Star Trek: TNG – Season Six

Plot: What’s it about?

As we approach the end, yes Season Six of this new crew was nearing it’s completion, the stakes are yet again higher and the crew was beginning to show their lack of enthusiasm for the series. Now I don’t mean that in a bad way, but you can tell, no matter how good the actor is, if the person is truly "into" it or not. From my point of view, they seemed to be going through the motions as the show was on autopilot (no pun intended) and their future lie in motion pictures (not as individuals, except Patrick Stewart) with their fellow cohorts. This season brought us some of the most diverse episodes to date. Far be it from me to judge the episodes, not as a die hard "Trekkie", but just from the standpoint of originality. This season saw the return of our mischievous "friend" by the name of "Q", in not one, but two episodes. This also featured another of my favorite episodes as the two-parter "Chain of Command" pitted Picard, Worf and Crusher in a super-secret mission and had Riker get in a fight (though not physically) with the new captain (Ronny Cox). It’s always nice to see Riker cock his head and try to remain calm. Something about it…

While technically the effects were better than the previous season’s, the storyline didn’t really seem to go anywhere. There were more episodes that took place "on land" thereby not making much progress with the Enterprises’ mission "To boldly go forth and seek out new life and new civilizations…" that doesn’t happen in an episode like "A Fistful of Datas" takes place, when the holodeck runs amok. Still, we do learn a bit more about some of the key characters, such as in "Deja Q" when we see Picard witness what he was like as a young cadet and how Q’s actions led him to make the decisions he would now, as an adult, and how it affected the future. Riker was falling apart at the seams in "Frame of Mind" as he couldn’t separate fiction from reality in this episode. Yes, the season was a very diverse one, and one that was more popular with fans, as it gave them more of what they wanted. Still, I preferred the third, fourth and fifth seasons, but if you have them all so far, why stop now? Engage.

The following episodes appeared in the sixth season:

Disc 1:

Video: How does it look?

I won’t re-invent the wheel here, as the episodes of this season are nearly identical to those of the previous years. They are presented in a full-frame presentation. While this is the sixth season, the stakes were a bit higher. I have to say that these look just as good as when I first saw them. Though I do have to admit that some episodes look terrible, with artifacting, though it’s mostly limited to indoor shots. The color palette used is very muted, showing that ‘futuristic’ time frame, but the DVD’s bring out everything and make it look better, but they can also make it look worse. Still, I haven’t had the opportunity to review many TV shows on DVD and this is better than I’ve seen them look during their original broadcast. Not much to complain about here, though errors do exist, it’s the best they’ve looked and most likely will.

Audio: How does it sound?

Again, these are re-mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Obviously the twenty year time difference between the two makes most of the difference, but the increased budget does as well. Dialog is very clear, though I felt that some times there was a bit of a "hiss" to it. The surround effects could have been used a bit more, I feel. During the pilot episode, the opening credits had the starship whizzing by and thereby activating the surround channels, but during the rest of the episodes I didn’t notice the same effect. Could have just been me, but I feel that the sound could have used a bit of tweaking. Still, it’s the best these have ever sounded, so you’ll have to trust me when I say you won’t be let down.

Supplements: What are the extras?

Once again, we are greeted with the standard array of supplements. The Mission Overview comments on the performance of Patrick Stewart’s performance in ‘Chain of Command’ (though I feel he did much better in many episodes), the appearance of Stephen Hawking in ‘Decent: Part I’ and we even are greeted by "Scotty" (James Doohan) in the episode ‘Relics’. Additionally, we see the witness of the spin-off, Deep Space Nine (the beginning of the end for ST: TNG)? There is a cast profile on Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) and as with most of the other seasons, this is very thoughtful and insightful. Next up we find "Bold New Directions" and it’s more than just a pun as it focuses on two actors who also turned to directing their episodes. LeVar Burton (LaForge) and Patrick Stewart (Picard) each had their turn to help an episode "Second Chances" and "A Fistful of Datas" respectively. This gives us a nice wrap up of both. The Departmental Briefing discusses the more techincal aspects of the show, such as writing and the redesign of the bridge for the episode ‘Relics’. Lastly, Dan Curry (the Visual Effects Producer) is profiled as we get a tour through his home, which contains some rather interesting props from the show. This is rounded out with the Chapter Logs. It’s hard to believe that the run of Star Trek: The Next Generation is almost over (even on DVD), but as the final episode’s title states ‘All Good Things…’