[Jason Vines]

I rewatched "Best of Both Worlds" recently. And honestly, it wasn't as good as its reputation.

Throughout the first part, the pacing is so slow during the beginning. We see the scooped up city's crater, and then we have 10-15 minutes of talking endlessly about the Borg threat. We also have a poker game*, as if there's nothing better we could be seeing the Enterprise crew doing while the Borg are invading.

Finally, we see the Borg cube. A tense scene ensues. Next... the Enterprise spends 5-10 minutes poking around inside a nebula. Exciting stuff, this is. Not.

To be fair to BOBW I, the first time I watched it, the episode thrilled me. The tension built until, "Oh my God, there's the Borg cube!" Also, the last half-hour was enjoyable and remains so today. ("Mr. Worf, fire!", and then "To be continued...," still elicits awe and terror.) On subsequent viewings, though, BOBW I collapses. Most of it, until the Borg kidnap Captain Picard, is just dull. If you can't watch something more than once without wanting to fall asleep, it probably wasn't good from the start.

This brings us to BOBW II. Ugh. Star Trek's tradition of bad second parts began here. The episode begins anticlimactically with the uber-ray from Part One not even singing the paint job of the Borg cube. The Enterprise then spends what seems like 20 minutes chasing the Borg, during which time the show tells us about the Battle of Wolf 359 without actually letting us see it. (Rick Berman and Michael Piller, the credo is show, not tell.) When the Enterprise catches up to the Borg cube, a small battle ensues, and Data and Worf rescue Borgified Picard, facing light resistance. This allows Riker to grin about his own cleverness. A short time later, the Enteprise and the Borg duke it out over Earth, putting the Enterprise in perceptible danger the first time throughout the episode. Not to worry, though: Data can use Picard to put the Borg to sleep.** Viewers, too.

When considering BOBW I and II as a whole, I just don't understand how anyone--including me, a few years ago--could have placed that story atop best episode lists.

Don't think I need a phaser blast every minute to find an episode entertaining. I would have welcomed a serious examination of the effects of technology-run-amok on Borg society. But we never got that. What we received instead was an action-adventure romp that was exciting and daring for five minutes at the end of BOBW I, and that's it. In that regard, BOBW is a failure.

Let the teeth-gnashing commence.

* This foreshadows DS9's horrid episodes during its sixth and seventh seasons that had nothing to do with the Dominion War, even though DS9 was the most strategic Allied space station.
** People legitimately complain about how easily Janeway and her Voyager minions beat the Borg. The decay of the Borg's threat started right here, though.

[Jason Vines]

Scorned, on Sep 17 2005, 11:06 AM, said:

BOBW was the turning point where TNG really got going.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree. Along with many excellent third season TNG episodes, it elevated TNG in the public's mind to a first-rate television show. Still, upon reflection, I'm not sure this particular two-parter was as good as we thought it was.

Perhaps later Star Trek has led me to judge all of Star Trek more critically.

[Cymro]

I think it's something to do with the way newer TV has shaped our minds. I too don't see BOBW as the beakon of TNGs greatness as I used too, but it was a great episode, and I do think you've been spoiled by newer shows. TNG has a much different feel to the rest of the series. There was just something about it that I think some people get and some people don't, the same with TOS. Yes, DS9 was in many ways far superior to it's predecessors and it's successors, but it's never inspired me the way TNG does.