I'm Glad TNG Ended When It Did

[ShatnersToupee]

I remember when it was announced that TNG was ending. A lot of people were upset and wondering why a show that was still getting good ratings would be taken off the air. But despite the good ratings, I think it was time for TNG to end, and not just because they needed to move the cast to the big screen. By season 7, it was obvious the writers had run out of ideas. You know things are bad when you start bringing in the relatives of the characters. Look at how many times they did that in Season 7.

Picard - His son, or rather someone who was thought to be his son.

Data - His mother

Geordi - His mother and father

Worf - His brother who we hadn't heard about before.

Crusher - Dead grandmother

Troi - Dead sister.

With Voyager, we were promised something new and fresh, but what we got were recycled TNG stories. Different ship, different characters, but essentially the same show. If you wanna know what Season 8 of TNG would've looked like, just watch Voyager.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

I found Voyager quite different from TNG in just as many ways as it was the same.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

You know things are bad when you start bringing in the relatives of the characters. Look at how many times they did that in Season 7.

I seem to remember they did this just as much in Season 4 - perhaps more so - and there were no (big) complaints about that season.

Picard: his brother, sister-in-law, and beloved nephew.

Riker: the whole "Future Imperfect" thing.

Data: his brother and his "father" in the same episode.

Worf: his adoptive parents, his lover and their son, and his biological brother turn up at various points in the season.

Troi: her mother gets a whole episode to herself.

Beverly: we see her husband for the first time. And of course, THE BOY.

Geordi: probably the only person who didn't get this much (ditto Riker in season 7) but he did get to see his crush Leah Brahms, if that counts.

Plus:
Tasha Yar's sister made an appearance
Chief O'Brien gets married

 

[ShatnersToupee]

You know things are bad when you start bringing in the relatives of the characters. Look at how many times they did that in Season 7.

I seem to remember they did this just as much in Season 4 - perhaps more so - and there were no (big) complaints about that season.

Picard: his brother, sister-in-law, and beloved nephew.

Riker: the whole "Future Imperfect" thing.

Data: his brother and his "father" in the same episode.

Worf: his adoptive parents, his lover and their son, and his biological brother turn up at various points in the season.

Troi: her mother gets a whole episode to herself.

Beverly: we see her husband for the first time. And of course, THE BOY.

Geordi: probably the only person who didn't get this much (ditto Riker in season 7) but he did get to see his crush Leah Brahms, if that counts.

Plus:
Tasha Yar's sister made an appearance
Chief O'Brien gets married

Which just proves my point. We'd already seen enough of their families. Did we really need to see more? I think introducing family makes sense if there's a larger purpose to it. For example, Family was about Picard dealing with the events of BOBW and trying to figure out if he wanted to stay in Starfleet. So having him meet up with his brother was a great way to explore that. But what was the point in showing us that Troi had a dead sister or that Data's creator had a wife and copied her into an android body? By the end of those respective episodes, have the characters of Troi and Data been significantly changed? Have we as the audience learned something that changes the way we look at them? After Family, I had a better understanding of how Picard felt about his assimilation, his reasons for wanting to stay with Starfleet, and what he gave up by pursuing that career. But the season 7 episodes I referred to with Data's mom and Troi's sister offer none of that and really come across as the writers just grasping for ideas.

 

[Subcommander R.]

You know things are bad when you start bringing in the relatives of the characters. Look at how many times they did that in Season 7.

I seem to remember they did this just as much in Season 4 - perhaps more so - and there were no (big) complaints about that season.

Picard: his brother, sister-in-law, and beloved nephew.

Riker: the whole "Future Imperfect" thing.

Data: his brother and his "father" in the same episode.

Worf: his adoptive parents, his lover and their son, and his biological brother turn up at various points in the season.

Troi: her mother gets a whole episode to herself.

Beverly: we see her husband for the first time. And of course, THE BOY.

Geordi: probably the only person who didn't get this much (ditto Riker in season 7) but he did get to see his crush Leah Brahms, if that counts.

Plus:
Tasha Yar's sister made an appearance
Chief O'Brien gets married

Which just proves my point. We'd already seen enough of their families. Did we really need to see more? I think introducing family makes sense if there's a larger purpose to it. For example, Family was about Picard dealing with the events of BOBW and trying to figure out if he wanted to stay in Starfleet. So having him meet up with his brother was a great way to explore that. But what was the point in showing us that Troi had a dead sister or that Data's creator had a wife and copied her into an android body? By the end of those respective episodes, have the characters of Troi and Data been significantly changed? Have we as the audience learned something that changes the way we look at them? After Family, I had a better understanding of how Picard felt about his assimilation, his reasons for wanting to stay with Starfleet, and what he gave up by pursuing that career. But the season 7 episodes I referred to with Data's mom and Troi's sister offer none of that and really come across as the writers just grasping for ideas.

No, I don't think it proves your point at all. If it did then you'd be saying there shouldn't have been a Season 5.

I'd have been with TNG lasting another season or two. But after that it could go downhill. Entropy strikes swiftly.

 

[RyuRoots]

I don't think having more family ties show up is at all a bad thing, and I don't see how it ties into your point. However, I DO agree that TNG was starting to run out of steam and it's a good thing they cut it at 7 seasons.

 

[Anwar]

I do think that while S7 had some good stories it would have been better to end at S6 if they wanted to go out on the highest note possible.

That way, the good S7 stories could've become the TNG movies, like First Contact being replaced by a big-budget version of "Descent".

 

[sonak]

I Agree with previous poster


running out of steam by season 7-big yes


too much emphasis on family-not particularly

 

[RyuRoots]

I do think that while S7 had some good stories it would have been better to end at S6 if they wanted to go out on the highest note possible.

That way, the good S7 stories could've become the TNG movies, like First Contact being replaced by a big-budget version of "Descent".

Uggggggggh. I know this is all subjective, but I am EXTREMELY glad that did not happen. I really didn't care for Descent at all.

 

[Takeru]

I remember when it was announced that TNG was ending. A lot of people were upset and wondering why a show that was still getting good ratings would be taken off the air. But despite the good ratings, I think it was time for TNG to end, and not just because they needed to move the cast to the big screen. By season 7, it was obvious the writers had run out of ideas.

In that case you kick them out and get new writers, you don't have to end to show.

 

[Anwar]

I do think that while S7 had some good stories it would have been better to end at S6 if they wanted to go out on the highest note possible.

That way, the good S7 stories could've become the TNG movies, like First Contact being replaced by a big-budget version of "Descent".

Uggggggggh. I know this is all subjective, but I am EXTREMELY glad that did not happen. I really didn't care for Descent at all.

It'd be worth it just to see the Borg moving fast and using effective energy weapons instead of just stumbling around slowly.

 

[Warped9]

You know things are bad when you start bringing in the relatives of the characters. Look at how many times they did that in Season 7.

I seem to remember they did this just as much in Season 4 - perhaps more so - and there were no (big) complaints about that season.

Picard: his brother, sister-in-law, and beloved nephew.

Riker: the whole "Future Imperfect" thing.

Data: his brother and his "father" in the same episode.

Worf: his adoptive parents, his lover and their son, and his biological brother turn up at various points in the season.

Troi: her mother gets a whole episode to herself.

Beverly: we see her husband for the first time. And of course, THE BOY.

Geordi: probably the only person who didn't get this much (ditto Riker in season 7) but he did get to see his crush Leah Brahms, if that counts.

Plus:
Tasha Yar's sister made an appearance
Chief O'Brien gets married

This was one of the things that started to bug me about TNG: it started to feel like a soap opera. It's partly why I started to feel restless and growing disinterested with it.

 

[Satyrquaze]

Worf - His brother who we hadn't heard about before.

We had heard about him before, just maybe some of us were not listening. Rewatch "Heart of Glory"

 

[Anwar]

And it isn't like TOS didn't do the same with Spock's family.

 

[Warped9]

And it isn't like TOS didn't do the same with Spock's family.

One visit. One episode out of seventy-nine dealing with family. Not nearly the same thing.

 

[Anwar]

And we only saw Picard's family once in all of TNG's 170+ episodes, Riker's father once, LaForge's parents once, Worf's human parents once, etc.

You're comparing TOS' smaller cast to TNG's rather larger cast, which is also two different things. At least in other cases characters like Data's brother and Worf's Klingon brother played major roles in the series beyond merely being relatives.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

And it isn't like TOS didn't do the same with Spock's family.

One visit. One episode out of seventy-nine dealing with family. Not nearly the same thing.

Two if you include "Operation: Annihilate!"

 

[Trek Survivor]

I was glad too. The series had been in gradual decline since season 4, but it dramatically nosedived in quality during season 7.

 

[Warped9]

And we only saw Picard's family once in all of TNG's 170+ episodes, Riker's father once, LaForge's parents once, Worf's human parents once, etc.

You're comparing TOS' smaller cast to TNG's rather larger cast, which is also two different things. At least in other cases characters like Data's brother and Worf's Klingon brother played major roles in the series beyond merely being relatives.

The point is TNG's approach created a different sensibility than TOS'.

 

[Avon]

i think a couple more seasons of tng with them running out of ideas would've both ruined the show, yet still being better than voyager.