), Richard Lavin (Warrior #1), Chip Heller (Warrior #2), John Garrett (Lieutenant)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Schizoid Man

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42437.5: An Enterprise away team answers a distress signal from the habitat of one Dr. Ira Graves, who has been stricken with a terminal illness that could strike at any time. As he has been working for some time on a way to transfer his memories and personality into a computer, he naturally sees Data as the perfect alpha test model.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Tracy Tormè
story by Richard Manning and Hans Beimler
directed by Les Landau
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), W. Morgan Sheppard (Dr. Ira Graves), Suzie Plakson (Lt. Selar), Barbara Alyn Woods (Kareen Brianon)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Unnatural Selection

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42494.8: The Enterprise crew discover the disabled USS Lantree adrift in deep space – adrift because the crew has been inflicted with a disease which induces rapid aging and death! Doctor Pulaski personally involves herself in the search for a cure at a doomed genetic research base and becomes the most recent victim of the disease.

Order the DVDswritten by John Mason and Mike Gray
directed by Paul Lynch
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), Patricia Smith (Dr. Sara Kingsley), Colm Meaney (Transporter Chief O’Brien), J. Patrick McNamara (Captain Taggert), Scott Trost (Ensign)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

A Matter Of Honor

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42506.5: Riker becomes the first Federation officer ever to serve on board a Klingon vessel which is slowly warping toward its destruction – and the negligence of a Benzite “exchange student” on the Enterprise is responsible for arousing the ruthless Klingon captain’s suspicions, provoking a savage attack on the Enterprise…

Order the DVDsteleplay by Burton Armus
story by Wanda M. Haight, Gregory Amos and Burton Armus
directed by Rob Bowman
music by Ron Jones

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), John Putch (Ensign Mendon), Christopher Collins (Captain Kargan), Brian Thompson (Lt. Klag), Colm Meaney (Chief O’Brien), Peter Parros (Tactics Officer), Laura Drake (Vemka)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Measure Of A Man

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42523.7: When Data refuses to participate in a Starfleet scientist’s android experiments where he will serve not only as a blueprint but as a guinea pig and spare part supply, he is put on trial and Picard wrangles with the premise that Data is not a free agent but the property of Starfleet – and Captain Louvois assigns Riker to prosecute.

Order the DVDswritten by Melinda M. Snodgrass
directed by Robert Scheerer
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), Amanda McBroom (Captain Phillipa Louvois), Clyde Kusatsu (Admiral Nakamura), Brian Brophy (Commander Bruce Maddox), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Colm Meaney (Chief O’Brien)

Notes: Bruce Maddox’s later attempts to recreate Data are a major plot point of the first season of Star Trek: Picard (2020), though the role of Maddox is recast.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Dauphin

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42568.8: Wesley is attracted to an alien princess whose is accompanied on the Enterprise by a severe governess as they journey to a world where they will become the new leaders of her civilization, and despite the warnings from the less-than-human governess, Wesley also finds out that the princess has some surprises in store for him as well.

Order the DVDswritten by Scott Rubenstein and Leonard Mlodinow
directed by Rob Bowman
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), Paddi Edwards (Anya), Jaime Hubbard (Salia), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Colm Meaney (Chief O’Brien), Peter Neptune (Aron), Madchen Amick (Teenage Girl), Cindy Sorenson (Furry Animal), Jennifer Barlow (Ensign Gibson)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Contagion

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42609.1: After witnessing the tragic destruction of the Galaxy class starship Yamato in the Neutral Zone, Picard follows Yamato Captain Donald Varley’s haunch that the planet Iconia contains the valuable remnants of a now extinct but technologically advanced civilization, leaving Riker on the malfunctioning Enterprise to deal with a Romulan warship.

Order the DVDswritten by Steve Gerber and Beth Woods
directed by Joseph L. Scanlan
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), Thalmus Rasulala (Captain Donald Varley), Carolyn Seymour (Subcommander Taris), Dana Sparks (Tactics Officer), Colm Meaney (Chief O’Brien), Folkert Schmidt (Doctor)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Royale

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42625.4: Riker, Worf and Data transport to the surface of what should be a poison-shrouded world after finding debris of a NASA space vessel, and discover a structure containing a reproduction of the literary Hotel and Casino Royale. Within the hotel lies the remains of the astronaut whose last possession was the cheap novel upon which the Royale was based. The Away Team’s only help is from the book itself as they read their lines – and between their lines.

Order the DVDswritten by Keith Mills (a.k.a. Tracy Torme)
directed by Cliff Bole
music by Ron Jones

Star Trek: TNGCast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), Sam Anderson (The Assistant Manager), Jill Jacobson (Vanessa), Leo Garcia (The Bellboy), Noble Willingham (Texas), Colm Meaney (Chief O’Brien), Gregory Beecroft (“Mickey D”)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Time Squared

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStardate 42679.2: Picard is left beside himself when the Enterprise encounters a future incarnation of himself in a battered Enterprise shuttlecraft, containing visual and captain’s logs describing the destruction of the ship and its crew, except for Picard, by an “energy vortex,” and according to the logs, the encounter is only six hours away.

Order the DVDsteleplay by Burton Armus
story by Kurt Michael Bensmiller
directed by Joseph L. Scanlan
music by Dennis McCarthy

Cast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), Colm Meaney (Chief O’Brien)

LogBook entry by Earl Green