1st / 2nd season transitions

[Christopher]

^Right, and TNG pretty much started the first-run syndicated-drama boom. Although later first-run syndicated shows did get more serialized, like Hercules/Xena. And of course Babylon 5, the show that pioneered the modern season-arc format, was in first-run syndication in its first four seasons.

 

[Lance]

One of the more subtle differences between seasons one and two was in the conference room: season one does not feature the viewing screens at either end of the room, which would be a standard plot exposition device from season two onwards.

The reason for this was because in season one the conference room was actually a set built in the corner of sickbay whenever needed, then dismantled when not needed. Season two saw it being built as a separate permanent set (they took the opportunity to revamp the design a little in the process).

 

[jimbotron]

I'm glad they eventually removed the glass from the conference room windows. The glare in the early seasons were eyesores. I don't know why they didn't think to have open space there in the first place. You can't tell there's nothing there.

 

[Trekker4747]

I liked how when Geordi would walk onto the bridge, the engineering console would 'power up'. It was one of the few instances of seeing the ship being "90 percent automatic", as stated by Geordi himself in Contagion.

Not entirely true. There were plenty of times when Geordi got to the console where he had to verbally initiate the console's activation. Any time when the system seems to power up on its own it could be because the line just wasn't in the script (but maybe implied to be said if not verbally heard) or maybe Geordi activated it by touching a "button" on the console.

It never seemed to me the console powered up entirely on its own.

 

[Harvey]

I'd say, rather, that both approaches were in common use side by side. It wasn't like today where all shows were expected to be serialized; serialization was an option that coexisted alongside the more common episodic approach.

I think this is a fair assessment. I was countering your earlier, less nuanced statement that 1988 was "a time when continuity in episodic TV was still in its infancy (at least outside of soap operas)."

I wanted to point out that serialized dramas had begun in earnest at the beginning of the decade. They certainly didn't predominate the television landscape like they do today (and wouldn't, by my estimation, until the late '90s), but they weren't alien to television audiences by that point, either.

The adoption of soap-style serialization by more sophisticated dramas like Hill Street Blues was merely a shift in approach and perception, not some fundamental innovation. It was a stylistic novelty that did not immediately displace the more episodic style of storytelling.

The innovation of Hill Street Blues goes above and beyond simple serialization, I think, although its narrative structure was certainly a big part of the program's influence. Have you seen it?

 

[Christopher]

^I saw Hill Street Blues in first run, but I haven't seen it since then.

 

[Harvey]

I wasn't alive during Hill Street's first run, but I marathoned the first three seasons a couple months ago, and thought it holds up very well.

 

[Christopher]

I think I was just about old enough to be allowed to watch a show that adult (I was 12 when it started), but there was still a lot that went over my head.

 

[Armored Saint]

Did Twin Peaks really contribute to popularize the serialization format? Heart of Glory first airing happened some hours after my birth, so I watched the Lynch's soap on Netflix in 2013, not in the early 90's. I can't really tell who really broke the "self-contained episode" rules.

 

[Squiggy]

It has been a while since I've thought of this: There were so many transitions between TNG's 1st and 2nd season -

The bridge went through minor modifications, specifically the Conn and Ops chairs, Picard's armrest interfaces and the panels on the sides

Geordi and Worf got promotions (say what you want, the change in Worf's uniform from red to yellow indicates to me he was not formally placed as head of security/tactical until Season 2).

Riker, Troi and Wes all went through changes in appearance.

Beverly left for Starfleet Medical.

I don't recall that there was ever any real "tales" of explanation of all this happening. I know that other than "The Child" when Pulaski came on, and Geordi was in charge of the plague strains, we didn't even reference anything on screen that I can recall.

Does anyone recall anything about this other than what I've mentioned, either on screen or in print?

Just like on DS9 when they changed their uniform in the middle of the fifth season, there was no explanation given whatsoever. I hear we're supposed to assume that it was because of the movie First Contact. The funny thing is that I didn't notice anything different for about two of three episodes.

Bashir mentioned it...sort of. He was in sickbay with a patient and asked "Does my uniform look brighter to you?"

That was it though...and yes, in universe it was because of the uniform update in First Contact. In real life it was to differentiate with Voyager.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Also I notice in the early seasons there's these diagonal lines from the shoulders to the chest in the uniforms and they go away at some point, though I don't remember if that was after season one or season two.

In season one you see a lot of planets where there is a dry ice fog at ground level, and other than Shades of Grey that's mostly gone from season 2.

 

[Finn]

I apologize if it has been mentioned already. But during the Iconian episode where the Yamato exploded, Picard acted as if he didn't give a damn about archaeology. Later in the show, he talks about archaeology like Janeway talks about coffee, as if it was like that his whole life.

 

[Lance]

Did Twin Peaks really contribute to popularize the serialization format? Heart of Glory first airing happened some hours after my birth, so I watched the Lynch's soap on Netflix in 2013, not in the early 90's. I can't really tell who really broke the "self-contained episode" rules.

And of course, then you've got the international markets, where the trend towards 'long form narrative' in mainstream drama programmes had usually already been established by the time North American television began experimenting with it.

Having said that, Hill Street Blues and Twin Peaks were THE shows that pioneered the trend on anything resembling what it is today, as using long form story techniques in shows which aren't simply soap operas. Although it must be said that these shows almost seemed to exist in a vacuum back then, almost seeming like they were exceptions to the norm (which was still seen very much as being isolated 'episodic drama'). It's hard to say when broader long form storytelling was finally embraced by the masses in American television, but by the mid-1990s it was most certainly an accepted format, as attested by the likes of NYPD Blue, The X-Files, Buffy, Charmed, Gilmore Girls, The Practice, and so on.

To be honest though, I think TNG held its own quite well with these shows, in the sense of it's continuity being quite tight, and there actually being references made between different episodes, while it still being broadly an 'episodic' series on the whole. My feeling has always been that the usual criticism that TNG didn't "do" continuity between episodes isn't really supported by the actual episodes themselves, which certainly weren't afraid to reference back to previous events, or to foreshadow future ones.

 

[jimbotron]

Bashir mentioned it...sort of. He was in sickbay with a patient and asked "Does my uniform look brighter to you?"

You mean Changeling Bashir.

Though related to that, the show did have an indirect mention of the uniform change shortly after that. We later see the real Bashir in the original-style uniform, to indicate that he was abducted prior to the uniform change.

 

[Lance]

Bashir mentioned it...sort of. He was in sickbay with a patient and asked "Does my uniform look brighter to you?"

You mean Changeling Bashir.

Though related to that, the show did have an indirect mention of the uniform change shortly after that. We later see the real Bashir in the original-style uniform, to indicate that he was abducted prior to the uniform change.

I love the way they did that. I've realized subsequently that it's hard to work into a timetable for when the switch happened, but seeing Bashir in that former uniform was a terrific mind-screw on the audience!

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Twin Peaks wasn't the first show with serialized format but it certainly pioneered the pattern of floating supernatural mysteries over a long period of time.

 

[Armored Saint]

And of course, then you've got the international markets, where the trend towards 'long form narrative' in mainstream drama programmes had usually already been established by the time North American television began experimenting with it.

In Quebec case, the shift happened in 1986 with Lance et Compte a series about... hockey. It considered as the first "série lourde" (heavy series), because there was action and bigger budget. Before that, that kind of ambition was only for movies or foreign series, the tv dramas were only téléromans (telenovels, pretty close to soap opera). Lance et Compte was also strongly serialized, each season was built on its own story-arc.

Thirty years later, serialization in Quebec/French-Canadian television didn't progress that much. The market isn't safe enough for that and a tv-show (except for comedies) is rarely written by more than two persons. Cliffhangers are quite common, but it's not a good idea to end a season with too much unresolved plots.

 

[Armored Saint]

To be honest though, I think TNG held its own quite well with these shows, in the sense of it's continuity being quite tight, and there actually being references made between different episodes, while it still being broadly an 'episodic' series on the whole. My feeling has always been that the usual criticism that TNG didn't "do" continuity between episodes isn't really supported by the actual episodes themselves, which certainly weren't afraid to reference back to previous events, or to foreshadow future ones.

A part of the problem is the fact characters usually act like they had already recovered from they hard experience of the previous episode, despite those events would be referenced later in the series.

Another problem is there was a lot more one-shot characters than recurring ones.

 

[Christopher]

Having said that, Hill Street Blues and Twin Peaks were THE shows that pioneered the trend on anything resembling what it is today, as using long form story techniques in shows which aren't simply soap operas. Although it must be said that these shows almost seemed to exist in a vacuum back then, almost seeming like they were exceptions to the norm (which was still seen very much as being isolated 'episodic drama'). It's hard to say when broader long form storytelling was finally embraced by the masses in American television, but by the mid-1990s it was most certainly an accepted format, as attested by the likes of NYPD Blue, The X-Files, Buffy, Charmed, Gilmore Girls, The Practice, and so on.

I still think it was Babylon 5, though, that pioneered the format of giving each season an overall arc that came to a climax in the finale. Before then, serialized shows just sort of kept their arcs going and going, and while they had cliffhangers in the finale, they weren't really plotted with each season as a distinct "chapter" or "volume" in the narrative with its own complete story. Buffy and Angel also did a lot to promote this approach; Whedon's tendency was to treat each season finale as a potential series finale and give the story closure just in case it wasn't renewed, while still setting things up for the future in case it was.

 

[Lance]

^ Yes, I'd definitely agree with that Christopher. In some ways the Babylon 5 model reminds me a bit of the Blake's 7: a series with a broader arc which got resolved at the end of every season. Although I think B5 was more intricately plotted than B7.

And of course, then you've got the international markets, where the trend towards 'long form narrative' in mainstream drama programmes had usually already been established by the time North American television began experimenting with it.

In Quebec case, the shift happened in 1986 with Lance et Compte a series about... hockey. It considered as the first "série lourde" (heavy series), because there was action and bigger budget. Before that, that kind of ambition was only for movies or foreign series, the tv dramas were only téléromans (telenovels, pretty close to soap opera). Lance et Compte was also strongly serialized, each season was built on its own story-arc.

Thirty years later, serialization in Quebec/French-Canadian television didn't progress that much. The market isn't safe enough for that and a tv-show (except for comedies) is rarely written by more than two persons. Cliffhangers are quite common, but it's not a good idea to end a season with too much unresolved plots.

Very interesting ArmoredSaint. I must admit of course an unfortunate ignorance to Quebec television, although I think many of us in our own countries could point to similar localized productions which are in their own way watershed moments in television history, even if the broader worldwide audience has no knowledge of them. Certainly I could list a bunch of Australian dramas that were legendary and groundbreaking in these aspects, but I expect no-one outside of Australia will have heard of any of them.