Fans of Gene Roddenberry's STAR TREK were hard to convince
of liking another series to come out with the same name. Their fears were
squelched when THE NEXT GENERATION was under way. The series took a year to get
into the groove but once it did fans were hard pressed to decide which was
their favorite captain, Kirk or Picard?
By the time season four arrived fans were onboard the new
voyages of the Starship Enterprise big time. At the end of that season came a
cliff hanger not to be finished until season five. Those two episodes have come
together on blu-ray now in a feature format that shows why the series was so
popular.
As the movie opens things are in turmoil on Klingon. The
Enterprise is there to witness the placement of Gowron as the new head of the
High Council with Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) to fulfill his duties as the
Arbiter of Succession. Before the ceremony begins Picard suggest to Lt. Warf
that he approach Gowron and request that he clear Warf's family name, something
he let become tarnished in an effort to contain peace on Klingon in an earlier
episode. Gowron refuses as he currently is trying to set himself up for his new
position while the threat of civil war is posed. Challenging him for his
position is the illegitimate son of Duros, the traitorous previous ruler.
With both sides drawing upon various loyalties in the hopes
of taking the High Council, Ward resigns his position in Star Fleet to remain
with his brother as they side with Gowron. What is unknown to both Gowron and
the members of the Enterprise is that the Duros family has received help from
the Romulans, enemies of both the Klingon Empire and Star Fleet. With their help they could overthrow the rule
of Gowron and join forces with the Romulans making space particularly
uninviting for anyone else.
What worked so well in this series was the complexity of the
stories. This series, and this episode, don't content themselves to be nothing
more than a shoot 'em up show. Instead we have tremendous political
backstabbing going on as well as an attempted coupe of an entire race of
warriors. The depth of the characters makes the story that much more
interesting as we see the story play out. Toss in a surprise guest appearance
of an old face from years ago and you have something even more special (can you
say Tasha Yar?).
Fans of the series will enjoy having this story that was a
two parter joined together in this format. It gives you the chance to enjoy it
in blu-ray long before season five comes out. Not only has this been released
in blu-ray but the clean up and fine tuning of the special effects make it a
sight to behold now. If you are a fan of the Trek series, old or new, then
you'll want to make sure you add this one to your collection.
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