What If? TNG Carries On.

[Greylock Crescent]

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.

Sadly, TNG was running out of steam -- for all the reasons stated above. Considering how good DS9 became, it's clear that, for TNG to continue, it would have needed a kind of revolution in approach and storytelling. And I just don't think that was going to happen. It's a series that, understandably, "played it safe."

Take "Second Chances," for example. TNG could have completely shaken up its characters and story potential with replacing the Riker we knew with the more ambitious, but less-experienced duplicate. That alone would have changed the whole dynamic of the show, energizing what had become an increasingly stale dynamic. But TPTB weren't willing to take those risks with the "sure thing" that TNG was.

I give them credit, though, for knowing when to change approaches -- and considering we got DS9 out of the deal, I'm willing to accept the end of TNG, as well as the film duds (namely Nemesis and Generations). If TNG were to have continued, I seriously doubt there would have been any significant alterations to its fundamental dynamic or premise -- and the results would have been increasingly uneven, as we saw with Season 7.

 

[BillJ]

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...

Pain is your friend?

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

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).

Nothing like that would ever have happened. Much as I love TNG, it wasn't a show known for taking any chances. They always stuck with the proven formula.

 

[Rarewolf]

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.

Voyager too - hence the introduction of the Marquis, Native American colonies etc.

They did exactly the same later on with Voyager's 7th season - leaving it to its own devices to go make Enterprise.

I suppose you have to wonder if all the cast would even have signed up for season 7, had their contract not been for one last year with movies attached. They only signed up for 6 years.

Season 7 most likely would have been the relaunch, not season 8.

 

[Listener4]

While the quality probably would have declined, I still would have liked the series to continue, even for just a few years. While DS9 took Trek in an interesting new direction, none of the series after TNG were at the same level in my opinion.

 

[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).

Nothing like that would ever have happened. Much as I love TNG, it wasn't a show known for taking any chances. They always stuck with the proven formula.

Oh... it would have been just as conservative. The new characters would've been the same as the original just different actors playing them.

 

[Anwar]

TNG could've worked with an ER type formula, changing characters and stuff. But it probably wouldn't have worked due to lack of mainstream appeal, it had gotten too niche.

Stargate SG-1 tried to do that by swapping out McNeil for the Farscape folks and getting rid of the Goa'uld for the Ori and it failed.

 

[YARN]

Perhaps picking up a year or two after the season seven finale. With new sets and characters (and writers behind the scenes).

Well, they could've simply sent the Enterprise on Voyager's journey. You kill off half your "regular" cast members and replace them with Marquis (Riker and perhaps Trio and/or Dr. Crusher). This way when we see new people usurping old roles there really is a sense of tension.

OR...

Destroy the Enterprise D in the season opener, a two-parter. Show the surviving crew getting trying to pick up the pieces and having to decide whether they wish to serve on the Enterprise E. Three or four officers transfer to the Enterprise E. The rest move on.

 

[Rarewolf]

TNG could've worked with an ER type formula, changing characters and stuff. But it probably wouldn't have worked due to lack of mainstream appeal, it had gotten too niche.

Stargate SG-1 tried to do that by swapping out McNeil for the Farscape folks and getting rid of the Goa'uld for the Ori and it failed.

Shows can usually get away with it if they do it from the offset, its when you have largely the same unchanged cast for more than 3 years the formula becomes too set to mess around with and expect to continue for long.

Babylon 5 is a good sci-fi example of one that worked. It couldn't have had more cast changes had it tried!

 

[Anwar]

Well, out of the major characters it changed didn't it only swap out Sinclair for Sheridan? Delenn, Ivanova, Garibaldi, G'Kar, Dr Franklin, Londo, etc all stayed on (except Ivanova in S5).

 

[timelord1010]

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...

It's funny you should say that about Nemesis. Everytime it is on TV, which is at least 4 or 5 times a year, I end up watching it, I don't even need to watch my DVD of it.

I think they should have switched to the "ER" style for season 8 on or had the Enterprise get lost in the Delta quadrant instead of Voyager. Only thing is skip the Kazon and go right to the races after like the Videins, Borg, etc. Only thing is I don't think Picard would work, he is too quick to try and use diplomacy which is fine but not when you have aggressive races out to destroy you and steal your ship and technology.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Oh... it would have been just as conservative. The new characters would've been the same as the original just different actors playing them.

Not conservative enough. TNG wasn't even willing to replace Riker ... with Riker. The show never would have replaced several characters all at once in such a drastic turnover.

 

[BillJ]

Oh... it would have been just as conservative. The new characters would've been the same as the original just different actors playing them.

Not conservative enough. TNG wasn't even willing to replace Riker ... with Riker. The show never would have replaced several characters all at once in such a drastic turnover.

Paramount would have if they could have collected the same per episode fee from stations while paying new actors a cheaper per episode rate than what the current actors were collecting.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Paramount would have if they could have collected the same per episode fee from stations while paying new actors a cheaper per episode rate than what the current actors were collecting.

Say hello to Voyager. TNG would never have undergone such a drastic change for television. Seven seasons of relative status quo attest to that. It was too much of a sure thing, particularly with the perceived potential for a lucrative film franchise. As a result, we got Voyager as a TNG replacement crew and reboot, of sorts.

 

[CaptainStoner]

It's said that in show business you want to leave the audience wanting more. TNG accomplished that brilliantly in its TV run, less so in its film run. I for one definitely wanted another film or two to follow up on NEM, as originally hoped for.

 

[BillJ]

Paramount would have if they could have collected the same per episode fee from stations while paying new actors a cheaper per episode rate than what the current actors were collecting.

Say hello to Voyager. TNG would never have undergone such a drastic change for television. Seven seasons of relative status quo attest to that. It was too much of a sure thing, particularly with the perceived potential for a lucrative film franchise. As a result, we got Voyager as a TNG replacement crew and reboot, of sorts.

Voyager was an entirely different animal from The Next Generation. Voyager was the flagship show for the fledgling United Paramount Network, there were no individual stations for the studio to deal with (and collect fees from) like Next Gen and Deep Space Nine.

I think things might have turned out a bit differently for both The Next Generation and the feature film franchise had there been no UPN to launch. YMMV.

 

[Anwar]

The franchise as a whole would've been better off without UPN. They'd probably have done what Berman wanted to do and have there be only one show on at a time. VOY would've waited until 2000 or so, and been syndicated.

 

[BillJ]

The franchise as a whole would've been better off without UPN. They'd probably have done what Berman wanted to do and have there be only one show on at a time. VOY would've waited until 2000 or so, and been syndicated.

And if Voyager doesn't premiere until 2000, it becomes a totally different show. I doubt either Jeri Taylor nor Michael Piller would've been involved in its creation plus you had the changing TV landscape.

Imagine a Voyager series created by Rick Berman, Ron Moore and Ira Steven Behr.

With the unfavorable reception that Insurrection got, you may have had a Voyager series starring Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis (reprising their TNG roles).

Then again, with no Voyager in 1995. Deep Space Nine may have been a completely different animal as well... with Rick Berman focusing his attention on that series (Behr not having as free a hand to run the series as he saw fit).

 

[Anwar]

Berman wasn't the detrimental figure on DS9 that Behr whines he was, that's just him being the franchise scapegoat.

Anywho, if they waited till 2000 then CGI tech would be cheaper to use (the reason NuBSG could do the "sustained damage" thing better than VOY? By 2003 it was a LOT cheaper to do CGI than 1995). They could also easily re-use DS9 props for the show with some minor redressing (the reason for so many holo-deck stories in VOY was half because Jeri Taylor liked them and because the props from TNG's holostories were all there and easier to re-use).

Also, shows like Farscape and LEXX would already be on the air so Berman could just go to the Paramount suits and say "Look, we want to do a show similar to these ones."

 

[Gary7]

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 agree... the episode quality was declining. And given the timing relative to DS9 and the Generations movie, it makes sense that less attention to detail was paid. I'm glad it ended when it did. The series had run its course. "All Good Things" was a great ending, putting the final touches on it.