It's such a cliché, but TNG is like a fine wine that only gets better with time. I've always appreciated the first two seasons, very much. They had a freshness that the rest of the seasons never quite matched. It seems that once the 3rd season came around, everything was kind of reduced to where the sets no longer had lighting involving time-consuming setups. Everything's blanket-lighted ... House Style, if you like. There were minor modifications in regular sets and costumes and the characters were now firmly established in their personalities and story-functions. So, whilst things got figured out, the texture and the flavour of the show subtly changed. The prologue with all the fanfare that goes with "Space ... the final frontier" got very cluttered starting Season Three and I never did like that.
It's obvious what they were going after, but it did not have the money, or the style afforded the first version of it, where the "D" exits the Solar System. That version was very pretty and nicely paced and was very majestic looking, which compliments the stately "D" very well. And worst of all, the planet sets pretty much went out the window and we see every planet looking like, you know, Griffith Park, rather than some exotic, wildly unusual alien world.
For pragmatic reasons, I suppose, Artistry got thrown under the bus, by the 3rd year and that's my biggest regret about the series. It's the aspect that I can never overlook, or sort of edit out in my mind, because it's all there onscreen. But the stories continue to be timeless, the cast has their chemistry and the guest stars are all memorable. No matter what else may go awry during any one particular episode, they always have that. And though I know every episode fairly well, the spirit of the show still moves me. The optimism, the hope ... and most of all, the honest desire to entertain. It's a faerie tale that I'll never have to outgrow, because it's for kids of all ages.
