Star Trek: The Next Generation
A Matter of Time
TV Flash files “A Matter of Time” as hour 109 of 178 in the TV Flash guide — Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) on Syndication, season 5, episode 9, aired 1991-11-18, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E09: listed hour 109 of 178 in the Star Trek: The Next Generation guide, hour 9 of 26 in season 5. It aired 1991-11-18 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Unification II” (S05E08). Next is “New Ground” (S05E10).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
As the Enterprise crew struggles to save Penthara IV following an asteroid collision, a historian from the 26th century arrives on board.
Viewer FAQ
Where does A Matter of Time sit in the Star Trek: The Next Generation guide?
S05E09 is listed hour 109 of 178 — hour 9 of 26 in season 5, season 5 episode 9.
When did Star Trek: The Next Generation S05E09 air?
A Matter of Time aired 1991-11-18 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Should I skip season one?
You can sample it, then jump. The pilot and early hours wobble; fandom's own catechism is that the series finds its voice mid-run. Stewart's Picard is already the instrument.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Peak optimistic space opera with philosophical teeth — Stewart's Picard is a master class in quiet authority, and Data, Worf, and the Borg made franchise television feel weekly and serious. First-run syndication revived Trek without Kirk. Start with mid-run classics if the pilot feels stiff; Make it so is still a management style.
First-run syndication is a window, not a shrine. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) regenerated Gene Roddenberry's universe without Kirk by putting Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard on a new Enterprise and selling **178 hours across seven seasons** outside a single network night. Rex can keep the original series in amber. This was franchise television learning to drop weekly at scale: idea-driven starship hours, a more ensemble bridge, prestige sci-fi as appointment TV that did not need a peacock to…
Open the Star Trek: The Next Generation package · Season 5 hub
Filed against
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- Brent Spiner as Data
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- Michael Dorn as Worf
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