ok, when the hell does star trek tng get better?

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J

jarosh

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serious question.

i originally watched the show when i was a teenager (13 years ago or so) and didn't remember much. starting again now from the very beginning... season 1 is atrocious. after about 20 eps i can safely say that this has not aged well at all. most of the time the writing is just embarrassingly bad, formulaic and entirely predictable. and the sappy new age mickey mouse music is even worse. it's basically "tv tropes: the show". there are some strong characters though and i know the show gets better later on. i'm just wondering when...

is season 2 a big departure? are they changing things up? a little less formula, a little more risk? or is that not until later? season 3, 4, 5...? should i skip ahead? season 1 is starting to feel like torture and if s2 is just more of the same i might just skip it altogether.

keep in mind that while i have seen the show and i'm aware of most of the characters' fates, i don't remember most of their story arcs and relationships, so go easy on the spoilers!
 
It gets better because they quit focusing on Wesley Crusher (who was storyline poison).


Honestly, the only shows I ever enjoyed on TNG were the Borg/Q episodes and a select few other "standalones" (common ones which people will recommend in this thread).
 
ConfusingJazz said:
This is the reason I never watch an episode if Riker doesn't have a beard.
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This. It coincides with the cast figuring out what their roles are. I find it hard to watch first year since they haven't got it yet.
 
Season 2 is easily the worst.

ConfusingJazz said:
This is the reason I never watch an episode if Riker doesn't have a beard.
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You still might get some season 2 eps going by that. You want to look for uniform collars!
 
Season 2 sucks because there's no Beverly.

Just wait until they wear the new uniforms. I think that's about the time it gets better.
 
Season 1 is pretty bad, the show really pickups halfway through season 2, then 3, 4, 6 are all aces.

However DS9>TNG right from the getgo in terms of most quality episodes.
 
v0yce said:
Season 2 sucks because there's no Beverly.

Just wait until they wear the new uniforms. I think that's about the time it gets better.
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This. The show doesn't become watchable until they switch up the uniform design. That's when it starts to get better.
 
Did TNG really even have arcs? They had the occasional callback to a previous episode and a few two parts and what have you, but I wouldn't call them arcs. The whole series was very episodic to my recollection.
 
First two seasons are pretty poor, season 3 is when the quality kicks in. As others have said, keep skipping forward until the collars show up on the Starfleet uniforms and Riker has a beard, then you're all good.
 
I always liked Lore's intro in season 1, but most of the first two seasons are pretty bad. At least some of them are laughable, like Riker using the diplomatic abilities of his dick on the planet ruled by women, and Wesley messing up the flowerbeds and getting sentenced to die for it.
 
Best of Both Worlds saw the ratings jump.

But if you want to see how good TNG can be jump ahead to Starship Mine. There is no epic plot, there are no defining character moments but it's so tightly written. You've got Data's humour in the beginning, the running gag with the saddle, cool effects, the tense hostage situation down below and Picard going Rambo on the Enterprise (crossbow get!).
 
I remember liking the show as well, but recently watching repeats of the show, I just have a hard time with it. The only Star Trek I can apparently stomach anymore is DS9 which always seemed to have better overall writing quality.
 
DustinC said:
I always liked Lore's intro in season 1, but most of the first two seasons are pretty bad. At least some of them are laughable, like Riker using the diplomatic abilities of his dick on the planet ruled by women, and Wesley messing up the flowerbeds and getting sentenced to die for it.
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Man I love both of those episodes!
 
TNG really could have benefited from some long arcs like DS9. Had they taken some more risks and brought back recurring characters more often, it would've been a much better show. I think this is evident from how awesome some of the two-parters were. Best of Both Worlds is one of the greatest Trek episodes ever for good reason. Still, it's standard Star Trek near the top of its form, and Seasons 3-7 were great.
 
The early episodes were more akin to the original Star Trek series. This is probably because Rodenberry was still alive and involved. When it reaches season 2 or 3, it starts to get a bit better and less like TOS. Riker grows a beard.
 
this is season 1 in a nutshell btw:

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I thought season 3 is when it got amazing, but I have yet to see an episode of any star trek that I didn't enjoy.
 
The weird thing about TNG is that there's only a handful of truly great episodes, and yet I'll happily watch even the worst. It's my favorite TV comfort food.

Heck, I sometimes make a point of watching it, no matter which episode is airing. Unless it's the one with Matt McCoy. Screw that guy.

zJcKO.jpg
 
ConfusingJazz said:
This is the reason I never watch an episode if Riker doesn't have a beard.
Click to expand...
This is the law. The first season was TRASH (besides the encounter at farpoint). The second season was a huge improvement and everything between season 3 and 7 are pretty much great.
DieNgamers said:
I alwas hated DS9 and Voyager but I enjoy TNG in all seasons.
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That's because you have no soul.
 
Didnt there used to be a Wikipedia entry about how the term "growing the beard" was the opposite of jumping the shark.

Season 1 isnt all terrible theres a few good ones, the show really hits its stride somewhere in Season 2 and from there its gold.
 
Mike M said:
Did TNG really even have arcs? They had the occasional callback to a previous episode and a few two parts and what have you, but I wouldn't call them arcs. The whole series was very episodic to my recollection.
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Yeah, other than changes in the status quo forced by cast changes, things remained very steady between the key players both on the ship and in the galaxy. Troi+Worf comes to mind as an exception.
 
p_p_o_d said:
also I have kind of the same view of DS9.

it only really got good around the time they get the Defiant .
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if anything that's when i feel they strayed from the really great vision for the show.
 
BobLoblaw said:
This is the law. The first season was TRASH (besides the encounter at farpoint). The second season was a huge improvement and everything between season 3 and 7 are pretty much great.

That's because you have no soul.
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I had a witty retort at hand, ready to destroy your post.

Then, I spaced out, staring at your avatar for like, 2 whole minutes. :lol
 
p_p_o_d said:
also I have kind of the same view of DS9.

it only really got good around the time they get the Defiant .
Click to expand...

The first two seasons had a few more standouts than TNG, but yeah.
 
p_p_o_d said:
also I have kind of the same view of DS9.

it only really got good around the time they get the Defiant .
Click to expand...

That's the same time Sisko got his beard.

Janeway = no beard = Voyager forever crap
 
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