The TNG Movies or a TNG Season 8

[Emperor Norton]

Just curious, if you had a choice between having the TNG films or, in some alternate world, of having a TNG Season 8, which would you choose? In the real world, there was talk of a TNG season 8, but they went with films instead based on growing salaries.

 

[dauntless]

Season 8, but only because I intensely dislike the TNG films.

 

[Lance]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

At the time I think they made absolutely the right call to go to movies, even though IMO they did so far too soon after the show went off the air (I'd have given it a year's respite between the end of the series and the first movie). But with the benefit of hindsight? Knowing what the TNG movies turned out like, a hypothetical 'Season 8' of course seems like a much better proposition.

 

[Tosk]

I'd take an extra season, and I'd have done it then too.

Not only is Trek best when it's on TV, I'll take 26 episodes per year vs a two hour movie every few years every time.

 

[bbjeg]

^Well said. I for one enjoyed the TNG movies (Generations and First Contact are in the top three, with Wrath of Kahn) but I bet a season 8 would have been more fun, and we probably would have gotten the movies after that anyway.

 

[EnriqueH]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

At the time I think they made absolutely the right call to go to movies, even though IMO they did so far too soon after the show went off the air (I'd have given it a year's respite between the end of the series and the first movie). But with the benefit of hindsight? Knowing what the TNG movies turned out like, a hypothetical 'Season 8' of course seems like a much better proposition.

What Lance said. I agree totally.

It made total sense to graduate TNG to the big screen. It still does.

But I don't want to dance around the topic.

Considering the mediocre movie scripts we got, I'd have to go with a Season 8.

Although I *love* *love* looooove First Contact and that's the only reason I wavered for a minute.

 

[Emperor Norton]

From an economic standpoint, the films were the right move. From a story-telling standpoint, not so much. The original cast films had a purpose; it was over a decade since the show was cancelled, those films continued the story, and those films took chances and had the characters change over time. They took risks in that regard. In contrast, the TNG films did none of that, and it was a step down where honestly the characterization was lost and they started to just act either out of character or just like themselves. And the scripts constantly tried to make these aging (no offense) character actors into action stars.

If it had been several years between the end of the series and the first film, things may have been different.

 

[BillJ]

Neither. They were clearly out of gas.

 

[Emperor Norton]

Here's a major problem, space cadets: If TNG continued on another season, that means the writers and assorted production people don't go over to DS9 for at least another year.

 

[Makarov]

Here's a major problem, space cadets: If TNG continued on another season, that means the writers and assorted production people don't go over to DS9 for at least another year.

Still not seeing the problem

I have good memories of seeing the TNG films in theater as a kid so I wouldn't want to change that.

 

[Spectral]

Put me down firmly on the season 8 team. Yeah, the seventh season appeared to be running out of steam, but that doesn't absolutely mean they couldn't have pulled out another good season. They had intended to go for another season, right? Maybe there were some ideas they never got around too because they thought they had more time.

The movies were just not worth stopping early for. Though, with Generations using several TOS cast, I can see why they wanted to get started on it without much more delay. The show is what always felt like the "real" TNG to me, and obviously the movies are canon, they just feel like...something else to me. Just maybe carry less weight, or essence of the universe or something.

 

[EnriqueH]

Here's a major problem, space cadets: If TNG continued on another season, that means the writers and assorted production people don't go over to DS9 for at least another year.

I don't know, man.

I'm watching DS9 Season 1 and I'm enjoying it. (Granted, I'm only 8 or 9 episodes in.)

 

[Emperor Norton]

I'll tell you, the thing that I think really screwed up Season 7 was the "Warp drive is destroying the universe, maaaaaan" thing. You want a global warming stand in; wonderful. But the way you don't do it is to have it be such a way that a mainstay narrative device is destroyed. It's all for the lark of one episode, and it had major ramifications down the line. It was a pain in the butt that had to be mentioned every now and again, and it was in the back of the viewer's mind from then on. And no one wanted to deal with it, hence the whole "Well our warp engines, which totally look the same as before, have been upgraded since then. Dum-de-dum-dum-dum" deal circa Voyager. A season 8 would have to deal with that albatross. That is unless season 7 were at least a wee bit different enough to avoid it, which is possible. A season 7 that looks like the end is different from one that looks like it will be the penultimate season.

 

[Tosk]

hence the whole "Well our warp engines, which totally look the same as before, have been upgraded since then. Dum-de-dum-dum-dum" deal circa Voyager.

Was that ever stated, or just a fan theory?

A season 8 would have to deal with that albatross.

Nah, just ignore it and move on. Just like they did anyway after a few weeks.

 

[BillJ]

Put me down firmly on the season 8 team. Yeah, the seventh season appeared to be running out of steam, but that doesn't absolutely mean they couldn't have pulled out another good season. They had intended to go for another season, right? Maybe there were some ideas they never got around too because they thought they had more time.

If they couldn't come up with four good stories in eight years for the films, what makes you think they could come up with 15-20 (out of 26) in five or six months?

 

[BillJ]

A season 8 would have to deal with that albatross.

Nah, just ignore it and move on. Just like they did anyway after a few weeks.

I simply can't remember it being mentioned again. I remember it was the supposed reason for Voyager having the pivoting warp nacelle pylons. Though I don't think that was mentioned on screen either.

 

[Orphalesion]

As Lance said, hindsight is 20/20. I love TNG but I have to admit that in my eyes it got good in season 3, reached its zenith in season 4 and lost its steam in season 6. I would be happy to sacrifice the movies for a season 8, but not DS9. The last two seasons just seem so....lifeless? They still have good episodes but, there was too much of a routine and "what wacky adventure do we have this week?" if it makes sense I'd say everybody (writers, actors, producers, everyone) seemed "too comfortable" with the nice, easy niche they had carved out for themselves and not willing to experiment too much anymore. The movies were exactly like that, but even more so, particularly with Johnathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis playing themselves instead of their characters half of the time.

 

[Ghrakh]

Put me down firmly on the season 8 team. Yeah, the seventh season appeared to be running out of steam, but that doesn't absolutely mean they couldn't have pulled out another good season. They had intended to go for another season, right? Maybe there were some ideas they never got around too because they thought they had more time.

+1

 

[sonak]

A TNG season 8 would likely have been either as weak or weaker than season 7, which was the weakest TNG seasons since the first one. The writers were running out of gas and places to take the characters. Seven seasons is a long run for a television show. Going to movies was the right call.

 

[Ghrakh]

We can speculate all we want about how "weak" a S8 would have been or not, but we don't need to speculate about the films. Some of my favorite episodes are in S7 while some of my least favorite aren't in S7. I'm not arguing S7 was "strong", what I am saying is that I don't divvy up the show into seasons.

This is all hindsight anyway as has already been pointed out.