Do the Next Gen Films Feel like motion pictures or TV.

[Lance]

Looks like many respondents agree that TNG did not make the transition from TV to Cinema very well. So that begs the question why?
With the exception of TMP, the other TOS films were done by TV directors and producers. If memory serves,
Both Bennett and Meyer were from a TV background. Yet they managed to create films that felt like they belonged on the big screen. Personally I think they would hold up well on the big screen today. Sure the don't have as much eye candy as today's scifi films. But that forced them to tell good stories and not rely on eye candy to keep people's interest.

For some reason B&B couldn't make that leap.

At the risk of repeating what I already said earlier in the thread, the TOS movies all felt cinematic in relation to the TV show, because the TOS TV show had been essentially static in nature, with every episode being self-contained and there being no real concerted attempt to move beyond the parameters of episodic television, whereas the TOS movies built and developed the characters and universe in ways the TV show couldn't have. There's a reason why TWOK/TSFS/TVH holds up as a trilogy (and TUC serves as an fitting epilogue). By contrast, the TNG movies did almost the complete opposite: the TV show had actually been very dynamic, with a universe that grew and expanded in character and depth as it went along, and it was much praised for that at the time, whereas the movies took the view that they should all be stand-alone and independant from each other, with cross-pollination from one movie to the next to be avoided if possible.

What it all boils down to is that the TOS movies felt bigger than the equivalent TOS TV show, whereas the TNG movies somehow felt smaller than the TNG TV show. TNG as a format had plenty enough cinematic potential, we saw that in episodes like "Yesterday's Enterprise", "The Best Of Both Worlds", "Redemption", etc etc. But for some reason, when it came time to actually make TNG movies, they scaled that right down...

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

^^
Plus, as mentioned before, the leap from a 60's television production to late 70's early 80's is a huge leap.

The leap from high production values TNG in '94 television to '94 movies really didn't have as big a difference, so comparing the two, things are much more noticeable and drastic for TOS.

 

[Lance]

^
Absolutely.

It is worth noting that "Generations" does in fact make overtures towards expanding TNG in brand new directions, what with introducing Data's emotion chip and the destruction of the Enterprise (the writers admit both are something they could never do on TV). It's the subsequent movies which failed to pick up the ball and run with it, to the point where "Insurrection" told us Data can arbitarily remove the chip from his head with no consequences whatsoever, and "Nemesis" paid no lip service to it at all.

Also, the nearest the TNG movies got to a ongoing thread running through all of them was the Riker/Troi romance, and even then it wasn't a cornerstone of the stories. The TOS movies all felt theatrical because they actually built upon and developed the story threads which each new film, carrying over elements from the previous movies, which is why TWOK/TSFS/TVH feel like a cohesive trilogy, whereas GEN/FC/INS/NEM feel isolated from each other. It's a small but very crucial difference in how the producers were approaching their respective series.

Don't get me wrong, Riker/Troi is a nice pay-off for fans who've followed TNG from the beginning. But it's not quite enough to 'gell' together the TNG movies in the same way as the TOS movies all feel like a unit with all the Genesis stuff and the character growth/resurrection. What the TNG movies really needed were more 'overarching elements' to help tie them together as a whole. The irony, like I said before, is that the TNG TV show was actually very good at that kind of thing, but the movies totally fumbled it.

 

[eyeresist]

I don't think we should overstate the continuity between the TOS films. TWOK/TSFS/TVH were linked by Spock's arc, but the others basically stood alone. And TVH would work pretty well without the TSFS references. OTOH, TUC suddenly came on with "TOS characters are racists", which no-one really buys, but we accept it as part of the movie. Other "continuities" are largely a matter of actor performances changing over time.

With the TNG films, they do get a new ship after GEN, Data's emo chip is subsequently referenced even if it is reduced and then forgotten (like the TV show never did anything like that), and Riker/Troi's marriage is foreshadowed in INS. Also, NEM ended with some big changes, most notably Riker & Troi leaving the Enterprise and Data being replaced by his stupider brother (which would at least have finally justified the "Data doesn't understand everyday language" jokes that TNG relied on).

 

[Lance]

If I am 'overstating' it, then I surely don't mean to. My point was that those three TOS movies feel more like an actual movie trilogy, because they have threads running through them which make them connect as a cohesive whole. To be sure, the TNG movies *have* got some threads going on, but they aren't intrinsic to any kind of 'ongoing story'. They're more subtle... some might even say, more 'simplified'.

 

[suarezguy]

The TOS movies all felt theatrical because they actually built upon and developed the story threads which each new film, carrying over elements from the previous movies, which is why TWOK/TSFS/TVH feel like a cohesive trilogy, whereas GEN/FC/INS/NEM feel isolated from each other.

Part of the carrying-over was reversing what the past film had done (development kind of but not the best kind) and much of that was somewhat forced by Nimoy wanting to not play Spock after II but then being willing to come back in III, without one or the other the films would have probably also been more episodic, but those decisions did lead to a more connected film series.

What the TNG movies really needed were more 'overarching elements' to help tie them together as a whole. The irony, like I said before, is that the TNG TV show was actually very good at that kind of thing, but the movies totally fumbled it.

Agreed, the big faults came when the characters were so non-conflicted in Insurrection and then faced no consequences or follow-up following it.

 

[Gojira]

I don't know if this has been said or not. But, yes the TNG movies did feel like TV episodes. Then again, other than Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the two JJ Abrams movies, all of the Star Trek movies have felt like TV episodes to me.