Has TNG Aged Well?

[urbandefault]

I was there with TNG in first run, and stayed with it all the way through Nemesis. Going back for a rewatch, TNG is really tough for me to enjoy--it's definitely dated. But like every iteration of Trek over the last half century, it is a product of its time.

Though the other spinoffs are dated, for me DS9 holds up much better. Voyager and Enterprise have basically become a snooze fest.

I find it much easier to watch TOS and the first six movies.

 

[ItIsGreen]

The things that haven't aged well are the things that never do - hairstyles, clothes, vfx etc. The episodes and stories themselves are fine. I'd say it's aged better at 30 years old than TOS had.

 

[BillJ]

I'd say it's aged better at 30 years old than TOS had.

I don't know? I still watch TOS far more often.

 

[Mudd]

Not particularly. TOS has aged better than any of the others.

 

[drew]

I'm actually from the year 3666 and TOS still looks dapper as F*&^

so yeah, take it back

 

[drew]

is there a reason this page is 99999x slower than any other?

 

[drew]

what's up with the late 80's and 90's disses? RHCP, nirvana, pearl jam, pixies, the rise and peak of rap... and radiohead is the most important band since the beatles, gmab...... that era had a lot for tv, movies and music - wait a sec, didn't it give us TNG, VOY, AND DS9?! how do we get, "the 90's were a meh decade" on a STAR TREK FORUM of all places anyway?!

 

[Mutai Sho-Rin]

is there a reason this page is 99999x slower than any other?

Probably your computer or network. BTW, posting back-to-back comments can be considered spamming. Try to avoid it if possible.

 

[Jedi_Master]

Not particularly. TOS has aged better than any of the others.

I have to agree - which is a remarkable achievement. Perhaps it has to do with the very, very strong character interaction and the fact that it was "first"?
Of all the series I think TOS aged the best,

Then:
DS9

Enterprise

TNG




Voyager

 

[Annorax849]

I pretty much agree with the OP. The first two seasons have aged even worse than TOS, but the rest of the series has actually aged very well. Maybe even more than DS9 and Voyager.

 

[Nightdiamond]

I can watch TNG ok on TV but it's generally harder as a rewatch.

The characters seem too restricted and limited. As in how they talked, romanced, and acted.

They were always right. They never cursed, or belched or got drunk (intentionally)

DS9 had its characters more free with what they said and did.

TOS had that classic sci-fi element. You have to block out certain dated things, but it's so classic it's outdated proof.

Even the theme song at the end of show leaves you with a nostalgic sci-fi vibe.

 

[Hey Missy]

what's up with the late 80's and 90's disses? RHCP, nirvana, pearl jam, pixies, the rise and peak of rap... and radiohead is the most important band since the beatles, gmab...... that era had a lot for tv, movies and music - wait a sec, didn't it give us TNG, VOY, AND DS9?! how do we get, "the 90's were a meh decade" on a STAR TREK FORUM of all places anyway?!

I have noticed a lot more negativity surrounding TNG and the other 24th century Treks these days than when they were new. People blame the shows and their concepts for the "death" of the franchise, which just needed new writers with fresh ideas.

 

[Jedi_Master]

The reason I can authoritatively say that the 90's was a "meh" decade is: I lived through the 90's.

 

[JediMindMeld]

I think it depends on which version of TNG we're talking about.

I watched TNG for the first time 5 or 6 years ago, and I remember thinking it was pretty disappointing that time, mainly because of the terrible state of the dvd release. I'm not a person who obsesses about image quality and resolution but the whole show essentially looked like a mistreated VHS tape, and I think it was damaged to the point where it affected the tone and aesthetics somewhat. It felt... colourless, for a lack of a better word. The stories themselves were still good, but I also felt that TNG tried a lot harder than TOS ever did to pull off visual storytelling, and it just didn't come out right.

Then I rewatched the whole thing when the remastered bluray version came out, and I was floored over how good it actually was. This was fresh off the back of watching Deep Space Nine for the first time too, and the contrast in quality was pretty mindblowing. I'll always be grateful to CBS for the way they recreated the whole show basically frame for frame. It brought out so much of the beauty that had been hidden before. Some things still are and always will be dated, but similar to TOS a lot of that 'outdatedness' ties into the character of the show itself. I don't think the same is true for the other three Trek shows out there at all.

 

[Mudd]

how do we get, "the 90's were a meh decade" on a STAR TREK FORUM of all places anyway?!

We lived through them.

 

[Paradise City]

The first two seasons radiate an 80's vibe what with that ropey acting and dodgy production values no amount FX could hope to compensate for.

The rest of it has aged well in the sense that if I hadn't known of TNG before, it'd be difficult to pin down exactly what year it was made.

 

[RandyS]

The reason I can authoritatively say that the 90's was a "meh" decade is: I lived through the 90's.

So did I, and, with a few exceptions, life was better in the 90s.

For me anyway.

As for TNG, I still like it enough to pull out the DVD's every now and then, so sure, it's aged fine.

 

[Mudd]

So did I, and, with a few exceptions, life was better in the 90s.

 

[iMike]

I just turned 38 and I also grew up with TNG (and later DS9 and VOY). I lost touch with the series over the years, except for a stray episode here and there, but of course purchased the remastered Blu-Rays and rewatched the entire series. Perhaps it was the remastering but I think (aside from a few clunkers mostly in the first two seasons) the series has aged remarkably well. I say that as I've tried to go back and watch several series from the 80s and 90s I grew up with and for the most part they do not hold up anymore.

 

[RandyS]

View attachment 1689

Yep.

Far too much death in my life since the 90s. That decade was better.