Towards the middle part of last year, Melissa and I watched the Star Trek: The Next Generation (STTNG) series from beginning to end. I faithfully watched the show as a kid and always watch it on channels like BBC America when it’s on reruns, so I’d describe it as one of my favorite shows. I’m sure I’ve seen every episode a half dozen times, but Melissa had never seen more than bits and pieces while I was watching on replay. Well, during the summer TV programming lull, I convinced her to watch.
Why bother write about the show 25 years on? I feel compelled because the show I saw last year was a bit different than the one I remember. In many cases, there’s no escaping bad acting, a whiny Wesley Crushers, or poor costuming choices… but two and a half decades of becoming less immature (note I didn’t say growing up) helps you see things you didn’t back then. For example, societal plots (e.g. racism or homophobia) were just stories about how there are different types of people and everyone should be treated with respect back then. Now, it’s much more obvious that writers were drawing from recent events or hot topics of the time.
It’s very different being an adult and watching a 178 episode show as a body of work, versus watching it one week at a time as a pre-teen. You know all the plots and characters, but 25 years changes (develops) the way you see themes, acting, and writing. I recognize it’s a cheesy sci-fi TV show I’m talking about, but STTNG represents much of my childhood. Whether it was watching with my dad on (every other) Friday night, or falling asleep listening to STTNG audiobooks during sleepovers at my best friend’s house, the show was an integral part of my youth. So, please permit me a few minutes of waxing philosophical about the show.
- Data was far and away the richest character. Yes, he was an unfeeling android, but he actually spent a good bit of time “in character” through the use of holodecks, his brother, etc. The irony of an android being the most developed and with the great range isn’t lost on me. I think Brent Spiner did a good job given he spent his time on the show acting at polar opposites of the spectrum.
- The two main women in the show were somewhat sexist representations of their gender. Deana and Beverly spent a lot of their screen time as emotional, distraught counterpoints to the stronger male characters. I recognize the writers were probably trying to provide the range of human emotions, but they appeared divided by gender for a good bit of the show. The exception of this was Guinan, played by Whoopi Goldberg. She was wise, even-keeled, and often served as the voice of reason for some of the most important characters/decisions in the show.
- Patrick Stewart was (is?) in a completely different league than his peers. He’s no stranger to the stage and it showed. I enjoyed several characters more than others, however I only ever found myself invested in Sean Luc Picard. I firmly believe this is due to Stewart’s acting. You know, now that I think about it, maybe the writers aren’t to blame for my previous sexism comment… maybe it was the actors who portrayed them that way, either by choice or by bad acting. Regardless, I found their portrayal off-putting and so did Melissa – it was her only real comment about the show (“the women were wishy-washy, except for Guinan”) six months later.
- I never realized how much effort went into developing the internal struggle Wharf constantly faced. I always liked the warrior-class-turned-egalitarian aspect of his character, but I didn’t see how much time they spent painting a picture of the Klingon culture. I think they did a good job portraying a character that still holds (what he feels were) outdated traditions and heritage dear while trying to build a very different life in a foreign culture.
- Yes, Wesley Crusher was whiny certainly more so than I realized as a kid… but I still don’t think he’s nearly as bad as everyone made/makes him out to be. It’s hard to put a kids in a show with all adults and not make them stand out.
- Why is there so much use of fire and candles hundreds of years in the future? I get tradition, but it seems like open flame would be dangerous on a spaceship. With all their technology, you’d think they’d have a hologram that is identical in properties to real flame without the whole catching stuff on fire thing.
- I still don’t like Barclay, although the episode where he took over the Enterprise with his mind was cool.
- Some of the best scenes on the show were the verbal sparring between Patrick Stewart’s Jean Luc Picard and John de Lancie’s Q. Seeing those two actors/characters wax existential was enjoyable for an obsessive thinker like me. As a youth, it also allowed me an opportunity to think of humanity as a species – something that opened my world to Sci Fi.
- Ever notice how none of the senior officers were married? Convenient for writing or commentary on being married to one’s career… that doesn’t pay anything. Probably both.
- I may never understand why people who choose to take orders, and potentially work crap jobs, if they aren’t getting paid and you can materialize pretty much all material goods. Either they really like being on a starship or they’ve been able to accept a truly utopian society where motivation does not come in the form of a carrot or stick.
So, yeah. I enjoy the show as much now as a kid… if not more. I’m sure there’s a significant amount of sentiment in my opinion,but I’m not sure that matters. It’s a show I will likely watch until the day I die and always be on the lookout for another one like it. The new Battlestar Galactica was pretty good for the same reasons and Firefly has great character development, but they’ll never be quite as good. Thanks STTNG.
Good write. I hope to find the time for a lot of the ST someday. The only one I’m vaguely familiar with is Deep Space Nine. Great memories of making blanket forts to hide the brightness of my TV on a school night… and closed-captioning… lots of reading.