September 1, 1987
On the fifth of seven shooting days for "Lonely Among Us," two alien races make their debut before the cameras in the B-plot of the story — the snakelike Selay and the dog-faced Anticans. One of the actors in the heavy makeup who shoots his very first Star Trek scenes this day later has his name withheld from the credits, but not to worry — he'd later turn up as the first-ever Cardassian captain, Gul Macet — and have a long a long run as another Cardassian, Gul Dukat: Deep Space Nine's own Marc Alaimo.

September 2, 1987
As part of diplomatic greetings in a transporter room scene late in the day for "Lonely Among Us," cameras film the modern-era Starfleet dress uniforms for the first time ever on this date. William Ware Theiss' creation, evocative of the deck coats of the 19th century British Navy, would constantly undergo tweaks and ever-shorter lengths under his successors, Season 2's Durinda Rice Wood and then longtime series designer Robert Blackman.

September 8, 1987
The first day of shooting "Justice" begins with longtime Star Trek fan and TV/film veteran James L. Conway in the director's chair. Conway returned to direct only "The Neutral Zone" and "Frame of Mind" for TNG, but 18 more on the spinoff shows — including Enterprise's two-hour pilot "Broken Bow" and Part 1 of "In a Mirror, Darkly," DS9's two-hour "The Way of the Warrior," plus "Duet" and "Little Green Men," and Voyager 's "The 37's" and "Death Wish."

September 11, 1987
For the first time since a brief outing to Griffith Park on Day 1 of the pilot episode, TNG takes to the outdoors for a day's location shoot on "Justice" in the surprisingly lovely Japanese Gardens at the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys. Here they are home to the Edo of Rubicun III, but when the cameras are turned around four years later in "The First Duty," the same site plus modern building facades becomes the oft-seen live-action portion — augmented by digital matte paintings — of the familiar landscapes of Starfleet Academy and Starfleet headquarters. The next day, more outdoor locations filmed would use the lovely Huntington Library and Gardens in nearby San Marino, adjacent to Pasadena.

September 15, 1987
Some 24 million boxes of Cheerios and Honey-Nut Cheerios appear, carrying news of a TNG walk-on contest. The contest, sported from boxes on store shelves nationwide, is the biggest of many up-front promotional tie-in campaigns for the new series, roughly two weeks before its debut. Fans could also redeem the backs of four different stickers found inside the cereal and $1.00 to receive a poster of illustrator and designer Andy Probert's Enterprise-D artwork as seen hung in the Ready Room. (The eventual walk-on role contest winner was an elderly woman who did not care to "claim her prize.")

September 18, 1987
A 10-day "countdown" promotional campaign of daily TV spots for TNG's premiere begins on each local affiliate station, timed to that market's own varying debut night over the week. In an echo of the earlier print and radio ads, each spot features a rapid-fire flurry of scenes from the pilot, while a countdown ends by declaring " 'x' DAYS UNTIL THE 24TH CENTURY!"

September 25, 1987
Filming wraps on "The Battle," the eighth regular episode after the two-hour pilot — and the last time we see the Ferengi in their native, fur-garbed state before the reinvention of the species in Season 2's "Peak Performance."

September 28, 1987
The TNG pilot "Encounter at Farpoint" first airs on this date, although the Monday is only the first of seven "premiere dates" because of the non-network show's varying airtimes in each of the 170 markets where it is syndicated. The huge number of stations means TNG is reaching 94 percent of American TV households — incredible for a syndicated program, much less any network show. Back on the lot, John de Lancie films his role as "Q" in the first reprise of a guest role, for "Hide and Q," on the same day the world first meets him and his "friends."

September 30, 1987
In 2 million units shipped this day, the VHS videotape premiere of "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" features a 30-second trailer for TNG's debut this week. It's a great promotional piggyback that will now be seen by videotape renters for weeks.

For more 20th-anniversary milestones, see TNG20 (August1987), TNG20 (July 1987) and TNG20 (March-June 1987)