Was TNG considered a "family tv show" at the time? And anyway, what does "family tv show" mean?

[Christopher]

Since I have a family, I wonder what a "family show" is ... for my daughters, 8 and 10, "The Simpsons" is a family show. It doesn't mean it has no content kids won't understand. The Simpsons has plenty of content kids don't get. But obviously, there are enough jokes for kids, and relatable characters, in it, too.

I think standards have changed, since when it was new, The Simpsons was considered a very daring and edgy adult sitcom, generating controversy with a lot of its subject matter. But it's become such an indelible part of the TV landscape that its style of humor has become normalized and even seen as tame.

Not unlike how Star Trek was considered a racy, boundary-pushing adult drama in the '60s but became popular with kids in daytime syndication in the '70s and ended up being seen as a family show. It seems to be a recurring pattern that when the standards are loosened for what's acceptable on broadcast TV for adults, society eventually gets so used to it that it no longer objects to letting kids watch it.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I think standards have changed, since when it was new, The Simpsons was considered a very daring and edgy adult sitcom, generating controversy with a lot of its subject matter. But it's become such an indelible part of the TV landscape that its style of humor has become normalized and even seen as tame.

Depends on who you ask. Many parents won't let their kids watch The Simpsons. Mine didn't let me watch when I as a kid in the 90's. Wow, the show is that old and still cranking out new episodes? Long running cartoon. If I had kids today, I wouldn't let them watch, but then I wouldn't let them watch a lot of shows.

 

[Frontis]

TNG was probably more family show than all other Trek shows except Prodigy.

 

[Christopher]

TNG was probably more family show than all other Trek shows except Prodigy.

Once Rick Berman and Michael Piller were in charge, yes. But not in season 1, where Roddenberry was determined to take advantage of looser '80s censorship and put in a lot more sexy stuff than he could've gotten away with in TOS.

Still, I wouldn't say Voyager was any more adult than TNG.

 

[Sim]

Once Rick Berman and Michael Piller were in charge, yes. But not in season 1, where Roddenberry was determined to take advantage of looser '80s censorship and put in a lot more sexy stuff than he could've gotten away with in TOS.

Still, I wouldn't say Voyager was any more adult than TNG.

I'd say VOY was the most family friendly show. Neelix was taken right out of Sesame Street or so.

 

[Christopher]

I'd say VOY was the most family friendly show. Neelix was taken right out of Sesame Street or so.

I think you're forgetting the whole backstory where Neelix's homeworld was devastated by a WMD and his entire family was killed, and he was living in shame for being a deserter from his defense force. Also he had an old friend who was a criminal and occasional narcotics smuggler, and his backstory in the novel Pathways by series co-creator Jeri Taylor revealed that Neelix was himself a recovering drug addict.

 

[Sim]

I think you're forgetting the whole backstory where Neelix's homeworld was devastated by a WMD and his entire family was killed, and he was living in shame for being a deserter from his defense force. Also he had an old friend who was a criminal and occasional narcotics smuggler, and his backstory in the novel Pathways by series co-creator Jeri Taylor revealed that Neelix was himself a recovering drug addict.

In most episodes, that played no role.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I think you're forgetting the whole backstory where Neelix's homeworld was devastated by a WMD and his entire family was killed, and he was living in shame for being a deserter from his defense force. Also he had an old friend who was a criminal and occasional narcotics smuggler, and his backstory in the novel Pathways by series co-creator Jeri Taylor revealed that Neelix was himself a recovering drug addict.

I was a preteen when Voyager started and a teen for most of the run. I never found any of this to be particularly dark, just good television.

 

[Sim]

I was a preteen when Voyager started and a teen for most of the run. I never found any of this to be particularly dark, just good television.

The 1st season episode about Neelix' home planet and WMD was indeed serious, but they hardly ever did such adult themes with him later. And we got episodes like "Elogium"...

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

The 1st season episode about Neelix' home planet and WMD was indeed serious, but they hardly ever did such adult themes with him later. And we got episodes like "Elogium"...

Don't forget "Mortal Coil," great televison.

 

[Skipper]

TNG was probably more family show than all other Trek shows except Prodigy.

You mean the show where the ship becomes a giant flying orgy or where they make an infested human graphically explode on screen..?

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

You mean the show where the ship becomes a giant flying orgy or where they make an infested human graphically explode on screen..?

Giant flying orgy, WTF? The bug man phasered to death was honestly tame compared to what was on TV at the time. Maybe I was just desensitized by hard R-rated movies as a kid?

 

[Skipper]

Giant flying orgy, WTF?

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The bug man phasered to death was honestly tame compared to what was on TV at the time. Maybe I was just desensitized by hard R-rated movies as a kid?

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)

Controversial when originally broadcast, the more graphic elements were cut or banned from broadcast in the United Kingdom, and required a warning before airing in Canada.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

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From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)

The space-drunk-virus episode, I love that one. There's no space orgy, just Tasha saying F*** it and having fun with Data while everyone else fought to save the ship. "It never happened."

Was "Conspiracy" that upsetting for UK & Canadian audiences? It was gross, but nothing worse than you'd catch on a weekend TV broadcast of an R-rated movie.

 

[Christopher]

In most episodes, that played no role.

But it was there, and a valid, honest analysis of the character would acknowledge that his surface silliness was a cover for deeply rooted pain and self-doubt. The fact that a show includes a comic relief character does not make it a children's show, and it sure as hell does not make it Sesame Street. "Adult" does not mean "completely devoid of humor or lightness."

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

But it was there, and a valid, honest analysis of the character would acknowledge that his surface silliness was a cover for deeply rooted pain and self-doubt. The fact that a show includes a comic relief character does not make it a children's show, and it sure as hell does not make it Sesame Street. "Adult" does not mean "completely devoid of humor or lightness."

Honestly, I would argue that the Star Trek's 1987-2005 run was mostly family friendly. Occasionally, you got that dark WTF episode or a sexually charged episode out of nowhere, but that was more the exception.

I never saw Neelix as comic relief. To me, he is Space MacGyver mixed with embarrassing uncle who thinks he's the coolest person in the room. You often want him to shoo away, but when he does, your sad he did.

Spoiler: That Tuvok episode with Lon Sueder, the Betazoid who can't read minds and has eyes that are scary as shit!

When Tuvok killed Neelix, I was all, "WTF?" Then it was revealed to be a holodeck test that Tuvok failed.

 

[Skipper]

The space-drunk-virus episode, I love that one. There's no space orgy, just Tasha saying F*** it and having fun with Data while everyone else fought to save the ship. "It never happened."

I think the orgiastic aspect was heavily implied, but I can see your point. Let's talk about the rape gangs chasing poor Tasha back to her home planet. I can imagine poor 7-year-old Timmy's family having a hard time when he asked them what exactly a "rape gang" was...

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I think the orgiastic aspect was heavily implied, but I can see your point. Let's talk about the rape gangs chasing poor Tasha back to her home planet. I can imagine poor 7-year-old Timmy's family having a hard time when he asked them what exactly a "rape gang" was...

When I first saw the episode, I probably was too young to know what rape was, but given how the flashback was framed, I was able to figure out that a "rape gang" was a "group of bad guys out to hurt Tasha."

 

[Skipper]

When I first saw the episode, I probably was too young to know what rape was, but given how the flashback was framed, I was able to figure out that a "rape gang" was a "group of bad guys out to hurt Tasha."

Well, the point is that TNG was not a "family show" like, I don't know, "Knight Rider". It dealt with adult and mature topics. If you reread the first pages of the thread @Christopher explains the topic well

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

Well, the point is that TNG was not a "family show" like, I don't know, "Knight Rider". It dealt with adult and mature topics. If you reread the first pages of the thread @Christopher explains the topic well

To me, "family show" doesn't mean completely sanitized of anything that will lead a kid to asking a parent an uncomfortable question. When I was a kid, Knight Rider was OK, but I got bored with it quickly.