Was TNG Season 1 Really That Bad?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ค. 2024
- #startrek #tng #lore
Star Trek: The Next Generation is one of the most popular sci-fi shows of all time. Its first season is also notoriously awkward, but in this video I explore season 1's contributions to the lore and answer the question, is it really all that bad?
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- CHAPTERS -
00:00 Intro
01:02 Background
04:12 Encounter at Farpoint
12:10 The Rest of Season One
32:10 Final Thoughts
35:15 Outro - ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
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Special thanks to my longtime patron DevoutAgnostic for suggesting this video!
You should do a second season review follow up 🖖👍
has DevoutAgnostic been there.... all the way?
Great suggestion from DevoutAgnostic!
Yet another excellent video. Can't wait for you TNG Season 2 video (so, sooner, rather than later). BTW, I noticed you had annotated Marc Alaimo aka Dukat when he appeared as a Romulan (Cmdr. Tebok). Alaimo also appeared as Frederick LaRouquen, Gul Macet & Badar N'D'D (TNG) and Officer Ryan in Far Beyond the Stars (DS9). However, you forgot to mention Vaughn Armstrong aka Adm. Maxwell Forrest as Cmdr. Korris (Heart of Glory). Of course, he also appeared as Seskal and Gul Danar (DS9), the Alpha-Hirogen, Korath & Lansor (VOY) and the Kreetassan Captain (ENT).
@@subraxas arf
In my opinion I think that this should be a 7 part video exploring the progress of the entire series in its self.
Seconded. Just because I'm greedy and love your work.
There can never be too much Tyler talking about Trek. 🥰🖖🏻
I agree more please.
Yeppers. All 7 seasons please 🥺 ...... And then DS9 and so on, because we love you 💞 Merry Christmas
I'd like this as well, then Enterprise as the next series. Then again, maybe Enterprise after season 2 of TNG? It is shorter series, more manageable.
The Tahsa Yar drug speech is surprisingly advanced for the time. As an addict who has been there I can say it is 100% accurate. Also telling young people that drugs make you feel good but with a terrible cost is far better than just say no. Most will see that Drugs aren't going to kill them or make them crazy either firsthand themselves or through the people around them who use. So they begin to doubt that they're harmful at all or that its an exaggeration.
People think its hamfisted and cringe but I love it.
I think it was fine for the 80's. It seems cringe to people now, because they probably never saw the 80's trope of every sitcom having a "don't do drugs" episode.
I got my mom to watch a few episodes of Trek with me, and that was one of them. She was in her teens and early twenties during the 80s and said it was a great message for the time.
It’s totally true, just like we shouldn’t tell kids “don’t let that worry you” but should say “that’s going to worry you but you can master that feeling”
we also should have never told lies about drugs to kids. The insane theory of not lying to kids and demonstrating trust daily actually turns out to have greater success! Go figure.
I was at a very liberal college when this episode was on in the commons/game room/pool hall. And everyone was ridiculing the DARE message.
But considering there were several narcotics deaths among students, I wouldn't give that much credence.
This is true. Once I tried marijuana I assumed I had been lied to. So I tried all drugs not knowing narcotics are different. 14 years of addiction. Finally free of it though.
Conspiracy is one of my favourite TNG episodes. It also has that B-grade horror movie vibe about it that just makes it a lot of fun.
Awesome episode
It cracks me up that all of the federation is befuddled due to an easily detectable parasite.
Space cockroaches....
B-movie Bluegill aliens, however it was a great episode! 😁👍
Agree. Disliked the tie-in with the Borg though. Always hoped those parasites would be a door for another hostile species in ST future.
I always wondered why Q ignored O'Brian in the premier. Probably because even God-like beings know not to rouse the anger of an Irishman.
"Oi! You're putting humanity on trial? I'll show you a trial!"
This was before "O'Brien must suffer!"
@@rackstraw😅 I'm pretty sure he's nameless right now
Episode 1-2 O'Brien was a one off red shirt
In the episode The Neutral Zone, when Picard asks Data after he brought back the 3 people that were in cryogenically frozen "They were already dead, what more could have happened to them?" I wish Data had answered, "They are alive now sir, which means by definition, they were not dead." and then Picard thinks deeply and philosophically at that response.
Picard's self-righteousness and "harumphing" caused me to root for the ROMULANS. Humanity had "advanced". BULLSHIT. The thawed-out (formerly) rich guy was awesome in correcting Picard that accumulation of wealth, well beyond what one could reasonably self-indulge in, wasn't about the money, or the things, it was about CONTROLLING one's destiny. Jean-Luc's answer that such a pursuit was an illusion was itself a delusion...to trust in the overall goodwill of the Federation. Never mind the other ridiculous answer, when Mr. Offenhaus realizes that his wealth was gone, without a trace, over the some 360 years that he'd been frozen and drifting in space...er, leaving aside the issue of how a pre-warp spacecraft, like Col Richey's vessel later in "The Royale", got all the way from the Solar System to the edge of the Federation w/o benefit of warp drive or other FTL propulsion, he realizes he hadn't planned for that contingency. Picard's lame answer: "We "improve' ourselves!" With replicators and presumably a guaranteed income and living standard for all, I'd think humanity would stagnate, not unlike what happened on the planet that Landru ran for 6,000 years, or, for that matter, "Val" with the 23rd-century flowerchildren/surfer dudes/chicks.
@@selfdo How on earth is getting rich beyond what you could ever possibly spend about "controlling ones destiny"? Once you reach a certain wealth, you HAVE that control. Any more is only hurting others to no benefit to anyone, not even yourself. I'd argue the quest for wealth once you are already wealthy is merely a mental illness, its a crutch because you have nothing fulfilling in your life.
Science doesn't progress purely because of the money (though of course in a capitalist society its necessary), as those most valuable in its discovery are usually not wealthy. Its our inquisitive minds that push us forward, and having a comfortable life doesn't kill our curiosity, it actually gives us way more freedom to explore whatever we want.
I wont go as far as to say we could or should get rid of money, or that all Capitalism is evil, but everyone should be able to afford to live comfortably and nobody should be stinking rich beyond necessity.
@@alexatkin Part of the "secret", Alex, is that the pursuit of wealth ends up going BEYOND one's selfish and/or irrational desires, let alone setting up one's self and family in considerable comfort.
If you're suggesting there ought to be an upper limit to how much wealth one can accumulate, then I'd like to hear where any "excess" should go...INVOLUNTARILY. Any "big wig" is perfectly able to set up a charitable foundation to divest all that "ill-gotten gain", and so many, like Carnegie and Rockefeller, DID.
Changing the world for the better involves persuasion, yes, but it also involves MONEY. So which is better...spend your dough on things which you WANT to promote, or, have your money TAKEN from you, to be spent by those that didn't earn it, for what THEY want?
You can find many an excellent dissertation out there on why Star Trek's Federation, which supposedly isn't a free market economy, is utterly a FANTASY and pure bullshit.
@@selfdo I absolutely agree. And Picard is not the only self-righteous one. Crusher explains with some disdain how people in the late 20th century were terrified of death and therefore went to great lengths to prolong their lives, hence the cryonic chambers. I don't want to hear it Beverly, least of all from you, who is still mourning her dead husband something like 15 years after his demise. She's so smug about it, as if the "enlightened" federation doesn't care one whip about the lives of innocent civilians, which is probably why they have children onboard a ship that is frequently in hostile situations.
@@kev3d What a shame that Gates McFadden was pretty and had a rockin' bod...WASTED on that whiney mouth!
I would say 11001001 is required viewing for "who is Minuet?" "I didnt know Riker was a musician" and "how long was that Pareezee squares match anyway??"
It's Parisi's Squares.
I wanted to watch Star Trek First Contact with my wife but she had never seen Star Trek so my original idea was to give her a sampling of episodes to give her a feel for the series and get her ready for the movie but after we were done with Encounter at Farpoint she said, “that was interesting, let’s keep watching.” So we just watched the whole series from that point onward. And she is a full blown Star Trek fan now. She agrees with most that seasons 3 onward are the better ones (with the exception of Riker’s beard) but season 1 and 2 got her hooked so it’s certainly not impossible to get someone into the show when starting at the beginning.
That’s the first time I’ve ever heard about someone preferring beardless Riker
@@limalepakko6074 I think now it’s been long enough that she prefers bearded Riker. But it was a majorly shocking difference for a long time.
@@limalepakko6074I'm not a fan of bearded riker, beards are just not professional, and no matter what the trek heads try to argue, Starfleet is the military of the federation.
@@BizlaCbullshit beards aren't professional
I would love to see more videos like this talking about each season. Keep them coming. You could even do Deep Space 9, Voyager, Enterprise 👍🏾
Yes please.
Yes please too.
Please do Deep Space Nine , by the way in my opinion this show took off when Warf appeared .
An interesting fact about "Code of Honor" I learned was that Garrett Wang who played Harry Kim on Voyager attributed viewing the episode as the reason for getting cast as Harry as had he seen any other episode of TNG, he would have been a fan and then be too nervous to audition. Apparently, he tried on three separate occasions to watch TNG, and every time he tuned in, it would always be "Code of Honor" airing. He said that this was God telling him: "Do not watch Star Trek: The Next Generation."
LMAO AMAZING
how is code of honor anymore racist than black panther? or even wakanda forever?
@@TentaclePentacle because the Black Panther movies went out of their way to promote, honor and celebrate African culture. "Code of Honor" was more or less a cultural appropriation
The original idea for the episode would have had the aliens be reptilian and have a culture similar to the Japanese Samurai.
@@justinscharf8838 code of honor didn't even reference African culture, it's an alien culture. But they both have the same elements. And what is code of honor appropriating? The ritual combat? The stick drum music? Is those actual African culture? Maybe it's you who is being racist in assuming it's African culture.
Black panther on the other hand expressly states the ritual combat is African, which is quiet racist.
Would love to see season 2 sooner than later!
I’m so bummed this isn’t a series 😢can’t wait for your take season 2!
now please .
I wanna see it *now!* Now now now now NOW!!!
Okay, channeling that episode Rascals, when Picard became a kid, here. 😁
I actually love the psychedelic, mind-bending wonders and New Age vibe of the earlier seasons; it made the universe of Star Trek feel mysterious and amazing.
Later seasons felt more grounded, contemporary and familiar; a trend that we would see in the '90s. I call it 'backyard sci-fi'.
P.S.
"Where No One Has Gone Before" is also one of my favorite episodes; not just from season 1, but the whole series!
Finally someone that loves the episode as much as I do!! I guess WNOHGB does have a bit of a "new age" vibe to it, if only a mild one. The idea I think goes further back, like something that Arthur C. Clarke would write in a short story.
@@apreviousseagle836
Oh, I eat up that new age stuff; not because I believe in it, but because it's fascinating.
Astral projection, chakras, healing crystals, psionics, extra dimensions, transmutation, alien demigods, etc... It's all fertile soil for Star Trek.
Personally, I feel that when Star Trek tries to square parallel with our mundane realty, it becomes less interesting; basically the case with a lot of '90s Star Trek, and ST:Enterprise and current Star Trek.
Look at how out of place Q was in the humdrum setting of ST:Voyager by that point; and look at how bogged down ST:DS9 was with the drudgery of the Dominion War (that lasted several seasons ...bloody hell).
@@JanetStarChild Yup, you've got a point. Star Trek (and sci-fi in general) always works best when it's reaching toward the true unknown. The possibilities of existence, as Q himself said. This is one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of DS9. It's a decent series, but it's just boring earth style politics in space. Gul Dukat could very well be Putin. The middle east could be Bajor. Even the religious stuff is played for 20th century politics. Where's the point in that? Sci-Fi is more "fun" when it reaches out there and speculates on the shit far beyond our science. Think about The Expanse (great show if you haven't seen it). A ton of Earth politics, but what makes it fun is the protomolecule, and the ring builders (They are the Iconians of this universe, essentially). Without that angle, it would just be some boring political show.
@@apreviousseagle836
Well said! You nailed it with DS9 and other Star Trek shows that came after it; Star Trek became too contemporary and anthropocentric; it's basically just modern day shit with a postmodern sheen.
Gene Roddenberry wasn't perfect; he made mistakes; but his core idea that humans in the future would be wise, intelligent, empathic people is a concept that I am fully onboard with; It's so different, so unusual, I love it.
But after his death, Star Trek's humans became just as flawed and corruptible as anyone in our modern day. ...What a fall.
Me too. I really miss the New Age themes and vibes of both the original trek and early Next Generation.
I always love the part of Encounter at Farpoint where Picard accuses Q of being self-righteous and smug. Because Season 1 Picard would go on to spend every other episode being self-righteous and smug. I swear he was like "how dare you be smug on my bridge! That's my job!"
Damn it took a while for them to really nail the characterizations (I'll never forget Worf just going feral and attacking Riker for basically no reason)
Season 1 Worf is just hilarious to me. He's basically a snarling dog.
+1 to the person that asked for this to be a seven part series covering each season.
It was the 80s and the first attempt in reviving a series from the 60s and collaboration of the 4 movies that was out.
It was a innocence about season 1 with the tight smelly spandex outfit with the huge Black and Decker vacuum phaser.
I loved it.
I would never tell anyone to skip s1 & 2. They just need to push through like the rest of us.
Semi-unpopular opinion: It was mostly due to my very young age at the time, but when I first was exposed to Wesley Crusher when the episodes were in syndication, he quickly became my favorite because "a kid gets to save the day too?! Awesome!" My home life wasn't always that great, so the idea of a kid who saved the day like the adults did was very appealing to me. Now, I've since long grown up, so looking at this now, I certainly am and will be very fond of Wesley, but by and large the Star Trek setting is only _occasionally_ a place where a kid can realistically save the day, and you just can't inject the _Adults are Useless_ trope too often before more grounded individuals get a bit tired of it. XD
I liked him as well, because he was a kid and I was 13.
I liked him as well but I was very young. I do think he works as a recurring side character to explore dome situations (when he is applying for the academy and has to do an entrance exam, the episode at the academy, etc)
in Justice, I'm surprised they didn't bring up the defense that he didn't deliberately fall into the flower bed, he tripped and fell. If it had been a deliberate act, the punishment still didn't fit the crime, but they didn't even attempt to argue that it was accidental. I just found that odd. If they had at least made the argument and the aliens had said it doesn't matter, fine, but they didn't even try to make the argument.
Always bugged me that too
Absolutely would love to see your take on Season 2 as soon as you're able and willing to do it! But as always, you do want you feel motivated to do, and not by the whims of us lurkers. *Slimes back to my corner*.
I I genuinely believe you should be one of the larger sci-fi TH-camrs and I would love to see a video on season 2
Judson Scott, one of the guest stars in Symbiosis starred as Khan's son Joaquim in The Wrath of Khan. He also guest starred in a season 4 episode of Star Trek: Voyager as a Romulan commander. He's best known for his role as Lt. James on V.
To be honest i never had any problems with the first 2 seasons. To me they felt a lot more mysterious, unpredictable, experimental and a lot more like a really good transition phase from Star Trek TOS (with many episodes filmed entirely indoors, in the studio) and even a lot of original Star Trek TOS veteran actors returning for different roles. The mix of Synthesizer sounds (especially those amazing Roland D-50 pads) and Orchestral scores also added a LOT to the whole vibe. When i was a kid and watched Star Trek TNG for the first time, i felt like ANYTHING could happen and this is what got me hooked and on the edge during every episode. When Season 3 was around, everything felt a lot more settled and "safe". Yes the show had found its form (and personally i prefer the lighting of the Bridge from Season 3 onwards a LOT more) but it also had lost a bit of its unpredictable nature. That being said there's not a single season of TNG that i never liked. The first 2 seasons REALLY are amazing Science Fiction and deal with some really awesome concepts, like the one with the "Manheim Effect".
That mention of "maybe this is building up to something in picard season 3" was a good call out.
In Germany, the first 2 episodes are actually named what would translate to 'The Mighty [One]' and 'Mission Farpoint' in English.
One of the promises of Encounter at Farpoint that the show later whiffed on is the idea that they are actually really far out there on the frontier. Farpoint is years away from earth by the shows own limitations on the ships speed. At the very highest emergency speed (that it can only do for 12 hours) it's about a year and a half away.
So outside of some creative writing the ship shouldn't be going back to earth ever, but they managed to go back on average about once a year.
I wish they would have set the whole show out far from earth, with the ship being built near some outpost or colony, the human crew being mostly not from earth but born and raised on colonies and outposts.
100% agreed on Tasha Yar. I am really glad that they bring Denise Crosby back in future episodes, alternate universe ones, the shitty abandoned human planet one (as her sister I think), and they regularly reference her (usually in reference to Data's crush after they all took MDMA in that one episode or w/e). There were a LOT of possibilities for social commentary with her character, and for analysis of the Federation and its reach, too.
MDMA lol 😅 hmm makes me wonder if these drugs are still around in the 24th century 🤔
Me too. I didn't start watching "TNG" until the episode where Picard is in the lift with some kids. (I was going to change the channel or turn off the telly, per usual, but I was occupied with doing something else and let the episode run.) HEY! I know that captain guy from ... from ... from ... OH! It's Sejanus from "I, Claudius"! And so I watched a few seasons before I moved again and lost track of its denouement. It wasn't until 2016 or 2017, flipping through over-the-air stations in a cableless situation, that I finally saw some Denise Crosby episodes. And it really felt that they had dropped the ball on that one -- a big, heavy ball. I thought it would have made better sense if they had kept Yar as the security chief, put Worf in the "Number One" position, and made Riker the head of away team missions so Picard could stay on board where he belonged. But then how do you sustain the drama from episode to episode unless you keep sending ALL of your top ranking officers out on dangerous trips away from the Enterprise? 🙄
100% disagree on Tasha Yar. Having a normal-sized woman as security chief was an obvious and embarrassing early form of the woke agenda. It was so much more believable having Worff in that role.
@@TerribleEnglish That whole "Crying is allowed on the bridge" from Picard when Tasha is breaking down for some dumb reason is just horrible. It's right up there when Riker complains to Jelico that he has "everyone wound so tight, there's no joy in anything." "Joy"? The federation is on the brink of interstellar WAR, Riker. This isn't the time for play time in the holodeck or watching another music recital. And you are right, these were examples of proto-woke nonsense that became fruitful and multiplied. Like nanites.
@@kev3d Ha ha! Very good point, and thanks for backing up my 'unpopular' opinion. :) It was mad that Worff want the security officer. So glad they changed that.
Do not skip season 1, there are some great fun episodes, some frustrating ones and a bad one, but it's crucial to the development of all the regular characters and introduces some important reoccurring ones to know. Also, watching season 1 is crucial to fully enjoy some of the best episodes that come later.
Don't skip season 2 either. Don't skip any season, they are all great.
tbh yeah. S1 was definitely not "TNG" as it kinda feels like the writers trying to get their footing into the niche, but once you get past that the episodes on their own aren't universally terrible.
I remember watching those first episodes of TNG and honestly wondering how it would survive beyond the first season, and I'm sure others here feel the same way. And it certainly didn't help that there was a Writers' Guild strike in the middle of 1988 that lasted all the way through what should have been fall season premiere time, resulting in the second season not airing until Thanksgiving that year. But in the end I do believe it was well worth the wait in terms of how the show ramped a lot of things up to get to where it was by the time of "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I."
To answer your question at the end: yes, please. And to answer any future similar questions: yes, please. Although I learned nothing new, it made it want to watch the whole series all other again. Thanks for this great recap.
Season 1 was uneven the cast was getting it's space legs but with a few exceptions ( Code of Honor) it was fun and Stewart's Picard holds it all together
Patrick Stewart is a pompous ass season 1 and 2 of picard and the abominations of the tng movies show this he didn't hold shit together
An important thing to add is that "Conspiracy" didn't come from nowhere. There were hints in episodes leading up to it that something was wrong at Starfleet Headquarters and one episode saw an admiral and his assistant board the Enterprise to see if there were hints of the problems there. Both the admiral and assistant are later infected by the Bluegills in "Conspiracy."
I don't know if it's because of his younger age, or maybe different makeup, or that he just carries himself different, but Brent Spinner's Data seems much more alien in this first episode.
A fun thing to keep an eye/ear open on a TNG rewatch is the writers are a fan of this anime called Dirty Pair and would name drop the main characters names Kei and Yuri a few times. Heck they even named dropped their ship Lovely Angel.
Wow, yeah! When those episodes first aired, we said to each other, "Did you see that?!"
@@argonwheatbelly637 I find it kind of funny I used to watch a lot of star trek youtubers that explains things about star trek and I don't think I have seen a video on explaining Kei/Yuri.
This was great! Thank you so much for doing it!
I personally appreciate season one. I was there, beginning my senior year of college and starving for more Trek. I remember the months of anticipation waiting for TNG to premier and religiously tuned in to watch every week.
I could go on an on haha.
Definitely do season two! With an option for the remaining seasons haha.
But. Do it when you are ready. 🖖
Idk how I missed this, great recap! Keep going please.
I very much enjoyed this retrospective and look forward to part 2. I enjoy rewatching TNG and trying to recall what it was like watching it in its first run, Star Trek updated for the 80s. It is Interesting to see what stories they chose to tell and how they chose to tell them, the visual effects, which were probably the best that could be afforded for a TV show at the time.
Yes, they sometimes stumbled, but sometimes they captured the Twilight zone-ish vibe of TOS, and those early seasons established things that later seasons, even the franchise as a whole benefited from, for example holodecks. TNG took what TOS had started and built on it.
Very GOOD explanation of TNG back then,Susan.I thought the first 2 seasons were boring and bland,but,this new series of Trek was the game in town,then.I don't recall any other sci-fi shows on at this time.
I never realized until this year that Arman Shimmerman was in The Last Outpost. My husband and I were going thru TNG for the first time finally (all the way thru in order, that is). He was thrilled to have another chance in DS9 to be a better Ferengi. In watching these in order, I think I saw the actors for Rom and Nog too. Glad they had better development in DS9, although I do like the episode where they mess with Picard's mind, but at the end the criminals are dealt with by Ferengi & they are shown to be capable of honor
Shimmerman was the talking box in HAVEN, too. And the only Ferengi in season 2, "Peak Performance".
roughly 100 years?? But there were guest appearances by Kirk and Scotty! I mean it's understandable that Spock would be alive since he's half Vulcan, but those guys? I don't believe it XD
Kirk was caught in a time cloud and Scotty was trapped in a transporter for years.
Only reason Admiral McCoy aka Bones was there was bc as a medical professional he had the tools to age to over 100...plus TNG is more like 80 years than a full 100 according to Admiral Spock on Romulus
"how soon would you like me to talk about it" as soon as possible!
Thanks for this awesome and funny summary! I'd love to see your take on season two at some point, when it is convenient for you. I feel like the first two seasons in general don't hold up all that well now, but at the time I loved every single episode. I still remember how excited I was about Wil Wheaton coming over from his recent success in Stand By Me. I was a huge Stephen King nerd (and loved the source material for the film, "The Body"), so this was huge for me.
I was in high school, and still able to watch tv with the uncritical blank slate of a child, and all I really wanted was another string of weird sci-fi concepts dressed up in a more modern and slick version of the Trek I had loved as a little kid. Next Gen provided that in spades. I mean, I think in looking back at it now, it is easy to forget that at the time, Star Trek was largely about the cast encountering weird stuff every week, and despite the failures of early Next Gen, it for the large part delivered on that expectation successfully by the standards of the 80s. (In my personal opinion, at least). We did not get character driven story arcs or dramatically intense emotional moments, but that is not what we were tuning in for. We wanted to see weird new aliens, energy beings, future diseases, godlike creatures, and crazy space mysteries.
It was the high point of my day. I cannot express in words how much joy it brought me at the time.
But yes, now, I find it hard to watch most episodes before season three, ha ha.
Thank you for the continuous star trek content. I've been coming to your channel almost every day for a couple weeks and didn't realize it until now. I appreciate your explanation on a universe that can be confusing to say the least for newer Trekkies. I grew up with trekkie parents but only just started my journey this last year. Through watching multiple series now and channels like yours, I've become a huge fan of the franchise. Star trek has become something else for me and I'm glad to have a channel like yours for a guide. Cheers!
I actually like the first two seasons of TNG, but I do recognize they are far weaker than the later seasons and are essentially the shows growing pains and B movie era. But I do like seeing Roddenberrys philosophy unedited on screen, warts and all.
The first two seasons are over-criticized. Like a lot of things, they’re more mediocre than outright bad.
I agree. Looking back and being aware of everything going on behind the scenes, it gets too much of a hard time. But, if I watched it when it came, I'd probably be just as harsh. "Measure of a Man", is from season 2 and to this day I still rank it as one of the best episode of TNG there is!
TNG Season 3 probably felt like the show was more grounded because The Undiscovered Country had come out by that point. With no more TOS movies in sight, those finances could be put forward to TNG at that point.
Rewatching season 1 with my child I realized how systematically it introduced the characters and ideas. As hard as the pilot is to watch (being so long) it’s fairly amazing at introducing concepts (like the parameters of Data’s android status) without relying on TELLING US directly. The conversation with Dr. McCoy contrasts Data with the Vulcans to immediately help setup expectations for TOS viewers.
and it was a mess!
@@zachsmith5515 It was a huge mess. And they later contradicted many of the things they established, including much about Data.
I gave up once Data had to be explained what the word “snoop” means. It was just moronic.
I wouldn't say the first 2 seasons are bad.. but I would say that the show changed in season 3, for the better. Seasons 1 & 2 feel like a product of their time, where the rest of the seasons are more timeless.
They're very dated.
29:30 no one ever talks about how Bill Gates stold the idea for the windows xp background from Tasha's funeral 😂
It definitely feels like a remastering of all the elements from the original series. Gene, Fontana and the new faces we see. Of course Berman becoming highly important to the franchise. The old style is more heavily involved in these first two seasons. The rehashing of certain elements such as the naked now etc it also went out there with Q right from the start. I still quite like it. Like The Cage, it’s clear not everything or everyone is fully established. Unlike Enterprise, Voyager and DS9 which are mostly consistent for their run. They seem to stick more whereas TNG goes through some changes until season 3 and 4.
@@jamespfp a lot of it was down to the director, responsible for casting and for demanding they talk like that. They could’ve had a totally normal diverse “planet where they all look like humans” and the episode would’ve still sucked but not stood out in any way.
But at least "Lower Decks" gives us the perfect comedy relief...a revamped intro to "Naked Time" would have the cartoon Shaxs, in the huff, cavorting about the lower part of the TV screen, with T'Ana clinging to him in delight, bellowing, "It's...NAKED time!"
Wow! Just noticed ya got over 40 k subscribers now and am looking forward to seeing a show soon celebrating when ya warp past 50 k .Congratulations to the ORANGE RIVER team and thanks for all the hard work this year!
Thank you so much!
Honestly I feel long form videos with each episode being as detailed as the "Pilot" would be great, I LOVE stupidly long videos
Man, that would be a GIANT undertaking XD But I'm glad you like this one
@subraxas Good for him lol, I couldn't do that XD
Thank you for this!! I’ve felt for a long time that Season 1 does have more decent to good episodes than people give it credit for and I’m glad you listed them out at the end. I was worried for a second you wouldn’t include 10011001 cuz I’ve always loved that one, so I’m glad you added it on! I’m curious to see your take on Season 2, which is still shaky but definitely started finding its footing more and more as it went on.
The bynar episode? I really liked that one!
10011001 is at least notable in my opinion as it won a Emmy for it's soundtrack, which borrowed some cues (such as when the Enterprise returns to the starbase) from Jerry Goldsmith's ST:TMP soundtrack.
Love this recap of Season 1! Been a long time since I've seen all of these. Your recap was both funny and informative- please make a Season 2 video soon! And beyond, please... thanks!
Been a while since I've watched season one. I truly don't mind it, but couldn't bring myself to recommend it if someone asked. I can't wait for your season 2 review! I know she's widely despised, but I honestly love Dr. Pulaski. She's literally one of my favorite TNG characters. Can't wait to see your take on her.
I never got the Pulaski hate or even understood it was a thing.
People would have liked Dr. Pulaski had she been in the original cast. The actress was even on two TOS episodes. And, her questioning of Data's sentience would just be seen as Data's character development. A lot of the Pulaski hate was just her replacing Dr. Crusher.
As a bonus, Wesley would have been on the ship on his own merit, rather than just because his mom is on the crew. The Wesley stories would have been somewhat more tolerable had he passed rigorous testing, perhaps being the top ranked human his age, to earn a spot on the Enterprise.
Had it been reversed, fans probably wouldn't have liked Dr. Crusher. They'd say Pulaski was replaced by a younger actress who didn't have nearly the "edge" of Pulaski. They'd say her character was boring in comparison the acerbic, somewhat abrasive Pulaski. The "will they, won't they?" tension with Picard would be derided as forced and not interesting.
Pulaski may have been older than Crusher, but her personality was tolerable. Beverly Crusher was too damned stuffy, bitchy, and self-righteous, I'm surprised Picard took her back!
@@Ryglado Not all female characters need be eye candy. But keep SOME of it, like Troi. My fave way to show off good-looking young women was when TOS got rid of Yeoman Rand and we went through, for the rest of the first season and part of the second, was the "Hot Yeoman or Female Junior Officer of the week" phase. None disappointed...but it's a tossup between Yeoman Tonia Barrows (Emily Banks) or Lt. (Dr.) Helen Noel (Marianna Hill) for who was the hottest.
Great video! Not too long ago I started a watch through of all of TNG after only having seen bits and pieces of it growing up. And boy, season 1 sure is rough, but I appreciate you going up to bat for it. I definitely look forward to a video covering season 2! Also all your content is great, I love it a lot!
I'll be looking forward to the season 2 review whenever it comes out. Take your time; enjoy the holidays. I'm subscribed so I'll see it when it's posted. Thanks for posting this one! I've been trying to get a friend of mine into TNG, and this is a nice supplement to the "no filler viewing guide" I wrote out for her.
Hope part 2 isn't too far away
Just rewatched S1 randomly then I found this video. Perfect timing. Absolutely love all of your content man. Live long and prosper
Thanks, first time viewer of your channel. I look forward to you covering S2.
"How soon would you want me to talk about it?"
ME: "NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW!"
First time commenter here. Definitely would love to see season 2 sooner, time and energy permitting. And thank you for pointing out the fact about Shatner and Nimoy's salary demands being an impetus for TNG. Never realized that before.
I grew up with TNG. Personally, I find season 1 to be highly enjoyable, cringe and 80s vibe notwithstanding. Admittledy it was still finding it's way and stumbled greatly at times. But, taking all the negative and accepting them for what they are, this is a blast of a season of Trek for my viewing taste. I agree with you that the meat of TNG is in the later Seasons. However, in my humble opinion you can skip the appetizers, but damn there are some pretty tasty morsels on that silver tray.
One observation most people I've listened to have never mention how many ways this season has a distinct, almost TOS vibe going on with it, modernized to the 80's of course. Thank you for pointing this out. This is thanks in no small part to Roddenberry's high influence on this season. Love it or hate it, it's as close to a season 4 of TOS you could ever truly hope for back in the 80's. At least up until Skin of Evil. There is where for me the Berman Era truly begins.
Thank you Tyler for this entertaining summary of, at least in this human's humble opinion, a fairly decent season of a great Trek series. Been enjoying going though your videos so far and can't wait to see what's on the sensor scan ahead.
Happy Holidays, Qapla, and Live Long and Prosper!
Thanks Matthew!
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
This was so good, we're eagerly awaiting season 2! Season 1 in particular has so many memorable episodes for me that I could never skip it, but I'm not sure how I'll feel about season 2.
Once again a daring and ambitious video project! Wow…
Excellent breakdown that greatly mirrors many of my own thoughts and perceptions on the first season. Glad I discovered you a couple months ago and subbed with little thought if this the quality of content I can expect! Looking forward to any more episodes in this series! Cheers 🍻🖖⛄
Great video as always. TL:DW explainers of all the seasons would be pretty neat, especially with the sarcastic commentary. You should do a collaboration with Overly Sarcastic Productions to discuss some of the philosophical/moral/social themes of the show.
fantastic video! would love to see one on season 2 soon! thank you for your hard work and amazing videos!!!
Thank you so much!
Nice, good overall look at the Season.
Attended a showing of Farpoint as part of our Local Fox Affiliate carrying TNG. It was quite the affair, local live bands, etc.
That Eureka reference had me in stitches.
It's easy to be critical of season 1 of TNG in retrospect, but when it first aired there were several factors that made it appealing to watch. At least from my perspective at the time. When it came out in the fall of 1987. I had watched pretty much all of the TOS episodes in syndication over the past several years. I had also seen The Voyage Home in theater, bits and pieces of TMP on TV and probably some of The Wrath Of Kahn and The Search For Spock on TV as well, although the latter two don't stand out in my memory as well as TMP for some reason. The Final Frontier had not come out yet and The Undiscovered Country wasn't even a glimmer on the horizon. I was unaware of TAS and there was no Internet to speak of to access fan fiction. Streaming for that matter was non existent as well. In short, there wasn't that much Star Trek content available, and what was available wasn't nearly as accessible as it is now. My point is that, under the circumstances, many fans, myself included, were starved for Star Trek content. TNG, however flawed, delivered.
There were all the novels. Which were much better than TNG s1.
I never got anti semitic vibes from
The Ferengi but I was a child. They just seemed like greedy space trolls.
It took someone else pointing it out to me and then it was hard to un-see it. However, I will say that I think their portrayal in DS9 is MUCH more dignified, even if I do skip many Ferengi-centric episodes.
I did like how Riker shows up and had to put the ship back together on the first day. :D
As someone in recovery, that's the best way to put it. You can never know, and nobody plans on being a junkie.
As a life long fan of Trek, having watched ever single episode of every series as well as movies, ( not bragging 😊), Ive always believed in watching it all, the good and the bad. You should definitely do season 2 review for the next episode 👍. Live long and prosper my fellow Trek family 🤘😁🖖🇨🇦
Thank you! God bless! ✝️😊
The only episode I have to skip every time is Code of Honor. I just physically can't handle the massive amount of cringe my body experiences. It's similar for me to Scott's Tots from The Office.
@@Cavemanner Code of Honor is a boring,badly written and racist episode.Nuff said.I felt that both seasons 1 & 2 were boring and bland.
Great video dude! Thoroughly enjoyed your meticulous attention to detail. TNG season 2 ASAP please!
Thanks Shannon!
@@OrangeRiver Thank you good sir!
Appreciated the sudden transition at the end of the Code of Honour segment 😂
Sooner rather than later please! I really loved your observations, esp about defending Tasha Yar and the waste of a character that had such an intriguing background.
I'd love to see a vid on season two as soon as you could manage. New subscriber btw. Loving your vids.
Thank you so much!
Great timing with this video. I just started season 1 for another TNG run over the holidays. Season 1 is definitely not the best but I enjoy it and it’s brings me back to when I was 9 and would sneak awake and watch it on tv on school nights.
Here in Australia TNG was on TV at 1130pm mid week ..I would stay up those nights for years to watch new episodes as my VHS didn't work well . Then back to IT next day.....good memories ...Thanks
Thank you! I really enjoyed this walk down memory lane. I had just turn 17 when Farpoint aired and I dutifully recorded each episode of each season, which was tough when I was at college with bad rabbit ear reception. Haven't watched these shows in a long time. One thing to remember is that when TNG first aired, there hadn't been any good live action SF on American tv for a long time. Most of the 80s were shows like Manimal and Misfits of Science. 1987 brought us TNG, the underrated Captain Power, and the sadly short lived Max Headroom. Anyway, the point is when you're dying of thirst any water tastes good. There are still solid episodes in there, but it is very rough and finding its way. It is amazing that it managed to make it to season 3. Looking forward to the rest of your recaps.
yes please season 2 and more
Wow, I really love the presentation here. Very interesting, very engaging. I also seriously appreciate the footnote like comments that help give context, especially since I haven't seen much of season 1, and didn't know really any of the history of the show. This really was informative, entertaining, and I subscribed.
Great video! Dr Pulaski! Season 2 video ASAP! I think season 2 is highly underrated and has some interesting implications w/r/t Federation genetic engineering. It will be fun!
Thanks again for the great videos.
The blonde Ornaran from "Symbiosis" was played by Merritt Butrick who also pkayed David Marcus in Star Trek 2 & 3
It was one of his final roles too.
never skip the first season! It's super fun, and definitely a product of the time in which it was released ❤
Not even. You can tell how many crusty old phase 2 scripts and outlines from the 70's they adapted.
As someone who watched TOS, then TNG, Season 1 of TNG feels like a fourth season of Star Trek. Especially fun putting the films in between the shows. Man, love seeing that evolution.
I'm ready for the next episode in this series when your ready to give your time to it.
Even though I think a lot of the earlier episodes were pretty bad, I still watch every single one whenever I do another binge of the entire series. I think I've binge watched the entire show at least 15 times over the past 2 decades or so. Probably even more.
Thanks for the objective perspective on S1. It's easy to rag on it but I felt this highlighted the character building and the "setups" that would pay off later, along with the obvious bad parts of S1.
Nothing objective about it.
Making Roddenberry invent Q for more time may be one of the few times when network executives did something good for art.
The one thing that I literally missed in the first season of Star Trek The next generation was Jonathan Frakes as commander William Riker with the full clean shaven face. Beginning at the second season all the way to the end and also in the movies, he had the full mustache and beard. I can understand why Frakes preferred it that way because he wanted to be taken Seriously in roles.
@@KairuHakubi I figured that
Yes, please share season 2 soon. I love your channel you do great work. I feel seasons 1 & 2 get more hate than is deserved. It was the beginning and there are bound to be growing pains. Sadly, Roddenberry was so set in his idea of the future that he let his show suffer so. Who knows what could have come from a more open mind? Good video and thanks.
He does excellent work. If you haven’t you have to review all his videos
I think it's too easily forgotten that what TNG was attempting had never been attempted. The concept of lore (not the android) is a new thing in mass media and the idea of rebooting a show with new actors but the same "history" was practically unheard of. There were rough spots cause they literally had no idea what they were doing. I think Gene was clearly wrong about some things but not necessarily wrong for the show. I think keeping it professional and competence porn was a good thing even if his about interpersonal conflict was hopelessly naive. I think the Klingons ought to have stayed as members of the Federation with maybe some hardliners out there causing trouble. I'm fine with Romulans akin to North Korea, more trouble than its worth to tangle with but not a threat in any meaningful sense to a 24th century Federation.
My oldest wanted to get into TNG a couple of years ago, so I gave her my list of good episodes for the first two seasons. She then decided to check out Code of Honor despite my warnings.
She never ignored my advice again.
have you seen the black panther movies?
@TentaclePentacle Third person I've seen making a Black Panther connection, and yet it's still such a huge stretch. You're reaching
@@OrangeRiver ritual combat in code of honor, ritual combat in black pather check.
beating stick as tribal music in code of honor, and beating drums in tribal music in black pather check.
both of the deal with an absolute monarch check.
What else do you think is in code of honor that's racist that's not in black panther?
One's celebrating, the other's mocking. Though I will say, I don't really give a fuck about the MCU lol
@@OrangeRiver how is code of honor mocking and black panther celebrating. I honestly can't tell the difference. I don't see any attempted humor or mocking in code if honor, but I do see attempted humor in black panther.
Without season 1 they wouldn't have figured out what not to do.
Funny thing about "The Lonely Among Us", is I distinctly recall the teaser when it aired in 87 or so, where they hadn't yet gotten the SFX completely done, so the bridge lightning bolts at the Picard possession scene weren't there, just everyone spazzing out when they were flashing the set lighting.
That Eureka sting was perfect. I'd totally forgotten about that show until now. I wonder if its still available anywhere?
Apparently Peacock, Amazon Prime, and Hulu, to name a few. At least according to Google
As soon as is reasonable, your material is enjoyable and high quality.
Thank you so much!
Patrick Stewart is 80 years old, if he ain’t hit that yet it ain’t happening man….
At 23:03 “Benjamin Button lookin ahhh…” you earned some points with me bro 🤣
Star Trek Online links the parasites from "Conspiracy" to the Iconians, as one of their tools to control lesser species. They were bio-engineered by the Solanae, a servitor race to the Iconians (known as the interdimensional abductors from a later TNG episode).
This is the reason I come to this love this channel. More TNG baby
The Bynar episode, The Big Goodbye, Arsenal of Freedom, and The Neutral Zone are my favorites of Season 1.
Denise Crosby should have stayed, as the show became more and more an ensemble show, and all the characters got a chance to shine many times... imo.
I always enjoy listening to reviews or opinions of Star Trek episodes and seasons. I enjoy your opinion and you have a lot to say about each episode. It would be nice to see and hear you elaborate more on each episode without limitations on time.
There was a real Roger Corman feel to a few episodes of the early TNG.