The show that put science fiction back on T.V. and made it serious again. A lot of excellent written concept shows that newer shows have recycled or done entire series from. Patrick Stewart became a superstar and is a big reason why the series work as he spits out dialogue and science babble as the Bard himself should have written it. He got help from a very well-balanced ensemble and The Star Trek universe became bigger, deeper and even more interesting than before. Since the show consist of many stand alone stories, every single episode "hit-and-miss" depending on how lucky the writer was with his/her idea and how the production and director executed the story. The first two seasons did have a lot of stinkers and there was too much of Wil Wheaton's Wesley Crusher during that time who was a terrible character on the show when he was a regular while his stories as a guest star later was excellent. Some cheesy moments also make this series a lot more dated than it should have been. My main problem though is that the series lack character continuity as most of the personalities comes through in dialogue and small moments and they never change by events from episode to episode (most remarkable is when Geordi LaForge who got brainwashed in one show but is just as good and normal the following episode). Still, this is a show that set the standard for science fiction for the next two decades and is full of entertainment value. If one only skips the worst written episodes that is.