It’s so bizarre to read this in the present, knowing how incredible TNG was, but I get it - the original crew WAS Star Trek to them.
The dedicated fans revived this series in syndication, well after it had gone off the air in 1969, and felt attached to the characters that they had obsessed over between then and the 1980s. Like modern fans, they thought that departure from what they knew would ruin it.
I wish I could go back in time and tell them that TNG is going to rock.
“The Reading Rainbow guy on MY Star Trek?! Oh god, is he gonna read a book to the shields to get them to hold?”
He reads several actually. He even turns documentation into a holographic representation of a woman and makes out with it. Typical Geordi.
Yeah, you don’t become chief engineer by never reading a book.
Then acts all weird when the real woman isn’t into it
An engineer falling in love with virtual women but being awkward with women in real life? That seems a little farfetched.
The writers were a little TOO good sometimes
She was married, if I remember correctly.
It was mainly “Kunta Kinte?!?” coming from the boomers at the time.
Hmmm. Came back here looking for the snippet but the image link seems to be broken … any chance of digging it out again?
Sure thing. Here it is!
Thanks!!
This is why I don’t pay attention to the initial nerd reception
It’s also funny that the article suggests that Laforge is the new Spock, and not obviously Data.
If you read the initial material, Data is drastically different. There is no explicit mention of being unemotional, just that he tends to speak more formally. He’s supposed to be more like the Ilia probe than Spock.
Worf didn’t exist at first, so Geordi the teacher with bionic vision would be the most “other” character. If they’d seen any of the early press material for Phase II, Spock’s replacement there was a very junior officer.
Wow, could you imagine the show without Worf? It just wouldn’t feel right.
The idea was that the Klingons had joined the Federation and we’d see Klingon Starfleet personnel in the background. When they did add Worf, he was to be more frequently Data’s relief than Yar’s.
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I just noticed that he also spelled Riker as “Ryker”
That one actually isn’t a mistake. His last name was spelled “Ryker” when they were developing the show.
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/William_T._Riker#Character_development
Ah, I wondered! They were clearly thinking that the Y makes it more science fictiony.
Nobody dislikes Star Trek as much as Star Trek fans.
Damn Star Trek fans, they ruined Star Trek!
This is actually true though
I remain slightly miffed about how Dr Pulaski, one of the few characters that received any development in TNG S2, was so hated by some fans that it caused to Diane Muldur to swear off of Trek altogether.
She might not have entirely understood Data to begin with, but she did become better at that later on, a stark contrast to much of the rest of the Federation, which would still be arguing whether he, or his children had personhood, and is the only Starfleet Doctor in RetroTrek to actively take an interest in and engage with her patient’s cultures.
I can’t envision early Dr Crusher taking part in Worf’s Klingon tea ceremony, for example.
Still better than Star Wars fans, though. Same as it ever was
I thought that was a Star Wars thing, but I guess it’s just a thing in general. For reference I like it all, Star Wars, Star Trek, TOS, TNG
LOL. The TNG hate was ridiculous, but one other thing - nobody ignores a Star Trek fan better than other fans of Star Trek.
Haha, Spock wasn’t replaced by LaForge. Spock was replaced by Data.
Yeah, who even thought that for a second?
I grew up with Next Generation first, sitting on my dad’s lap watching the show with him.
When I first watched TOS I remember seeing Spock and saying, “oh yeah, the original Data”.
I remember thinking, “I don’t wanna watch a Trek without Spock,” and then Data came along and I was hooked.
Especially since Spock was often described by Bones as being a walking computer, and Data was described as an Android. It would be less of a logical leap than having Geordi be the new Spock.
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Yep, I noticed that too … it’s pretty damn obvious actually!
Wdym, Burton has a normal photo and the character is named among the others. Stewart’s picture is from a performance, so also different.
Also funny how you’re complaining about someone not getting named, and you’re just referring to him as a black man.
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It also feels like they intentionally picked that photo for contrast value: smiling so broadly when that is something “the original Spock” never did. They were going for the outrage factor, truth be damned.
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Was that part of the marketing at the time, or just some bizarre leap from the author? I’m having a hard time finding any good comparisons between La Forge and Spock. In season 1 Geordi wasn’t even in engineering, let alone the science officer. He was a helmsman, so in that sense more comparable to Sulu or Chekhov, and he certainly doesn’t have anything like the relationship with the captain that Spock did.
Is it just because he was a recognizable name at the time? It’s just a weird jump to make.
That’s some tasty retro-nerdiness.
I mean let’s be real here they had every right to be concerned. TNG had serious problems in the beginning and had some pretty big flaws even as the show got going. Off the top of my head
- The first few episodes (besides Q) were straight trash. Even if you take out the ample racism and sexism, they still kinda suck
- Worf didn’t become a thing until Yar died. He was just kinda there. Also his hair looked ridiculous
- Riker was half as sexy in terms of looks and a quarter as sexy in terms of personality
- Picard was a dick. Not firm but fair. A straight up dick.
- They straight up got rid of crusher for a season
- The Ferengi were awful. Not like in a “lol what shenanigans is Quark up to now” but in a “TOS Gorn” way
I love the first few episodes, I prefer babyface riker, and I think Dick Picard was a cool badass who I fully support.
But they should have kept Crusher, and the political conflicts were a ridiculous joke epitomized by the cartoonish ferengi. S3 gave us much better aesthetics and politics (though the new character driven storytelling might be a matter of taste).
I’m watching TNG now with someone who’s never seen it before, and that’s making me ‘see’ the show with fresh eyes. The first few episodes are so hard to get through. Some are straight up cringey. Many remember Code of Honor and Last Outpost as being horrible, but Naked Now is awful in its own way. Don’t get me wrong: TNG goes on to be an excellent, culture-defining show. When people talk about how good it is, they’re probably thinking about Measure of a Man, Inner Light, Darmok, and Best of Both Worlds.
Let me add that DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise got to build on the risks that TNG took. Those shows were more consistently good at their starts.
Hey Naked Now has Data laying android pipe and therefore is fully functional in terms of canon.
Do you think the structured Soong’s character around the idea that he’d 100 percent be the type of guy to ensure Data had a fully functioning Penis?
Honestly from what we know of the Soong’s they probably almost never get laid so they 100% would try to make their androids studs in the bedroom.
Jokes aside, it’s a great point. It adds even more meaning to Data’s evident attachment to Tasha later on.
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The Naked Now was a bizarre choice for such an early episode. It’s the very first one after the premiere, and it’s based on the crew acting out of character – before the audience has had time to learn what their personalities are supposed to be.
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Riker was half as sexy in terms of looks and a quarter as sexy in terms of personality
Without any other context, you could easily assume that Riker’s beard is what really made TNG work.
@Kolanaki @hesusingthespiritbomb
Whoopie Goldberg’s desire to come in the show probably helped a bit, too. Or did she come for the beard?Oh she came for the beard ;)
Sigh.
Ok, let’s hear what you think the racism and sexism was.
Did you skip over Code of Honor? Wouldn’t blame you if you did, of course.
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Have you watched season 1?
Completely irrelevant to the topic, but my personal head canon is that Janeway admired Worf’s S1 Hair and copied it when she was given Voyager to command.
She definitely wore it better.
They straight up got rid of crusher for a season
I believe McFadden was fired, which was why she disappeared for no reason or fanfare.
TNG had serious problems in the beginning and had some pretty big flaws even as the show got going. Off the top of my head
You’re not wrong. I think the only main character that really had any development in the first 2 seasons is Dr Pulaski, going from someone completely unfamiliar with Data, and conscious machinery, to being an ardent supporter of his. We had a little but in Data settling into being an emotionless Android trying to learn to be more human, and Geordi becoming Chief Engineer, but they were very minor background tweaks to the characters.
Everyone else barely changed at all in that time, except for Lt. Yar, who went from being a living breathing person to corpse.
I never got into original series (and I existed before TNG) but something about TNG clicked.
Picard was a man of culture, not some Macho man to sleep with aliens of different colours.
Riker really came into his own as a second and had a different personality and perspective that added to the show
Data explored the concepts of AI and sentience and that mankind could create a new being (The measure of a man episode).
Jordi Laforge was inspiring that people with disabilities could be important and high ranking and overcome those challenges.
Sure, OS has its charm with fake Scottish man and Sulu and the radical idea not all Russians were insane. But I mean, Bones was just such a cliche (dammit Jim) and never really grew on me the way I’m sure he did the generation that loved John Wayne.
Yeah, what was revolutionary in the 1960s (humans of all nationalities working together) wouldn’t have been enough in 1987, but I appreciate that it set the groundwork for the series as a whole.
The acting in TOS is over the top and often silly, but I try to watch it as a product of its time - audiences didn’t really want their shows to have an edge or get deeply philosophical back then, so Roddenberry and team had to sneak that type of stuff in where they could. I have a soft spot for TOS and the campy characters and still think it’s a fun lighthearted watch.
The perspective is interesting and enlightening. For me, TNG was MY Star Trek. The first episode aired when I was 5 years old and I watched every episode with my dad over the seven year run.
Part of me grew up on the Enterprise D!
I got into Trek only a few years ago. My son was curious and wanted to watch a few episodes of TNG. It was pretty captivating.
I don’t have kids, i can just imagine the joy of watching Stat Trek with mini-me
I’m counting down the days. Even got mine a onesie that says “The Next Generation”
That sounds like a Picard worthy Maneuver!
I totally know what you mean. There’s a VR remake m of Enterprise-D called Stage 9. One of the live streamers broke down in tears of joy being in the shuttle bay in a VR headset.
Might be wrong but I think they used a picture of Bronson Pinchot instead of Brent Spiner. Now I really wanna see Data acting like Balki from Perfect Strangers.
I really want to see both characters and actors swap shows.
“Back on Meepos, Unlcle Kalvash would reconfigure the deflector relays to reinforce phasers at random intervals, thus disrupting the enemy’s shields. That certainly keep sheep on their toes!”
“Cousin Larry, before you approach that woman I must inform you that your chances of dating her are approximately 1.78X10^48 to one.”
I would watch the hell out of that. So many wacky mixups!
You might enjoy Bob Wheeler who he played on Night Court.
I wish I could go back in time and tell them that TNG is going to rock.
Don’t worry, they know now.
Seriously, how old do people think Gen-X is? Some of us haven’t even hit fifty yet.
I mean that I wish I could tell all the people who were worried back then that everything was going to work out great, not that they’re all gone and dead now - lost to the sands of time, from the forgotten age of the 1980s…
“LeVar Burton: The new Spock” 👀
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The only thing I wish TNG did from the get go, or kept from season 2 onwards, was Dr. Pulaski. She was simply a much better character and doctor than Crusher, she fit in with the rest of the crew much better as well.
She was so reminiscent of McCoy
Including, most importantly probably, naturally having the believable ability to stand up against the captain. There’s natural chemistry in that sort of dynamic, you’re almost waiting for a plot line to come along that splits them against each other.
I was fine with the character but hated the actress. She was an old crone and didn’t mesh into the ensemble IMO. The same for Natasha. Her acting chops were simple subpar.
I don’t remember Tasha being more subpar than the rest of the cast, the first two seasons were abysmal compared to seasons 3+.
I may be biased. I started in s4 and then went back to watch everything. I had no idea who Yar was and then didn’t like her acting. Her reactions to things seems forced. Her character had a rough upbringing but how the actress tries to portray it felt disjointed to me. The same for when she was trying to be attractive in scenes. I felt like she didn’t know how to act. And then when she was made to play a Romulan omg. She was terrible.
