‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’
Often more contemplative, and definitely more ambitious than its predecessor, Star Trek: The Next Generation looped in a phenomenal cast led by Patrick Stewart’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard to bring the Star Trek franchise into the modern era. Or the future. Or whatever. Anyway, where the original series was often focused on fisticuffs, Picard’s crew talked and philosophized, while also creating iconic new villains like The Borg. Not every episode is great — but the ones that were, including the superb series finale, are classics of the genre, hewing back to the philosophy than Gene Roddenberry infused every frame of Star Trek with: the search for what makes us human.