I’d avoid anything involving Troi, period. The season 1 ender was all about Troi and how she was empathizing with the oil spill monster.
For the era, too. Watch some network shows from the 80s. I caught an old episode of The A-Team recently. First time I had seen it in 30 years. It’s only a few years prior to TNG, and it looks absolutely amateur compared to the stuff we have today. I’m not just talking technically, but it just seemed very old fashioned in terms of acting, set design, etc, etc, etc.
And poor CGI? Dude, it debuted in 1987. The Abyss was still two years away, and only high-end filmmakers like James Cameron had the budget to pull that off. TNG was almost all model photography, with the effects provided by a Quantel compositing system. It wouldn’t be until the 4th season of Voyager that they transitioned to CGI.
My point is that I preferred the styrofoam rocks of the original series to the crap CGI of the Next Gen.
Telepathy is the worst thing that ever happened to Star Trek. Followed closely by Bajorans, of course.
Next Generation is pretty rough, especially the first couple seasons. They have not aged well and many episodes are truly terrible. If you have nothing better to do you might as well power through them, though.
You could start with Voyager. It’s more modern in terms of storytelling, has better effects and is criminally underrated as sci-fi.
It has an incredibly (incredibly) bland cast, and the stories don’t really do the premise justice.
Hey, thanks for all the replies. I’ll look into some of the suggested episodes, I guess.
If you want a “bottom of the bottom of the scraping the scum” one to avoid: the one where the crew “devolves” into marmosets and lizards and whatnot.
My opinion of TNG isn’t quite as negative as Pogue’s, but I will say I found the first couple of seasons a big disappointment. And in the late `80s, it took a lot for a Star Trek series to alienate me. :-( Fortunately, things started to pick up quite a bit in season 3.
Except for “First Contact.” Drunk Troi is awesome Troi.
Are you kidding? DS9 was awesome! Ensign Ro had her moments, too. Are you sure you don’t mean “Betazoids?” :-)
You could start with Voyager. It’s more modern in terms of storytelling, has better effects and is criminally underrated as sci-fi.
That would be because it’s criminally terrible.
. . . okay, it’s not that bad, but it was a huge disappointment and Janeway annoyed the piss outta me.
Eh, it’s my disappointment talking really. I feel like Next Gen took Star Trek in an uninteresting direction. I tried to give it a fair shake, I’ve seen those Borg episodes where they captured Picard, but I don’t find the Borg all that interesting either. I have seen all the movies and wasn’t wild about any of them (and that’s a serious understatement for Insurrection and Nemesis). I confess I have not seen every episode, so it’s probably best to give the suggestions above a go and see if they scratch the Trek itch for you.
With regards, to Voyager, my thoughts are that it’s best episodes are up there with the best of TNG, but that the average quality is much worse, so that’s a show that I wouldn’t recommend watching full seasons of.
I probably should have made that more clear. Yes, I’d only recommend it for continuity’s sake if you haven’t seen it before and it’s probably the worst episode on my list, so don’t be disheartened if you don’t like it.
Also, I should have pointed out that I actually have seen TNG as a child, so I can’t be completely sure, but as I’ve also introduced people to it who haven’t, I’m quite confident that it does hold up without nostalgia.
But there is hardly any CGI in TNG at all! It’s all models and matte paintings and bluescreens and fireworks and stuff. Thankfully, IMHO, as they age much better than CGI. Just look at Babylon 5 (which I also love) for comparison.
Let me try to avoid a semantic argument (too late!), because obviously I am incorrect in calling TNG’s effects “CGI”. Which is kind of funny, because somehow they managed to create special effects that really closely approximate the kind of bad CGI I’m used to seeing in SciFi’s made-for-TV movies. Anyway yes, you are right that just about everything of the period looks pretty bad, especially looking back. But so much of TNG looks like either matte paintings or green screen that it just generally all looks fake, in a way that the canyons outside of L.A. helped a lot of the original series’ stuff seem more convincing.
That’s certainly valid criticism of the first season or two. Riker never really got interesting, but he did evolve out of “Kirk Lite” into something vaguely less boring by season 3. Data certainly moved out of “replacement Spock” territory fairly quickly and they did a fair amount with that character. Picard though, really went in some interesting directions: as a more seasoned, less action-oriented captain character who was often allowed to think his way out of problems rather than simply punch stuff, he opened the door to some better stories in the later seasons. They never could have done “Inner Light” with Kirk, for instance.
Klingon Guy (Worf) was a great addition for their target demographic though – the misunderstood outcast who tries to keep his inner violence suppressed while slowly being drawn into the family despite his best efforts. Great archetype who works well in an ensemble show for the same reason Wolverine worked so well in the contemporary X-Men books.
Blind Guy was a dumb idea. Oooh look! We’ve inserted ‘Guy With Disability’ into the show! He’s blind AND he’s the navigator! Irony! Don’t you see the irony!? Edgy irony! What was worse is that Burton had excellently expressive eyes and covering them with that stupid air filter hamstrung him almost as much as the writers’ inability to figure out what he could add to the plot beyond spouting technobabble.
Telepath Lass was just irredeemable. “I feel… that they are angry…”
Ugh. This show lost me in the first episode when they suggested that space-faring races in the Whosists-Sector were incapable of producing their own water. The pacing of the episodes was better than TNG, but not better than DS9. The plots were 90% technobabble and everything reset to a neutral state between each episode, despite the promises of a more arc-approach.
And the characters! Say what you will about TNG’s dull characters, at least they were boring in a bland way; Voyager’s cast of misfits was boring in a faux-edgy way that set my teeth to gritting.
Did you like Worf? Well, we’ve got female Worf! She’s a half-breed who hates both of her halves! Feel the edgy rage radiating off of her! Did you think Riker was too whitebread? We did too, so here is Native American Riker! He’s conflicted about his loyalties for one episode a season! And he’s got Mike-Tyson-like facial tattoos! Edgy! Do you miss Spock? Us too! Here’s a replacement Spock, and he’s Black and angry! For the first few episodes anyway! Edgy Vulcans! And everyone liked Picard, so we brought him back! As a chick! Edgy!
Don’t get me started on lovable-rogue Rooster Guy, Asian Westley, or the blonde pilot who occasionally devolved into a lizard.
The only decent character on the show was the Hologram Doctor, who was a spectacular idea who fulfilled the “outsider commenting on the human condition” role very nicely until Barbie of Borg showed up and did it slightly better while being more fun to look at.
It’s really amazing how poorly the effects of that era have aged. I remember being completely blown away by Babylon 5’s effects at the time and how incredible some of their space-combat stuff was with all the moving parts and intricate details.
Now I look back at those same episodes and my eyeballs bleed from the low resolutions, jaggies, and mostly-uninspired single polygons. I wonder if 20 years from now the effects in BSG will seem as wince-inducing when I watch it on my 500" Entertainment Wall?
Wow. You guys are a tough crowd. I just got the remastered first 2 seasons of TNG and am going through them. And you know what? With the proviso that you must put up with 80s hairdos and styling (I was a teenager in the 80s but boy do I not miss those) and the weaker stories of those 2 seasons, I still love this show.
I love that Picard is a thinking captain. I love what they are doing with Data. And I love seeing the whole cast finding their marks and coming together.
Yes, some episodes are rougher than others. But despite having seen it all before, I’m not skipping anything. I’m just enjoying my leisurely stroll through the series.
It helps that the high def restoration is superb and smoothes over a lot of the rough edges of special effects, like the matte paintings.
So I’ll be the dissenting voice who says it’s still very much worth watching if you have the time and realise not every episode will be memorable or good.
Wendelius
I recently went through the entire three seasons of TOS (the updated HD versions, natch), and I was amazed at how well they hold up. They are really, genuinely good, with real interpersonal conflict and decently high stakes.
After rewatching those, TNG just seems so bland, with everyone generally trying to get along, walking through carpeted corridors in response to emergencies, and lecturing people on how evolved we are in the future so we don’t need money and we don’t worry about careers and we don’t get sad when people die because death is just a natural part of life.
But really, the worst of all is the TNG cliche where the crew is in a dire situation–the ship is going to self-destruct, they are on the edge of the universe, about to fall into a black hole, and the entire crew has devolved into marmosets–then they reflux the phase inverter or blow up the alien ship or take down the intruder with one shot, and suddenly it’s, “Captain’s Log: We averted the self-destruct, repaired the ship, rebuilt the hull, de-evolved the entire crew, returned from our visit with the Cytherians from the edge of known space, freed the Nanites, deported the Cardassian ambassador, healed Worf’s spine, cured Riker’s syphilis, and now we’re on route to the Beta Gamma Eradi sector.” Guys, not everything has to be returned to normal at the end of every episode! Try some character development.
OK, fair enough, I guess there are one or two of those in almost every season, I’ll give it a go. Being very generous with the first two and somewhat stricter with the later seasons, I’d say they are:
S1:
Code of Honor
Justice
Haven
Angel One
Too Short a Season
When The Bough Breaks
S2:
The Child
The Dauphin
Unnatural Selection
The Icarus Factor
Shades of Grey
S3:
The Bonding
S4:
Suddenly Human
The Loss
S5:
Cost of Living
Imaginary Friend
S6:
Man of the People
Aquiel
S7:
Dark Page
Sub Rosa
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If y’all haven’t started reading these, you should. ;)
The first two seasons of TNG were marked with the typical “finding our sea legs” struggles many new shows go through. Actors are still trying to get a feel for their characters, writers are trying to develop the character (and the show’s) voice, etc, etc. There was also some upheaval in the cast; Denise Crosby left the show (a huge mistake she later realized, considering she’s spent the decades since trying to work her way back into the Trek mainstream), then Gates McFadden got canned and Gene went with Diana Muldaur, who he used in TOS in an episode.
But Gene was the main issue. He was the showrunner and it was clear the show was struggling. Paramount finally moved him out and gave the job to Berman, who Paramount had saddled on to Gene because they were worried Gene may not be up to the task of modern television. Gene was also fading an not on the top of his game; he was in his late 60s when TNG spun up, and he’d be dead of a heart attack by 1991.
Once Berman took over he made the smartest move he ever made by getting Michael Piller to run the writing room. Piller goes out and finds guys like Ronald D. Moore. If you want to credit TNG’s glory years to anyone, it’s him.
FWIW my wife started watching TNG about a year or so ago for the first time on reruns from BBC America and SyFy (I think). Since I watched most of them the first time through, its more or less what she watches when I’m not there, or when nothing else is on.
There are definitely weak episodes, but on the whole its still a fun series to watch IMO. I say give it a go.
Well said. I believe season 3 is the best season because the writers finally got out of under Gene’s thumb and were able to write the stories they WANTED to write, finally, and man did they soar. Ron Moore did a fantastic job in both TNG and DS9…shame about that BSG thing though…;)