The Star Trek franchise started in the 1960’s under Desilu Productions. It became a sci-fi cult classic late spinning off numerous movies and series including Star Trek The Next Generation. But, by the time The Next Generation series was created (1987-1993), Desilu Productions was sold to CBS and became Paramount Television. Best of Both Worlds aired in 1990 in a two-part cliffhanger for season 3 and 4. It was directed by Cliff Bole who directed numerous episodes of The Next Generation as well as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DSN) and Star Trek: Voyager. He was quite the influence behind the scenes of the later Star Trek franchise, and even had a race of aliens named after him called the Bolians. The writer for this episode was Maurice Piller who also spent much time on the Star Trek Franchise, but it is important to note another writer on the series Maurice Hurley who was the one who created the Borg.
With spaceships that travel faster than the speed of light, aliens of all colors, and weapons that compose of pulsating energy, Star Trek not only has the generic elements of Sci-Fi, but, has become a corner stone reinforcement of the genres conventions. With the cult following that followed the original series, Star Trek has influenced the public’s general understanding of the genre. However, episodes such as Best of Both Worlds, surpass the generic definitions of the genre. Quoting Isaac Asimov (SF is)” The human response to changes in the level of science and technology”. Even though the Brog were introduced a season before, this was the episode that fully introduced the collective, and in 1990 Windows 3.0, HTML, and the Internet, were fully introduced to the general public.
The Borg’s social architecture is quite similar to the internet. Each Borg is a computer human hybrid that communicates with each other electronically, forming the single consciousness that is the Collective. In 1990 there where many breakthroughs in computer to computer communication. There was the release of windows 3.0 with a user friendly interface (at the time) that brought computing more into the mainstream. HTML was first coded in this year as well, but was not released to the public for another two years. The Internet itself was being restructured as well. Organizations such as The NSFNET (National Science Foundation Network) took over much of the network in order to connect computes between universities and scientists faster. At the time the internet was a social collective because with no commercial interests involved at its start, the internet was developed in a cooperative, experimental environment.(1)
1990 was also the year the Internet experience its first worm, the Morris worm. It was originally created to see how big the Internet was at the time, and was not made maliciously, but had unintended effects by infecting a computer multiple times slowing down the computers. It was estimated that about $10 million. Towa
rds the end of pt. II when Jean-luc Picard was recaptured from the borg, Data connected with the Borg Picard. In a way Data hacked into the Borg system (consciousness) and placed in a command for the Borg to go to sleep.The physical architecture of the Borg ship also has many similarities to the aesthetic of hard drives and motherboards. The exterior of the ship is similar to that of a motherboard. The interior of the ship looks like a series of motherboards and Hard Drives.
There are also socio/political elements with the episode as well. In 1990 the Soviet Union was in downfall. The Berlin wall came down in 1989, and a hand full of providences within the union was claiming independence. This can be looked at in two ways for this episode. First there was still this fear of Socialism throughout the United States. The fear of losing ones individuality was clearly exploited within this episode, which made the Borg so threatening to humanity. Second was the downfall of a mighty empire, or a significant point in history. This was referenced in the scene where Jean-luc Picard runs into Guinan during his tour of the ship. Jean-luc expressed his fears by recalling the Emperor Honorius when he witnessed the sack of Rome by the visi-goths.
When Jean-luc was full
y assimilated by the Borg, half of his head was composed/covered with mechanical parts. Around this time this cyborg aesthetic of having half the face human and the other half machine can be seen throughout other sci-fi movies of the time. It is shown in movies such as Robocop/ Robocop2, and the Terminator with Terminator 2 following this episod
e by two years. The Borg too, had a similar idea to that of Aliens (1986). The Xenomorphs were a bug like species with no mechanical properties, but the locust like movement of this species is very similar to that of the Borg.(1) Anderson, Jana, “Imagining the Internet,” Rowan and Little Field
publishers. 2005
References
Cornea, Christine. Science Fiction Cinema. Rutgers University Press, 2007.
Sobchack, Vivian. The Look of Science Fiction
