I often hear that even though TNG is a great series (a statement I wholeheartedly agree with), it seems to take itself quite seriously and can be somewhat (sometimes perhaps even too) heavy-handed. Thinking about this, I can remember some genuinely funny moments from later TNG, but when I think of early TNG, nothing really comes up on short notice. So I was wondering: are there in your opinion any episodes/scenes in early TNG (let's say the first 2 seasons) that aim at comedy and do pull it off well ? (i.e. scenes/eps that are still funny to watch today). So I don't mean unintentionally funny stuff, or episodes / scenes that try to be funny but do not entirely succeed.
The Outrageous Okona does a fine job with humor. Cpt. Okona has a certain charm and charisma that is rather rare in TNG. It all depends on your sense of humor. What do you find comical?
Data not understanding common expressions and citing examples unendingly was definitely on the goofy side. Some episodes like The Naked Now, The Last Outpost (with the ferengi jumping around), Where No One Has Gone Before, The Big Goodbye, 11001001 etc... were not to be taken seriously.
It sure isn't Joe Piscopo. That's one of my least favorite episodes, because it tries to be funny, while trying to tell us what is funny at the same time.
Agreed the scenes with Data and that comedian were awful. Also Okona himself wasn't the most stellar character if you ask me. The writers (through Troi) told us that he was "a rogue" and "outrageous" but what did he really do except sleep with a few crewmen? He almost seemed like one of those wish fulfillment characters from Fanfiction, a poor man's Han Solo. ...which is a pity because the actor was hot as hell. I found early TNG did quite poorly with humour. Data was sometimes, sometimes, funny early on. Most of the humor I get from early TNG is unintentional humor, like Troi's slurred talking in the Naked Now reminding me of Miss Swan from Mad TV or Riker's and Tasha's scenery chewing. But perhaps that's just me
Well, 'goofy' is definitely not my cup of earl grey. As has been argued in several threads before, it's not that believeable that Data would be a walking encyclopedia, yet not know those simple expressions after several years at Starfleet (academy). Although of course it isn't entirely fair to judge a mid-to-late 80's series with today's technical developments. For me, humor has to feel at least somewhat natural to the situation; I have to be 'tricked' into believing that a dialogue between two characters really could have occurred like that, and those early Data scenes simply don't do it for me, they feel merely awkward. As a counterexample, the scene (in late TNG) where Picard calls Barclay Broccoli after having forbidden the crew to do so and data starting a discourse about how such errors are common to humans, only to be shut of by a glare from Picard, is believeable to me and therefore I find that funny. A plus for Okona. Although I still wouldn't call that episode outright comical , his charm did definitely give a much needed lighter touch (if only for one episode) to early TNG.
As an isolated scene, I found the family dinner in Haven to be pretty amusing. And as hated as it is, I think The Naked now is funny. But agreed on the aforementioned Tasha scenery chewing, those parts were just irritating in the attempt to be funny.
I say: "Yes" to cute little TOS-style-everybody-laughs endings, but "No" to Joe Piscopo on the holodeck.
I found the Sonny Clemonds character in THE NEUTRAL ZONE amusing ... just a good ol' boy tryin' to get along and have a good time doin' it. That said, his country-bumpkin jargon was a tad over done
About Data on the first seasons... This moment always makes me laugh. It can be just my sense of humor tough. [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne-w09_eK-w[/yt]
I actually felt the humor was more organic in the early seasons (Excepting Piscopo) compared to being somewhat contrived in the later ones, barring a few exceptions Frankly, if it weren't for Spiner & DeLancie, the humor would've gotten really stale later on. I can count on one hand the amount of episodes that offered good laughs from season 5 on Keiko's birth He's my #1 dad Call me Hutch Captain Picard Day Is there a John-Luck Pickerd here? I dunno. I'm probably leaving some out, but nothing that jumps out, whereas you can find all sorts of funny bits in the first 3-4 seasons, including 1 & 2. Just Riker talking about those eggs & saying Owan weirdly was funny. The whole scene was
That clip from "The Royale" is an example of it being one of those under-the-radar fun episodes from the entire series. Yes, TNG was overall a more serious show, especially as it continued, but outside of the Q episodes, which almost always showcased great humor, I found the dinner party scenes in "Starship Mine" and Worf's brief tenure as good-will ambassador in "Liasons" absolutely hilarious.