We all know that Trek fans were sickened of the thought that they were doing a Star Trek series without Kirk, Spock and Bones in 1987, but seeing the large success and popularity of it today, when did fans finally begin to warm up to it?
When was TNG generally accepted and liked by Trek fans?
- Thread starter Shalashaska
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Since before it aired. I don't of any fans that were "sickened" by thought of no Kirk, Spock, etc.
I accepted it right away. I just didn't enjoy it until it imporved. I still remember the promo for it on the "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" VHS tape.
I had heard about fans who didn't like that the original cast would be there, but this was pre-crap Trek and a lot of people were just glad to have Trek back.
TOS fans were still realing from a film about "Evil man" and whales, and then after TNG premiered, The Final Frontier". Their anger was still a little preoccupied. I did buy TNG some time ;-)
I had heard about fans who didn't like that the original cast would be there, but this was pre-crap Trek and a lot of people were just glad to have Trek back.
TOS fans were still realing from a film about "Evil man" and whales, and then after TNG premiered, The Final Frontier". Their anger was still a little preoccupied. I did buy TNG some time ;-)
Really? I remember reading all about how much backlash and pressure there was on TNG from fans at the time.
Probably around the time "Yesterday's Enterprise" aired during Season 3. I know that's when I and a lot of friends who were also TOS fans started saying, "Hey, it's finally getting watchable..."
The question is based on a generalization that doesn't apply to all Trek fans of the day. It certainly had its detractors from the get-go, many of whom are still its detractors; but it also had its fans early on. A better question might be when it really caught on in general viewership. At its peak, it enjoyed the highest ratings of any first-run syndication program of its time, and the highest ratings of any show on TV for the male 18-49 demographic, IIRC. Somebody around here probably has a graph that shows the ratings by season.
I wish I was older during the early days of TNG. I remember really getting into the show during Season 4 (I was 3 when the series premiered) but from what I know now, it would have been interesting to live during that period and be cognizant of what was going on with the series. I think it was Best of Both Worlds when people started to accept the show because of that cliffhanger (Something that was rare for TV in those days). It was a game changer, that's for sure.
I can tell you that the idea of TNG was unveiled to the fans at the 1983 Chicago Convention where it was immediately booed by the fans. Gene himself made the announcement and the audience just went negative. Then, and in the only time I ever heard that man raise his voice above a whisper, he said to us "Wait! Here me out. You don't understand. This is the Star Trek I wanted to do."
When he said that, we in Chicago, must've been close to 500 people, accepted TNG.
When he said that, we in Chicago, must've been close to 500 people, accepted TNG.
Yep.
The early shaky seasons of TNG surfed on the goodwill of fans who wanted a weekly dose of Trek. Sure, there were movies, but spaced 2-3 years apart. And it was otherwise a pretty dark time for sci-fi on TV. There just wasn't a lot of new sci-fi programming worth watching.
Even if the the episodes were lackluster, there was a sense of "appointment TV" about it, after having nothing but TOS reruns for so many years.
Did anyone really think the early seasons were uneven at the time? Sure, compared to the later seasons, S1-2 are a little shaky. Every long-ish running show has some early jitters.
But for me, at the time, they were just fine. I liked it from day one, even if Troi's "I feel pain" was overdone.
But for me, at the time, they were just fine. I liked it from day one, even if Troi's "I feel pain" was overdone.
I enjoyed TNG from the off. Stewart makes it work. Stewart's firm authority and ease in the role dissolved any desire for Kirk 2.0. He was born for that role. And as lacklustre as season one might be, the smart thing they did was use Stewart alot and to great effect. Stewart was on his game from the off, he was very forceful and convincing as Captain Picard whereas the other cast took their time to find their characters. It's Stewart that ensured TNG ran its course IMO.
I was a firm TOS movie fan at the time and had only the opportunity to see TOS haphazardly. I had initially assumed though that TNG was set in another universe given the radical aesthetic difference between it and TOS.
I was a firm TOS movie fan at the time and had only the opportunity to see TOS haphazardly. I had initially assumed though that TNG was set in another universe given the radical aesthetic difference between it and TOS.
I -watched- TNG from the get-go, and I liked episodes such as the one with the Bynars, but I'm pretty sure "Q Who" was when I decided that TNG might become something really special, because it was the first time the show did something that I didn't think could constitute a one-episode appearance and brought us the kind of force of nature enemy that TOS never dealt with (can you imagine the TOS Enterprise fleeing for its life from an enemy?).
I honestly don't remember what I thought at the time (since I wasn't yet a teenager when TNG aired), but I can say after years and years of repeat viewings that I find Season Two to be the most consistently good.
It retains the fun and adventure of Season One but loses a lot of the hokey/campy aspects. And it doesn't contain nearly as much of the blander Serious Trek that we see in the later seasons.
I liked the first two seasons, at least the costumes in the 1st season as well as the set designs. However, the show seemed to want to get away from its roots with each season...so I didn't really accept the show. And I'm not a big fan of TNG fan today, but there are some episodes past the first two seasons that I come back to every now and then.
I remember being super excited to hear about TNG, and I remember watching it from week one (I watched the original airing and also the rerun of Farpoint a few days later). Since I had pretty much memorized every TOS episode and movie from a very early age, TNG couldn't have come soon enough for me.
Granted, I was 12 years old when TNG came out so I can only speak for myself. But I think your assumption over-represents Star Trek fans' reaction to TNG. Personally, I've never heard of fans being "sickened" by TNG.
Wow! Raping peoples' childhood!?! Yeah, that's a bit over the top. I mean, NuTrek isn't contributing anything to the quality of my adulthood, but if finding out Shatner is an asshole in real life didn't ruin my childhood Trek, JJ's low-brow crap doesn't even make a dent.
I agree. Nothing in the Abrams universe ruins what came before -- except for the destruction of Romulus
Q-Who was a great episode, and with some fantastic writing. And John de Lancie just gives perfect deliveries.
"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid."
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