Pretty good collection marred, somewhat, by a less-than-stellar documentary It would be hard-pressed for anyone to pick just six episodes from a series that ran seven years and 176 installments, especially if those six episodes were centered around the lead character. Thus, "Star Trek: The Jean-Luc Picard Collection" has a tough job on its hands and whatever episodes the producers decided upon would be met with praise by those that agreed with the selection or condemnation by those that felt their favorite(s) had been omitted.
Whichever side one finds himself on is - in the words of the Borg - "futile." The selection here is well-balanced, featuring exemplary acting by all concerned and the chance to know the mind and the personality of one Jean-Luc Picard, well-played by Patrick Stewart.
Fan favorites "The Inner Light," "Sarek," and "Darmok" are included, along with the superbly acted/told "Family" and "The Drumhead."
Only does "Tapestry" fall a little short, as a stand alone installment or even one featuring recurring character "Q" (John de Lancie).
The extra, a rather lackluster documentary ("From Here to Infinity: The Ultimate Voyage")with Stewart as host could have been jettisoned in favor of another episode centered around the captain of the Enterprise NCC 1701-D.
Great Star Trek Video!!! I bought this dvd mostly for The Inner Light,but all of the episodes are great. This is a Great Deal for any Star Trek Fan!
Good collection This collection of episodes from Star Trek: TNG that focus on the 2nd best Captain in Starfleet history ( Kirk casts a long shadow not even Picard can escape) is nice a nice collection that showcases the best of Jean Luc Picard. Every Trek fan should have it in thier collection.
Arguable choices. Still a very good collection. Clearly a Picard-focused retrospective should include some Borg action. Given that a special collection of Borg episodes was envisioned, I understand the decision to stick with no Borg content on this DVD. Even so, a switch of some content for the masterful "Best of Both Worlds" would have made this a five-star collection for me. At least Q made an appearance.
Not all of the episodes resonate with me. It's a diverse set, from straight bottle shows ("Drumhead") to alien worlds ("Darmok") to the holodeck ("Big Goodbye") and even Earth ("Family").
"The Inner Light" easily stands above the rest as one of the finest shows of any Star Trek series.
As a Q fan, I enjoyed "Tapestry", with Q as guardian angel Clarence to Picard's George Bailey. Not exactly, of course, since it was the alternate path not taken vs. never been born.
Jimmy Stewart appeared again in "Drumhead", where Picard sounded like "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" with his passionate remarks and standing up for rights. This show is decent, if a bit heavy-handed.
Count me in the minority for not praising "Darmok" as highly as others. This one could have been expanded into a fine two-part episode that developed the interesting core idea more. As it was, the story seemed rushed and a bit derivative, even though the two never came to blows "Arena"-style.
"The Big Goodbye" was TNG's "Piece of the Action". What a difference between Kirk and Picard in those two shows! I also liked the inkling of a potential relationship between Picard and Beverly here, from early in the series. Very stylish costumes, too.
"Sarek" nicely brings Spock's father around for another turn, with a good take on what might happen to an aging Vulcan's mind, particularly when it involves the loss of control.
"Family" doesn't stand that well out of context and was rather predictable. I may have trimmed the Worf thread and spent more minutes on Picard and his brother.
I would gladly have traded the bonus documentary, which has nothing really to do with Picard or TNG other than Stewart narrates, for another episode.
Kudos to Paramount for making a solid collection at an affordable price.
Excellent Episode Choices but Where is BoBW? I think Jean Luc Picard is one of the best characters ever developed for television. I, personally, feel he's the best of all Trek Captains (Kirk fans, please set phasers to stun, I like him too, but Picard to me is the better of the two). This set picks some excellent episodes that highlight the outstanding acting of Mister Patrick Stewart. However - where is the excellent "Best of Both Worlds (parts 1 and 2)". A Picards set without them, that doesn't seem right.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
