Star Trek: The Next Generation Discussion Thread

[MMPR]

Not sure how many Trekkies are on here, but I just started watching TNG (thanks Netflix!) and thought I would start a thread to talk about it

I'm 16 episodes in, and it's rough so far, everyone I've talked to said the first season sucks, so i'm sticking with it hoping things pick up. I've only seen 6 or 7 episodes of the TOS and the first 4 movies (Bones for life yo!), so i'm not an expert on the Star Trek Universe

One thing I wanted to ask about, I saw a documentary Gene Roddenberry's son did about his dad, and it was heavily implied that the reason the beginning of the show was so bad was because Gene Roddenberry was a strong influence on the show. He wouldn't allow the characters on the show to have conflict, he limited the subject matter, etc. So when he died the writers got more freedom and the show got better

So basically, did TNG suck in the beginning because Gene Roddenberry was too involved?

 

[Supornova Fansubs]

In my opinion it tried to recreate the magic of TOS in the early seasons. They used a lot of plots from the proposed second phase of TOS and it didn't quite translate as well. And like a lot of shows it was finding itself in the first two seasons. Teething problems are to be expected.

Stick with it though. There will come a point when you can stop watching haha!

 

[shamrocknroll]

So basically, did TNG suck in the beginning because Gene Roddenberry was too involved?

Yes. Once Gene died people were able to actually create drama that wasn't so forced or created by an entity. People could act human for once.

 

[Herman the German]

Well, there's a reason TNG is the Trope Namer for "Growing the Beard" on TV Tropes. :V Just stick with it, around the time Riker has his awesome beard, things really start picking up more-so.

 

[SaikoDragon]

Not sure how many Trekkies are on here, but I just started watching TNG (thanks Netflix!) and thought I would start a thread to talk about it

I'm 16 episodes in, and it's rough so far, everyone I've talked to said the first season sucks, so i'm sticking with it hoping things pick up. I've only seen 6 or 7 episodes of the TOS and the first 4 movies (Bones for life yo!), so i'm not an expert on the Star Trek Universe

One thing I wanted to ask about, I saw a documentary Gene Roddenberry's son did about his dad, and it was heavily implied that the reason the beginning of the show was so bad was because Gene Roddenberry was a strong influence on the show. He wouldn't allow the characters on the show to have conflict, he limited the subject matter, etc. So when he died the writers got more freedom and the show got better

So basically, did TNG suck in the beginning because Gene Roddenberry was too involved?

That could be a possibility. I've read that Gene had a very distinct vision of the future. To be honest, I like Gene's strong vision. I liked the first season as well. I watched all of TNG on Netflix too and really freaking loved it. It is rough in the first season but definitely not rough enough to stop watching for me.

Part of the problem too was some ideas were still fleshing out. Wesley was often used as the Dues Ex Machina, or the "miracle child". He's also the focus of some of the enterprises' predicaments too which leads to a love hate relationship with the kid at first.

The first 16 episodes had some good episodes though, I think. Looking back at the first 16 there were things I can say I liked about each episode even if rough.

If you find this rough though, I don't think things will become steady for you until season 3 or so.

But this show does something magical and it gets to you. By the time I was at the end, I felt like the crew was like family. I knew them and didnt really want to say goodbye. Sounds fucking INSANE, I know. But seriously Jean Luc Picard was a bad ass.

 

[Shougo B'Stard]

From the stuff I've read/watched, it seems that Roddenberry -- at that point -- could be pretty difficult to work with and was hard to please. Writer Ron Moore speculates that Gene let the Trek phenomenon go to his head and he became too fixated on preaching and showing the future the "way it should be" and being some utopian spokesman and THAT got in the way of just telling good stories. More importantly, I feel like once the show stopped being afraid to use Patrick Stewart -- which was another Roddenberry blunder; he actually thought Riker/Frakes could hold the show! -- is when the show really improves.

But I'm the odd man out -- I liked (most of) TNG's first season. TOS is my favorite Trek series (with DS9 behind it), and I felt like that first season of TNG came closest to seeming like an actual extension of TOS. (Which is funny, since Roddenberry supposedly didn't want it to seem anything like TOS, he didn't even want to reference it at all.) I'm also really the odd man out in that I liked Tasha.

Well, there's a reason TNG is the Trope Namer for "Growing the Beard" on TV Tropes.

Which I think is stupid, because Riker has the beard in season two, and season two has some of the worst stinkers of the series. (Yeah, yeah, season two had A Matter of Honor and The Measure of a Man, but it also had The Royale, Manhunt and Shades of Gray, some of the most brutal episodes of TNG.)

 

[Blade Dancer]

I grew up on TNG. I was four when "Encounter at Farpoint" aired, and I remember sitting and watching it with my dad. I haven't seen it all the way through in years (did it once with my sister when I was just out of college, it took us months), but there isn't a particular season of it that I don't like as a whole. Some episodes were stinkers, sure, but since these days I basically watch the show for the ensemble character cast interaction, it still holds up pretty well.

I might be the only person on the planet who never hated Wesley, either. But then, he was "the kid" and I was a kid, so what's not to like?

 

[Gryphman]

I can give you two pieces of advice. Finish TNG. After you do that, get right on Deep Space 9. In my opinion, it's the best Star Trek series. It has so many memorable characters, and it changed the Feringi from one of the more annoying races into one of the most entertaining. Also Garak, the greatest tailor in the galaxy.

 

[Blade Dancer]

I suppose I should try watching DS9 again, I think I stopped around Season 3 while it was airing. I just couldn't make myself care about more than one or two of the characters.

 

[MMPR]

Done season 1, and I felt it was just as rough as people told me it would be.

My biggest problem is the writing. I'm a massive fan of Babylon 5 and RDM's Battlestar Galactica, and whenever something happens in those show there are repercussions to both the story and the characters. Tasha Yar dies pretty late in season 1, no one mentions it after the episode, no one talks about how it makes them feel, it's just so self-contained and boring. Nothing matters, because at the end of every episode they hit an imaginary reset button and everything goes back to normal.

Perhaps it's because I love serialized television like Babylon 5, RDM's Battlestar Galactica, LOST, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc, that I find procedural shows to be very dry.

Anyways, on to season 2, hopefully I can really start liking the show