The single greatest cliffhanger of all time.
Try to imagine it. It’s the spring of 1990, and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” has been on the air for three seasons - and is about to break the Original Series’ record by having a fourth season.
Denise Crosby (Lt. Tasha Yar) left the show before the first season was over. Gates McFadden was summarily fired and replaced for season two, only to return in season three at the insistence of Patrick Stewart. So change had always been a possibility.
There was no internet. Which meant no spoilers like we now know them. No set reports. No speculation amongst the fans outside of conventions or groups of friends. Which meant no way to cope with the anxiety, no bulletin boards to post “AHHH! WTF?” on while you waited.
We may know now how it all turned out, but back then? I’ve got friends who where trekkies in the day, and the summer of 1990 was full of anxiety!
