Why Star Trek Next Generation was the finest TV show. Ever.
Now, at the danger of sounding like a nerd, I like Star Trek. In fact, I like it so much that I think it is probably the best TV franchise ever created. And of all the various kinds of star treks we have had over the years I think that The Next Generation series was by far the finest, even finer than all the other Star Treks, even the original Star Trek from the sixties. I don’t say this because out of all the Star Trek series the Next Generation (TNG) had made the most money, nor does my claim depend upon the fact that TNG was the longest running series of all the various Treks, only that TNG was the finest piece of TV cinema to ever grace the television out of any category, Star Trek, Sci-fi, or any other genre.
I know, I know. You protest. You’re saying that TNG was so boring. It was a show for nerds, written by nerds, and acted by nerds. Patrick Stewart was tall and bald and kind of a “British nerd”. Nothing much ever happened; they just flew here and scanned this, flew there and scanned that. Picard didn’t have half as much charisma as the old Kirk did and he slept with a quarter of the space aliens. And speaking of sexy female space aliens, the show had a few, but nothing compared to the bouncing mammary glands of Baywatch or the hot young, sarcastic, so hard done by babes from Party of 5 or Dawson’s pond or whatever it was called. Where is the scandal? No one is “hooking up” with each other? No one has had a baby and divorced then re-married their sister and hooked up with their high school sweetheart? What gives? How could I possibly be forced to pay attention?
These may be valid complaints. However, I’d like to argue that the show was a fine piece of cinema for the exact reason that it wasn’t chalk full of those buxom bombshells and angelic looking young men. It was the finest TV show ever exactly because so-and-so didn’t hook up with their lesbian cousin and have twin babies that went on to be brain surgeons and drive Vipers, only to lose his arm in a tragic helicopter accident. In other words, as opposed to half-baked plots the show had plots about deep significant problems to the human condition, not trite surface level scandal about who slept with whom. The performance of each actor on the series was nothing short of exemplary. Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner, who played two of the most beloved characters from the series, could subtly express any emotion with a single look, from clever and hilarious sarcasm, to frightening gravity, to heart wrenching tragedy, to sweet, sweet melodrama.
The dialogue was well written and each character was perfectly moulded – each an archetype, if you will. The idealistic doctor, the honourable captain, the reckless 1st Officer, the doting ship’s councillor, the misplaced Klingon, and of course, the all-to-human android – each character an ideology, representing a clear cut set of ideas and tensions allowing the writers of the series to explore in a single episode deeper into the human condition than most movies do.
Speaking of which, the plots of course were the best part. Each week we would be pulled in deeper into this all-to-real futuristic world supposedly free from bigotry and poverty (but of course not entirely, much like North America). And of course there was excitement and danger too. Despite the relative peace in the galaxy the crew of the Enterprise NC 1701-D managed to scrap with enough aliens; from the conniving Ferengi, to imperialistic Romulans, to the terrifying machinations of the Borg. A new culture and viewpoint was examined in a subtle polemic every week and moral dilemmas that have a real counter part in our time here were examined, not always with the most politically correct answer being the final choice of the crew. It was art at its finest - it challenged our preconceived notions, it made us reflect, made us think, made us feel about issues that are bigger than us and bigger than trivial matters of dating and casual sex, while entertaining us and expanding our imagination.
Sadly, in our fast food culture such TV shows as Next Generation have gone by the wayside and have been replaced by all too contrived “Reality TV Shows” and sappy dating and family dramas. These TV shows seem hellbent to sexify every young male and female they encounter, to homogenize and liberalize every relationship and scenario portrayed. Even the current Paramount Studios Star Trek attempt entitled Enterprise is a poor excuse for a TV show, and the sexy Vulcan second officer on the ship miraculously finds a way to slip out of her skin tight suit to sleep with whatever thing she can get her dusky arms around, and ceremoniously recite the word ‘culture’ at least 5 times per show. No more the dreams for an exciting future where anything is possible. Everything now is homogenized, trivial, woefully predictable, overly politically correct. Assimilated. Resistance does indeed seem to be futile.
No more dreams for the future. No grand vision. Instead, as today’s TV shows preach, let’s just aim for getting money, food, and some sex. This will make us “happy” – a happiness shared only by, and to the same inspiring extent, as our pets. Perhaps this is most unfortunate aspect of our current viewing choices. This is overshadowed only by the possibility that a show with the vision, complexity, and depth of the old Next Generation would not even be comprehended by our current viewing public, that its subtleties would be beyond them. That without a buff blonde scarfing down worms or voting her friend off the island a TV program can no longer hold the attention of today’s typical viewer. Not only a total loss of vision and imagination but of curiosity, and sophistication as well.
Without dreams for the future, as an attempt at seriously juxtaposing and examining the problems of today, where will the spaceship that is planet earth go? Perhaps nowhere. Wherever it goes, I suppose those who desire a deeper TV experience will just have to hole up in their Nerd Holes (much like Hobbit holes) and watch re-runs of Star Trek, while the rest of the world takes its Soma…
I know, I know. You protest. You’re saying that TNG was so boring. It was a show for nerds, written by nerds, and acted by nerds. Patrick Stewart was tall and bald and kind of a “British nerd”. Nothing much ever happened; they just flew here and scanned this, flew there and scanned that. Picard didn’t have half as much charisma as the old Kirk did and he slept with a quarter of the space aliens. And speaking of sexy female space aliens, the show had a few, but nothing compared to the bouncing mammary glands of Baywatch or the hot young, sarcastic, so hard done by babes from Party of 5 or Dawson’s pond or whatever it was called. Where is the scandal? No one is “hooking up” with each other? No one has had a baby and divorced then re-married their sister and hooked up with their high school sweetheart? What gives? How could I possibly be forced to pay attention?
These may be valid complaints. However, I’d like to argue that the show was a fine piece of cinema for the exact reason that it wasn’t chalk full of those buxom bombshells and angelic looking young men. It was the finest TV show ever exactly because so-and-so didn’t hook up with their lesbian cousin and have twin babies that went on to be brain surgeons and drive Vipers, only to lose his arm in a tragic helicopter accident. In other words, as opposed to half-baked plots the show had plots about deep significant problems to the human condition, not trite surface level scandal about who slept with whom. The performance of each actor on the series was nothing short of exemplary. Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner, who played two of the most beloved characters from the series, could subtly express any emotion with a single look, from clever and hilarious sarcasm, to frightening gravity, to heart wrenching tragedy, to sweet, sweet melodrama.
The dialogue was well written and each character was perfectly moulded – each an archetype, if you will. The idealistic doctor, the honourable captain, the reckless 1st Officer, the doting ship’s councillor, the misplaced Klingon, and of course, the all-to-human android – each character an ideology, representing a clear cut set of ideas and tensions allowing the writers of the series to explore in a single episode deeper into the human condition than most movies do.
Speaking of which, the plots of course were the best part. Each week we would be pulled in deeper into this all-to-real futuristic world supposedly free from bigotry and poverty (but of course not entirely, much like North America). And of course there was excitement and danger too. Despite the relative peace in the galaxy the crew of the Enterprise NC 1701-D managed to scrap with enough aliens; from the conniving Ferengi, to imperialistic Romulans, to the terrifying machinations of the Borg. A new culture and viewpoint was examined in a subtle polemic every week and moral dilemmas that have a real counter part in our time here were examined, not always with the most politically correct answer being the final choice of the crew. It was art at its finest - it challenged our preconceived notions, it made us reflect, made us think, made us feel about issues that are bigger than us and bigger than trivial matters of dating and casual sex, while entertaining us and expanding our imagination.
Sadly, in our fast food culture such TV shows as Next Generation have gone by the wayside and have been replaced by all too contrived “Reality TV Shows” and sappy dating and family dramas. These TV shows seem hellbent to sexify every young male and female they encounter, to homogenize and liberalize every relationship and scenario portrayed. Even the current Paramount Studios Star Trek attempt entitled Enterprise is a poor excuse for a TV show, and the sexy Vulcan second officer on the ship miraculously finds a way to slip out of her skin tight suit to sleep with whatever thing she can get her dusky arms around, and ceremoniously recite the word ‘culture’ at least 5 times per show. No more the dreams for an exciting future where anything is possible. Everything now is homogenized, trivial, woefully predictable, overly politically correct. Assimilated. Resistance does indeed seem to be futile.
No more dreams for the future. No grand vision. Instead, as today’s TV shows preach, let’s just aim for getting money, food, and some sex. This will make us “happy” – a happiness shared only by, and to the same inspiring extent, as our pets. Perhaps this is most unfortunate aspect of our current viewing choices. This is overshadowed only by the possibility that a show with the vision, complexity, and depth of the old Next Generation would not even be comprehended by our current viewing public, that its subtleties would be beyond them. That without a buff blonde scarfing down worms or voting her friend off the island a TV program can no longer hold the attention of today’s typical viewer. Not only a total loss of vision and imagination but of curiosity, and sophistication as well.
Without dreams for the future, as an attempt at seriously juxtaposing and examining the problems of today, where will the spaceship that is planet earth go? Perhaps nowhere. Wherever it goes, I suppose those who desire a deeper TV experience will just have to hole up in their Nerd Holes (much like Hobbit holes) and watch re-runs of Star Trek, while the rest of the world takes its Soma…
posted by JB @ 6:26 PM
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