The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation [DVD]

The second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation brings changes in both cast and appearance. Denise Crosby's Tasha Yar had been killed in the first season episode Skin of Evil, giving Worf (Michael Dorn) a promotion to the new head of security. Meanwhile, Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) has departed for Starfleet Medical, bringing the prickly Dr. Katherine Pulaski (L.A. Law's Diana Muldaur) to the Enterprise. Whoopi Goldberg also begins frequent guest appearances as Guinan, the warm and mysterious host at Ten-Forward. Eagle-eyed viewers will also notice new uniforms for the Enterprise crew, plus Jonathan Frakes's Commander Riker sporting a welcome beard that will stay for the rest of the series. The show's sophomore year introduces Data's interest in Sherlock Holmes (Elementary, Dear Data), as well as Worf's former love K'Ehleyr (The Emmisary). But the 1988-89 season is most notable for the addition of the Borg, a chilling race whose sole aim is to acquire new technology through takeover. Introduced in Q Who?, these half-mechanical, half-organic beings go on to drive the series' best episodes as well as it strongest big-screen offering, Star Trek: First Contact. Time travel (Time Squared) and holodeck adventures (Manhunt) abound, but this season also addresses serious issues, particularly in The Measure of a Man. This Data-centric episode finds the android (Brent Spiner) in danger of being disassembled by a Starfleet scientist, with Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) as his champion while Riker was forced to be the prosecutor. The second season also boasts guest appearances from Seymour Cassel, Teri Hatcher, Joe Piscopo, and Bill Campbell, who was the runner-up for the role of Riker. ~ Kimber Myers