Star Trek: The Next Generation - General Discussion

[SunShine Gal]

"Engage!"

"One, or both?"

[schnauzergirl]

"Make it so."

[Gilmel]

Q: "How can I prove to you that I am mortal?"
Worf: "Die."

[AConspiracy]

It is green.

[Athena]

"Tea. Earl Grey. Hot."

[rereader2]

"Fire at Will."

[OSM Mom]

"Energize"

[Devils Chick]

"Take my Worf. Please!"

[Athena]

Worf: I am NOT a merry man!!!

[rereader2]

"We look for things. Things to make us go."

[ownedbycats]

Mr. Woof

[wanderingstar]

"Boost the confinement beam." I always loved when they did that.

[The Crazed Spruce]

"There! Are! FOUR! Lights!"

"I'd be delighted to offer any advice I have on understanding women. When I have some, I'll let you know."

"Growl for me! Let me know you care!"

Edited April 9, 2014 by The Crazed Spruce

[rereader2]

"If it should become necessary to fight, could you arrange to find me some rocks to throw at them?"

[SunShine Gal]

"Tell him he is a good cat. Tell him he is a pretty cat."

[yeswedo]

First off, I struggled with what pronoun to use in the thread title. Should it be how I/we/you became a fan? If you have an opinion please share. English major here but I need a lifeline on this one.

I became a fan in a roundabout way. Short story - I came for Riker and stayed for Picard.

Longer version - it all started with Genie Francis from General Hospital (Laura). As a teen I followed her to an ABC miniseries called North and South. Jonathan Frakes (Francis' future husband) was also in the cast. I had a bit of a crush and then found him on Next Generation. Ultimately my favorite episodes feature Picard, which I'll save for another thread. To paraphrase Q to Riker "You were more fun before the beard."

My brother was shocked and horrified that his little sister liked TNG as it somehow indicated it was soapy, which it kind of was. This scenario repeated itself with the show Tour of Duty (about soldiers in Vietnam) when I followed Kim Delaney from All My Children and my other brother was horrified there was now a woman in the primary cast.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I was very intrigued with the concept that the Klingons and the Fed had reconciled/united.  

I stayed for the intelligence.

Then came Q.  I never wanted it to end.

[rereader2]

I came because it was Star Trek! I stayed because it was good. And because Picard.

(Yes, that includes some of the first season missteps. I didn't stay for most of Voyager, or most of DS9, because they didn't feel much like the Star Trek Universe.)

(Enterprise? It NEVER HAPPENED, you can't make me accept its existence, lalalalalalalala I can't heeeeeear you...) 

[Kromm]

Kicking and screaming, because in my opinion back then (and it actually hasn't totally changed) most of the first season was awful.

It was only when some decent scripts popped up, when Picard stopped being so stuffy, and when Data and Worf both truly became interesting that I managed to get on board.

[SunShine Gal]

I didn't watch TNG during it's first run. At the time, I didn't want to watch anything other than the original Star Trek. I wasn't a huge sci-fi fan so I'm surprised I'd be so picky but I was. It wasn't until about the year 2000 that I was up late and nothing else was on. I was flipping the channels. TNG was on. What caught my attention and got me to put down the remote was they had just beamed aboard a metal object that had "NASA" written on it. I thought I'd watch a bit. That was "The Royale" episode where they discover what happened to that missing astronaut. When they find out his identity, Riker says, "Rest in peace, colonel". It's like bringing a missing soldier back home.

I've thought about it several times that this episode particularly was what I needed to get me to be a fan. I'm partial to stories like this where someone lost is "brought home" sort of. They don't actually bring his body home, but the knowledge of what happened to him. The other parts of the story, like the mobsters, was silly. Many people don't like this episode, but this story got me to watch. AND, Riker was especially handsome so I watched a few more episodes. After that, I was a fan. Luckily at that time there were a couple of networks that aired 3 or 4 episodes a day. I was able to catch up with the series quickly. Became a Picard fan, too.

I didn't like DS9 much. I agree with that other poster that it didn't really seem like a Trek show. It was just aliens in outer space. It never clicked with me. When TNG wasn't on, I'd watch Voyager. It was okay, but TNG is far and away my favorite of ALL the Star Trek series.

[Athena]

I grew up with this show. It was my first Star Trek. I stayed because of Picard, Data, the acting and the writing for some of the episodes. Even as a kid, I knew "The Inner Light" was special.

 

Kicking and screaming, because in my opinion back then (and it actually hasn't totally changed) most of the first season was awful.

I came in in the later seasons (S3 maybe?) but I had watched most of the show by the time I was an adult. I rewatched some of it last year and yes, the first season feels a bit like an alternate universe of TNG. I can't reconcile it mostly because of how bad the plots were. I never got attached to Tasha Yar either so that didn't help.

I tried DS9, and while it had some of its strengths, I didn't really connect with it. I watched Voyageur, but on rewatch, it hasn't held up so well. TOS is fun once in awhile, but nothing I ever became attached to. As for "Enterprise", maybe one day I'll give it a proper shot since I've only seen about one episode of it so I can't judge. TNG is my favourite as well for various reasons, but it was also my first sci-fi show too.

Edited April 13, 2014 by Athena

[starri]

I hate to pull out the trope from Futurama, but when I didn't have any friends, it made me feel like maybe I did.

Randomly caught "The Best of Both Worlds I" some afternoon as a tween, and got hooked.  Now that there's actual cachet in being a nerd, I feel full comfortable that, watching the show over as an adult, discovering how much I actually liked Dr. Pulaski and how much more I like Troi and wish she was given more to do, although that may have something to do with how cool Marina Sirtis turned out to be.

[wanderingstar]

My Dad had loved TOS back in his seminary days, and so he was excited when TNG came around. For my part, I'd never gotten what my dad saw in TOS, but he got me into TNG. The whole family would watch it every Saturday evening. To this day, when I watch TNG reruns, it gets me nostalgic for watching with the family.

[wanderingstar]

"Mr. Worf....fire"

[Kromm]

My Dad had loved TOS back in his seminary days, and so he was excited when TNG came around. For my part, I'd never gotten what my dad saw in TOS, but he got me into TNG. The whole family would watch it every Saturday evening. To this day, when I watch TNG reruns, it gets me nostalgic for watching with the family.

TOS "read" very differently to audiences than TNG.  TOS got called "Science Fiction", because it was in space and up against Lost In Space.  But if you look at the actual episodes, they were updated morality plays.   The themes were very black and white, and I'm not just referring to Frank Gorshin's episode.  People talked about it as "a Western in Space", not only because that was more friendly to Sci-fi timid people, but because of that moral structure (never mind that the black and white aspect of Westerns was being broken down around that same time by many directors).

TNG (and it was actually a problem for older fans who felt the difference) seemed to always be about shades of gray.  Stories weren't typically about right and wrong, but rather about how "everyone has a point of view".  Picard represented this difference very well. He wasn't a Cowboy, he was a Negotiator.  And the shows themselves tried to overtly represent Scientific things, even though they had to resort to Technobabble more often to try and create that illusion (whereas TOS simply glossed stuff over rather than creating faux explanations).  Again, it meant a huge difference in feel to people who'd grown up on the first show.

Edited April 16, 2014 by Kromm

[starri]

The weird thing is that even though I grew up on TNG (and to a greater extent DS9, which aired from my freshman year of high school to just before my senior year of college), in a lot of ways, TNG looks more dated to me that TOS does.  I definitely see the TOS-as-morality-play thing, because at that point, TV was still a relatively new medium and when combined with much more restrictive network standards and practices, that was just how shows were made back then, but with a few exceptions, TNG doesn't hit me in a visceral way like TOS can.

Also, early on, it suffers because Roddenberry was too busy being a futurist to be a TV producer, and the quality of the show only ticked up as his health declined and he was less and less involved with the running of the show.

[starri]

"Tell him he is a good cat. Tell him he is a pretty cat."

I will...feed...your cat.  Although I do love that in the post-Nemesis novels, Worf ended up adopting Spot.

"Let's make sure history never forgets the name Enterprise!"

[rereader2]

Klingon captain: "Federation ship Enterprise, surrender and prepare to be boarded."
Picard: "That will be the day."
           --Yesterday's Enterprise

[wanderingstar]

Picard: "That will be the day."

 

And then he leaps over the security console like a BAWSE!

[rereader2]

And then he leaps over the security console like a BAWSE!

Exactly! :)

[Athena]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

 

For the purpose of this show, you can also discuss the movies. Feel free to continue opening more specific threads as well.

 

Engage!

[aemom]

From "The Survivors":

Worf: Good tea.  Nice house

[wanderingstar]

Among the episodes I could watch on repeat are:

 

Yesterday's Enterprise

I, Borg

The Inner Light

Cause and Effect (that opening!)

All Good Things...(it's still one of my favorite series finales ever)

The Best of Both Worlds

 

I'm leaving out a lot, so everyone else here can fill in the blanks :-)

[Delwyn]

I loved this show because as a philosophy and writing nerd, there was nothing else on tv like this at the time. This was appointment viewing for us. It would be great if all kids had a show that schooled them like that.

[yeswedo]

The Inner Light was submitted for The Canon this week on Extra Hot Great. Take a listen to hear if it made it!

[yeswedo]

In honor of the 20th anniversary of All Good Things... which aired May 23, 1994 an interview with the writers. 

 

I did not know they were writing Star Trek: Generations at the same time.

 

Moore: "There were points where we literally were working and we would suddenly stop and say, 'Wait, which one are we working on?' [Laughs.] Because they were both two hours, they took place in the same ship with the same characters… and every once in a while, you'd just get caught in the moment of, 'Wait a minute, this scene with Geordi in the engine room is from which one?'"

 

[Athena]

Michelle Forbes (Ensign Ro) is appearing on Orphan Black and a lot of posters mentioned how much they have liked her since ST:TNG. I never truly felt anything for the character and was annoyed with the character in that kids episode. I didn't realize she was so popular among TNG fans.

[FormerMod-a1]

Yeah, she is, but I never understood it either.  She varied between doing nothing for me to annoying me.  

[BigBeagle]

I lucked out ... the first episode I saw was from Season 3, which is when the show really got rolling ... If I had started watching in either Season 1 or 2, I probably would have given up.

[Anna Yolei]

I got into Trek via Enterprise (I know, I know....) and after the third season, I sought this series and DS9 out. Suffice it to say I don't hold Enterprise in high esteem anymore.

Season three overall was a standout and produced my favorite TNG episode The High Ground.

I loved this show because as a philosophy and writing nerd, there was nothing else on tv like this at the time. This was appointment viewing for us. It would be great if all kids had a show that schooled them like that.

Actually, even before I got into Enterprise, my aunt who didn't watch anything else on TV would have us sit down to watch TNG for that reason. At 11 years old, however, I just remeber being resentful of not being able to watch Animaniacs and other cartoons like normal kids. Lol.

[Jeezaloo]

A one hour episode of STTNG, cut down to under five minutes, without losing the plot. I remember when this episode originally aired!

 

[madhacker]

"I'm Guinan. I tend bar and I listen." 

[Kromm]

Next Gen only existed because of fan pressure to bring back Trek in some form.  It took the latent fan backing of Trek and brought it to a new level.

 

Link the best, worst, and most unusual fan made TNG stuff available on these internets here.

-----------------------------------------

 

I'll start with the fairly bad, but amusing in how odd it is.

 

Star Trek Love Boat Style Credits.  It's horrible, but I like the shots picked and the job titles given.

 

[xaxat]

The Atlantic has a really interesting (and long) examination of the linguistics, logic and meaning of the episode Darmok. ("Shaka. When the walls fell…")

 

After reading the article, I realize that there was a hell of a lot more going on in that episode than I ever suspected, probably the writers as well.

[Maverick]

"If she were not dead, I would kill her"

[Ceindreadh]

I was an original series fan growing up and I remember the first time I saw a picture of the 'new' crew I thought "No way, this can't possibly be Star Trek without the original characters".

It didn't air in my country for a few years, and by then I'd read so much about it in SciFi mags - and had even bought some of the tie-in books - that I was ready to give it a chance and I just never stopped watching. 

[Athena]

@TVSpectator :

   

Speaking of that episode, why did Barclay turned into a spider like creature? Wouldn't he turned into the same creature that Riker was (which would have been a caveman/Neanderthal)  since they are both humans? I never really got that (although, at the time I was like 9 years old and I haven't given it much thought since).

 

Data explained that the synthetic T-cell Crusher gave Barclay activated dormant genes, but it was basically random which cells it reactivated. So once a few select cells were reactivated, the crew started to "evolve" into those creatures. He tells Picard he'll probably turn into a lemur. I wish I had seen that.

[TVSpectator]

I remember TNG being  my first Star Trek series. I was born in 84' so, I was very young when the show started,but I do  remember watching reruns and the later seasons with my parents (along with my siblings) watching it. My second Star Trek series, that I remember watching, was Voyager and I was also able to only catch a few episodes of DS9 (and I remember only catching the bad episodes, like Prophet and Lace) during this time. I also remember watching the movies (via VHS) so, I was familiar with characters like Kirk, Spock, and Uhara.

 

It wasn't till around Enterprise, that I started watching TOS (and I enjoyed it more than Enterprise). Although, to be fair, seasons 4 Enterprise was much better than the last three). Overall, I had some kind of Star Trek in my life (and I even went to see the two JJ Abrams films....I thought that the first one was better). 

 

I  credit the Star Trek series, and the early days of watching TNG, for sparking my  love of sci-fi and fantasy genres. 

Edited June 30, 2014 by TVSpectator

[blueray]

I took the long way. I got into star trek by watching voyager for the first time with my college roommate, we'd watch almost every day and ended up watching all of Voyager and DS9 (which is my favorite). I tried TNG and honestly was bored to tears during the first few episodes and gave up. So instead I watched all of  ENT, which wasn't as good as the other two but okay. And random TOS episodes as well.

 

Then finally this past year, with my boyfriend we watched TNG. We decided to only watch the "good" episodes of season 1 and 2 and than skip to season 3. Season 3 and onward was much better and I enjoyed those episodes. I doubt that I'll go back an watch the rest of the episodes though. Particularly season 2, because I hated that doctor.

[madhacker]

"I should warn you, Captain. My mother can be a bit.....eccentric."

 

That was probably the biggest understatement in Star Trek.