How does it prove itself a spiritual successor to Star Trek while adjusting to the fact that times have changed? The show has tried to introduce a stand-in for McCoy with Pulaski, it has tried to channel that “free love” spirit of the sixties with limited success.

Which brings us back to one of the primary difficulties that The Next Generation has had in trying to define its own identity. With Q Who?, everything is put into perspective. For the first season-and-a-half of the show, it seemed like the Enterprise was always dealing with the familiar, always in control of the situation. Three of the four episodes leading into Q Who? ended with the crew accepting that there were some things they’d never fully understand or comprehend, and – while it’s unlikely this was intentional – it seems like a nice bit of thematic foreshadowing rather than haphazard plotting. More interestingly, it’s something unknown in a universe that has become far too familiar. For a crew that never seemed to sweat before, who never seemed like they were under pressure, this is a shocking development. They don’t even win the day – they suffer “a bloody nose” before limping away from their strange new opponents to lick their wounds. It serves as a fitting reminder that Picard and his crew are still amateurs when it comes to space exploration. Q Who? throws down the gauntlet for Star Trek: The Next Generation. This January and February, we’ll be finishing up our look at the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation and moving on to the third year of the show, both recently and lovingly remastered for high definition.

Borg queen quotes brave words