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11[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tng_tcevhs_ws_5.png]]
12[[caption-width-right:350:The crew of the USS ''Enterprise'', NCC-1701-D.[[note]]Left to right: [[NumberTwo William T.]] [[BoldExplorer Riker]], [[TheCaptain Jean-Luc]] [[AFatherToHisMen Picard]], [[DeterminedDoctor Beverly]] [[ActionMom Crusher]], [[ActionGirl Tasha]] [[BridgeBunny Yar]], [[TheEngineer Geordi]] [[BlackAndNerdy La Forge]], [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot Data]], [[TheEmpath Deanna]] [[TheShrink Troi]], [[TeenGenius Wesley]] [[SpaceCadet Crusher]], [[TheBigGuy Worf]].[[/note]]]]
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14->''"Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship ''Enterprise''. Its continuing mission -- to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before!"''
15-->-- '''[[TheCaptain Captain Jean-Luc Picard]]''', [[OpeningNarration the series' legendary opening credits]]
16
17''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' is a science fiction show created by Creator/GeneRoddenberry as part of the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise. The show ran from 1987 to 1994 in FirstRunSyndication, and proved to be one of the most successful shows ever to be offered through that distribution method. Set in the 24th century, about ninety years after the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries original series]], the program features a new crew, new perspectives on established cultures (a Klingon Empire as a semi-friendly ally against a Romulan Empire emerging from decades of isolation), new antagonists and a new ''[[CoolStarship Enterprise]]'' (''Galaxy''-class starship, registration NCC-1701-[[LegacyCharacter D]]).
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19After struggling for a few seasons trying to establish itself apart from the original series, it exploded into one of the most well-respected television shows ever made, partially because of a change in direction (its creator had health problems starting around season two of the show's run leading to co-producer Rick Berman taking over most of the show's daily production and his promotion to the executive producer during season three) and an increased willingness to experiment with the format and scope of the show, and science fiction as a whole. At 176 episodes in length, it was the longest-running ''Star Trek'' series at the time,[[note]]It was equaled by two of the three series to follow it, but has not been surpassed.[[/note]] and won many awards for everything from visual effects to writing. Like its predecessor, the series has proved wildly popular in [[ReRun Syndication]], despite having broadcast its final episode in ''1994''. To date, in the U.S. alone, it has been broadcast on no fewer than five different cable/satellite networks: G4, Creator/SpikeTV, Creator/SyFy, Creator/WGNAmerica, and [[Creator/TheBBC BBC America]]. Two of these networks, [=SyFy=] and BBC America, still regularly air episodes of the program, sometimes against each other in primetime. It also remained for a long time a near-pillar of {{Creator/Netflix}}, and was also available on several other streaming services, prior to CBS consolidating streaming of ''Star Trek'' programming to its Creator/ParamountPlus service in 2022.
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21Although much of the show shared the premise of ''The Original Series'', the series benefitting from a massively increased budget the original could only dream of and there were also well-paced {{Story Arc}}s reflecting more modern tv programming: the omnipotent [[TheTrickster trickster]] character of Q would show up to put HumanityOnTrial (becoming a BookEnd storyline [[PatrickStewartSpeech epitomizing the series]]) or to amuse himself at the expense of others; redefining the Klingons as being {{Proud Warrior Race Guy}}s instead of the original "black hats"; various encounters with the hive-mind, cybernetic Borg (creating what is regarded as the pinnacle episode for the series and even the ''franchise'', "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWorlds The Best of Both Worlds]]"); several episodes with [[CreatorsPet Wesley]] that [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap developed his character]]; and [[BreakoutCharacter defining moments]] for several of the main cast and [[AscendedExtra the odd minor character]], in addition to plenty of development for [[FriendOrFoe the Romulans, the Vulcans, the Cardassians and the Ferengi]].
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23The series went into production following the success of ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'' and would later form the basis of the seventh through tenth ''Star Trek'' films: ''[[Film/StarTrekGenerations Generations]]'' (1994), ''[[Film/StarTrekFirstContact First Contact]]'' (1996), ''[[Film/StarTrekInsurrection Insurrection]]'' (1998), and ''[[Film/StarTrekNemesis Nemesis]]'' (2002). The success of the series led to an expansion of the franchise and is single-handedly responsible for the creation of ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'', ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' and ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]''. TNG, [=DS9=] and Voyager are often called the "Next Generation Era" in discussions regarding the franchise as a whole, and was the show that enjoyed the most mainstream success. ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'' (2020) is set just after Nemesis and makes many references to people and places from the Next Gen era shows.
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25After a wildly agreed shakey start to the series, the show [[GrowingTheBeard managed to rebound]] after the first two seasons and all but the very worst episodes are compelling and thought-provoking viewing. Even boilerplate stories such as "[[FeeFiFauxPas clueless foreigner offends alien culture]]" or "Aliens took my {{Bridge Bunn|ies}}y" are handled in a similar manner to TOS, with Picard and company carefully explicating and deliberating over each problem. With the Federation existing in a relative state of calm and "[[CowboyCop cowboy diplomacy]]" no longer a viable option, the challenge is remaining true to Starfleet ideals without resorting to [[BigDamnHeroes quick and dirty]] solutions... and also trying to realize ''when'' it's time to get "dirty".
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27Although firmly a genre show that aired during an era when the SciFiGhetto was in full effect, ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' was one of the most acclaimed television shows of its day. The episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E11TheBigGoodbye The Big Goodbye]]" won the show a Peabody Award in 1987, the only one ever received by a ''Star Trek'' show or episode. In 1994, for its final season, ''TNG'' was nominated for the MediaNotes/EmmyAward for Outstanding Drama Series, making it the only syndicated program ever to be nominated for that prize (It lost to ''Series/PicketFences'').
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29CBS commissioned [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Okuda Mike Okuda]] (who designed several visual elements of the show including the main bridge design and the LCARS system used by the Federation) to oversee [[{{Remaster}} high quality Blu-ray transfers of the entire series]] from the original film stock to replace the poor quality DVD versions of the series. More information can be found [[http://tng.trekcore.com/bluray/ at the Trek Core website]], among other places. The general consensus is that the 1080p, 7.1 surround sound mixes breathe new life into the show, with the special effects work by Creator/IndustrialLightAndMagic looking especially stunning. The remastering of TNG has proven to be far less controversial with purists than the extensive (many argued overdone) HD revisions done to the original series.
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31See also the ''Literature/StarTrekTheNextGenerationRelaunch'', a series of novels that follow the characters after the events of ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'', as well as setting the direction for the Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse in terms of the original continuity (as opposed to the [[Film/StarTrek2009 latest series]] [[Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness of]] [[Film/StarTrekBeyond films]], which take place in an AlternateTimeline).
32
33''Series/StarTrekPicard'', which premiered in January 2020 on Creator/ParamountPlus, is a DistantSequel to ''The Next Generation'', with Creator/PatrickStewart reprising his role of Picard, and other ''TNG'' and ''Voyager'' characters appearing in supporting roles.
34----
35!!This show provides examples of the following tropes:
36[[index]]
37* StarTrekTheNextGeneration/TropesAToI
38* StarTrekTheNextGeneration/TropesJToS
39* StarTrekTheNextGeneration/TropesTToZ
40[[/index]]
41
42----
43-->''Engage!''

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