Blu-ray Review | Star Trek: The Next Generation - “The Best of Both Worlds” by Michael Piller

There’s not a more famous cliffhanger in Star Trek than that slow, swirling zoom up to Riker’s face as he spits out the command to fire on the Borg - and his former captain. Long before social media, before Trekkies had even claimed the Internet, Star Trek: The Next Generation’s (“TNG”) bold decision to leave viewers dangling on a hook over the summer of 1990 was mainstream news. Even today, almost thirty years on, “The Best of Both Worlds” remains much more than a mere fan favourite - it’s a famous piece of television history that set the stall for the longer-running, consequence-based story arcs that keep the flame of the franchise burning hotter than ever today.

“We have engaged the Borg.”

Given its reputation, it’s not at all surprising that CBS released “The Best of Both Worlds” as a stand-alone Blu-ray in addition to its episodes’ inclusion in their respective seasons’ box sets. An obvious temptation for the casual viewer who doesn’t intend to purchase complete seasons on Blu-ray, as well as a must for the completists who do, by all rights this release should have helped the studio to claw back a good chunk of what they laid out on TNG’s historic remastering project. The fact that it didn’t is more attributable to timing and presentation than it is the quality of the disc itself, which might well be the apotheosis of the range in terms of its content. But offering up that content in between two (at the time) very expensive box sets, and in nothing but a cheap Amaray case clad in flimsy cardboard, proved to be a significant mistake. Its poor sales killed the off-season Blu-rays in the UK altogether - I had to pay to import “Redemption”, “Unification”, “Chain of Command” and “All Good Things...” from the US, and even over there the series’ remaining two-parters never made it to press. It’s a crying shame, as no doubt a well-marketed, beautifully designed and better scheduled steelbook or filmbook would have fared significantly better - particularly if it had also included the original episodes alongside this disc’s feature-length cut and perhaps even its cathartic follow-up, “Family”.

What the disc does contain, though, is a spectacularly remastered ninety-minute movie painstakingly created from the original two-parter’s 35mm film elements. Buoyed by a new 7.1 surround sound mix, you could be forgiven for thinking that the thirty-year-old programme was made this year; only the tell-tale black bars pillarboxing the 4:3 frame betray the programme’s age. It’s an overpowering visual and aural feast that milks the BD-50 format for all that it’s worth.

Even on the umpteenth viewing, “The Best of Both Worlds” doesn’t disappoint. Watching it in stunning 1080p on this disc is like watching it again for the first time, particularly for me, as the last time I watched it was in 2003 when it was released on DVD. Watching this Blu-ray, I realised that my memory of the story has been subtly subverted over the years by that infamous, iconic image of Picard as Locutus of Borg that adorns this release’s slipcase. Despite his poster-boy (poster-Borg?) status, this isn’t actually a story about the captain at all - though it’s certainly about captaincy. Picard’s story is actually what follows - this two-parter may document one of his defining ordeals, but it’s only in episodes such as “Family” and “I, Borg”, as well as Star Trek: First Contact, that this is properly probed - Locutus of Borg is nothing but prologue to all that. No, this two-parter, as boldly declared by its title, is all about Commander William T Riker and his inability to reconcile his long-held ambition to captain a starship with his longing to remain on board the Enterprise-D.

“Mr Worf… Fire!”

This is in no way a bad thing, though, as the contradiction right at the heart of the Enterprise’s supposedly ambitious first officer needed to be addressed, and bringing in a driven young woman like Commander Shelby to force the issue was a real stroke of genius on writer Michael Piller’s part. With hindsight, it’s a pity they couldn’t have let the Riker / Shelby rivalry play out over a longer period, but “The Best of Both Worlds” was already pushing the envelope in terms of what a weekly syndicated show could get away with. Not putting all the toys back in the box at the end of “Sins of the Father” was contentious enough; Locutus of Borg and a summer of suspense had to be the show’s line in the sand.

Above: Where does saviour of the world Will Riker’s fourth pip go?

If “The Best of Both Worlds” does have a failing, it’s that it swerves its titular dilemma altogether. Whilst becoming captain of the Enterprise is the best of both worlds for Picard’s long-serving number one, albeit in the most twisted and nightmarish of ways, his tenure in the big chair is short-lived. In fact, by the start of the next episode he has been demoted back to the rank commander and resumed his former duties. No explanation is offered for Riker’s reduced rank, which is particularly bizarre both within the fiction and without. Narratively, this is the man who has just saved the Earth, if not the entire Federation, from a fate worse than death, while on a production level “Family” would be the first episode in the entire franchise to be charged with addressing the fallout from the preceding story. As such, eschewing Riker’s unfinished story in favour of less pressing (but wonderful and worthwhile) side-steps for Worf and Wesley Crusher seems downright mad.

“Death is irrelevant.”

Such qualms are paltry, though, when we consider everything that “The Best of Both Worlds” does so very well. Whilst they’ve looked far more fearsome since their silver-screen makeover in Star Trek: First Contact, the Borg have never been more terrifying than they are in this story. When writing the first episode, Piller - who at that point didn’t expect to be penning the second part - deliberately presented them as an unstoppable foe; a relentless force of nature capable of defeating the entire United Federation of Planets and its allies with just a single ship. Upon this, he then layered an unsettling new idea – that the Borg aren’t just interested in assimilating our culture, but our bodies too. Sci-fi meets horror in a sickening fusion of technology and flesh.

Piller’s first episode is a study in suspense, and even today holds up amongst the most tense of season finales. The script builds and builds and builds, underlined throughout by an unsettling and occasionally bombastic score from Ron Jones (DuckTales, Family Guy) that calls to mind John Williams’ renowned work on Star Wars - and not just in its louder moments. The disquieting melodies accompanying Admiral Hanson’s transmissions from Wolf 359, for instance, are seared into my mind as clearly as any piece of incidental music that I’ve ever heard. It helps, of course, that over the top of them Patrick Stewart is giving one of his finest and most understated performances as Picard quietly gives the necessary orders. His clipped, quiet commands tell the viewers everything that they need to know.

Indeed, what makes the episode so very effective is its cast’s delivery of the script, which is - quite deliberately - off-kilter. Riker’s mind is as much on his career as it is the Borg threat, while Picard is unusually quiet and brooding; he even calmly contemplates the fall of humanity with Whoopi Goldberg’s Guinan as he carries out his “traditional” pre-battle inspection of the ship. Even the bridge crew aren’t themselves, fighting fear and fatigue, as so wonderfully demonstrated by what may be either Wil Wheaton’s best or worst delivery of a line on the show, depending on whether you view it as wooden or so perfect a portrayal of fatigue that it just seems that way. Taken together, the performances all help to sell the stakes - this isn’t any old forty-five-minute runaround; this is the big one.

 “Almost human, with just a bit of a headache.” 

And despite all the odds against it, the fourth-season opener manages to maintain the tension and even escalate matters before resolving the plot in a manner that’s incredibly neat - and incredibly Star Trek. Piller manages to sell the sheer horror of the Wolf 359 massacre without showing a single shot being fired, while somehow conveying the utter loss of self that Picard suffers without having to rely on the sort of shock tactics that Star Trek: Voyager often would in its subsequent Borg stories. Yes, Picard’s line, “Almost human, with just a bit of a headache,” might have had more impact were he staring at the ruined stump of an arm instead of an oversized (and faintly ridiculous) mechanical glove, but I wouldn’t really be wanting to watch that with my kids.

Above: Regeneration: Engaging the Borg - the documentary that got away

The release also includes an exclusive in-depth retrospective documentary that picks up where the third season box set’s left off, no doubt to the chagrin of those who only purchased the complete seasons. It’s a fascinating piece that, if anything, feels short at half an hour, though inevitably it rehearses much of what is said in the entertaining commentary track featuring director Cliff Bole alongside the Okudas and Shelby actress Elizabeth Dennehy. The bonus material is then fleshed out with a generous - and surprisingly funny - selection of high-definition out-takes culled from the original film as well both episodes’ 1990 trailers, both of which manage to make their respective episodes look terrible - quite an achievement, really.

“The Best of Both Worlds”, whilst far from the archetypal Star Trek small-scale morality play, is nonetheless one of the most - if not the most - thrilling story in the franchise. It famously bridged two of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s most memorable seasons, and while this release omits its defining cliffhanger, it presents “The Best of Both Worlds” in what is surely now its definitive form. A must.

“The Best of Both Worlds” movie is available on Blu-ray, with today’s cheapest retailer being Zoom, who have it listed for £8.00 inclusive of delivery, though eBay sellers often have it listed for half that price.