All Good Things
There have been many spinoffs of popular television series', but by far the best spinoff series was Star Trek, The Next Generation. The original Star Trek was so far ahead of its time that it took over two decades for The Next Generation to come to fruition. TNG ran for seven seasons, and culminated in a season and series finale that surpasses the series finale of any television series of any genre.
The final season of Star Trek, The Next Generation had some of the series finest episodes. Character development had come such a long way over the years that by season seven, regular viewers had adopted the characters as members of the family. The down side, if there is one, is that by knowing the characters so well, the writers cannot take a character too far afield without risking criticism. The various techniques the writers employed to expand the characters parameters, yet still keep them believable (for example, shifting through time to explore a character's wisdom and maturity as he or she aged) kept them true to the characters, but added dimensions to the character's personality which would not have worked in the original time line. While not exactly an innovation of the TNG writers, the technique was widely copied afterwards.
Through the final season, the writing remained first rate, the directing was superb and the acting drew outstanding performances by the regular ensemble cast and the recurring characters. The final episode, "All Good Things", particularly as viewed on CD, uninterrupted by commercials and in a single viewing (unlike the two-part original broadcast), provided adventure, drama and a possible glimpse into what would happen to the characters after we, the viewers, were no longer there. It also managed to take us back and reminisce as we compare and contrast our recollections of season-one events in a somewhat different time line. It was impressive when first broadcast and now owning it on CD puts it at your disposal whenever a trekker finds himself or herself in need of a fix.
The set included 7 CD's of the seventh and season in a boxed set which is attractive and convenient. It is the crowning jewel to the other 6 boxed sets that correspond to each of the other 6 seasons. The set pre-dates blue ray, but the picture quality and fidelity are excellent and that is true whether the CD is viewed on a portable DVD player or a home theater system. The additional material, other than the individual episodes adds to the the viewer's knowledge of the characters and the actors, as well as providing insights into special effects and the myriad of production techniques used to give the series credibility.
As a trekker, you will probably want to own all seven seasons, but as a casual viewer, this boxed set is the one to get if you are only getting one. Load the CD changer, beam aboard the Enterprise and trek through the stars with Captain Picard and the crew. It's a couch potatoes dream.Read full review
