Scott Atwell Star Trek Discussion thread (Series and Films) (6 Viewers)

[ScottRE]

Considering what an old fart I've become, I'm surprised I was so excited about a new cast led Star Trek. But I wanted ANY new weekly Trek by that time and as long as the original cast was still making movies, I was fine. These days, I'm a little Trekked out, but back then, I was starving for it.

I actually liked the first season at the time and even defended episode remakes ("The Naked Now" and "Datalore" were pretty shameless). I didn't like the 2nd season as much but the third was pretty damned perfect. Maybe two or three episodes fell into "fair" but otherwise they had one winner after another (thank YOU Michael Piller). BOBW was insane! It remains my favorite episode of the series. After that, they got a little complacent and, dare I say, even boring when they trotted out one cast relative after another and focused on imaginary friends and Data trying to be a husband. YAWN. Still I watched it every single week. After the finale, I tried the others and, as I said, couldn't stick with them but did go back and watch almost all of the (even Voyager ages kinda well - at least with the big event episodes).

I remember during TNG's peak, it was predicted that the "new" show would supplant the original series in the minds of the public. To my ultimate satisfaction, this proved incorrect. TNG is well loved and respected, as it should be, but the original is still there after over 55 years. However, TNG was a HUGE phenomenon and Trek has yet to touch the public the same way again.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS! I remember it like it was yesterday!

I know I can't be the only one here who wants to point out it did not premiere with a "two-part" episode, but with a two-hour (uninterrupted) movie. The two-part version didn't come about until mid-season repeats.

 

[Nelson Au]

Andy, you are certainly correct in the split in fandom the series caused, I remember those days. I watched the series with an open mind. I wanted to give it a fair shake. I was one of the ones who thought a new Star Trek series had a hard time recapturing the same spark the original series did. In some ways TNG never could recapture what TOS had as both shows have their unique qualities.

The series very definitely had a rocky start. The Naked Now I remember watching and thinking, they’ve already started to mine TOS.

I still have a clipping a friend gave me, Whose better, Picard or Kirk. Remember that?! That was a great little piece that spoke of the strength of each captain. I have that in a shelf, I could type it up. Not sure I see it on the web, not the one I have.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Andy, you are certainly correct in the split in fandom the series caused, I remember those days. I watched the series with an open mind. I wanted to give it a fair shake. I was one of the ones who thought a new Star Trek series had a hard time recapturing the same spark the original series did. In some ways TNG never could recapture what TOS had as both shows have their unique qualities.

The series very definitely had a rocky start. The Naked Now I remember watching and thinking, they’ve already started to mine TOS.

Yeah, I, too, watched with an open mind and wanted to like it, but "Farpoint" was a bit underwhelming (though not bad), then the very next week, we get a blatant remake, and the very next week, we got "that" episode (which even in 1987 seemed pretty racially insensitive to this teenager).

If this had been on network TV, with the lukewarm opener followed by two duds, it would've likely been cancelled before the 13th week. Thank goodness better episodes were soon coming.

Does anybody know exactly why we got those two episodes directly after the pilot? Was it like the old days, and that those were the only two that were ready for air? I can't believe TPTB would have scheduled those first if they had other choices.

 

[Osato]

I just saw this story about TNG…

‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Turns 35: Watch Original Electronic Press Kit From 1987

Go behind the scenes with the cast and crew in 1987.

trekmovie.com

 

[BobO'Link]

I was *quite* excited about TNG and worked at a TV station when it began syndication. One of my weekly duties was to set up the "record calendar" for master control. That was a list of which shows to record each day and included the time the feed started, satellite information, and format (aka tape type) to use for the recording. For TNG I had *two* copies recorded. One for us to air, the other for me to edit down to make myself a VHS copy sans commercials.

For the entire first season, every 2 weeks I'd go in on a weekend morning, edit down the previous 2 week's episodes to remove commercials, and dub them to VHS. As the season progressed I became less and less enthusiastic about the series (thanks mostly to the Wesley Crusher character, but other issues as well) and after the 4th or 5th episode of season 2 I'd had enough and removed my custom recordings from the calendar and recorded over all those VHS copies I'd made.

Until sometime in the 2010's I'd never seen the bulk of the series, with just a handful outside that first season. If I was channel hopping and came across it, I kept going - unless there was absolutely *nothing* else I could find "better." In the 2010's I finally decided I "needed" it in my Trek Collection - after all, I'd purchased all the others but that one - so started picking up used copies of the series. Then I stumbled across a "too good to pass up" price on the complete BR set on Amazon UK and purchased a copy. At that point I'd *still* not finished watching the DVDs I'd purchased.

I've now seen it in its entirety twice. It's OK but still not one I care that much about.

And in spite of my feelings about the series I collected *every* press kit that came in to the station - all the way through the final season. Those were mostly episode synopsis, BW press photos, and slides. The best thing was the 1st season kit which was an aluminum brief case with a 3/4" tape inside with show clips and info, a metal communicator badge, a dangle type ID badge, and a couple of other items. I still have it all. Unfortunately I never had the sense to make a VHS copy of that 3/4" tape.

 

[Jason_V]

Does anybody know exactly why we got those two episodes directly after the pilot? Was it like the old days, and that those were the only two that were ready for air? I can't believe TPTB would have scheduled those first if they had other choices.

If memory serves, “The Naked Now” was supposed to be a way to introduce the new cast’s wants, desires and personalities to the viewers. It likely didn’t hurt it was largely a bottle show, too, and might have saved some money.

I’ve got nothing for “Code of Honor.”

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Roddenberry had full control over the first season, before his deteriorating health and internal politics led him to lose some control in the following seasons. And Roddenberry, bless him, was brilliant at creating the sandbox for everyone to play in, but his greatest strength wasn’t necessarily in deciding which stories to tell. His tastes tended to favor stories that we might consider to be a little too on the nose, and he also tried to work in the free exchange of sex whenever possible.

It was only several episodes later than they did that show where everyone on the planet is basically naked all the time and that’s ok, but step on one magic piece of grass and it’s the death penalty, and that’s ok too.

It’s not necessarily fashionable to say this, but the best thing to happen to TNG long term was probably Roddenberry being maneuvered out of the driver’s seat. Roddenberry didn’t want Worf to do more than grunt - he was against all of the Klingon backstory elements used in later years. Roddenberry didn’t want the “Family” episode to follow the Borg encounter; he felt Picard should have just shaken it off and never speak of it again, not visit his family’s ancestral home and have a breakdown with his brother.

There’s this strain of writing choices that runs through the several failed 70s pilots/TV movies he made that are all very similar. He loved this idea of future societies where all kinds of casual sex (often with the women providing free pleasure to the men, rather than standing on equal footing) ruled the day, with a “fish out of water” central male character arriving to enjoy the sex and then preach an anti-war morality message after the hanky panky.

It’s probably telling that “The Omega Glory” was one of Roddenberry’s favorite TOS episodes and that he spent years pushing the story until finally the network, desperate to make air dates, caved and let him do it. And it’s just not as revelatory as I think Roddenberry wanted or perceived it to be.

 

[Bryan^H]

I think I'm sort of pathetic in that I can watch any of TNG episodes on Parmount +, but I'm watching the BD instead. Simply because of the episode "teaser" and the menu screen. Sad really.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

What I like on Paramount+ is the series of “LiveTV” channels they have, including one dedicated to Star Trek 24/7. Sometimes I’ll tune there if I don’t have time to do a full episode but just want to watch a few minutes of something at lunch or before bed.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I think I'm sort of pathetic in that I can watch any of TNG episodes on Parmount +, but I'm watching the BD instead. Simply because of the episode "teaser" and the menu screen. Sad really.

Nothing wrong with that. You bought them, you should enjoy them as you see fit

 

[bmasters9]

Nothing wrong with that. You bought them, you should enjoy them as you see fit

And probably better that @Bryan^H has the Blus-- P+ may not exactly work on slow connections (don't know the status of his connection).

 

[AndyMcKinney]

If memory serves, “The Naked Now” was supposed to be a way to introduce the new cast’s wants, desires and personalities to the viewers. It likely didn’t hurt it was largely a bottle show, too, and might have saved some money.

I’ve got nothing for “Code of Honor.”

Oh, I understand why they were made (though TPTB made some serious missteps on "Code"), just don't understand why those are the ones they led off with, unless they were in a similar situation as in the '60s, in that they didn't have many "in the can." As we all probably remember, Bob Justman was there that first year, too.

 

[ScottRE]

For the most part, with just a few exceptions, TMP was aired in production order. So the episodes weren't shuffled around based on completion. A lot of the first half of season one was weak, not many from that portion of the series would have necessarily been better.

 

[KPmusmag]

What I like on Paramount+ is the series of “LiveTV” channels they have, including one dedicated to Star Trek 24/7. Sometimes I’ll tune there if I don’t have time to do a full episode but just want to watch a few minutes of something at lunch or before bed.

I like the live channels also, for exactly the reasons you state. If I have a complaint about P+ it is that, when you select an episode to view (as opposed to the live channels) there is no way (that I know of) to disable the skipping of the credits or to stop autoplay when there is no next episode - it never chooses anything I am remotely interested in, and in some cases it chooses something I find off-putting, like Dating Naked after I watch I Love Lucy. Variety is great and to each his own, but the autoplay thing annoys me.

On the subject of TNG, it took a few episodes to love it. I still love "Where No One Has Gone Before" and I remember being so annoyed with Picard because he was so dismissive of Wesley, despite the obvious evidence that he was a remarkable boy and the fact that Wesley was the son of someone very special to Picard.

 

[bmasters9]

there is no way (that I know of) to disable the skipping of the credits or to stop autoplay when there is no next episode - it never chooses anything I am remotely interested in, and in some cases it chooses something I find off-putting, like Dating Naked after I watch I Love Lucy. Variety is great and to each his own, but the autoplay thing annoys me.

Why would autoplay on P+ think you would want to see something vulgar, after you saw something that quite obviously wasn't?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I like the live channels also, for exactly the reasons you state. If I have a complaint about P+ it is that, when you select an episode to view (as opposed to the live channels) there is no way (that I know of) to disable the skipping of the credits or to stop autoplay when there is no next episode - it never chooses anything I am remotely interested in, and in some cases it chooses something I find off-putting, like Dating Naked after I watch I Love Lucy. Variety is great and to each his own, but the autoplay thing annoys me.

On the subject of TNG, it took a few episodes to love it. I still love "Where No One Has Gone Before" and I remember being so annoyed with Picard because he was so dismissive of Wesley, despite the obvious evidence that he was a remarkable boy and the fact that Wesley was the son of someone very special to Picard.

On the AppleTV app at least, in the settings you can turn the auto play off. It still displays a “next on” screen when the old episode ends, but doesn’t actually start playing.

 

[KPmusmag]

On the AppleTV app at least, in the settings you can turn the auto play off. It still displays a “next on” screen when the old episode ends, but doesn’t actually start playing.

Apparently, P+ has that option on devices, but not on desktop, which is the most convenient for me. Maybe I will switch to the Roku and see how that goes.

 

[John*Wells]

It’s not necessarily fashionable to say this, but the best thing to happen to TNG long term was probably Roddenberry being maneuvered out of the driver’s seat. Roddenberry didn’t want Worf to do more than grunt - he was against all of the Klingon backstory elements used in later years. Roddenberry didn’t want the “Family” episode to follow the Borg encounter; he felt Picard should have just shaken it off and never speak of it again, not visit his family’s ancestral home and have a breakdown with his brother.

I actually think "Family" Was one of the better episodes that TNG Had. It addressed issues Worf had with his Adoptive Parents. It also brought Wesley and Dr Crusher into focus as to how both felt about Jack's Death. and Then Picard and his brother resolved things between them while Rene got to meet his Uncle

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I actually think "Family" Was one of the better episodes that TNG Had. It addressed issues Worf had with his Adoptive Parents. It also brought Wesley and Dr Crusher into focus as to how both felt about Jack's Death. and Then Picard and his brother resolved things between them while Rene got to meet his Uncle

I completely agree. Roddenberry was flat out wrong about that one.