DevilintheDark
Lieutenant
I like the first season. I actually think several of the episodes are almost remakes of TOS episodes.
The Next Generation Season 1
- Thread starter BillJ
- Start date
How is "Angel One" PC-male bashing? I can think of many things to criticise that episode for, but I don't see that one.
Good Will Riker
Admiral
Instead of writing a proper episode that examines what it is like to see a true matriarchal society, the writers masculinized the women and made them act "butch," while they feminized the men and made them act "gayish" complete with perfume and fashion runway costumes.
You can actually have women acting and behaving like women and men acting and behaving like men in a matriarchal society, such as the Phillipines.
I just didn't buy this episode. It went out of its way to make a statement, but kept bashing your over the head with it saying "WE ARE WOMEN...HEAR US ROAR!" while making the men into demure pussies who are all quivering cowards...show some "sass" will you guys? Even when women's suffrage was not in vogue back in Earth's 19th century, women put up more of a fight than that!
Plus, the episode made Riker look weak when he could have used that opportunity in the bedroom to school Beata by teaching her that it is the man who is on top or better yet...this could have been that one single time where a woman 1-upped Riker in the seduction department by dominating him. Unfortunately, he was "blocked" before any of that could actually happen.
Definitely underrated, and people forget, STNG season 1 had double the avg ratings of DS9!
RAMA
That episode certainly used a 1930s/40s serial or horrible 1950s sci-fi approach to a matriarchal society-- i.e. big, burly Amazon types and sissy males. "Angel One" gave us nothing more than Amazon Woman on Angel One.
Just more evidence that high ratings doesn't necessarily mean high quality.
I agree. Just finished watching CoH again, there's hardly another TNG episode I can think of that feels more like TOS.
"You're the Captain, Sir, you're entitled."
"Hmm, I'm entitled to ramble on about something everyone knows."
Not necessarily! STNG season one boasted 7 Emmy Nominations, 3 wins, and a "prestigious" Peabody Award. On top of that, STNG's ratings continued to grow throughout the series! All this means is, it was already good and got better!
RAMA
I just watched 'Farpoint' first episode. Very good!
The story was a little cheesy but in a good way. As was mentioned, its an 80's thing and i like the simplicity of it. I didn't know that Picard was so uptight when he started out as Captain. My favorite part was Q and all the escapades with him in the ship and at the mock trial. I liked some of the ship design and noticed even on the DVD interface. Something about that look that i like. I didn't care for the manskirts. I think that was the only negative.
The story was a little cheesy but in a good way. As was mentioned, its an 80's thing and i like the simplicity of it. I didn't know that Picard was so uptight when he started out as Captain. My favorite part was Q and all the escapades with him in the ship and at the mock trial. I liked some of the ship design and noticed even on the DVD interface. Something about that look that i like. I didn't care for the manskirts. I think that was the only negative.
As someone else has already stated, Season 1 was TNG's teething phase. It was still heavily influenced by TOS as it hadn't really carved out its own identity yet. Space seemed vaster and more dangerous, but the sets and SFX were also cruder and a lot of the central concepts of the 24th century Trek universe hadn't been properly formulated yet. It was a fascinating season, but not the best.
I thought season 1 was better than most people talk about it, but in my opinion it was still the worst season. Here is how I rated each episode (only the season finale falls in the "A" range):
Encounter at Farpoint - C+
The Naked Now - D-
Code of Honor - D-
The Last Outpost - C+
Where No One Has Gone Before - D-
Lonely Among Us - C
Justice - F
The Battle - C+
Hide and Q - C
Haven - C+
The Big Goodbye - C
Datalore - B-
Angel One - D-
11001001 - B
Too Short a Season - C+
When the Bough Breaks - F
Home Soil - B-
Coming of Age - C
Heart of Glory - B
The Arsenal of Freedom - B
Symbiosis - B-
Skin of Evil - B
We'll Always Have Paris - F
Conspiracy - B
The Neutral Zone - A-
Encounter at Farpoint - C+
The Naked Now - D-
Code of Honor - D-
The Last Outpost - C+
Where No One Has Gone Before - D-
Lonely Among Us - C
Justice - F
The Battle - C+
Hide and Q - C
Haven - C+
The Big Goodbye - C
Datalore - B-
Angel One - D-
11001001 - B
Too Short a Season - C+
When the Bough Breaks - F
Home Soil - B-
Coming of Age - C
Heart of Glory - B
The Arsenal of Freedom - B
Symbiosis - B-
Skin of Evil - B
We'll Always Have Paris - F
Conspiracy - B
The Neutral Zone - A-
I'll add that TNG's first season is better than most of the subsequent series' first seasons, even DSN, which also had an awkward first season, but esp. superior to ENT's first season. As noted, it's a mixed bag, with some truly awful eps like Home Soil, which to me is even worse than Code of Honor, which I liked the first time I watched it, but then grew to despise on subsequent viewings. -- RR
Just watched 'The Last Outpost'. They could've called it, 'Meet the Ferengis'. I agree that 'Naked Now' is a grade lower then Farpoint (the worst so far). I liked 'Code of Honor' a little better. Look forward to 'The Neutral Zone'.
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DS9 IMO had a better 2 hour series premiere.
TNG's Encounter at Farpoint was perhaps barely slightly better than average, but Emissary was probably the best series premiere of all the Trek episodes.
I agree Deep Space 9's first season was weak, but you did have the excellent episode "Duet" plus the series premiere.
I would agree and give the first season win to TNG.
Surefire:
Yes, Emissary is certainly a great series premiere, the best of the modern Trek shows. As a spin-off series, it also has the lead from the previous series make a good appearance. However, I'm old school, so I'll match it with The Cage any day!
Red Ranger
Good Will Riker
Admiral
I am going to rank the following:
Best 1st season overall:
1.) TOS
2.) TNG
3.) VOY
4.) DS9
5.) ENT
Best 1st season premiere episode:
1.) DS9 "Emissary"
2.) VOY "Caretaker"
3.) ENT "Broken Bow"
4.) TNG "Encounter at Farpoint"
5.) TOS "The Man Trap"
Best pilot episode:
1.) "The Cage"
2.) "The Emissary"
3.) "Where No Man Has Gone Before"
4.) "Caretaker"
5.) "Broken Bow"
6.) "Encounter at Farpoint"
Best 1st season finale:
1.) TNG - "The Neutral Zone"
2.) DS9 - "In the Hands of the Prophets"
3.) TOS - "Operation -- Annihilate!"
4.) VOY - "Learning Curve"
5.) ENT - "Shockwave, Part I"
Best 1st season overall:
1.) TOS
2.) TNG
3.) VOY
4.) DS9
5.) ENT
Best 1st season premiere episode:
1.) DS9 "Emissary"
2.) VOY "Caretaker"
3.) ENT "Broken Bow"
4.) TNG "Encounter at Farpoint"
5.) TOS "The Man Trap"
Best pilot episode:
1.) "The Cage"
2.) "The Emissary"
3.) "Where No Man Has Gone Before"
4.) "Caretaker"
5.) "Broken Bow"
6.) "Encounter at Farpoint"
Best 1st season finale:
1.) TNG - "The Neutral Zone"
2.) DS9 - "In the Hands of the Prophets"
3.) TOS - "Operation -- Annihilate!"
4.) VOY - "Learning Curve"
5.) ENT - "Shockwave, Part I"
Some first season episodes are still amongst my favourite epoisodes overall:
Skin of Evil
Big Goodbye
Heart of Glory
11001001
I even like Angel One!And I'm not afraid to admit it.
That's beautiful, WllsBauble -- I'm moved like the ocean, tossed like the sea! Certainly, there are worse eps in season one than Angel One. But the '80s Heather Locklear hairstyles of the Femizons, and the ridiculous effeminate male outfits, just make that ep even more ludicrous. It's like a bad '80s music video! The one part I liked is when Yar objects to the outfit Riker has to wear to meet Beata (sp?) and he lists the different outfits he's had to wear on other first contact missions to meet other leaders, like furs and feathers! -- RR
I spent too many Saturday afternoons as a kid watching Princess Ardala's attempts to dominate Buck Rogers to not appreciate Beata's attempts to do the same to Riker all those years later.Agree
Here is my order, a little different:
Best 1st season premiere episode (I HATED "Broken Bow" with a passion):
1.) DS9 "Emissary"
2.) VOY "Caretaker"
3) TNG "Encounter at Farpoint"
4.) TOS "The Man Trap"
5.) ENT "Broken Bow"
Agreed
Finally, here is how I rank the series's as a whole: (looking at every season):
1. DS9
2. TNG
3. TOS
4. VOY
5. ENT
For all practical purposes, I consider DS9 and TNG tied, but since DS9 had an arc that made it more long-term compelling, I give it the nod. Both series were by far my favorite.
I liked TOS overall.
Disliked Voyager
HATED ENT
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