Am I crazy for saying that TNG is the best show of ALL time of any TV show ever?

[Starflight]

Not sure about best show ever - it's only my third favourite Star Trek - but it is one of the most comfortable and familiar shows ever. There's never a time when it's not appropriate to have TNG on in the background. Seeing Jonathan Frakes' face immediately puts me in some kind of low-intensity dopamine state.

Probably worth asking here rather than making its own topic, but is the reception of TNG starting to shift? A couple decades ago it was widely considered Objectively Good TV and Peak Trek, but nowadays it feels like in a lot of fandom spaces there's more criticism of it than praise at times.

 

[NigellaDeanna20]

There's just something about this show that just never gets old to me, no matter what episode (yes, even the shitty ones). I can watch any episode over and over and I still feel the same emotions I always did the first time I watched said episode. I can't tell you how many times I've seen all episodes throughout the years ever since I first watched the show as a kid back when it was actually airing in 1987.

Every time I watch The Inner Light, I FEEL the dread and sadness that that ancient civilization felt when their world was about to end.

Every time I watch The Best of Both Worlds I FEEL the emotional and physical trauma Picard endured as Locutus (that single tear that drips out of his eye while he is being assimilated is powerful stuff), as well as the PTSD he was suffering in the follow-up episode "Family."

Every time I watch Chain of Command I FEEL inspired when Picard screams out, "THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" at the end when being released from his torment.

Every time I watch Yesterday's Enterprise I clap when Picard says, "Let's make sure history never forgets the name Enterprise."

Every time I watch Deja Q I shed a tear when Data gets to experience what it's like to laugh.

There are just so many great and iconic moments in this show that, quite frankly, no other show in history can match IMHO. It's the only show I've ever bought the complete series of on disc (Blu-ray, in this instance). Sure, I love me some Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Seinfeld, Cheers, Breaking Bad, The Twilight Zone, The Wire and OF COURSE TOS and DS9, but there's just something about TNG that no other show can hold a candle towards IMHO.

I absolute agree and I love TNG too, warts and all and its my fave Trek series. However, to try and say that it's the best tv show of all time? Well, thats quite honestly a bit of a stretch to say the least.

 

[DonIago]

Probably worth asking here rather than making its own topic, but is the reception of TNG starting to shift? A couple decades ago it was widely considered Objectively Good TV and Peak Trek, but nowadays it feels like in a lot of fandom spaces there's more criticism of it than praise at times.

I sometimes get the sense that the general reception of TNG has shifted, but there's also more and newer TV out there, both in general and Trek specifically; I can certainly understand how, for newer viewers in particular, TNG would feel dated by comparison. TOS must feel like a relic, though perhaps it's so removed that it's somewhat immune from the same criticisms because of course a show from the '60s would feel dated now.

 

[Herald252]

Not sure about best show ever - it's only my third favourite Star Trek - but it is one of the most comfortable and familiar shows ever. There's never a time when it's not appropriate to have TNG on in the background. Seeing Jonathan Frakes' face immediately puts me in some kind of low-intensity dopamine state.

Probably worth asking here rather than making its own topic, but is the reception of TNG starting to shift? A couple decades ago it was widely considered Objectively Good TV and Peak Trek, but nowadays it feels like in a lot of fandom spaces there's more criticism of it than praise at times.

I believe that those who love TNG have inflicted emotional harm on those who love NuTrek, and now they are seeking revenge. Even in a discussion meant to praise TNG, people are more inclined to degrade and mock it. Not to say the new and most active topics here.

I am sad to say that this platform is not for me, I would retreat to read news and that's it for me. I can't stand it when people can't even try to be positive. So, my final message here is this: TNG is objectively good television. Just look at how many people still attend conventions for the TNG cast and continue to appreciate it (may be not here, but there are fans out there). If you chose a profession because of it, or if it taught you how to be a good person, then that is something that other shows simply cannot achieve. Most shows can teach good manners, but not every show is created with the visionary passion for a better future that TNG possesses. The very idea of it is unique, the fact that NuTrek can't hold the bar for it and change cannon in representing Federation is prove enough for me that TNG is better, it was indeed boldly going where no one has gone before, or perhaps now.

 

[DonIago]

You really believe that fans of NuTrek are "seeking revenge" on people who love TNG for having "inflicted emotional harm" upon them in the past?

 

[Oddish]

Did we get the same crap from TOS groupies when TNG was new?

 

[Starflight]

I believe that those who love TNG have inflicted emotional harm on those who love NuTrek, and now they are seeking revenge. Even in a discussion meant to praise TNG, people are more inclined to degrade and mock it. Not to say the new and most active topics here.

I am sad to say that this platform is not for me, I would retreat to read news and that's it for me. I can't stand it when people can't even try to be positive. So, my final message here is this: TNG is objectively good television. Just look at how many people still attend conventions for the TNG cast and continue to appreciate it (may be not here, but there are fans out there). If you chose a profession because of it, or if it taught you how to be a good person, then that is something that other shows simply cannot achieve. Most shows can teach good manners, but not every show is created with the visionary passion for a better future that TNG possesses. The very idea of it is unique, the fact that NuTrek can't hold the bar for it and change cannon in representing Federation is prove enough for me that TNG is better, it was indeed boldly going where no one has gone before, or perhaps now.

I think some of the backlash to TNG is just a result of the show being damaged somewhat by age - some of the show's ethics are stuck in a very 1980s Western view of political correctness/cultural relativism that feels regressive today, and the characterisation of Picard in some scripts as a paternalistic, self-styled thespian-cum-philosopher feels risible more than admirable to many modern viewers. The production is also kind of wooden in a way that's possibly alienating to new viewers (although it's also part of what I like about it, so YMMV I suppose).

There's also just the typical backlash anything that's very highly praised gets - when people are telling new viewers that BoBW and The Inner Light are the best stories ever told on television, and the reality turns out to be that they're both just sort of alright, people end up souring on the show.

It is definitely held together by its utopianism and high-concept science fiction ideas, though, which I think will ultimately keep it fresher than NuTrek. Some people will still be watching TNG in 50 years; I'm not sure how many will be watching Discovery or even SNW.