Brent Spiner

Tinkers around with an intriguing premise but with little creative facility for dialogue or structure...[splits] the difference between fans and neophytes, impressing neither.

The shakedown cruise of Star Trek: The Next Generation—may have been a bumpy one, but it got the newest incarnation of the U.S.S. Enterprise into action while winning over the 'Trekker' fanbase at large.

Trek became famous in large part for its (often corny) science-fiction morality plays...Few episodes of either series achieve this goal more elegantly than Melinda Snodgrass' 'The Measure of a Man.'

As good as, if not better than, any of the feature films that would later star the Next Generation cast.

Not only did the third season mark a quantum leap in non-niche popularity for the series, but a greater consistency in the show's writing and execution that meant a precipitous drop in fan complaints.

Perhaps the most commonly applied adjective when it comes to the Klingon homeworld episodes of Star Trek...is 'Shakespearean'...[given] a certain unity of voice, as well as compelling throne-room drama and civil-war intrigue.

Under the leadership of head writer Michael Piller...the series broke the mold with the outstanding character piece 'Family.' That episode title would also serve as a pithy summation of the fourth season's primary theme.

If not everything works in Enterprise's Season Four, it's certainly the most consistently entertaining and well-written season of the show, a bitter irony for a show that was doomed to cancellation.

Considerably ahead of the curve in taking on the character and meaning and consequences of torture as a fruitless and brutal human rights abuse...shows The Next Generation operating at the top of its game.

By its sixth season, Star Trek: The Next Generation had figured out how to maximize its cast and characters.