Did TNG have a poor cast in a talent perspective?

[indolover]

Sir Patrick Stewart is the king, as far as I am concerned, in acting terms. Brent Spiner also was good in the show's run.

But in all honesty, did the others contribute much to acting talent? Stewart had high points such as Darmok, The Inner Light, and Chain of Command. Spiner IMO was good in Brothers, and Descent. But were the others up to it? Did shows like DS9 have better all round acting talent?

 

[STR]

Given the often ridiculous situations the characters were put in, I think the actors did a pretty good job with what they were handed. Indeed, the actors give those characters depth that was rarely given by the writers.

 

[indolover]

Perhaps, but IMO there were few standout moments from those other than Stewart or Spiner. As an example, I like Worf a lot (in both TNG and DS9) but because Worf is stoical and staid, I never thought we saw Dorn's full range or talents.

 

[Dukhat]

Honestly, TNG debuted at the right place and the right time...the show could have had the worst actors and the worst writing ever, and it still would have been a success, because everyone wanted Star Trek back on the air, and would have been fine with pretty much anything.

Now with that said, I think ST got extremely lucky with casting Patrick Stewart (and to an extent, John deLancie). But pretty much all the others were of middling ability and could have been played by anyone else.

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

Stewart and Spiner were the only outstanding acting talent on the show - which isn't to say some of the others didn't turn in good performances and contribute greatly to the dynamic.

 

[RAMA]

STNG did not have the best cast of the ST series, but they fit their roles and and developed them over the course of the series. Levar Burton, Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner and Michael Dorn were the best in terms of pure acting, but the entire cast was likable and caught on quickly.

I'd rank the casts this way:

ST:Enterprise-All strong
STDS9-6 strong
STNG-4 strong
TOS-2 strong actors

RAMA

 

[Tosk]

I dunno, I really think everyone was good at what they did. Maybe not early on, (heck, even Stewart feels very ill at ease sometimes) but they all fell into place and made their characters live. I seldom thought to myself, "Wow, bad acting there!" while watching the main TNG cast.

 

[RoJoHen]

I seldom thought to myself, "Wow, bad acting there!" while watching the main TNG cast.

Rather, I usually find myself thinking, "Man, I can't believe they can keep a straight face with all of this ridiculous dialogue!"

 

[Geck]

Yeah, I agree with what RAMA said. I think DS9 and VOY had stronger all-around casts, but the TNG cast was generally reliable. Sirtis and McFadden were the most obvious weak links, but both turned in some great performances when they had to - Sirtis in Face of the Enemy, and McFadden in The High Ground and Ethics, as particular examples.

And I think everyone got consistently stronger as the series went on. Season 7 may have been fairly weak in terms of stories and scripts, but it was probably the strongest season acting-wise.

 

[Tulaberry whine]

I always thought LeVar Burton was utterly wasted on TNG.

 

[Itisnotlogical]

Negative. I thought Dorn, Stewart and Spiner all did excellent jobs. Frakes was okay. Sirtis and McFadden were so-so. The only noticeably bad preformance I can point out is LeVar's Geordie.

Of course none of this is as horrendous as Karl Urban's McCoy

 

[Geck]

I'd also say Crosby and Wheaton were pretty poor, but both also generally had awful material to work with in the time they were on the show.

TNG got some great guest stars and recurring actors over the years though.

 

[Magellan]

TNG had some of the better Trek actors. I've always thought that the most popular characters are often because those characters have better actors. The reason Spiner and Stewart got all the attention in the movies is because those were the best two actors TNG had. However everyone on TNG was good enough, t least as good or better than the other Treks. I'll rank TNG above DS9 and voy for cast.

 

[Shatnertage]

I think TNG was lucky to get some really outstanding guest stars over the years.

 

[SiorX]

I dunno, I really think everyone was good at what they did. Maybe not early on, (heck, even Stewart feels very ill at ease sometimes) but they all fell into place and made their characters live. I seldom thought to myself, "Wow, bad acting there!" while watching the main TNG cast.

I agree with this. When the acting and writing were in sync, they all had some wonderful moments. Particularly in later seasons. Most of the stumbling, I think, is in episodes with particularly stilted dialogue or with poor character continuity. There are scenes here and there early in the show's run when Frakes and McFadden especially look quite awkward. But usually it's when they've been left standing in the middle of a scene with hardly any dialogue and no real reason for their characters to be there.

My unpopular opinion - I don't think Spiner was always able to sell the Data-centric episodes. He's a wonderful comic actor throughout the show, and Data's character is probably the best written and crafted of the show next to Picard's. But Masks, Brothers, Fistful of Datas - I like those eps, but I think Spiner left some pretty detailed dental records in the scenery. YMMV.

 

[Tomalak]

I always thought LeVar Burton was utterly wasted on TNG.

Absolutely. You've got to wonder what a DS9 Geordi would have been like.

I don't mean that in a derogatory way towards TNG, which I love, but it wasn't a series that prioritised character development. Much like TOS in that respect. Geordi, Crusher, Riker, Troi, none of them really evolve over the course of the series.

Worf and Data both do, I suspect as "outsiders", the characters were easier to write for than the perfect 24th century humans of "Roddenberry's box".

The rest of the cast were perfectly competent TV actors, with the possible exception of Denise Crosby. It wasn't full of Toni Award-winning talent like DS9's cast, but it wasn't to the detriment of the series. There weren't that many episodes that required much better actors.

 

[RAMA]

I dont think Frakes was a great actor by any means, but he did fit his role really well, and I liked how he portrayed it and how it was written. He was extremely open minded and adventurous.

RAMA

 

[Gary7]

Negative. I thought Dorn, Stewart and Spiner all did excellent jobs. Frakes was okay. Sirtis and McFadden were so-so. The only noticeably bad preformance I can point out is LeVar's Geordie.

Of course none of this is as horrendous as Karl Urban's McCoy

I agree with almost all of this, except LeVar Burton. I think he did a fine job, given the limitations of the scripts. I certainly found him believable. A young, exuberant engineering officer who is a quick thinker and gets things done, who also is a little naive on the social front. A little wide-eyed with things outside of work. Had he been given better dialog, I'm sure he'd have come off even better. I thought Frakes was really stiff and flat in a lot of episodes. Sometimes he had his good moments, but overall a so-so performance even after he'd settled into the role. A number of early episodes were a little more refreshing, as he was a bit more lively.

 

[VDCNI]

Stewart is a great actor. Spiner did a great job with a gift of a character (he's never been that good in anything else I've seen him in) and the rest were solid, they did enough to make you like their characters and usually did well when given more to do - Face Of The Enemy, High Ground etc.

 

[Tomalak]

I dont think Frakes was a great actor by any means, but he did fit his role really well, and I liked how he portrayed it and how it was written. He was extremely open minded and adventurous.

RAMA

He did a great job as Riker, actually rather underrated in my opinion. I do find him charming and very likable, which is exactly how he's supposed to be. Frakes doesn't have the best dramatic range, but he could usually handle everything pretty well. And as the action lead, he's fine.

I've said before I think they messed up his character, because the whole point was that he was an incredibly ambitious young officer, but because it was an ongoing series and he was a regular, he had to keep turning down his own command for no reason.

BoBW was both his finest hour and the end of the character - the obvious conclusion to the arc of the story is that he's ready for his own ship. Like Picard says, he proves he's ready to work without a net. But of course, Frakes has a contract, so Captain Riker stays, even though it makes no sense. They should have dumped him and brought in Shelby.