Fans, why do you like TNG?

[Lt.Cmdr.LaForge]

It is my oppinion that the TNG movies/series are indeed better than the TOS movies/series.
TNG has awesome character development which creates a crew that you can genuinely like and care about. Not to say that TOS doesnt, but i find TOS to be too corny and restro. This prevents me from connecting with TOS as a result.

Best TNG Episodes (imo). Best of both worlds 1+2. Gambit 1+2. Redemption 1+2. Best TNG film: First Contact.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

Why TNG?
Obviously Jean-Luc Picard ~ There are so many words to decribe him but I'd just sum it up by 'I want him to be my Dad'
As with previous posters ~ Worf and Data are great characters who we see grow during the series. Worf's finest hour was 'Ethics', where is struggles with his 'inner warriors' pride. Even Wesley has his moments but I do think he was over-used in the first series. O'Brien had some great lines and delivers them well.
I struggle to find a good solid female character; I think I prefer Dr Pulaski to Bev Crusher, Pulaski was stronger and Crusher sometimes too wet. And Troi was just too busy making obvious observations 'I feel you are troubled...' to a manic looking crew member, etc. Tasha Yar was promising, her 'experience' with Data was poignant where it could have just been ridiculous.

Guinan was great, I re-watched Yesterday's Enterprise last night ~ a simple dual time-line story which really worked and showed Guinan and Picards' relationship at it's best. I'm currently re-watching the whole thing and remembering little gems.

Riker was awful, especially in the first series when they still hung on to TOS's 'misfortunes' of beaming down to a planet of scantily clad inhabitants with odd rules ~ Justice, Angel One, where Riker got to practise his best leer - yuk!

Fabulous occasional appearances from Q - fantastic!, Lwaxana Troi, the only woman to make Picard truely uncomfortable, K'Ehleyr ditto Worf .

Excellent enemies with the Ferengi, Romulans and of course Borg.

Some great ethical story lines, we got to know far more about the characters. In all a great mix of thought provoking enjoyable entertainment

And I thought I'd have nothing to say

 

[Jaespol]

Yeah Riker was a bit crap and I never thought Frakes could act myself.

 

[Brady]

I like TNG much better than TOS. Remember the Abe Lincoln episode in TOS? Kirk, Spock, Abe, and Surak are running around throwing rocks at the villains who are legendary bad guys from history. Then, these all-time great military leaders come up with a clever plan to lure Spock over after Surak has gone on to confront them alone: Kahless disguises his voice and OVER AND OVER incessantly yells "Help me, Spock! Spock, help me!" Then one of the other baddies says "Your friend is in pain, you can't let him suffer!" Incredibly, Kirk uses his wit to see right through this attempted deception.

That episode is just SO LAME to see them ducking behind bushes and throwing rocks at one another. TNG is just SO MUCH better.

That is one of the few TOS episodes I have seen and I hope they are not all as hokey as that one.

Thought I'd throw this in here. I haven't read it but I imagine this has become a TNG bash fest. TNG the series is far superior to TOS in every way imagineable.

Movie-wise: TOS movies are a million times better than TNG movies. Had the original series been as good as its movies, it would not have gotten canceled so quickly. Also, TOS fans would have good reason to bash TNG. But the TNG series is so much better that it doesn't matter that the movies sucked.

 

[Bisz]

As a young child I very much enjoyed the optimism it showed us about our future as a species. As an adult I now prefer 'grittier' drama, but I still love TNG.

Also, the ship looks awesome and all tech is great.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

Yeah Riker was a bit crap and I never thought Frakes could act myself.

Especially against Patrick Stewart ~ poor guy didn't have a chance

Brady ~ read the thread. It says good things

Bisz ~ you're right, there was lots of optimism in there, which made you feel so good to watch

 

[RAMA]

STNG has the best overall qualities that make Trek great. Adventure, scientific extrapolation, drama, positive future, characters and overall tone. Brent Spiner and Patrick Stewart may be ST's best two actors ever. I don't think any other show, even other ST shows have ever been anything like it. It single-handedly revived SF on television as a viable genre. It was the most awarded SF show ever made, because Hollywood was finally recognizing the quality of a good SF show. It is ST's most popular incarnation because it genuinely had a point of view and people come away with new appreciation when they rewatch it. Its a true classic because it withstands the test of time, even in an age of advancing technical production. Its Gene Roddenberry's vision in its purest form.

The TOS movies are better overall, but STFC is number 2 in my book.

RAMA

 

[Warped9]

I like TNG much better than TOS. Remember the Abe Lincoln episode in TOS? Kirk, Spock, Abe, and Surak are running around throwing rocks at the villains who are legendary bad guys from history. Then, these all-time great military leaders come up with a clever plan to lure Spock over after Surak has gone on to confront them alone: Kahless disguises his voice and OVER AND OVER incessantly yells "Help me, Spock! Spock, help me!" Then one of the other baddies says "Your friend is in pain, you can't let him suffer!" Incredibly, Kirk uses his wit to see right through this attempted deception.

That episode is just SO LAME to see them ducking behind bushes and throwing rocks at one another. TNG is just SO MUCH better.

That is one of the few TOS episodes I have seen and I hope they are not all as hokey as that one.

Thought I'd throw this in here. I haven't read it but I imagine this has become a TNG bash fest. TNG the series is far superior to TOS in every way imagineable.

Movie-wise: TOS movies are a million times better than TNG movies. Had the original series been as good as its movies, it would not have gotten canceled so quickly. Also, TOS fans would have good reason to bash TNG. But the TNG series is so much better that it doesn't matter that the movies sucked.

As much as I dislike VOY and ENT I've seen more than a few episodes to allow me to give them a more fair assessment. You can't judge an entire body of work by just one or two or three episodes.

Okay, now I'll go back to listening.

 

[Mr. Scott]

Yeah Riker was a bit crap and I never thought Frakes could act myself.

Thank you! I have always found Jonathan Frakes annoying. He won the part over Jeffrey Combes, who went on to play Weyoun and Brunt on DS9.

I liked Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner and Michael Dorn. The rest of the cast, I just did not care for. Counselor Troi, hot but annoying. I would hate for someone to read my mind, especially someone who looks like her in her catsuit. Beverly Crusher, another beautiful, but boring woman. Wesley. Throw him out of the airlock. Geordi the blind engineer. Well, he was O.K., but why have Stevie Wonder be your Chief Engineer?

TNG was real dreck the first season, however it got better after season 2. I would say I like about 1/2 of their episodes, about 1/4th were dreck (first season, holodeck episodes), and the other 1/4th were ho-hum.

I disagree with someone who stated that TNG has aged badly, I don't agree. When the show came on, it was one of the most expensive shows produced that year, something like $1 million USD an episode. Sci-Fi is expensive to make and produce, which is why it is mostly eschewed by the networks (yeah, X-Files, BSG etc.)

I am more of a DS9/TOS fan. TNG was decent, Voyager and especially Enterprise was junk.

 

[Praetor]

I never realized that Riker was so disliked before joining this board...

 

[JayTheTrekkie]

I like TNG because of a great cast, the storyline and many various great episodes that would considere as my favorite episodes.

 

[ManaByte]

One of my favorite things in TNG was Picard explaining humanity to Data.

Data would saw something child-like, and Picard would get this smile on his face and bask in his joy of being able to teach Pinnochio to be a little more human.

 

[Kirk1980]

Personally, I enjoyed Riker as he reminded me very much of Kirk.

I had just started watching classic Trek when I was about 6/7, just before TNG debuted. I saw every episode first-run (might have missed a FEW here and there but my ass was glued to the chair every Saturday) and it remains the only series I've ever made it a point to watch from its debut to its finale.

TOS will probably always get my true vote but the sentimental kid in me must admit to some true TNG love.

 

[Tachyon]

TNG > TOS. By miles.

 

[Angry Angel]

Besides the character, I always loved the intro. The music and the scenes just always got me (and still do) in such a scifi mood.

 

[Kirk1980]

Tachyon...this is...why we like TNG, not a comparative essay on the merits of TNG over TOS. At least I think that's the goal, anyway.

 

[Cky]

I think because TNG was so much different than the original series, but at the same time staying true to it. Personally after the series 3 finale, and the second part, I felt that TNG overcame TOS in terms of quality, entertaining episodes. After that as well, Picard seemed to me a more emotional Captain, which to me just makes it a more emotional series.

 

[Warped9]

I liked TNG in those episodes when the new formula worked (at least to my taste). That's when it showed that it could be different from TOS and still be engaging.

Sadly, for me, that only happened maybe a third of the time. I could put all the episodes I liked within the framework of two seasons.

 

[RandyS]

I like all the Star Treks, but TNG holds a special place for me because it came at a time in my life that I needed something--anything--to believe in. TNG was always there for me no matter how bad things got (of course so was TOS, but TNG was the better written show, and Stewart didn't monopolize evrything the way Shatner did). I liked the fact that all the TNG characters were fleshed out, not just two.

Also, TNG was alot closer to the show GR wanted TOS to be. You only have to look at Picard to see that (Not-an-approachable-friendly-captain, "Number One", "engage")

 

[Amaris]

I love TOS, TNG & DS9. For TNG, it comes down to my childhood. I got started on TOS, then when I turned 7 years old, this fantastic new Star Trek appeared on the television screen and managed to captivate me for the next 7 years. It's everything: The ensemble, the cast, the technology, the stories, the great introspection into the human condition. TNG had it all and I was beholden to it every week, and to this day I love the series.

J.