Star Trek: The Next Generation Wasn’t Serialized But Tell That To These Season 4 Episodes

Star Trek: The Next Generation resisted serialization throughout its seven seasons, but these season 4 episodes directly continued previous storylines. Like Star Trek: The Original Series, TNG began by telling standalone stories that wrapped up over the course of one episode. While this style of storytelling continued throughout most of TNG's run, some episodes became an exception to this rule, following up on stories that had begun in previous episodes. Even with these elements of serialization, most episodes of TNG returned things to the status quo by the story's end.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise-D were mostly the same people by the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation as they were at the beginning. Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) had the closest thing to a story arc in his quest to find his humanity, but it remained unresolved by the series' end (the movies' emotion chip storyline notwithstanding). Still, TNG sometimes gave its characters more room to grow, as seen in the season 4 episodes "Family" and "Data's Day."

Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “Family" Is A Sequel To “The Best Of Both Worlds”

Picard Faces His Borg Trauma In TNG Season 4, Episode 2, "Family"

Star Trek: The Next Generation ended season 3 with a bang, establishing a pattern of season-ending cliffhangers that would continue throughout Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I" saw Captain Picard assimilated by the Borg and transformed into Locutus. Locutus then became the Borg's mouthpiece at the Battle of Wolf 359, as Picard was forced to witness the destruction of 39 Starfleet vessels by the Borg's hand. Picard looks haunted at the end of "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II," but TNG gave him another episode to process his trauma.

In "Family," Jean-Luc visits his brother, Robert (Jeremy Kemp). He is so traumatized by his experience as Locutus that he is considering leaving the Enterprise for a position on Earth. After a brawl in the mud, Jean-Luc finally opens up to his brother about his experience. Robert lets his brother vent before pointing out that Jean-Luc will have to learn to live with it, whether he's on the Enterprise or not. It was refreshing to see "Family" address Picard's obvious trauma rather than moving on to the next adventure of the week as if nothing had changed.

Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “Data’s Day” Is A Sequel To “The Measure Of A Man”

Data Builds A Friendship With Dr. Bruce Maddox In TNG Season 4, Episode 11, "Data's Day"

Another one of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4's best episodes, "Data's Day," acts as a sequel to season 2's "The Measure of a Man." In "The Measure of a Man," Dr. Bruce Maddox (Brian Brophy) visits the Enterprise and declares his intention to dismantle Data for further study. Captain Picard fights for Data, ultimately winning the ensuing trial, which establishes that Data has the right to make his own choices. Although Maddox begins the episode treating Data like an object, he comes to see the android in a different light by the episode's end.

"Data's Day" reveals that Data has begun a correspondence with Maddox, as the cyberneticist seeks to learn more about Data and his programming. As Data recounts the events of his day, he discusses the things he perceives about the humans around him, admitting he still has much to learn. Although "Data's Day" does not directly address the events of "The Measure of a Man," Data ends his letter by reiterating his desire to "discover [his] own humanity." Episodes like "Family" and "Data's Day" prove that Star Trek: The Next Generation often excelled at more serialized storytelling when given the chance.