According to Wikipedia, each episode's budget was roughly $1.3 million. For 1987, that must've been insane.
To those around when TNG first aired: what did you think of it?
- Thread starter MikHutch
- Start date
Yup! It truly looked better than anything else on TV - and sometimes better than movies.
No, I know of no specific issues Shatner had with Stewart. No one could dislike Stewart. He's a gem, but that doesn't mean Shatner didn't feel slighted by the casting choice, & knowing what I've heard about him, it wouldn't surprise me lol
A Shakespearean stage actor, but also relatively unknown Brit, who's both older looking AND bald? After all those years Shat was in toupees & girdles? There's no proof he took it personally like I'm imagining, but it's kind of a slap in the face to an egotist isn't it?
It's like the producers were outright saying. "Oh nobody cares about that vanity crap anymore".
Plus, the last 2 TOS movies were in the bottom 3 of all Star Trek movies in the box office, just above Nemesis, am I right? Just before TNG season 3, which marked an uptick for the show, TFF got bashed & performed poorly. The 1990s immediately saw TNG really beginning to overtake the old crew.
I was 9 and I decided to watch it. Not sure why... whether there was a buzz in UK media. Or whether I was already sci-fi inclined. There are signs (Children of the Dog Star, a NZ kids programme, Alf, Small Wonder... and I think I may have seen V before Star Trek TNG, not sure.)
But I watched it on my 14" TV in my bedroom with my dad... and the rest as they say is history.
As to TOS all I knew was that was something old people watched as it was very very old, 21 years before. It may as well have been at a Roman dig, to my 9 year old mind.
But I watched it on my 14" TV in my bedroom with my dad... and the rest as they say is history.
As to TOS all I knew was that was something old people watched as it was very very old, 21 years before. It may as well have been at a Roman dig, to my 9 year old mind.
Plus considering there wasn't much sci fi on then. I'm grateful for the variety (and budgets) we have now
No, I know of no specific issues Shatner had with Stewart. No one could dislike Stewart. He's a gem, but that doesn't mean Shatner didn't feel slighted by the casting choice, & knowing what I've heard about him, it wouldn't surprise me lol
A Shakespearean stage actor, but also relatively unknown Brit, who's both older looking AND bald? After all those years Shat was in toupees & girdles? There's no proof he took it personally like I'm imagining, but it's kind of a slap in the face to an egotist isn't it?
It's like the producers were outright saying. "Oh nobody cares about that vanity crap anymore".
Plus, the last 2 TOS movies were in the bottom 3 of all Star Trek movies in the box office, just above Nemesis, am I right? Just before TNG season 3, which marked an uptick for the show, TFF got bashed & performed poorly. The 1990s immediately saw TNG really beginning to overtake the old crew.
Yeah I could imagine so. That was their reasoning for Picard being bald: in the 24th Century, no one would care about those kinds of conformities (one could only hope we'd progress that far), even though Roddenberry wanted Steward to wear a toupee.
And TFF definitely was a low point. Fortunately the Borg already showed up by then and next 2 years were way better for Trek.
Hahaha Roman dig! TOS was even older for me, and by the time I started regularly watching ST:Ent during the early 00s, even TNG was a big old. Although I'm now surprised by how much TNG actually still holds up, when imo a lot of old shows don't. But that's why I ask these questions: I'm always interested in the reactions to these now standard shows back when they were knew, long before my time
Also, after being used to Patrick Stewart as he is now and since the 2010s, going back and hearing the younger version of him in TNG is a bit jarring.
And even then, it was shoestring. At roughly $33.8 million for the one season and that's including building everything from scratch. The main sets had to be built, which took out of the cost, and corner-cutting was everywhere, but generally hidden well... Whatever left from that had to be meticulously planned, for the f/x, alien worlds, etc. Season 2 onward, with the same allotment, even after actor raises to beg 'em to stay after a mixed bag o' scripts and so on, had plenty left to build onto the sets and make them look better. Shame we never got more of the external aspect of Ten-Forward looking in than the two shots we got... the early seasons were simply more creative...
To think they were not going to use a full orchestra but only electronic synth, which wouldn't have worked as well. The mixture of real instruments and electronic was way-cool, though.
Ditto for CGI, which was too much in its infancy - even in the early-90s, the weekly demands required server farms larger than what was made for the Commodore Amiga, and around that time the rendering software was ported to other architectures too... What amazes me is the effort and care put into all the multi-pass shots for the f/x. Editing on VT made sense in one way, even if some episodes had a faint echo of the 7-color test bar due to incomplete shielding or what not. A shame Trekcore ditched the SD screencaps, but a couple scenes from "The Arsenal of Freedom" had it pretty bad...
Back to costs: The old story of how the mold used for the engine core became the turbolift ceiling. The briefing room doubled for the sickbay rear. Etc.
The movies' corridor sets were (slightly) redressed, but they hold their own, plus a couple additions built to help distinct TNG from the feature films. And the floor plans also constructed sets from what was used in the movies where possible (e.g. Engineering, the "pool table" that was taken from Star Trek IV and given a nice coat of beige paint, etc...)
etc
Forgot to add: Look closely in some episodes, like "Symbiosis", and you will see some of the goofy alien pentagonal and hexagonal containers from "V", albeit with the Visitor logo removed and a black circular cap in its place. So prop purchasing (or leasing) was still a not-uncommon practice...
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What I find interesting, is that when the show was first being set up, the script for "Encounter at Farpoint" didn't originally have any scenes set in Main Engineering. Paramount refused to finance the set because of this, so Gene had script changes made to force their hand.
I’m British, and it wasn’t shown until around October 1990 here. I was eleven and didn’t know much about Star Trek. I think I’d caught some of The Search For Spock when a friend was watching it (I vividly remember Kruge and the eel creature on the Genesis Planet). When TNG aired, to much fanfare, I watched the pilot with my dad and while it was all right, I wasn’t particularly hooked. I found it a bit dull, talky and Q kind of annoying. Maybe if I’d known more about Trek it would have “clicked” more. The characters didn’t make much impression on me, but I immediately liked Data though; all the kids were talking about him at school the next day.
I tuned into it occasionally over the weeks to see if I’d like it any better. I remember seeing “Code of Honour”, which wasn’t great, and “Hide and Q” which also wasn’t great. For whatever reason, I didn’t tune in again until “When the Bough Breaks” and that was the first episode which I found quite compelling. Although it’s no masterpiece, the plot was at least more compelling to me. I think by this time the cast were more comfortable in their parts and the writing was a little tighter. I tuned in every week after that and, by the end of the season, was hooked and became a committed little Trek fan.
I was really upset when the BBC stopped showing TNG after the third season (because they’d only bought the first three seasons; the remainder were snapped up by Sky Tv, which was quite new at that point, and we didn’t have a satellite dish). I would, however, buy as many of the later season episodes on video as I could.
While the first couple of seasons are often reviled, they have great nostalgia for me and I find them much more fun to rewatch than the later seasons when the show began to feel a little tired and uninspired.
I tuned into it occasionally over the weeks to see if I’d like it any better. I remember seeing “Code of Honour”, which wasn’t great, and “Hide and Q” which also wasn’t great. For whatever reason, I didn’t tune in again until “When the Bough Breaks” and that was the first episode which I found quite compelling. Although it’s no masterpiece, the plot was at least more compelling to me. I think by this time the cast were more comfortable in their parts and the writing was a little tighter. I tuned in every week after that and, by the end of the season, was hooked and became a committed little Trek fan.
I was really upset when the BBC stopped showing TNG after the third season (because they’d only bought the first three seasons; the remainder were snapped up by Sky Tv, which was quite new at that point, and we didn’t have a satellite dish). I would, however, buy as many of the later season episodes on video as I could.
While the first couple of seasons are often reviled, they have great nostalgia for me and I find them much more fun to rewatch than the later seasons when the show began to feel a little tired and uninspired.
Found it boring. It failed to pull me in.
Likely because of a combination of me having too high of expectations and, by sheer misfortune, catching only slow episodes that were fairly dependent on already being invested in the characters.
The show also had a bit of an impostor knock-off, money-grab tinge to it and, later, the vibe of an unproven, unhazed new recruit.
I eventually got into it when I was working night shift and it was practically the only thing on TV remotely worth watching while I was awake.
Likely because of a combination of me having too high of expectations and, by sheer misfortune, catching only slow episodes that were fairly dependent on already being invested in the characters.
The show also had a bit of an impostor knock-off, money-grab tinge to it and, later, the vibe of an unproven, unhazed new recruit.
I eventually got into it when I was working night shift and it was practically the only thing on TV remotely worth watching while I was awake.
Well, Here in ireland i first saw TNG on the BBC2 (we have access to the uk channels as well as our own domestic channels (RTE 1, RTE 2 (Network 2 as it was back then), around 1989/1990 or so. I hadn't really been a Star Trek fan up to that point although i was aware of its existence. TNG made me a Star Trek and I've subsequently seen all of the other star trek tv shows movies but TNG is and remains my favourite Trek series to this day, although I do like all the series (as imperfect as they are.)
I was 12, almost 13, when the first episode of TNG originally aired. At the time I was already a big fan of Star Trek, which I'd been watching in syndication every weeknight since about 1984, and I also had seen the first two Star Trek movies when they aired on regular TV in the mid 1980s.
With TNG I was impressed with the look of everything. Everything looked very futuristic, whereas most everything on Star Trek (not counting the movies) looked very dated, even back then. The special effects looked very good too. I especially liked the effect of the Enterprise going to warp speed.
I was very disappointed with the captain. He looked like a stereotypical grandpa; drastically different than Captain Kirk.
I liked Geordi La Forge. I already knew the actor from Reading Rainbow, and I thought his visor was wicked cool.
I liked Tasha Yar because she was a smoke show.
Data was great and quickly became my favorite character on the show.
At first I thought it was cool that there was a Klingon on the bridge, a movie-style one no less, but eventually he started to annoy me with all his "I'm a warrior!" antics.
Counselor Troi annoyed me, and I was indifferent toward Beverly Crusher, but in hindsight, they were both gorgeous back then.
Riker seemed generic and bland, so I was indifferent toward him too.
Wesley Crusher annoyed me at the time.
I loved the holodeck concept.
I recently watched the first episode on DVD, for the first time since it originally aired, and I was shocked to see the cameo from DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy. That's because I remember that scene, but it wasn't Kelley, it was Leonard Nimoy as Spock, and he wasn't wearing any old-age makeup either. Spock was my favorite Star Trek character, so that was my favorite part of the episode, and I even remember talking about it at school the next day. I guess this is a "Mandela Effect" for me.
With TNG I was impressed with the look of everything. Everything looked very futuristic, whereas most everything on Star Trek (not counting the movies) looked very dated, even back then. The special effects looked very good too. I especially liked the effect of the Enterprise going to warp speed.
I was very disappointed with the captain. He looked like a stereotypical grandpa; drastically different than Captain Kirk.
I liked Geordi La Forge. I already knew the actor from Reading Rainbow, and I thought his visor was wicked cool.
I liked Tasha Yar because she was a smoke show.
Data was great and quickly became my favorite character on the show.
At first I thought it was cool that there was a Klingon on the bridge, a movie-style one no less, but eventually he started to annoy me with all his "I'm a warrior!" antics.
Counselor Troi annoyed me, and I was indifferent toward Beverly Crusher, but in hindsight, they were both gorgeous back then.
Riker seemed generic and bland, so I was indifferent toward him too.
Wesley Crusher annoyed me at the time.
I loved the holodeck concept.
I recently watched the first episode on DVD, for the first time since it originally aired, and I was shocked to see the cameo from DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy. That's because I remember that scene, but it wasn't Kelley, it was Leonard Nimoy as Spock, and he wasn't wearing any old-age makeup either. Spock was my favorite Star Trek character, so that was my favorite part of the episode, and I even remember talking about it at school the next day. I guess this is a "Mandela Effect" for me.
I was in my early teens when it debuted. I had a passing familiarity with Star Trek having seen some of the movies in the theater, but TNG was the trek I followed from the beginning and kinda became "my Trek." DS9 will always be my favorite, but TNG was the foundation.
I really liked it. Even the episodes that were widely acknowledged as bad were no worse than the worst of the 3rd season of TOS. I took to it far more readily than I did DS9 or DSC.
My clearest memory of the premiere. was how a friend swore off TNG the night it debuted, but not because of the show. That night she wanted to go to see a band she liked, but the rest of us wanted to stay home for TNG, so everyone turned her down. So she refused to ever watch TNG. She was more of a Blake’s Seven fan anyway. 
Being a kid growing up with TOS in syndication and seeing TOS movies I thought a new Star Trek series would be the TOS cast on 1701-A and remember hating TNG in Season 1 and Season 2. Didn't like the proportions of the ship or the carpeting or the families on board or the high strung bald guy yelling to shut off that noise, etc etc. TNG slowly grew on me but always preferred TOS and DS9.
I was barely aware of TOS, I mean, I knew what it was, but it hadn't been broadcast that recently in the UK in the late 80s, and the movies weren't something I ever saw either, just because they followed on from a series I'd never seen.
But TNG, well, I was rapt. 6:45pm on BBC2 on Wednesday nights rapidly became MY NIGHT, my favourite programme and highlight of the week.
There really was nothing else like it on TV at the time. The small screen sci-fi revolution came much later, not until the middle part of the 90s with Babylon 5 and Stargate SG-1 airing alongside DS9 and Voyager.
I'm not kidding when I say I credit TNG with setting off the fire in me that led down the path into STEM, my university and eventually my career choices.
I owe Gene Roddenberry a lot.
But TNG, well, I was rapt. 6:45pm on BBC2 on Wednesday nights rapidly became MY NIGHT, my favourite programme and highlight of the week.
There really was nothing else like it on TV at the time. The small screen sci-fi revolution came much later, not until the middle part of the 90s with Babylon 5 and Stargate SG-1 airing alongside DS9 and Voyager.
I'm not kidding when I say I credit TNG with setting off the fire in me that led down the path into STEM, my university and eventually my career choices.
I owe Gene Roddenberry a lot.
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Always had been a Trekkie,had the Mego figures and the whole deal.
TNG..Loved it.
TNG actually appeared here first not on TV but on VHS…(yeah..)
My brother and I rented out “Encounter..” and volunteered to babysit for our aunt who had a vhs player…this makes me feel increasingly ancient.
Loved the show,loved the vibe.
My brother and I got to meet Mr.Frakes at the Dublin comic con a few years ago (what a gentleman) and I found it hard to believe that I was actually talking to that guy Riker,who rekindled my love for Trek.
TNG..Loved it.
TNG actually appeared here first not on TV but on VHS…(yeah..)
My brother and I rented out “Encounter..” and volunteered to babysit for our aunt who had a vhs player…this makes me feel increasingly ancient.
Loved the show,loved the vibe.
My brother and I got to meet Mr.Frakes at the Dublin comic con a few years ago (what a gentleman) and I found it hard to believe that I was actually talking to that guy Riker,who rekindled my love for Trek.
I was blown away by how god it looked, I hadn't seen any of the movies yet, just TOS reruns so the jump in quality was unbelievable to my kid mind.
I also remember thinking Data was the captain, I read an article about TNG before it started and they had a cast photo, Data was the only man in yellow and the article said the captain was a french man so naturally I assumed it had to be him.
I also remember thinking Data was the captain, I read an article about TNG before it started and they had a cast photo, Data was the only man in yellow and the article said the captain was a french man so naturally I assumed it had to be him.
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