TNG Fans UNITE!!!

[patlandness]

I've been on this board for several years, and I think it's time for us TNG fans to be heard! Our show has been bashed up and down the internet and I for one think it needs defenders! (*I'm speaking purely in a tongue-in-cheek mode here* )

No more will slights like "It's really dated" and "Picard is a wimp" and "It's too PC" go unchallenged!

TNG ROCKS! And it's time we let the pooh-pooh ers know it!

"Did we give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" Who's with me?

And if not, let's just talk about our favorite TNG memories!

 

[Angel4576]

TNG's what got me into Star Trek in the first place.

As far as dating goes, I think the first two seasons have dated quite poorly, at least visually. The rest of the series is no more or less dated than most other Trek.

That being said, Picard IS a wimp (joke! ), and sometimes it IS far too PC.

The worst thing I can say about TNG is that it's not as great as TOS and DS9 were, but equally it's far superior to both Enterprise and Voyager. It occupies the middle ground quite nicely, and most definitely, to coin a phrase from another thread, is one of the BIG THREE.

 

[Kegek]

I love the visuals from the first two seasons. Later seasons can get a bit sterile, but generally it's superb.

And there's no question in my mind: Picard is the greatest starship captain. Ever. Sophisticated, literate, opinionated, moral and heroic: None stand higher than he.

 

[WillsBabe]

I freely admit that I'm as not into TNG as I used to be. After having said that, I adored it for years. In my time I was as rabid a TNGer as any that stepped into a convention hall. I'm still immensely fond of TNG and of course, Commander R. I have all the TNG dvds; shelves of zines and a hard drive of far, far too many jpegs. These days my fannish activities are far less than once they were and I confine them mainly to trekking around the UK to see Patrick Stewart doing those other two things I love very much: namely Shakespeare at the RSC.

 

[Angel4576]

Kegek said:
Picard is the greatest starship captain. Ever. Sophisticated, literate, opinionated, moral and heroic: None stand higher than he.

Picard is the most unique of all the Captains, none of the others are quite like him. Personally, Sisko's always been my favourite. So many aspects of a personality were denied Picard by the constraints within the series' limitations, ie. no long term romances, no marriages, no kids etc. Don't get me wrong, I still think that Picard is a superbly well-rounded character, but I was always slightly disappointed that he was never really given the chance to explore certain themes. Obviously this was touched upon superbly in Generations, so whilst the character was denied certain experiences, there were slight compensations. Sisko on the other hand, had a more diverse range of experiences, and as a person, IMO, Sisko has the longer and more profound journey. Picard changes between Farpoint and All Good Things, but Sisko comes further between Emissary and What You Leave Behind. Stewart and Brooks should both be applauded (along with Shatner to be fair), for creating should charismatic and enigmatic characters that have become iconic for generations of us.

Part of the problem, for me, in the later series, was that Janeway and Archer, as characters, clearly weren't up to the standards laid down by Kirk, Picard and Sisko.

 

[Charlie Kelly]

While TOS is my favourite just by an inch (mainly because it was the first Star Trek series I watched), the Next Generation is still on of my most favourite shows. I'm sick of hearing complaints of it being too PC or not enough conflict with characters etc. In many ways, this is what made TNG what it was, it would have been a different show otherwise. It proved to me at least that a show doesn't need to be all soapy to tell good stories.

I think a lot of the criticism TNG gets now is undeserved. It seems that some people want it to be more like DS9 but it wasn't that kind of show. It doesn't mean there's a problem with it.

Charlie

 

[Spider]

Much of what Charlie Kelly said I was going to comment on myself. I’m too am getting somewhat annoyed with the accusations of blandness, being to PC, comparing it to DS9, and a lack of conflict between the characters. All of which is untrue. Well, in retrospect, maybe the PC part of it is, but TNG was a product of the 80s, what would you expect?

Comparing it to DS9 is comparing apples and oranges, two totally different shows and crews. Which you like better is simply a choice of the type of TV you like to watch. Except for nuBSG, I seldom like heavily arc driven sci-fi, or any type of TV show you have to watch every week so you don’t lose track of it. Those types of shows are great when you have all the DVDs and can watch it from beginning to end, but as far as I’m concerned it’s mental torment to try and watch something like that over a period of several years with the breaks between seasons. nuBSG will pretty much be the last one I get into that does that. I’ve said this in other posts, in that I consider the X-Files to be truly the best show of all time as far as mixing stand alone episodes with arcs.

There was plenty of character conflict in TNG, it just wasn’t in your face like it is in DS9 and nuBSG. It was subtle, good, and present in a lot of episodes. And TNG wasn’t bland, it was terrific. Dammit.

Engage

 

[K-Star]

TNG is my favorite ever. It's the first Trek series I ever took an ACTIVE interest in watching. I basically grew up with TNG, even if at the time I didn't like Trek at all (none of it made sense to me.)

And then of course, there's Data. He is just TOO awesome! There are many other awesome characters, like the EMH, 7 of 9, and Odo, but Data is the absolute BEST CHARACTER EVER.

Of course that's just my opinion...

 

[Angel4576]

You'll probably find that it's the same people complaining about TNG being too bland, that accuse DS9 of being too complicated, and too different for Star Trek.

 

[Kegek]

Angel4576... yes, Sisko had a journey and evolution that Picard didn't have. But Picard never needed that to be interesting. He was rough around the edges at first, but when he settled into his ways... he's someone I'd never want to see change, a great character. His experiences may not have been stretched over long arcs - though occasionally a few episodes ('The Best of Both Worlds' and 'Family', 'The Inner Light' and 'Lessons') but he was such a superb and engaging figure.

Sisko lacked Picard's charisma and wit. That's why he physically sparred with Q rather than indulging in mind games. Sisko was great, just not at Picard's level.

And another note: The Enterprise-D is just one of those sci-fi locations you'd love to live in. How many people would really want to be stuck in the chaotic weirdness of Moya, or the grim decor of the Galactica? Critics have called Picard's ship a hotel in space, but I've never thought that as a bad thing... it just looks so neat.

 

[The Old Mixer]

It's silly to knock TNG in comparison to DS9. There would be no DS9 if TNG hadn't laid the groundwork.

 

[scottydog]

I love TNG, flaws and all. I'm united behind it!

 

[Spider]

The Old Mixer said:
It's silly to knock TNG in comparison to DS9. There would be no DS9 if TNG hadn't laid the groundwork.

A point not understood by some.

 

[scottydog]

Spider said:

The Old Mixer said:
It's silly to knock TNG in comparison to DS9. There would be no DS9 if TNG hadn't laid the groundwork.

A point not understood by some.

Well, I love TNG and realize it was needed for DS9 to ever happen. But that doesn't mean it's illogical for me to love DS9 more, does it?

 

[Kegek]

^
Not at all. But it might be illogical for you to despise TNG as a bland abomination.

 

[Spider]

scottydog said:

Spider said:

The Old Mixer said:
It's silly to knock TNG in comparison to DS9. There would be no DS9 if TNG hadn't laid the groundwork.

A point not understood by some.

Well, I love TNG and realize it was needed for DS9 to ever happen. But that doesn't mean it's illogical for me to love DS9 more, does it?

Star Trek is Star Trek. Take from it what you enjoy, no matter the series.

 

[scottydog]

^I could never despise TNG. It's too damn good and it did make my favorite series (DS9) possible.

I have no idea how anyone here on this board could actually hate TNG. All trek fans should be deeply, deeply indebted to the series for its critical and commercial success.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I feel that up through DS9, Trek was growing...each series built and improved upon its predecessor(s) in many ways. VGR and ENT were lacking that growth...they seemed content to rehash TNG...and the constant regurgitation of TNG's formula no doubt cheapened it in the eyes of many.

Preferring DS9 to TNG is perfectly understandable; not liking TNG for what it is is understandable; but when people knock TNG specifically on the basis that it's not more like DS9...they're failing to see that DS9 was built upon TNG, and couldn't have existed without everything that TNG had contributed to Trek.

DS9 only sees as far as it does because it stands on the shoulders of giants.

 

[scottydog]

^Agreed! :thumbsup:

 

[CaptainDonovin]

TNG is what turned me on to Star Trek and I for one love it, though I would count DS9 as my favorate. Many great episodes, The Inner Light, and Chain Of Command 1&2 being two of my favorates. Thought Patrick Stewart gave a great performance in CoC, David Warner was also good in that one.

Who knows where Star Trek would be with out TNG. It brought Trek back and for 18 years had a glorious run. You can argue all you want that it faded in recient years with Voyager, Enterprise and the last two movies (Nemesis would have been better w/ a different director) but I for one loved having something Star Trek related that was new (or slightly borrowed) on TV or the movies.