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Why Star Trek: TNG's 'Family' belongs on your Thanksgiving watchlist

Picard and Worf remind us that Thanksgiving isn’t about perfect reunions. It’s about accepting support when we need it most.
ByCalvin Townsend
Nov. 2, 2015 – CBS Television Studios announced a new “Star Trek” series for January 2017, introducing new characters, worlds and civilizations while exploring the franchise’s contemporary themes. A special CBS broadcast would preview the series, with its premiere and subsequent first-run episodes exclusively available on CBS All Access in the U.S. Pictured: Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. Screen grab: ©1990 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Nov. 2, 2015 – CBS Television Studios announced a new “Star Trek” series for January 2017, introducing new characters, worlds and civilizations while exploring the franchise’s contemporary themes. A special CBS broadcast would preview the series, with its premiere and subsequent first-run episodes exclusively available on CBS All Access in the U.S. Pictured: Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. Screen grab: ©1990 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. | CBS
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2. Worf struggles with being cared for

Sergey’s eagerness to discuss starship specifications and the stories about Worf’s childhood make for an awkward visit. Beneath the embarrassment lies a more serious concern. Worf tells Riker that he doubts any human can truly understand what it means for a Klingon to live with dishonor.

The Rozhenkos have spent years thinking about the limits of what they can give their son. Their conversation with Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) reveals how seriously they took raising a Klingon child. Helena learned to prepare Klingon food, and both parents understood that there were questions about Worf’s heritage they could never fully answer.

When they speak with Worf privately, he insists that he must bear his dishonor alone. Sergey and Helena tell him they are proud of him and that they love him. Worf reaches for their hands, accepting their comfort without having to explain what Klingon honor means to him.

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