Rating: 
Summary: Building on the First Season, but with an unfortunate end...
Review: The First Season of Star Trek: The Next Generation gave the show a firm foundation and a good block to build upon. We saw a new Doctor in Kate Pulaski and it picked up right where the First Season left off. Geordi LaForge has been promoted and is now serving as the Chief Engineer, Data's qualifications for being a lifeform are questioned, and argueably the best villain in Star Trek is introduced. Unfortunately, there are 22 episodes in this season instead of the normal 26 episodes due to a Writers' Guild strike, however, the season finishes strong and gives another block for the upcoming savior of Star Trek third season. Though short, Season Two is a great season in this show.Personal Favorite Episodes, Where Silence Has Lease, Elementary, Dear Data, The Outragous Okona, Loud as a Whisper, The Measure of a Man, Contagion, The Royale, Time Squared, Q Who?, The Emissary, Peak Performance
Rating:
Summary: Building on the First Season, but with an unfortunate end...
Review: The First Season of Star Trek: The Next Generation gave the show a firm foundation and a good block to build upon. We saw a new Doctor in Kate Pulaski and it picked up right where the First Season left off. Geordi LaForge has been promoted and is now serving as the Chief Engineer, Data's qualifications for being a lifeform are questioned, and argueably the best villain in Star Trek is introduced. Unfortunately, there are 22 episodes in this season instead of the normal 26 episodes due to a Writers' Guild strike, however, the season finishes strong and gives another block for the upcoming savior of Star Trek third season. Though short, Season Two is a great season in this show. Personal Favorite Episodes, Where Silence Has Lease, Elementary, Dear Data, The Outragous Okona, Loud as a Whisper, The Measure of a Man, Contagion, The Royale, Time Squared, Q Who?, The Emissary, Peak Performance
Rating:
Summary: Same Quality and Consistency as First Season
Review: The second season is essentially like the first, the set and DVD layout is essentially the same. The most notable different is the number of episodes: there are only 22, not 26 like the first season. Apparently there was a strike that year with one of the guild working on the series (I think the writers guild), and so only 22 episodes were produced. The extra features are nice, some people have complained that there are not enough of them for the price, but if you think about it, the cost of the box set is a lot less than purchasing each episode on tape. With the cost of each episode on tape running about [price], the DVD is a steal, even at the list price the episodes run about [price] each. Most of the episodes in this season are better than the first, but to rate them here would take too long. Letting one or two episodes I disliked bring down the rating of the box set doesn't seem right to me anyway. People who like Star Trek: The next Generation and have purchased the first season will probably purchase this as well regardless of whether they loved or hated each spisode.
Rating: 
Summary: Second Season, it's getting better
Review: The Second Season of Next Gen. is by no means flawless. A writters strike that year did not help matters either. there are however some excellent episodes in this season, particularly Measure of a Man which alone makes this collection worthwhile. This season also has the other doctor while Crusher was away. They were going for a Bones and Spock relationship with her and Data. At times it works and it makes this an intresting, different season from the rest. The charecters begin to gel this season better as well. Picard starts to become the Picard we love, not that akward brit faking a bad french accent. Still, if you are just a causual fan save your money for season three on first before you invest in this. [It's] a lot to spend for a season with ups and downs. It is however much better than the first.
Rating:
Summary: Too Short A Season
Review: The second season of STAR TREK-TNG is marked by change. It also has 4 fewer episodes than the usual 26. The shorter season happened because of a Hollywood writer's contract dispute over the hiatis. In my opinion, the strike caused the writing staff to lose momentum. The end result is a lopsided effort. The producers decided to replace Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) with Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur). This also marks the beginning of Guinan's (Whoppi Goldberg) appearences on the ship. Goldberg is a boon for the show. Unlike most folks, I thought Muldaur did ok as the doctor and made the best of her one season stint. She is a fine actress but didn't have the same connection to Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) as Crusher does and I think that is why people didn't go for her. Despite my criticism of a majority of season 2 episodes, there are a handful of standouts. They are: Where Silence Has Lease
Loud As A Whisper
A Matter Of Honor
The Measure Of A Man
Q Who
Pen Pals
Times Squared
The Emissary The rest of the shows are ok but that's it. Like the DVD box set for season one, there is about an hour's worth of featurettes that provide insight into the season, culled from previously seen and new interviews from cast and crew. This may not be TNG's finest season but I still recommend the set for fans and completists. Besides, with the season 3 DVD set right around the corner, the "Best" is yet to come. Recommended
Rating:
Summary: A good season of the Star Trek that could have been better
Review: The second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation was immediately troubled with the writers' strike in Hollywood, thus many of the episodes fall short of being the usual inspiring episodes fans have come to expect. What is most interesting and significant about this season is the introduction/departure of certain characters and the development of already familiar faces. At the forefront, Gates McFadden was not invited to return for the second year (she'll be back) and thus Dr. Beverly Crusher was replaced with Dr. Katherine Pulaski played by the witty Diana Muldaur. Curiously, Muldaur chose to be listed not as a regular star but as a special guest star. Whoopi Goldberg joins the cast as the bartender Guinan in the newly shown Ten-Forward lounge of the Enterprise. As for character development, the whole crew rallies behind Data in the episode "Measure of a Man", we finally get a permanent chief engineer with LaForge, and they have decided that Wesley is not a member of the senior staff and does not have the right to be in on all the staff meetings (as he did throughout the first season). Some excellent stand out episodes are: Contagion, Q Who, Pen Pals, Peak Performance, Time Squared, The Emissary, and The Measure of a Man. Some episodes that are still too painful to watch: The Outrageous Okona (the biggest stinker ST:TNG episode of all time!), The Royale (apparently they had a great idea but the budget was cut at the last minute), Shades of Gray, and Loud as a Whisper. Although I am a die-hard fan of the Dr. Crusher character, I am saddened that the Dr. Pulaski character was never seen or heard from again. We have no idea what ever happened to her. After three (soon to be four) movies, three spinoff series, and lots of crossover episodes, there has never been a single mention of her. So, if you like Pulaski, buy this DVD set, since it is likely to be the only time you will ever see or hear of the character. And if Ms. Muldaur ever happens to read this: "Diana, despite all the criticisms of the Pulaski character, you did a great job. Thanks for the year you gave us!"
Rating: 
Summary: Could do better
Review: The technical aspects of the DVD are superb but this series contains some real clunkers e.g. Shades of Gray and the Royale. I watched series 1 several times and each time managed to find new nuances and things to keep my attention but some episodes in the second series just fail to rivit ones attention having weak plots designed for... TV. I wish the BBC had given a fraction of the budget to the early Dr Who stories that would have been a show. On the positive the debut of the Borg and the scene setting for the future make this an essential purchase if only to give the grand children an insight into late 20th Centuries view of the future.
Rating:
Summary: The series most schizophrenic season.
Review: There were moments during the second season when Star Trek: The Next Generation was as good as it ever got, and a few moments when it was worse than it ever was before or after. Three standout episodes elevate this season, any one of them on par with the best episode of the next two years. The first was "Matter of Honor." Cmdr. Riker is assigned to serve as an exchange officer on a Klingon ship. The dynamics of Riker with the ship's crew elevate this episode well above the rest. Only a cheesy Wesley-centric subplot spoils the fun. The second is "Measure of a Man," the one episode where the series hit one out of the park in the first two years. Cmdr. Data's legal status is in question: Sentient being or toaster, to be disassembled at Starfleet's whim. Hits some pretty heavy subjects without preaching or taking the easy way out. This also introduced the poker game that ran through the rest of the series. The third standout is "Q Who." The pesky god-like entity Q re-appears, asking to join the Enterprise crew. They need him, he claims. Rejected, he attempts to prove his worth by flinging the 1701-D into a far corner of the galaxy and an encounter with the Borg, a nasty and implacable enemy. Exciting and dark, this was great Star Trek of any generation. Unfortunately, this was the swan song for Q as a sinister presence. After this episode, he's not much more than a mildly annoying comic foil for Picard. The low points for season two are "The Child" and "Shades of Gray". The season opener "The Child" was a desperate attempt to cope with a writers' strike by dusting off a script from the aborted mid-seventies revival of Star Trek with the original cast. The shotgun marriage of generations is dull, plodding and ridiculous. "Shade of Gray" finished out the second season in even weaker fashion. Little more than a clip show hung around a weak premise about Riker nearly getting killed by an alien plant and needing his memories "stimulated" to save his life, this was another casuality of the 1988 WGA strike. There were a few more episodes that make the second season worthwhile. "Elementary, Dear Data" is probably the best of the "Holodeck malfunction" episodes that would later become one Star Trek's most annoying cliches. "Up The Long Ladder" is a mostly light comic episode that also deals intelligently with the serious issues of abortion and cloning. "The Emissary" introduced fan-favorite Keylahr (sp), Work's ex-girlfriend. A good episode by itself, it would be followed up two years later by one of the fourth season's best. Unfortunately, it also led to the introduction of Alexander, Worf's son and one of the least necessary characters in Star Trek history. The extras are well done, mostly new interviews with Rick Berman and old interviews with some of the cast and crew, including the late Gene Roddenberry. One thing that kind of hit me was the fact that the new Berman interview was tape less than a week before 9/11. How I envy that man on my TV right now because he's still living in the world that existed before that day. The only quibble I have is the price. This set is one less disk than the others in the series but it's the same price. Far be it for Paramount to be fair with its DVD pricing.
Rating:
Summary: ST TNG 2
Review: This release of Star Trek The Next Generation on DVD contains all of the episodes of its second season. During the second season we see Dr. Crusher replaced with Dr. Pulaski and we are introduced to the Borg<...All 22 episodes are contained on 6 disks. The Child - Dr. Pulaski pronounces Troi pregnant at the hands of a traveling alien. The child is born in two days and matures at a quick rate. Where Silence Has Lease - An advanced alien traps the USS Enterprise in a mysterious black void, as part of some research. The aliens only have to sentence half the crew to die in its research. Elementary, Dead Data - Data, Geordi, and Dr. Pulaski play out a Sherlock Holmes mystery in the holodeck. Geordi ask the computer to create an adversary capable of defeating Data, Professor Moriarty that takes over the ship. The Outrageous Okona - The USS Enterprise grants asylum to Okona, a roguish captain pursued by the planets Atlek and Streleb. Loud as a Whisper - The Enterprise seeks Riva, the deaf Great Mediator, to settle a dispute on Soleis Five. When Riva's Chorus of telepathic translators are killed, Troi assists Riva. The Schizoid Man - Dr. Ira Graves transfers his consciousness into Data, and separating the two disparate personalities rests with Picard's ability to persuade Graves of his mistake. Unnatural Selection - The crew of the USS Lantree die of old age. The Enterprise traces it to the Darwin Genetic Research Station, where Dr. Pulaski gets infected. A Matter of Honor - A Starfleet exchange program brings a Benzite ensign on board the Enterprise and sends Riker to the Klingon vessel Pagh. The Klingon's captain attacks the Enterprise, suspecting Picard of sabotage. The Measure of a Man - Captain Picard defends Data's rights and the prosecuting attorney is Commander Riker. The Dauphin - The future ruler of Daled Four, falls for Wesley Crusher. Contagion - A mysterious computer virus destroys the USS Yamato, and threatens the Enterprise. The Royale - After finding wreckage from a NASA vessel around Theta Eight, Riker, Data, and Worf become trapped in the Hotel Royale, a reconstruction of an Earth novel. Time Squared - The USS Enterprise stumbles upon one of its own shuttles carrying a duplicate of Captain Picard from six hours in the future. It is six hours in the future that the ship is destroyed. The Icarus Factor - Riker has been promoted to command the USS Ares, but first he must deal with the problems between himself and his father. Pen Pals - Data breaks the Prime Directive while communicating with a young girl on a distant planet, which is about to be destroyed by seismic disruptions. Q Who - Q takes the Enterprise to another part of the galaxy to encounter the Borg. Samaritan Snare - A Pakled vessel kidnaps Geordi and Picard's goes in for heart surgery. Up the Long Ladder - While Picard is rescuing one colony in the Ficus Sector from solar flares, he learns of a second colony comprised of a dying race of clones. Manhunt - Picard hides in the holodeck in the Dixon Hill scenario because Troi's mother shows up while undergoing "the Phase." The Emissary - A group of suspended Klingons are revived and set on attacking the Federation. A special emissary K'Ehleyr is called in to mediate a special problem she was a former love of Worf's. Peak Performance - The Enterprise is pitted against the USS Hathaway in war-games. Shades of Gray - Riker's body is invaded by a mysterious parasite and Dr. Pulaski's only recourse seems to be the stimulation of his mind with memories.
Rating:
Summary: Keeps getting better...
Review: This season is better than the first, but TNG shines over all other Star Trek sagas. Character development is better, so are storylines (especially the more sciency ones) and even effects. Bring it On! And now on to Season 3...
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