Star Trek: The Next Generation Original Series" in 1969, the "Star Trek" franchise had continued with "" (1973–74) and a series of films, all featuring the original cast. In the 1980s, franchise creator Roddenberry decided to create a new series, featuring a new crew embarking on their mission a century after that of "The Original Series". "TNG" featured a new crew that starred (for the majority of its seven-year broadcast run) Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker, Brent Spiner as Lt Commander Data, Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf, LeVar Burton as Lt Commander Geordi La Forge, Marina Sirtis as
The Inner Light (Star Trek: The Next Generation) played Captain Jean-Luc Picard. "Star Trek" writer Susan Sackett notes that it is also her favorite episode even though it is not one she wrote. "The Inner Light" was ranked among the top five episodes in a "viewers' choice" marathon that was broadcast just before the premiere of the series finale. The Inner Light (Star Trek: The Next Generation) "The Inner Light" is the 125th episode overall and the 25th episode of the of the American science fiction television series "". The episode was written by freelance writer Morgan Gendel based on his original pitch. Gendel is credited as writer