If it's not a believable future, it may not resonate much. I find TNG too sterile and artificial to be inspiring; if anything, I think something like In the Cards from DS9 is more heart-warming and meaningful - even in the darkest moments, you can find something to make you smile. Plus I always had the sense that TNG's utopia was limited to a pretty small bubble - there was plenty of crap going on outside it.
Picard: Is it really that dark?
- Thread starter Charles Phipps
- Start date
If it's not a believable future, it may not resonate much. I find TNG too sterile and artificial to be inspiring; if anything, I think something like In the Cards from DS9 is more heart-warming and meaningful - even in the darkest moments, you can find something to make you smile. Plus I always had the sense that TNG's utopia was limited to a pretty small bubble - there was plenty of crap going on outside it.
TOS is regarded as lesser cannon? *brain shutdown*
I don't even think it's shown as that far from a feel good utopia. TNG made it clear the Federation was surrounded by crappy anarchic worlds (and even occasionally lost worlds like Tasha Yarr's planet). Picard takes place in a variety of borderlands and the remains of Romulus which is not Roddenberry's utopia lands.
It does seem to be treated that way by many. In invoking "real Trek" (shudder), TNG is the touchstone, while TOS tends to be handwaved (The writers were still finding their way/Gene's vision hadn't been fully realised/It was so long ago...)
TNG was sometimes very Gene and sometimes very not so just like TOS.
Anything looks dark next to Candyland TNG.
I remind people that TNG was hardly free of darkness.
In addition to The Best of Both Worlds and Picard's torture, Worf holds his wife as she's murdered, the torture of Picard at the hands of Gul Mandred, and virtually the entirety of Ro Laren's story.
Hell, Roddenberry's vision for Tasha Yar was worse than anything in Picard but he couldn't get away with it on network television. Roddenberry envisioned a Federation planet devolving into Mad Max and Escape from New York.
In addition to The Best of Both Worlds and Picard's torture, Worf holds his wife as she's murdered, the torture of Picard at the hands of Gul Mandred, and virtually the entirety of Ro Laren's story.
Hell, Roddenberry's vision for Tasha Yar was worse than anything in Picard but he couldn't get away with it on network television. Roddenberry envisioned a Federation planet devolving into Mad Max and Escape from New York.
^ Molasses Swamp.
Gene would never envision such a thing!
Sarcasm aside, honestly it comes down to what people want in Trek. You're right that TNG touched on the dark but rarely explored consequences. It still felt good. Couple that with thick nostalgia of warm fuzzies, and deep dissatisfaction with modern day and it is easy to see how darker aspects are filtered out in the name of comfort food media.
To be fair, that's probably why Nepethe is the most popular episode.
I also think Stardust City Rag would be equally popular but for killing Icheb in the way they did and the ending with Seven of Nine executing her ex.
And to be fair if Picard had shot for a little more adventure in that episode it probably would have landed better and wouldn't be dissected as it is. Not a more fun tone necessarily but a more TOS approach to peril.
Though, honestly, Stardust was no worse than TWOK or TSFS.
I reject this premise.
Why would they feel that they got mugged? They didn't find out that the Romulans were behind the attack on Mars until 12 years later.
I believe it was 14 (presumably planets near the neutral zone with an unpleasant history with the empire).
By whom?
I mean, in the cosmic view I suppose the however many thousands of light years the Federation encompasses is still very small indeed, but you have to start somewhere...
That's the joke...
Essentially I was going with the idea the Federation has already given a huge amount of supplies, resources, and help to the idea of helping the Romulans only to have all of those supplies destroyed along with the destruction of one of their planets. I don't know if Mars is meant to be a member world of the Federation or not (as stated, we don't know if it's Mars from the Expanse/a whole nation or just a gas station for Starfleet) but it's still meant to be a horrifying loss.
I feel like that's blaming the Federation more than necessary. They did their best and they lost everything for it. Suggesting they immediately pick back up and try again feels....overly demanding? even for the idealistic Star Trek future.
Except they didn't lose everything for it. They lost everything for what they thought at the time was an unrelated robot malfunction. I agree it's understandable logistically that they wouldn't be able to go right back to the level of help they were organizing, but I still don't find it defensible that 14 worlds were threatening to leave if they even tried to help (apparently complaining even before the Mars attack), or that a Federation news service straight out of the absolute worst of the 21st century media seemed to agree.
Oddly, I will give a defense for the news reporter. She doesn't want Picard to defend Starfleet. It's clear she wants him to go on a tirade AGAINST Starfleet.
Yeah, it sounds pretty ridiculous to keep demanding from them who already gave.
That's a defense?
It is if she's furious about the Romulans not being helped.
That's definitely not the impression I got from her.
She was deliberately baiting Picard, though.
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