Star Trek the Next Generation

JacquelineDeane55 · Jun 20, 2015

A few weeks ago I was sitting on the couch in our living room thinking, and then I thought about all the memories I had as a kid growing up in Florida watching Star Trek the Next Generation when it was released on TV in the 1980s. For sentimental reasons I bought Season 1 off of Amazon.com and it came to me a week later.

There are just a lot of family memories surrounding this series.

We have already watched all of it.

I think the character "Q" (played by John D. Lancie) is kind of funny. The "Q" (the race as they call themselves) is supposed to be Omnipotent, but Q seems to treat lower lifeforms quite badly, and maybe that is his weakness.

I also like Data the Android: He is funny to me because he over-analyzes things and seems to try to become more "human."

I started to like Wesley Crusher as well, until he got into some trouble with the Captain.

Who else has watched this?

WalksWithChrist · Jun 22, 2015

Right here!
You can watch them on Netflix as well.

Bobby H · Jun 24, 2015

I'm more of an original series fan, but I've been watching The Next generation fairly often. It's fun.

WalksWithChrist · Jun 24, 2015

Bobby H said:
I'm more of an original series fan, but I've been watching The Next generation fairly often. It's fun.

It took TNG to get me serious about Star Trek. Not that TNG is better, TOS just didn't hit my radar all that hard until much later. Now I love it as much as TNG.

Bobby H · Jun 24, 2015

WalksWithChrist said:
It took TNG to get me serious about Star Trek. Not that TNG is better, TOS just didn't hit my radar all that hard until much later. Now I love it as much as TNG.

You could honestly make the argument that as far as TV shows are concerned, TNG is really a better TV show than TOS. Now, with that said, I still prefer TOS because it was the first one that I saw. The episodes are more quotable, and the characters are more likeable. Episodes, to me, were more memorable. TOS had that x-factor (possibly the fact that it was unlike anything made before it).

To the public at large, Kirk and Spock are still far more known than Picard, Riker, or Data. And the original series has been referenced by the popular culture far more, and in a wider variety than TNG. TNG references are usually only known to fans of the series, whereas Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the various TOS idiosyncrasies are known even to many who have never seen a single episode of any Star Trek.

So (and this is just my opinion), yes, TNG was a better-produced TV show, but TOS is, and will forever be, the franchise of the franchise. When I look for a Star Trek fiction novel to read, I always turn to TOS as opposed to TNG. I also like TOS better when it comes to collectible items, and I liked the TOS movies better than those with the TNG cast.

WalksWithChrist · Jun 28, 2015

Bobby H said:
You could honestly make the argument that as far as TV shows are concerned, TNG is really a better TV show than TOS. Now, with that said, I still prefer TOS because it was the first one that I saw. The episodes are more quotable, and the characters are more likeable. Episodes, to me, were more memorable. TOS had that x-factor (possibly the fact that it was unlike anything made before it).

To the public at large, Kirk and Spock are still far more known than Picard, Riker, or Data. And the original series has been referenced by the popular culture far more, and in a wider variety than TNG. TNG references are usually only known to fans of the series, whereas Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the various TOS idiosyncrasies are known even to many who have never seen a single episode of any Star Trek.

So (and this is just my opinion), yes, TNG was a better-produced TV show, but TOS is, and will forever be, the franchise of the franchise. When I look for a Star Trek fiction novel to read, I always turn to TOS as opposed to TNG. I also like TOS better when it comes to collectible items, and I liked the TOS movies better than those with the TNG cast.

Absolutely. I like how you broke it down.
I've read a good many Trek books. My favorites by far have Spock or are about Spock and Vulcans/Romulans and at least have some of the other TOS characters.

RDKirk · Jun 28, 2015

TOS is like Star Wars: A New Hope. It broke ground, it was unlike anything we'd seen before. Because of that, those original moments could never be equaled by sequels, regardless of better production values.

AHH who-stole-my-name · Jun 28, 2015

Star Trek was a phenomenal series and each of it's generations was keyed to the time period that it appeared in. All dealt with social and political taboos under the cloak of occuring in another time. It showed humanity in all it's glory and all it's villainy.

Q made us look at ourselves as a species and the characters of Spock and Data explored what exactly means to be human. The two took a different path in doing so, as Spock tried not to be human and Data embraced the idea of being human. I think they were wise in introducing Data into TNG, because I don't think the original trekkers would have accepted another Spock.

What is surprising is the person who saved Star Trek was Lucille Ball. If it were not for Dezilu studios none of this would have ever been put on TV.

Solomon Kane · Jun 30, 2015

My first memories of Star Trek were watching the original series with my father when it was in re-runs back in the early 70's. I attended my first Trek convention when I was just 12 and still have the autograph of Gene Roddenberry that I got there. So I have been following the series and watched TNG when it first aired. And after TNG I watched DS9, my favorite of the new set of ST programs, then ST: Voyager and finally Enterprise.

Each one I enjoyed in their own particular way, except Voyager, that one was plagued by bad writing from the beginning and never seemed to recover, but that is just my opinion. As for TNG, over the course of its run it improved season by season and had some spectacular episodes.

I've heard that there is some interest in either reviving the original series, or creating a new series. Something separate from the new movies. I just hope that if this come about that the people in charge of the production take the time to go back and study what made this franchise great in the first place and keep that as their primary focus.

RDKirk · Jun 30, 2015

I got tired of the interminable anti-religion tone of TNG. In fact, in one forum I found myself on the same side of a debate as a Wiccan on that point--he was offended by TNG as well.

DS9 was much more even-handed about religion...and more realistic about a number of other aspects.

Teegan · Jul 10, 2015

STNG is a classic. I love watching it on Netflix.

Dave-W · Jul 20, 2015

I was not a fan of the Original Series when it aired first. I was a kid and liked Lost in Space. But then I got hooked on STOS during college. One channel was playing late night reruns every weekend.

So when NextGen came out, I was skeptical. For about 3 episodes (which contained a couple of recycled OS episodes). Then I became a huge fan and eventually liked it BETTER than the original. (Stewart was SOOOOOO much a better actor than Shatner)

It is still my favorite of all the various ST series. I watch it frequently on BBC America cable channel.

One interesting tidbit: A frustrated and bored Law School student was taking a break from his studies and decided to write a STNG episode and send it in cold. That was "A Fistful of Datas" by Robert Hewitt Wolfe. He was hired on to develop and write DS9, and later the series "Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda." (probably my favorite SF tv series). He also was behind the 4400 and is now writing and co-producing Elementary.

RDKirk · Jul 20, 2015

DaveW-Ohev said:
I was not a fan of the Original Series when it aired first. I was a kid and liked Lost in Space. But then I got hooked on STOS during college. One channel was playing late night reruns every weekend.

I preferred TOS but also watched LiS. As far as I knew then, I was the only kid in the world watching either one--nobody around me watched them, I had nobody to talk about them with at lunch. Ah, the days before the Internet.

So when NextGen came out, I was skeptical. For about 3 episodes (which contained a couple of recycled OS episodes). Then I became a huge fan and eventually liked it BETTER than the original. (Stewart was SOOOOOO much a better actor than Shatner)

It is still my favorite of all the various ST series. I watch it frequently on BBC America cable channel.

Took me three seasons before I bothered watching TNG, but I was overseas at the time, so it wasn't hard to miss it.

I did like Andromeda, too. Actually, at this point in time, I've see all the episodes of all of them.

WalksWithChrist · Jul 22, 2015

DaveW-Ohev said:
I was not a fan of the Original Series when it aired first. I was a kid and liked Lost in Space. But then I got hooked on STOS during college. One channel was playing late night reruns every weekend.

So when NextGen came out, I was skeptical. For about 3 episodes (which contained a couple of recycled OS episodes). Then I became a huge fan and eventually liked it BETTER than the original. (Stewart was SOOOOOO much a better actor than Shatner)

It is still my favorite of all the various ST series. I watch it frequently on BBC America cable channel.

One interesting tidbit: A frustrated and bored Law School student was taking a break from his studies and decided to write a STNG episode and send it in cold. That was "A Fistful of Datas" by Robert Hewitt Wolfe. He was hired on to develop and write DS9, and later the series "Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda." (probably my favorite SF tv series). He also was behind the 4400 and is now writing and co-producing Elementary.

I realized Shatner is a better actor than I gave him credit for when I watched TOS in recent years. But Stewart is still better!

Didn't know that about Wolfe. Coolness.

Dave-W · Jul 22, 2015

WalksWithChrist said:
But Stewart is still better!

Indeed. I have a DVD of him and David Tennant in Hamlet. Tennant's Hamlet is quite good and Stewart plays BOTH the uncle/king and the ghost of the dead father. Amazing.

WalksWithChrist · Jul 25, 2015

DaveW-Ohev said:
Indeed. I have a DVD of him and David Tennant in Hamlet. Tennant's Hamlet is quite good and Stewart plays BOTH the uncle/king and the ghost of the dead father. Amazing.

Oh, I need to see that sometime.

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