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Aim your phaser in any direction of the "Star Trek" universe and chances are, you're going to hit a peak of science fiction-themed entertainment that might not necessarily have the same captain at the helm. From the original series of "Star Trek" to "Star Trek: Discovery," every chapter of this universe has homed at some point a memorable and beloved segment of the "Star Trek" universe making it one of the greatest franchises of all time. But while that other "Star" based franchise might have a few spots filled in IMDb's Top 250 Films, there aren't any adventures aboard the Enterprise that have broken through the shields of the website's special selection of movies. "Star Trek" started on the small screen not the big one, though, and thankfully, in the case of IMDb's Top 250 TV Shows, one iconic entry in the franchise's history actually made the cut and it came with a hot cup of Earl Grey tea.
Coming in at 108 at the time of writing, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" is the only "Trek" series to have earned that level of recognition on the Internet Movie Database. Debuting in 1987 and running until 1994, the adventures of the Enterprise-D managed to carry the legacy of the original series and boldly go and deliver perhaps an even greater one than its predecessor. In the ranking of every "Star Trek" series, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" stands as the best, which isn't bad given that even the show's lead didn't have any faith in it initially.
Patrick Stewart didn't think The Next Generation would last
Paramount
In 2023, Patrick Stewart confessed that he didn't expect his time aboard the Enterprise as Captain Jean Luc-Picard to be that long, given the reputation of what came before. In an appearance on "The Late Late Show with James Corden," Stewart recalled how, upon signing a six-year contract in the role, his agent assured him the show would never make it that far. "My agent said, 'Look, you know you cannot revive an iconic show. You cannot. It's not going to work, so just come over here. Do a dozen episodes, maybe less, and make some money for the first time in your life and go home,'" explained Stewart. "That was the prediction for me — six months, no more."
Of course, not only would he stick it out as Picard who would become one of the best captains in "Star Trek," but he and the rest of the Enterprise crew returned for four films and most recently the series "Picard." Though the show that got Jean-Luc back in the chair didn't quite reach the highs of "The Next Generation," the fact it even came to pass was because of the benchmark made by the show that first beamed them up into the "Star Trek" universe. No one would've imagined that the original "Star Trek" series could be topped, but history and an IMDb rating confirm that "The Next Generation" made it so.
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