New uniforms, new credit sequence and Doctor Crusher returned to us but was Season 3 of The Next Generation really as good as we remember? Some of that enthusiasm may have have been generated by relief that the series had not been cancelled but the 1990's also heralded an era of considerably more stability behind the scenes. Senior Trekker will continue to score every episode with a 5.
I vividly remember the impact that this episode had on fans who had no widespread access to the internet and a very real fear that TNG could still be cancelled without allowing them any resolution of Captain Picard's fate. The wait was made even more difficult by the magnitude of the threat and the high quality of this cliff-hanger, something not usually done in television series of the time.
It was an outstanding piece of Science Fiction story telling, helped rather than hindered by some rather unprofessional bitching aboard the Enterprise. The character of Shelby, so memorably played by Elizabeth Dennehy, was remarkable in her assertiveness and occasional insubordination and, even at the time, Riker appeared pretty stolid in comparison. Audiences were divided on her merits but she had a remarkable amount of support, with numerous book and comic tie-in mentions. In fact I think that in another part of the Star Trek universe she even got her own ship.
Thirty years later, in a world where most organisations have outwardly accepted women in command positions, a certain class of misogynist troll would probably have fixated on her in the way that they do on real life women in leadership roles.
By the way, on re-viewing, we can hear Captain Picard refer to his old friend Admiral Hanson as "JP", a clear forerunner to the use of "JL" for Picard in the 2020 series of the same name.
I vividly remember the impact that this episode had on fans who had no widespread access to the internet and a very real fear that TNG could still be cancelled without allowing them any resolution of Captain Picard's fate. The wait was made even more difficult by the magnitude of the threat and the high quality of this cliff-hanger, something not usually done in television series of the time.
It was an outstanding piece of Science Fiction story telling, helped rather than hindered by some rather unprofessional bitching aboard the Enterprise. The character of Shelby, so memorably played by Elizabeth Dennehy, was remarkable in her assertiveness and occasional insubordination and, even at the time, Riker appeared pretty stolid in comparison. Audiences were divided on her merits but she had a remarkable amount of support, with numerous book and comic tie-in mentions. In fact I think that in another part of the Star Trek universe she even got her own ship.
Thirty years later, in a world where most organisations have outwardly accepted women in command positions, a certain class of misogynist troll would probably have fixated on her in the way that they do on real life women in leadership roles.
By the way, on re-viewing, we can hear Captain Picard refer to his old friend Admiral Hanson as "JP", a clear forerunner to the use of "JL" for Picard in the 2020 series of the same name.