With Captain Picard assimilated by the Borg, the enemy is able to totally obliterate a Starfleet armada at Wolf 359, leaving Riker in command of theEnterprise and forced to go one on one with his former captain. (Season premiere)

Summary[]

Teaser[]

Geordi La Forge reports that themain deflector dish is six seconds away from discharging. Hope and concern are on the face of the entire bridge crew as they look at what the Borg have done toCaptain Picard on theviewscreen. TheUSSEnterprise opens fire with its deflector dish-weapon which impacts theBorg ship… and causes no damage.Shelby is incredulous asRiker realizes the futility of their resistance and orders La Forge to cease fire before thewarp core overloads. Riker laments aloud that the Borg couldn't possibly have adapted that quickly butLocutus states that the knowledge and experience of Picard has been added to theBorg's collective consciousness and that they are now prepared for all possible courses of action that theEnterprise and theFederation are preparing to take. Locutus then notes that their resistance is hopeless, while chillingly addressing Riker as "Number One."

Act One[]

"First officer's log,Stardate 44001.4. The Borg ship has resumed its course toward Earth. We are unable to pursue pending repairs to theEnterprise."

The use of the deflector dish weapon has left theEnterprise disabled. No longer posing a threat and with their main objective, Picard, obtained, the Borg leave theEnterprise behind and resume their course forEarth.Admiral Hanson informs them that their engagement has bought them valuable time to mobilize a fleet of 40 starships atWolf 359, with more on the way. TheKlingons are sending ships to assist and Hanson has even thought of opening communications with theRomulans. Shelby warns the admiral that with the assistance of Picard, the Borg are now ready for anything Starfleet may have prepared for them. Hanson tells Shelby a tale of watching a Starfleetfreshman cadet passing four upperclassmen on a hill in the final leg of a fortykilometer run onDanula II, which made him the only freshman to ever win theStarfleet Academy marathon. Hanson explains that he made it his business to get to know that cadet, Picard, and has come to know him very well and makes it implicitly clear that he has never met anyone "with more drive, determination or more courage than Jean-Luc Picard" and under no circumstances is Picardassisting the Borg – he is a casualty of war, whichDr.Crusher takes to mean that there will be no chance of recovering him. Hanson declares that Starfleet intends to hit the Borg ship with everything they can muster and that either they will survive, or the Borg will. Hanson laments the loss of Picard and officially awards Riker afield promotion to captain and command of theEnterprise, wishing the circumstances were better, which Riker acknowledges and wishes the admiral luck in the coming battle.

On course for Earth, the Borg add to theirassimilation of Picard's body, continuing his transformation into Locutus by attaching an arm prosthesis extension and draining the color from his Human skin. From within Locutus, the only sign of the remaining Humanity left within Jean-Luc Picard is a single tear that wells from his eye and continues to the side of his face.

Meanwhile,Worf and newly-promoted Captain Riker discuss in aturbolift how to deal with the Borg's ability to adapt to their hand phasers, asEnsign Crusher suggests creating a chip for the phasers that will automatically re-tune them with every discharge. They both agree that they too can adapt just as well as the Borg but are left with a severe disadvantage since the Borg have Picard and now know everything they knew, even more than the crew knows themselves. "The Borg have neither honor nor courage.That is our greatest advantage", Worf states to his captain.

Frustration mounts inengineering as Shelby cannot get the shields working again. She reports to Riker that the main deflector dish is operational and thatSherbourne andBarclay are testing it now. She and La Forge agree they should be underway in two to three hours. Riker then praises her for her effort on the Borg ship. She concedes that she didn't get Picard back, but he responds that her efforts gave them their shot and admits that while neither of them has to like each other, Shelby should continue to keep him on his toes. Shelby admits that she may not be Riker's first choice forfirst officer, which is now vacant; but reminds him that he needs her as she knows how to get things done, and for her knowledge of the Borg. Riker interrupts her that she has a lot to learn but smiles and notes it was just as he did when he was selected as first officer to Picard. He even admits Picard reminded him of it when Riker expressed of what a pain in theneck she is, at which she can't help but smile at as well. Just then, theEnterprise receives word from theStarfleet armada at Wolf 359, that they have engaged the Borg. Riker quickly heads to the bridge, as Admiral Hanson is relaying news that "the fight does not go well," and are trying to regroup. The signal is abruptly cut off, leaving Riker to wonder what happened.

Act Two[]

"Captain's log, Stardate 44002.3. Repairs are complete, and theEnterprise is warping to rendezvous with Starfleet at Wolf 359. Communications from the site of battle have been cut off, possibly due to Borg interference.

As theEnterprise completes repairs and heads for Wolf 359, Captain Riker "reluctantly" promotes Shelby to first officer overData and Worf, as Riker cannot afford to move the current staff during this crisis and needs everyone where they are. The crew discuss several possible methods for fighting the Borg, including heavygraviton beams,nanites, and phaser upgrades, but all possibilities appear to be long shots at best. Riker's pessimism can be heard even in his encouragements that "our efforts in the coming battle will justify [Captain Picard's] faith in all of us."

Guinan, 2367 — "*You must let him go, Riker.*"

Riker then withdraws to Captain Picard'sready room, upset with himself with how poorly the meeting went. Feeling lost without Picard, he asks the captain's empty chair "what would you do?"Guinan, realizing that Riker's attitude is filtering down through the crew through overheard conversations, visits him and insists that the only way to beat Locutus and save Picard is for Riker to let go of Picard and throw away everything the captain would have done. Riker is hesitant as theEnterprise was his ship and the crewhis crew, but Guinan reminds him that the Borg now knows everything Picard knew. . Further, she states somewhat sternly that Picard was a dear friend to her and that while their relationship was "beyond friendship and beyond family" that she will let him go because she has to. Guinan tells Riker that this is the only way to both beat and save him. She reminds him that "there can only be one captain" and points to the chair, As she leaves and Riker takes the captain's ready room chair to ponder his new role as captain, theEnterprise arrives at Wolf 359. Riker takes the ship to the battle coordinates. Data picks up several ships, which Riker asks if it is the fleet. All the ships are reading no subspace communications and negligible power readings. When asked aboutlife signs, Data responds in the negative. At visual range, Riker orders on screen, and discovers a horror beyond imagination.

Wolf 359 wreckage 1 — The remains of Admiral Hanson's fleet

Federation starships drift lifelessly at Wolf 359, which stuns the whole bridge crew. Shelby identifies three starships as theTolstoy, theKyushu, and theMelbourne, the same ship Riker had been offered. Riker's heavy heart grows heavier with the notion that thousands of Starfleet officers and their families have been killed in only a matter of minutes by the Borg.

Act Three[]

Data is able to track the course of the Borg ship and Riker orders a course to intercept and for Shelby to prepare her plan to separate the saucer section upon discovery of the Borg. Shelby reminds Riker that she had briefed Picard on that plan so it is doubtless the Borg will be prepared for it. Riker is unconcerned, as he is actually counting on it. Shelby knows Riker has a plan and orders Wesley, Cartaino, andGleason to thebattle bridge. Before making his way to there, Riker assigns Worf and Data a special mission…

The Borg ship drops out of warp as theEnterpriseapproaches. Riker, now on the battle bridge -- with Wesley at the helm, Gleason at ops, Cartaino at a duty station, and an operations officer at tactical -- stalls for time with fake negotiations with Locutus. Locutus knows this is merely deception at play and turns to leave while Riker appeals to his other half and wants him to trust him implicitly. Locutus demands that they disarm all their weapons and escort them to Sector 001, but Riker cuts him off mid-sentence. The ruse allowed Gleason to pinpoint the source of their transmission and can put them 30 meters from it. As expected, theelectromagnetic field has been adapted to prevent main transporter function. Data and Worf proceed as discussed and activate theiremergency transporter armbands. Resuming negotiations, Locutus warns that their delay will not be successful and they will be destroyed if they attempt to intervene. Riker throws down the gauntlet defiantly telling Locutus to take their best shot as they're intervening, and signals to Cartaino to close communications. Knowing that the Borg has access to theEnterprise's subspace communications through Picard, he resets them using Scrambler Code: Riker-One, and orders theEnterprise to separate.

Borg viewscreen, Enterprise intervention — "*Then take your best shot Locutus, cause we are about to intervene …*"

After separation, both ships open fire at the cube with a combined phaser and photon torpedo attack to no avail. The Borg fires their tractor beam at the stardrive section, but Riker evades the attack. Wesley reports the Borg are completely ignoring the saucer module as a smile plays on Riker's lips – "just as you should, captain." Picard is aware that thestardrive section of theEnterprise carries the main armaments and therefore the larger threat to the Borg and that's where they will concentrate their attack. To that end, Riker orders Shelby aboard theprimary hull to fire anantimatter spread. Aboard the Borg ship, Locutus reacts with puzzlement as this is an unexpected maneuver from theEnterpriseand turns his attention toward the saucer section. In the main shuttlebay, Data and Worf launch and head towards the Borg vessel with the antimatter spread masking the engine signature from theirshuttlecraft. However, the Borg then focus within the antimatter spread as they are picking up the ionization trail from the shuttle. Riker advises to take her in unpowered. The shuttle is able to penetrate the Borg electromagnetic field by coasting through it, allowing Data and Worf tobeam to the cube.

Locutus captured — "*Mission accomplished, we have him!*"

They locate Locutus, but come under attack almost immediately. Neutralizing five Borg with their adaptivephasers, they race to Locutus; while Worf restrains him, Data incapacitates him. They then engage their transporter armbands and beam back to the shuttle with Locutus and get clear of the electromagnetic field. Once cleared, Riker orders ChiefO'Brien to beam them back to theEnterprise shortly before the shuttle itself is blown away: O'Brien completes the transport and reports that they're back onboard. The only reaction to the successful operation is Riker grinning that his strategy has worked flawlessly.

Act Four[]

Shelby reports that the saucer section's impulse engines have been damaged and they are disabled. Gleason detects the Borg ship is beginning to increase power as Riker prepares to move in with the stardrive section to draw their fire from the Borg. However, rather than fight the stardrive section and the now-vulnerable saucer section, the Borg resume their course towardEarth. On the re-connectedEnterprise, Locutus is revived insickbay despite Dr. Crusher's request to study the assimilation process. Locutus chastises Captain Riker for putting the whole ship at risk to save just one person, a strategy that he claims Picard would never have approved of and that the abduction will ultimately have no impact on the Borg's mission of conquest. Raising his cybernetic arm extension draws a reaction from Worf by pointing his phaser at him, but Locutus reassures him he intends no harm, a statement he reiterates twice, as though Picard's Human half is appealing to his alter ego. He states he will simply continue to serve as the voice of the Borg on board theEnterprise while the cube continues on without any more diversions to Earth where they will force the Federation's unconditional surrender.

Data discovers, usingmultimodal reflection sorting, that a series ofsubspace signals form the basis of theBorg Collective, emanating between Locutus and the Borg ship, which Beverly theorizes is how the Borg are controlling him. Data elaborates that he believes these signals form the basis for the Borg's collective consciousness. Riker suggests simply blocking them, but Data advises against it as it had been observedwhen the Borg boarded theEnterprise over a year ago that when injured Borg have key components removed from them, they immediately self-destruct and that cutting Locutus off from the collective could prove to be fatal to Picard. Riker declares that they must find out what Picard knows about the Borg as it is obvious that without that information, theEnterprise will be unable to destroy them. Dr. Crusher believes she could restore Picard's Humanity throughmicrosurgery, which she could perform, but she cannot possibly attempt it as long as the Borg implants are functioning. Data, however, suggests that hispositronic brain could possibly connect with Picard's machine half to gain access.

Locutus surveys sickbay for people and technology to assimilate. He coldly advises Worf that theKlingons will also be assimilated, to which Worf replies that theKlingon Empire will never yield. Locutus is a bit mystified as to why the Borg are being resisted; in their view, they only want to raise the quality of life for all species. Worf retorts that the Klingons like themselves just they way they are. Locutus blasts Worf's defiant tone, stating such vision is narrow, and thatall would become one with the Borg. His attention turns to Data, whom he regards as a "primitive artificial organism" and who will become obsolete once the Borg assimilates the Federation. While he is focused on Data, Dr. Crusher quickly incapacitates Locutus with a hypospray and Worf assists Data to take him to hiscybernetics lab. Riker then gets word that the Borg have enteredSector 001.

Act Five[]

Still in pursuit, theEnterprise receives word fromJupiter Outpost 92 of visual sighting and planetary defenses are responding, but Shelby severely doubts its effectiveness. What's more, the Borg cube is twenty-seven minutes away from Earth and they're forty-two minutes away from the Borg. With such a large gap and little time to waste, Data begins to interface with Locutus. His team consists of Dr. Crusher monitoring Locutus/Picard's medical condition, while O'Brien is doing the equivalent for Data andCounselor Troi is toempathically determine if they are reaching Picard or vice versa, and notes that he doesn't know what to do if there's a problem – this is his first time attempting this. He makes a first connection but fails to get access, nor does Troi sense anything.

As the Borg cube breaks through theMars Defense Perimeter, theEnterprise arrives at Sector 001 but is still twenty-three minutes behind. After unsuccessfully attempting to establish a second neural link, Data succeeds in the final attempt, establishes a net and gathers information on the Borg itself. As he processes the information he is receiving and gathering fascinating and useful insight into the Borg group consciousness; Locutus becomes aware of what Data is doing and attempts to break out of the connection by using his mechanical spinning dissection blade on the circuits. A security officer attempts to stop him but is quickly dispatched with a hard hit on his left shoulder, sending him over the rails and down onto the floor. Suddenly, his mechanical arm is grabbed by Data who, after an imperceptible struggle of mounting strength with Locutus, prevails and rips the blade unit out of its socket.

Contact established — "*It's*him! It's Picard!"

Crusher then and O'Brien detect increased neural activity in Picard. They suggest the Borg may be trying to sever their link which Data rules out, but he cannot explain what is causing the increased neural activity. Troi can feel that it is Picard himself that is breaking through the Borg's collectivementality and establishes contact with Data by reaching out and grasping his wrist. At this point, the Borg ship halts its approach to Earth as Dr. Crusher realizes the Borg'sAchilles' heel: their inter-dependency. She explains to Riker that since Picard is part of their collective consciousness now, disconnecting him from that would be like asking a Human to sever an arm or a foot, which would be impossible. Riker realizes now that since they operate so collectively, if one Borg does something, theyall must do it and orders Data to implant a command into Picard's connection with the Borg's collective consciousness to disarm all their weapon systems. TheEnterprise intercepts the cube, now in orbit of Earth. The Borg engages theEnterprise once. TheEnterprise opens fire with their entire arsenal but still cannot affect the Borg. Data reports that he cannot access the weapons or power systems as all critical Borg pathways are protected; Shelby and Riker realize they have no options left and order Wesley to plot a collision course into the Borg ship to destroy them and order La Forge to prepare to go to warp speed. Picard fights through the collective consciousness to tell Data one word: "Sleep". Dr. Crusher takes this to mean that he's exhausted, but Data realizes that he is indicating a possible course of action. The cube fires itscutting beam onto the hull as Riker prepares to order Wesley to engage the warp drive when Data's voice comes over the intercom and advises Riker to stand by, as he has discovered that the Borgregeneration cycle sub-command path is considered by the collective to be a low priority system and may be accessible to him. The Borg cut into theEnterprise's engineering section, causing an outerhull breach anddecompression danger. Riker implores Data to hurry, as he cannot delay his suicide run any longer lest the Borg destroy theEnterprise first. Suddenly, the Borg attack ceases. Riker asks Data what has happened. Data explains that he was able to access the Borg regeneration sequence and effectively put them all to sleep. Worf confirms that the Borg ship is running at minimal power and their electromagnetic field is no longer in effect.

Borg cube explosion, remastered — The Borg cube self-destructs

On Riker's order, Shelby leads anaway team consisting of Worf and Gleason to the cube to investigate. Shelby confirms that the entire ship is currently in a regeneration mode and that the Borg are completely dormant. Riker inquires how long they can potentially keep them in this condition, but Worf'stricorder readings are fluctuating rapidly. Shelby realizes that Data's command has caused the Borg power net to feedback on itself and has triggered a self-destruct sequence. Shelby questions if Riker wants them to attempt to disarm it. While Dr. Crusher is uncertain what the destruction of the Borg vessel will do to Picard and Data suggests the advantages of closer examination of the Borg and their ship, Riker decides not to tempt fate and orders the away team returned at once and for Wesley to have theEnterprise moved away. Explosions begin to erupt on the Borg ship, causing Picard to convulse. TheEnterprise speeds away as the Borg ship explodes over Earth, ending the threat of the Borg.

In the lab, Picard begins to return to normal as his Borg implants begin to shut down. As Troi asks him how he feels, Picard warily eyes his prosthetic arm extension and replies "almost Human", with a bit of a headache. Dr. Crusher is confident that removing the Borg hardware will not pose a problem. Captain Riker asks him how much he remembers and Picard replies that he remembers everything, including some "brilliantly unorthodox strategy from a former first officer of mine."

Shelby disembarks the Enterprise — "*They picked a fine officer for the task force, Commander.*"
"*We'll have the fleet back up in less than a year.*"

As theEnterprise prepares to dock atEarth Station McKinley for five or six weeks of repair andrefit, Picard, with bandages on his head, is back inuniform and at his desk in the ready room. Shelby requests permission from Captain Riker to disembark, and Riker defers to Picard, thus relinquishing command back to him. Picard grants her request and commends her on being promoted to the head of Starfleet's task force in charge of rebuilding the fleet. Shelby is confident to have it back up in less than a year. She also coyly suggests to Riker that he would have his choice of any Starfleet command, but Riker tells her (and Picard) that his career plans are his own business, but he appreciates having options. As Riker leaves to take theEnterprise to Station McKinley and resume his duties as first officer, Picard attempts to return to the PADDs strewn on his desk and his usual cup ofEarl Grey tea. But a haunted look plays on his face as puts down the cup. He silently goes over to the ready room's window and looks out at Earth.

Deleted scene[]

One expanded scene was filmed but later cut from the episode during editing; the scene was later released in high definition as part of theTNG Season 4 Blu-ray bonus features.[1]

Act 1, Scenes 15-16 – Riker tries to come to terms with his promotion toEnterprise captain and with his feelings for having tried to kill Picard.

Riker stares out the "window"

Troi counsels the new captain

Log entries[]

Memorable quotes[]

"The knowledge and experience of the Human, Picard, is part of us now. It has prepared us for all possible courses of action. Your resistance is hopeless… Number One."

-Locutus, to Riker

"I never met anyone with more drive, determination or more courage than Jean-Luc Picard and there is no way in hell that he would assist the Borg. I want that clear!"

-Admiral Hanson, after Shelby implied that the Borg have Picard's assistance

"As for Picard, a great man has been lost: your captain, my friend."

-Admiral Hanson, eulogizing Picard

"Commander Riker, I hereby promote you to the field commission of captain. TheEnterprise isyour ship now. Congratulations. I wish the circumstances were different."

-Admiral Hanson, to Commander Riker

"We're no longer just fighting the Borg; we're fighting the life experience they've stolen from Captain Picard. Now how the hell do we defeat an enemy that knows us better than we know ourselves?"
"The Borg have neitherhonor nor courage. That is our greatest advantage."
"I hope it's enough."

-Riker andWorf

"The fight does not go well,Enterprise. We're attempting to withdraw and regroup. Rendezvous with fleet…"

-Hanson, during the Battle of Wolf 359

"What would you do?"

-Riker, to Picard's empty ready room chair

"Our relationship is beyond friendship, beyond family and I will let him go… and you must do the same. There can only be one captain."

-Guinan, to Riker regarding Picard

"This was his crew; he wrote the book on this ship!"
"If the Borg know everything he knows, it's time to throw that book away. You must let him go, Riker. It's the only way to beat him. The only way to save him."

-Riker andGuinan, regarding Picard

"We will proceed to Earth and if you attempt to intervene, we will destroy you."
"Then take your best shot, Locutus, because we are about to intervene!"

-Locutus andRiker

"They're ignoring the saucer section completely."
"Just as you should, captain…"

-Wesley andRiker

"I will continue aboard this ship to speak for the Borg while they continue, without further diversion, to Sector 001 where they will force your unconditional surrender."

-Locutus

"Worf, Klingon species; a warrior race. You too will be assimilated."
"The Klingon Empire will never yield!"
"Why do you resist? We only wish to raise the quality of life for all species."
"I like my species the way it is!"

-Locutus andWorf

"The android, Data; primitive artificial organism. You will be obsolete in the new order."

-Locutus, regarding Data

"Sleep… sleep… SLEEP… Data…"

-Picard, breaking through the Borg's collective consciousness

"How do you feel?"
"Almost Human… With just a bit of a headache."

-Troi and the newly-restoredPicard

"Come."

-Picard andRiker both inviting Shelby into the ready room at the same time

Background information[]

Production history[]

Story memo fromMichael Piller toRick Berman:16 April 1990
Story memo fromRonald D. Moore to Michael Piller:17 April 1990
Story outline:11 June 1990
Final draft script:2 July 1990 [2]
Premiere airdate:24 September 1990
First UK airdate:6 May 1992

Story and script[]

There was an atmosphere of anticipation for this episode amongStar Trek'sfans during the entire three-month summer hiatus between this episode and thefirst part of the two-parter that had ended thethird season. Fans were left wondering about Picard's fate, and the series' production team worked to keep plans for this episode extremely hidden, aiming to retain the suspense for this much-anticipated season premiere. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
Anticipation for this episode was so great that someone even concocted a fake version of the script that ended up in the possession of some fans and brought Picard back by revealing that his "assimilation" had merely been a prank bythe Q. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
The real plot for this episode had a difficult birth.Rick Berman later admitted, "When we finished the first half, we had no idea what the second half would be." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 200)
Michael Piller preferred not to plan too far ahead before writing a script and had not expected to return to the TNG production team himself. Because of this, he waited until after his contract was signed before beginning to consider how he would write himself out of the seemingly unsolvable cliffhanger that the previous episode had ended with. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 200) Specifically, he waited until he returned to theParamount lot in lateJuly 1990 before sitting down to wrap up the story. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., pp. 138-139)
Michael Piller initially struggled to come up with a solution to resolve the previous installment's cliffhanger. On22 January 2002, Piller recounted, "I had created an unsolvable problem. And to be honest with you, as I started writing the second part of the cliffhanger – that was supposed to resolve the story – I just didn't know what it was going to be, that was ultimately going to beat them." (Mission Overview,TNG Season 4 DVD special features)Brannon Braga joined the writing team of TNG while Piller was struggling with this aspect. "I walked into the Hart building [on the Paramount lot] in the morning and Michael was rewriting 'Best of Both Worlds, Part II'," Braga remembered. "He introduced himself and said 'I'm trying to figure out how to beat the Borg. I have no idea how to do it.'" (Cinefantastique, Vol. 25/26, No. 6/1, p. 86)
Piller preferred that the Borg would be defeated not by sheer strength but by ingenuity from Picard's Human insight. Like Picard, Piller sought to defeat the group of formidable villains by determining an unexpected and subtle weakness, ultimately settling on the solution of putting the Borg to "sleep". (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary) The notion of using the Borg's interdependence as their vulnerability suddenly occurred to Piller a mere two days before filming on the episode was scheduled to start. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., p. 139) Commenting on how the characters seemed to suggest the solution to him, Piller stated, "I didn't discover it until the characters did […] I try to believe in Zen writing; I actually like to stand back as a writer and let the characters speak and listen to them and I'll sort of like take notes, while they're talking. Well, that's what happened in 'Best of Both Worlds, Part II'. We got to the scene where they had to solve the problem. Time was running out, there was only ten minutes left in the show. And, um, finally, they came up with the answer that the Borg's strength was also their weakness, that their… interdependence was their strength, and interdependence could lead to their defeat. And I was just… I can remember the smile on my face when I heard that. I said, 'Oh, that is cool!' And that's how we ended it." (Mission Overview,TNG Season 4 DVD special features)
Referring to the problem of being uncertain what the second half of "The Best of Both Worlds" duology would entail, Rick Berman recounted, "Michael Piller, with a little help from me, resolved it." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 200)
The fact that this episode had to be somewhat bound to the previous installment was not particularly conducive to Michael Piller. He explained, "Part Two had to deliver the goods promised by Part One […] It has to have the battles and all the stuff I don't like writing." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 207)
Of how this episode continued the gradual transformation of the relationship between Picard and Riker, Michael Piller remarked, "The issue of whether or not [Riker] was big enough to fill the center chair […] led to the second part, which is the master versus pupil dynamic we set up." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 199)
The scene wherein Locutus insists to Worf that the Borg will raise the quality of life for all species by assimilating them into the Borg Collective was an effort by Michael Piller to help explain the Borg's motivation for attempting galactic conquest. Piller also tried, by suggesting that the Borg believed they were motivated by a greater good, to help make the Borg more believable villains and accentuate their coldblooded evilness. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
Because showing the Battle of Wolf 359 in this episode would be prohibitively expensive, Michael Piller chose to feature only the aftermath of the battle in his script, creating a memorable scene in the viewers' imaginations by deciding to show the drifting wreckage and stunned reactions, upon viewing the carnage, of theEnterprise's bridge officers. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
Explaining Picard's disturbed reflection on his ordeal at the conclusion of this episode, Michael Piller stated, "It was my intention to wrap up the two parter with the feeling that although everything is solved, life isn't so smooth and a man does not walk away from something like that and go back to work without having a little extra flashback nightmare. It's just that little uncertainty, the moment of discomfort that I wanted to leave the audience with." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)
This episode finally quashed rumors, which had circulated over the summer, that the strong-willed Shelby would become a regular character, in the wake of Wesley Crusher's (and actorWil Wheaton's) departure from the series, later in the fourth season. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., p. 139)
TheStar Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., p. 139 notes that the two female main characters play important roles in saving Humanity; it is Dr. Crusher who determines the Borg's fatal flaw, and Troi who realizes that Picard is attempting to fight through his Borg programming. According toCaptains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages (p. 202), Michael Piller was intent on servicing even the lesser-used members of TNG's ensemble, including Troi, from the beginning of the fourth season onwards. As such, he had Troi "make some critical contributions to the solutions or problems."
The script drafts of this episode were closely guarded. So that Paramount could easily learn more about what had happened if any of the scripts made their way into unauthorized hands, early script drafts were secretly numbered by changing the designation of the Jupiter station in each script copy. All copies of the final draft script, however, referred to Outpost 92. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
In this episode's story outline, Michael Piller stated, "This is a story about Riker and Picard's relationship. It is a rite of passage all men face – the son who must discover his own strength and power… and, in order to do so, must vanquish the father upon whom he depends on and dearly loves."

Editing[]

According to Michael Piller, some of the "master versus pupil dynamic" between Picard and Riker was "cut out of Part II for length, including a scene between Riker and Troi where Riker expresses his concerns and doubts about Picard. We lost a little character to justify all the action that had to go in there." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 199)

Sets, props, and wardrobe[]

Stewart reviews SH script in Locutus costume — Patrick Stewart on the set of this episode, wearing hisBorg Locutus costume

Although the two parts of "The Best of Both Worlds" are depicted as taking place roughly within the same few days, subtle changes were made (such as to sets and costumes) during the hiatus between production on the pair of episodes. Thus, when the second episode begins, minute details have changed; most noticeably different are the lighting on the main bridge set and the hairstyles of performersJonathan Frakes,Gates McFadden andMichael Dorn as Commander Riker, Dr. Crusher, and Lt. Worf, respectively.
Despite the added difficulty of the secrecy surrounding the project, pre-production work on this episode was relatively easy, in comparison with previous season openers. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary) This was because the Borg ship set had already been built for the first part of this episode's two-parter; the set had – after production wrapped on the third season finale – lain idle onParamount Stage 16, gathering dust during the summer hiatus. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary;Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 199) Its availability alleviated the construction crew of some pressure. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
Despite having been shown twice before, the battle bridge was heavily remodeled for this episode, as the pieces of the earlier battle bridge set had been needed for theStar Trek movies. The battle bridge set used for this episode had previously served to show such areas as acourtroom and a geology lab in thesecond season's "The Measure Of A Man" and "Pen Pals", respectively, as well as theUSSEnterprise-C bridge in Season 3's "Yesterday's Enterprise". The updated battle bridge set was one of a mere fewEnterprise-D sets to feature actual video monitor screens in its control consoles, rather than simple backlit graphics. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
The bridge from which Hanson contacts theEnterprise at the end of the episode's first act was another reuse of theEnterprise-D's battle bridge from this episode, their only difference being that Hanson's bridge included ared alert graphic, prominently displayed to the left of the admiral. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
Although theStar Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., p. 139 claims that the engineering lab where Locutus is examined was one of a number of redresses – through the years – of the old movie bridge of theConstitution II-classEnterprise, the text commentary for this episode (by production staffersMichael andDenise Okuda) states that the set was one of numerous redresses of Counselor Troi's office, which had been built across from the entrance to the transporter room set and had specifically been designed – by Production DesignerRichard James – for multiple reuses. Despite having no mention of theEnterprise bridge, the text commentary lists the set's other uses as the kitchen of theUSSEnterprise-A inStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, theEnterprise-D'sbarbershop,nursery, and stellar cartography lab, as well as aRomulan governmental office inTNG: "Unification II". The engineering lab had previously featured inTNG: "The Offspring" – in which case, it had been a redress of the battle bridge set – but, apparently, the reason why the counselor's office was instead used here was that the battle bridge itself was required for this episode.
The cylindrical work chamber at the center of the cybernetics lab appeared not only in this episode but also in "The Offspring"; the apparatus was actually reused here. Also in this case, the set of the cybernetics lab included curved upper wall pieces featuring white backlit rectangles that were likely the oldest part of the set, as they had originally been made for the Engineering set of theEnterprise that had been planned to feature in the abortedStar Trek: Phase II series project. A large work unit in the room was originally created for a medical lab of theEnterprise-D, as seen inTNG: "Home Soil". (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
A small control pad was added next to the viewscreen in theEnterprise's observation lounge for this episode, having been absent in the previous part of the two-parter. The pad was stolen by thieving souvenir hunters, despite the presence of two full-time security guards assigned to the series, and was replaced in not exactly the same position it had been in. As a result, the pad is positioned lower down in close-up shots of the screen but about halfway up the side of the screen in longer shots. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
A flashing Borg hand-tool that can be seen being used by a Borg standing over the newly-assimilated Picard, in the second scene of this episode's first act, was originally built as a medical instrument for Dr. McCoy inStar Trek V: The Final Frontier. This episode was one of several in which the prop was reused, owing to the fact thatStar Trek's property masters liked its shape. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)

Locutus concept art — Rick Sternbach's design notes regarding the restoration of Picard in this episode

To create Locutus' Borg suit, Costume DesignerRobert Blackman worked in close collaboration with Make-Up SupervisorMichael Westmore, the latter of whom made the suit's face-pieces from life castings of actorPatrick Stewart. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary) On15 November 2001, Westmore recalled the makeup for Locutus: "With Patrick when he was Borgified, he had a lot of skin showing, which we had to make up. He never got fully Borgified, so he wasn't really totally white or had to have, like, the Borg helmet on. Patrick mainly had individual little pieces that were glued on in different parts of his face and then the flesh around it was starting to decay or Borgify in different areas. But it meant wearing a robe and having to sit in a chair for a while." (Departmental Briefing: Production,TNG Season 4 DVD special features)Rick Sternbach worked on the depiction of Picard's restoration from his assimilated appearance as Locutus; Sternbach, inJune 1990, created design notes for this sequence. (The Art of Star Trek)

Production[]

Even though this episode's pre-production work was relatively easy – compared to previous season openers – the episode still ended up being a lot of work for everyone involved. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
As part of the attempt to maintain anticipation for this episode, production staffers were kept apprised of the episode's progress strictly on a "need-to-know" basis. Everyone who participated in the episode's production was admonished not to discuss the episode with anyone, not even with friends or family. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
DirectorCliff Bole was delighted to work on this episode's two-parter, later stating, "I enjoyed doing those two shows more than anything I've ever done." Referring to this episode in particular, he commented, "It was also an attempt to do big and fast." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 207)
Guest starElizabeth Dennehy found that, by this episode, she knew how to handle the complicated lines of dialogue andtechnobabble given to her character of Shelby. She recounted, "I actually had much less to do in the second one than the first. I had the show on tape so I watched it quite a few times before we went back. The hard thing was remaining the same weight, because my weight goes up and down and those spacesuits are merciless. I'm sure I put on some weight between the first and the second one." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 207)
When the filming of this episode began, actorLeVar Burton was in hospital for emergency surgery. Consequently, his scenes as La Forge were carefully filmed after the majority of production was concluded; this is why he only appears in close-ups and not in shots with any of the other main performers. Several of his major lines were rewritten forColm Meaney, which is why Chief O'Brien is one of the main characters who works to restore Captain Picard.[3]
Cliff Bole filmed the scene wherein Riker and Worf share an elevator trip – from one corridor to another – in one continuous shot, using a subtle lighting difference in the corridor set to make it seem as if the turbolift (which did not actually move) had traveled between two different corridors. An alcove at the far end of the corridor is dark when the characters enter the lift but lit when they exit. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)

John Nowak, The Best of Both Worlds II — Nowak as unfilmed double for "Locutus"

Another scene was scheduled to include Picard stuntmanJohn Nowak performing a stunt, but the moment was ultimately never shot. Nowak recalled, "In 'Best of Both Worlds, Part II', they had a big stunt planned where they would capture Picard/Locutus, but at the last minute they ran out of time, so I was there, got my four hours of makeup and sat around another 12 hours in the stuff, but never got filmed as the Borg." (Starlog Science-Fiction Explorer, issue #8)
On one evening during post-production for this episode, Michael Okuda was in the TNG art department, and was adding some battle damage to one of the models of the wrecked spaceships for the battlefield scene, when Patrick Stewart – wearing his Borg costume – walked into the department to use its Xerox machine. In response to a puzzled Stewart asking Okuda what he was doing, Okuda held up the ship and jokingly said to the Locutus actor, "Look what you did!" (New Life and New Civilizations,TNG Season 4 DVD special features,[4])

Effects[]

According to an estimate made by Associate ProducerPeter Lauritson on21 August 1991, this episode had at least eighty visual effects shots. (New Life and New Civilizations,TNG Season 4 DVD special feature)
Continuing TNG's groundbreaking use of visual effects technology and artistry as well as the series' pioneering use of motion control visual effects for series television, this episode was the first in which all the video composites and effects – the former of which allowed more effects to be done more quickly and less expensively than with the old optical printers ofThe Original Series – were created digitally. Although most of the model elements were still shot with traditional film and models, the image assembly was done digitally, providing the effects artists with much more control over their work and bringing higher image quality to the finished effects shots. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
In another change from previous seasons, the blue tinge to the transporter "shimmer" effect was removed, leaving a white/silver color and smaller, more refined "particles".
In order to show Picard being turned ghostly white by the Borg probe, the color scheme was turned off, making the film black-and-white. Picard's upper garment and mechanical implants were all black in order to disguise the loss of color in the picture. The beam, probe, and probe light were later edited to make their color seem to remain constant.

USS Enterprise wreck model prepared by Gary Hutzel — Gary Hutzel prepares theConstitution II-classEnterprise wreck model for this episode's depiction of the battle at Wolf 359

As theEnterprise travels through the aftermath of the battle at Wolf 359, several of the destroyed ships were actuallyEnterprise concept models built for the ill-fatedStar Trek: Planet of the Titans movie project (notStar Trek: Phase II, as is often erroneously stated). There are also remnants of the "destroyed"refittedEnterprise fromStar Trek III: The Search for Spock, as well as a variety of new "kit-bash" starship classes, which included theFreedom-class,Niagara-class,Cheyenne-class,Challenger-class,Springfield-class,New Orleans-class, andNebula-class. The first two classes were constructed byGreg Jein, Inc. using their own production assets, while the others were constructed byEd Miarecki, who usedAMT Star Trek model kits (Nos. 6618 and 6619), embellished with custom-made parts and appropriately modified and battle damaged by Michael Okuda.
For the shots of thesaucer section and thestardrive section, new footage of the six-footEnterprise model was shot. Stock footage of the model was used for the separation sequence itself.
TheMars Defense Perimeter ships, which appear as the Borg ship approachesMars, were based on thesubmarine model used inThe Hunt For Red October and were made from the hull of a Russian submarine model kit. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., p. 139,Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary) They were dubbed the "Blue-gray October" by the TNG production staff. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., p. 139)
To depict Mars itself, the production team borrowed a model of the planet that had been used for the scientific documentary seriesCosmos: A Personal Voyage. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
Although this episode depicted the Borg cube in most shots by reusing a three-quarter filming model that had been utilized for both the previous installment and "Q Who", a separate less-detailed model was made to show the cube exploding. The lesser-seen model was designed to break apart easily and was, to represent the cube's innards being blown apart, filled with many model parts and bits of plastic. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary) On7 March 2002, Visual Effects CoordinatorGary Hutzel recounted the creation of this model: "The Borg explosion in that shot was, of course, very important. It was a pivotal moment in the show. And it had to be really big. So, we had all set out realizing we needed a spectacular explosion.Dick Brownfield was our effects person on the show, at that time. And he'd pulled out the stops, brought out everything. But as usual, we spent all the money on the pyrotechnics and there was no money left to build the ship. The ship had to be built. There was no money. I mean, I had to build the ship. So, the ship that was used for the pyrotechnics was only about two feet square, as I recall. So Dennis and I ended up sitting on a table and taking basically model-kit parts, stripping all the parts off, taking the little frames – the little plastic frames that they come on – and gluing them to the side of this box […] and then spray-painting it, looking at it and sticking more stuff on, spray-painting it some more until, finally, it looked like the Borg ship. It was a spectacular explosion, and beautifully executed. We got it in the first take." (New Life and New Civilizations,TNG Season 4 DVD special features)

Continuity[]

With the addition of this episode, TNG outnumbered the quantity of season premieres inStar Trek: The Original Series, as TOS had only three seasons.
This is the first episode to depict the Borg as having an Achilles' heel, rather than being portrayed as virtually indestructible. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
This episode (and its predecessor) was the first inStar Trek to use anavigational deflector in such a way, a trend that went on to become a staple of later episodes including "The Loss", "Night Terrors", "The Nth Degree", "A Matter Of Time", "All Good Things...", several fromStar Trek: Deep Space Nine andStar Trek: Voyager, as well asStar Trek: Enterprise'sthird season finale, "Zero Hour". A navigational deflector is also used to emit a beam, on a23rd century starship, in the movieStar Trek Generations.
This was also the first episode to establish thatshuttlecraft are equipped with their own transporters.
Although the Battle of Wolf 359 is unseen (except for its aftermath) in this episode due to budgetary reasons, portions of the battle were recreated, two-and-a-half years later, for the pilot episode ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, "Emissary", which – with the bigger budget of a feature-length pilot, and more advanced effects technology – was able to show the battle. In that same episode, theUSSSaratoga is established as one of the ships lost at the Battle of Wolf 359, from whichBenjamin Sisko makes a lucky escape withhis son but loseshis wife, who is killed when the ship is dealt a death blow by the Borg cube.
In "The Drumhead", a later episode of TNG's fourth season,Admiral Norah Satie states that the loss at Wolf 359 was thirty-nine starships and nearly eleven thousand lives. While Shelby estimates, in this episode, that the fleet will be back up in "less than a year" after the battle, Starfleet continues to prove shorthanded all the way up to and including thefifth season episode "Redemption II".
Worf andMiles O'Brien recall the events of this episode in DS9's ownfourth season premiere, "The Way of the Warrior". O'Brien tells Worf that he thought they would all end up assimilated, like Picard, while Worf claims that he never doubted that they would succeed.
InVOY: "Death Wish", it is revealed that, during the final battle, theEnterprise-D truly was the Federation's last line of defense, asQ explicitly states that – hadQuinn not saved anancestor of Riker's during theAmerican Civil War, Commander Riker wouldn't have been around to devise his brilliantly unique strategy. As a result, the Borg would've surely assimilated the Federation.
Theseventh season outing "Parallels" showed two different outcomes of the battle via differentquantum realities due to Worf's encounter with aquantum fissure. The first was that theEnterprise successfully destroyed the Borg cube but could not rescue Picard, resulting in his death. The second was that theEnterprise failed to stop the cube and the Borg assimilated the entire Federation, with a badly damagedEnterprise one of the last Starfleet ships to have survived four years on the run.
While the Borg force – during this episode – appears to be only one cube, later episodes ofVoyager (including "Unity" and "Unimatrix Zero, Part II") indicate that Humans were not only assimilated at Wolf 359 but were also taken back toBorg space (seeRiley Frazier andLaura). Additionally, theBorg Queen herself states, inStar Trek: First Contact, that she was present on the cube and survived; she tells Picard not to think in such three-dimensional terms, suggesting that her method of escape may have been or involved time travel.
At the end of this episode, a conversation is held between Shelby and Riker about the future careers of both officers, with Shelby stating that Riker could soon have his choice of any ship in the fleet to captain. In actuality, Riker did not become a captain until over a decade later, inStar Trek Nemesis. Shelby, however, is possibly referenced as a captain inDS9: "You Are Cordially Invited", suggesting that she became a captain before Riker did. However, the Captain Shelby referenced in that episode could be simply another Starfleet officer with the same surname. Shelby was confirmed to be a captain of acapital ship at least by2381, inLD: "An Embarrassment Of Dooplers".
While not technically a sequel to this episode, the following episode to air, "Family", dealt with the repercussions of the events seen here, including the repairs to theEnterprise and Picard's personal trauma; the controversial arrangement not to end the storyline of Picard's kidnapping with this season premiere but to extend it into a third episode had been the biggest decision that the writers of TNG had made over the summer hiatus. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, pp. 207-208)Star Trek: First Contact later established, however, that Picard never fully recovered from the ordeal of his assimilation.
Whereas Part I originated the saying "Resistance is futile," this second part introduced the phrase "You will be assimilated." This, in turn, creates the popular quote, "We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile." This quote has been used in various episodes ofStar Trek: Voyager.
The filmStar Trek: First Contact is a sequel to this two-part episode and ignores the episodes "I Borg", "Descent", and "Descent, Part II". This is because – whenRick Berman,Brannon Braga, andRonald D. Moore wrote the script forFirst Contact – they knew they wanted to use theBorg Collective once again, since those three episodes dealt with individual Borg. It's especially noticeable when Data says to the Queen, "The Borg have a collective consciousness. There are no individuals." Braga and Moore discuss this continuity issue in the commentary for thespecial edition DVD.
This episode reuses footage from Part I, when Worf and Data neutralize approaching Borg on their vessel, and when the Borg make their final attack on theEnterprise.
The blu-ray release seems to use an alternate take of the Battle Bridge scene. When Riker orders Gleason to re-set subspace communication to scrambler code "Riker One", the dialogue does not match Riker and Gleason's lip movements, which seem to indicate that the original code was "Riker Zero". The dialogue from the "Riker One" scene also seems to have been either re-dubbed or inserted into this take.
This is the last of three TNG episodes to feature a Borg cube, which had been present during the Borg's previous two appearances. The ship design went on to make reappearances inStar Trek: First Contact, DS9 pilot episode "Emissary", and numerous episodes ofStar Trek: Voyager.
This is also the last TNG episode to feature the saucer separation sequence and theEnterprise battle bridge, having previously been shown in Season 1's "Encounter at Farpoint" and "The Arsenal of Freedom". The saucer separation sequence appeared one last time, inStar Trek Generations.
This episode is the first of two to feature the character ofEnterprise crew memberGleason, as he subsequently appeared in the later Season 4 episode "Future Imperfect", despite apparently being demoted between these two episodes; he is wearinglieutenant junior grade rank insignia here but wears the rank pips of anensign in his follow-up appearance. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., p. 148)
Nanites are mentioned in this episode as a possible way to combat the Borg, having been introduced toStar Trek in the third season TNG episode "Evolution", the first episode that Michael Piller had penned. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., p. 139)
Despite Locutus' dismissal of Data as a "primitive artificial organism" who would be "obsolete in the new order," theBorg Queen takes a far greater interest in Data during the events ofStar Trek: First Contact.
This episode marks the first appearance ofMars in the franchise.

Music[]

A soundtrack album containing music from this episode (as well as Part I) was released in1990. Anextended soundtrack, featuring the complete episodic score, was released in2013.
ComposerRon Jones cited the music from this episode as his favorite from all theStar Trek episodes he worked on. ("Ron Jones – Sounds in Space",The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine issue 14, p. 17)
The orchestra for this episode and Part I was double the size of that for other episodes, at seventy-seven musicians. ("Ron Jones – Sounds in Space",The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine issue 14, p. 17)

Cue #	Cue title	Corresponding official release
M11[5]	Energy Weapon Fails	GNP Vol. 2 Track 12 "Energy Weapon Fails" GNP BOBW Track 11 "Energy Weapon Fails"
	Repairs	GNP BOBW Track 12 "Repairs / Humanity Taken"
M13[6]	Humanity Taken	GNP Vol. 2 Track 13 "Humanity Taken" GNP BOBW Track 12 "Repairs / Humanity Taken"
M14[7]	Contact Lost	GNP Vol. 2 Track 14 "Contact Lost" GNP BOBW Track 13 "Contact Lost"
M21	Repairs Complete	RJP Disc 12 Track 38 "Repairs Complete M21" GNP BOBW Track 14 "Repairs Complete / Cemetery of Dead Ships"
M22[8]	Cemetery of Dead Ships	GNP Vol. 2 Track 15 "Cemetery of Dead Ships" GNP BOBW Track 14 "Repairs Complete / Cemetery of Dead Ships"
M31	Currents	RJP Disc 12 Track 39 "Currents M31" GNP BOBW Track 15 "Currents"
M32[9]	Intervention	GNP Vol. 2 Track 16 "Intervention" GNP BOBW Track 16 "Intervention"
M41	Sitting Ducks	RJP Disc 12 Track 40 "Sitting Ducks M41 / Borg Reach Saturn M42AltA" GNP BOBW Track 17 "Sitting Ducks / Borg Reach Saturn"
M42 Alt A	Borg Reach Saturn	RJP Disc 12 Track 40 "Sitting Ducks M41 / Borg Reach Saturn M42AltA" GNP BOBW Track 17 "Sitting Ducks / Borg Reach Saturn"
M51[10]	The Link	GNP Vol. 2 Track 17 "The Link" GNP BOBW Track 18 "The Link"
M52[11]	Sleep Command	GNP Vol. 2 Track 18 "Sleep Command" GNP BOBW Track 19 "Sleep Command / Destruct Mode / Picard Is Back"
M53 Alt A Pt. 2[12]	Destruct Mode/Picard Is Back	GNP Vol. 2 Track 19 "Destruct Mode/Picard Is Back" GNP BOBW Track 19 "Sleep Command / Destruct Mode / Picard Is Back"
M55[13]	Picard's Nightmare	GNP Vol. 2 Track 20 "Picard's Nightmare" GNP BOBW Track 20 "Picard's Nightmare"

Reception and aftermath[]

While several science fiction publications have voted "The Best of Both Worlds"Star Trek's finest piece and even in some cases one of science-fiction television's finest pieces, Michael Piller and Cliff Bole have both stated that they felt Part II was a letdown after the strong buildup of Part I. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., p. 138)
Of this episode and the previous installment, Cliff Bole has also stated, "They turned out very well […] The two episodes really go together, and I wouldn't put it past Paramount to release them theatrically in the foreign market. However, I did think that Part Two's ending was a bit of a cop-out. We ran out of time […] You would like to do a bigger ending, and not one so claustrophobic that it takes place in the ship's bowels. I don't have an answer for it, but it was just a very quick ending for such a big show." ("Cliff Bole – Of Redemption & Unification",The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine issue 17, p. 31)
Michael Piller similarly had a mixed opinion of this episode, not only thinking that it wasn't as good as the first part and that "the goods" promised by the earlier episode were – in this follow-up – "not as interesting." He continued by saying, "If you look at it as a two-hour movie, it's really quite effective. As an episode by itself, I don't think Part Two really has a lot of character stuff." One of the aspects of this episode's creation that he was extremely pleased about was the way in which he managed to find a means to defeat the Borg threat. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 207) Piller also regarded the story as "a show in which Picard became more Human than ever before," involving "huge consequences" and rendering Picard as "a far more interesting character," especially following the scene in which a needle comes towards his eye and a single tear rolls down his cheek. (Mission Overview,TNG Season 4 DVD special feature)
FellowStar Trek writing stafferIra Steven Behr agreed, "What was genius was it took Picard, who, compared to Kirk, was an administrator more than an adventurer, and by cutting him off and turning him into a Borg, it kind of gave his Humanity back to him." (William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge)
In summation of his own feelings about working on this episode and its two-parter in general, Rick Berman remarked, "It was a lot of fun to be able to stretch the format and do something that was two hours as opposed to one." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 200)
This episode's text commentary states that the episode premiered "to the delight of fans everywhere." The commentary also characterizes this episode's two-parter as a "wildly popular" duology that "proved to be a defining point," not only by setting "the pattern" for subsequent season-bridging cliffhangers but also by helping to define the character of Picard by giving him "an emotional edge, reminding us that even heroes have Human flaws."
This episode won twoEmmy Awards. Only four other episodes ofStar Trek have won this many. It was nominated for four, a distinction it shares with only three other episodes. It won for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series and was also nominated for Outstanding Art Direction for a Series and Outstanding Achievement in Special Visual Effects. The Emmy for sound editing was the last of four such Emmy wins for the series, with each award having been for an episode from each of TNG's first four seasons. On31 January 2002, Supervising Music EditorGerry Sackman – who had been among the award's recipients – commented, "The final one was 'Best of Both Worlds, Part II'. That's a terrific action show." (Inside theStar Trek Archives,TNG Season 4 DVD special feature)
This episode was featured in theStar Trek: The Next Generation Viewers Choice Marathon.
Entertainment Weekly ranked this episode (combined with Part I) #2 on their list of "The Top 10 Episodes" to celebrate the 20th anniversary ofStar Trek: The Next Generation.[14]
Similarly,Empire magazine cited Part II as the best episode ofThe Next Generation when they ranked the series #37 on their list ofThe 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.[15]
The bookStar Trek 101 (p. 72), byTerry J. Erdmann andPaula M. Block, lists this episode and the previous part of its two-parter as being, together, one of the "Ten Essential Episodes" fromStar Trek: The Next Generation.
A mission report for this episode by Will Murray was published inThe Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine issue 14, pp. 58-62.
Following its use in this episode, the Borg set was disassembled, with most of its pieces being stored for use in subsequent Borg episodes. Ultimately, some of the pieces even made their way into ships from other alien planets. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
The updatedEnterprise-D battle bridge set went on to be redressed asBaran's mercenary ship in theseventh season's "Gambit, Part I" and "Gambit, Part II". (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
This episode turned out to represent the first of multiple times when thieves managed to steal the small control pad that was meant to be situated next to the viewscreen in theEnterprise's observation lounge. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)
After being introduced as a kit-bashed model in this episode, theNebula-class went on to appear as a fully realizedstudio model in the laterfourth season installment "The Wounded".
The shots of the saucer section and the stardrive section in this episode mark the last time that new footage of the six-footEnterprise model was shot untilStar Trek Generations. However, stock footage of the model continued to be used throughout the series' run.

Apocrypha[]

A sequel to this episode appeared incomic book form in1993;Star Treknovel writerMichael Jan Friedman wrote afour-part story that featured Picard and theEnterprise going through a wormhole and entering a universe where they failed to rescue Picard from the Borg and where Dr. Crusher was still at Starfleet Medical when the Borg took Earth. Notable characters that appear in the story include Chief EngineerArgyle, CommanderShelby, EnsignRo, theO'Briens, andWesley Crusher. The issues were inDC's second TNG volume, numbers 47-50 – "The Worst of Both Worlds, Part I!", "The Belly of the Beast!", "The Armies of the Night", and "And Death Shall Have No Dominion".
The DS9 novelThe Siege establishes thatJulian Bashir was on Earth attendingStarfleet Academy at the time.
Despite appearing in only the two-parter of which this episode is half, the character of Shelby later returned in theStar Trek: New Frontier series of novels, which feature her as the first officer of theUSSExcalibur and go on to track her career path to becoming an admiral in command of astarbase.
In theDoctor Who crossover comic series,Star Trek: The Next Generation - Doctor Who: Assimilation², theEleventh Doctor and his companionsAmy Pond andRory Williams travel back in time to the Battle of Wolf 359 to recover a copy of the Borg central archive from the Borg cube during the battle after the present version is 'deleted' by the Doctor's enemies, theCybermen. During their visit, they witness the battle underway and Amy asks the Doctor why they don't try to stop it, and he explains it's because the Battle of Wolf 359 is a 'fixed point in time', a concept introduced inDoctor Who that refers to an event in time and space that absolutely has to happen with dire consequences if there are any attempts to alter it.

Remastered version[]

Three seconds of footage could not be located whenCBS Digital remastered this episode as part ofThe Best of Both Worlds (Blu-ray) release. Occurring one hour, one minute into the theatrical edition of the episode, this brief shot was included as an upconverted image from the original standard-definition videotape.

From the2002 DVD…

…and the upconverted remaster

Video and DVD releases[]

Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes,CIC Video):Volume 38, catalog number VHR 2571,17 February 1992
As part of the UK VHS collectionStar Trek: The Next Generation - Borg Box:5 December 1994
In feature-length form:
- As part of the UK VHS releaseStar Trek: The Next Generation - The Full Length TV Movies: Volume 2, catalog number VHR 4102,16 January 1995
- UK collectors' edition VHS: catalog number VHR 4433,9 December 1996
UK re-release (three-episode tapes,Paramount Home Entertainment):Volume 4.1, catalog number VHR 4752,19 March 2001
As part of theTNG Season 4 DVD collection
In feature-length form, as part of theStar Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete TV Movies collection
As part of theStar Trek: Fan Collective - Borg collection
As part ofThe Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation DVD collection
In feature-length form, as part of theThe Best of Both Worlds Blu-ray standalone release
In feature-length form, as part of theStar Trek: Picard Movie & TV Collection Blu-ray collection

Links and references[]

Starring[]

Also starring[]

Guest stars[]

And

Special guest star[]

Whoopi Goldberg asGuinan

Co-star[]

Todd Merrill asGleason

Uncredited co-stars[]

Deleted references[]

engine control processor;needle;Riker, Kyle

External links[]

"The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" script atStar Trek Minutiae
"The Best of Both Worlds" atMemory Beta, the wiki for licensedStar Trek works
"The Best of Both Worlds" atWikipedia
"The Best of Both Worlds" atMissionLogPodcast.com
"The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" at theInternet Movie Database

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The Best of Both Worlds, Part II (episode)

"The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"

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