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The Best of Both Worlds,
Part 1
Responding to a distress call from Jouret IV, a Federation settlement, the crew
of the U.S.S. Enterprise transports down to find the colony of New
Providence completely obliterated, the only trace being a gigantic crater.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his people have seen this terrible
thing before, and when they are met by Admiral Hansen (George Murdock) and Lt.
Cmdr. Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy) of Starfleet Tactical, their worst fears are
realized: the Borg, a malevolent race of advanced cybernetic beings, have
reached Federation space.
While Cmdr. William Riker
(Jonathan Frakes) is offered command of his own starship, the U.S.S. Melbourne,
Lt. Cmdr. Shelby eagerly eyes the position of First Officer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise.
Riker is reluctant to accept his new command but Shelby is undeterred from her
goal and challenges Riker’s authority to prove herself right for the position.
After confirming the Borg’s presence at Jouret IV, Admiral Hansen reports a
distress call from a nearby starship, describing a cube-shaped alien vessel. The
U.S.S. Enterprise then proceeds at warp 9 toward the starship’s last
known position and while enroute, is intercepted by the Borg ship. The Borg
announce that it is Captain Picard that they want, or they will destroy the
ship. The U.S.S. Enterprise’s weaponry proves useless against the Borg
ship and is ultimately caught in a tractor beam.
The U.S.S. Enterprise
then fires its phaser banks at random and breaks the tractor beam’s hold on
them. Picard then tries to escape the Borg ship in a nearby nebula, but they
prove unable to elude them for long. Picard is captured and brought before the
Borg Central Intelligence where they tell him that it is their intention to
invade the Terran system and they want a human voice to speak for them.
Meanwhile, Engineer Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton) suggests that they may be able
to combat the Borg with a concentrated burst of energy channeled through the
ship’s main deflector. But their time to prepare everything is limited, so an
away team is assembled to find Picard and possibly slow the Borg ship down on
its way to Earth.
After beaming aboard the
enemy vessel, Shelby, Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden), Worf (Michael Dorn) and Data
(Brent Spiner) destroy several power distribution nodes with their phasers, thus
drawing attention from the Borg. They are horrified to find Picard partially
transformed into a Borg himself. Unable to effect a rescue, the away team
returns to the U.S.S. Enterprise where Riker is ready to fire the energy
burst from the deflector. Once back, the Captain, now no longer Jean-Luc Picard
but Locutus of Borg, hails the crew and informs them: “Resistance is futile
From this time forward you will service…us.” Riker takes a deep breath and
gives his command to fire the energy weapon.
The Best of Both Worlds,
Part 2
Captain Jean-Luc Picard has been abducted by the malevolent Borg Intelligence
for the purpose of being spokesman to the Human race in the Borg invasion of
Earth. Now transformed into Locutus of Borg, he stands against the U.S.S. Enterprise
as Cmdr. William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) gives the order to fire the energy
blast which he hopes will destroy the Borg ship. But after absorbing all of
Picard’s knowledge of the starship’s capabilities, the Borg are easily able
to shrug off the blast and escape undamaged.
As the Borg ship continues
toward Earth, Picard undergoes further cybernetic implants and conditioning. A
single tear streams down his face as the last of his humanity is drained. As the
crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise struggles to quickly repair the ship, Riker
must adjust to the loss of Picard as well as to his new responsibilities as
ship's captain. Meanwhile, Admiral Hansen (George Murdock) mobilizes a strike
force to intercept the Borg at sector Wolf 359. But even the Federation’s
mightiest starships prove to be no match for the Borg’s power.
Upon arriving at Wolf 359 and
finding the devastated remains of Starfleet, the U.S.S. Enterprise is
able to trace the course of the Borg via an ionization trail left in their wake.
Realizing that the Borg can still use Picard’s knowledge and experience
against them, Riker devises a complex rescue operation which he hopes will catch
Locutus/Picard off guard. After re-engaging the Borg, the U.S.S. Enterprise
separates its saucer section which then bombards the Borg ship with an
anti-matter barrage. While the Borg are distracted, a shuttlecraft piloted by
Worf (Michael Dorn) and Data (Brent Spiner) slips past the Borg’s defenses and
homes in on Picard’s position. From there they beam in, sedate Picard, and
transport him back to the shuttle. After emerging from the Borg defensive
perimeter, they beam back to the U.S.S. Enterprise as the shuttlecraft is
destroyed by the Borg.
In sick bay, Locutus/Picard
is examined by Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Data in the hopes that, through
him, they can tap into the Borg collective consciousness and find a hidden
weakness to exploit. As the Borg approach Earth, Data links his positronic brain
to Locutus, attempting to send a command to the Borg Central Intelligence to
abort the attack. With phasers and photo torpedoes still useless against the
Borg¦s shields, Riker prepares to ram the Borg ship head on, but in sick bay,
the last remaining vestige of Picard whispers over and over again: “sleep”
which Data realizes to be a command to transmit to the Borg to shut down and
regenerate. Data successfully transmits the signal and the Borg ship ceases
operation, but an away team discovers that in so doing, they have activated the
ship’s auto-destruct system. After the U.S.S. Enterprise warps out of
range, the Borg ship explodes, releasing Picard from its hold on him.
As the U.S.S Enterprise
proceeds to Space Station McKinley for much needed drydock repairs, Cmdr. Riker
explains to Lt. Cmdr. Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy) that his career is his own
business, not Starfleet’s and that, at least for now, he will remain on board
the U.S.S. Enterprise as Executive Officer. Meanwhile, Picard has his
remaining cybernetic Borg components surgically removed and, at least on the
outside, he appears to be normal. But the memory of his ordeal remains and as
Picard looks out of his window, he contemplates whether or not his life can ever
be the same again.
Ron Jones
Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Ron Jones moved with his family to the northwest at
the age of four, living in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington and West Linn,
Oregon. During his teens, he realized he had a unique ability to create music
and his family encouraged him to focus on composing. Before graduating high
school, he had already composed and arranged works for orchestra, band, jazz
ensemble, choir and brass groups. He had also enrolled at Clackamas Community
College in Oregon, where he received several awards for outstanding
musicianship. After graduating from Seattle Pacific University, where he
received a B.A. in music theory and composition, Ron and his wife, Laree moved
to Los Angeles in 1978 where he continued to study composition and arranging at
the Dick Grove School of Music, during which time he got his first scoring
assignment “ghosting” for a major movie of the week. Since then he has
worked on several series for Hanna-Barbera including “The Smurfs”, “The
Flintstones” and “Scooby Doo.” Later on he worked with Mike Post and Pete
Carpenter on “The A-Team”, “Riptide”, “Magnum P.I.”, “Hunter”,
etc. His most recent works have been for episodes of the CBS cartoon series
“Superman”, “Duck Tales” and numerous episodes of the new series
“Mission: Impossible” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Ron and his
family reside in Burbank, where he also has his offices.
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