The Next Generation is certainly a popular Trek series, but there are some aspects of it that get a lot of flak from fans. A big one is the lack of inter-personal conflict amongst the crew. Another is the more laid back style, symbolized by Picard the talker instead of Kirk the fighter. Despite TNG’s success, virtually every series that followed seemed to be trying to return to the spirit of TOS, to the adventure, the wild frontier, the great unknown.
But I think that TNG does not always get the respect it deserves for trying to show a different vision of the Trek universe. Roddenberry could have easily made a show that was the mirror image of the original Trek. Instead, he gave us a significantly changed vision of the universe. This was an Enterprise with children on board, with a Captain more diplomat than adventure-seeker, with a counselor standing around on the bridge. The design of the ship, the props, the furniture, even the lighting all signaled the move from a militaristic to a more humanistic and scientific Starfleet. Even the Klingons had been de-fanged.
Certainly, there were some things in TNG that limited the kinds of stories they could tell, and in retrospect were probably mistakes. The goody-goody crew, who never disagreed with each other, was definitely one of those mistakes.
But I really like the fact that TNG tried to show the evolution of the Federation, a more high-tech Starfleet and a more civilized galaxy. And if there is ever another Trek series, it might be kind of nice if they explored that version of Trek’s history again – an optimistic, high-tech, post-scarcity, almost transhumanist Starfleet exploring the galaxy. You could do it in a mature way, explore the serious issues that would evolve in that kind of high-tech society, and how they deal with problems both internal and external. And yes, you could still have the occasional fist fight and phaser battle.
Instead, every Trek series and movie has been moving away from that vision of the future. Heck, even TNG was “un-Next-Generationed” by the end of their movie series. It’s like people think there is only one way to tell a Star Trek story.
None of the above is to say that TNG was automatically better than the other versions of Trek. In fact, some days I find myself liking DS9 more, and that was a series expressly made to counter some of the decisions made on The Next Generation. But one day I would like to see the optimistic future of TNG explored once again, and sometimes I think Roddenberry deserves more respect for showing us that other path.
But I think that TNG does not always get the respect it deserves for trying to show a different vision of the Trek universe. Roddenberry could have easily made a show that was the mirror image of the original Trek. Instead, he gave us a significantly changed vision of the universe. This was an Enterprise with children on board, with a Captain more diplomat than adventure-seeker, with a counselor standing around on the bridge. The design of the ship, the props, the furniture, even the lighting all signaled the move from a militaristic to a more humanistic and scientific Starfleet. Even the Klingons had been de-fanged.
Certainly, there were some things in TNG that limited the kinds of stories they could tell, and in retrospect were probably mistakes. The goody-goody crew, who never disagreed with each other, was definitely one of those mistakes.
But I really like the fact that TNG tried to show the evolution of the Federation, a more high-tech Starfleet and a more civilized galaxy. And if there is ever another Trek series, it might be kind of nice if they explored that version of Trek’s history again – an optimistic, high-tech, post-scarcity, almost transhumanist Starfleet exploring the galaxy. You could do it in a mature way, explore the serious issues that would evolve in that kind of high-tech society, and how they deal with problems both internal and external. And yes, you could still have the occasional fist fight and phaser battle.
Instead, every Trek series and movie has been moving away from that vision of the future. Heck, even TNG was “un-Next-Generationed” by the end of their movie series. It’s like people think there is only one way to tell a Star Trek story.
None of the above is to say that TNG was automatically better than the other versions of Trek. In fact, some days I find myself liking DS9 more, and that was a series expressly made to counter some of the decisions made on The Next Generation. But one day I would like to see the optimistic future of TNG explored once again, and sometimes I think Roddenberry deserves more respect for showing us that other path.
