TNG... oozing the 80's

[ALF]

In every possible way.

One of the reasons I love this show most is the prime 80s nostalgia.
The uniforms, the hair. The sets, the hair. The music. Did I mention the hair?

I'm not hating. It's very difficult to create something on TV that completely reveals no ties to the decade in which it was created.

But even the end of TNG's run, well into the 1990s looks SO EIGHTIES upon repeat viewings.

I think it's utterly fantastic. But perhaps others find it irksome.

 

[SeerSGB]

In every possible way.

One of the reasons I love this show most is the prime 80s nostalgia.
The uniforms, the hair. The sets, the hair. The music. Did I mention the hair?

I'm not hating. It's very difficult to create something on TV that completely reveals no ties to the decade in which it was created.

But even the end of TNG's run, well into the 1990s looks SO EIGHTIES upon repeat viewings.

I think it's utterly fantastic. But perhaps others find it irksome.

I love TNG, but time hasn't been too kind to it.

 

[RaymondJames]

Season 1 really did look 80s but It doesn't really come across too 80s later on. Yes you can see it but its not screaming 80s.

I can only Imagine what people of 2020 will think of Voyager .... Holy Hell that show is oozing the early 90s

 

[KevasTrader]

They started making TNG a mere five years after the REALLY dated Buck Rogers!!!

Even DS9 and Voyager are now looking dated.

I don't think the generic Trek lighting and filming on video helped much.

We'll probably find that, despite being absolute rubbish, that Enterprise will date the least of the modern Treks, on the basis of modern TV production values.

It's the same argument about old and new Doctor Who.

With he shows that have dated badly we can always say that it was all about the stories, characters and the audience's imagination!!

 

[eepruls]

It's funny how at the time things are futuristic but after some time they look dated. When I see episodes of early Voyager episodes now I'm finding they look less and less futuristic. I guess it's because technology continues to evolve and get smaller and sleeker. Take a look at Janeway's table top thing with the screen on her desk. It's thick and clunky. My laptop that I'm typing this on looks more advanced!

 

[Cyke101]

I'm starting to think First Contact looks a bit dated. The new Starfleet vessels we saw were fine, but the uniforms are starting to look their age, and as far as tech goes, we have sci-fi shows that seem less advanced overall but can do more (ie, a regular holographic interface) simply because Hollywood imagination has evolved.

That being said, I think TNG is the quintessential 80s. In addition to the excellent points that the OP made, nothing sums up the 80s better than Deanna Troi. Heck, having the ship's psychiatrist with a post right next to the Captain is definitely an 80s idea!

 

[scottydog]

Well, TOS looked dated 20 years after it aired, so no big surprise that we're now cringing at TNG, DS9, and VOY. But I hope we're all talking about the superficial things like technology and hairstyles, rather than ideas, vision, values, and quality plotlines. Those latter things are far more important and timeless.

 

[plynch]

I see . . . 90s people. Yeah, it is dated, but to me it is more '90s. Carpeting. Niceness. '80s to me is more Reagan, conservatism, Donald Trump/Ivan Boesky. Hair: '80s maybe, but I FEEL more '90s in the overall ethos. Interesting thread.

 

[Forbin]

It's interesting that the 80s look more ridiculous to me than the 60s. "Hippy" fashion always looked perfectly normal to me, like normal people dressing casually (well, maybe except for the Sgt Pepper look). 80s fashion looked like people going to a costume party.

 

[SeerSGB]

It's interesting that the 80s look more ridiculous to me than the 60s. "Hippy" fashion always looked perfectly normal to me, like normal people dressing casually (well, maybe except for the Sgt Pepper look). 80s fashion looked like people going to a costume party.

I grew up in the 80s, and even when I was younger I was looking at the teens of the time and saying "Dude, what the hell are you thinking?" I'm personally convinced that the amount of hairspray used by both sexes and hair-bands in the 80s is the real cause of the global warning.

 

[ALF]

It's interesting that the 80s look more ridiculous to me than the 60s.

Absolutely! Here's some cases in point that I plucked from TrekCore
Granted, it's mostly civilian hairstyles and outfits.
Teri Hatcher and her hair always blow my mind, as do the Parisi (sp?) Squares outfits.

 

[Cyke101]

I see . . . 90s people. Yeah, it is dated, but to me it is more '90s. Carpeting. Niceness. '80s to me is more Reagan, conservatism, Donald Trump/Ivan Boesky. Hair: '80s maybe, but I FEEL more '90s in the overall ethos. Interesting thread.

I dunno, the bland colors are straight from the 80s to me. But still, I agree with you about the 80s. It was all about excess, and I think it's pretty fitting that the 80s gave us among the largest ships of all Trek, like the Romulan Warbird and the Borg Cube. Even the Enterprise-D is the largest Starfleet vessel we've ever had

 

[RandyS]

Season 1 really did look 80s but It doesn't really come across too 80s later on. Yes you can see it but its not screaming 80s.

I can only Imagine what people of 2020 will think of Voyager .... Holy Hell that show is oozing the early 90s

Now, THAT would be a trick, considering that VOYAGER was filmed in late 1994, and debuted in early 1995, both of which took place in the MID-1990's.

 

[RandyS]

It's interesting that the 80s look more ridiculous to me than the 60s. "Hippy" fashion always looked perfectly normal to me, like normal people dressing casually (well, maybe except for the Sgt Pepper look). 80s fashion looked like people going to a costume party.

I grew up in the 80s, and even when I was younger I was looking at the teens of the time and saying "Dude, what the hell are you thinking?" I'm personally convinced that the amount of hairspray used by both sexes and hair-bands in the 80s is the real cause of the global warning.

I was a teen in the 1980's, and didn't touch hairspray. I never have and never will. As much as I hated the styles then (except women's hair, what the hell are women thinking anymore??), the 1980's were a much better time than now.

 

[Mallory]

I enjoyed the 80's as well, so TNG is a reminder of good times beyond Trek.

 

[RandyS]

I enjoyed the 80's as well, so TNG is a reminder of good times beyond Trek.

Agreed.

 

[eepruls]

I don't remember guys wearing skirts in the 80's so why the hell were some male crew members wearing skirts in TNG's first season? I always thought that was ridiculous and unpractical for women, not to mention the men! Where did they pull that style from?

 

[Toban Kal]

Set's yep,
Hair, yep,
outfits, most certainly. Especially the civilian and casual clothes. The uniforms I thought were ok.
The music, I might have to disagree. It's one of the last shows that still used a large orchestra to sound the episodes. I find it's a shame that it became a dying art in much later shows.

But it's set in the 24th century. I reckon it'll take that long before the 80's becomes that stylish level of retro. just like steampunk, which is a fashion thats starting to catch on today.
So in a sense, it's timed perfectly.

 

[ALF]

I don't remember guys wearing skirts in the 80's so why the hell were some male crew members wearing skirts in TNG's first season? I always thought that was ridiculous and unpractical for women, not to mention the men! Where did they pull that style from?

Yes. And since the first season tried visually to take cues from TOS, you get pure 80s with dashes of sci-fi of the 60s.

Instead of only women wearing skirts, the sexes are equal. Let everyone wear skirts!

Anyway, that style didn't last for longer than the first half of S1, did it?

 

[Toban Kal]

I don't remember guys wearing skirts in the 80's so why the hell were some male crew members wearing skirts in TNG's first season? I always thought that was ridiculous and unpractical for women, not to mention the men! Where did they pull that style from?

Yes. And since the first season tried visually to take cues from TOS, you get pure 80s with dashes of sci-fi of the 60s.

Instead of only women wearing skirts, the sexes are equal. Let everyone wear skirts!

Anyway, that style didn't last for longer than the first half of S1, did it?

I'll be glad if that piece of fashion doesn't catch on. Let the women wear trousers, fine. but lets question the right to let men wear skirts