This soundtrack from the first episode of the first of the onslaught of “new” Star Trek shows is vastly different from the flavor of music that the series later employed. This score is in an unusually lush, Star Wars-ish style which really sounds out of place compared to the later abstract dronings that were insisted upon by the producers. Some of the best cues on here include “Admiral”, a nice little piano piece underscoring DeForest Kelley’s cameo guest appearance as an extremely elderly Dr. McCoy, escorted by Data, and the suite of music that accompanied the early scenes in which Q pursues the Enterprise despite Picard’s best attempts to shake him. Also included are some unused cues, including a rejected but very nice piece for the Enterprise’s saucer separation (which was replaced by a boring reprise of Jerry Goldsmith’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture theme). But by far, the true gem of this album is McCarthy’s rejected “Alternate Theme” for the series, which opens with the familiar Alexander Courage theme and then flows smoothly into McCarthy’s own original theme for 
Captain Picard, which I dearly love and I think could have ranked as an instant fan favorite along with the movie and earlier TV themes. By opting to go with the familiar Goldsmith theme, the producers buried this wonderful piece of music, and thank goodness they got at least one performance on tape and included it on this soundtrack.
- Star Trek: The Next Generation main title (1:45)
- Stardate (1:44)
- Troi Senses (1:42)
- Picard’s Plan / First Chase / First Chase part 2 (4:31)
- Detaching* / Separation* (2:41)
- Shaken / Court Time / There Goes Da Judge (2:29)
- U.S.S. Hood / On Manual (3:19)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation end credit (1:04)
- Personal Log / Admiral / Old Lovers (2:25)
- Caverns (1:27)
- Splashing* / The Woods / Memories (2:46)
- Scanned / Big Guns / Unknown (3:04)
- Revealed / Reaching Out (4:39)
- Departure (1:08)
- Alternate main title (Picard’s theme)* (1:44)< * music not used in broadcast version of show.
Released by: GNP Crescendo
Release date: August 22, 1988
Total running time: 36:28
