Moments on TNG that make you cringe.
- Thread starter ED-209
- Start date
The following came to mind the most readily, I'm sure there are one or two more examples:
"Rascals" and its sheer idiocy of plotting contrivances to get the Big-E, combined with some of the worst dialogue in Star Drek, such as "take the adults to the transporter room" since this episode revolves around the heroes turning into kids.
That said, the casting of the kids was pretty great and the Ro/Guinan subplot works overtime to keep this story from being sub-season 1 in quality.
The basic plotting that Riker almost gets Starfleet Command (and Academy) taken over thanks to a game, brought in by someone on TNG's STD planet (no relation to Wrigley's Pleasure Planet, of course.)
Wesley putting together a kit for a portable tractor beam for some reason, then reversing a diode or whatever, and grins to everyone how he invented a repulsor beam. You know, the one that saves the story in just the perfect nickarooney of time. (actually, 70% of "The Naked Now" is a cringefest where one might have to be drunk, and at the tail-end of puberty, to begin to enjoy this one...) That said, at least LaForge and Yar get what approaches character development, even if it's low-hanging fruit.
Also in the same story, Wesley creates not a voice synthesizer, but a tape recorder that records voice clips and edits them into phrases without sounding like "Kirk On Meth". That one was ripe for heckling when "Futurama" aimed right at it with Cubert pulling the same shtick but to greater effect... but I digress.
But in all fairness, Season 1 is so easy to pick that it's almost undeserving since the show was at least trying different formats and finding its feet as best it could. So let's go to the other low-hanging fruit at the other end of the show's run, just to get that over with:
Sub Rosa.
Yup. The whole thing is one big glob of cringe. Like when you have a really bad sinus infection and you sneeze, but you miss with the hanky and a lot of it is still dripping off the edge of the nose? Yep. That.
The fact that "Booby Trap" has just enough vagueness in the dialogue that the story allows the viewer to perceive Geordi creating a virtual sex doll (when the computer created the personality, with that 9.37% margin of error and Geordi forgets about that little tidbit... among other issues...)
And, of course, "Galaxy's Child" where, even under the best-case scenario, there's one scene where Geordi demands she apologies to him for an issue he was genuinely to blame for...
Troi goes over the top in "Face of the Enemy" that's borderline cringe.
"The Enemy" somehow contrives to make only Worf a viable donor. When people griped about TOS's "The Way to Eden" being crap because it fudged Chekov's character, it's easy to explain that (the dude had character growth and maturity throughout season three) than when TNG contrived plotting and changed character motivations, which leads to:
"Ethics". Worf's subplot is good, even if the rest of the crew becomes their season one up-nosed haughty selves again. But plot and character contrivance to make the guest doctor eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil for plotting sake became more and more obvious. Especially as, with the plot spiked, Crusher gets to spike with the uber-haughty "real research takes time". Yeah, that's true, but that's one piece of the puzzle - never mind Worf's unique set of circimstances. Worse, never mind the cheap plot development of "multiple backup organs", which is asinine in its excesses. "The Way to Eden" is a bona fide classic next to this over-contrived garbage. "Ethics" is largely cringe worthy of flushing for her subplot alone. Not that I'm opinionated or anything, whine whine whine whine whine.
85% of the incidental music from seasons 5-7 has proved that milk ages far better. Ratings may have been better in 1991, but that was probably due to seasons 2-4 (esp 3 and 4) being repeated the most often at the time, as TBOBW cemented TNG in the zeitgeist and reruns truly got the ball rolling. No worries, halfway into season 5 the ratings became to go back down, but was still impressively popular...
"Rascals" and its sheer idiocy of plotting contrivances to get the Big-E, combined with some of the worst dialogue in Star Drek, such as "take the adults to the transporter room" since this episode revolves around the heroes turning into kids.
That said, the casting of the kids was pretty great and the Ro/Guinan subplot works overtime to keep this story from being sub-season 1 in quality.The basic plotting that Riker almost gets Starfleet Command (and Academy) taken over thanks to a game, brought in by someone on TNG's STD planet (no relation to Wrigley's Pleasure Planet, of course.)
Wesley putting together a kit for a portable tractor beam for some reason, then reversing a diode or whatever, and grins to everyone how he invented a repulsor beam. You know, the one that saves the story in just the perfect nickarooney of time. (actually, 70% of "The Naked Now" is a cringefest where one might have to be drunk, and at the tail-end of puberty, to begin to enjoy this one...) That said, at least LaForge and Yar get what approaches character development, even if it's low-hanging fruit.
Also in the same story, Wesley creates not a voice synthesizer, but a tape recorder that records voice clips and edits them into phrases without sounding like "Kirk On Meth". That one was ripe for heckling when "Futurama" aimed right at it with Cubert pulling the same shtick but to greater effect... but I digress.
But in all fairness, Season 1 is so easy to pick that it's almost undeserving since the show was at least trying different formats and finding its feet as best it could. So let's go to the other low-hanging fruit at the other end of the show's run, just to get that over with:
Sub Rosa.
Yup. The whole thing is one big glob of cringe. Like when you have a really bad sinus infection and you sneeze, but you miss with the hanky and a lot of it is still dripping off the edge of the nose? Yep. That.
The fact that "Booby Trap" has just enough vagueness in the dialogue that the story allows the viewer to perceive Geordi creating a virtual sex doll (when the computer created the personality, with that 9.37% margin of error and Geordi forgets about that little tidbit... among other issues...)
And, of course, "Galaxy's Child" where, even under the best-case scenario, there's one scene where Geordi demands she apologies to him for an issue he was genuinely to blame for...
Troi goes over the top in "Face of the Enemy" that's borderline cringe.
"The Enemy" somehow contrives to make only Worf a viable donor. When people griped about TOS's "The Way to Eden" being crap because it fudged Chekov's character, it's easy to explain that (the dude had character growth and maturity throughout season three) than when TNG contrived plotting and changed character motivations, which leads to:
"Ethics". Worf's subplot is good, even if the rest of the crew becomes their season one up-nosed haughty selves again. But plot and character contrivance to make the guest doctor eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil for plotting sake became more and more obvious. Especially as, with the plot spiked, Crusher gets to spike with the uber-haughty "real research takes time". Yeah, that's true, but that's one piece of the puzzle - never mind Worf's unique set of circimstances. Worse, never mind the cheap plot development of "multiple backup organs", which is asinine in its excesses. "The Way to Eden" is a bona fide classic next to this over-contrived garbage. "Ethics" is largely cringe worthy of flushing for her subplot alone. Not that I'm opinionated or anything, whine whine whine whine whine.
85% of the incidental music from seasons 5-7 has proved that milk ages far better. Ratings may have been better in 1991, but that was probably due to seasons 2-4 (esp 3 and 4) being repeated the most often at the time, as TBOBW cemented TNG in the zeitgeist and reruns truly got the ball rolling. No worries, halfway into season 5 the ratings became to go back down, but was still impressively popular...
I forgot:
"Pen Pals" is fairly solid as episodes go, I can handle Data disregarding Picard by letting the crew hear Sarjenka's please when instructed to turn off the communication, but the ending where he gives the conch shell to her - after the drama placed on "this is experimental and may not work" -- was this story begging for a sequel? If so, it would require more contrivances than normal, but even Starfleet ordering Picard back to quietly follow up on the unique properties of that star system wouldn't be too much a stretch... it'd be far better than "The Masterpiece Society", which feels like a bizarre rebuttal and is, indeed, 97% pure unfettered cringe. The Geordi scene makes up for a lot in that episode, however...
"Pen Pals" is fairly solid as episodes go, I can handle Data disregarding Picard by letting the crew hear Sarjenka's please when instructed to turn off the communication, but the ending where he gives the conch shell to her - after the drama placed on "this is experimental and may not work" -- was this story begging for a sequel? If so, it would require more contrivances than normal, but even Starfleet ordering Picard back to quietly follow up on the unique properties of that star system wouldn't be too much a stretch... it'd be far better than "The Masterpiece Society", which feels like a bizarre rebuttal and is, indeed, 97% pure unfettered cringe. The Geordi scene makes up for a lot in that episode, however...
Nooo! That's just Data being Data. I liked that one! Boo on you. Boo I say!
A lot of Season 1 was cringeworthy, but Data especially was Cringeworthy in the early part of the series. Thank god they wrote the character better from Season 2 onward.
Wasn't it Data who said that?
Perhaps we can forget it, android friendships can be weird?
Let's just assume S1 is going to get beaten up a lot, so I'll skip those.
All of Sub Rosa and Rascals as has been mentioned. Something I always found cringey were the "girl talk" scenes when Troi fell for the sneaky part-Betazoid ambassador in The Price, or when Crusher crushed hard on the Trill in The Host. I don't confess to knowing exactly how girl talk works, but the fact it was all done so breathlessly in glitter onesies and dipping fingers in what looks like unset Jell-o, makes me think I must be signing up for the wrong yoga classes and got a really bad manicure last time.
My most personal cringe moment of TNG was while watching Cause and Effect on live TV and thinking something was clearly wrong with the cable company...I mean, they've shown the ship blow up three times already, surely they're running the tape wrong or something? (It was the 90s, I didn't know any better...)
All of Sub Rosa and Rascals as has been mentioned. Something I always found cringey were the "girl talk" scenes when Troi fell for the sneaky part-Betazoid ambassador in The Price, or when Crusher crushed hard on the Trill in The Host. I don't confess to knowing exactly how girl talk works, but the fact it was all done so breathlessly in glitter onesies and dipping fingers in what looks like unset Jell-o, makes me think I must be signing up for the wrong yoga classes and got a really bad manicure last time.
My most personal cringe moment of TNG was while watching Cause and Effect on live TV and thinking something was clearly wrong with the cable company...I mean, they've shown the ship blow up three times already, surely they're running the tape wrong or something? (It was the 90s, I didn't know any better...)
That Data one works for me because I like Data's straightforwardness. He doesn't have emotions. He hasn't been in this kind of situation before. He's just laying it as best he can. I can't imagine someone else saying it but that's the point.
I think the thing that I most cringe at is the Ferengi. It's not just that they're so one dimensional, it's that the writers somehow thought this was a way to write a new villain and that it would work.
I think the thing that I most cringe at is the Ferengi. It's not just that they're so one dimensional, it's that the writers somehow thought this was a way to write a new villain and that it would work.
I've already said here how much I dislike the misogynistic undertones of this episode, but the cringiest thing we have to believe is that in the 24th century Data thinks that the best way to make a relationship work is to use the United States of the 1950s as a model, with patriarchy fully operational. Yes Data, a 400 year old social model where at most women could aspire to become the wives of wealthy men is exactly the right thing to use with a female professional. Why, I don't know, 19th century Sicily or 17th century Russia?
"HONEY I'M HOME!"
My God, what were they thinking?
Pretty much all of season 1 and 2, though especially Code of Honor, Justice, Symbiosis, Shades of Grey, and The Child.
I loved that conversation. While it might be easy to say you need to put friendships aside to be a good leader, it is easier said than done. That Data realized that makes that scene feel a lot more complete and wholesome than if he hadn't.
Wait...I didn't realize In Theory was Sir Patrick Stewart's directorial debut? Data goes on dates and Picard the shuttle jockey? I'm sure it was technically well-executed, but it seems like an odd choice for Stewart's first go at the director's chair. Sort of out of character given the gravitas of some of his later acting and directing roles, maybe this was practice? LOL
Wait...I didn't realize In Theory was Sir Patrick Stewart's directorial debut? Data goes on dates and Picard the shuttle jockey? I'm sure it was technically well-executed, but it seems like an odd choice for Stewart's first go at the director's chair. Sort of out of character given the gravitas of some of his later acting and directing roles, maybe this was practice? LOL
There's a reason why Sir Patrick mostly directed Data episodes - when Jean-Luc can't be the main focus/present as much as he usually is due to Sir Patrick sitting in the director's chair, Data has to take over to carry the show. (They broke that whole rule once, with "Preemptive Strike", but that was way at the end of the show, and look what it did, it contributed to Sir Patrick's exhaustion from TNG that he voiced back in those days.) As far as I'm aware Sir Patrick remains proud of his debut as a director. He probably doesn't remember much of the episode's plot anyway, like it is for him with most TNG episodes. I think the only thing he mentions when he talks about the episode is that "it's the one where Data had a girlfriend". I don't think he remembers how cringeworthy the whole thing was from a plot perspective and how toxic some of the traits were that Data chose to "emulate".
Anways. There are far too many moments that make me cringe when it comes to TNG but what stands out is stuff like LaForge's Leah Brahms "crush" (don't get me started), Barclay's holodeck program that clearly seems to have involved him having a go at a holographic Troi and everyone laughing it off, whenever Crusher and Troi get nothing to do other than being the mother of the super smart ensign/pretty woman in catsuit, whenever they gave Troi another Creep of the Week boyfriend... basically the most cringeworthy moments for me are the ones where you notice that the show was (mostly) done by straight guys for straight guys and that it was the late 80s/early 90s despite the show being set in the far future. As Sir Patrick put it, TNG was "a boys club".
Oh and "Code Of Honor". Although that episode is not cringe. It's utterly inexcusable.
At least Code of Honor had a Laser Cage Spiked Ball Catfight.
I will admit that I do like the spikey gloves with the poison. Very interesting weapon concept.
But still. When I want catfights I watch Dynasty
It's interesting how a lot of people, even here (see the thread I linked), think Data is the real victim of the episode, not the poor girl who was used as a guinea pig in some kind of bizarre social experiment.
Edit: A great article on this episode that explains much better than I could what I want to say
“Men Who Hate Women”: In Theory
Oh no, not again.
I have to filet another Star Trek: The Next Generation sacred cow tonight. I hate doing this. But this one’s time is long, long overdue, ’cause “In Theory” is bad. Really bad. How bad? Well, in terms of gender, this is right down there in the same league as “Reunion”.
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