I'd list but I think it's fairly obvious how the subsequent discussion would unfold. I'd list, you'd feel they're not significantly or uniquely similar, I'd rebut that it's the confluence of all those factors that make for the similarity, you'd probably suggest I'm arguing post hoc, and so on we go in circles. Doesn't sound like a fun exchange to me.
Nope. I'm not like that. Very presumptuous of you to assume all that. If your points were strong, I would agree. I am always willing to have my mind changed. Sounds to me like you'd rather make vague claims and then instead of backing them up with any evidence whatsoever, just skirt the issue entirely. Which makes for very uninteresting exchange.
How about coming at the same problem from a different angle to see if there's any scope at all for consensus, to short-circuit the discussion?
Imagine a spectrum of TV shows, with TNG occupying a virtual space near one end of the continuum and something like Lost at the other. Don't worry at this stage what the continuum axis measures, just place those shows at opposite ends and proceed based on your overall gestalt impression/instinct around the show for now.
Now place Friends and, say, nuBSG, DS9, 24, The Shield, The A-Team, ER on that spectrum and let's also use the shows you mentioned like Frasier, Cheers, Miami Vice and Fresh Prince.
For me, there's a constellation of similarity between TNG, Friends, The A-Team, Cheers and Fresh Prince from that list and another cluster around Lost, nuBSG, The Shield and 24. ER leans towards the latter cluster but isn't quite there. Miami Vice is somewhere in the middle, leaning towards the TNG cluster, DS9 is there too.
To be clear, this isn't about what shows you like; I like all of these examples except Lost and nuBSG, for instance.
If that makes no sense whatsoever, clearly we don't have any common ground and will have to agree to disagree. But if you find your clusters not entirely dissimilar, then you're probably picking up some of the same similarities I am.
*shrug*
It seems like you just grouped a bunch of shows that are more "gritty/dark/adult" on one side, and a bunch of shows that are less dark on the other. Most of the shows on one side of your spectrum also seem to have long story arcs in common, whereas the other side does not.
Or, if that's not it, then perhaps the connection you are (unknowingly?) making is the idea that one side of the spectrum has characters that seem to dislike eachother or get into serious conflicts(Shield, Nubsg, Lost,24), whereas the other side of the spectrum has characters that get along better for the most part. (I tend to disagree with lumping them all together in that manner, however, because while the characters in "The Fresh Prince" and other "lighter" shows you mentioned all get along or love each other for the most part, the episodes are still largely structured around conflict between the main cast, even if it's presented as more lighthearted. That rarely happens in TNG, although it does happen with more frequency later on in the series.)
Nothing specifically about Friends and TNG, other than they make up the same "non dark" side of the cluster, with a bunch of other shows. If you're trying to point out that some of those shows are dark in nature, and the others not-so-dark, well, I don't really disagree. But that's not what you were saying before. At all.
Listen, I'm not trying to be a dick here. I'm not trying to troll you. I just thought the comparison to Friends to TNG made no sense. When I expressed disagreement, you started making all these points about "Basic narrative structure", "cast interaction vs guest star interaction", or " similar production elements"... You were acting as if these claims had some kind of evidence to back them up.
If you had just said "I can't really put my finger on it, I just get a Friends vibe" or something, well, then fine. Fair enough. Nothing wrong with that... But you started making these claims that just didn't appear hold any water, so I called you on it. If that offends you, then sorry. When someone makes a totally random/unusual connection and tries to ascribe significance to it, I expect evidence to back it up. Otherwise it's pretty meaningless.
I agree. TNG helped me get through the heartache of pre-teen hood, again; watching the old tape-overs. When I had a Lore moment, thinking that no one cared; I would sit and think, 'What would Data do? (usually something sweet and innocent) and I would feel better.
