Season 1 Themes

[the_wildcard]

Been revisiting a few episodes here and there of Season 1 and I guess I've been noticing some interesting things.

1) Picard seems to be more "personable" in the first season. He does not seem to be as cold or the constant professional as he does pretty much in the other seasons. His character definately shows alot more emotion.

2) The Picard-Crusher romantic subplot appears in several episodes, much more than I noticied in my previous viewings. What's unfortunate is that these subplots pretty much dissappear until season 7.

Agree/disagree?

 

[Jon1701]

Been revisiting a few episodes here and there of Season 1 and I guess I've been noticing some interesting things.

1) Picard seems to be more "personable" in the first season. He does not seem to be as cold or the constant professional as he does pretty much in the other seasons. His character definately shows alot more emotion.

Really? I would say the other way around. He starts to warm around "The Battle" and that continues through "Skin of Evil". He's only really cold in the first few episodes where he seems to shout at Wesley quite a lot.

2) The Picard-Crusher romantic subplot appears in several episodes, much more than I noticied in my previous viewings. What's unfortunate is that these subplots pretty much dissappear until season 7.

It does, but thats why they binned Crusher off in Season 2. They thought she would just end up as Picard's girlfriend - they didn't really try to develop her character any further. When she came back she was a much stronger character IMO and although it was nice to see them get a bit closer in season 7, I always found romances on TNG a bit icky. Worf and Troi even more so.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

I always found romances on TNG a bit icky. Worf and Troi even more so.

Take that back, Worf/Troi was awesome!

 

[Jon1701]

I always found romances on TNG a bit icky. Worf and Troi even more so.

Take that back, Worf/Troi was awesome!

Dude, it was so wrong.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

^ Particularly after Worf's comment about needing "Klingon women" for the "safety" of his partners.

In any case, I think Picard's character was very rough around the edges in terms of portrayal. There are a few scenes in Encounter At Farpoint where Stewart is downright wooden and mechanical in his performance. In some early episodes he was overly emotive. But as the season progresses, he finds a much better consistency.

All of which is the long way of saying, I don't think the changes in Picard's character are so much a theme as they are simply an actor finding the right familiarity with the role.

 

[Jon1701]

^ Particularly after Worf's comment about needing "Klingon women" for the "safety" of his partners.

Indeed.

One suspects he never got past first base either. Dax could barely walk the day after they got together - I never saw Troi limping through the ship with a black eye.

 

[the_wildcard]

2) The Picard-Crusher romantic subplot appears in several episodes, much more than I noticied in my previous viewings. What's unfortunate is that these subplots pretty much dissappear until season 7.

It does, but thats why they binned Crusher off in Season 2. They thought she would just end up as Picard's girlfriend - they didn't really try to develop her character any further. When she came back she was a much stronger character IMO and although it was nice to see them get a bit closer in season 7, I always found romances on TNG a bit icky. Worf and Troi even more so.

Yeah the Worf and Troi relationship was ehhhhh questionable. I did and still do, however, like the Crusher and Picard relationship. It's a shame it didn't get developed. But I guess that would sorta go against the theme of TNG, where each episode was pretty much a self contained story with little or no carry over from the past episode.

 

[TS-1838-SWATH]

I always found romances on TNG a bit icky. Worf and Troi even more so.

Take that back, Worf/Troi was awesome!

Dude, it was so wrong.

Well Riker/Troi was too Cookie Cutter

 

[Nardpuncher]

I haven't seen any of the 1st season episodes in more than 10 years, but I seem to remember Picard being quite the hard-nosed commander near the beginning.
I also remember Data getting too much weird crap and dirty looks from people for rather innocuous things. Nothing specific, but Data would use an idiom the wrong way and Geordi or Crusher would act like he just used a racial epithet or something.

 

[BolianAuthor]

Been revisiting a few episodes here and there of Season 1 and I guess I've been noticing some interesting things.

1) Picard seems to be more "personable" in the first season. He does not seem to be as cold or the constant professional as he does pretty much in the other seasons. His character definately shows alot more emotion.

2) The Picard-Crusher romantic subplot appears in several episodes, much more than I noticied in my previous viewings. What's unfortunate is that these subplots pretty much dissappear until season 7.

Agree/disagree?

I very much agree... Season One also showed us a LOT more of the whole "families on the ship" aspect, which is something GR wanted to convey.

 

[plynch]

Picard: more of a person, but less personable (meaning cheerful). He has more personality than later. Grumpier, fo sho, but also (I just started watching in order) some quiet, almost vulnerable moments with Riker and Crusher.

[Re. Worf/Troi: lame. A slow day in the writer's room. "Hey let's have two characters fall in love. Data, no. How about Worf aand . . ."

Riker/Troi IIRC were supposed to embody GR's "enlightened" Imzadi concept: friends/lovers, but not tied down or official. (That GR was such a swingin' cat, hey?) Then Nemesis wimped out and married them.]