September 28, 1987: "Star Trek: The Next Generation" Premieres

Top row, left to right: Whoopi Goldberg, Gates McFadden,

Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Wil Wheaton.

Bottom row, left to right: LeVar Burton, Patrick Stewart,

Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner.

September 28, 1987: "Encounter at Farpoint," the 2-hour premiere episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, airs in syndication. This was a Star Trek that I could watch develop from the beginning, unlike what's become known as "The Original Series," which I watched in reruns with my father, an original Trekkie from 1966. (No, he never went to a convention or cosplayed, but he did put up posters, published in Starlog magazine, of both series' versions of the starship USS Enterprise in his home office.)

The opening shot of the premiere showed a sweeping front view of the new Galaxy-class USS
Enterprise-D, and Dad said, "I want that ship!" He would say this many times over the show's 7-year run.

As of September 28, 2022: Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard, is 82 years old. Brent Spiner, as the android Science Officer, Lieutenant Commander Data, is 73. Gates McFadden, as the Chief Medical Officer, Commander Beverly Crusher, is also 73. Jonathan Frakes, as the First Officer, Commander William T. Riker, is 70. Michael Dorn, as the Chief of Security, Lieutenant Worf Rozhenko, is 69. Marina Sirtis, as the Ship's Counselor, Commander Deanna Troi, is 67. LeVar Burton, as the Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Geordie LaForge, is 65. Wil Wheaton, as Beverly's son, Ensign Wesley Crusher, is 50.

Whoopi Goldberg, who played Guinan, bartender and confidant to the crew, especially Picard, is 66. Diana Muldaur, who replaced McFadden as Chief Medical Officer for Season 2 only, as Commander Katharine Pulaski, is 84. Colm Meaney, as transporter chief Miles O'Brien, later a main part of the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (as was Dorn), is 69. And John de Lancie, as the alternately malevolent and merely mischievous Q, is 74.

Sports was rarely mentioned on the original series, or TNG. Deep Space Nine would mention sports, particularly baseball, a lot, but, sadly, it said that, in the Star Trek universe, baseball died out, with the clinching game of the last World Series being played in 2042 (only 20 years from now), and it was attended by only 300 people. I suppose it was due to the lingering effects of World War III, which lasted from 2026 (just 4 years from now!) until 2053. DS9's Captain Benjamin Sisko would be responsible for reviving baseball in the United Federation of Planets.

The 1995 DS9 episode Past Tense, which sent the characters back to 2024 (only 2 years from now), said that the 1999 Yankees would be considered one of the greatest teams ever. That's a prediction that they got right. What they didn't get right (along with, hopefully, the "Sanctuary Districts") was an MLB team in London that, by 2015, would be another contender for the title. And, on Voyager, it would be revealed that the Yankees would win the 2032 World Series in 6 games, although their opponent was not mentioned.

*

September 28, 1987 was a Monday. Actress Hilary Duff was born on this day.

This was during an NFL players' strike, and the game scheduled for ABC Monday Night Football, the Denver Broncos vs. the Cleveland Browns in a preview of the previous season's AFC Championship Game (and, as it turned out, a preview of this season's), was canceled. And it was too soon for either the NBA or the NHL season to begin. But these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-7 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees scored 6 in the bottom of the 9th to win it, topping it off with a home run by Mike Easler, off Calvin Schiraldi. The season before, Easler had been with the Red Sox, and Schiraldi had been a major reason why they got to, and then a major reason why they lost, the World Series.

Rickey Henderson also hit a home run. Dave Winfield went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Don Mattingly went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. The winning pitcher was Bill Fulton. It was the 3rd and last appearance of his major league career, and his only victory. Wade Boggs did not play for the Red Sox that day. But both teams finished behind the Detroit Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Eastern Division.

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. It took 3 Met pitchers to complete the shutout: John Candelaria for 5 innings, Rick Aguilera for 3 1/3rd, and Randy Myers for the last 2 outs. Howard Johnson doubled home Kevin McReynolds with the only run in the top of the 2nd inning.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-4 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Rob Deer and Paul Molitor hit home runs, and Robin Yount went 3-for-5. The Jays blew a 4-game lead over the Tigers with 7 to play.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-5 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-0 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. John Habyan pitched a 5-hit shutout, although Tom Niedenfuer was needed to get the last 2 outs. Eddie Murray went 2-for-2 with 2 walks and an RBI. Cal Ripken went 0-for-3 with a walk. The Tigers would go on to win the AL East, anyway.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-1 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 0-for-3, but drove in the only Royal run with a groundout.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Texas Rangers, 5-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. The Twins would win just 87 games, but that was enough to win the AL West, and they upset the Tigers in the AL Championship Series and the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, to win their 1st World Championship.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11-5 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 5-4 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn went 3-for-5 with an RBI.

* And the California Angels, the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, the Oakland Athletics, the Chicago Cubs, the Montreal Expos, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals were not scheduled.

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."

*

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.