TNG: will I ever like it?

[I am not Spock]

I liked TNG okay till I saw DS9. Since you've seen DS9 first, you will NEVER EVER like TNG.

TNG is just a lot more talking and a lot less action than DS9, VOY, or ENT. It's a fine show on its own, but if you're comparing it to any of its successors, it's definitely a lot more bland.

I still love it because I grew up watching those characters, but I would have a hard time getting into it now of I hadn't watched it before.

TNG was the first Trek I ever saw, so I have a soft spot for it. But I may be looking through rose coloured glasses. You're right, its a lot more slow and talky than DS9, VOY, or ENT. Or even TOS, for that matter. And TNG arguably has the most technobabble of any Trek series, which doesn't help matters much.

TOS was a mix of intelligent sci fi and action adventure. TNG got the sci-fi part, but kind of forgot the action-adventure part most of the time.

I'm lucky I saw it (TNG) when I did. For someone trying to get into TNG for the first time now, especially the first two seasons, it could be a bit of a struggle. A fan of the new JJ Abrams movie looking for Trek to watch would have a hard time with TNG.

 

[I am not Spock]

Mmmm, I have to agree that this series is bland and boring. I was coming of age when this was going on but going back to watch TOS, I found that so much more entertaining.

TOS is very entertaining. I've never been bored by it. Frustrated, bemused, embarrassed.. yeah. But not bored. And now with time making some of it rather kitsch that is entertaining in itself.

Will TNG be kitsch in another 20 years? I honestly don't know.

I agree. TOS may have been silly or campy occasionally, but it rarely ever bored me. And now TOS has reached that vintage where the 60s is cool all over again. No-one has to be embarrassed by watching TOS!

TNG, especially the early years, is on that threshold where its not new enough for the 'cool' kids, yet not old enough to be entertaining in a campy retro way. The early episodes scream 1980s, but not really in a good way. In short, it really hasn't aged that well.

I also predict ENT will date horribly. That theme song?

 

[DevilEyes]

I also predict ENT will date horribly. That theme song?

That theme song was dated even the first time that ENT aired. It sounds like the worst of 1980s sweet metal "ballads". It even was a big part of the reason why I stayed away from the show for so long.

But I've found out that ENT is an OK show once you use the mute button during the credits.

 

[Anwar]

The "Archer theme" they used for the ending credits works a lot better for ENT' music.

 

[RandyS]

all that endless wankery about "what it means to be human". I can't stand that stuff.

Um, this is what Star Trek is all about, just in a sci-fi setting. If you don't like that, you should be watching something else.

 

[RandyS]

I liked TNG okay till I saw DS9. Since you've seen DS9 first, you will NEVER EVER like TNG.

False. I love both equally.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

all that endless wankery about "what it means to be human". I can't stand that stuff.

Um, this is what Star Trek is all about, just in a sci-fi setting. If you don't like that, you should be watching something else.

Right. And here some of my favorite eps across the series are about what it means to be Vulcan. Or Klingon. Or Andorian.

I know what it means to be human because I am one. It's such a weird (and wanky) thing to make a theme of a show. Thankfully I don't actually believe that that is "what Star Trek is all about". TNG was heavy laden with it and it shows up in the other series in dollops. But Trek is about all kinds of themes and adventures which it often carries out sans any preaching at all.

 

[TheJosmo]

Being part of the "new" generation of fans, I remember TNG being on TV when I was little and I thought it was SO boring. After getting acquainted with TOS years later, I tried to watch TNG, couldn't, and moved on to Voyager. Still, "First Contact" is probably top on my list of favorite movies.

The characters can be interesting, especially Data and Worf, but something about the show seems to put the morals on front stage and push these great characters back.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

First Contact is in my top 10 movies and was only eclipsed as a Trek film by ST:XI. I think it's a great Borg story and a great portrayal of Cochrane and Trek history. It was not boring!! The only bit I thought was cringeworthy in a traditional TNG cringe sense was the holodeck scene which I could have done without.

 

[Nightdiamond]

I went through all 3 shows starting with TOS, before I settled on DS9.

I liked TOS because it had those classic sci fi episodes, what I call mental sci fi. I think it's because they didn't have all the special effects we have now, and had to be much more creative with content.

The limitation was that the sense of continiuity was pretty bad, campy and not as risky or modern.. and yet it was- some of the passionate scenes with the heavy breathing and touching, or the more suggestive scenes, look kind of interesting somewhat today.

I then switched to TNG and forgot TOS, but once you compare DS9 to TNG, you'll notice the difference in attitude and action...

 

[Kai Winn]

Excuse me. One thing struck me about the first post. It seemed to imply the OP enjoyed Voyager more than TNG. Is that the case?

I enjoyed it 10,000 times more.

same here. while i enjoy nearly every voy and by far most ds9 episodes, and have no troubles to reconcile them, i can stand only a selected few ones of tng. the characters are so bland. if there weren't picard and riker on that loveboat of theirs, you could forget it completely.

 

[MPH]

I put TNG as my second favourite Trek behind DS9, and the only reason it looks kinda dated is due to the appaling picture quality the sooner it gets remastered the better.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

While TNG, especially in its early stages, may be less polished that what came after, and maybe a bit slower as well (although have you seen Enterprise? That show had some serious pacing problems), there's just something special about it to me. I guess with DS9 and Voyager we got incredibly used to the Star Trek universe. Races, locations, alien words, technologies and backstory and in many ways that was great, but in TNG that universe felt a bit less fully formed and space maybe seemed like a bigger, stranger place.

Personally I also think the writing got pretty consistent after a while and although there's a certain blandness to it sometimes, for me it largely avoids the annoyingness that tended to crop up in Voyager. That said, it sounds like the show may never be the OP's cup of tea.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Last year we spent New Year's Eve watching the third season of Enterprise. We were so enthralled we didn't even go out on the porch at midnight for our usual squinting at distant fireworks and listening to distant popping noises. I remember that it was the third season because I took that season with me when we evacuated because of bush fires a few weeks later.

This New Years we planned to spend watching TNG, we had the chips and dips and drinks ready to go.. but ended spending the whole evening on World of Warcraft. The kid is enjoying TNG but he is not GRIPPED with TREK LOVE for it like he was with DS9, VOY and ENT (he enjoyed TOS a lot but wasn't quite as gripped there either).

So unlike our march through the other series this is still going slowly. I did buy season 4 the other day and I will make it to the end!!

 

[Navaros]

It is SO BORING. And slow. And preachy. And bland.

I agree with you about these things. That is what TNG is. It won't change in the future.

Although I'm not sure why you like Voyager and not TNG, because IMO Voyager is the same way.

Bland, slow, and boring: that is what happens when one tries to make drama without conflict (which is an oxymoron). That is what TNG and VOY tried to do, and that is why they do not work.

The reason TOS and DS9 do work, is because they do not try to have drama without conflict.

 

[Anwar]

I disagree on the TNG is bland thing, mainly because the "conflict" the detractors keep talking about really isn't that interesting in other shows either. It all just comes down to good acting and good writing, you don't need "conflict" for either of those to work and entertain people. So if you have those, you have those. That's the bottom line, sheer entertainment and appreciation by the audience.

Having Doctor Crusher constantly telling Data he was a "heartless machine" while Data makes some crack about humans being bad wouldn't have made TNG a better show.