Curious question...

[Lashmore]

In reference to the many haters/likers of the new movie before anyone even has seen it...

...was there an uproar of traditionalist trek fans in the '80's who made just as much undue fuss about the new generation of trek being offered by TNG?

I know they released an hour long doco about the show before they even released TNG to air.

 

[The Borg Queen]

Most probably, yes.

And when DS9 was made.

And when Voyager was made.

And when Enterprise was made.

 

[Lashmore]

And as it turns out, they end up supporting all the above when something new comes out.

Aren't we trek fans such a predictably hypocritical bunch if such is true.

 

[Starseeker]

Yes, because the support for Star Trek V, Generations and Nemesis is deafening around here.

 

[Nardpuncher]

I was 13 when TNG started and I was excited as all Hell...but I remember reading in the letters page of the DC Trek comic and in Starlog magazine about how some fans were going to boycott TNG. That baffled me as it wasn't stepping on any of Kirk and Spock's toes.
I can understand why some people think this new Trek movie will be crap. I'm all for it ( the new Enterprise may be wonky, but otherwise it looks like the best Trek movie yet) but I really think some of the people that are defending the new movie are trying a little too hard to act open-minded and that being at all aprehensive is somehow the opposite of that.

 

[JustKate]

As far as I can remember, TOS fandom was kind of split between "Thank God -- something besides the same three years' worth of episodes endlessly repeated plus some fairly mediocre movies" and "How dare they?" I fell into the former group, so this wasn't an issue for me, but there were lots of perfectly sincere folks in the latter group, too.

Yes, many later came around, but not all. You can still find folks who never liked any Trek but the original Trek and you can find lots more who KIND of like some of the later Trek, but never felt the same way about it as they did TOS. And even those who came around, part of the the reason that they came around is that it didn't tread directly on the toes of Kirk and Co.

Which this movie will definitely do. I mean, come on. How can it not?

So personally I think it's a little harsh to accuse everybody of hypocrisy. Seeing something you love altered is hard. It is sometimes worthwhile...but not always.

Another thing to remember is that there were far fewer forums for "undue fuss" in the pre-Internet era. So the fuss now might not be any more prevalent -- it's just that it's easier for people to express it.

 

[Plecostomus]

I've though that if we had the internet back then TNG would have never survived.

 

[John Picard]

In reference to the many haters/likers of the new movie before anyone even has seen it...

...was there an uproar of traditionalist trek fans in the '80's who made just as much undue fuss about the new generation of trek being offered by TNG?

I know they released an hour long doco about the show before they even released TNG to air.

Yes, TNG was ripped apart by rabid TOS fans back then. Their two biggest criticisms were a bald captain and no Vulcans on the bridge.

 

[JustKate]

I've though that if we had the internet back then TNG would have never survived.

You think they would have picked it to death? Or picked it to death before it ever saw the light of day? Hmmmm, you could be right. I hope not, but it's possible.

 

[EmperorTiberius]

It's a totally different situation. TNG didn't change cannon as we know it. This new pile of cr*p is rewriting history, just like Enterprise.

 

[JustKate]

I'm not saying you're wrong, Emperor, nor am I saying you're right. (I'm trying really hard not to see/read too much about the new movie ahead of time, which isn't easy around this joint!) All I'm saying is that people said exactly -- and I do mean exactly -- the same thing about TNG. With less apparent justification, perhaps, but they said it.

 

[Daneel]

Yes, TNG was ripped apart by rabid TOS fans back then. Their two biggest criticisms were a bald captain and no Vulcans on the bridge.

Reminds me of some of the common complaints I heard around the time DS9 was starting: "Oh, it's not as good because it's set on a space station that can't go anywhere". Yeah, god forbid a Trek series try something a little different.

So I do remember a number of my fellow trekkers complaining about DS9 when it aired (before I started going online, it was extremely difficult for me to find a another niner amongst my fellow TNG fans), but I was too young to remember what fandom was like when TNG premiered. I don't doubt that there was some uproar among the hardcore TOS fans, though.

I do remember later reading some statements made by Shatner and Nimoy at the time of TNG's launch, in which they expressed skepticism about the show's chances. They didn't think it would take off because the producers would not be able to "capture lightning in a bottle twice".

Just between you and me, I think they were wrong.

 

[Plecostomus]

I've though that if we had the internet back then TNG would have never survived.

You think they would have picked it to death? Or picked it to death before it ever saw the light of day? Hmmmm, you could be right. I hope not, but it's possible.

Both. Can you hear the comments?

"OMG What is up with that music? Its not Trek without the OOOOwwwwOOOOOOOOO voice in the opening credits!"

"An android? WTF they are ripping off Star Wars so hard LOL"

"Blue glowing nacelles?! And what the hell is up with the dish, it can't function being NOT ROUND like that. I'm boycotting this series SO HARD."

 

[JustKate]

^
So funny, and yet so sad! I can actually HEAR them. You have brought them to life for me. Not that that's entirely a good thing.

 

[Plecostomus]

^
So funny, and yet so sad! I can actually HEAR them. You have brought them to life for me. Not that that's entirely a good thing.

I will channel more Alternate Reality Internet Comments for your amusement.

"This sucks, the command uniforms are red. Have they no honor? What about CANON and CONTINUITY? SECURITY is supposed to be red, not COMMAND!"

"The ship looks like a half-melted art-deco reject. I fail to understand why they refuse to use any of the hundreds of perfectly valid fan designs floating around out there. Don't the producers respect the fans and their efforts? I can do better using MAC Paint and/or AUTOCAD."

"LOL the phasers look like Dustbuster vacuum-cleaners! OMG SET TEH PHASERS TO SUCK"

"Oh how original they seem to be recycling storyline from the REAL show and stealing models from the movies. Thanks so much for raping my childhood."

"sexuality in Star Trek? Won't they please think of the CHILDREN?!"

"OMG WESLEY CRUSHER MUST DIE STUPID TIME-SUCKING VAMPIRE GET HIM OFF THE SCREEN"

---
...make up your own, it's supprisingly easy. Just take the daily NeoTrek hate and replace NeoTrek with TNG.

 

[JustKate]

^ The misspelled "the" and the SHOUTING are particularly realistic touches. You have a gift for this. Try not to let it get you down.

 

[Plecostomus]

^ The misspelled "the" and the SHOUTING are particularly realistic touches. You have a gift for this. Try not to let it get you down.

The doctor says it's a condition not a talent.

 

[JustKate]

^There, there, poor boy. We all understand (well, most of us), and we're here to help you.

 

[John Picard]

Yes, TNG was ripped apart by rabid TOS fans back then. Their two biggest criticisms were a bald captain and no Vulcans on the bridge.

Reminds me of some of the common complaints I heard around the time DS9 was starting: "Oh, it's not as good because it's set on a space station that can't go anywhere". Yeah, god forbid a Trek series try something a little different.

So I do remember a number of my fellow trekkers complaining about DS9 when it aired (before I started going online, it was extremely difficult for me to find a another niner amongst my fellow TNG fans), but I was too young to remember what fandom was like when TNG premiered. I don't doubt that there was some uproar among the hardcore TOS fans, though.

I do remember later reading some statements made by Shatner and Nimoy at the time of TNG's launch, in which they expressed skepticism about the show's chances. They didn't think it would take off because the producers would not be able to "capture lightning in a bottle twice".

Just between you and me, I think they were wrong.

I was 18 then, and IIRC, Shatner and Nimoy expressed doubt. Hmmmm

I've though that if we had the internet back then TNG would have never survived.

You think they would have picked it to death? Or picked it to death before it ever saw the light of day? Hmmmm, you could be right. I hope not, but it's possible.

Both. Can you hear the comments?

"OMG What is up with that music? Its not Trek without the OOOOwwwwOOOOOOOOO voice in the opening credits!"

"An android? WTF they are ripping off Star Wars so hard LOL"

"Blue glowing nacelles?! And what the hell is up with the dish, it can't function being NOT ROUND like that. I'm boycotting this series SO HARD."

People went apeshit over an android Starfleet Officer. They claimed it was a lame attempt at replacing Vulcans. Much to the chagrin of die-hard Trekkies (as they were known back then), TNG took off, and the rest is history.

 

[The Sneeze Police]

I wasn't hooked into fandom back then, so in my own personal universe I was excited about TNG and never looked back. The internet has changed so many things, and watching TNG in a vacuum was certainly different from watching ENT and all of the available internet discussions.