Posted on 09/29/2007 5:01:55 AM PDT by Daffynition
Twenty years ago, between September 28 and October 4, 1987, millions of people in the United States tuned in to a new show called Star Trek: The Next Generation. This event was eagerly welcomed by fans even though the show was treading on sacred ground as the first Star Trek spin-off. (This is partly why there were some skeptics out there too.) The new Star Trek was also a bold experiment on the part of Paramount in that it was an hour-long sci-fi drama airing in first-run syndication, not the perceived safe haven of network television. During this week in 1987, depending on where you lived, you would have seen the premiere on the Monday or any of the six days that followed. And even though some still refer to the premiere episode as the show's "pilot," it wasn't really. A pilot is normally produced for a major network to float the possibility of a show going into a full slate of production should it hit the required viewership. With TNG, this was never the case.
Almost four months to the day after filming commenced in May of 1987, the week of September 28 essentially marked a rebirth for the Star Trek franchise. The Next Generation was an immediate success, numbers-wise, during this debut week. In several major markets, the new Star Trek show beat the regular network programming. An impressive feat indeed! Creatively the show would have some growing pains, particularly in its first two seasons, but those got worked out and that's also part of the reason why we are celebrating today. It is due to the success of this show and its seven-year run that three other series followed, as well as four movies. Of course, no one at the time could have foreseen this. In 1987, the Original Series remained hugely popular, was still in syndication, and was enjoying its own successful run of films. The fourth movie was a smash the previous year, and the fifth would be released in less than two years. It could be argued that The Next Generation arrived at a perfect time to satisfy the audience's hunger for simply more Star Trek. After all, there were only 79 episodes of the original to watch and they were starting to show their age!
As we look back today, the first season of TNG also shows its age. The stagey sets, the pre-digital special effects, Deanna Troi's severe bun hairstyle, and even the original uniforms. But if you put it side by side with the Original Series, it's a huge creative leap. It's just that in the 20 years since '87, TV has undergone a renaissance of sorts with the introduction of computer-generated special effects, flashier editing, and more high-definition picture. No longer do we have the noticeable matte lines or the repeated fly-by shots of the Enterprise. Planets on TV now have their own size, color, texture, even cloud formations.
As far as popular culture events go, people today can still recall where they were and who they were with when they first laid eyes on the English-accented Frenchman, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and his crew, as well as the all-new and improved Enterprise-D. It was just one of those "must see" TV events before the now-hackneyed phrase was even coined. You could also soon tell the real fans from the part-timers: "The New Generation" anyone?!
There was a cultural and creative bottom line for The Next Generation: it proved that the successful Star Trek format, as envisioned by Gene Roddenberry and his original creative team, could work again. In fact, better and more successfully. To its credit, TNG opened up more complex storylines, drama and ensemble acting to go along with the better special effects ... Most of all, it opened up the audience.
If you are at home or work reading this, you are likely one of the millions who helped make this show a seminal success. You watched TNG and you liked it — you really, really liked it. For as great as the Original Series was, the lack of Neilsen-measured audience was the missing ingredient. Television, after all, is product. If it doesn't sell, it's removed from the shelves and discontinued. The legacy of The Next Generation, besides being one of the best shows ever produced, is that it extended the shelf life of Star Trek and for that we are all eternally grateful.
Thanks for watching!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Counselor Troi !
...none of which could alter the fact that STTNG was incredibly boring, politically naive, and with the exception of the lead had a leaden bunch of actors. It turned the original show--which was nothing but a fun adventure story, with likable characters and colorful adventures--into a dull-looking UN in space. The racism of the original show was still present--all Klingons warlike, all Vulcans logical, etc.--but the underlying message was nauseatingly liberal.
The cheesy effects (nothing ever looked gritty or believable) weren't as fun as the cheesy FX of the original. The music was trite, as opposed to the meaty dramatic scores of the original. It was like watching a lecture in space every week. The few good episodes went back to the values of the original--interesting (as opposed to merely clever and tricky) stories, exciting action, people in peril.
Farscape and even the somewhat overrated Firefly are far superior to TNG, with Firefly being more old-fashioned and having interesting characters, while Farscape was truly out there.
TNG never took chances, the characters were dull (a robot that wants to be human--yeah, ok, ok, we get it, we get it!), and I can't figure out its popularity.
Remmber how wooden and lifeless Picard and his crew were when TNG started? It took almost two seasons before they came to life on the screen. I almost couldn’t watch it. If it hadn’t been a continuation of Star Trek the show would probably not have made it. So many millions of fans wanted it to make it becuase of the need for more Star Trek.
The Crushers were horrendously obnoxious. Wesley and his boy genius and Beverly constantly lecturing. Yuck.
My favorite was always Tasha Yar.
Still, I'll take TOS over TNG any day.
I wish they’d show Lexx again, that series was different.
LOL!
Are there others like that?
Also, this may be an unpopular opinion among trekkies, but I always really liked DS9.
I could not stand the Crushers, in fact just looking at Beverly made me feel ill.
Last week for some reason my girlfriend bought me a Star Trek book. I took one look at the cover and realized that it’s a “Bev” story. UGH!!
Total baloney
To the Hollywood lefties of the 1980's, Kirk = Reagan and Picard = Dukakis/Mondale.
Although the original show was low budget and at times hokie, they at times used scripts from actual published science fiction writers. What the TNG hacks never understood was that conflict is the essence of drama. They had way too many characters that weren't half as entertaining as Kirk_Spock_McCoy. Compare:
Original Star Trek...
Spock: "Unidentified object approaching at warp 12, Captain"
Uhuru:"Not responding to any frequencies Captain."
Kirk:"Shields up, lock on photon torpedos Mr. Sulu"
Sulu:"Aye Sir"
Crash! Space weapon hits Enterprise.
McCoy:"What are you doing to my sick bay!"
Kirk:"Fire photon torpedos Mr.Sulu!"
bweebweebweebwee
Sulu:"A direct hit Sir!"
Star Trek TNG
Warf: "Unidentified object approaching at warp 12, Captain"
Data:"Not responding to any frequencies Captain."
Picard:"What do you make of this number one?"
Number One:"Hard to say. I advise caution"
Picard:"Counselor Troi?"
Counselor Troi:"I...I...Don't know...I'm picking up...conflict....great pain...confusion...I think we should wait before doing anything rash."
Crash! Space weapon hits Enterprise
Warf:"This entity may be hostile. I recomend we raise the sheilds"
Picard:"Make it so, number one. Place the order to raise the aft shields. I'll be in the holodeck if anyone needs me."
Etc, etc.
I didn't last two years ... you were very patient.
Voyager had a lot of potentail, but the socialists running the ST franchise really screwed it up.
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