Star Trek: The Next Generation (Syndicated)

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION stars Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) as the unflappable captain of the new Enterprise. He is a calm and organized leader -- a sharp contrast to the original Star Trek's James T. Kirk (William Shatner). While TNG is about mankind's ongoing quest to promote peace and tranquility, it's also about having adventures in space, and doesn't have the same kind of social commentary its predecessor had.

TNG is much bigger than the original series -- the bridge, where much of the action takes place, is bigger, the crew is bigger, and even the Federation seems to cover more of the galaxy. So many races pop up repeatedly throughout the series that viewers might need a guidebook to keep track of which ones are allies and which are hostile (fortunately, the series was so popular in its seven seasons on the air that several of those books are available). TNG gradually created an elaborate canon of Star Trek lore, which has been replicated in three additional spin-off shows. This complex, finely nuanced interior literature gave the series a strong foundation for storytelling, and many of the episodes have complex, intriguing plots and profound social undercurrents. But the real accomplishment of TNG is simply that it managed to create an entire future universe that seems plausible, is nearly religious about maintaining internal consistency, and is loads of fun to watch.