How was season 1 received at the time?

[CorporalCaptain]

The Data trying to learn humor part was just pointless. I can't think of very many times in the series when he was funny on purpose.

Accidentally funny? Well, there was the episode where he asked Beverly to teach him to dance, so after he learned to tap dance, he deemed himself ready to dance at a wedding. I wish they'd just left out the part where Beverly teaches him a more appropriate style of dance for that and let Data do his wedding tap dance.

(and if that sounds mean, so be it - Data was never even close to my list of favorite TNG characters)

I'll connect the dots for you. Dr. Crusher was thinking of Miles and Keiko.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I have good news, Lt O'Brien. Keiko has done something designed to increase her own happiness. She has cancelled the wedding!

I like the idea of Data trying to learn humor but Data's attempts would have been more interesting if the holodeck guy focused more on the fundamentals of humor rather than just doing a Jerry Lewis impression and giving him very cultural context specific jokes to recite.

Like, I thought it was funny when Data called Geordi a lunkhead. Data playing with that kind of experimentation could have been a great B plot for an episode. For example, the holodeck teaches him about sarcasm and he starts trying to be sarcastic in serious situations.

Like:

Picard: Data, can you run a level three diagnostic on the communications array?
Data: (Totally serious tone) No Captain, running a simple diagnostic is well beyond my cognitive capabilities.

 

[Timewalker]

The Data trying to learn humor part was just pointless. I can't think of very many times in the series when he was funny on purpose.

Accidentally funny? Well, there was the episode where he asked Beverly to teach him to dance, so after he learned to tap dance, he deemed himself ready to dance at a wedding. I wish they'd just left out the part where Beverly teaches him a more appropriate style of dance for that and let Data do his wedding tap dance.

(and if that sounds mean, so be it - Data was never even close to my list of favorite TNG characters)

I'll connect the dots for you. Dr. Crusher was thinking of Miles and Keiko.

I don't need any dots connected, thank you. I know why Crusher taught him ballroom dancing. I just thought the episode would have been funnier if she hadn't and Data had actually tap danced at the wedding, having thought that any kind of dancing would do.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

The Data trying to learn humor part was just pointless. I can't think of very many times in the series when he was funny on purpose.

Accidentally funny? Well, there was the episode where he asked Beverly to teach him to dance, so after he learned to tap dance, he deemed himself ready to dance at a wedding. I wish they'd just left out the part where Beverly teaches him a more appropriate style of dance for that and let Data do his wedding tap dance.

(and if that sounds mean, so be it - Data was never even close to my list of favorite TNG characters)

I'll connect the dots for you. Dr. Crusher was thinking of Miles and Keiko.

I don't need any dots connected, thank you. I know why Crusher taught him ballroom dancing. I just thought the episode would have been funnier if she hadn't and Data had actually tap danced at the wedding, having thought that any kind of dancing would do.

Yeah, Data looking like a fool, and Crusher looking devilish for having set it up at the expense of her shipmates' wedding, that would have been a hoot!

 

[The Old Mixer]

Crusher didn't realize he wanted to learn to dance specifically for the wedding until he mentioned it after she thought they were done. So the hypothetical situation that Timewalker is suggesting would involve him not mentioning it, so Crusher would be blameless.

 

[Timewalker]

I'll connect the dots for you. Dr. Crusher was thinking of Miles and Keiko.

I don't need any dots connected, thank you. I know why Crusher taught him ballroom dancing. I just thought the episode would have been funnier if she hadn't and Data had actually tap danced at the wedding, having thought that any kind of dancing would do.

Yeah, Data looking like a fool, and Crusher looking devilish for having set it up at the expense of her shipmates' wedding, that would have been a hoot!

My point is that Crusher wouldn't have known the dance lessons were for a wedding reception, because Data didn't even think to mention that to her at the outset. If the episode hadn't had the "I am now ready to dance at Keiko's wedding" line, Crusher would have just assumed that Data wanted to learn to dance for general interest's sake. So the whole thing would have been a comedy of errors and not actually anyone's fault.

Would Data have been embarrassed? If he had emotions, I'd say yes. But the point was hammered into us throughout the series that Data doesn't have emotions, has no idea about humor or when something is/is not funny, and this could have been a way to educate him on how misunderstandings can happen and lead to an unintended comedy of errors (and cause unintended embarrassment along the way). And I disagree that the wedding would have been ruined. The wedding itself would have been just fine (I'm pretty sure nobody dances at the actual ceremony where the vows take place, right?). As for the reception, only the uptight people there would have been upset at Data's misunderstanding of dancing. Beverly could have just joined him in some kind of tap routine and entertained all the guests for a couple of minutes - and later she could have been shown teaching him about social dancing and which kinds are appropriate for which occasions.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Crusher didn't realize he wanted to learn to dance specifically for the wedding until he mentioned it after she thought they were done. So the hypothetical situation that Timewalker is suggesting would involve him not mentioning it, so Crusher would be blameless.

Ah, OK. I misread "let Data do his wedding tap dance".

My point is that Crusher wouldn't have known the dance lessons were for a wedding reception, because Data didn't even think to mention that to her at the outset. If the episode hadn't had the "I am now ready to dance at Keiko's wedding" line, Crusher would have just assumed that Data wanted to learn to dance for general interest's sake. So the whole thing would have been a comedy of errors and not actually anyone's fault.

Would Data have been embarrassed? If he had emotions, I'd say yes. But the point was hammered into us throughout the series that Data doesn't have emotions, has no idea about humor or when something is/is not funny, and this could have been a way to educate him on how misunderstandings can happen and lead to an unintended comedy of errors (and cause unintended embarrassment along the way). And I disagree that the wedding would have been ruined. The wedding itself would have been just fine (I'm pretty sure nobody dances at the actual ceremony where the vows take place, right?). As for the reception, only the uptight people there would have been upset at Data's misunderstanding of dancing. Beverly could have just joined him in some kind of tap routine and entertained all the guests for a couple of minutes - and later she could have been shown teaching him about social dancing and which kinds are appropriate for which occasions.

Gotya. That probably could have worked.

 

[CrazyMatt]

I honestly never thought 1 & 2 were too similar to be lumped together. With "The Child" the show already took a real shift in presentation that would become consistent with the rest of the series. There's still the uniforms and lighting, but it's already having a more subdued vibe to it. I always count this as the season where TNG truly found its identity, while the third season finally hit its stride as far as consistency in quality. "The Measure of the Man" is the real game changer for the show, displaying all the qualities that the writers and producers recognized as the show's strengths with the now famous Picard speech at the end of an episode, a more cerebral story that didn't require phaser fire, and then there's other bits such as the debut of the poker table. With all this said, it makes the first season feel like an extended pilot, sharing the basic elements of TNG but not quite refined as what came after.

I agree. Season 2 was leaps and bounds better then its predecessor. There were still some stinkers (with "The Outrageous Okona," "Unnatural Selection" and "Shades of Gray" being the most egregious), but after the disappointment of Season 1, the second season at least showed the series had potential to be something special. Thankfully, it realized that potential in Season 3 and the rest is history.

 

[Hawkeye_90]

I didn't see this thread and just basically remade it my bad.

 

[The Old Mixer]

You've brought shame and dishonor upon your family for seven generations...but we won't hold it against you.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Unfortunately, the first season does presume alot upon the audience. Someone new to the series is meant to already know these people, whom the show is still making up, as it goes. Naked Now should never have been a first season show ... we just don't have a personality comparison to go by when they start acting like they're drunk and horny. It would've been brilliant as a Third Season opener. Also, when Q offers Number One the power of Q, we are still trying to get to know Riker. He never smiles. He's little more than a stranger, really, because he's all business, unless he's looking to get laid. So, when he starts acting like a smacked ass, when the power goes to his head, all we can do is hate him. It's pretty risky having this be an almost-first-impression of our Leading Man.

TNG, first season, does feel forced, presuming upon audience acceptance of a product that is still being made, really. Partly, this was so that GR, in particular, could leap into his comfort zone, rather than bogging himself down with character studies. For all of this, and lots more, the first season is really brilliant, sometimes. Like with the Traveller. In concept, it's a useful hinge into all kinds of unbelievable stories and settings. In reality, it was just there to underscore how wonderful Wesley is and how we should all be in awe of the kid. Worst of all, it does this by trying to ape E.T., when Elliott and E.T. had their bond going. Again, there is an obvious attempt to force the audience into going from "getting to know you" to "I LOVE this bridge crew!"

 

[Hober Mallow]

so yeah, the vartious affiliates probably noticed that Star trek fans were NOT warming up to the new show at all--

I doubt it. The ratings for the series were fantastic, and that's probably all the affiliates cared about.

 

[Christopher]

Unfortunately, the first season does presume alot upon the audience. Someone new to the series is meant to already know these people, whom the show is still making up, as it goes. Naked Now should never have been a first season show ... we just don't have a personality comparison to go by when they start acting like they're drunk and horny.

Err, "The Naked Time" was an early first-season episode -- only the fifth episode shot, not counting the pilots, and the fourth aired. The point was to reveal their personalities in the first place by what they did when they lost their inhibitions -- just as "The Naked Time" revealed Spock's inner turmoil, Kirk's love-hate relationship with command, Chapel's unrequited love for Spock, and Sulu's swashbuckling side. There's a saying that you don't really know a person until you see them drunk, and that's the underlying principle of these episodes. At least, that was the principle of the Fontana draft of "The Naked Now." It was meant to lay the foundations of the characterizations that would be developed later on.

 

[Hawkeye_90]

I realize that I am looking at this from the point of view of not seeing when it first aired in 1987, but seeing it first in reruns in the early to mid 90s onward, but I am going through the series again, this is my second time watching season 1 from start to finish. I have to say I think it is underrated. There are a lot of classic episodes that make me excited to see the rest of the series, episodes like home soil, bough breaks, the traveler episode, the virus episode, also there are a lot of inferences to TOS that I found to be very subtlety slipped into the show. Admittedly these references were lost on me before I saw a portion of TOS. I also agree that the episode I believe its called Hide and Q, but it is the one where Riker gets Q's power, is kind of random for the rest of the season. The other episodes seem to cover for it. I also get a kick out of seeing the crew before they got promoted, I think some of this comes from the fact that I saw a lot of the series out of order because I watched it on rerun. Still I feel that this is actually one of the better seasons and this is a change in opinion for me because the first time I watched the season I didn't care for it. I forgot to mention how good the binary episode is. Does anyone else share this opinion or is just me, because a lot of these episodes are the rock for all that we like in the later seasons.

 

[Hawkeye_90]

I would also like to add that maybe we know Riker better then we think by watching his relationship with Wesley Crusher in the first season, that relationship I think shows exactly what he turns out to be in later seasons.

 

[Nebusj]

I forgot something that bothered me when the show debuted: there wasn't anything like the ambient noise from the Original Series and that made all the sets feel more bland and less alive than the show ought to have been. I've come to understand the subtler audio cues of the show, certainly, but it felt wrong to have so very much quiet.

 

[2takesfrakes]

The point was to reveal their personalities in the first place by what they did when they lost their inhibitions ... At least, that was the principle of the Fontana draft of "The Naked Now." It was meant to lay the foundations of the characterizations that would be developed later on.

Alright, Christopher, however ... that is not what we got, is it? Go back, watch Naked Now - which I happen to enjoy - and tell me what you find out about Bev, Yar and Troi, other than that they're in heat? Nothing. What is revealed about Picard? He's got a thing for Bev, which he's resisting. Otherwise, he just vegges out saying, "what ...? What was that?". Wil, again, we don't learn too much about him, either, except that he also vegges out. From LaForge, we learn he wants his sight - he wants normal vision. Did this come as a surprise to watching this show? Data, perhaps, we learn the most about, as, after he's "had" Yar, he's acting a little silly. For an unemotional robot, he's got that naughty glint in his eye. Now, Christopher - what say you? Tell me what Naked Now revealed about these beloved TNG characters? My evaluation of it says to me: not a shittin' thing!

 

[Christopher]

^My prior comment already made it clear that I acknowledged the difference between the intent and the execution. Your issue is with Roddenberry, not with me, so please mind your tone.

 

[BillJ]

Tell me what Naked Now revealed about these beloved TNG characters? My evaluation of it says to me: not a shittin' thing!

Well they weren't beloved at that point. But I honestly don't care, I have a good time watching it.

 

[2takesfrakes]

^My prior comment already made it clear that I acknowledged the difference between the intent and the execution. Your issue is with Roddenberry, not with me, so please mind your tone.

Of course, I have no issue with you, whatsoever . I enjoy our discussions about STAR TREK. Sometimes, I just get impassioned and all fired up, when I get to talking about The Next Generation ...