Deep Space Nine Spin-off Considered Better Than the Original....

[Joel_Kirk]

I hope no one has posted this yet, but I think this is an interesting article: Spin-offs that are considered better than the originals.

Deep Space Nine made the list:

http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/ten-tv-spinoffs-that-were-better-than-the-original-shows--664

I'm sure there are various opinions on the choice...

 

[Sykonee]

While holodeck creations ran amuck and characters were turned into children on "TNG," "Deep Space Nine" was a political thriller and a Wild West adventure all at once, with a heavier tone and more complex serialized format.

I'll word that.

To be fair tho', DS9 did have "that episode where they're shrunk". Still, it was better than "the one where they're turned into children".

 

[happydave]

I'm amazed Torchwood made that list considering it's only just turned into a decent show (with Children of Earth), Season 1 is dire and Season 2 is enjoyable but it wasn't until halfway through that it became great. But greater than Doctor Who, the longest running scifi in history? That's pushing it.

Though it's a bizarre list as it's missing Colbert (and a bunch of other decent spinoffs) yet has Private Practice.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

I'm amazed Torchwood made that list considering it's only just turned into a decent show (with Children of Earth), Season 1 is dire and Season 2 is enjoyable but it wasn't until halfway through that it became great. But greater than Doctor Who, the longest running scifi in history? That's pushing it.

Though it's a bizarre list as it's missing Colbert (and a bunch of other decent spinoffs) yet has Private Practice.

Agreed on Torchwood. Torchwood finally won me over with Children of Earth, after giving up part way through Season 1. Doctor Who is more consistently superior, though.

Colbert's great, but I'd put him on even ground with the Daily Show.

 

[Jono]

So Xena was a better show than Herc because she dressed like a dominatrix and was a lesbian icon? Also surprised by Torchwood getting the wood over Dr Who. Dr Who might not be as "crassy" as Trochwood can be but its brought plenty of "sex appeal, some fabulous new characters and some serious emotional heft",

I'm surprised that NCIS wasn't on there as it was a spin off of JAG...though instead of super agent lawyers, its super agent police. Though I am glad that they didn't try to claim Stargate Atlantis as been better than SG1.

 

[Sci]

I don't understand how anyone could claim that Torchwood is better than Doctor Who, even if we only count Children of Earth. They're built on completely different creative conceits -- one is an adult-oriented exploration of human evil, and the other is a family-oriented exploration of the joys of life. Comparing the two is a bit like trying to compare The Last King of Scotland to WALL-E.

 

[Kegg]

I'm not sure I'd agree, but they were both great series and DS9 didn't quite have some of the dire problems that plagued TNG early on.

I don't understand how anyone could claim that Torchwood is better than Doctor Who, even if we only count Children of Earth. They're built on completely different creative conceits --

Which one you do like better?

Go on.

Because that's what matters, and Torchwood isn't even the most striking disparity here. That's clearly The Simpsons, which as a full-blown animated sitcom about a suburban family is sorta completely different from a live-action sketch show.

An interesting list, anyway. I'm glad they went the with the acknowledgement of the fact DS9 was really a TNG spinoff, unlike, well, being the direct spinoff of TOS that TNG was.

Comparing the two is a bit like trying to compare The Last King of Scotland to WALL-E.

Wall-E, for the record. There are no utterly moronically written characters like McAvoy's feckless yet invincible white man.

 

[DevilEyes]

While holodeck creations ran amuck and characters were turned into children on "TNG," "Deep Space Nine" was a political thriller and a Wild West adventure all at once, with a heavier tone and more complex serialized format.

I'll word that.

To be fair tho', DS9 did have "that episode where they're shrunk". Still, it was better than "the one where they're turned into children".

Is it shocking that I enjoyed both the 'honey I made them kids' and 'honey I shrunk them' episodes?

 

[urbandk]

I wonder if one can judge all the star trek shows by their worst episodes...

Each certainly had its share.

I agree though. I think on balance, DS9's serialized format is a real strength.

 

[JarodRussell]

Deep Space Nine is the best Trek show.

It combines the best of both worlds of TOS and TNG.

 

[Hober Mallow]

No mention of the critically-acclaimed spinoff to Touched by an Angel starring Della Reese, Touched by a Large Black Woman?*

*Joke copyright Conan O'Brien, ca. 1997.

 

[Frontier]

Pretty accurate list.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Had this list been made 15 years ago, it would have said TNG was superior to the show it was spun-off from. That would have made me tired.

DS9 is the best of the spin-offs but I would never say it was the best of the Treks.

 

[tomalak301]

While holodeck creations ran amuck and characters were turned into children on "TNG," "Deep Space Nine" was a political thriller and a Wild West adventure all at once, with a heavier tone and more complex serialized format.

I'll word that.

To be fair tho', DS9 did have "that episode where they're shrunk". Still, it was better than "the one where they're turned into children".

I really don't like the description this list gave. They judged the entire series on one episode, yet didn't DS9 have some real big clunkers in most people's minds like Move Along Home? Even though I liked the episode, if TNG had members turning into children, than DS9 had characters singing nursery rhymes.

 

[NKemp3]

While holodeck creations ran amuck and characters were turned into children on "TNG," "Deep Space Nine" was a political thriller and a Wild West adventure all at once, with a heavier tone and more complex serialized format.

I'll word that.

To be fair tho', DS9 did have "that episode where they're shrunk". Still, it was better than "the one where they're turned into children".

I really don't like the description this list gave. They judged the entire series on one episode, yet didn't DS9 have some real big clunkers in most people's minds like Move Along Home? Even though I liked the episode, if TNG had members turning into children, than DS9 had characters singing nursery rhymes.

As a person who discovered the article/blog over a week ago and has taken part of the debate that ensued in the response section, let me say that the folks at TWOP did watch all the eps of both series. And yes I'm sure they are aware that DS9 had bad episodes too. But the writers of the blog think that DS9 is a stronger series overall. Period. They aren't judging TNG on one episode for God's sakes. They are instead being typically snarky by using the ridiculous plot points of a particular TNG ep to make their argument as quickly as possible. That's typical for TWOP.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

So Xena was a better show than Herc because she dressed like a dominatrix and was a lesbian icon? Also surprised by Torchwood getting the wood over Dr Who. Dr Who might not be as "crassy" as Trochwood can be but its brought plenty of "sex appeal, some fabulous new characters and some serious emotional heft",

I'm surprised that NCIS wasn't on there as it was a spin off of JAG...though instead of super agent lawyers, its super agent police. Though I am glad that they didn't try to claim Stargate Atlantis as been better than SG1.

In defense of Xena:

She was more interesting than Hercules, and the stories were more interesting.

I think she became a lesbian icon as the show went on; early in the series, it was obvious she was made to appeal to the male demographic...

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Making her a lesbian icon does little to diminish her appeal to the male demographic. I had zero interest in the show but rather fancied the idea of her intimately exploring her strawberry blond sidekick.

 

[Sykonee]

I had zero interest in the show but rather fancied the idea of her intimately exploring her strawberry blond sidekick.

I found Gabrielle far more appealing than Xena, though I've always prefered the cute-blonde look. Plus, that halter-top seemed to shrink every season!

Er, not that I ever watched the show. It'd just... happen, to be on if I was flicking through channels.

 

[DevilEyes]

I had zero interest in the show but rather fancied the idea of her intimately exploring her strawberry blond sidekick.

I found Gabrielle far more appealing than Xena, though I've always prefered the cute-blonde look. Plus, that halter-top seemed to shrink every season!

Er, not that I ever watched the show. It'd just... happen, to be on if I was flicking through channels.

I've been watching it on TV (it's being repeated on HRT, Croatian channel I get by cable), though not on a regular basis. It's a fun show that doesn't take itself too seriously, although it has darker aspects, too.

But if there is one thing I really have zero interest in that show, it's Xena 'exploring' Gabrielle. And it's not just because I'm a straight female, but because 1) Gabrielle, IMO, is not even pretty, and certainly not sexy (she's just 'cute' and annoyingly cutesy) and 2) because the idea of the hero(ine) and her sidekick getting romantically involved is very boring.

Now, there was a season 3 episode in which Xena recalls her past in China and her relationship with a wise, mysterious, beautiful, super-powered Chinese woman who became her friend and mentor and made her change her earlier evil ways. There were some subtly erotic moments between the two (without any actual sex or real makeout scenes - obviously, they were still skirmish about introducing it directly), and I could really see the sexual chemistry there. But with Gabrielle... meh.

Frankly, I'm more interested in Xena's somewhat disturbing interactions with her nemesis Ares.

 

[Sykonee]

Frankly, I'm more interested in Xena's somewhat disturbing interactions with her nemesis Ares.

Oh, admit it. You just can't get enough of the dark, long-haired bad-boy type.