As this series progressed and we got to know and love these characters, we must harken back to the inception of the series. It's an awful lot to throw out there. Multiple characters, most of whom continue in their roles for all or most of the series. The introduction of Picard, who is a real contrast to the James T. Kirk flamboyance. There is adventure and control. We are shown the ship and get to know how she came to be. Q enters at the start and will be a factor in the future. I've always struggled with this being because when a nearly omnipotent creature show his face, it diminishes the powers of the poor crew whose efforts seem somehow futile. It's good that he bows out, for the most part, as the series continues. The expense and effort of this experiment asked us to accept a new, modern version of the somewhat tacky, though highly entertaining, original. Commander Data takes on the Spock role, but as an android brings a different kind of detachment. His programming has a couple of interesting subsystems. The first plot test Picard and the crew to become more global (universal?) in investigating a force in the universe that doesn't play by their rules. How they approach this and deal with this while being tested by Q works very well for the most part. When I first saw this, I was so pumped. Just the thought of intelligent science fiction on prime time television made me long for its success.
Review of Encounter at Farpoint
