What If? TNG Carries On.

[TedShatner10]

I know it's been suggested and lamented about numerous times before but what if Star Trek: The Next Generation carried on past 1994? Would it have prolonged the Trek franchise under Berman or would the franchise crumble at a similar rate it did if not faster? And with at least two out of four TNG movies sucking out loud, that is an indication that the tried and trusted TNG cast could not compensate for poor or repetitive storytelling.

 

[trekkerguy]

Well I can't agree on any of the TNG films sucking, I love them all, but TNG was the only Trek series to really go out with a bang. I think had they tried to prolong past the 7 season it would have lost momentum. It ended when it should have.

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

Reference the movies; Generations is extremely enjoyable despite the obvious plot holes, while First Contact is good but wildly overrated. Insurrection is OK, with Nemesis bringing up the rear with a great big B.L.A.N.D. sticker on its bumper.

TNG did go out with a bang - All Good Things was a superlative series wrap, but I felt the overall quality of the writing in season 7 was certainly on the wane. IMO it was probably just as well it ended when it did.

 

[Trek Survivor]

TNG's quality was already on the decline with season 7. It was the most inconsistent season since 1 in my opinion. It's very lucky it bowed out when it did. If it had continued, I think it would've only got worse.

 

[BillJ]

Three out of the four Next Gen films sucked out loud, only Generations had any long-term entertainment value.

If Next Gen had continued on past season seven the show would've required a major re-tooling. Either moving Riker to the center seat or bringing in a new Captain and chucking Frakes altogether. Stewart would've moved onto the big screen. LaForge and Crusher were really bland for most of the series run so they would've needed replaced. Worf would've still moved to the fledgling DS9.

Behind the scenes, you would have needed to completely cleanse the writing staff. Change the focus of the show from diplomatic taxi-cab back to exploration.

Essentially, the Enterprise would've become the mainstay if the show was revamped to continue on past seven seasons.

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

Change the focus of the show from diplomatic taxi-cab back to exploration.

A bit harsh, but sometimes not too far off the mark!

 

[Shatnertage]

Change the focus of the show from diplomatic taxi-cab back to exploration.

Diplomatic taxi-cab confessions?

 

[Alrik]

TNG's quality was already on the decline with season 7. It was the most inconsistent season since 1 in my opinion. It's very lucky it bowed out when it did. If it had continued, I think it would've only got worse.

There was a reason for that. During season 7, most of the studio's attention was being shifted over to either DS9 or prepping for GEN.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

It could have gone on, but it would have needed some pretty hefty changes in tone. I'd say something more like Deep Space Nine in storytelling might work well for a season or two, but... Deep Space Nine was already doing that.

I really don't agree that TNG was the only one to go out with a bang, though.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I think if TNG had continued, Riker definitely would have become captain and that alone would have forced a change in the series. I think it would have been treated as a reinvention of the show and the Enterprise would likely have been given a new specific mission. We might have seen new uniforms and a new character arrive to shake things up as a post-Picard era character. The Enterprise bridge may have been given a makeover not too unlike the one she received in Generations.

I think the stories would become noticeably more action-oriented and we could have seen the series utilize more multi-episode stories. I also think a major new villian would have been introduced that would have shaken-up the status quo in the Galaxy right off the start...

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

TNG's quality was already on the decline with season 7. It was the most inconsistent season since 1 in my opinion. It's very lucky it bowed out when it did. If it had continued, I think it would've only got worse.

There was a reason for that. During season 7, most of the studio's attention was being shifted over to either DS9 or prepping for GEN.

And don't forget starting Voyager.

People also use the "look at the movies" as the barometer for the types of stories we would get, but that's a whole other ballgame. You have a broader audience, you have a larger budget which drastically changes your storytelling techniques, you have meddling studios and more hands in the pot. I don't think that (along with how distracted they were behind the scenes during season 7) really gives any indication of what could have been.

 

[Pseudo]

TNG's quality was already on the decline with season 7. It was the most inconsistent season since 1 in my opinion. It's very lucky it bowed out when it did. If it had continued, I think it would've only got worse.

I think that if it had continued it would have needed a bit of a shake-up to breath some new life in to it. Maybe kill off or replace a few of the main-cast and they'd need to get them out of the comfort of the Federation.

Perhaps, they could encounter some anomaly that damages the ship, kills off a few crew members and strands them in some far off corner of the galaxy.

 

[Trek Survivor]

TNG's quality was already on the decline with season 7. It was the most inconsistent season since 1 in my opinion. It's very lucky it bowed out when it did. If it had continued, I think it would've only got worse.

There was a reason for that. During season 7, most of the studio's attention was being shifted over to either DS9 or prepping for GEN.

I'm aware of that. However, that is indeed a reason and not an excuse.

The fact is, they SHOULDN'T have had their attention all over the shop. Generations should not have come so quickly, and, though Berman and Piller's attention was clearly on DS9, that argument doesn't hold sway with Jeri Taylor and the rest of the TNG writing team.

 

[BillJ]

TNG's quality was already on the decline with season 7. It was the most inconsistent season since 1 in my opinion. It's very lucky it bowed out when it did. If it had continued, I think it would've only got worse.

There was a reason for that. During season 7, most of the studio's attention was being shifted over to either DS9 or prepping for GEN.

I'm aware of that. However, that is indeed a reason and not an excuse.

The fact is, they SHOULDN'T have had their attention all over the shop. Generations should not have come so quickly, and, though Berman and Piller's attention was clearly on DS9, that argument doesn't hold sway with Jeri Taylor and the rest of the TNG writing team.

Jeri Taylor was a co-creator of Star Trek: Voyager. They had pretty much cannibalized TNG before it had ended in order to get other projects up and running.

 

[Jochk]

I personally believe that TNG is a little repetitive but still the movies are all good except for generations

 

[SmoothieX]

They were getting toward the bottom of the barrel in S7, some of the episodes are dreadful.

I too imagine there would have been some shake-up. Picard moves onto the admiralty (Stewart leaves show with the occasional guest appearance), Riker becomes captain.

I look to DS9 as to where the series would have moved. A specific mission is added (say the Dominion War, that was before DS9 went that route), a new cast member is added based on their new mission. And it becomes a little more arc driven than episodic.

 

[FormerLurker]

If they had decided to continue with TNG, the first thing that would have happened would have been the scrapping of even the idea of VOY. VOY was developed for the purpose of replacing TNG as there were those in the front office of ST (but not necessarily Paramount) that wanted a show that GR had had nothing to do with, and characters that would not be interacting with any element of ST that GR would have ever known about.

What TNG would have needed most if it were to have continued would have been the replacement of the writing staff. I think we all agree that the writing on VOY was lackluster. The reason why is that the writing staff had been brought over from TNG, even after Rick Berman had stated "they were all burnt out from writing TNG." If they're burnt out, have them go write for some other show with different dynamics, not the next ST. I mean, c'mon!

 

[Arpy]

Creatively, they'd have need a new influx of writers to keep the series vital. The 7th season is one of my least favorites, but that's also coming off three of the best in Trek history.

I'm most curious what the stories would have been like. "All Good Things..." is timeless and wonderful and could have waited another year, or however long, to be the series finale. So what else could have happened in seasons eight and up?

I think with an influx of new writers there'd be a bunch of original standalones that are part of what made TNG and TOS great. For previous story-lines there's the "Conspiracy" aliens - a huge fan favorite and built-in set up for another story. Same with Nagilum from "Where Silence Has Lease".

 

[BillJ]

So what else could have happened in seasons eight and up?

I think All Good Things... would've ended season seven just like before, wrapping up Q and Picard. Then the season eight premiere would've acted as a new pilot Perhaps picking up a year or two after the season seven finale. With new sets and characters (and writers behind the scenes).

 

[trekkerguy]

Three out of the four Next Gen films sucked out loud, only Generations had any long-term entertainment value.

Heh, I watch Nemesis at least 12 times a year while all my other Trek films sit on the shelf...