Is TNG supose to be a kid's show?

[Jayson]

Not a kid show like Barney or PowerRangers or something like that but more like Doctor Who? I have read about how "Doctor Who" is a show aimed mostly for kids and to me TNG and Doctor Who have a similiar spirit in how it can be uplifting but also well written. Neither show has the edge to be seen as pure adult drama but neither show is so simplistic only a grade-schooler can enjoy.

Jason

 

[tomalak301]

I have a question. Do all adult dramas need to be dark, gritty, and depressing? I ask because it seems that is the bar that people set whether a show is for children or not? I thought adult dramas dealt with more mature issues in ways that might go over children's heads. TNG was meant to be a family show at the time and I think in that it succeeded. Unfortunately, they did chicken out some times on mature issues (Like The Host and Outcast both dealing with homosexuality) but then they also dealt with very adult themes and adult circumstances, such as the idea of witch-hunting in society (Which is rampent today moreso than ever) and torture in Chain of Command II. Maybe TNG was supposed to be a kids show, but if that's the case, than it's not a bad thing at all. In fact, in dealing with issues, Some of these issues were tackled better and much more important and sensitively on this kid show than on other "Adult Dramas."

 

[Jayson]

I think the nature of the adult drama has evolved. I think it use to be a show that wasn't silly and it touched on themes that are relvant to adults. Today I think those are still seen as elements important to a adult drama but I think it's now important for a show to be able to push the envelope and take real dramatic chances. It's now important for every tv adult drama to feel like it could work on HBO or even work as a adult movie.

Jason

 

[Orac Zen]

So in other words you're judging a show that ended nearly 15 years ago by present-day standards?

TNG is what it is. Calling it a "kid's show" simply because it doesn't "measure up" in whatever way(s) to whatever qualifies as drama today seems pointless, if not utterly absurd.

 

[Red Ranger]

The simple answer is: no. -- RR

 

[mr.peany]

No. But i get your point. I think its a show designed for adults, but accessible for younger viewers as well. My friends kids love the show, sure they don't understand some aspects of it, but it makes them inquisitive. Which in today's youth is a massive plus

 

[Jayson]

So in other words you're judging a show that ended nearly 15 years ago by present-day standards?

TNG is what it is. Calling it a "kid's show" simply because it doesn't "measure up" in whatever way(s) to whatever qualifies as drama today seems pointless, if not utterly absurd.

Tv was already starting to evolve by the time TNG got started. "Hill Street Blues" is what I think started the evoultion. What matters though isn't whether the drama's of the day measure up but what was the writers's intention. I think Roddenberry was mostly going for sci-fi fans. When Berman took control the show was geared more towards mainstream familes.

One other thing that I think makes it a kid or family oriented show is the grandma factor. This isn't scientfic but I go by the theory that if your grandma likes the show then it's proably either a family oriented show or a CBS "drama" staring a really old person. "TNG" was safe and not scary and different like more gritty drama. "TNG" is the "Madlock" of sci-fi for old people. They like how nice and polite the characters are and how they don't resort to cussing and no sex.

Jason

 

[Therin of Andor]

I think Roddenberry was mostly going for sci-fi fans. When Berman took control the show was geared more towards mainstream familes.

TNG owed its existence to the success of the ST movies, and to TOS in those prime time daily reruns throughout the 70s, which garnered a host of new young fans. Now, TNG in 1987 was assuming that the 10-15 year olds who grew up on TOS in 1976/1977/1978, were now aged about 20-25, an ideal demographic for a weekly night time drama. Some of these stayed on for the later ST series, aging along with the shows. But...

DS9, VOY and ENT played too late at night to continue the trend of bringing in new younger fans who would have watched with their parents.

 

[Kegek]

No. TNG is a family show, one of those programs which can appeal to all ages. I loved it as a kid, I love it now. True, its adult content doesn't really come in the shape of sex, violence and swearing; TNG's adult content largely comes from the various themes and moral issues addressed on the show. And, candidly, which is the more adult?

 

[Captain Kate]

I watched it as a kid (along with TOS), but I don't think of it as a childrens' show by any means. There's quite a few things, such as historical or politcal references, that aren't always that apparent when you're that young, although you can still enjoy the show. The modern day classification of the series is mostly PG and series 5 is a 12, so some of the themes must have been deemed unsuitable for young kids even now when shows seem to get away with more than they used to.

 

[Michael]

I don't see how anyone could think the show was primarily directed at children.

 

[Holdfast]

No. It was a family show, but not a children's show. That's how I'd think of it.

 

[RAMA]

Not a kid show like Barney or PowerRangers or something like that but more like Doctor Who? I have read about how "Doctor Who" is a show aimed mostly for kids and to me TNG and Doctor Who have a similiar spirit in how it can be uplifting but also well written. Neither show has the edge to be seen as pure adult drama but neither show is so simplistic only a grade-schooler can enjoy.

Jason

No I think of STNG as a unique and highly evolved drama that doesn't have stoop to the often contrived and now cliched "dark" elements that modern SF shows have.

RAMA

 

[patlandness]

[

No I think of STNG as a unique and highly evolved drama that doesn't have stoop to the often contrived and now cliched "dark" elements that modern SF shows have.

RAMA

Couldn't have said it better myself. I get so sick and goddamned tired of SF shows (like well, DS9) copping out with their wallowing in the ugliness of the world and their creators looking down their noses at the show that essentially paved the way for them to have a show on TV to begin with.

Hear that, JMS?

 

[Space Cowboy]

That's why I think that there should have been episodes spent exploring and rebuilding after the Dominion War rather than going back to pre-UFP times with ENT, but they should've shelved TrekTV until a few years after VOY ended and then bring new blood to write series V, IMO.

 

[Christopher]

Not a kids' show, no, but TNG did end up being kind of a stodgy "establishment" show determined to set a good example. Certainly in comparison to its predecessor. TOS was the NYPD Blue of its day, constantly pushing the envelope in terms of skin and sexual content, its SF premise (and the mistaken perception that SF meant kiddie show, so that the people who'd complain were generally looking the other way) letting it get away with more than most other shows could. Aside from the kinkier stuff like slave girls and lovebots and seductresses wielding alien love potions, the show also dealt with surprisingly adult issues like sterility ("Wink of an Eye") and contraception ("The Mark of Gideon").

TNG started out showing some of these same sensibilities, with the sexual disinhibitions of "The Naked Now," the hedonistic planet of "Justice," the nude Betazoid weddings of "Haven," etc. But it ended up evolving away from that and becoming a lot more sedate. Unlike TOS, which was an iconoclastic underdog of a show, TNG was the embodiment of a highly successful and profitable franchise, and so it had more of an establishment flavor to it. It was kind of like the '60s hippie teen that grew up to become a business-suited, somewhat conservative executive.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Not a kid show like Barney or PowerRangers or something like that but more like Doctor Who? I have read about how "Doctor Who" is a show aimed mostly for kids and to me TNG and Doctor Who have a similiar spirit in how it can be uplifting but also well written. Neither show has the edge to be seen as pure adult drama but neither show is so simplistic only a grade-schooler can enjoy.

Jason

If your kid's a Wesley Crusher with super-intelligence and ability to talk like an adult, then sure it is a kid's show.

Otherwise, no.

 

[erastus25]

No. TNG is a family show, one of those programs which can appeal to all ages. I loved it as a kid, I love it now. True, its adult content doesn't really come in the shape of sex, violence and swearing; TNG's adult content largely comes from the various themes and moral issues addressed on the show. And, candidly, which is the more adult?

Agreed. It seems that there are fewer and fewer family shows around and most everything on primetime has a lot of sex and violence, compared to TNG. As a result, viewers in 2008 start to feel that it's a show aimed at kids because the concept of family show has slowly been more or less eliminated from pop culture.

As an aside, I really like that ST is accessible to kids. Looking back on my childhood I can tell that I took away a lot of the humanistic messages embedded within TOS. Sure, a TV show doesn't replace supportive/responsible parents, but there are definitely worse things than being influenced by a show preaching the ST morality. I know that if I ever have kids I may stop them from watching prime time TV but I'll never stop them from watching Star Trek. Well, as long as it isn't VOY or ENT.

 

[Hermiod]

TNG is not a kids show. It's a serious drama that, while not being constantly dark, does deal with adult themes. I don't agree that it's simplistic at all.

The current incarnation of Doctor Who, on the other hand, feels like it was produced by the same people as any other CBBC (Childrens BBC) drama. Too much rushing around, lots of silly pop-culture references, too many pointless celebrity cameos - it's like the old Batman TV show. It's turned a serious character in to a joke.

And don't get me started on Torchwood, aka Hollyoaks With Aliens.

 

[AlboOfBorg]

No. There was too much sexuality at points to call it a "kid's show."