正义的伙伴

　　十五年前，三个年轻人的离世给这座沉闷的海滨小镇带来了巨大的伤痛。如今，一名年轻女子的神秘死亡又撕开了旧伤疤。

　　改编自小说《四面佛》

　　Season 3: 2001–2002
　　Cast: Rob Lowe, Stockard Channing, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford and Martin Sheen
　　The third season, which covers the administration's third and fourth years in office, starts off with Bartlet announcing his intention to run for reelection and is heavily devoted to the upcoming presidential election. Other prominent plotlines include Congressional investigations into whether Bartlet committed electoral fraud by concealing his MS, a death threat against C.J. and the ensuing relationship she develops with a Secret Service agent assigned to her, the Qumari defense minister Abdul Shareef plotting terrorist attacks against the US, and a troubling meeting between Toby and the President that leaves Bartlet with a bout of insomnia in "Night Five." The season finale, "Posse Comitatus" closes several of these storylines as Bartlet meets his opponent in the elections and reaffirms his commitment to beat him. The episode ends with the president finally deciding to order Shareef's assassination (a legally questionable act) and C.J.'s agent's murder, just after the man threatening C.J. was caught.
　　From a critical perspective, series creator Aaron Sorkin acknowledged in October 2002 that the terrorism-related plots designed to keep the series relevant after the real-life 9/11 attacks were awkward at times, saying "from week to week, you felt like you were writing the show handcuffed, a little bit. I didn't know how to write it anymore. It was a constant search for what I wasn't doing that used to make the show work. [...] Maybe there was a way to make it work; there probably was. I wasn't able to find it in twenty-two episodes." [1] Nonetheless, the show went on to win its third "Outstanding Drama" Emmy in a row.

　　《星际迷航:下一代》(简称TNG)是《星际迷航》系列的第2部剧集，台湾翻译为《银河飞龙》，于1987-1994年共播出了7季。该剧讲述的是在24世纪，《星际迷航:原初系列》(简称TOS)的八十年后，Picard舰长率领企业号D继续探索太空的冒险故事。
　　每一集的开头都有这样一段话：「宇宙，人类最后的边疆，这是星舰企业号的旅程，它所持续的使命，是为了探索陌生的新世界，寻找新的生命及新的文明，勇敢地航向那前所未至的宇宙洪荒。」
　　这段话和「原初系列」的版本并没有太大的差别，为了更强调银河中有许多不同的人种，「man」也改成了用　one　代替，不光指地球人类。
　　由于电影第四集「抢救未来」最后出现了企业号A (NCC-1701-A)，「TNG」的企业号编号改为现在大家熟悉的 NCC-1701-D，一直到现在，只有企业号的编号是维持不变，后面再挂上字母的，这是企业号的特权，其它星舰在不同时代即使有重复的名称，也不会有相同的编号。
　　星舰企业号D的舰长是Jean-Luc Picard，副舰长是William Riker，制片人Gene Roddenberry希望由女性来担任安全官以表示未来男女平等，Tasha Yar的角色诞生，后来又加入两个女性角色，顾问 Deanna Troi和医官 Beverly Crusher，另外还有一个天才少年Wesley Crusher。为了纪念一位美国众所皆知于 1975 年过逝的眼盲星舰迷George La Forge，Gene Roddenberry创造出一个眼盲的角色－－ Geordi La Forge。接下来是一个生化人的角色－－ Data，他是企业号的科学官。 最后一个角色 Worf，作为一名克林贡人加入了星际联邦代表着昔日的敌人已成为今日的盟友，在冷战时代是个很有意义的角色。