Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17663 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-11-18
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Number of discs: 7
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English, French
• Number of discs: 7

Amazon.co.uk Review
After the confidence of the previous two years, the fifth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation too often disappointed by not seeing a good idea through to the end. Denise Crosby was swept back under the carpet in the Klingon soap opener ("Redemption Part II"). No one could make the prospect of Deep Space 9 attractive enough to Michelle Forbes, so her fantastic performance as "Ensign Ro" seems wasted in retrospect. And no one could re-schedule for Robin Williams to guest star, so we had Matt Frewer instead ("A Matter of Time"). Of all stories to use Leonard Nimoy in, "Unification" wallowed in Romulan politics instead of anything emotionally engaging. Gene Roddenberry wanted to introduce a gay character, but mere months after his death all we got was the trite "The Outcast".

This was inarguably where the rot set in, without The Great Bird overseeing what was going on. Worst of all, his hard-as-nails bad guys The Borg were given a touchy-feely side ("I, Borg"). But scattered in-between were some of the very best of all 178 shows. "Darmok" had the feel of a Classic Trek episode, dealing with language as metaphor. "The First Duty" challenged Wesley Crusher's loyalties. Best of all was the painfully melancholy "The Inner Light", in which Picard experiences an alternate lifetime. There were great guest stars: Paul Winfield, Ashley Judd, Kelsey Grammar, Famke Janssen, and Jerry Hardin. As always there were contributions from Q, Lwaxana and Barclay too. Fans and critics now appreciate that behind-the-scenes focus had shifted from The Next Generation to the next spin-off, and it would never fully return. --Paul Tonks

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
Featuring every episode from Season 5 including: 'Redemption Part 2', 'Darmok', 'Ensign Ro', 'Silicon Avatar', 'Disaster', 'The Game', 'Unification Part 1', 'Unification Part 2', 'A Matter Of Time', 'New Ground', 'Hero Worship', 'Violations', 'The Masterpiece Society', 'Conundrum', 'Power Play', 'Ethics', 'The Outcast', 'Cause And Effect', 'The First Duty', 'Cost Of Living', 'The Perfect Mate', 'Imaginary Friend', 'I Borg', 'The Next Phase', 'The Inner Light' and 'Time's Arrow Part 1'.

Customer Reviews

My favourite season...
The fifth season of The Next Generation remains one of my personal favourite, and it all kicks off with "Redemption, Part II" in which the crew race to stop the cunning Romulans from orchestrating a civil war within the Klingon Empire. While it lacks the pace and tension of previous two-parter "The Best Of Both Worlds", it's certainly entertaining and introduces the evil Romulan Commander Sela (played by Denise Crosby, who must obviously have regretted her decision to leave the show as Lt Tasha Yar)

When Yar was killed off, the show was left without a tough female character, so this season brings on the excellent Michelle Forbes as Ensign Ro Laren, a Bajoran officer with a troubled past and whose own personal history helps lay the foundations for the next saga, Deep Space Nine.

Ro's arrival comes in aptly titled "Ensign Ro", which remains one of the best episodes of the season. Other highlights include "Cause And Effect" in which the Enterprise becomes caught in a timeloop, destined to be destroyed over and over again, "The Inner Light", "The Game", "The Next Phase", "Disaster", "Darmok" and a guest appearance from Famke Jansenn (in what must be one of her earliest roles) in "The Perfect Mate".

However, the best episode(s) is the two part "Unification" in which Trek veteran Leonard Nimoy reprises his role as Spock from the original show. Suspecting that Spock has defected to the Romulans, Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Data (Brent Spiner) are sent undercover to unearth the truth, and results in one of the show's most classic of episodes.

All in all, season five is defiantly a season worth owning.

Winning Emmys from the start
Season Five kicks off with more of Klingons fighting each other, which makes for a rousing start in 'Redemption' part 2. Second episode 'Darmock' was already up for an Emmy, which it won, for tackling barriers in communication. Picard struggles to talk to the Tamarian captain, played by Paul Winfield of Star Trek 2 fame, in a recreation of historical events from the Tamarian past. It's the aliens who are intelligent, really, in thinking that this will bridge communications with the Federation, and they were right.
Season Five also sees the return of Spock, now Vulcan Ambassador, trying to reunify the Romulans and the Vulcans. This two-part episode, 'Unification' marks the death of Spock's father, Sarek; and was made to commemorate the death of Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek.
Watch out for many dark episodes in Season Five: Power Play, Cause And Effect, Conundrum, Silicon Avatar, The First Duty; all full of death and destruction.
The penultimate episode 'The Inner Light' should have won an Emmy aswell, for it's portrayal of an entire civilisation destroyed by their star going nova. Picard learns all about these people by living a whole lifetime amoung them. Actor Patrick Stewart had a make-up call of 1am to turn him into an old grandfather for this episode. The earliest make-up call for any production in Hollywood, ever!
Finally in 'Time's Arrow', it's not everyday that you find Data's head a mile underneath San Francisco, aged 500 years. But where do the crew go when they disappear through the alien's porthole at the end of the episode? Back to 19th century San Francisco? You'll have to buy Season Six to find out!

Star Trek The Next Generation - SEASON 5
The fifth season was again, a smash hit, there are memerable episodes such as the season opener Redemption, part 2 and Darmok, where captain picard is stranded on a planet with an alien who he can not understand, then there is 2-part episode Unification where spock and Sela return, there are also episodes like Disaster and The Inner Light, again, a great season, which every fan should be proud of, the dvd features for this season are also of a high standered.