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Posted: |
Aug 28, 2013 - 6:21 AM
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By: |
OnyaBirri
(Member)
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I never watched this show religiously like I did the original series, but I certainly caught episodes here and there over the years and generally like it.
How is this show regarded in retrospect? Does it hold up, or, given its launch in that most dreaded of decades, the 1980s, is it dated?
Are some seasons better than others, and if so, which are the seasons to start with? Or do you really need to watch the show in chronological order, top to bottom?
Does LaVar Burton wear those stupid sunglasses through the whole show, or does he ever get to take them off?
Thanks in advance.
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Posted: |
Aug 28, 2013 - 6:26 AM
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By: |
LeHah
(Member)
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How is this show regarded in retrospect? Does it hold up, or, given its launch in that most dreaded of decades, the 1980s, is it dated?
The whole of it is dated but the first two season especially so. I very rarely look back on Season One at all because of how incredibly bad the writing and costumes are.
That said, the show has aged well if only because its much lighter than TOS in terms of writing and themes. Its still solid, but much less "adventurous"
Are some seasons better than others, and if so, which are the seasons to start with? Or do you really need to watch the show in chronological order, top to bottom?
The show matured more and more every season, starting with Season 3. That would be my suggestion to start, and it will also cut out most of the really bad Wesley Crusher plots.
Does LaVar Burton wear those stupid sunglasses through the whole show, or does he ever get to take them off?
Aside from an episode or two or a medical exam, he has the VISOR on for the entire show's run. Its finally removed in the movie First Contact.
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The show is still remembered fondly. Some complain that it's too "nice" and lacking interpersonal conflict between the characters
That was actually a stipulation made by Roddenberry that goes back to TOS: No conflict among the crew. Part of the liberal/leftist message I guess. It was watered down in DS9 and Voyager, but by then, Roddenberry was dead. Brave producers!
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Didn't TOS have conflict between the crew? Bones threatening to relieve Kirk of his command for mental unfitness, etc. And weren't they the best episodes?
That's nothing compared to the conflict among the Marquis and Federation members in Voyager, or between the various factions in DS:9.
Not a nerd. NOT A NERD!
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Posted: |
Aug 28, 2013 - 9:44 AM
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By: |
Ado
(Member)
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I haven't revisited the show lately, but off the top of my head:
The show is still remembered fondly. Some complain that it's too "nice" and lacking interpersonal conflict between the characters, and some prefer big season story-arcs to that style of every episode self-contained serialization, but I think in large part those who grew up with it still like it. (My mother, on the other hand, always found it boring -- she grew up on the original where "characters actually did things instead of just sitting around and talking about them.")
Some seasons are definitely better than others. Probably start with Season 3; if you have the option of doing so, cherry-pick a handful of good episodes from the first couple seasons. I think 3-5 are generally considered the show's best years; while 6 and 7 definitely had plenty of very good episodes, there weren't as uniformly good as in the middle of the show's run.
And yes, Geordi wears that thing through the whole show.
There are some nice episodes in the first couple years, you have to look for them. One of my favorites is the Elementary Dear Data
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The original series had plenty of interpersonal conflict. The "everyone gets along" bit, and Utopien Earth with Perfect Humans, was introduced in TNG. From McCoy's first episode, he was argumentative. People were angry, some were bigots (against Spock), but there was plenty of shouting amongst the camaraderie. It remains the best, most fun Trek show in the franchise.
TNG was a good show and was very popular first run. But it lacked rerun value, After a while, exploration and adventure gave way to discussion and problems with Federation outposts and colonies. There were plenty of gems, but I rarely go back to it. It hasn't aged well with me at all. Deep Space Nine had deeper characters, more conflict, and a sense of adventure missing from TNG's later years. Voyager just sort of sucked, but Enterprise - which started off not go good - got better every year.
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The original is, the set up for the whole 50 year franchise. But it is badly dated, and not as intellectual or interesting in story terms. About 50% of the TOS were good shows whereas TNG has a much higher %.
Obviously, I don't agree; I feel the success ratio of the original series is more 2/3 successful and 1/3 "nice try." Besides, TNG had 100 more episodes than the original, so obviously there would be a higher number of good episodes, even if the percentage of good to bad were the same. TNG has actually dated pretty badly itself. All "message" drama takes that hit as time passes. I was a huge fan of TNG during the original run, but when it shifted gears away from adventure and exploration, I found it less entertaining. I rarely revisit most of them, but I go back to the original series often. When the original series had a bad episode, I still could enjoy the energy and fun. When TNG was bad it was simply dull.
Of course, this is all subjective and just my opinion.
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TNG was a good show and was very popular first run. But it lacked rerun value...
Sure. That's why it's been so popular in syndication.
What bothered me about TNG was mostly the soft-focus, very "video-tape" like quality of the visuals, as well as the bland lead character (I mean: "Make it so", "Tea. Earl Grey. Hot" and "Engage" - that's it?). I did love a few episodes, especially the two Holmes/Moriarty holodeck ones with Daniel Davis), but most of it was just lying there, doing nothing.
Again, not a nerd.
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Funny that you and are agree on the show itself, even though...
TNG was a good show and was very popular first run. But it lacked rerun value...
Sure. That's why it's been so popular in syndication.
Well, I can only speak for myself. Obviously people like to watch it. Assuming you're not being sarcastic, though, it's really not popular in syndication in the US. According to TV Guide.com, right now it's on BBC America in the NY Market. That's it. While the "badly outdated" 48 year old original series had hardly been off the air and is still run on US based stations.
Although I thought I saw TNG on Spike TV or G2 or something like that, but I can't find it listed.
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Posted: |
Aug 28, 2013 - 11:03 AM
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By: |
Ado
(Member)
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Funny that you and are agree on the show itself, even though...
TNG was a good show and was very popular first run. But it lacked rerun value...
Sure. That's why it's been so popular in syndication.
Well, I can only speak for myself. Obviously people like to watch it. Assuming you're not being sarcastic, though, it's really not popular in syndication in the US. According to TV Guide.com, right now it's on BBC America in the NY Market. That's it. While the "badly outdated" 48 year old original series had hardly been off the air and is still run on US based stations.
Although I thought I saw TNG on Spike TV or G2 or something like that, but I can't find it listed.
The biggest reason you are not seeing it widely syndicated is because it has been on Netflix for a couple years streaming. I looked and I cannot find any showings of TOS, it is likewise on Netflix.
Paramount made a fortune of TNG in primary run and syndication, I read one of the books said they were making about $70 million a year off serializing TNG, then the DVD, and now the Blu Ray and restoration work. So it is clear that the value of the show is still there
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