Star Trek : The Next Generation Star Trek : The Next Generation ( often abbreviated to TNG ) is the second live - action " Star Trek " television series , set in the 24th century . Like its predecessor , it was created by Gene Roddenberry . Produced at Paramount Pictures , it aired in first - run syndication ( by in the US ) from to . The series led to two spin - offs in the TNG era : ( which it ran alongside during its final two seasons ) and . Summary . " Star Trek : The Next Generation " moved the universe forward roughly a century past the days of James T . Kirk and Spock . The series depicted a new age in which the Klingon s were allies of the Federation , though the Romulan s remained adversaries . New threats included the Ferengi ( although they were later used more for comic relief ) , the Cardassian s , and the Borg . While was clearly made in the 1960s , the first two seasons of " The Next Generation " show all the markings of a 1980s product , complete with uniform s . As with the original " Star Trek " , TNG was still very much about exploration , " boldly going where no one has gone before " . Similarly , the plots captured the adventures of the crew of a starship , namely the . Despite the apparent similarities with the original series , the creators of TNG were adamant about creating a bold , independent vision of the future . The public did not widely accept the show on its own terms until the airing of , which marked a shift towards higher drama , serious plot lines , and a less episodic nature . This helped pave the way for " Star Trek : Deep Space Nine " and its two - year - long Dominion War arc and preceding build - up , as well as the third and fourth seasons of . " Star Trek : Voyager " capitalized on the heightened crew relationships and familial bonds first seen on " The Next Generation . " DS9 , on the other hand , balanced political intrigue , character development , and series - long plot threads with a rerun - friendly format . As with the original " Star Trek " , TNG ' s special effects utilized miniatures , but due to great advancements in computerized effects and opticals , the show leaped ahead of its predecessor in terms of quality effects . This series marked the greatest surge in " Star Trek " s mainstream popularity , and paved the way for the three later televised " Trek " shows . Four of the " Star Trek " motion pictures continued the adventures of the TNG cast after the end of the series in 1994 . served to " pass the torch " from the " Original Series " cast , who had been the subject of the first six motion pictures , by including crossover appearances from William Shatner , James Doohan , and Walter Koenig ; it also featured the destruction of the USS " Enterprise " - D . , released two , was the first of the motion pictures to solely feature the TNG cast , transferred aboard the new and engaging with one of their deadliest enemies from the television series , the Borg . followed in , continuing certain character arcs from the series . In , brought some of these character arcs and plot threads to a seemingly definite conclusion , although some cast members expressed hope that future movies would yet pick up the story . Regardless , a new generation of actors appeared in ' s , which created an alternate reality and returned the focus to and . Episode list . Season 1 . TNG Season 1 , 25 episodes : Season 2 . TNG Season 2 , 22 episodes : Season 3 . TNG Season 3 , 26 episodes : Season 4 . TNG Season 4 , 26 episodes : Season 5 . TNG Season 5 , 26 episodes : Season 6 . TNG Season 6 , 26 episodes : Season 7 . TNG Season 7 , 25 episodes : Behind the scenes . " Star Trek : The Next Generation " was originally pitched to the then - fledgling . However , they couldn ' t guarantee an initial order greater than thirteen episodes , not enough to make the enormous start - up costs of the series worth the expense . It was then decided to sell the series to the first - run syndication market . The show ' s syndicated launch was overseen by Paramount Television president Mel Harris , a pioneer in the syndicated television market . Many of the stations that carried " The Next Generation " had also run " The Original Series " for a long time . According to issues of " " from early 1987 , TNG was originally planned to be set in the 25th century , 150 years after the original series , and the " Enterprise " would have been the " Enterprise " NCC - 1701 - G . Gene Roddenberry ultimately changed the timeline to mid - 24th century , set on board the " Enterprise " NCC - 1701 - D , as an " Enterprise " - G would have been the eighth starship to bear the name and that was too many for the relatively short time period that was to have passed . " Star Trek : The Next Generation " was billed initially as being set 78 years after . ( p . 16 ) However , after the series ' first season was established as being set in the year 2364 , this reference became obsolete as dates were then able to be set for the original series and the four previous films . When this happened , it was established that the events of the original series were about a hundred years before the events of TNG . With TNG ' s first season being set in 2364 , 78 years prior would have been 2286 . partly takes place during this year along with the shakedown cruise of the . On the special " " , Gene Roddenberry commented , " " On the original " Star Trek " , I practically lost my family from working so many twelve - hour days , fourteen - hour days , seven days a week , and I told them , ' You can ' t pay me enough to do that . ' But then they said , ' Hey , but suppose we do it in a way in which ' they call syndication , ' in which we don ' t have a network and we don ' t have all those people up there ? ' And Paramount was saying to me , ' And we guarantee that you will be in charge of the show . " ' " Andrew Probert was first hired by Roddenberry in . However , not until , when Roddenberry was preparing to launch a new show , entitled " Star Trek : The Next Generation " , did he call upon Probert to take a lead design role . Everything had to be rethought , imagined , planned and redesigned . As the vision evolved in the designers ' minds , the evolution was charted in successive sketches and paintings . Among Probert ' s creations , in addition to the new " Enterprise " starship and many of its interiors including the main bridge , are many other featured spacecraft . The Ferengi cruiser , and even the Ferengi species , are Probert designs . Roddenberry originally insisted on doing a one - hour pilot and assigned D . C . Fontana to write the episode , first titled " Meeting at Farpoint " . However , the studio was keen on having a two - hour pilot , mainly because they wanted something big and spectacular to launch the series , especially considering first - run syndication . Roddenberry himself volunteered to extend Fontana ' s script to two hours , eventually adding the Q storyline to it . Ronald D . Moore commented , " " Gene did not want conflict between the regular characters on TNG . This began to hamstring the series and led to many , many problems . To put it bluntly , this wasn ' t a very good idea . But rather than jettison it completely , we tried to remain true to the spirit of a better future where the conflicts between our characters did not show them to be petty or selfish or simply an extension of 20th century mores . " " Roddenberry tried to recruit many production staff members from " The Original Series " to work on the new series . These included producers Robert Justman and Edward K . Milkis , writers D . C . Fontana and David Gerrold ( who served as the main creative force behind the formation of the series ) , costume designer William Ware Theiss , assistant director Charles Washburn , composer Fred Steiner , set decorator John M . Dwyer , and writer John D . F . Black . Roddenberry also tried to bring back cinematographer Jerry Finnerman , but he declined the offer , being busy working on " Moonlighting " at the time . However , all of the above people finished working on the series after or during the first season . Unit Production Manager David Livingston was responsible for hiring Michael Westmore for the pilot episode . ( ENT Season 3 Blu - ray , audio commentary ) Remastering . After several months of speculation and partial confirmation , StarTrek . com announced on ( the 24th anniversary of the series premiere ) that " The Next Generation " would be remastered in 1080p high - definition for release on Blu - ray Disc and eventual syndication , starting in . The seventh and final season was released on Blu - ray in . Cast and crew . The following people worked on " The Next Generation " ; it is unknown during which season or on which episodes .