NCC-1701-D rocked. Looks far better on the big screen...
The uniforms were like TOS but vastly refined. Season 3 might remove the angled emboss atop the shoulders but the collar grew on me too.
Ron Jones and his orchestra gave so much attention to stories to make them all their own
events. Even ones that didn't deserve it. The resultant style, which is loud - but confident, and not the sort of garish/over the top emotional massage that a lot of modern day shows utilize - pretty much made this series succeed even during its dimmest moments, and some really dim moments exist early on.
(And rewatching season 1, there is improvement after the first half. Season 3's revamped format ensures hitting the pop culture zeitgeist but season 1 is as underrated in spots as it is half-understandably reviled.)
- Tasha Yar
- Ro Laren
- Reg Barclay
- Geordi LaForge
- Cmdr Data (aka "Datum, pronounced "Daahtaah" by
- Dr Pulaski
While bizarre, since many of these characters have significantly different backstories and traits, they show - more realistically than in some other shows - surviving and contributing. None of them reminds me of my ex, which helps, but I digress.
Season 3 has a lot of names that went on to helm DS9. I do wonder if they stated more on TNG how it's latter half might have been but DS9 was definitely the show they really honed into something far more intricate... Ira and co. definitely made, erm, the best of both worlds...
Seasons 1-4 in particular do focus more on the adventure and strange new worlds, some of which have some similarities to situations we're dealing with. Season 7 returns largely to this after seasons 5-6 switch gears and try to be more arch-philosophic, with mixed results. But this era also had the highest ratings so people yummed it up at the time. It's amazing how things date over the decades and how perception can change as seasons 5 and 6 often feel the most dated of the bunch...
