June 18, 1990: "Star Trek: The Next Generation" Airs "The Best of Both Worlds"

June 18, 1990: Star Trek: The Next Generation ends its 3rd season with the episode "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I." It is the 1st cliffhanger in Trek history. Never before had the words "To be continued... "
been so infuriating.

The Ferengi had been mentioned in the show's pilot episode, "Encounter at Farpoint," in 1987, because the writers didn't want to use the same old enemies, especially since they were trying a "redemption arc" for the Klingons. But when the Ferengi were seen in "The Last Outpost," they seemed to be unworthy opponents. Eventually, thanks to the spinoff Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, they were rewritten with more depth.

The Romulans were brought back, and became more of a threat than ever. But the Borg were created as a seemingly unstoppable force, "assimilating" other cultures, making the people mindless drones to serve "The Collective," and adapting their defenses to make them invulnerable to even the mighty power available to a Galaxy-class starship like the USS Enterprise-D, commanded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard, played by Patrick Stewart.

The Borg proceeded to kidnap and assimilate Picard, making him "Locutus of Borg" -- literally, their spokesman. The episode ended with the First Officer, William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), having developed what might be a proper defense with his Klingon Chief of Security, Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn). When Locutus appears on the screen, telling Riker -- and, in effect, the entire United Federation of Planets -- "You will service us," the camera focuses on Riker's face, which betrays no emotion for his compromised Captain, and he calmly says three words: "Mr. Worf, fire." And the screen fades to black, with the words, "To be continued... "

I watched it with my father, an original Trekkie from 1966, and we were not happy to be left hanging like that, knowing that the next season's premiere wouldn't be for another 3 months, and seeing, at the very least, that it looked like Picard would be lost. We walked downstairs, and, only semi-seriously, he stamped his feet and said, "No, no, no, it's not fair!" But, given his size, this caused some breakables to fall out of the dining room breakfront. My mother was considerably more upset with him than we were with the Trek writers and producers.

On September 24, 1990, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" finally aired. Immediately, we saw that, having Picard's thoughts, Locutus had electronically told the Borg to expect Riker's gamble, and they adapted, and it had no effect. He said, in a way that only an artificial lifeform with no emotions can taunt, "Your efforts are futile... Number One." From then on, Riker had to react in ways that, through Picard, Locutus could not predict based on past interaction with Riker.

Of course, the crisis was resolved, but at a terrible cost, including a battle in which a single Borg cube destroyed 39 Federation starships, killing over 11,000 people. Picard was rescued and restored, and the Borg cube was blown up. But the emotional consequences of what happened would haunt Picard for the rest of his life.

The show's 4th, 5th and 6th seasons also ended on cliffhangers, and Season 7, the final season, ended with a two-parter, but it was resolved in the crew's favor. Later Trek shows would also have season-ending cliffhangers, but, as with the original TV cliffhanger, "Who Shot J.R.?" on Dallas in 1980, nothing packed the shock value of "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I."

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June 18, 1990 was a Monday. Hockey player Derek Stepan was born. And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Mark Knudson outpitched Tim Leary. Don Mattingly went 0-for-4.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Dave Johnson (not to be confused with the Davey Johnson who once played for the Orioles, would later manage them, and was then managing the Mets) outpitched Roger Clemens, who didn't get out of the 2nd inning. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base, and an RBI.

* The California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-2 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett did not play, but Kevin Seitzer, playing 3rd base in his place, went 4-for-4 with a walk. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 5-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Uncharacteristically, Tony Gwynn went 0-for-4.

* The New York Mets and the St. Louis Cardinals were rained out at Shea Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 26. The Mets won the opener, 6-1. Ron Darling went the distance for the win. Daryl Boston went 4-for-4. The Cards won the nightcap, 3-1. Ken Hill allowed only 3 hits, outpitching Bob Ojeda.

* The Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates were rained out at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 6. The Pirates swept, 10-1 and 4-3. The 2nd game was won in the 10th inning, on a double by Sid Bream that scored Bobby Bonilla. Barry Bonds went 3-for-5 with a home run an 5 RBIs in the 1st game. He was given the 2nd game off, but was sent up as a pinch-hitter, and drew a walk.

* And the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays were not scheduled.