Season 1: Not as bad as I remember?
- Thread starter JirinPanthosa
- Start date
This is pretty much my take on it. There's a kind of 'anything goes' approach in the first couple seasons which was erroded away as time went on, and the show became much much more defined and set in stone.
I greatly enjoy the flavor of season 1 (and season 2 to a certain extent). They had a certain atmosphere that later seasons just did away with. A lot of the episodes dealt with the mysterious and the weird (and the music did a great job supporting that).
Now of course the downside to the early stuff was that it was often quite rough and the crew often acted in ways that would seem out of character, given how they evolved in later seasons. I don't mind that though. Later seasons had much more polish, and I can appreciate that too, but they also seem much more bland and homogeneous.
When I was a youngster i detested the early seasons and basically wouldn't watch the episodes unless the uniforms had collars on them.
Now of course the downside to the early stuff was that it was often quite rough and the crew often acted in ways that would seem out of character, given how they evolved in later seasons. I don't mind that though. Later seasons had much more polish, and I can appreciate that too, but they also seem much more bland and homogeneous.
When I was a youngster i detested the early seasons and basically wouldn't watch the episodes unless the uniforms had collars on them.
Season 1 is shaky, in the sense that it is still too akin to TOS [a bit cheesy, sort of sily] and TNG doesn't start to truly surpass TOS until later on.
Having said that, I love season 1 and really cant associate the word 'bad' with any season of TNG [or DS9 & VOY for that matter].
Having said that, I love season 1 and really cant associate the word 'bad' with any season of TNG [or DS9 & VOY for that matter].
Besides episodes like Conspiracy's needless and rushed death/gore and The Naked Now (which wasn't that even bad tbh) I thought the season wasn't that bad, it had tastes of weirdness and uncertainty. Plus everyone cutting off Data and telling Wesley to shut up. Justice and Where No One Has Gone Before is actually what I like the series to be like. Exploring the backwards ethnics of new worlds and touching on things beyond the galaxy. Makes me miss Tasha and having a strong female character like that. I feel like she could have been more well written than Beverly.
In seasons one and two, there's a sense of "menace" that TOS also had going for it. The universe inhabited by Picard and crew in those first couple seasons still felt dangerous somehow, and while a threat like the Borg or the Cardassians or whatever may have continued, there was definitely less of a feeling of threat later on. Things kinda got too cosy, or maybe just that the dangers they faced later in the show felt more psychological than physical.
The problem with Tasha, as I've said before, is that she was concieved for an earlier version of the show before they came up with the character of Worf, and it became obvious to everybody once Worf was added to the cast that he was much better suited to Tasha's job than Tasha was. We can see multiple occasions in season one where Worf essentially supplants Tasha's role in the scripts, facing the battles or whatever, so it doesn't surprise me that Denise Crosby jumped ship when she did.
The problem with Tasha, as I've said before, is that she was concieved for an earlier version of the show before they came up with the character of Worf, and it became obvious to everybody once Worf was added to the cast that he was much better suited to Tasha's job than Tasha was. We can see multiple occasions in season one where Worf essentially supplants Tasha's role in the scripts, facing the battles or whatever, so it doesn't surprise me that Denise Crosby jumped ship when she did.
I know someone who decided to give TNG a try this winter, and I said, "If you can make it through Season 1, you will love this show." That turned to be precisely the case.
Season 1's lows are really low, and season 1's highs are kind of above average, so that being said, it does retain a kind of campy appeal. Spiner has no idea how to play Data, Picard is really just a grump, etc. It's interesting how they sort of figured out their roles by year 2 and absolutely by year 3 and become much more like how we (or I) think of them.
Which leads me to completely agree with this. There's way too much emphasis on pockets of weird societies that have weird rules or are up to something semi-nefarious. Roddenberry, in addition to going back to TOS on some of this, had produced B-movies and TV movies in the '70s that were a little in this vein.
Season 1's lows are really low, and season 1's highs are kind of above average, so that being said, it does retain a kind of campy appeal. Spiner has no idea how to play Data, Picard is really just a grump, etc. It's interesting how they sort of figured out their roles by year 2 and absolutely by year 3 and become much more like how we (or I) think of them.
Which leads me to completely agree with this. There's way too much emphasis on pockets of weird societies that have weird rules or are up to something semi-nefarious. Roddenberry, in addition to going back to TOS on some of this, had produced B-movies and TV movies in the '70s that were a little in this vein.
I watched the Battle, that was an interesting episode especially because of the stargazer vessel. I like 'Where no one has gone before'. 'The neutral zone'. And may be the Arsenal episode, get to see the ship seperate again.
'Justice' and the 'Naked Now', are more for laughs.
'Justice' and the 'Naked Now', are more for laughs.
Not only wrong, but incredible wrong. Lutan had three objectives, none of which include marrying Tasha Yar.
1) Use Yar to make his wife jealousy.
2) Have Yar kill his wife in a duel.
3) Acquire his wife's wealth, power and position.
And how is having a Black villain any different than having a White villain?
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While not my favorite season, I can appreciate that TPTB were attempting something different, looking back there is a sense of raw newness and freshness to the show. Later TNG became safe and formula. In some ways I prefer this Picard to the version that came into being in season three.
It's a unique season of TNG. The characters, the stories, the music, the aesthetics, even some of the acting were not like subsequent seasons. It often feels more like The Original Series with an 80's twist. It's not my favourite season but I do like some of the episodes.
Encounter At Farpoint - mainly for it being the pilot
Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
Datalore
11001001
Heart Of Glory
The Arsenal Of Freedom - Geordi's in command!
Conspiracy
Encounter At Farpoint - mainly for it being the pilot
Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
Datalore
11001001
Heart Of Glory
The Arsenal Of Freedom - Geordi's in command!
Conspiracy
She plays an even bigger part is the next episode "Arsenal of Freedom".
I actually had to sit down with a list and go over S1 in my head. I came up with this:
Good
- 11001001
- Heart of Glory
- Conspiracy
- The Neutral Zone
For an ep to rate as "Good" with me, something about it had to stand out with me as interesting or just plain "cool". I thought the idea of the Binars was interesting. Seeing Enterprise dock inside a Spacedock was" just plain cool". Klingons are of course Klingons, hence cool, and this was one of the first attempts at portraying something of their complex warrior culture. Conspiracy was just creepy as frak. And again with the "cool" reaction to the return of the Romulans.
Cool enough, in fact, to overcome my frankly bad opinion of how the 20th century humans were treated by most of the crew.
Ok
- Encounter at Farpoint
- Code of Honor
- Lonely Among Us
- The Battle
- Haven
- The Big Goodbye
- Datalore
- Angel One
- Coming of Age
- Arsenal of Freedom
- When the Bough Breaks
And yes, I did like Code of Honor. I've never understood the vapors that some quarters keep coming down with over this episode. Bride-stealing was an established practice in both Africa/Middle East and Eastern Asia (not sure about the Americas). It's important to note that it was NOT being portrayed as a positive development. Lutan is clearly not being portrayed as the "good guy", and he gets his comeuppance in the end when it is revealed that Ligonian society is actually female dominated,and Lutan is summarily put at the bottom of his family's pecking order for his stunt by his wife.
Bad
Naked Now
Last Outpost
Where No One Has Gone Before
Justice
Hide and Q
Too Short a Season
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
The "bad" eps almost always have at least one big thing that just torqued me right off, or otherwise I just didn't see the point of the ep in general.
"Naked Now" and "Skin of Evil" were obvious "filler" episodes. Bonus demerits for the crew treating Kirk and Co like half-forgotten minor historical characters. (GR was actively distancing himself from TOS in those days, and it showed in several eps.)
"Last Outpost", WNMHGB, and "Justice" just drug like a stoner on downers. (Oddly enough, I LOVED Diane Duane's book WNMHGB was based on. There just was no way to distill that book down into a 1-hour format...)
"Too Short a Season" and "Symbiosis" both pissed me right the frak off. The former for what felt like a contrived repudiation of "A Private Little War", and "Symbiosis" for Picard's self-righteous moralizing about the Prime Directive, which clearly did not apply in that situation to begin with. This is one of the handful of eps that just makes me want to throw things at the screen, as does "Who Watches the Watchers" and the "Dear Doctor" ep of Enterprise.
One thing I did consistently enjoy over the course of S1 was Ron Jones' excellent music. This season sounded the most like a classic Trek season musically, and I was glad to hear it (this was before Berman poured water all over the scoring so he could get his infamous "sonic wallpaper").
I thought the biggest problem with Season 1 was Gene Rodenberry's utopian vision that presented us with a crew who often acted unlike any human beings I have ever encountered. It made the cast look like the worst group of actors ever to appear on an hour long drama. By the time we got to Season 3 the characters had settled down to something more resembling human beings, and the show really took off.
That being said, there was a genuine attempt to make a serious science fiction drama, and it was visible behind all the stilted dialog and characterizations. Picard, Data and ultimately Worf became interesting and promising by year end. plus, a few of the shows really really grabbed me and I could see light at the end of the tunnel. The production values were amazing for 1987, and the special effects were light years ahead of anything ever seen on TV up to that point. Having to edit and composite the SFX on video watered things down a bit, but it was pretty cool none the less.
Interestingly enough, many of the year 1 stories people list as favorites are the one's I hate the most. But hey, I never really thought "Inner Light" was a particularly great episode, and that episode seems to be held up as one of TNG's best. One man's steak is another man's poison as the saying goes.
That being said, there was a genuine attempt to make a serious science fiction drama, and it was visible behind all the stilted dialog and characterizations. Picard, Data and ultimately Worf became interesting and promising by year end. plus, a few of the shows really really grabbed me and I could see light at the end of the tunnel. The production values were amazing for 1987, and the special effects were light years ahead of anything ever seen on TV up to that point. Having to edit and composite the SFX on video watered things down a bit, but it was pretty cool none the less.
Interestingly enough, many of the year 1 stories people list as favorites are the one's I hate the most. But hey, I never really thought "Inner Light" was a particularly great episode, and that episode seems to be held up as one of TNG's best. One man's steak is another man's poison as the saying goes.
I remember way back when the show first aired being happy that Star Trek was back. I remember thinking at the time that it was too much like a rehash of the old series. I found Season 1 and 2 bland and boring. I've recently rewatched them and once again I found them bland and boring. There are a few good episodes. I did like Heart of Glory and The Neutral Zone. However the next time I do this I am seriously considering just watching the episodes I like and then skipping straight to Season 3.
Season 1 had its downs and just not many ups. I'm currently trying to get the boyfriend to like Trek, starting with TNG but I won't let him start with Season 1.
I know lots of people who tried Trek, also starting with TNG but from the beginning, who after Season 1 were convinced all of Trek must be equally awkward. Things such as "is there some new-age message behind this strange story construct, is it some hipster thing I don't get" were often said by them. Making them sit down for Best of Both worlds or Chain of Command usually made things alright again.
I know lots of people who tried Trek, also starting with TNG but from the beginning, who after Season 1 were convinced all of Trek must be equally awkward. Things such as "is there some new-age message behind this strange story construct, is it some hipster thing I don't get" were often said by them. Making them sit down for Best of Both worlds or Chain of Command usually made things alright again.
Actually, I think Season 1 is pretty decent, except for the following episodes:
Code of Honor
Justice
When The Bough Breaks (I can't stand any kid-centric episode)
Angel One
The Big Goodbye (I'm not a fan of holodeck episodes in general)
...AND I am going to say it. Encounter at Farpoint is a mixed bag for me! I don't completely hate it, especially since it introduces us to the crew and to Q, but it is a boring episode.
Code of Honor
Justice
When The Bough Breaks (I can't stand any kid-centric episode)
Angel One
The Big Goodbye (I'm not a fan of holodeck episodes in general)
...AND I am going to say it. Encounter at Farpoint is a mixed bag for me! I don't completely hate it, especially since it introduces us to the crew and to Q, but it is a boring episode.
Season one was disappointing and often embarrassing ("Code Of Honor", "Angel One," etc.). It was bad enough that I actually stopped watching TNG in the middle of season one and didn't start watching the show again until I stumbled upon it in early season three--then I was hooked!
Quite a few good episodes in my opinion. If this is a "bad season" then I'll take it over lots of other shows.
RAMA
My breakdown:
Excellent:
Where No One Has Gone Before
11001001
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
Conspiracy
Heart of Glory
Good:
Too Short a Season
Lonely Among Us
Last Outpost
Symbiosis
Home Soil
Lonely Among Us
Coming of Age
Arsenal of Freedom
Below Avg:
The Battle
Encounter at Farpoint
Naked Now
The Neutral Zone
When the Bough Breaks
Poor:
Hide and Q
Skin of Evil
Justice
Code of Honor
Haven
Angel One
RAMA
My breakdown:
Excellent:
Where No One Has Gone Before
11001001
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
Conspiracy
Heart of Glory
Good:
Too Short a Season
Lonely Among Us
Last Outpost
Symbiosis
Home Soil
Lonely Among Us
Coming of Age
Arsenal of Freedom
Below Avg:
The Battle
Encounter at Farpoint
Naked Now
The Neutral Zone
When the Bough Breaks
Poor:
Hide and Q
Skin of Evil
Justice
Code of Honor
Haven
Angel One
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