Star Trek The Next Generation: Every Season Ranked
6. Season 2
For the show's second year, things started to improve quickly. There are more stand out episodes on display here with Q, Who?, The Measure of a Man and Elementary, Dear Data all offering wonderful performances and set pieces from all around. The cast had settled into their roles, perhaps still a little stiff at times, not least due to the body damaging uniforms they were still forced to wear.
After her firing by Maurice Hurley, Gates McFadden did not return and was replaced by Diana Muldaur in the form of Dr. Pulaski. The behind the scenes drama from this season however was mind boggling. Rewrites and paranoia were rampant on set and the cast were threatened with termination on more than one occasion.
The writers barely had it any easier, with Original Series scribe David Gerrold (The Trouble with Tribbles) parting ways with the franchise after disagreements with Roddenberry and his lawyer. He had written a script, approved by Roddenberry, that highlighted the plight of homosexuals and the ongoing AIDS epidemic. The script, Blood and Fire, was allegedly cancelled by the studio who found it unsuitable for younger viewers. It has since been made as part of Star Trek: New Voyages.
The show was further hampered by the 1988 Writers' Guild of America strike, which led to the infamously bad Shades of Grey. At the end of this year, there were several changes behind the scenes and things began to change in the third year.