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.

  • hesusingthespiritbomb@lemmy.world
    English
    38·
    11 months ago

    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
    • cloudy1999@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      20·
      11 months ago

      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.

      • Ilari@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        3·
        11 months ago

        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.

    • nxdefiant@startrek.websiteEnglish
      10·
      11 months ago

      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.

    • Loom In Essence@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      11 months ago

      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).