Those Hilarious TNG TV-Previews

[JohnLuckPickard]

All I ever had on Video or DVD was the Star Trek movies, but just recently I got to buy a season of the remastered TNG Blu Rays. They include those awefully cheesy TV-Previews that I never got to see on german TV (not even on "American Forces Network" - a program for american soldiers stationed in germany). And actually I am laughing my butt off when I watch them today.

It's because of the way the narrator speaks and emphasises certain words

"An unknown force has taken over the Enterprise, Find out on
Staaaaaaaaar Trek - thenextgeneration."

Were they on the older DVDs as well? Man, that would have been a reason to buy them back then. And who saw them in the old days, when they came on TV? Actually I don't know if I would have ever watched the actual show if I had seen a preview like that.

 

[tharpdevenport]

I used to see those back when the show was still going. they were terrible then, and they're worse now. What's mroe damning, however, is they were dated and cheesey even when they were doing them.

they were like some of those awful promos for drama TV shows back in the 1970's/early 1980's.


I have on VHS somewhere, an early commercial for Voyager; about a year before it aired a commercial came on letting us know, those not in the know who didn't even know it was even happening, made up of scenes from TNG[/b] and I think some brief shots from D.S.9., with the same voiceover guy, but not quite as cheesey, though it has cheese. As I recall it was set to music from James Newton Howard's score to "The Fugitive". Imagine my disappointment when the series turned out to not be as exciting or good as the cheesey promo.

 

[JohnLuckPickard]

Oh dear. I mean, I have seen BAD things on german TV (eg a female announcer who totally mispronounced the name Darth Vader in 1990... when you would think that everybody on the planet had heard that name once). But those previews surpass that easily.

Glad you also found them bad back in the days. It would have shattered my faith in humanity if that was ever considered a good form of preview.
Never knew there was something like that for voyager, either.

 

[urbandefault]

Ernie Anderson was a great announcer and VO guy. Not in the same class as an iconic voice like Don LaFontaine, but he definitely had a style all his own.

Ernie was probably better known for "The Loooove Boat" but he did a ton of ABC shows and promos back in the day.

"Data ... an annnnndrooooid" still cracks me up.

 

[Melakon]

Yeah, Ernie certainly put the energy into what he did, but his style just wasn't quite right for Star Trek.

A quote by his friend, comedian Tim Conway, from Wikipedia:

"He was working at WHK radio and was at a Christmas party. So he was telling this long elaborate joke and just as he's about to deliver the punch line his boss cuts in and says it. So Ernie looks at him and says, 'Why did you do you that?' And his boss says, 'I anticipated it.' So Ernie said, 'Anticipate this' and tells him '(expletive) yourself.' Well, Ernie got fired."

 

[JohnLuckPickard]

"Data ... an annnnndrooooid" still cracks me up.

Though I never heard the actual sentense spoken, I can imagine by now how it must have sounded like- muahahaha

 

[Unicron]

Have you seen the very early test footage that cropped up some time ago? Thankfully some of the main cast didn't look like this in the series.

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lvG0jm0B5Y[/yt]

 

[The Old Mixer]

I remember those promos loved to include the most annoyingly screechy Troi lines. Some of them are burned in my brain and make me wince when I hear them in the actual episodes.

"Data ... an annnnndrooooid" still cracks me up.

Though I never heard the actual sentense spoken, I can imagine by now how it must have sounded like- muahahaha

Imagine no more...the 24th century starts now:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ6NIuaTWjU[/yt]

 

[JohnLuckPickard]

This is beyond cheesy. It is so cheesy, it's awesome

 

[Melakon]

When TOS was in first run, I remember one announcer voice-over after the main title that I don't think I ever heard again. After the opening credits, he softly said "Staaaaaaar Trek. Brought to you by..." and then the cut to commercial.

 

[wulfio]

Personally I miss those TV promo's from the 80's and early 90's, from any show. It was so campy; such a simpler time.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I used to see those back when the show was still going. they were terrible then, and they're worse now. What's mroe damning, however, is they were dated and cheesey even when they were doing them.

they were like some of those awful promos for drama TV shows back in the 1970's/early 1980's.


I have on VHS somewhere, an early commercial for Voyager; about a year before it aired a commercial came on letting us know, those not in the know who didn't even know it was even happening, made up of scenes from TNG[/b] and I think some brief shots from D.S.9., with the same voiceover guy, but not quite as cheesey, though it has cheese. As I recall it was set to music from James Newton Howard's score to "The Fugitive". Imagine my disappointment when the series turned out to not be as exciting or good as the cheesey promo.

Is this what you are talking about
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymIuu8T2Tog[/yt]

 

[TV's Frank]

I used to see those back when the show was still going. they were terrible then, and they're worse now. What's mroe damning, however, is they were dated and cheesey even when they were doing them.

they were like some of those awful promos for drama TV shows back in the 1970's/early 1980's.


I have on VHS somewhere, an early commercial for Voyager; about a year before it aired a commercial came on letting us know, those not in the know who didn't even know it was even happening, made up of scenes from TNG[/b] and I think some brief shots from D.S.9., with the same voiceover guy, but not quite as cheesey, though it has cheese. As I recall it was set to music from James Newton Howard's score to "The Fugitive". Imagine my disappointment when the series turned out to not be as exciting or good as the cheesey promo.

Is this what you are talking about

The music used in most of this promo is actually from Basil Poledouris' score for THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER and not Howard's THE FUGITIVE, but I can understand the similarities.

 

[WillsBabe]

I used to love these trailers. Really made me excited to anticipate the new episodes, back in the day.

 

[GeorgeKirk]

The thing I remember most about those promos is that my mom would use them to decide whether or not we would be allowed to watch the next week's episode.

For example, the promo for the Season 2 opener "The Child" mentioned that Deanna Troi was pregnant and asked "Who is the father?" My mom took this to mean that the episode was about Deanna trying to find out who knocked her up because she'd slept with every guy on the ship, so we were not allowed to watch it. (Not that we were missing much, this being Season 2 and all)

 

[Leviathan]

You've got to wonder about poor sack who proposed they drop em...someone must have...

"Uh, can we drop these promos? They're going to watch anyhow.."

"Jenkins, you idiot... promos are what draw in fans! We must have them!"

"But it's a series that fans nagged us tirelessly to put back on, has whole conventions dedicated to it, and has a bigger following than most small nations...so long as we don't piss them off..."

"Imagine how many more fans will come for the promos! Now, about this script for 'Sub Rosa', needs more masturbation..."

 

[tomalak301]

I loved the promos then and I still love them now. They are part of the TNG viewing experience.

 

[urbandefault]

Promos were an integral part of network TV in those days, and they still are. There some amazing voices in that line of work, and you don't even realize that you're hearing them.

I love me some voiceover guys.

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwxtldcNpvE[/yt]

 

[dstyer]

Back to what the OP asked, are these promos available on the DVDs for TNG or just on the Blu-Rays? AFAIK, they were not included on the DVDs. I only bought a couple of seasons back when they first came out and cost $100 plus. I don't know about the re-releases. Anyone else with more information? I'd like to see some of them again, but don't see myself buying the Blu-rays for just that.

 

[doubleohfive]

To my knowledge, these promos were not on the original DVD releases of TNG. If they were, they were hidden easter eggs because I never was able to find them.

They're on the Blu-Rays, and likely most of them are on YouTube. I know they were also included on the "Star Trek Omnipedia" CD-ROM that was out aout ten years ago. Or was it the CD-ROM of the TNG Technical Manual? One of those discs had them all.

Some of the background music from the later years was fun though. I've searched and searched but just can't seem to find those percussive tracks (i.e. TNG season 5 or DS9 season 2.)