Do you think TNG would be better off serialized like DS9 than mostly being a series of self-contained episodes? Maybe the Borg could have been more of a major Big Bad of the series like the Dominion were to DS9.
A serialized TNG
- Thread starter Joe Washington
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I love it just the way it is.
In fact, in rewatching shows, I find non-serialized shows easier to watch and pick at random, so I watch TNG much more often than DS9. Despite enjoying both.
In fact, in rewatching shows, I find non-serialized shows easier to watch and pick at random, so I watch TNG much more often than DS9. Despite enjoying both.
Absolutely not - that would've been terrible. TNG didn't need a "major big bad" because it was so much more than just space battles and good vs bad guys.
I think Deep Space Nine's serialization was the single biggest reason it failed in strip syndication. People want a complete story in an hour and not to feel lost if they happen to miss an episode.
I think Deep Space Nine's serialization was the single biggest reason it failed in strip syndication. People want a complete story in an hour and not to feel lost if they happen to miss an episode.
Except a lot of the TV shows nowadays are serialized and do very well on DVD. TNG didn't need to be serialized, but if there is another Star Trek show, it will need to be serialized to compete in today's market.
If the writers had been up to the task then, yeah, a serialized TNG might have been great. Not so sure it synched up with the tastes of the times, tho.
Since sci fi has a hard time surviving on broadcast anymore, if TNG debuted today, it might very well have to be serialized because it would have to be on cable.
The bigger change is the migration of shows to cable, where serialization is often expected, and shows only run 10-12 eps per season, which is probably a lot easier for a writing staff to manage. Trying to wrangle 23-24 eps into a single coherent storyline must be a real bitch (though much of 24 and the first seasons of Heroes and Prison Break did manage it.)
Since sci fi has a hard time surviving on broadcast anymore, if TNG debuted today, it might very well have to be serialized because it would have to be on cable.
I think Deep Space Nine's serialization was the single biggest reason it failed in strip syndication. People want a complete story in an hour and not to feel lost if they happen to miss an episode.
Except a lot of the TV shows nowadays are serialized and do very well on DVD. TNG didn't need to be serialized, but if there is another Star Trek show, it will need to be serialized to compete in today's market.
I think most of the CBS lineup would beg to differ. Yes, there are more serialized shows today than there were in the 80s. Yes, a new Star Trek show would likely have more serialized elements than TNG did. But a new show wouldn't HAVE to be serialized to compete.
I would have loved a serialized TNG. It doesn't need a huge Big Bad for anything, but I would have enjoyed some more character-based arcs. I would have loved to see more with the Klingons and Romulan/Vulcan Unification story, for example. Or maybe seen more with the after-effects of the Borg attack on Wolf 359 (ya know, something more than Picard and his brother wrestling in the mud). We wouldn't need a huge war or anything, but I think there are a lot of stories that could have been fleshed out.
Eh, not to the extent of DS9 or nuBSG, but maybe having things have consequences that aren't forgotten by the next episode would be nice. Like Worf getting a new spine, Tasha dying, Picard living an entire extra life in 40 minutes (didn't Moore later admit that should have changed Picard's character?).
I didn't need to see serialized stories, but some semblance of character development would have been good.
I didn't need to see serialized stories, but some semblance of character development would have been good.
It worked for DS9, because DS9 was more or less centralized, and had Bajor nearby in political turmoil, wheras TNG was always going somewhere else, and it would have been harder to make it serialized. I think if anything, Enterprise showed how bad an idea that was when it introduced the Xindi arc. It actually constrained it to an area of space for a whole season and it actually detracted from the whole experience of going forward. If not for that, we could have had Season 4's TOS-like stylings and stories much earlier.
If TPTB had been interested in bringing TOS-like stylings and stories to ENT, they would have done it from the beginning. Season Three was their last-ditch effort to salvage the show; the TOS stuff didn't really start in earnest until Manny Coto took over as showrunner.
Yeah, writing a great seialized show is EXTREMELY hard. Writers need to be good EVERY episode and plan things out very well in advance. Very few shows can do that well. If they can't, the episodes can destory entire seasons.
Just look at Heroes after season one. Characters were all over the place and storylines started and ended so randonly.
With episodic shows like TNG, they can have the occasional bad episode and still get away with it. Poor planning can't destory entire seasons.
I agree with the several points above about how serializing DS9, although different, didn't do the series too many favors outside of its fan base. TNG was very appealing to people who weren't necessarily Trek fans, and I think the self-contained episodes had a lot to do with that. Anyone could pick up most episodes and get into it without knowing very much about what came before it or knowing much about the characters. That is, in fact, how I got into the series (I picked it up in the sixth season). When I see the occasional DS9 episode on TV today, I am often confused about where the episode fits into the series because I haven't seen all of the episodes. It's all the more reason to watch the series now, actually, but I think I'd have to commit to seeing the whole series to completely grasp the full story because it is serialized.
With the exception that Gates McFadden should never have left the show in season two, and that Wesley should have stayed a civilian, I agree with you completely. TNG was fine the way it was.
Tasha dying was mentioned several times over the course of the show.
I think Deep Space Nine's serialization was the single biggest reason it failed in strip syndication. People want a complete story in an hour and not to feel lost if they happen to miss an episode.
Except a lot of the TV shows nowadays are serialized and do very well on DVD. TNG didn't need to be serialized, but if there is another Star Trek show, it will need to be serialized to compete in today's market.
I think most of the CBS lineup would beg to differ. Yes, there are more serialized shows today than there were in the 80s. Yes, a new Star Trek show would likely have more serialized elements than TNG did. But a new show wouldn't HAVE to be serialized to compete.
Except most of the actual good TV nowadays is on cable, not the networks and it is serialized. Game of thrones is better then almost all network shows and that is serialized. Plus most sci fi shows aren't on network TV, they are on cable, so a new star Trek show would need to be on cable and thus would likely have to be serialized.
Most sci fi shows are on cable? How many sci fi shows are on cable right now vs. network TV? My favourite is Fringe, and that's definitely network. And I can't wait for Alcatraz, also network.
And Game of Thrones is as comparable to sci-fi as Breaking Bad and Mad Men. All quality shows, not because of serialization and not comparable to sci-fi, save maybe showing something with a budget can do well.
Game of Thrones had the advantage of being based on a series of novels written over a decade ago, so they don't have to really work everything out ahead of time (it's all been done for them).
And heck, I'm even tempted to say that it's not so much a TV series as it is a set of mini-series.
But for TNG, some things would've been nice if serialized. The Borg story is one example, even though BOBW is great as is.
And heck, I'm even tempted to say that it's not so much a TV series as it is a set of mini-series.
But for TNG, some things would've been nice if serialized. The Borg story is one example, even though BOBW is great as is.
