The Blu-ray edition of season 2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation — available starting today — includes an extended cut of one of the show’s earliest top tier episodes: “The Measure of a Man,” in which Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) defends Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), an android, and his rights as a sentient being.

The trial gave Stewart a chance to show off his Shakespearean chops with a series of stirring speeches about the nature of free will and self-awareness — Star Trek: The Next Generation at its most challenging and thought provoking. So we couldn’t resist the chance to speak with the 72-year-old actor about that episode, as well as what the 25th anniversary celebrations of the show have been like. We also asked Stewart about his recently announced return to the X-Men franchise, and his answer was quite surprising to say the least. Check out our conversation below:  READ FULL STORY »