That's one of the worst, dumbest criticisms I've ever read on here
Best Picard episodes?
- Thread starter ReadyAndWilling
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That's one of the worst, dumbest criticisms I've ever read on here
doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
Indeed. By this logic, we should also rip apart the original Star Wars trilogy because before the prequels, Lando was the only black guy in the galaxy and Aunt Beru, Leia and Mon Mothma were the only women.
You tell me which franchise goes out of it's way to pat itself on the back for its social relevance...
Social relevance relating to what? Is every alien world supposed to represent the ethnic demographics of earth or the USA? 13% of people in the USA are black so heck, maybe they overepresented the amount of black people in "The Inner Light". Seriously, just think about the absurdity of what you said seriously for a moment.
In a vacuum, I'd agree. But sit down and take a closer look at TNG and you'll realize just how white and conservative it really was...
Saying Star Trek was "white" doesn't mean anything to me, its hollow nonsense and I can't for the life of me figure out what you're trying to say unless you really are being racist and are saying TNG should have shown more "typically black" things whatever you think they are. All I'm looking at is the actors and out of the 7 main actors from the show, 2 were white. So if you're gonna argue anything, you can say black people were overrepresented on the show if its supposed to reflect the US.
Just go through and look at who the major guest stars were from week to week and who played the vast majority of speaking Admirals and colony leaders.
Then you'll understand why I say TNG was very white and very conservative.
And while two of the actors were black, one played an alien character and Geordi might as well have been white.
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I can not believe what I'm hearing. "Geordi may as well have been white"? How is that exactly? How does a black person act?
It's not about how one acts, nice try at misdirection. There is nothing that makes Geordi unique much like Mayweather on Enterprise. Picard has character traits that make him unique, as does Troi, as does Data, as does Worf, as does Crusher.
Geordi is vanilla human#47.
Star Trek has four main black characters. Sisko who openly embraces his cultural heritage and Uhura who we see speak Swahili. Then we have LaForge and Mayweather, who were so non-descript they could've been played by anyone.
He is not trying to misdirect anyone? Seriously, how does a black person act? Goofy like Eddie Murphy, militant like Malcolm X, cool and calm like President Obama.
I was not aware that certain personality traits were indiginous to certain races?
You are aware that on programs like "Martin," "The Wayans Brothers," and "My Wife and Kids," there are usually just one white character. Is this racism? Or is it simply the needs of the script?
I don't know.
I am not implying that racism does not exist...it does...and now more than ever. I just don't know how to approach this accusation without evidence of malicious intent.
I was not aware that certain personality traits were indiginous to certain races?
You are aware that on programs like "Martin," "The Wayans Brothers," and "My Wife and Kids," there are usually just one white character. Is this racism? Or is it simply the needs of the script?
I don't know.
I am not implying that racism does not exist...it does...and now more than ever. I just don't know how to approach this accusation without evidence of malicious intent.
I've known plenty of black people who act "nondescriptly" as you would put it and don't go around complaining about racism (a la Sisko) or speaking in the language of their ancestors just to prove they're definitely black, just in case our eyes were deceiving us.
All you have to do is look at TNG's track record. There is a single black Admiral in its run and it's a non-speaking role. For the life of me I can't remember a single black colony/planetary leader outside of Code of Honor. All the Klingon leaders and the Romulan pro counsel were played by white actors.
Most of the major guest stars were white and this was pretty consistent throughout the series run. Picard's girlfriends were always white, his best friends, his Academy friends and his mentors that were seen on screen.
Whether it was intentional or not, I stand by my statement that TNG was very white and very conservative.
Well, I think it is a good first step that BillJ is at least posting his analysis. It is more informative than no analysis at all.
But I can understand "You Will Fail"'s reaction as well. Indeed, I had a similar reaction to this board, what I called "surreal" in another post, http://www.trekbbs.com/showpost.php?p=6003130&postcount=88 . What I found surreal was not BillJ's opinion but rather the number of his would-be defenders.
For example, here is Alrik defending BillJ:
Here is a post by user Sindatur:
or
It is unfortunate, although pretty consistent with TV these days, that even viewers on a TNG board equate the value of an opinion of "Inner Light" based on careful, repeated viewings and thoughtful analysis with an opinion that the episode is flawed partly because
and
That said, for the n'th time, I really believe it would be beneficial for BillJ, Alrik, Sindatur, and the other posters in their camp of "all opinions are equal" actually to take the specific advice in my post here http://www.trekbbs.com/showpost.php?p=6001261&postcount=84 . I believe that if you are able to learn to appreciate the nuances and power of the episode, you will be less likely to get distracted by irrelevant matters.
I have no doubt that you three's first reaction will be able to fire off some deprecating comment or lodge a complaint with another moderator. But rather than do that, why not take about the same amount of time, trust that I have indeed watched the episodes I cite in the post many times - I own them on DVD and one on Blu-ray- and ask, is that posts's advice really that implausible? Take a few minutes, literally, and watch a few scenes in a few episodes again, with specific attention to the specific issues I raise.
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Is this where your user name comes from? Very apt!
Are we still talking about the best Picard episodes? If so...
A few that I didn't put on the list, but that are likely still good choices for anyone who wants to watch a bunch of Picard episodes:
- Sarek (3x23). It doesn't strictly focus on Picard, being more about the titular character, but Picard has some great moments through his interaction with Sarek.
- Family (4x02). Strong acting, as well as representing one of the only times in TNG when the events of one episode were actually shown to have substantial emotional ramifications in another one.
- Darmok (5x02). A classic piece that represents the spirit of Trek at its best, with Picard as the central figure. The "aha" moment when he finally figures it out and makes true contact with the Tamarian captain is beautiful.
- The Inner Light (5x25). Really gave Steward a chance to show his range.
- Chain of Command I and II (6x10 and 6x11). Picard is put through the wringer. And, again, a good showcase for Stewart's talent.
- Gambit I and II (7x04 and 7x05). Always fun to see Picard as a renegade.
A few that I didn't put on the list, but that are likely still good choices for anyone who wants to watch a bunch of Picard episodes:
- Tapestry (6x15). Not a bad episode, and completely Picard-centered, but doesn't stand out as much as the others in terms of really letting Patrick Stewart show his abilities.
- Lessons (6x19). Has some nice moments, and gives the viewer a chance to see Picard in a different light. Not a bad episode, but not a standout one either.
- The Chase (6x20). Actually one of my favorite episodes overall, and it does feature Picard prominently, but like Tapestry, not as much of a showcase as some of the others.
How can a screaming lack of diversity be seen as a "irrelevant" in a show created in 1987 and touted as Roddenberry's "true" vision as he had no network oversight like he did in 1966?
If you're a white conservative I guess I can see where it would be "irrelevant"...
As far as moderators go, I fight my own battles.
Dude, why are you so bound and determined to start fights? This isn't what I come here for.
I never weighed in on my opinion of the episode, you have no idea if I think it's the best episode of any series ever, or if I think it's the biggest pile of crap ever produced for the small screen. I only weighed in on your trolling arrogance and audacity to dictate to others how they should be watching a TV show and if they come up with a different opinion then you, they are somehow inferior to you.
And so, since I stood up and told you to knock off the arrogant attitude, you automatically assume I'm too stupid to be able to pay attention to and appreciate a Television episode, when you have no clue wether I like the episode or not? How is this condescension in anyway productive to the thread or the Forum? How immature must someone be to continue posting how superior their TV watching skills are, and how desperate and pathetic must they be to get their jollies doing so?
The Mod has already told you to back off, why drag it all back up and continue to try and start fights? Do you really have nothing better to do with your time?
I also like Family because it carried over to another episode instead of just having us believe Picard was fine after his Borg experience.
I enjoy Darmok because I think the struggle Picard has to figure out how the Tamarians communicate showcases his talents. The 'aha' moment when he figures it out is great too(thanks tafkats for reminding me of that
)
The Drumhead is also one of my favorites with Picard. I especially like his cool, detacted like manner when he quotes Satie(sp?) and his daughter's reaction is priceless.
and obviously, many episodes have moments where Patrick Stewart's acting prowess come into play. He definitely grew into his character and you can see that later in the series
I enjoy Darmok because I think the struggle Picard has to figure out how the Tamarians communicate showcases his talents. The 'aha' moment when he figures it out is great too(thanks tafkats for reminding me of that
)The Drumhead is also one of my favorites with Picard. I especially like his cool, detacted like manner when he quotes Satie(sp?) and his daughter's reaction is priceless.
and obviously, many episodes have moments where Patrick Stewart's acting prowess come into play. He definitely grew into his character and you can see that later in the series
Agreed. Until this thread, I didn't realize there were people out there that don't like Q.
I don't outright dislike him, but he does really grate on my nerves. He would've been more appealing to me if he'd been more subtle. However, then he wouldn't have grated on Picard's nerves so much either, and a lot would've been lost from the interaction between them.
Some of my favorite Q interactions are in True Q. A mediocre episode to be sure, but the way the crew don't fear him anymore but rather are just annoyed just sticks to me -- for example, when Q shows up during a meeting, there's a shot of the crew looking concerned, a shot of Q explaining himself, and then a shot of the crew with their arms crossed, lips pressed, and eyes narrow. Blunt but funny (to me, at least), and a bit un-Trek.
Of course, I'd rather have dangerous, scheming, judgmental Q than babysitter Q, but here the crew played well off of DeLancie, I thought.
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