Fans reacting to the announcement of Star Trek: The Next Generation ( lemmy.world )

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.

maegul ,

Honestly, those people, or rather their opinions, can all go to hell.

A new star trek series then or now won’t take away, alter or affect in any way TOS and their ability to enjoy it. Not to mention how incredibly un-Trek like it is to literally avoid “explore[ing] strange new worlds” like the plague.

I get that Trek is comfort food for many of us, and that probably creates a strong form of protective nostalgia, but staying in the past to the exclusion of the future is just awful (not to mention that I’m personally bothered at the extent to which this has happened with modern Trek and it’s proclivity for reboots and prequels, SNW becoming increasingly both).

Also, is that picture of Stewart from Dune (1984)?!

Screwthehole ,

There is one legit worry in the article, that the new show would impact TOS movies. But the rest of the article is spent talking about how it would be impossible for the new show to be good. It’s wild to read it with the benefit of hindsight lol

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

Especially knowing that they went on to make 6 movies!

drewx0r , (edited )

Two of them were made after this article came out (he mentions four movies being made. Star Trek IV came out in 1986, TNG premiered in 1987). So Star Trek V 😬 and Star Trek VI 👍 were yet to be made.

maegul ,

how it would be impossible for the new show to be good. It’s wild to read it with the benefit of hindsight lol

But also, so what if it turns out to not be good? You can’t know ahead of time in the same way no one knew TOS would be good. Plus, if being progressive was remotely anything these fans valued in Trek, there was plenty of room for improvement. Like, how has Trek fared against the Bechdel test? I’d imagine it takes up until Voyager that you start to get consistent episodes that pass (I’m not sure how often Jadzia-Kira and Troy-Crusher conversations happened)

someguy3 ,

Apparently the most recognisable name was Levar Burton, being in Roots and Reading Rainbow.

Anticorp ,

Just take a look, it’s in a book, Reading Rainbow.

I… caaan fly anywhere!

TimewornTraveler ,

I thought RR was after Trek

someguy3 ,

Says reading rainbow was 1983-2006. TNG was 87-94

CeruleanRuin ,

That’s probably the only reason the article pegs him as “the new Spock”.

takeda ,

I wish I could go back in time and tell them that TNG is going to rock.

Don't worry, they know now.

JoMiran ,
@JoMiran@lemmy.ml avatar

Seriously, how old do people think Gen-X is? Some of us haven’t even hit fifty yet.

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

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…

p1z ,

Levar already looking blind in his photo, he must’ve been researching the role

ImpossibleRubiksCube ,

Nobody knows how to hate on Star Trek like a Trekkie.

MoistTummy ,

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.

ArtieShaw ,
@ArtieShaw@kbin.social avatar

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!

thallamabond ,

You might enjoy Bob Wheeler who he played on Night Court.

Doesntpostmuch ,

Leave it to the founder of Wendy’s to do a Star Trek hit piece

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

Whoa, what a weird career path.

marlowe221 ,

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!

eran_morad ,

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.

kamenlady ,
@kamenlady@lemmy.world avatar

I don’t have kids, i can just imagine the joy of watching Stat Trek with mini-me

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

I’m counting down the days. Even got mine a onesie that says “The Next Generation”

kamenlady ,
@kamenlady@lemmy.world avatar

That sounds like a Picard worthy Maneuver!

SulaymanF ,

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.

mothersprotege ,

I recall this being posted ad nauseum on r/startrek, and the comments were always full of people using it to dismiss any and all criticism of Discovery and/or Picard. Nice to see that not being rehashed here.

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

The discussions on here are usually really positive.

I haven’t even seen Discovery or Picard yet. I just love TOS and TNG and thought this was surreal to read.

demlet ,

That’s some tasty retro-nerdiness.

Sanctus ,
@Sanctus@lemmy.world avatar

At least it reads like they were upset about diversity

paddirn ,

“The Reading Rainbow guy on MY Star Trek?! Oh god, is he gonna read a book to the shields to get them to hold?”

JoMiran ,
@JoMiran@lemmy.ml avatar

It was mainly “Kunta Kinte?!?” coming from the boomers at the time.

Anticorp ,

He reads several actually. He even turns documentation into a holographic representation of a woman and makes out with it. Typical Geordi.

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

Yeah, you don’t become chief engineer by never reading a book.

collegefurtrader ,

Then acts all weird when the real woman isn’t into it

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

An engineer falling in love with virtual women but being awkward with women in real life? That seems a little farfetched.

collegefurtrader ,

The writers were a little TOO good sometimes

Anticorp ,

She was married, if I remember correctly.

decadentrebel ,
@decadentrebel@lemmy.world avatar

I still remember when they Poochied the lesbian security guard.

ANuStart ,

How the hell does Gates McFadden look better now than she did 20 years ago

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

It’s all that ghost magic.

Gamaxray ,

Seriously, What a GILF!

JoMiran , (edited )
@JoMiran@lemmy.ml avatar

I remember when it first aired. I was not a fan. Having re-watched the entire series in a loop since the first airing (I recorded the broadcasts on VHS), I can comfortably say that the first season is pretty shit. Once it finds its stride though…

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

I think there are still a lot of people out there who watched the original and never gave TNG a chance. Yeah, once it grows the beard, it’s peak trek for me.

Sanctus ,
@Sanctus@lemmy.world avatar

I can heavily agree with that. The first season of TNG is kind of stinky. But once it gets going its unstoppable.

Lorindol ,

My feelings exactly.

I saw TOS when I was 9-10 years old and it was mindblowingly good compared to almost anything else you could see on TV at the time in my backwater country.

Few years later I learned that this new series TNG will start airing and I was very excited. My disappointment was endless when I saw the pilot.

I strongly disliked the general production aesthetics and Enterprise-D looked just stupid compared to the iconic original/refit Enterprise of TOS era. The characters felt so empty compared to the old crew and the first season scripts weren’t so great, so I gave up on the series after seeing few episodes. This was in the early 90’s.

15 years later I saw a few episodes from the later seasons and to my surprise found that they were good. So I watched the entire series and enjoyed it. I still prefer TOS and love the new SNW, there’s something about the older era setting that just hits me in the feels.

Nostalgia is a powerful thing.

kamenlady ,
@kamenlady@lemmy.world avatar

Really fond memories tend to hit the right Spock.

paddirn ,

I watched it as an impressionable 6 year old and loved every minute of it, but yeah, watching through it again, the first season was rough.

Damage ,

I rewatched it recently and I found it better than I remembered. My partner who watched it with me for the first time loved it from the start.

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