Depends on how close towards the end of his tenure. His final season is definitely a struggle for me. I don't like the change in tone from a family show to more of a serious sci-fi show aimed at teenagers. And Tom Baker had clearly mentally checked out for most of that season. His penultimate season is very mixed. Your mileage will depend on how much you enjoy watching Tom Baker adlib through a lot of really weak material. I mostly enjoy that (and have a tiny crush on Lalla Ward's Romana
) but I can see how others might not.
To be fair, while Roddenberry may not have written many seminal
Star Trek works, he is the creator of
Star Trek's utopian ethos. The fundamental ideals of pacifism & cooperation, while not always conducive to the most dramatic storytelling, are the key ingredient that separates
Star Trek from the other television & sci-fi of the era.
I wholeheartedly disagree, at least about Picard. Sisko is a very interesting, human, multifaceted character (although Kira, Odo, & O'Brien all got better material). But Picard always bugs me in the way that a lot of fictional characters do when they make a big moral stand about never killing even though there's sometimes justification for it. (Also looking at you, Batman & Doctor Who!) What I love about Captain Kirk is his moral clarity. He's a man who hates killing and always searches for a peaceful solution but doesn't hesitate or apologize when violence ends up being the only solution. I think it comes from the paradox of Gene Roddenberry being a horny, free-thinking hippie while also being an ex-police officer & WWII vet.
Agreed. Why are we not neck deep in
Tron Legacy sequels by now? I just don't understand.
When I filter out all of the Rose worship, I actually enjoy most of Tennant's later run. He could still be very over the top sometimes ("The Doctor's Daughter," the endings of "Waters of Mars" & "The End of Time"). But he also had flashes of greatness, both on the comedic side ("Partners in Crime," "The Unicorn & the Wasp") and the dramatic side ("Midnight").
I kinda like the political incorrectness of
Temple of Doom. It feels more authentically 1930s that way!
Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the greatest action movies of all time but the ending is kinda anticlimactic.
The Last Crusade is the best movie on a structural level since it actually ends with an emotional climax driven by a character decision. "Indiana, let it go."
I did that once back in 2008. I spent an entire Saturday gulping down the entire 2nd half of
Torchwood Season 1, then went straight into Captain Jack's 3 episode arc at the end of
Doctor Who Season 3. I might have done something similar for some seasons of
Community, Law & Order, Stargate SG-1, and
Stargate Atlantis. I can't specifically recall. But it's been a while. I don't have the same stamina for entertainment now that I did in my 20s.
