This series started the next step in Star Trek, and probably the most prominent. The Next Generation(TNG) takes place in the 24th century, while TOS tooked place in the 23rd. The show introduced a ton of stuff into the Star Trek universe, that came into affect big time in DS9 and Voyager(not as much here).
The series also introduced many races including the Borg, Q, The Ferengi, The Cardassions, and many many minor races and foes. This series is what kept Star Trek alive. The first episode, "Encounter at Farpoint" was a great first episode that introced all the basic elements of the series without any trouble. I really enjoyed the first episode. Right from the start the plunged in a character that would plague all future Star Trek series with annoyance and omnipotance. This was an entity name, Q. As I will explain about him thoughly in my Characters section, I will just say, that he added something special to this series. Something very special, that made it fun to watch along with exciting.The second episode he appeared in also made a huge impact on the Star Trek universe. He introduced the Borg into Star Trek. The series also sparked a whole new line of ships. TNG spitted out the classes Galaxy(the USS Enterprise), The Nebula, etc. It also kept some ships from the Original Series such as the Excelsior, the Oberth, and the Miranda classes. The main characters in the series were Captain Jean Luc Picard, Cmdr. William T. Riker, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Lt.Cmd. Data, Tactical officer/security chief Tasha Yar later replaced by Lt. Worf. Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge, and Counsler Deanna Troi. This is my favorite series for many reasons. One being it is the best all around series. Second being it introduced many many things. Third being it was fun to watch. While the other series are good, this one is the kind of Trek feel I like the best. The characters who played the parts were just great. I think Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner had the hardest jobs. Stewart put a lot of emotion into the show. Spiner was just great. I don't think anyone could have played Data as well as him. When TNG hit the theaters with Generations, a lot of viewers were happy with it, but just wanted more. First Contact delivered that very nicely. Insurrection (the latest installment) was mediocre (great music though). Also, I loved the music in TNG.
