crazy_diamond

It's a bit of both and I like that Troi wanted to home her skills as a Commander

Ouyyir i'ch'Rihan

Unrealistic. It is the same kind of thing seen in American movies, where admirals are former fighter pilots, generals who began at the lowest rank and presidents that come from poor families. Even in Rodennberry's utopian society, there would be a division of labour. A councillor or physician simply would not have the training and experience necessary to command a combat vessel. Although it did make for an interesting episode.

Now that I have finished rewatching TNG and some are wondering about my thoughts, here goes:

Good
1) The show improved after the first three season when it moved away from purely episodic to partial serial. Although it would have been nice if there had either been more episodes devoted to the existing storylines or a few more storylines. Unfortunately, the final season moved back to purely episodic, except for a couple episodes to help build DS9.
2) Various friendships were allowed to develop, giving more depth to the story.
3) The Klingon and Romulan cultures were developed a bit, but far too little.

Bad
1) Every away mission includes all senior officiers, except the captain. I realise the intention was to centre every episode on the senior bridge crew and the chief physician, but it got annoying after a while to see the security chief, chief engineer and chief physician going on away missions where their presence made no sense. Episode 8 of the final season, Lower Decks, was a refreshing change and I really enjoyed it. The interaction of a group of midshipmen and the operation of the ship from their perspective. A very nice change of pace.
2) I have mentioned my dislike of using two simultaneous, unrelated sub-plots instead of one plot before, but it deserves mention again. I do not mind it occasionally, but Star Trek used it far too much, bot in TNG and DS9.
3) The nonsense of families on a warship. Apparently Roddenberry realised it was mistake, because at the beginning of season three picard questions the wisdom of having families on a ship that could be sent into the Neutral Zone.
4) Weasly going to the academy did not make sense. He was already a commissioned officer with the rank of midshipman. Why would he resign his commission to attend the academy?
5) Recurring actors and actresses. Seeing the same people continually showing up in different roles gets annoying after a while.
6) After Roddenberry's death there was an obsession with giving Spiner roles to showcase his ability. Data, Lore, Sung, every character on the holodeck in one episode, etc.

In-Between
1) The poker-bounding theme. It is a nice plot device, but does not make sense. They bet with the chips as if they are using their life's savings, but since the utopian Federation does not have money, the chips are worthless. It is too bad they could not figure out a way for the people to actually bet. (Using something of value.)
2) Too bad the relationship between Riker and Ro did not continue. That had lots of potential.

Someone asked specifically about the final season, so:
1) Data' subconscious sees what his conscious mind cannot. Even if one believes humans have subconscious minds, an android with a subconscious?
2) Lack of Romulans and Klingons. The Cardassians appeared a couple times, but only because the episodes were building up the DS9 storyline.
3) Guinan disappeared.
4) The move back to a purely episodic show made the season seem to float along without direction.

Chris

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! Agree. I would have enjoyed more 2 or 3 episode story arcs.

Seeing the various characters become more than just co workers was a big part of the show for me. While I was looking for adventure in the storylines, showing friendships develop added interest.

Completely agree with you on this point. Personally, I thought the captain went far too often to be realistic. Away missions are inherently dangerous, and to have all the most experienced staff in a potentially perilous situation didn't make a lot of sense. However, we did have to give the lead actors storylines, and having too many recurring characters may have become confusing.

I disagree there. Weren't the sub-plots often used to show the friendships amongst the crew?

While quite capable of going to battle, wasn't the primary mission peace and exploration?

I'll respond to more later.

Ouyyir i'ch'Rihan

"While quite capable of going to battle, wasn't the primary mission peace and exploration?"

That was lip service to emphisise the utopian nature of Roddenberry's future, where humans no longer feel greed, ambition and hatred. (The Romulans and Klingons played the part of real humans.) Exploration does not require a heavily armed warship, and it makes no sense to use "exploration ships" in combat. The logical strategy would be to have two kinds of ships: lightly armed exploration ships and a fleet of warships for defence. It would be ridiculous to put children on a ship that might be sent into battle at any time, which was somewhat acknowledged when, as I mentioned, Picard questioned the wisdom of it in the third season.


"I disagree there. Weren't the sub-plots often used to show the friendships amongst the crew?"

Again, I have no problem with it when used occasionally. Also, it is not necessary in terms of friendships. Friendship stories can coexist with the main plot. It is not necessary to separate them.

Chris

True, but it also makes sense for any ship to be able to defend itself. To me, Starfleet was not a primarily military organization. Even decades later when they brought the MACO's aboard Enterprise, officially militarizing the show didn't go over well with the fandom.

Allowing families on board made sense to encourage crew members to sign up for extended missions of exploration.


Agreed, and I enjoyed when that happened, but I didn't mind having a secondary story that was totally separate from the main plot.

Was there a lot of that? But yes, when I recognized an actor, it gave me a chuckle that the crew didn't recognize them too.


Spiner did a great job, but yes, they overdid it. Off topic, but I wonder if he watches Orphan Black. ? Tatiana Maslany is incredible in multiple roles.


Disagree with you there. People like to win, whether or not there's something of monetary value at stake. And even if the chips were worthless, once they lost their weekly allotment, they'd be out of the game.


Ro was a great character and it's too bad we didn't see more of her. I was never a huge Riker & Troi fan.

crazy_diamond

source

Chris

such a terrific Worf scene, doing his best to be polite.

Ouyyir i'ch'Rihan

And showing proper English etiquette by extending the small finger, while drinking tea.

Chris

You're right! Good catch.

crazy_diamond

Dead pan Worf

Chris

That cup and saucer look so small in his hands.

crazy_diamond

He needs a bigger cup

Chris

yeah, that cup looks like it just holds a couple of mouthfuls.

crazy_diamond

He wanted more

Chris

I always use a mug for tea or coffee. Cups are pretty, but just don't hold enough, and they cool off quickly.