What was your reaction to TNG?

[EnriqueH]

I was just thinking, when it was announced that TNG was happening, what were your thoughts?

(Assuming you're over 30 years old.)

I was in 6th or 7th grade at the time, and I can remember hearing about it, but what I really remember was seeing it advertised on TV Guide.

The big Enterprise-D and a bunch of strangers as the crew.

When I saw that it was a different cast, I basically made a "throwaway gesture" and said, "No Kirk or Spock? Naaaaaaah!"

A day after the premiere, this guy at the lunch line said to me that he saw it, and I asked him what he thought, and I remember he said, "Great special effects."

And, except for seeing a clip of the crew in a cave somewhere around 1988-89 (I tuned in literally for a few seconds), that was my last brush with TNG until years later.


I didn't actually watch an episode until "Yesterday's Enterprise" was advertised in the TV Guide, and I began wondering if they would talk about Kirk and Spock. Obviously that didn't happen, but I still became an INSTANT fan and started tuning every Saturday (or recording it if I was going out).

 

[BillJ]

I started in watching TNG in 1987 I had been a fan of TOS since 1975. When it was announced I was excited for new Star Trek. I must've watch "Encounter at Farpoint" three times that weekend. I had recorded it on our VCR.

Loved the show immediately but the love started to wear thin around season four and I was burnt out by season five. I stayed with the show and Modern Trek in general for the entire run but it became a loveless relationship.

 

[drt]

I was a Star Trek fan since 1973, and was pretty excited about the show when it was announced. Following the premiere, I liked TNG quite a bit, and unlike Bill, I stayed interested in TNG throughout it's run (although I was probably more into it the first couple of seasons).

I'll still watch episodes if I come across them on TV, but I never bought any DVDs and only own the Blu-Ray Encounter at Farpoint sampler and Best of Both Worlds - so I don't revisit it very often these days.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

I was just thinking, when it was announced that TNG was happening, what were your thoughts?

(Assuming you're over 30 years old.)

I was in 6th or 7th grade at the time, and I can remember hearing about it, but what I really remember was seeing it advertised on TV Guide.

The big Enterprise-D and a bunch of strangers as the crew.

When I saw that it was a different cast, I basically made a "throwaway gesture" and said, "No Kirk or Spock? Naaaaaaah!"

A day after the premiere, this guy at the lunch line said to me that he saw it, and I asked him what he thought, and I remember he said, "Great special effects."

And, except for seeing a clip of the crew in a cave somewhere around 1988-89 (I tuned in literally for a few seconds), that was my last brush with TNG until years later.


I didn't actually watch an episode until "Yesterday's Enterprise" was advertised in the TV Guide, and I began wondering if they would talk about Kirk and Spock. Obviously that didn't happen, but I still became an INSTANT fan and started tuning every Saturday (or recording it if I was going out).

I was intrigued. 'Star Trek' was basically Kirk, Spock, and McCoy....so I was interested in seeing how a 'new generation' would be portrayed.

I wasn't disappointed, especially since the costumes from TOS were adapted for the show. (A must for me!) Too, Geordi seemed like a potential good character....and it was interesting seeing a Klingon on the bridge since they were pretty much the enemy for so long.....and I found I had fan-crushes on Tasha Yar and Deanna Troi and maybe even Beverly Crusher .

Even then, I thought Wesley was kind of cheesy and exaggerated for a teenager. And Riker, for me, was too much by the book (to the point of being a bit of a hypocrite) and Picard was a bit of a hard-ass at times.

Data was interesting, though even some of his scenes were cheesy as well.

 

[C.E. Evans]

When I first heard about TNG, I thought it was originally going to be about a new younger crew aboard the Enterprise-B. But a classmate in school set me straight that it was going to be set 100 years after TOS and be aboard the Enterprise-D instead.

I was totally okay with that, but I thought that big jump forward in time was more than just a generation.


The first time I saw Picard and his gang, along with the Enterprise-D was in a full two-page spread in Star magazine that came out a few months before the show's premiere. I remember being totally excited about it--the new characters, the sleek new uniforms, the new bridge, etc. It was like seeing a brand-new world that I couldn't wait to explore.

After seeing "Encounter At Farpoint," I was immediately hooked.

 

[bbjeg]

I was born in '84 and my father was a fan of the Trek. I honestly can't remember a time when Star Trek wasn't on the screen in my youth. Watching it blew my mind (though everything blew my mind back then), and I went back and viewed the series from the start a few times, the first time to catch anything I missed and the rest when nothing interested me on TV (especially during that Reality TV craze), and each time I understood a good part of the episodes better. Out of all of the series, TNG is my definitive Trek.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

I was totally okay with that, but I thought that big jump forward in time was more than just a generation.

That's true, isn't it? Even at 78 years, it should be more like Star Trek: The Generation After the Next.

 

[Mojochi]

I grew up watching TOS reruns with my dad in the 70s, and grew to love it more during the film franchise of the 80s. I remember knowing early on that it would be an entirely new crew and later timeline, and I was ok with that

The show came on not long after The Voyage Home film, and though that film is generally liked, I remember being slightly disappointed that they were losing momentum, and were in the decline of the TOS cinematic franchise. (That was further proved with ST:5)

So, I was generally excited to see something new, as I was thinking it was time for something refreshing, because it was getting stale in the cinemas. When the show's 1st season aired, I wasn't bowled over, and was a little worried that the new characters weren't going to be as endearing, and the show might not make it. (Which it appears the people in the show felt the same)

But I stuck with it, because it wasn't that bad, and I knew tv dynamics such that it might take some time to get it right, and the 5th film was a real letdown in the theaters. So the show was the best we had

Fortunately, I enjoyed ST:6, and right around that time TNG was really going strong, and I felt much better about the whole thing. Imho they had turned it all around (For a while anyway. lol)

 

[Melakon]

I started with TOS in '66, and was 36 when TNG showed up. There were a few things I didn't like about the new show, including the fat body ship design and recycling the TMP theme. But at least Jerry Goldsmith got royalty checks every time it aired. The department color changes making command the new redshirts bothered me a bit, but I guess it can be explained as the films resetting everything.

 

[Nebusj]

I was just thinking, when it was announced that TNG was happening, what were your thoughts?

(Assuming you're over 30 years old.)

I was extremely excited by the news of the new show; I'd gotten into Star Trek and seen every episode and the four movies to that point multiple times and was eager to see something new. The bits of information available in Starlog and the like just sounded … well, strange, but exciting, new and promising. I liked that it was being set far enough after the Original Trek and movies that it could be new but still pretty well tested.

When the show first debuted … well, I tried very hard to convince myself that it was as good as I needed it to be. If you squint hard ``Encounter at Farpoint'' kind of looks like something happens in it, and ``The Naked Now'' is … well, even a 15-year-old notices it's an immature version of ``The Naked Time''. There were a couple signs of life, like ``Where No One Has Gone Before'' or ``11001001'' but overall, boy, it was a lot of trusting that the show was going to get better soon.

 

[Melakon]

One of my disappointments in those early years is there wasn't a lot of location filming. The show often felt stagebound with lots of artificial outdoor sets.

 

[Mojochi]

One of my disappointments in those early years is there wasn't a lot of location filming. The show often felt stagebound with lots of artificial outdoor sets.

Which would've been ok considering that it's a spinoff of TOS, but they clearly were trying to spin off the movies, with the special effects and makeup, and the locations were what fell short in that respect

 

[BriGuy]

I was 16, in high school, and watched it live the night Farpoint first aired. I even recorded it on a VHS tape that I had kept many, many years - complete with the commercials and all.

Having grown up watching TOS reruns and being a fan of the movies up tot hen, I loved TNG from the start, and kept going with every series that followed from start to finish of each.

 

[RandyS]

I was 17 in 1987, and, although I was leery about a new crew succeeding "my guys" (Kirk, Spock, Bones, etc), I was quickly won over and have been every bit in love with TNG as I am with TOS ever since.

In short, I came, I saw, I stayed.

 

[DCR]

I was 24, I wanted to see new Trek but I wasn't sure about the changes. I really found the first season tough going - but as it was the only option for the kind of SF I wanted to watch I kept following it.

Luckily, it got better by the third season

 

[Nerys Myk]

I thought some of the names were odd, especially Crusher and Riker. After seeing the premier, I thought the show kinda sucked. Since it was Star Trek I stuck with it.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I have very fond memories of the night TNG premiered. I was typing up our group presentation for my high school British Lit class, and everyone came over to my house to give me their notes... we were all dividing our attention between that and TNG's pilot ep. I thought TNG was really cool and an absolute blast to watch - exactly the kind of 'shot in the arm' that Trek needed.

True, sometimes it tended towards cheesiness so awesome as to rival the finest slice of gorgonzola, but that's why we love it!

Oh, and TNG would have failed miserably if not for Patrick Stewart. It had a fair amount of good acting, but Sir Patrick carried the show like no one else could.

 

[RandyS]

I thought some of the names were odd, especially Crusher and Riker. After seeing the premier, I thought the show kinda sucked. Since it was Star Trek I stuck with it.

Yeah, Crusher's name is weird, but I still like her better than Pulaski (even though her name makes more sense). But Riker? Why is that name odd?

 

[Nerys Myk]

I thought some of the names were odd, especially Crusher and Riker. After seeing the premier, I thought the show kinda sucked. Since it was Star Trek I stuck with it.

Yeah, Crusher's name is weird, but I still like her better than Pulaski (even though her name makes more sense). But Riker? Why is that name odd?

Not a name I was familiar with. Sounded harsh to my ears. Though I had no problem with "Yar". Go figure.