Moments on TNG that make you cringe.
- Thread starter ED-209
- Start date
When Troi prods Tasha into shyly admitting that she finds Lutan attractive, in "Code of Honor." Partly because of the girly coyness of the dialogue, but mostly because Troi describes Lutan as "a basic male image." Seriously, the writers thought that preening douche was the kind of man women find irresistible? A primal male? 
When Troi prods Tasha into shyly admitting that she finds Lutan attractive, in "Code of Honor." Partly because of the girly coyness of the dialogue, but mostly because Troi describes Lutan as "a basic male image." Seriously, the writers thought that preening douche was the kind of man women find irresistible? A primal male?
It also implies that the supposedly badass and self-actualized female security chief, who spent her youth running from *cringe* "rape gangs", just really finds it secretly enjoys that this random alien guy abducts her against her will! After all it's so flattering that a "primal male" chose her!
I don't remember the name of it, but there was an episode where some of the crew including the captain turned into kids. Picard's tantrum scene really hurt but not as nearly as much as every frame and soundfont in lessons. Like- when was Picard so damn good with women? A few episodes offset, he was calling a girl "handsome" which also works on this one for a reason. The episode has nothing scientifically interesting, too! Just your avarage Star Trek romance.
"Rascals" is when they were turned into kids.
I hated that episode, too. It made the crew look like complete fools... the Federation flagship taken over by two out of date Bird of Preys commanded by Ferengi.
Ugh...
Any Star Trek TNG romance (especially of the week) lands so awkwardly that I can't help but cringe.
Maybe now that I'm a little older it might not be so bad, but Lessons hurt, Captain's Holiday made me cringe, and so on.
Yes, but you get precedence for Generations so...
...
...win-win?
Romance of the Week rarely works in the franchise in general. A lot of it comes down to two things.
1. The guest actor/actress. If there is no real chemistry between the guest and ST person, it can fall flat so easily.
2. The very nature of these is clear that the relationship won't last beyond that episode. (Two, if you're extremely lucky.) It's the romance equivalent of the reset butfon.
1. The guest actor/actress. If there is no real chemistry between the guest and ST person, it can fall flat so easily.
2. The very nature of these is clear that the relationship won't last beyond that episode. (Two, if you're extremely lucky.) It's the romance equivalent of the reset butfon.
My standout moment of cringe from TNG season 1 comes from the fact that, had she not returned in season 3, Beverly Crusher's last scene on TNG would have been being sexually harassed by way of Sonny Clemonds groping her, an act that gets treated just as "that quirky 20th century man!" rather than inappropriate behavior especially considering the backstage element of why Gates left revolving around her calling out sexism (and from a few reports, possibly even having been subject to harassment herself)... Yeah, leaves a real bitter taste for me and make me really glad that she did come back, if for nothing else that to be able to have a better legacy.
Though outside of that, as a queer person, I do find The Outcast refusing to even acknowledge same-sex attraction in an episode that was supposedly meant to serve as a gay message episode not just cringe but harmful.
*sigh* Love TNG, but there are time that its very much a product of its time, and its time was not a good one.
Though outside of that, as a queer person, I do find The Outcast refusing to even acknowledge same-sex attraction in an episode that was supposedly meant to serve as a gay message episode not just cringe but harmful.
*sigh* Love TNG, but there are time that its very much a product of its time, and its time was not a good one.
Surprised to see hate for "Lessons" - I thought the chemistry between the two was really good.
It gets hate for what it was, not how well or poorly it carried it out. Remember that "Threshold" got an Emmy, so it clearly did something right. But it also did baby salamanders.
Ah yeah...Outcast the "gay episode" where Riker teaches a heterosexual woman how to be a heterosexual woman.
90s Trek total lack of any form of same sex attraction or relationship is one huge cringe moment. And before anybody tries that line: no, it wasn't how "things were back then" other shows from that time, and earlier, did have gay characters.
Yes, gay characters existed back then. But the fact remains, homophobia was a far more powerful presence. The AIDS crisis was only beginning to abate, and the decadeslong media campaign to soften the public to the gay community was in its infancy. At least thirteen states made same-sex romance a crime, and that wouldn't change until 2003. In other words, there was a lot more risk to attacking the status quo back then... and aside from DS9, which did foray into same-sex romance a bit, Berman era Trek was not known for taking risks. Look at how they turned Voyager into TNG Lite, or made their prequel series as un-prequel-like as possible.
And acknowledged it far better.
Hell, rewatch Night Court and that will make TNG look downright conservative.
TNG actually is more conservative than many people realize. At the time it was on, I identified as a conservative, and a great many of the things it advocated (freedom of speech and religion, right to due process, right to bear arms) were things I supported as well. It also strongly celebrated "traditional" family values.
Though it's pretty reasonable to think that Star Trek was meant to push the boundaries, and not being willing to push them, to expand beyond the comfort zone of the producers and audience both is to fly in the face of Star Trek's own values. But that brings us back to the stumbling block that is Rick Berman, and that's a rant that goes completely off topic and into areas that get fraught, so I'm comfortable dropping the subject here and now.
^ Perhaps they should try a new 'meta-introduction' for the next series?
'Product placement space - this decade's frontier. These are the voyages of the Star Trek <x> production team. Our five year mission ... to explore and then by the next episode discard strange new storytelling conventions, concepts, and one-time-only races, to seek out new target demographic groups and themes that will resonate with our audience. To boldly go where no man has gone before, but not too boldly- for fear of alienating our viewers. '
'Product placement space - this decade's frontier. These are the voyages of the Star Trek <x> production team. Our five year mission ... to explore and then by the next episode discard strange new storytelling conventions, concepts, and one-time-only races, to seek out new target demographic groups and themes that will resonate with our audience. To boldly go where no man has gone before, but not too boldly- for fear of alienating our viewers. '
The guy wearing a miniskirt dress in season 1....sadly prophetic for current times
Code of Honor...ever so slightly racist.
Even then, if they did an arc, how many would really care about their personal lives - unless that was the core premise of the show? They might be making new life, but they're not exactly seeking it out - when otherwise not being the galactic taxicab and/or hotel in Encino for the week.
That said, Trek has succeeded - but the odds are still low. Kirk had Miramanee and it felt authentic. Most of his conquersts fell flat. Shahna might be the other example, but he did a "dine and ditch" at the end, despite granting asylum to other characters in other (okay, later) episodes. Picard had the blue-shirt in Lessons and that worked, in part because he had a whole lifetime forcibly inserted into his brain in "The Inner light" and the audience yummed it up, oddly... Wasn't there the JAG in the "Data is a toaster" episode being contrived but nobody really bought into it? Sisko had his girlfriend as a recurring character but that wasn't interesting. Janeway had a hubby. Whee.
