3x26 The Best of Both Worlds (1) - Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode Guide

Star Trek: The Next Generation

- Episode 03x26

Episode: 03x26
Title: The Best of Both Worlds (1)
Type: Regular Episode
Production Code: 174
First Aired: Jun. 18, 1990

Season 3 » Episode #26 - The Best of Both Worlds (1)

Star Trek: The Next Generation - 03x26 The Best of Both Worlds (1)

Summary: Stardate: 43989.1 When Borg "footprints" are found on a alien planet, Starfleet sends Borg expert, Lt. Cmdr. Elizabeth Shelby, to assist them. However, upon contact, the Borg are able to kidnap Picard and assimilate him.

Who appeared in this episode?

Guest Stars:

Captain Jean-Luc Picard	played by Patrick Stewart
Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge	played by LeVar Burton
Doctor Beverly Crusher	played by Gates McFadden
Counselor Deanna Troi	played by Marina Sirtis
Lt. Commander Data	played by Brent Spiner
Wesley Crusher	played by Wil Wheaton
Lt. Cmdr. Elizabeth Paula Shelby	played by Elizabeth Dennehy
Admiral J. P. Hanson	played by George Murdock
Enterprise Computer	voiced by Majel Barrett

Episode Quotes

Season 3 / Episode 26: - The Best of Both Worlds (1)

Commander William T. Riker: The captain?
Lt. Commander Data: We were unable to retrieve him, sir. The captain has been altered by the Borg.
Commander William T. Riker: Altered?
Lieutenant Worf: He IS a Borg.

Season 3 / Episode 26: - The Best of Both Worlds (1)

Capt. Picard: What's your impression of Shelby?
Commander William T. Riker: She knows her stuff.
Capt. Picard: She has your full confidence?
Commander William T. Riker: Well - I think she needs supervision. She takes the initiative a little too easily - sometimes with risks.
Capt. Picard: [tuts] Sounds like a young Lieutenant Commander I recruited as a first officer.

[More Quotes]

MISTAKES/GOOFS

FAKE: During every subspace communication scene with Admiral Hanson, he is not reflected in the conference room table. This reveals that Hanson's image was superimposed in post-production.
CONT: A Borg drone beams in near the emergency turbo-lift, attacking Riker and Worf. When he beams out, he's near the Ready Room.
FAKE: During the phaser battle on the Borg ship, a wire can be seen connected to the foot of the drone that Beverly kills.
PLOT: The "Enterprise" crew realizes the destruction of New Providence first through the away team. But why have the ship's scanners not realized it much earlier?
BOOM: When Admiral Hanson turns down Riker's offer to play poker in his quarters, look at the shadow underneath Riker's left hand. When Hanson says "Rumor has it Commander Shelby has played a hand or two" the shadow of the microphone's tip is visible. At first it appears to be the shadow of Riker's hand, but closer examination shows that this shadow moves independently of Riker's.

TRIVIA

Originally supposed to be a three part episode. The battle at Wolf 359 was originally going to be shown as well. Additionally, both Picard and Data were supposed to be assimilated by the Borg and be combined as one unit. Budgetary concerns forced producers to edit the story down to a two part episode.
Michael Piller was originally hired as a freelance screenwriter for only one year. His last script was for "Best of Both Worlds Part 1". He ended the episode with a major cliffhanger, in the knowledge that he would not be responsible for writing the conclusion. However, Gene Roddenberry was so satisfied with his work over season 3, that he personally asked Piller to stay for a longer period. This forced Piller to write his way out of the stand off he himself created after all.
The visual for the Paulson Nebula is the same visual used for the Mutara Nebula in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982).
This is the first time the Borg's famous line "Resistance is Futile" is heard.
This two-part episode contained 'graveyard' scenes full of wrecked and/or abandoned star-ships. These scenes were populated with study models that were considered for use in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) (as possible versions of the Enterprise) and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) (as the Excelsior). Some of the other wrecked ships were created via "kit-bashing," or by quickly mixing starship parts from many different models.

Episode Screenshots (From Season 3)

KEYWORDS:

» Back to Star Trek: The Next Generation TV Show