How iconic or well-remembered is this show

[Terok Nor]

I was going to mention the memes too. They're everywhere. I wonder if the people using them even know they're from TNG. TOS is always going to have the advantage over the others because it was the first, lived in re-runs for years, spawned the other shows and has now been "rebooted" with the same characters. TNG is still well remembered in its own right. As if sci-fi fans would ever forget or not know about TNG. General audiences are a different matter. I can't comment on them since I've always been big into sci-fi and pay attention to most sci-fi shows and movies.

 

[Finn]

There are memes from other shows like firefly and old sitcoms. Some pop up frequently but I still have no idea what show or movie they were from

 

[RAMA]

The fact STNG runs anywhere is a testament to how iconic it is. With Netflix, Hulu and Amazon running it, and the blurays out, what reason would anyone have to run it? Ratings. TOS had a barren landscape to play in. One trek show, precious little scifi in 10 years..even less space opera. STNG had far more competition that it itself generated in the 90s.

The desire to acquire STNG is great. networks paid $100s of million to get it for their network(I believe the original post-syndication rights were $350 million), The streaming rights also cost a pretty penny such as Amazon's recent re-acquisition..

TNG hasn't had the legs of TOS in terms of legacy.

TNG at its height -during its run- was more popular than any Trek incarnation. It really could have gone on beyond Season 7 because of ratings and popularity. It would have, on a network.

TNG would be more popular today, if it weren't for "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager". (That's not a put down by any means of those 2 shows). TNG is less special because it all became this diluted "franchise".

It's first 2 seasons are dated in ways TOS isn't, even today. Unwatchable even. That hurts it's legacy.

 

[Antonovus]

TNG is definitely as equally iconic as TOS. Hold up a picture of Worf or Laforge and I guarantee they would be equally as recognizable as Spock.

 

[Finn]

No

Chances are if they recognize it as star trek character(s), it would be due to the uniform and the surroundings.

I bet if you showed a picture of Worf from Qpid in his merry man costume, many would have no idea it was star trek. But if you showed a picture of Spock from one of those episodes where he didn't dress his uniform, like that nazi uniform, folks would be more likely to think Spock.

 

[RAMA]

TNG is definitely as equally iconic as TOS. Hold up a picture of Worf or Laforge and I guarantee they would be equally as recognizable as Spock.

Agreed. lots of casual fans watched STNG that didn't watch the other spinoffs. Some of them haven't come back in the fold yet except with the JJ movies.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Decades, plural, have proven out that the sequel series to the STAR TREK franchise are a wash, with General Audiences. I'm alright with that, though. There were amazing motion pictures from back in the day that have been completely abandoned by the public. Movie titles that you ONLY see on bullshit "Greatest Motion Pictures of All Time" lists, like, uh ... I don't know ... Citizen Kane. Does that mean those movies are unworthy? That they even suck? No, they don't suck, but they're ... they're just not embraced, that's all.

They've, sort of, become this niche market and that's kind of what's happened with the STAR TREK spinoffs. They deserve better than that, because - as we all know - TNG is a superior product and these poor folks are missing out. But as long as STAR TREK remains relevant, at all, then - by extension - so does the entire franchise. And that makes me happy. Just keep TNG available and accessible. It'll entertain and encourage greater imagination and creativity in those lucky enough to discover it, for the very first time. And those people, I envy. I wish I could rediscover TNG all over again ... with fresh eyes.

 

[HGN2001]

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION never got the same treatment in second-run syndication that the original STAR TREK got. And that first STAR TREK *became* the cultural icon that it is because of that syndication 'discovery'. Most markets had weeknight runs of STAR TREK TOS during the family, or dinner hour, or the surrounding hour. Families back then still gathered around the TV and watched shared programs together.

By the time STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION had finished its initial run (itself in syndication), the dynamic had changed. TV itself had blossomed to the many-cable-channels model. Local stations during the 'family' or 'dinner' hour had begun airing either off-network sitcoms or game shows or celebrity trash shows. They rarely allocated a whole hour to a dramatic or sci-fi show.

Meanwhile the family dynamics had changed. Kids had their own TVs and were enamored with the likes of MTV and VH1 rather than some old sitcom or game show on the traditional channels. Cable had begun to fracture programming into smaller, similar chunks. A sci-fi channel, a music channel, a ladies romance channel, a movie channel. The Sci-Fi Channel itself had begun and was sucking up as many old science fiction shows as it could find, yet the STAR TREK's were untouchable at that point.

So, while the younger Internet generation embraced STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, many older folks knew little of the exploits of Captain Picard and company. But with images everywhere, a lot of them know 'that bald guy' on STAR TREK.

 

[tomswift2002]

I just saw an ad for Crave TV earlier this morning and they were advertising all the Sci-Fi shows that they service has, and TNG started off the segment that was labeled "Every Star Trek Series Ever", which I believe followed the segment advertising Smallville and Doctor Who.

 

[Heghta]

TNG was huge in its day. I still remember when they filled the entire Rogers Skydome with people (50,000 capacity) for the last episode. That didn't happen for TOS, DS9, Voyager or Enterprise. So its flame burned brighter than all the others but like someone else said, it hasn't quite had the same legacy as TOS.

The thing with TOS is that it was first and had all those movies behind it as well. TOS was groundbreaking, TNG was not.

 

[Paradise City]

It's iconic enough. It ain't TOS by any means nor measure but I don't think anyone is confused on that point.

Internet memes do alot of the work to keep it in the public consciousness. Picard with his arm outstretched and the other one with Riker and Picard face palming. It may seem trivial but it does keep TNG in the broad public imagination and the demand for reruns is almost uniquely strong -- at least in this neck of the woods.

 

[Vandervecken]

I'll bet plenty of non-Trekkies know who the Borg are, or have an idea of who they are, and would recognize one. And only slightly fewer people will know the phrase "resistance is futile."