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.

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.

demlet ,

That’s some tasty retro-nerdiness.

Sanctus ,
@Sanctus@lemmy.world avatar

At least it reads like they were upset about diversity

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.

Nmyownworld ,
@Nmyownworld@startrek.website avatar

There were Star Trek fans at the time screaming from the rooftops about how TNG would ruin Star Trek. Before TNG even aired. But, there were also Star Trek fans who, while disappointed to not have the TOS crew back, were curious about what TNG was going to bring to the table. And, really happy to have a Star Trek series again. But, “Curious Trekkies Wait to See What’s What with TNG” wasn’t going to sell as many papers and stir up as much drama.

match ,
@match@pawb.social avatar

Well, they probably have one point - how many modern Trek fans have even watched TOS?

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

Surely most, right?

I’m a millennial, and TOS was my first introduction to Trek.

v_krishna ,
@v_krishna@lemmy.ml avatar

1985, TNG was definitely my introduction, really even Voyager and then got into TNG from there. I haven’t seen more than a couple TOS episodes but have seen everything else (except the animated ones, and many of the old movies barely watched once)

AngrilyEatingMuffins ,

I’ve seen maybe a quarter of the episodes. Seen every other trek episode multiple times. I know it’s blasphemy but trek got a lot better post Roddenberry

Nmyownworld ,
@Nmyownworld@startrek.website avatar

A lot, I think. At the time of TNG’s initial broadcast, TOS was omnipresent in syndication. And outside of TAS, the only Star Trek series at the time. Star Trek fans watched the heck out of TOS. Then, the Star Trek movies with the TOS cast. The first four films were released before TNG first aired.

match ,
@match@pawb.social avatar

Friend, I hate to say this, but TNG aired 35 years ago…

Nmyownworld ,
@Nmyownworld@startrek.website avatar

I’m aware. So is the newspaper article this post is about.

SulaymanF ,

“Bad Trek is better than no Trek” was the begrudging opinion for the first season of TNG.

Nmyownworld ,
@Nmyownworld@startrek.website avatar

Lol. That was it. I’m glad TNG had more seasons, getting better and better as time went on.

TrustingZebra ,

There were Star Trek fans at the time screaming from the rooftops about how TNG would ruin Star Trek.

Is this what people had to do to spread their word before the internet?

altima_neo , (edited )
@altima_neo@lemmy.zip avatar

Wasnt it 20 years later too? I mean the og crew probably didn’t want to come back

Nmyownworld ,
@Nmyownworld@startrek.website avatar

Yeah. The TOS cast did movies, but there’s a difference between doing a film and doing a weekly series. TOS was comfort viewing, and fans were going to fan in wanting more of the same.

CeruleanRuin ,

Clickbait certainly existed well before clicks did.

Hazdaz ,

TNG > OG series any day, everyday.

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

It took me a long time to reach this conclusion. I love TOS, and the characters are cultural icons, but when I want to fanboy over the whole “philosophy” of Star Trek, I’m thinking of TNG every single time.

Hazdaz ,

I’ll probably get wrecked in here for saying this,but I never liked TOS. It’s so campy and hokey. Even the movies with the original cast don’t interest me all that much. I respect them for paving the way for TNG, but I’ll never choose TOS over TNG.

CrayonMaster ,

TOS is fun to watch in an ironic, cult classic, campy, laughing-at-it-not-with-it way. TNG was the first actually good star trek.

BeigeAgenda ,
@BeigeAgenda@lemmy.ca avatar

I have never watched TOS, but I have watched all the TOS movies and I am fond of them.

Hazdaz ,

I wouldn’t say they are related at all, at least in terms of how the TV comes off vs the movies even though the cast is the same. TOS TV show is not too dissimilar to the old school Batman show in it’s corniness. Not to that level of silliness, but they were contemporaries of each other when they aired on TV in the late 60s.

wjmalik ,
@wjmalik@noc.social avatar

@Hazdaz @BeigeAgenda the hippie vibe was part of the general campy tone those days - see The Man from U. N. C. L. E., Rowan and Martin's Laugh In, That Was The Week That Was, or The Wild Wild West for other variations on that theme. Hi-tech, Steampunk, SciFi, variety, news spoofs - all had similar tone

Hazdaz ,

Oh I get that was the tone of shows back then. Get Smart was another one. It’s just not my cup of tea for the most part.

Of course the irony is that I think shows (especially movies) these days are too serious and I almost wish they were a little more fun and playful like they were back in the 60s/70s. Just as long as they don’t go too silly.

kamenlady ,
@kamenlady@lemmy.world avatar

I always barely get through TOS’ third season, it leaned too much into the psychedelic feel of the era.

wjmalik ,
@wjmalik@noc.social avatar

@kamenlady big Yes. "Come now, to Eden, oh, brother" indeed. Just a tad too much Tim Leary.

rdviii ,
@rdviii@famichiki.jp avatar

@BeigeAgenda @Hazdaz
I'm old enough that there was only one Trek when I started. My take on a recent rewatch: https://rdvlivefromtokyo.blogspot.com/2021/09/ranking-star-trek-original-series.html?m=1

ZoopZeZoop ,

I agree. TOS has some interesting characters and fun moments, but I just can’t get into like I get into TNG. TNG is a series I can watch start to finish and all the movies and then start right over and watch it all again. TOS is one I might re-watch every 5+ years to refresh my memory, but I’ll put it on exclusively while I’m doing something else so I don’t waste my attention. My Dad loves TOS and TNG, and regularly references TOS, expecting me to remember episode names and whole plot lines. Oops.

zaphod ,
@zaphod@lemmy.ca avatar

That’s actually why can rewatch TOS endlessly but TNG only occasionally. TOS is that light popcorn fare that’s entertaining but you don’t take very seriously. TNG is serious sci-fi that challenges the audience often with very difficult subject matter. The latter is objectively the better show but if I’m looking for something to throw on for casual fun, for me it’s TOS all the way.

kamenlady ,
@kamenlady@lemmy.world avatar

Same, though there’s one i can really watch endlessly: TAS. Giant Spock melting minds with normal Spock always gets me.

AEsheron ,

I tried to go back and watch it as part of a kind of personal nerd pilgrimage. I just couldn’t get through it to save my life. Then I hit the beginning of TNG and was shocked, that was not what I remembered at all from all the reruns I saw growing up. I’m honestly still kind of shocked it lasted long enough to grow the beard.

Hazdaz ,

I really think that can be said for a lot of shows. First few episodes, and sometimes the first few seasons don’t hit like the later ones. Simpsons, Seinfeld, TNG, Arrested Development and a lot of other shows were constantly on the cusp of getting canceled until they got their audience and the writers hit their stride with the story.

It happens so much to shows that we know ended up turning out good, that it always makes me wonder how many shows were canceled a few episodes or maybe a season or two sooner than they should have.

abbadon420 ,

That is very well said. Tng embodies the philosophy of start trek better.

eran_morad ,

Unfair advantage, TNG has Picard.

Hazdaz , (edited )

Picard is definitely the top card there, but seriously the rest of the cast was damn good too.

Had a rather large crush on Beverly and Troy. Hubba hubba

eran_morad ,

mos def

Dee ,
@Dee@lemmings.world avatar

I actually don’t think he had a role in TNG.

lingh0e ,

He may have been credited under his birth name Dante Smith… or his new name Yasiin Bey. In any case he’s most definitely Mos Def.

HandwovenConsensus ,

Star Trek: Picard has Picard too…

Hupf ,

Unfortunately, it also has hubris.

eldavi ,

unpopular opinion: the first 3 seasons of tng were the best

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

Ooh, that’s a spicy take. I like it.

xgebi ,
@xgebi@hachyderm.io avatar

@eldavi @Hazdaz I’m happy that Star Trek is big enough for a lot of people to find their favorite parts. I love all the engine room scenes in VOY

loom_in_essence ,

I love the first two seasons for their episodic adventure structure. But I also greatly appreciate the character driven structure of seasons 3+ and I definitely think the aesthetic changes for s3 were an unadulterated improvement.

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.

p1z ,

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

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.

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.

lightnsfw ,

Help Geordi is staring into my soul.

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

There had to be a better picture of him to use, lol

WizzCaleeba ,

Nope, that’s the best picture I’ve ever seen of him.

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

Counterpoint:

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/8fa37ea9-cfbb-45ac-a1f8-306ccece3b70.png

eran_morad ,

dope af

musictechgeek ,

LeVar Burton has striking eyes to begin with. When a person is used to seeing him as Geordi with his visor on, seeing him with it off is like he has 100 watt bulbs screwed into his head.

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…

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”.

maegul ,
@maegul@lemmy.ml avatar

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 ,
@maegul@lemmy.ml avatar

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)

UESPA_Sputnik ,
@UESPA_Sputnik@feddit.de avatar

Nobody dislikes Star Trek as much as Star Trek fans.

someguy3 ,

Damn Star Trek fans, they ruined Star Trek!

pimento64 ,

This is actually true though

AngrilyEatingMuffins ,

Still better than Star Wars fans, though. Same as it ever was

T156 ,

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.

PuppyOSAndCoffee ,
@PuppyOSAndCoffee@lemmy.ml avatar

LOL. The TNG hate was ridiculous, but one other thing - nobody ignores a Star Trek fan better than other fans of Star Trek.

teft ,
@teft@startrek.website avatar

https://startrek.website/pictrs/image/9abcdb4f-c75c-44c4-a44c-5668687f6348.jpeg

Holzkohlen ,

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

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