Writing in 2021, it is great to see that I am not the only person taking a retrospective look at Star Trek, the Next Generation. When this series was first released in 1987, a little less than twenty years after the end of the Original Series, many people thought that, without Captain Kirk and his crew, it couldn't really be Star Trek. However, original creator Gene Roddenberry, was fully invested in the casting, writing and overall look of the new series, so let's see how it shaped up:
This one gets off a little more lightly than its predecessor but the absurd depiction of the Ferengi, the Next Generation's "next generation" of adversaries really lets it down. They are depicted as being ridiculous, lecherous, and avaricious whilst simultaneously conveying the minimum amount of actual menace. Armin Shimerman makes his first of many appearances in Star Trek and we should be eternally grateful that this fine actor chose to put up with the bad script, the uncomfortable teeth and the latex ears and continued to entertain us in many better written episodes to come.
Fortunately, the lesser known Darryl Henriques who played Portal, also got some further outings as different characters in later Star Trek productions. He certainly deserved some recompense for having to wear what must be the worst ageing make up ever seen on screen.
The misty blue sets had a classic Star Trek look to them, though; complete with polystyrene rocks and the type of crystal structures that completely defied the laws of physics.
(Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5)