"The Good Old Days"

[Computer]

I have watched Star Trek: The Next Generation since it's original airing. FOX, UPN and now Spike have kept TNG on the air every week since its original end, I have seen every episode 3 or 4 times over now and yet I still find myself tuning in every afternoon. Granted I no longer watch every episode but I always keep it on in the background.

Im in my mid 20's now and TNG has become like an old friend, or an old apartment you grew up in. Hearing the lines and seeing 1701-D with her woodgrain finishes, slanted windows and bright lighting actually brings back completely unrelated memories of my childhood, I guess since I watched it loyally every day after school it acts as a trigger to times and places from my earlier years.

I have always enjoyed Sci-Fi but TNG was my first love in Science Fiction.

This is actually one of those little secrets that id only tell to other fans and people I have never met lol

What does TNG do for you?

 

[A beaker full of death]

SINCE YOU ASK...

It makes me itch. We fans of the original had such high hopes when Star Trek came back to TV. We really hoped for something like the original, despite a new cast and a new century.

What we got was two seasons of a pale imitation of the original (though there were some standout episodes). Some good ideas, but horribly handled.

After that the show simply bore no resemblance to the original.

 

[Spider]

Star Trek Darwinism. You either go with it, or you don’t. In any case, it happened.

My suggestion is you only purchase the DVDs you like, and don’t worry about the rest. It isn’t worth getting upset over.

 

[K-Star]

When I was little, and TNG was new, I hated it. Well, I was born during the second season so for the first couple years of my life I didn't really care, but when I became old enough to care about what was on tv, I didn't like it because it made no sense to me and dad watched it all the time (when his shows are on, he won't do anything else, like play with his kids.) I do have some VERY faint memories of TNG. The opening theme was very familiar to me (just like the opening to M*A*S*H), and I could remember what a few of the characters looked like (I think Geordi was the only one I could identify by name, and I always thought Picard was Kirk because he's the captain and I had heard of Captain Kirk before.) I only have a memory of one specific episode which I recently discovered was "The Child." I remember the scene with the light flying through the ship then going inside Troi, and I asked dad what happened. It was a repeat, so he knew what was going on and he told me that she was pregnant now. For a while after that, I seriously thought that that's how people got pregnant: A ball of light (which I thought was a star) came from the sky and entered the mommy's belly.

Later memories of TNG include my dad building an Enterprise-D model that had a detachable saucer. It was sometime after Generations had come out because when the model was finished he showed it to me and said "...And in the movie, the saucer separates, and it crashes down on a planet like this" and he reenacted the saucer crash landing. (I remember not caring much).

Then, last summer, I discovered the Picard song accompanied by a picture of Picard, and that's when I found out the difference between Kirk and Picard. Then this February, I started watching TNG on Youtube just to see what I thought of it, and I was hooked.

 

[Computer]

^^ That is a fairly epic journey to discovering TNG, but atleast you made it.

Of course if I were in your shoes i would have been hooked when dad demonstrated a starship crashing lol

 

[Good Will Riker]

Personally, I prefer the "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" style of the earlier seasons to that of the later ones.

That is my preference, and I firmly stand by it.

 

[WillsBabe]

I remember reading bits and pieces in the press weeks and months before it aired. I hated the look of the new uniforms and the fact that they had headlines like "Mr Spock is a woman!" - referring to Troi. When it first aired I hated it. I hated the first season and was pretty much not interested in the second season, either. If my group of friends hadn't been watching it (by having tapes shipped over from the US by fans there) I wouldn't have watched. But I grew to like it by season 3 and in the end really fell in love with it. The years of TNG were great ones for me for a whole host of reasons. Even though I'm not as crazy about TNG now as once I was I still have massively fond memories of the show, and of course, Will Riker.

 

[sbk1234]

I still have a hard time grasping that it's been 20 years since it began. It doesn't seem that long, but to put it in perspective, that's more than twice the time that TOS was off the air before TMP. And that seemed like a long time.
From the time TNG came on until now, I've graduated college, been in two careers, gotten married, bought two homes, sold one, had three kids, and just took my son to his first sci-fi convention. It amazes me how much my life has changed since TNG first came on.

What always bugged me was when mundanes would see clips of Data and ask "Is he the new Spock?"
Their lack of creativity still makes me shudder!

 

[Noname Given]

sbk1234 said:
I still have a hard time grasping that it's been 20 years since it began. It doesn't seem that long, but to put it in perspective, that's more than twice the time that TOS was off the air before TMP. And that seemed like a long time.
From the time TNG came on until now, I've graduated college, been in two careers, gotten married, bought two homes, sold one, had three kids, and just took my son to his first sci-fi convention. It amazes me how much my life has changed since TNG first came on.

What always bugged me was when mundanes would see clips of Data and ask "Is he the new Spock?"
Their lack of creativity still makes me shudder!

Again, for us 'old timers' (who saw TOS first run); the year TNG came on the air (1987) was 18 years after the cancellation of the original Star Trek series, so perhaps you guys now know how we felt.

 

[Nardpuncher]

I'm a fan due to TOS, but TNG was on from when I was age 14 to age 21.
Anything that's with you through those formative years is going to have an impact. I can still remember things I did on the day that certain epsiodes were on.
I lost my virginity on the afternoon of the day "Relics" was on!

 

[WillCAD]

I was born the year TOS was cancelled - 1969 - so I guess you could say I'm part of the 2nd generation of Trek fans - those who grew up and became fans in the re-run era between TOS and TMP.

I, too, had high hopes for TNG when it was announced, but I was sorely dissapointed in most of S1. Still, there were a few standout episodes and a few standout characters and concepts (notably the excellent Heart of Glory and the standout comedy of Majel as Lwaxana Troi). But overall I was dissapointed in S1 and didn't think the series was long for this Earth, as the saying goes.

S2 turned things aorund about 160 degrees. In S2 the actors became far more relaxed in their roles, more comfortable with the concepts and the pervasive technobabble, and most importantly - the writing improved immeasurably. In S2 we got such sci-fi stand-outs as Loud as a Whisper, The Measure of a Man, The Dauphin, Time Squared, and the holiest of TNG holies, the introduction of the Borg in Q Who? S2 got better and better as the season wore on, giving me great hope for the longevity of the show, not to mention the fact that I genuinely enjoyed almost every episode.

But it was S3 that completed the 180-degree turnaround. TNG S3 still stands out for me as the best season of the show's entire run, with episodes that showcased great drama, comedy, high-concept sci-fi what-ifs, and exciting action. And best of all, S3 saw a resurgence of a Trek staple - the morality play that posed "Is this the right thing to do?" questions to the main characters, sometimes answering them, and sometimes leaving it to us to figure out for ourselves.

S3 was the turning point for me, too - it was where I started liking TNG more than TOS. S3 allowed the writers, directors, and actors of TNG to stretch themselves, let the show find its own identity unique from TOS, and step out from Kirk's shadow into their own spotlight. A Beaker Full of Death is correct - with S3, TNG stopped trying to be a pale imitation of TOS and established itself as a unique, exciting, fascinating, and confident show, with its own recurring characters, its own villains, its own history and backstory, and its own two legs that kept running and running.

TNG is still my favorite of the 5 series. Oh, I watched them and truly liked them all, and I appreciated each shows unique identity, but somehow none of them ever caught the lightning in a bottle feeling that TNG did when it premiered after an 18-year drought of Trek TV.

Maybe in a few years a new Trek series will premier, with some distance from the previous series, that will capture that same, "We're on own own now!" feeling, but until then, TNG is the definitive Trek for me.

 

[patlandness]

I became a Trek fan back in '91. During the darkest period of my life, Trek (TNG in particular) was there like a life preserver for my sanity. The basic moral goodness of the stories, the optimism and the CONVICTION behind that optimism, helped sustain in the same way people turn to organized religion for comfort.

Jean-Luc Picard was, is, and always will be my favorite fictional hero.

I'm a hardcore TNGer--and though I tend to get defensive about it sometimes because its become hip and trendy to slag off this fine show (if you ever read my posts), I appreciate the other shows too. But Next Gen is my favorite (almost tying with The Original Series).

 

[THIRTY OF FORTY]

I got into TNG in late season 6 and...OH MY GOD...what I was missing. Soon I bought the TNG Companion so I could understand it a little better and I was completely sadden when it ended just a year later. Of course, I caught up with the rest in reruns and it's still my favorite tv show of all time...and I watch a LOT of them.
It truly has a special place in my heart.

 

[T'Cal]

patlandness said: Jean-Luc Picard was, is, and always will be my favorite fictional hero.

Mine as well. My bro-in-law had seen a few of the first episodes of TNG and recommended it to me. With skepticism, I watched it. As a kid, I liked TOS but saw it as hammy and almost comical as I got older. TNG unfortunately had some of that early on but I continued to watch and saw it transform into my favorite sci-fi series. I saw Picard become the consumate leader. A handful of years ago, while in my late 30's, I returned to school to earn a bachelor's degree in behavioral sciences and I often referenced his style when describing a successful manager and mentor in my papers. Additionally, my profession is para-military in nature and, especially when dealing with personnel issues, I often consider what that character might do as a supervisor in such a situation; it's been very successful. Lastly, while preparing for my last promotion to the next rank, I read the leadership book "Make It So" to help with the assessment center that was to be part of the selection process. Taking the traits that the author recommended and implementing them into my responses to the assessors' questions helped me to place number one on the list. I was promoted nine months later. It's a great read beyond the self-help stuff, too.

 

[Jon1701]

I rememeber watching a trailer for TNG on a rented copy of TVH from the video shop - must have been back in 1988. Encounter At Farpoint came out a couple of weeks later and I was the first to rent it (hadn't aired on TV yet in the UK at this point).

As a 10 year old kid, I must have watched it at least 3 or 4 times straight through and I loved it.

Still love it. TNG and TOS (I remember watching TOS as a 3 year old child) are my 2 favorite shows of all time.

Cant split em'.

 

[Spider]

jon1701 said:
Still love it. TNG and TOS (I remember watching TOS as a 3 year old child) are my 2 favorite shows of all time.

Cant split em'.

Hands down, my two favorite Treks. :thumbsup:

 

[BriGuy]

A beaker full of death said:
SINCE YOU ASK...

It makes me itch. We fans of the original had such high hopes when Star Trek came back to TV. We really hoped for something like the original, despite a new cast and a new century.

What we got was two seasons of a pale imitation of the original (though there were some standout episodes). Some good ideas, but horribly handled.

After that the show simply bore no resemblance to the original.

... and became a huge, outstanding, and unmitigated success...

It's been off the air - and out of the theaters - for how long now? Let it go, man. Please. This can't be good for your blood pressure... or your hernia... or your lower intestine...

Me, I grew up with TOS in syndication and the movies. In 87, I was 15/16 years old. Watched and loved it from Encounter at Far Point. After getting the typical nerd treatment in high school for being a "Trekkie," I was happy to find other Trek fans at college, and have fond memories of the dorm TV lounges always being full to watch TNG and, later, DS9.

 

[A beaker full of death]

BriGuy said:

A beaker full of death said:
...
After that the show simply bore no resemblance to the original.

... and became a huge, outstanding, and unmitigated success...

It's been off the air - and out of the theaters - for how long now? Let it go, man. Please. This can't be good for your blood pressure...

Let what go? The poster asked a question. I know most people consider the seasons after season 2 to be better. That's not the issue. All I said was that after season 2 it was no longer trying to be what the original was. In that, it succeeded.

 

[Mutai Sho-Rin]

I first encountered Science Fiction (or SF, NOT SciFi) in a copy of "Have Space Suit Will Travel" by Robert Heinlein on the library shelf in 1957. I was 11. By the time TOS launched in 1966 I was well steeped in SF of the 50s and 60s. TOS was interesting and, in many ways, a breakthrough but I could hardly stand Shatner's hammy Kirk.

Whan TNG aired in '87, I refused to watch. The hopelessly derivative "The Next Generation" title made we want to puke. Then a trusted friend convinced me to watch "just one episode. It was "The Measure of a Man". The rest is history. TNG ranks slightly ahead of ENT followed closely by DS9. In fact, if it hadn't been for the dreadful thread with Kai Winn hooking up with the surgically altered Dukat, DS9 might ave captured the #2 spot.

The only thing that has ever exceeded TNG as my favorite series of all time is Babylon 5. Early in the second season, that rose to the top where it remains to this day. It isthe only series of which I own the whole thing on DVD. The only thing I watch today with any regularity is House.

 

[shatastrophic]

Babylon 5 is not even in the same ball park as trek, well except for enterprise. TNG and DS9 are the best science fiction shows tv has offered. TOS is in there also. There would be no babylon 5 if it weren't for TOS. TOS proved there was an audience for science fiction to begin with. I've watched Babylon 5, it's a good show. However i associate it with the stargate shows and any other thing the sci fi channel will drege up to play, it had ok special effects, ok plot lines, ok characters, but thats it, just "ok". Maybe my love for trek made my opinions what they are, and they are just opinions. I'm not trying to bash, everyone has the shows they like. But i agree with the poster of this thread that TNG is like an old friend and does remind me of where i was the first time i watched it when i catch the episodes on spike. Oh and by the way I love House too, it's great.