Rating: 
Summary: I can't rate just one!
Review: I love the ST:TNG cast, but when it originally aired I never did get to see all of the episodes. I can't rate just one season, because all the years it spent on the air I have enjoyed. I purchased this collection for two reasons: (a) I can watch ALL the episodes in chronological order [as they aired], and (b) so that I can watch it again and again. The bonus features that are included with the boxed sets adds to the interest I have in the show. Some people may not enjoy behind the scenes featurettes because it could detract the excitement of the story, but it's the opposite for me -- it adds to the enjoyment.Because the collection is distributed on DVD it will display great picture quality as I'm sure the producers intended to be. It also won't wear down as quickly as tapes do, which is a good thing for those who like to watch and watch and watch until it's engrained into the subconscious. I think it's worth the money spent.
Rating: 
Summary: A great show in dvd quality.
Review: I've been a TNG fan since the beginning, but was hesitant to purchase these dvd's due to the high cost, and the fact that I've seen them all a million times in syndication. Then one afternoon I said screw it, since I'll end up getting them anyway some day.
This fifth season set is what I chose to start with, and I definitely don't regret it. Seeing these episodes again, in dvd format, was like seeing them for the first time. The picture quality is excellent, as well as the sound. It also seems that the special fx take on a new life. Very impressive.
Fifth season was probably one of the best. The season started wonderfully with the Klingon/Romulan plot of "Redemption" pt 2, and continued w/ a Klingon/Romulan theme for "Unification"(not to leave out a visit from Spock himself). We were introduced to "Ensign Ro", and the beginnings of what would be the DS9 universe. Lwaxana Troi and Alexander returned, Ashley Judd payed a visit, Denise Crosby showed up twice, Kelsey Grammer made a cameo, not to mention Stephen Hawking himself.
The Borg returned in "I, Borg", and "Time's Arrow" gave us "Data's head" (the second time Data's head was seperated this season). More highlights include the "Groundhog Day"-like "Cause and Effect", a visit to Starfleet Academy in "The First Duty", the "crew has amnesia" ep "Conundrum", and the cloaked/phased Geordi/Ro ep "The Next Phase".
I'm glad I started my collection with this season, an overall good one. Just wish the price was a little more reasonable considering DS9 is coming this year, and Voyager later on. That's a lot of seasons of Trek, at a high price. There goes all my extra cash for the next ten years!
Rating:
Summary: On a roll with some shocking twists
Review: It Start out on the second half of another cliffhanger, the actress who played Tasha Yar now plays Tasha's daughter who is half Romulan and is the results of actions taken when time distortions creates an alternate time line.Wesley's Replacement comes aboard but no one is thrilled when they found out who it is.A two part episode with Spock who is still alive in the 24th century. The season ends with yet another clifhanger involving a mystery centered around Data.
Rating:
Summary: Fifth season: second best!
Review: It's hard to beat the third season of ST:TNG for its combination of the first two years' original-Trek-esque weirdness and more subtle modern sensibilities, but if any season of the show even comes close to edging out year 3 as my favorite, this is it. Season 5 was the year of brainy gems like Darmok and The First Duty, heart-on-the-sleeve classics like The Inner Light and The Perfect Mate, and good kooky fun with The Game, Conundrum, and A Matter of Time. There are a few dead-on-arrival entries too (including the series' all-time worst, Imaginary Friend), but it's hard to find a year of the series that doesn't have at least a couple of those. There are more bonuses than usual, the best of which is a touching tribute to Gene Roddenberry (who died during the production of the fifth season). It's also nice to see the visual FX guys get their own featurette - as nice as CGI is, it's good to remember that sometimes modelwork can get it done better, and perhaps even cheaper (the eight-story power generator that was only as tall as a fluorescent light tube). My only gripe is that I wish they'd space these out a little more for seasons 6 and 7 - some of us can scarcely afford to pop a hundred on one of these puppies every month. Then again, in the Star Trek spinoff library (and not counting Enterprise), Paramount has the equivalent of 21 years of television to roll out in DVD form, so I suppose they're making sure it doesn't take 21 years to make it to market. It's a no-win scenario. But, that said, this set is a winner.
Rating: 
Summary: next generation fifth season--used copy
Review: My husband bought a "used" boxed set of the fifth season of Next Generation through Amazon. This should be a great season to own, but the quality of the "used" set that we received is less than good. The very first episode is squashed, visually, and each disc is cut short, so that the fourth episode on every disc is incomplete. We will not be buying any more "used" DVDs through Amazon.
Rating:
Summary: Probably My Favorite Season
Review: One of the things I really like about this box set is how sturdy they are. They've survived two moves, one of several hundred miles, and with reasonable care and packing they come out just fine. It is nice to see that they not only look nice, but are sturdy as well. Like season four, this season also has the split scene for the clips, with two playing in each window. It cuts down on waiting to see the clip of all four episodes, but it is a little difficult to follow if you're not sure you've seen all four of the episodes. The clips are played against part of the grid layout of the holodeck, which is a nice touch, but still a little tough to follow.
Rating:
Summary: Sterile...until they made the motion pictures...
Review: Out of all the Star Trek series, I found this series the most sterile. It seemed that no one felt comfortable enough to let their hair down, or show their 'true' feelings. It makes for a lackluster story. A good story revolves around 'real' people, not people afraid of being who they really are. It reminds me of 'suits' or 'counselors' trying to always 'outdo one another' in intelligence and wisdom, forgetting what life is 'really' about: people! And people with all their gifts and faults are very interesting!
I enjoyed all the other Star Trek series very much--even the first, in spite of the sexism and archaic special effects. 'Star Trek: Enterprise' rocks. It lays the foundation (albeit after the fact) for all the others, and the storylines are well thought out, not more of the same.
Thankfully, when 'The Next Generation' motion pictures came out, the writers gave the characters real personalities. What a difference in the story. Makes you wanna care.
For a wonderful gamut of personalities, unique storylines and just plain fun, try 'Joss Whedon's Firefly' sci-fi series on DVD. Talk about down-to-earth folk with problems like real people...you won't be disappointed if you aren't into 'political correctness' and characters that are mostly 'down-home.'
Rating:
Summary: Some great eps, but inconsistant
Review: Previous reviewers have hit the high points of Season 5, which include Inner Light (best ep of the year and one of the best in the entire series), Time's Arrow, Damrok, and Ensign Ro. There are also a run of pretty good episodes, including Ethics, Disaster, The Perfect Mate, and A Matter of Time. Even when you take another step down to the average stuff, such as Unification, Cause and Effect, Silicon Avatar, Violations, The Next Phase, and so on, it's reasonably engaging SciFi fare that while I can joke about the writing, I still enjoy. However, there are also a slightly uncomfortable number of episodes here that range from boring and/or obvious (Hero Worship, Connundrum, Cost of Living, Power Play) down to the truly awful (The Game, The Outcast). What's with the kids? So many episodes in this season have small children as central or major characters, it gets a little tiresome at some point. I thought Star Trek: TNG had gotten past that phase with the departure of Wesley. And what's with alien possession thing? A lot of those eps also, given it's not exactly a great plot device. At least the holodeck seems to be out of commission for a while. It's interesting to see the texture - much like Seasons 3 and 4, Season 5 starts out with a so-so cliffhanger resolution, but then picks up with a number of very strong episodes - only to fade hard and fast in the middle, but redeem itself with generally strong final episodes. So as with some previous seasons, I have to sigh, and say yes, as a Star Trek fan, I'm glad I have this season, which has some very nice highlights and eps that are fun to watch. But, as I work my way through the new DVD releases, I am always shocked at just how uneven the writing is; especially in light of the new standards that have been set by Babylon 5 and especially the X-Files (compare Cause and Effect, an episode I thought was good at the time, to the X-Files Season 6 episode "Monday" - same premise, almost exactly the same general idea, but see how much more skillfully it's executed by that show). A somewhat unfortunate feature of Season 5 is the preponderance of "soft" episodes, episodes that focus on characters and ideas more than plot. Sometimes (The Inner Light, The Perfect Mate, The Masterpiece Society), their efforts are very impressive; then they turn around and churn out Ethics, The Game, The Outcast, or The First Duty, which feel more like being beaten with a club. Then there are episodes like Power Play, in which things happen for the sole reason that they have to happen to set up later things. Entire scenes are frequently wasted with worthless technobabble, a tradition unique to Star Trek that continues to this day, and that they could afford to lose. Opportunities for real character exploration are routinely missed. Episodes with dual plot lines rarely support each other. So as I say, I'm a bit conflicted. A few really good eps; it's impossible to say too many good things about Inner Light or Darmok. Many solid ones, a few terrible ones; inconsistent writing even in episodes that generally succeeed; not a terrifically consistant season. I'm still happy with my purchase, but realistically these DVDs remain too expensive in my opinion, and I wish they had been a bit cheaper or better.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Season
Review: Redemption, Part II -- Believing the Romulans are behind a Klingon civil war, Picard involves Starfleet in the conflict. (Return of Denise Crosby as Sela formerly Tasha Yar) Darmok -- Picard is forced into a dangerous encounter with the captain of an alien starship. (Stars Paul Winfield from Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan, The Terminator, and Cliffhanger. Also stars Ashley Judd from Heat, and High Crimes) Ensign Ro -- The Enterprise crew becomes an unwitting pawn in a deadly conspiracy masterminded by a Starfleet admiral. Silicon Avatar -- The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise risks all in an attempt to communicate with a destructive force known as the Crystalline Entity before a visiting scientist can destroy it. Disaster -- Troi holds the lives of the crew in her hands when she is forced to act as captain after the Enterprise is seriously damaged by a rare, natural phenomenon. The Game -- The fate of the Federation is in Wesley Crusher's hands when he returns to the Enterprise to find the rest of the crew addicted to a dangerous new game. (Stars Ashley Judd from Heat, and High Crimes) Unification, Part I -- Picard and Data travel to Romulus to investigate an unauthorized mission undertaken by the Federation's legendary Mr. Spock. (Stars Mark Lenard from Star Trek movies, and Planet of the Apes. Also stars Leonard Nimoy from Star Trek movies, voice in Transformers: The Movie and Atlantis: The Lost Empire) Unification, Part II -- Picard learns Spock's mission to Romulus involves a plan to reunify its people with the Vulcans. (Stars Denise Crosby as Sela formerly Tasha Yar. Also stars Leonard Nimoy from Star Trek movies, voice in Transformers: The Movie and Atlantis: The Lost Empire) A Matter of Time -- The U.S.S. Enterprise plays host to a mysterious visitor who claims to be from the future. (Stars Matt Frewer from Max Headroom, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and TV's The Stand) New Ground -- While the U.S.S. Enterprise heads for Bilana III to participate in the testing of a new propulsion method called the Soliton Wave, Worf receives an unexpected visit from his mother Helena and his son Alexander. Hero Worship -- A troubled young boy starts to emulate Data. Violations -- Troi, Riker and Dr. Crusher fall into unexplained comas while the Enterprise plays host to an alien race. The Masterpiece Society -- Picard's efforts to save a genetically engineered society from a natural disaster threaten to destroy it. Conundrum -- While suffering an unexplained case of amnesia, the crew finds themselves fighting a war they do not remember or understand. Power Play -- Picard is shocked when Troi, Data and Chief O'Brien engineer an unexplained overthrow of the Bridge. Ethics -- The crew is torn when an injured Worf, paralyzed after an accident, opts to follow Klingon custom and commit suicide. The Outcast -- Riker's romance with a member of an androgynous race causes conflict and complications for all concerned. Cause and Effect -- Trapped in a time warp that forces the crew to endlessly repeat the same experiences, the U.S.S. Enterprise is doomed to destruction. (Stars Kelsey Grammer of TV's Fraiser) The First Duty -- Wesley Crusher, involved in a cover-up of a devastating accident at Starfleet Academy, learns a painful lesson in honesty. (Stars Ray Walston from The Sting, Popeye, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Of Mice and Men, TV's The Stand, Addams Family Reunion, and My Favorite Martian. Also stars Robert Duncan McNeill from the Star Trek: Voyager TV) Cost of Living -- Troi's freewheeling mother Lwaxana upsets Deanna and Worf when she introduces Worf's son to her rather hedonistic lifestyle. The Perfect Mate -- Picard falls in love with a beautiful woman who is to be given as a peace offering to end a centuries-long war. (Stars Famke Janssen from Goldeneye, Rounders, House on Haunted Hill and X-men) Imaginary Friend -- A little girl's imaginary friend becomes a frightening reality for the crew when she threatens to destroy the U.S.S. Enterprise. I, Borg -- Picard and the crew suffer from conflicting emotions when the U.S.S. Enterprise rescues a critically injured Borg. The Next Phase -- Geordi and Ro are pronounced dead after a transporting maneuver from a distressed Romulan ship goes awry. The Inner Light -- After a mysterious accident, Picard wakes up living the life of another person on a faraway planet. (Star Richard Riehle from Glory, Mercury Rising, Desperate Measures, Office Space, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, and Bandits. Also stars Daniel Stewart, Patrick Stewart's son.) Time's Arrow, Part I -- After Data learns of his own death in late 19th-century San Francisco, a freak accident transports him back to that period.
Rating:
Summary: Star Trek The Next Generation - The Complete Fifth Season
Review: Season 5 is by far, the best of STTNG. "The Inner Light" allows viewers a rare chance to see Capt. Picard as a family man and has a touching and memorable conclusion. "Darmok" explores the importance of communication and the lengths to which an alien Captain will go to to establish communication. Also a touching, memorable episode. Tha cast have all clearly established their characters and their performances are unbeatable. A real "Must Have" for any Next Generation fan.
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