If tng had an 8th season.

[Lord Garth]

Interesting point @Lord Garth. If we’re talking 22-26 episodes a season, maybe a handful of them could be reworkings if VOY and even DS9 stories. DS9’s universe might be really effected by continued TNG as the Cardassian, Bajoran, Ferengi, and Maquis could all go in wildly different directions. Was it any doubt they were heading for war with Cardassia over the Maquis? Bajor would still be occupied…the Ferengi…could have gone in like four different directions.

Another thing to consider is what was going on in the culture in the mid-90’s that might have impacted storylines of this series. Changes in television storytelling (camera and effects stuff) stuff in politics and other popular TV shows, etc.I can see the hands of both nBSG and GoT in DSC for example.

VOY's first season would've been 20 episodes, if the last four hadn't been held over for the second season. Take out "Caretaker" -- which is too Voyager-esque to be TNG since it sets up the whole premise -- and that leaves you with the other 18 episodes. If Ron Moore and Rene Echevarria had stayed on TNG, in this scenario, their third season DS9 episodes could've been eighth season TNG episodes too, especially if their premises weren't 100% DS9-specific.

Between all that, I think you could get a pretty good idea about what an eighth season of TNG would've been like. The only difference, at that point, would be thinking, "How would the TNG characters handle this versus the DS9 or VOY characters?"

I highly doubt the Dominion would've figured into an eighth season. Maybe from the ninth season on, as they became more and more prominent on DS9.

 

[diankra]

I don't have to wonder what the eighth season of TNG would've been like. It's the first season of VOY. Just switch out the ship, the characters, and put it in the Alpha Quadrant.

Most of the VOY stories can be translated into TNG with just a little bit of tweaking. So, given most of the same people would've been involved in making it, that's probably how it would've turned out.

Yep, TNG 7 is pretty much Voyager 0, but with more liked actors.

 

[Arpy]

I’m not sure if VOY stories could work for TNG. Aside for the series being on a 24th Century Starfleet ship and and stylistic similarities given when the show aired (and the huge success of TNG the franchise was hoping to duplicate), which stories would carry over, and how would you do them?

Assuming we’d stay put in the Alpha Quadrant (this is TNG, not VOY), The Kazon wouldn’t work as you already had the Klingons, and the stories wouldn’t translate. The Vidians might have been interesting, but with the Enterprise not being on its own, there isn’t the same feeling of dread, being alone and hunted. Is Neelix going to come on board as Guinan’s replacement? The fans would revolt. The ship isn’t looking for resources or pining about getting home or getting acquainted with the locals or integrating the Maquis… Are we just going to do the mediocre anomaly episodes?

There’s a lot to follow up on from TNG itself to do too much of what VOY did. And also, we are not the VOY writers/producers of the time. I’m much more interested in what could have been in the best case scenario than what would have been with another series’ writers and producers who’d maybe already done their best work.

The “Conspiracy” parasites, Reunification, the unseen Jarada and TNG versions of the Breen, whatever happened with Kahless in the Empire, where had the Romulans been for decades, was Ben Maxwell right and there ultimately be war with the Cardassians, what were the “unknown possibilities of existence” that the Enterprise, if not Picard, or humanity overall were to discover, etc etc…stuff like that is more interesting to me as a fan of TNG.

 

[Lord Garth]

"Parallax" --> The Enterprise encounters what looks like a doppelganger of itself. That A-Plot can be easily made to be TNG. The B-Plot of Torres vs. Carey can be dropped and replaced with something else.

"Time And Again" --> A planet has to be saved from destruction caused by the Enterprise.

"Phage" --> The Enterprise encounters the Vidians for the first time. They try to harvest some guest crewmember's organs. Picard alerts Starfleet Command about them, so Starfleet will be watching out for the Vidians in the future.

"The Cloud" --> Because of TECH the TECH (this is mid-'90s Star Trek), the Enterprise ends up in a Cloud where it encounters a being that wants to mate with the Enterprise. I didn't say this would be a great episode, just showing how it could be done.

"Eye of the Needle" --> This episode has the most purely VOY premise since "Caretaker". The only way it works is if TECH takes out the Warp Drive, the Enterprise needs to help from anyone within communication range, and it turns out to be a Romulan. The send the messages to their families storyline would have to be dropped.

"Ex Post Facto" --> Riker is accused of the murder instead of Paris. Sounds like another version of "A Matter of Perspective", but an eighth season show doing something similar (but not exactly the same) as what it did in the third season isn't unheard of in the world of television.

"Emanations" --> Any TNG character can be in Kim's place and transported to a world where everyone thinks they've come back from the dead.

"Prime Factors" --> With modifications, this can work as a TNG episode. Just bring a third party into the mix. The Federation and the Ferengi are both interested in a technology that can catapult a vessel across tens of thousands of light-years. The hosting planet decides against sharing this technology, the Ferengi try to steal the technology, Picard has to stop them. The premise works for TNG if you put it in a different light.

"State of Flux" --> The Enterprise investigates how Federation technology ended up in the hands of a hostile race. Doesn't have to be Kazon, just an Alien of the Week.

"Heroes and Demons" ---> Just another wacky holodeck adventure. This time, put Data in the role of The Doctor. And have Worf along, since Medieval Earth would be right up his ally.

"Cathexis" --> An invisible alien threatens the Enterprise. Wouldn't have sounded out of place on late-TNG.

"Faces" --> This is another one that needs to be changed from the original premise to work, but can be done. Doctor Crusher is kidnaped by the Vidians in hopes that she can cure them of their condition. The premise of someone like Torres being split into a Human half and a Klingon half would have to be dropped.

"Jetrel" --> A scientist on one world who was responsible for a terrible weapon being used on another, a member of that race still feeling bloody-minded about it even though the scientist regrets the way in which his weapon was used. Switch it up to where Picard has to mediate peace between these two worlds and you have the perfect TNG story.

"Learning Curve" --> Riker, Geordi, and Troi are temporarily sent to another ship with a crew that's not up-to-snuff, and they have to bring them up to a point where they can be up to Starfleet Standards. Meanwhile Picard, Worf, Data, and Crusher have a B-Plot Adventure on the Enterprise that eventually ties into the A-plot where they couldn't have solved whatever was going on without the help of the crew Riker whipped into shape.

I can also include the four VOY S1 episodes that were held over for S2 and the DS9 S3 episodes written by TNG S7 alumni, but I'll leave it here for now.

 

[Arpy]

"Parallax" --> The Enterprise encounters what looks like a doppelganger of itself. That A-Plot can be easily made to be TNG. The B-Plot of Torres vs. Carey can be dropped and replaced with something else.

The Enterpise already encountered a doppelgänger of itself in “Where Silence Has Lease.”

"Time And Again" --> A planet has to be saved from destruction caused by the Enterprise.

This is one of my lease favorite episodes because of how they realized the aliens (planet of the blondes in striped orange shirts), but it could work with some changes. It would be interesting to see them covertly dealing with a prewarp society again like in “First Contact,” and the episode has a nice twist at the end.

"Phage" --> The Enterprise encounters the Vidians for the first time. They try to harvest some guest crewmember's organs. Picard alerts Starfleet Command about them, so Starfleet which will be watching out for the Vidians in the future.

The Enterprise encountered something similar in “Schims.” There’s another episode begging for a follow-up in a future season.

"The Cloud" --> Because of TECH the TECH (this is mid-'90s Star Trek), the Enterprise ends up in a Cloud where it encounters a being that wants to mate with the Enterprise. I didn't say this would be a great episode, just showing how it could be done.

“Galaxy’s Child” did a space creature with attachment issues to the ship. The Farpoint aliens, the Crystalline Entity, Gomtuu… If they did do another “cosmozoan”episode, it’d have to be good.

"Eye of the Needle" --> This episode has the most purely VOY premise since "Caretaker". The only way it works is if TECH takes out the Warp Drive, the Enterprise needs to help from anyone within communication range, and it turns out to be a Romulan. The send the messages to their families storyline would have to be dropped.

Parts of this could be worked, but we’ve done Romulans with messages (Admiral Jarok’s undelivered letter — follow up!) and imagining a better time between their two peoples (Romulan commander at the end of “The Chase”). It’s a good twist ending though…maybe there’s some way to save it with a different species if we’re never to enjoy this episode on VOY.

"Ex Post Facto" --> Riker is accused of the murder instead of Paris. Sounds like another version of "A Matter of Perspective", but an eighth season show doing something similar (but not exactly the same) as what it did in the third season isn't unheard of in the world of television.

They did it in “A Matter of Perspective.” Maybe with another character…lady’s man La Forge? Oops…too “Aquiel.” How many murders is his dating life going to include? Maybe this happens to hotshot Shelby?

"Emanations" --> Any TNG character can be in Kim's place and transported to a world where everyone thinks he's come back from the dead.

This might be interesting. Maybe Geordi’s VISOR plays a role. Like he’s the only one who can see the alternate dimension or something. Never mind, he was already dead in “The Next Phase.”

"Prime Factors" --> With modifications, this can work as a TNG episode. Just bring a third party into the mix. The Federation and the Ferengi are both interested in a technology that can catapult a vessel across tens of thousands of light-years. The hosting planet decides against sharing this technology, the Ferengi try to steal the technology, Picard has to stop them. The premise works for TNG if you put it in a different light.

Broaching too much on the Ferengi and the promises of the Barzan wormhole they did in “The Price.” Plus the Enterprise was catapulted in “The Nth Degree,” “Where No One Has Gone Before,” and “When the Bough Breaks.” It’s an interesting premise though — that literature (“content”) is used as money... Maybe that could be saved.

"State of Flux" --> The Enterprise investigates how Federation technology ended up in the hands of a hostile race. Doesn't have to be Kazon, just an Alien of the Week.

This could work. TOS, ENT, and others did it. All about the execution.

"Heroes and Demons" ---> Just another wacky holodeck adventure. This time, put Data in the role of The Doctor. And have Worf along, since Medieval Earth would be right up his ally.

Maybe make it Worf somehow. It could be a follow up to “Fistful of Datas.”

"Cathexis" --> An invisible alien threatens the Enterprise. Wouldn't have sounded out of place on late-TNG.

I feel like they’ve done it in different ways. Could still work (hopefully done better), but I find my mind wandering to other stuff they could do with this season. This is filler and learning curve stuff.

"Faces" --> This is another one that needs to be changed from the original premise to work, but can be done. Doctor Crusher is kidnaped by the Vidians in hopes that she can cure them of their condition. The premise of someone like Torres being split into a Human half and a Klingon half would have to be dropped.

Maybe. It’s a little too gruesome…it works on VOY because part of the episode is the shock and horror of what the lone crew encounter far from home… But it could work. Crusher was already kidnapped in “The High Ground” for her expertise, but maybe after “Sub Rosa” this could be more eerie gothic horror for her.

"Jetrel" --> A scientist on one world who was responsible for a terrible weapon being used on another, a member of that race still feeling bloody-minded about it even though the scientist regrets the way in which his weapon was used. Switch it up to where Picard has to mediate peace between these two worlds and you have the perfect TNG story.

Could work! Maybe it could be a familiar alien or enemy the weapon is used against. Like, what if it’s a Cardassian lamenting the use of a weapon against a moon of Bajor? It would be one of the few non-baddie Cardassians we got til this point, giving us further insight into their people, and the Occupation…and maybe there’s a twist at the end…the Obsidian Order disappears him, or he does something else horribly Cardassian too focused on making amends for the last thing.

"Learning Curve" --> Riker, Geordi, and Troi are temporarily sent to another ship with a crew that's not up-to-snuff, and they have to bring them up to a point where they can be up to Starfleet Standards. Meanwhile Picard, Worf, Data, and Crusher have a B-Plot Adventure on the Enterprise that eventually ties into the A-plot where they couldn't have solved whatever was going on without the help of the crew Riker whipped into shape.

“Peak Performance”? Still, I’m all for anything akin to “Lower Decks.” It would be cool seeing them interact with a motley assortment of junior officers and seeing sparks fly before things come together. It’s why Barclay was fun, and I liked VOY episodes like “Learning Curve” and “Good Shepard.”

 

[Lord Garth]

Basically, this supports the idea that if TNG had continued with these writers (which would've been the most likely scenario), then they would've been repeating themselves had they continued. Or would've had to have strained harder to avoid repeating, since a different series would give writers more latitude than the same series would've. "How would these new characters deal with XYZ situation?" And the harder they'd have to strain, the wackier or more forced the ideas would've become.

In order for TNG to have been able to continue, and not turn into "Zombie Simpsons" (the nickname for that show after the first 10 or so seasons), they would've had to have completely replaced the entire writing staff. Top to bottom.

 

[Oddish]

One advantage S8 TNG would have had over S1 Voyager... seven main cast members, and better known ones. If Voyager had pared itself down to seven (Seven arrives, but Kes transcends, Chakotay dies saving the ship, and Harry stays on Earth in Non Sequitur), it might have been a better show for it.

 

[Arpy]

…they would've had to have completely replaced the entire writing staff. Top to bottom.

I’m fine with that. Look, if you’re burned out, you’re burned out. There’s no shame in it. It’s ego to think otherwise. If you’ve said everything you’ve had to say, go find more stuff, over years, and let new people do new things.

 

[DarKush]

I like this idea. I am on board with Riker as the new captain. I'm torn between Shelby or Worf for first officer. Right now I'm going with Shelby.

Enterprise-D Season 8 crew.
Riker:
Make him the new captain.
Shelby:
My take on Shelby would be she's still hard charging, ambitious, but it's more tempered. She's not going to be out to undermine Riker like before, though it will take him some time to trust her.
Worf/Troi:
I would flesh this relationship out more, and create something of a triangle between Troi-Riker-Worf. Riker is doing his best to deal with his growing envy. Eventually Worf and Troi have an amicable split.
Geordi:
I'm also on board with improving Geordi's love life. I liked Aquiel more than Brahms, but I might just go with a new character here.
Selar:
She takes over as Chief Medical Officer after Crusher leaves. (In my imagination, Crusher is with Picard); Perhaps Geordi and Selar become a couple.
Lefler:
With no Data, I would bring Lefler in as the science officer.
Taurik:
New operations officer.
Lavelle:
Have him at the helm. Riker becomes something of a mentor for him.

For story ideas, I think some of the DS9 stories, especially early on, could've been adapted. The Maquis plot with Calvin Hudson could've been melded with the Tom Riker plot, and they could make Tom Riker a recurring antagonist. With Taurik and Lavelle on board they could revisit what happened to Jaxa. Geordi could find out what really happened to his mother and the USS Hera.

Part of the strain on the Worf/Troi relationship could be Worf's involvement in Klingon politics. The Dominion could also have been introduced on TNG as well.

 

[suarezguy]

It definitely would be a bad idea to not have Picard or Data although part of the problem with season 7 was the characters were a little too static so some change to the cast, including characters in new roles could cause some mild increased interest.

I wouldn't mind seeing more stories with dealing with the Maquis (maybe Chakotay and Tuvok recurring as well as Ro and Evek), OTOH the idea of the Klingons outright breaking relations with the Federation would be too bleak for Worf and TNG, maybe a Janeway as new first officer (frankly a big part of Shelby's appeal was that she appeared so briefly and in one of the series' higlights) and Taurik getting more screentime to also later appear in a next series.

 

[Arpy]

We’d see more of Gul Evek.

I’d love a follow up on “The Wounded” and Gul Macet (Dukat)!

 

[Alisa K]

I think it's a good thing for shows to come to an end. Although there are some things that I would have liked to see before the show came to an end, but I still think it was the right time to end it. Also ending one star trek show gives room for a new show and new ideas.

 

[Arpy]

^ I hear you. It seemed like they were running out the clock with the 7th season. But for me this thread is about what if. And though a lot of the first ideas that come to mind for future seasons are follow ups to what had come before, or that came in other series, I firmly believe (and would only really care about any of the old stuff) if it was in conjunction with good new stuff. Again, this is about what if.

I believe in what if’s for this, my favorite series, as I believe in them for current Trek. After all, why bother doing new stuff at all if it’s only a retread of old stuff? And they’ve got 10 series in the works now. Even if only a fraction of that is new or transferable stuff to this series, that’s a still some exquisitely fun TNG to enjoy. And who among us hasn’t wished at some point that there were still an episode (or seven seasons’ worth) that they somehow never saw and could now?

 

[SalyutBuran]

One advantage S8 TNG would have had over S1 Voyager... seven main cast members, and better known ones. If Voyager had pared itself down to seven (Seven arrives, but Kes transcends, Chakotay dies saving the ship, and Harry stays on Earth in Non Sequitur), it might have been a better show for it.

This is where I remind people that Tom Paris was more or less in the predcessor to lower decks and could have easily been brought back for tng 8

 

[penguin44]

A holodeck error populates the Enterprise with ice age beasts. Barclay gets trapped in the dividing hallway as the saucer section separates. @tng_s8

 

[DataMat]

"Parallax" --> The Enterprise encounters what looks like a doppelganger of itself. That A-Plot can be easily made to be TNG. The B-Plot of Torres vs. Carey can be dropped and replaced with something else.

"Time And Again" --> A planet has to be saved from destruction caused by the Enterprise.

"Phage" --> The Enterprise encounters the Vidians for the first time. They try to harvest some guest crewmember's organs. Picard alerts Starfleet Command about them, so Starfleet will be watching out for the Vidians in the future.

"The Cloud" --> Because of TECH the TECH (this is mid-'90s Star Trek), the Enterprise ends up in a Cloud where it encounters a being that wants to mate with the Enterprise. I didn't say this would be a great episode, just showing how it could be done.

"Eye of the Needle" --> This episode has the most purely VOY premise since "Caretaker". The only way it works is if TECH takes out the Warp Drive, the Enterprise needs to help from anyone within communication range, and it turns out to be a Romulan. The send the messages to their families storyline would have to be dropped.

"Ex Post Facto" --> Riker is accused of the murder instead of Paris. Sounds like another version of "A Matter of Perspective", but an eighth season show doing something similar (but not exactly the same) as what it did in the third season isn't unheard of in the world of television.

"Emanations" --> Any TNG character can be in Kim's place and transported to a world where everyone thinks they've come back from the dead.

"Prime Factors" --> With modifications, this can work as a TNG episode. Just bring a third party into the mix. The Federation and the Ferengi are both interested in a technology that can catapult a vessel across tens of thousands of light-years. The hosting planet decides against sharing this technology, the Ferengi try to steal the technology, Picard has to stop them. The premise works for TNG if you put it in a different light.

"State of Flux" --> The Enterprise investigates how Federation technology ended up in the hands of a hostile race. Doesn't have to be Kazon, just an Alien of the Week.

"Heroes and Demons" ---> Just another wacky holodeck adventure. This time, put Data in the role of The Doctor. And have Worf along, since Medieval Earth would be right up his ally.

"Cathexis" --> An invisible alien threatens the Enterprise. Wouldn't have sounded out of place on late-TNG.

"Faces" --> This is another one that needs to be changed from the original premise to work, but can be done. Doctor Crusher is kidnaped by the Vidians in hopes that she can cure them of their condition. The premise of someone like Torres being split into a Human half and a Klingon half would have to be dropped.

"Jetrel" --> A scientist on one world who was responsible for a terrible weapon being used on another, a member of that race still feeling bloody-minded about it even though the scientist regrets the way in which his weapon was used. Switch it up to where Picard has to mediate peace between these two worlds and you have the perfect TNG story.

"Learning Curve" --> Riker, Geordi, and Troi are temporarily sent to another ship with a crew that's not up-to-snuff, and they have to bring them up to a point where they can be up to Starfleet Standards. Meanwhile Picard, Worf, Data, and Crusher have a B-Plot Adventure on the Enterprise that eventually ties into the A-plot where they couldn't have solved whatever was going on without the help of the crew Riker whipped into shape.

I can also include the four VOY S1 episodes that were held over for S2 and the DS9 S3 episodes written by TNG S7 alumni, but I'll leave it here for now.

Most of the Trek shows carry over the vibe of its predecessor to some degree IMO. TNG S1 had plenty of TOS vibes going compete with funky acting and even music (like a sort of 80s update of the TOS music or something) - which is actually quite good in a strange way I guess. The show gradually became its own thing as it went on and I'd say by the start of S4 TNG was very much its own thing and out of the shadow of TOS completely.

 

[Shikarnov]

If Patrick Stewart had left after "Best of Both Worlds," with Riker being promoted and Shelby becoming first officer, I think there is potential that the series could have continued successfully.

I really wish that happened. I loved Shelby as a character and thought the dynamic between her and Riker was great. Sadly, I think it wouldn't have worked though. The episodic nature of the series combined with the still enforced no-conflict rule would have mellowed out the character pretty quickly.

 

[Oddish]

Can't say she did much for me, though such a change certainly would have shaken things up.

 

[Arpy]

If we're going another couple of seasons or three, and these are 90's seasons of 20+ episodes a pop, I think there's room to introduce more characters from the "lower decks," as well as flesh out some we've seen before.

A couple of the nameless ones I think would be hilarious to touch on would be "Jae" and "Martinez." I remember them from so many episodes! They wouldn't need full stories around them, but a line or two would be cute.

Then there's characters who had we've seen before, like:
Lavelle
Taurik
Ben
Ogawa (we could finally meet Andrew)
Robin Lefler
Dr. Selar
Simon Tarses
Sonya Gomez
Kieran Duffy
Giusti(-Huxtable)
Mendon
Taitt
Barnaby
Dr. Martin
Robinson
Salazar (he was great as the boss on The Shield)
...among a couple dozen others.

Including more major players, like Miles & Keiko (how can we make things interesting for them here if they're not going to DS9?), Barclay, Guinan, and Ro.

And isn't Bartel, like Geordi's assistant? Who?
Is this a future Captain Janeway?

It would be interesting to explore the purely civilian parts of the ship too. Maybe get a large new sets from the dream duo of Rich Sternbach & Ed Whitefire. With Andrew Probert for the trifecta. We could still get a Promenade on the D.
Mr. Mott
Guinan
Ben
Kaminer
J'dan (okay, not him, but other visiting aliens)

And of course all the others that would be completely new. Who's head of Exobiology or Stellar Cartography...or the lead dolphin? And is there an Andorian on board...with their other three spouses of different genders? Or, since we're talking wish-fulfillment here, how about an Aurellian? In a tailored uniform, having a drink in Ten Forward at one of those glowing tables with a view of the stars...

 

[Ssosmcin]

This kinda makes me think of the third season of seaQuest where they went in a new, much more militaristic direction and where Bridger became a guest star and ended up at odds with seaQuest. It didn't end well for them. Not sure how well it would work out for TNG.

SeaQuest was dead before they got to a third season. That third year was a gift because the show they intended to put in the time slot was so bad, they brought SeaQuest back. Nobody was watching and NBC pre-empted it constantly. Nobody watched it, so it died (a shame the third year was quite good).

Had they done this with TNG, which was still popular and a moneymaker, it may have worked. It works on other long-lived series. If they planned it well and treated the characters and their careers a little more realistically, we could see a bit of a revolving door of characters as people transfer off and move up.

They could embrace serialization a bit. Picard reduced to a guest star and Data, having achieved humanity, gives his life to save the crew early on as an act of newfound love. Your two most expensive actors are now off the table.

Riker gets command, but at tis point Shelby is too far gone from the series, so a new First is brought in. With Data gone, Worf isn't really the best choice yet. We also get a new science officer. Geordi leaves as he changes majors to command. New chief engineer. So we have new (cheaper) blood and the people who are left are probably more manageable, salary wise. At the same time, they're also a little more boring, so some character tweaking may be in order.