New to TNG

[Alexiad]

Kind of nervous joining an established Trek community and Im a noob not only to forum posting but Star Trek as well.
As the header goes, I wanted to start a thread for anyone new (like me) not only to share their experience but also to get some advice from anyone willing to suffer through the ear-pangs of- dare I say it? “The birth of a Trekkie?” Anyone new like me?

So, a little background:
Watched Star Trek on and off growing up and watched some of the movies (I think for series it was Voyager, a little of The Next Generation and a little of Enterprise. Movies: The wrath of Khan and one with a whale…). It was never something I thought might have been important to watch in chronological order and nor did I watch long enough to grasp their was any order- thats how on and off it was XD.
Boy, was I informed LOL, and yes- not only was I told watching the shows would take years even if I took off from work for a month and binge watched my way through the stars…

It was suggested that I could: 1) watch it as it aired on television/came out of theaters, 2) watch it in chronological order according to time-line within the show and ignore graphics for older-yet developed first series or 3) I could do what I sometimes have a tendency of doing and jump into the chaos of it all and figure whats what (which if I were to judge from a friend’s tone, is not really the way to go)

Going with option two.
Star Trek The Next Generation (currently watching): on season one, episode 19 ‘Heart of Glory’ (see… it took that long to finally post something! I’m somewhat shy :P and a friend said part Klingon also… after watching this episode... hhmm passionate!).

QUESTION to the experienced:Okay… I don’t get something here it’s been a question thats been lingering at the back of my mind. The Enterprise is captained by Starfleet personnel, seems militaristic and all. I’m assuming everyone on the Bridge is important, top of their class (the A team) so why do they always put themselves in danger and go on missions instead of sending *eerrmm* fodder? Is there something in the future of the series/show that explains this?

Alex

 

[The Old Mixer]

That's a conceit of the show that goes back to the original series in the 60s...the main characters have to be the center of the action, even if there might be a more practical approach...if they didn't put themselves at risk, there wouldn't be much of a show.

If you like Season 1 of TNG (generally considered its weakest), just wait until you get to Season 3+.

And welcome aboard!

 

[Alexiad]

And welcome aboard!

Thank you so much.

I admittedly skipped ahead (curious by another poster's topic on TNG Season 5, Episode 21- The Perfect Mate) I just watched it! Now I'm excited about watching more of TNG if the rest to come is comparable!

Alex

 

[Beta-Z]

Welcome aboard!

TNG is awesome, especially from season 3 onwards.
That's how i got addicted to Star Trek some 20+ years ago.

Have a good time with the show and here with us.

 

[Lance]

Kind of nervous joining an established Trek community and Im a noob not only to forum posting but Star Trek as well.
As the header goes, I wanted to start a thread for anyone new (like me) not only to share their experience but also to get some advice from anyone willing to suffer through the ear-pangs of- dare I say it? “The birth of a Trekkie?” Anyone new like me?

So, a little background:
Watched Star Trek on and off growing up and watched some of the movies (I think for series it was Voyager, a little of The Next Generation and a little of Enterprise. Movies: The wrath of Khan and one with a whale…). It was never something I thought might have been important to watch in chronological order and nor did I watch long enough to grasp their was any order- thats how on and off it was XD.
Boy, was I informed LOL, and yes- not only was I told watching the shows would take years even if I took off from work for a month and binge watched my way through the stars…

It was suggested that I could: 1) watch it as it aired on television/came out of theaters, 2) watch it in chronological order according to time-line within the show and ignore graphics for older-yet developed first series or 3) I could do what I sometimes have a tendency of doing and jump into the chaos of it all and figure whats what (which if I were to judge from a friend’s tone, is not really the way to go)

Going with option two.
Star Trek The Next Generation (currently watching): on season one, episode 19 ‘Heart of Glory’ (see… it took that long to finally post something! I’m somewhat shy :P and a friend said part Klingon also… after watching this episode... hhmm passionate!).

QUESTION to the experienced:Okay… I don’t get something here it’s been a question thats been lingering at the back of my mind. The Enterprise is captained by Starfleet personnel, seems militaristic and all. I’m assuming everyone on the Bridge is important, top of their class (the A team) so why do they always put themselves in danger and go on missions instead of sending *eerrmm* fodder? Is there something in the future of the series/show that explains this?

Alex

Hi Alex, welcome to The Trek BBS, I hope you like it here.

In addressing that last question, as others have said it's kind of a tradition of the original 1960s series, and kind of an accepted convention in TV shows more generally. Because as an audience, we expect to see our main characters doing all the 'hero' stuff (for example, how many times do we see regular beat detectives in cop shows investigating murders, when in real-life that would be the job of a specialized team brought in from outside?). But to its credit, TNG actually tried to avert this concept somewhat: in the original Star Trek, the Captain beamed down to every planet and involved himself in every situation, but TNG tried to aboid that by splitting that role off to the First Officer (Commander Riker), whose job it was to lead the away teams on the planet while the Captain stayed safely aboard the ship. Of course, this wasn't always observed in every single episode.....

 

[USS Triumphant]

It has occurred to me that perhaps most of the crew work in specialized fields, and so Lt. Sanders (random name) only beams down when the mission actually calls for a Xeno-orinthologist (or whatever her specialty is). There aren't really that many COMMAND crew aboard, and one of them pretty much always has to command an away team.

Then again, it has also occurred to me that a ship that operates 24 hours a day should really have either 3 or 4 shifts worth of command crew, so take all of this with a grain of salt.

 

[wulfio]

Welcome to TNG. Wish I could watch it all for the first time again too!

I'd say it's only relevant in any regard to watch tng and ds9 in chronological order. The others, it's not so much of a big deal since there's no crossovers in them really. And what voyager is doing, and what ds9 is doing have no bearing on each other.

 

[JesterFace]

Don't read too much spoilers from the board until you've seen the series...

 

[Melakon]

I started with TOS in 1966, and was taping TNG the night it first aired. "Heart of Glory" was perhaps the first episode I really liked, and a large part of that is due to Vaughn Armstrong as the main Klingon, Korris.
Armstrong eventually became one of the most reliable and versatile guest stars for the franchise.

 

[Lance]

It has occurred to me that perhaps most of the crew work in specialized fields, and so Lt. Sanders (random name) only beams down when the mission actually calls for a Xeno-orinthologist (or whatever her specialty is). There aren't really that many COMMAND crew aboard, and one of them pretty much always has to command an away team.

Then again, it has also occurred to me that a ship that operates 24 hours a day should really have either 3 or 4 shifts worth of command crew, so take all of this with a grain of salt.

One thing I very much liked about the Star Trek Voyager videogame 'Elite Force' was the concept of the ship having a "hazard team", basically specialists whose entire job is to be the away team in extreme danger situations. While I can see why that wouldn't work for television (unless the show was wholely about the Hazard Team itself), it's a nice idea that doesn't preclude the possibility of regular crew going on missions, but leaves them far away from the really danger packed ones.

 

[bbjeg]

I personally like watching the series chronologically.

 

[VST]

Truthfully, I would skip a lot of S1 & S2 because it's really quite naff - trying to forge its own identity with TOS-style stories using characters/actors who don't fit that shows tone; there are a few notable exceptions, but on the whole it's not great TV.

S3 is where it really starts to feel like its own show, it starts to mature & by the time you get to 'The Best of Both Worlds', well… it never got better than that.

 

[Alexiad]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome, the tips and the suggestions!

Don't read too much spoilers from the board until you've seen the series...

Yes! It does make navigating the board somewhat difficult and limiting. I find myself having tunnel vision for a few threads and avoiding the rest.

Alex

 

[Tom]

Spoilers? Like everyone dies at the end of Season 1 and all the crew are clones from there on... Nah just kidding LOL

 

[wulfio]

Truthfully, I would skip a lot of S1 & S2 because it's really quite naff - trying to forge its own identity with TOS-style stories using characters/actors who don't fit that shows tone; there are a few notable exceptions, but on the whole it's not great TV.

S3 is where it really starts to feel like its own show, it starts to mature & by the time you get to 'The Best of Both Worlds', well… it never got better than that.

They're generally not the greatest. But I wouldn't just skip them. I still think they need to be seen, if only once. Even in the bad episodes they still have their charm, like special moments in Data's growth and journey to understand humanity. Without those earlier seasons, you just get an incomplete picture of the series.

 

[VST]

I do concede that I always watch every episode of a series, even when people suggest I skip stuff, so that's a fair point - if you watch S1/S2, you can at least debate the quality of them down the line.

 

[Endgame]

Wow! I posted as a newbie on the TNG section earlier. I am watching TNG much for the first time. Already have VHS copies of "The Best of Both Worlds" and maybe seen it at least twice. Saw other shows from time to time. Watching TNG on Netflix right now. Much for first time. Read around 200 Star Trek novels and most of the TNG novels. Have the TOS and TAS and ENT dvds. Have much to do. But I only recently watched "Haven" for the first time and will continue gradually. Good to know that it gets better later.

 

[Trekker4747]

It's probably important to keep in mind we're only seeing the more interesting moments and missions that the Enterprise had, there's probably countless, mundane, missions and explorations the ship goes on that the underlings on the ship get to be a party too especially if their field of expertise happens to be relevant.

But for the series, we see those missions or cases where the experience and talents of our main characters was needed.

 

[Finn]

Welcome. Be careful browsing around here as people don't bother to warn about spoilers as the show ended 20 years ago.

But have fun

 

[wulfio]

Wow! I posted as a newbie on the TNG section earlier. I am watching TNG much for the first time. Already have VHS copies of "The Best of Both Worlds" and maybe seen it at least twice. Saw other shows from time to time. Watching TNG on Netflix right now. Much for first time. Read around 200 Star Trek novels and most of the TNG novels. Have the TOS and TAS and ENT dvds. Have much to do. But I only recently watched "Haven" for the first time and will continue gradually. Good to know that it gets better later.

What are those?

 

[gottacook]

Via listentoamovie.com, I'm currently listening to an episode I've seen several times since it originally aired: "Q Who" from the middle of season 2. In the fullness of time I've grown to consider this the best episode of the first two seasons, and not just because it's the harbinger of "The Best of Both Worlds" or because John De Lancie is given many of his best-ever lines as Q. It also doesn't include a role for the ship's chief medical officer, which is nice for those who don't enjoy the Pulaski character even if otherwise they're fans of Diana Muldaur (as I am). Some of the best music of the series, too.