The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation is a collection of 4 episodes from the TV series. Just as the title suggests, this series did a whole lot to get a new generation of people interested not only in Star Trek, but in science fiction as a whole. The special effects still stand up pretty well, considering their age and the restrictions of a TV budget. Like a lot of science fiction, there's a guilty pleasure in suspending disbelief and going along with the ride (there's science in there somewhere, right?) Often episodes seem to be designed entirely around "fan service." These 4 episodes, of course, don't fall into these traps too much, and are just examples of great sci-fi.

To use 2 out of these 4 episodes on a two-part Borg series may seem like a bit of a waste, but they are truly good episodes. There's something for the fans of the Enterprise's technology (the ship gets pushed to its limits in order accomplish its goal), and there's something for fans of just about every character (just about everyone on the bridge has some important task in the series). And although the Borg tend to look a little outdated with their bulky costumes, the story and the action is riveting enough to keep you distracted.

The last two episodes are "Yesterday's Enterprise" and "The Measure of a Man." With the first, you've got your classic time travel and try to correct the past episode. It seems if Roddenberry liked some common themes, this was one. Still, this doesn't feel like a repeat. Just like the Borg episodes, everyone gets a good role here. Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), the ship's bartender and Captain Picard's (Patrick Stewart) good friend, gets a good role in all of these episodes, but one of her most important is this one. Although nothing is truly illuminated, a mysterious power of her species is hinted at. The second is one of my favorite episodes, even though it has probably the least action in it of any episode. In it, the android officer Data (Brent Spiner) is the focus of an argument about his rights as a sentient being. Is Data property because he is a machine, or is he sentient, and therefore a being with rights? The episode brings up the basic points of the argument and really leaves that decision up to the audience, but it still does the job of getting the mind wondering.

Really, these episodes are just teasers for fans of the series. For newcomers, they really are some of the best. The fault of this DVD, like the other "Best of" Star Trek DVDs, is its lack of content and its brevity. There are no special features except a few previews to make you want to buy the full series. Still, if all you need are a few good episodes of The Next Generation, then this will do the job. Heck, you could even watch just to get a good few hours of great Patrick Stewart performance, but that would be up to you.