It was in its season 2 premiere that Star Trek: The Next Generation established the familiar status quo for the show moving forward.
Summary
- TNG season 2 establishes the main characters’ roles and sets up the new status quo for the rest of the series.
- “The Child” episode borrows ideas from old Star Trek scripts, including a story about an alien pregnancy.
- While the main storyline of the premiere may not be the best, it foreshadows the tone and direction of the show moving forward.
Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2 is when the show began to find its footing, as the characters and their positions aboard the USS Enterprise-D are solidified. TNG season 1 is considered the show’s worst, but it had its moments and did a solid job of introducing audiences to Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D. Going into season 2, TNG’s writers remained in flux and the 1988 WGA Strike certainly didn’t help matters. Still, TNG season 2, episode 1, “The Child,” goes a long way to set up the future of the show.
Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s season 2 premiere, “The Child,” may not be the best episode of Star Trek or the best season premiere, but it does at least one thing right. While the actors and characters of TNG had still been finding themselves in season 1, everyone feels more established and confident with the beginning of TNG season 2. The main story of “The Child” focuses on Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) and an unexplained pregnancy, with a subplot about dangerous plague strains the Enterprise must transport. Although neither of these plots are particularly memorable, they serve as a fine way to update the audience on everything that has changed between TNG seasons 1 and 2.
Star Trek: The Next Generation Cast & Character Guide
Star Trek: The Next Generation has one of the most beloved cast of characters in all of science fiction. Here are the major characters of the classic.
Star Trek: TNG Season 2’s Premiere Sets Up The Show’s Status Quo
The Enterprise crew takes up the roles they would hold for the rest of the series.
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “The Child” puts almost all of the characters in the positions they will retain for the rest of the series and establishes the new status quo. Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) officially takes his place as Chief of Security, after the TNG season 1 death of Lt. Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby). Worf will remain in this position, wearing the gold uniform with a metal baldric, until TNG ends and Worf transfers to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine following the Klingon’s promotion to Lt. Commander in Star Trek Generations. Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) has been promoted to Chief Engineer, giving the character more to do after TNG season 1 often didn’t know what to do with him.
First Officer Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) now has a beard, which he will keep for the rest of the series. Although Miles O’Brien (Colm Meany) is not yet named, he appears in what will become his usual position, as the transporter chief. TNG’s season 2 premiere also introduces Ten Forward, the lounge space on the Enterprise-D, as well as Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) as Ten Forward’s bartender. Guinan offers advice to the young Ensign Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), who decides to remain on the Enterprise even though his mother, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), left to head up Starfleet Medical.
The only significant change from TNG season 1 that won’t stick is the character of Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur), who will depart after season 2. Dr. Crusher returns as Chief Medical Officer for TNG season 3 and remains for the rest of the series.
Troi’s TNG Season 2 Premiere Story Was Recycled From Star Trek: Phase II
When the WGA Strike of 1988 came to an end, the team behind Star Trek: The Next Generation wanted to begin filming season 2 quickly. To do this, they looked to old Star Trek scripts that had never been produced. In the late 1970s, there had been plans for the story of Star Trek: The Original Series to continue in Star Trek: Phase II, but this series was canceled before it began. Several of the ideas from Phase II were incorporated into Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and later into TNG. When TNG’s writers were looking for ideas, they turned to the unproduced scripts from Phase II.
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry had also pitched a story for TOS that featured one of the female crew members being impregnated by an alien, but it was never made.
The character of Counselor Deanna Troi had been partially inspired by one of the proposed characters for Phase II named Ilia, who later appeared in Star Trek: The Motion Picture played by Persis Khambatta. One of the scripts for Phase II featured a story in which Ilia was impregnated by an alien life form, and this story eventually became “The Child.” Although the main storyline in “The Child” revolves around Troi, she has very little agency, mostly just reacting as things happen to her. With a lot of time devoted to an unconnected subplot, “The Child” also fails to address the full implications of Deanna’s pregnancy and her lack of consent. While the main story of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s season 2 premiere may not be the show’s best, the episode sets the tone for the rest of the show moving forward.
