Have just started watching Star Trek TNG
- Thread starter Mareon
- Start date
It takes a while. I'd generally argue that it starts being good at the beginning of season 3, though I could accept season 2.
The first season isn't very impressive, yeah.
The first season isn't very impressive, yeah.
Basically this. Season 1 is pretty terrible, things start to get better with Season 2, and it's in Season 3 that is becomes genuinely great TV. That's the season which gave us Yesterday's Enterprise and The Best of Both Worlds, after all.thaluikhain said:
Honestly, my advice would be to skip Season 1. It's not really worth your time.
Like every other post in this thread said, the first season is pretty rubbish. It's not the worst thing ever once you've already got investment in the characters, but definitely not the shining point of the show.
Personally though, I always preferred the characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I'm sure a fair few people would disagree, but getting past all of the religious symbolism and whatnot that was thrown into it, I think it's far better written than most of The Next Generation.
Though you don't have to feel bad or annoyed at Q being your favorite character. He's pretty much the best character to come out of the entire franchise.
Personally though, I always preferred the characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I'm sure a fair few people would disagree, but getting past all of the religious symbolism and whatnot that was thrown into it, I think it's far better written than most of The Next Generation.
Though you don't have to feel bad or annoyed at Q being your favorite character. He's pretty much the best character to come out of the entire franchise.
Q is amazing, don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise.
The Next Generation started out pretty badly but at some point during season 2 to started to mature and was used as a way to discuss some pretty profound subjects. All I'd say is watch out for Troy heavy episodes, any episode that revolved around her inevitable was terrible in my opinion (not surprising when her magical power was that she sensed anger when people shot at them).
Out of interest have you watched other Star Trek series? For me Deep Space Nine was the best for characters, especially the Cardassians.
The Next Generation started out pretty badly but at some point during season 2 to started to mature and was used as a way to discuss some pretty profound subjects. All I'd say is watch out for Troy heavy episodes, any episode that revolved around her inevitable was terrible in my opinion (not surprising when her magical power was that she sensed anger when people shot at them).
Out of interest have you watched other Star Trek series? For me Deep Space Nine was the best for characters, especially the Cardassians.
I don't like Q's character, so much as that I like his race better. The concept of them is mind boggling. But Picard/Data's characters get pretty interesting. Don't forget to watch the tie in films, as later episodes in TNG occur after these movies.
And overall, TNG will start getting good around the 3rd season. There are episodes that will be "good" and episodes that will be "great". It's just a matter of wading through the first 2 overly dramatic seasons. I ended up skipping a LOT of episodes that didn't advance the plot too much besides character building. This would have been acceptable, but I ended up skipping too many of 'em and ended up a little lost. So if you're up for character stories, stick with each episode. If you just want to watch for an overall plot, jump episodes with care.
And overall, TNG will start getting good around the 3rd season. There are episodes that will be "good" and episodes that will be "great". It's just a matter of wading through the first 2 overly dramatic seasons. I ended up skipping a LOT of episodes that didn't advance the plot too much besides character building. This would have been acceptable, but I ended up skipping too many of 'em and ended up a little lost. So if you're up for character stories, stick with each episode. If you just want to watch for an overall plot, jump episodes with care.
While I agree Season 1 isn't the best and 2 and especially 3 are far better I would disagree about skipping, what you have to remember is that it helps establish the characters and the universe (well the TNG universe) if you haven't seen DS9/Voyager (I don't know how much your into Star Trek), so it's a good idea to watch the first season. Remember its slower because their introducing everyone, then it kicks in later once we know whats going on. Same with most good series.Anachronism said:
TNG is not a great series, it feels sluggish compared to others.
Watch DS9, its better. It takes almost 3 seasons to get good though.
Better yet watch something like Babylon 5. After the first season it doesn't waste your time like a Star Trek
Watch DS9, its better. It takes almost 3 seasons to get good though.
Better yet watch something like Babylon 5. After the first season it doesn't waste your time like a Star Trek
I'd honestly skip the first 2 seasons, because they're not very good, and start with season 3 right away.
By that time, the actors knew their characters well, and the writers stopped writing like two year olds and the characters became more defined and likeable.
It's not perfect, but http://www.jammersreviews.com/ has comprehensive lists of episodes, with reviews, so you can get a good idea of which episodes should be avoided.
As for why you liked the 'villain' of the first episode the most: He's Q, and he's played by John De Lancie. Those 2 reasons are all you'll need to like the guy.
By that time, the actors knew their characters well, and the writers stopped writing like two year olds and the characters became more defined and likeable.
It's not perfect, but http://www.jammersreviews.com/ has comprehensive lists of episodes, with reviews, so you can get a good idea of which episodes should be avoided.
As for why you liked the 'villain' of the first episode the most: He's Q, and he's played by John De Lancie. Those 2 reasons are all you'll need to like the guy.
Personally I'm one of the unforgivable freaks that prefer Voyager, but TNG is good. As mentioned before, Troi episodes are generally pretty crap, but worse still are the Troi's mother episodes. Avoid them like they cause cancer and you'll generally enjoy the show 
Yeah, you could skip to season 3 and miss very little. Season 2 has some good episodes like , "The Measure of a Man" and "Q Who?" ( I would recommend watching both of these) While these are good you also have episodes like "The Outrageous Okona" ,"The Royale" and "Up the Long Ladder" which are just... urgh, awful. Season 3 (when Michael Piller became lead writer) is a lot better.
Oddly, I'm in exactly the same situation as the OP in that I've just started watching it for the first time on Netflix (although I've seen plenty of episodes in the past, I've never watched them in order and there's plenty I've never seen)
Actually, I'm surprisingly impressed even from the start. The pilot was pretty dreadful (although I was surprised to see that Q went all the way back to the very first episode) but the following four episodes were all reasonably good. By which I mean - the acting was wooden and the effects were poor, but you can really feel them trying to tell interesting stories. Trek for me has always been an interesting show in that unlike most SF of the time, it was much more about ideas than battles, and right from the start the focus is on how they try to solve problems by diplomacy rather than arms.
Of course, this makes it pretty po-faced and it doesn't always work, but nothing made me bored enough to want to stop watching. The episode with the supernova alcohol was pretty raunchy at times! I can see why they got rid of Tasha the security officer (so far Worf has had literally nothing to do and she's dull as fuck) and I can see where all the Wesley hate came from, but otherwise I thought it was shaping up ok.
Let's face it, Marvel Agents of Shield hasn't been exactly mind-blowing yet either. It always takes a few episodes for most series to get properly comfortable with the characters and get going on the story-telling.
Actually, I'm surprisingly impressed even from the start. The pilot was pretty dreadful (although I was surprised to see that Q went all the way back to the very first episode) but the following four episodes were all reasonably good. By which I mean - the acting was wooden and the effects were poor, but you can really feel them trying to tell interesting stories. Trek for me has always been an interesting show in that unlike most SF of the time, it was much more about ideas than battles, and right from the start the focus is on how they try to solve problems by diplomacy rather than arms.
Of course, this makes it pretty po-faced and it doesn't always work, but nothing made me bored enough to want to stop watching. The episode with the supernova alcohol was pretty raunchy at times! I can see why they got rid of Tasha the security officer (so far Worf has had literally nothing to do and she's dull as fuck) and I can see where all the Wesley hate came from, but otherwise I thought it was shaping up ok.
Let's face it, Marvel Agents of Shield hasn't been exactly mind-blowing yet either. It always takes a few episodes for most series to get properly comfortable with the characters and get going on the story-telling.
THe first series is very rough, the writers and producers hadn't settled on a "final" cast list at that point, so a lot of characters change. Picard starts off as a jerk, but grows into a much better, much more thoughtful character. Unfortunately Wesley doesn't get much better until much later on.
Along with the comments above, it does get better once Riker grows a beard. Stick with it if you can. It'll lead you on to DS9, the best of the Treks. As for Voyager, outside of four or five good episodes, it is exceptionally dull.
Along with the comments above, it does get better once Riker grows a beard. Stick with it if you can. It'll lead you on to DS9, the best of the Treks. As for Voyager, outside of four or five good episodes, it is exceptionally dull.
Yeah, season 1, again, is eminently skippable. Make sure you see the pilot (which you have) and the episodes "Datalore" and "Hide and Q" and that's all you need to take from the first season.Mareon said:
Season 2, while still the show's second-weakest season, is far stronger and I would suggest you not skip it. There are some season 2 episodes that are pretty decent, and a couple that have serious plot significance to the rest of the show (most importantly, do NOT miss "Q Who?")
And the fact that Q is your favorite character is hardly surprising. He's fantastic. The rest of the characters were not comfortable with the writers or the actors that early in the show, so expect to become much more attached to Data and Picard and Riker as the show goes on; but Q was always awesome.
Finally, whether or not you ultimately decide that TNG is a good show, you should give DS9 a try. It also starts off pretty slow, but it's never as bad as season one TNG, and once DS9 gets rolling, it is easily the best written of all the Star Trek series, story and character-wise.
Whilst I would not argue with your post, you were negligent in failing to include the customary gif. Please find below. OP, take note.TekMoney said:
TNG got pretty good (and hell, I think Voyager is better than a lot of people tend to make out[footnote]or was that just younger adolescent me, who liked seeing Kes, ahem, "fill out" as a character; was then gutted she left, but felt better when Jeri Ryan joined?[/footnote]) but once DS9 got going it was the dog's bollocks.
