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Star Trek The Next Generation - Season 7 (Slimline Edition) [1993]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

The seventh and final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation will always remain a curiosity in TV sci-fi history. Despite the end being definite, despite Deep Space Nine taking over, despite knowing there'd be a movie six months after the series' end, and despite Babylon 5 starting that year with its predetermined story arc, there is nothing here to suggest things were coming to a close. Wesley finally gets dispatched ("Journey's End"), but everyone was waiting for that anyway. Some continuity was attempted: there's a sequel to season 1's "The Battle" ("Bloodlines"), Alexander follows the Klingon soap saga through ("Firstborn"), the Maquis and the Cardassians are mentioned several times, and there are final installments for Lwaxana Troi, Barclay, Lore, Guinan, and Ro Laren. None of this brings any form of resolution, however.

The one-off story lines seem to throw out ideas that beg for development. "Force of Nature" suggests frequent high-warp travel is damaging the very fabric of space/time. "Parallels" has Worf experiencing multiple realities, including one in which the Borg won at Wolf 359. "Lower Decks" finally introduces some secondary crew from the more than a thousand supposedly supporting Picard and company. There are even hints at some romance at long last between Dr. Crusher and Picard as well as Worf and Troi. In the long run, even after terrific guest spots from Trek alumni Armin Shimerman and Robin Curtis, and from Paul Sorvino and Kirsten Dunst, there's one thing for which the final year is remembered: "All Good Things..." is a near-perfect denouement for the show. With terrific production values and FX, not to mention standout performances from all concerned, it was an amazing surprise to have Q suggest there'd been a story arc right from the get-go. If only this final script had been fully conceived earlier on, The Next Generation might not have been overshadowed by the glut of TV sci-fi that followed in its wake. --Paul Tonks


All good things...
Review date: 2008-04-28 Rating: 10 out of 10

Just to point out, this is a review of the whole series as bought in these slimline editions, and not just Season Seven.

Yes, I'm a Trekker and ain't ashamed to admit it. I can still remember the days when I used to record ST:TNG episodes every week on BBC2 onto VHS tapes (remember those?) and just I've been meaning to get the entire series on DVD for some time. I bought the series in these slimline editions because it turned out to be cheaper than getting the actual complete box set. The only regret I have is for the poor postman who dumped SEVEN packages through my letterbox, all on one delivery!

I still can't decide which season I liked most, though I think I prefer the earlier seasons when writing was fresh and new. One of my all time favourite episodes which isn't in Season 7 but an earlier season, was 'The Offspring'. As Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data) himself said, that was ST:TNG at its finest and sci-fi writing at is best. Indeed.

I adore ST:TNG, and everything about it. I wanted to be sure I got the best DVD deal and these slimline editions really are. So a bit of advice: avoid the established boxsets; they are awkward to display and aren't always up to it. Instead, get the entire series in these slimline editions. They fit on the shelf nicely, and are easily accessible. Each DVD contains 4 episodes (with additional 'end-of-season' cast interviews and other interesting stuff), and there are 1 or 2 DVDs per set; and 4 sets per season. My only gripe about them (or DVDs in general) is that I object to being lectured on copyright theft before every title begins. Especially as I've just forked out over £100 for the lot! Also, once each episode ends, it goes back to the title screen; there's no 'Play all' menu option to play them conseqetively. I got around that by programming my PS2 to play them all one after the other instead. It's a bit awkward, but it works. I'm sure other conventional DVD players have the same option.

If you are a genuine Trekker at heart, you can't go wrong with these slimline editions.

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Reviews


Star Trek The Next Generation
Review date: 2007-11-13 Rating: 10 out of 10

I don't think there will ever be as consistently well written a science fiction series as The Next Generation.

A superb achievement by the scriptwriters and acting talent.

The Final Season
Review date: 2007-08-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

Oh my god, it's finally over. After watching 1 episode a day, 2 episodes a day or even 3 a day over six months, you don't realise how it's going to affect you, when you realise that you'll never watch another episode of the Next generation ever again.

At the end of the seven seasons there is one final episode by itself on disc seven, and then there are commemorative special features. These are:

- A Captains Tribute
- Departmental Briefing: Production
- Starfleet Memories and Moments
- The making of “All Good Things” (final episode)
- Special Profiles
- Dressing the Future
- Star Trek DS9 DVD preview

One of the things to note about season seven (the final season) in particular (and I suspected) is that the series doesn't really come to a proper end. I'm not sure that they really had planned an ending for it, and it just ended where is was. There is a certain finality about the final episode, the purpose of which is for the enterprise crew to save humanity; but it isn't even a two-part episode, and maybe the major character had just all had enough.

Many of the episodes in this season revolve around crew members balancing out loyalty to Starfleet duty with family and other personal matters. Esxamples of these include Warf choosing not to turn up on the bridge and choosing to go on a spiritual quest to validate his faith, Dr Crusher going against a direct order and doing an autopsy to investigate a possible murder, and Geordie ignoring Captain's order, convinced that his missing mother is down on the planet's surface.

Generally the series is like any of the others, although I would say at this point that it does feel at times like it might be running out of steam. Having said this, I don't think that it's any less entertaining to watch than the other seasons. There are a few dubious episodes that I don't really like (and far too much confusing time travel!), but there are also very good ones that I wouldn't want to have missed. There is also another return of Tasha Yar, more involvement from Q, more Borg episodes, an unexpected romance for Troy (shall remain nameless), and Data also meets his Father and Mother.

awesome final series
Review date: 2007-05-03 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is a brilliant final season to a fantastic show. Definately worth buying if you need to complete the set or just want a stand alone box set. This was the first one I bought and it inspired me to get the rest.

Product Details/Specifications


Artist(s):
Star Trek the Next Generation

Recording label: Paramount Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Entertainment
EAN: 5014437903532
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 7
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2006-05-22
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 1082 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1993
Language: English (Original Language)

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