The Best of Both Worlds (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

• Elizabeth Denney: Shelby
• George Murdock: J. P. Hanson

The episodes 74 and 75 of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation bear the German title in the hands of the Borg and Earth Assault. Both tell a consistent story, the first episode ends with a cliffhanger, which also represents the end of the third season of the series. The two-parter tells the story of the capture of the Enterprise Captain Picard through the enemy, cybernetic Borg, and of how the Enterprise crew attempts to stop the Borg from assimilating the earth and its population. The two episodes are among the most popular not only the series, but Star Trek. Again, the story was picked up in a few episodes of the series and - by means of newly turned flashbacks - by the published in 1996 movie Star Trek: First Contact, the commercially and creatively successful of the four films for the next century was adapted.

Action

In the episode time jump with Q of the second season, the Borg had their first and only appearance in the series since then.

In the hands of the Borg

The officer and Borg specialist Lieutenant Commander Shelby, Captain Picard is presented by the Starfleet Admiral Hanson, confirmed the suspicions of the Enterprise crew, after which the Borg are responsible for the destruction of a Federation outpost with about 900 inhabitants. La Forge is working with his colleagues therefore aims to improve the defense capabilities of the Enterprise for fighting against the Borg. After the enterprise has received the distress call from a Federation starship that is attacked by a Borg ship, and to its last position towards the road, Picard is asked by the counter flying Borg ship to beam over. Since this denies the request, the Borg, the Borg cube, the Enterprise captures with a tractor beam and begins to cut open with a phaser the hull of the ship, at least eleven crew members die and another will be injured. After the Enterprise is come freely through a tip Shelby, Picard leads the ship, followed by the Borg, in a space nebula, where it first can not be located by the Borg.

Shelby caused at Riker amazement on their entitlement to Rikers post of first officer on the Enterprise, as it is certain, Riker would accept the recently offered him command of the starship Melbourne. Later she tells Riker with openly that he was in her way. Although over Shelby and Picard Riker rejects the offer, he behaves in a conversation with Troi sure of the question, on which ship was his true place. Repeats high-handed behavior Shelby he judged to be insubordination, which is why he reprimands several times.

While La Forge works to increase the tactical performance of the Enterprise to the modification of the deflector shields, the Borg bombard the ship with magnetic charges and force it as to leave the fog. A little later, take the Borg the Enterprise once again caught in the tractor beam, kidnap Picard on the cube and set a course for the solar system. The Borg made ​​it known that they intend to assimilate the Federation culture and technology into their collective and that they Picard is intended to convey this message to the Federation. While the Enterprise follows the Borg, an away team by sabotage can rob the cube of its warp speed, the apparent already assimilated Picard but not retrieve. Then Picard, the Enterprise crew before as a Borg named " Locutus " and calls on them to surrender to the Borg. Temporally located under the pressure that the Borg probably regain their warp speed again soon, orders Riker to destroy the cube using the modified deflector shields.

Earth Assault

Because Picard aka Locutus foresees the plan of the Enterprise crew to destroy the Borg ship, the modified deflector shields of the Enterprise prove useless; the Borg continue to travel in the direction of Earth. While the Department makes repairs to the Enterprise, which tracks the Borg cube, Riker is appointed by Hanson to the Captain; Riker, in turn, appoints Shelby to his new first officer. In the star system Wolf 359, a base of more than 40 Starfleet starships Armada the Borg in its path, but it trounced. The Enterprise reaches the system too late, and only finds the drifting ship wrecks, including the commanding ship of Hanson and Melbourne.

Guinan advises Riker to mentally separate from Picard to meet the challenge, the Borg ship to stop and retrieve Picard. In the result, Riker can implement a plan devised by him and initially separate the saucer section of the drive section. Thus, the Borg are deflected by the project Datas and Worf that approach in a shuttle ship unnoticed the cube and thus can beam Picard on the Enterprise.

While the Borg are already in the solar system near the Earth and demanding the unconditional surrender of the Federation, Data Establish a data connection with Picard's Borg implants providing the Borg Collective. He can the Borg ship convey the simple command to switch to silent mode. Thus the Borg ship is stopped, and placed in a regeneration mode. Because of the collective command also irritated, it comes to triggering the self-destruct sequence in the Borg cube. At the last second Riker leaves the Enterprise fly out of the blast radius.

Dr. Crusher freed Picard - with few exceptions - of his Borg implants. Picard keeps his full memories of his time as a Borg. Shelby leaves the Enterprise.

Reception

In different leaderboards, the episodes were highlighted. In the published by Entertainment Weekly list of the ten best episodes of the series of the two-parter took second place. The British magazine Empire picked Earth Assault emerged as the best episode of the series. The U.S. magazine Cinefantastique (1990 ) evaluated the first part with four out of four stars: Piller's script was " outstanding" and make the episode one of the best and most exciting. The special effects were top notch and would prove that The Next Generation was superior to the movies in every respect. The second part of the magazine awarded three and a half stars and lifted the teaser as outstanding, the music was sensational and the fight scenes in space and spectacular shows. However, the episode was not epic enough, since the resolution in Data's laboratory instead takes place in space.

The episodes were nominated in 1991 a total of 5 times for an Emmy Award. Two Nominations - each episode one - there were in the category of Best Achievement in special visual effects. Earth Assault was awarded in the categories of Best Sound Editing for a Series and Best sound mixing for a Drama Series, in the category Best Art Direction for a Series, it remained in the nomination.