Hello all! This is my first Trek board and I'm really pumped about discussing all things Trek (particularly TNG) with other fans. About me, well my name is Chase and I'm 29 years old. I have been watching TNG since just before my high school years. Here in Oklahoma TNG came on every Sunday night at 10:35PM on our local NBC affiliate (I can't remember when I started watching but I would speculate it was around '94). I would do the best I could to stay awake through the whole hour but since most Sundays were the night before school I fell asleep during a commercial break. When TNG began it's cable run a few years later, I would catch an episode now and then but had probably seen less than 15 episodes from start to finish. Around 2006 when I was older, wiser, and fairly settled in, I started watching the reruns on G4 and Spike and later SciFi. I now TiVo the WGN reruns every night and watch them at breakfast. For some reason, there are still a few season 6 and season 7 eps I have never seen--they don't seem to show those as much on SyFy and WGN?? In the end, I'm glad that I got to catch up on TNG in my mid 20s because I think I appreciated the nuances a lot more than had I watched as a teenager. For me, TNG is the best TV show of all time and AGT I & II is hands down the greatest series finale.
Anyways, I love the entire cast (even though I can relate to the Wesley / Deanna haters) but my favorites are Captain Picard and Commander Data--in that order. I also love the repoire between Captain Picard / Q and Captain Picard / Guinan. I agree with those that say the high water mark for the series is the middle seasons but I still think there is a lot to admire about the "bookend" seasons as well. I have seen a decent amount of TOS, VOY, and DS9 but have never seen a single minute of ENT--don't know why, it has just worked out that way I guess. While I saw a lot to admire about the other series, for me the talent/chemistry of the TNG cast and the depth of the characters in TNG far outshined the other Trek series. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the Trek movies (even the bad ones) and I have dedicated myself to catching up on the other series now that I have seen most of TNG.
My favorite episodes are Tapestry, AGT I & II, Yesterday's Enterprise, and Q-Who. I'm surprised at those who now say that TNG seems dated and stale. While I agree that the first two seasons haven't aged well, season 3 and beyond still seem current by TV standards. Anyways, I have written WAY more than you guys want to read so I'll sign off!!!