I was intentionally late to work the night of the season three finale. I just couldn’t miss it and didn’t have a way to record it at the time. To this day it is still one of the best cliffhangers in television history.
Haha - that is similar to what the Italian Parliament did when the resolution to the episode, "Who Shot J.R." was going to be broadcast - they convened early just so they could catch the show!
"Best of Both Worlds" (pts 1&2) is the third highest-rated sci-fi "episode" of all time. The Borg were most likely copied from the cyborg aliens in Michael Jackson's Captain EO. They were "ugly" when he first met them, but then his music brought out their "inner beauty".
I remember reading George Takei's biography. And he had the same fears when he first heard about Star Trek the Next Generation. But he was catching a flight somewhere and Patrick Stewart happened to be on the flight and they had a very good conversation about Next Generation. And George Takei said that he felt comfortable that Patrick Stewart wasn't going to be a Captain Kirk clone.
While interesting I wouldn't believe anything Taki says he's a drama queen and was actually barely on set during filming and was only paid stock pay as Shatner pointed out ...lol that's why he hates Shatner.
@@50jakecs Stewart was when he was younger but now he's insane Takai has always been nuts! Any man who would blame his father for his family being thrown in concentration camps during WW2 and yet would still be a lifelong Democrat the people who came up with the idea, is obviously insane.
Interesting fact. Gates McFaddens real first name is Cheryl. And uses that for her stage work. Which includes choreographing the ballroom scene in Labyrinth among other Jim Henson projects
I recall the incorporation of her mad dancing choreography skillz into the fourth-season episode "Data's Day," where Dr. Crusher teaches Data how to tapdance, and then ballroom-dance, for Chief O'Brien and Keiko's wedding. I wonder if she lobbied to do some kind of dancing in a TNG episode after being inspired by Jonathan Frakes' smattering of trombone solos in prior seasons...
I was watching TOS in reruns as a kid and was 14 when TNG hit. I wasn't a huge Trek fan (similarly a huge Star Wars fan) but MAN did TNG blow me away. There was a great year when we could watch A-Team, B:SG reruns and then TNG in one night.
Same. Rarely liked a TOS episode but TNG had me. Episode “The Inner Light” was high concept, existential sci-fi and I loved it. Wrecked me for days when I first saw it.
In the mid 1980's, I was a bigger fan of Doctor who. The neat part was when Janet Fielding showed up during a Trek convention at the time that TNG was to debut
@@EricGranata that used to be my favorite episode. Measure of a Man has overtaken it. The whole court scene is just so good. Stewart was absolutely the best choice for a new captain.
Year younger, but was a 3rd-gen Trekkie - grandpa watched TOS with my mom, and my sibs & I were raised on Trek (among other new & old SF classics). We were all highly skeptical when the new series was announced, but ultimately fell hard for the series' continuing expansion of the world/vision we loved. By the time DS9 came along, that ultimately completed the arc started by the Original, as far as we were concerned.
Love The Next Generation and ty for the content. Was wondering if you had ever considered doing a video about the rise and fall of Kids’ WB? I think that could be a really good topic and would love to see what you thought about it. It’s my favorite lineup ever and I loved it ever since it began back in 1995. Also maybe a video about the rise and fall of Smallville considering how popular Superman has been? Smallville had kind of a similar path to tv with Fox and the WB in a bidding war for it but Fox would only commit to 13 episodes. Ty again and please keep up the awesome work!
I've been following the podcast talkville that's hosted by Clark and lex, it's a lot of fun listening to them reminiscing It's on RUclips and Spotify and Itunes whichever you fancy
Fun fact: Michael Bell played “Zorn” in the pilot episode. He was also the voice of Duke on GI Joe, along with many other characters in various animated shows.
I remember recognizing his voice as Duke’s when I first watched this episode. I never really thought about what he’d look like IRL (granted under heavy make up and in costume)
he also voiced swoop! I luckily meet him at a transformers con a few years back and had the opportunity to have a conversation with him. Class act that fella
What Casey Kasem was to the G1 TransFormers show, Michael Bell was to G.I. Joe, voicing not just Duke, but also one of the Tomax/Xamot brothers, Major Bludd, and Blowtorch (AKA the other G.I. Joe pyromaniac besides Barbecue). I think he also voiced one of the Dreadnoks, but I forget which one. Speaking of TransFormers: he voiced Constructicon leader Scrapper, who formed the right leg of Devastator.
in the 60s my dad grew up watching star trek original series. in the 80s i grew up watching star trek TNG and we watched it together. today in the age of smartphones and memes, we are always sharing those silly star trek memes with each other 😊
Hey, ST: TNG was the only show that my whole family watched - my sister, my mom, and my dad! My dad was surprised that some people in my generation (Gen X) were actually into the classic ST more than TNG. Later on when Babylon 5 was on, nobody else in my family was into it like I was. :(
One of the things that I loved about TNG was how they shifted around crew roles. Instead of the cowboy captain that Kirk was, Picard was a statesman and diplomat, but still able to get his hands dirty when needed. Meanwhile he had Riker being the adventurer and lady killer, so that role wasn't lost. Data filled in wonderfully for Spock, giving another emotionless character who helped explore the human condition. And his android nature opened up even more possibilities. The episode where they had to fight in court for his independence as a person was epic. Geordi was a great character, and his friendship with Data made the pair wonderful to watch. And it was great seeing a blind character being treated as someone independent, and not a liability. Crusher, Worf, Troi, Yar... all brought so much life to the show. Gave everyone someone that they could relate to and admire.
I would add that Worf and Data split duties filling in for Spock, since Spock and Worf were both outsiders who didn't really fit in completely with humans or their own respective species. For instance, Vulcans looked down on Spock for having a human mother, while he didn't always fit in with humans either because they thought his cold Vulcan logic was weird, and Worf had the same thing going for him where Klingons thought he was weak for being raised by humans and they hated his father because they thought he was a traitor, meanwhile he didn't always fit in with humans either because of his Klingon temper and warrior instincts.
If you like Star Trek: TNG, watch Seth MacFarlane's (Yes, the "Family Guy" guy) The Orville, which is basically a slightly more comedic, but just as good modern take. It's on Hulu and Disney+! If enough people watch it, we'll get another season!!
Fox was a part-owner of Hulu, so was Disney, pre-buyout. The move to Hulu and change in episode length/count was already decided pre-pandemic. I don't think there's gonna be another season after this, though - MacFarlane already said he was looking to exit the show, and he's the star & showrunner, no Orville without him. Waiting until S3 wraps to binge it - Orville S2 was some amazing television.
It's a bit ironic that for the pilot Encounter at Farpoint the best part, Q, was written by Roddenberry, a notoriously bad writer while the meat of the episode, everything not Q, was written by D. C. Fontana, an excellent and well respected writer.
It kinda makes sense that for Gene's portions of the script he just repurposed the "Enteprise gets toyed with by a godlike being" plot that TOS used multiple times.
I think Q trial is the worst part of Farpoint. Try imagine as first time watcher without the knowledge of what Q evolved to be in future episodes, it just doesnt make any sense. A deus ex machina that just want to suddenly erase whole humans just because. I still don't understand what happened in the trial as Q stance on humans is not changed at all, in fact he just dismissed all Picard argument and plea without even considering them. He just let them go because the episode is over and you can't kill the whole crew in their first episode. Q only come alive thanks to future writers writing him as god with childlike arrogance and curiosity with outstanding performance of John de Lancie.
_"It's a bit ironic that for the pilot Encounter at Farpoint the best part, Q, was written by Roddenberry, a notoriously bad writer (...)"_ In 1957, Gene Roddenberry received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Script for the episode "Helen of Abajinian". He wrote 24 episodes of _Have Gun Will Travel._ In 1963 he created _The Lieutenant,_ which was cancelled when the episode "To Set It Right" (written by Lee Erwin), which was about racial prejudice, and featured Nichelle Nichols as the fiancée of a black Marine, was never broadcast. The subject of race was considered taboo in entertainment television in 1964, and because the network refused to broadcast "To Set It Right" or even pay for it, MGM had to shoulder the entire cost of production. As far as Star Trek, Gene wrote _The Menagerie_ in it's entirety, as well as _The Omega Glory_ and _Bread and Circuses._ He rewrote the scripts of _Balance of Terror_ and _The City on The Edge of Forever._ Don't call him a 'bad writer'.
@@Idazmi7 The Omega Glory is... not a good episode. At all. Voyager revisited the basic concept ("Nemesis") and did it much better. Bread and Circuses is mediocre. Roddenberry wrote some quality stuff, and he also wrote some garbage.
@@fluffysheap _"The Omega Glory is... not a good episode. (...) Bread and Circuses is mediocre."_ Nice of you to not bother providing any evidence or context to your statements at all. If and when you do bother providing any 'evidence', I expect that you will completely _ignore_ the context of Hollywood's interference in the 1960's television industry and Star Trek in particular, as if the only person involved at every phase of development and decision-making on Star Trek was Roddenberry himself, even though they often demanded changes, and even edited his work directly. I also expect that you simply *do not know* the hallmarks of Roddenberry's writing style beyond _collected fan opinions_ of Star Trek episodes, instead of his entire writing career, which goes far beyond the Star Trek brand label.
The "Fire!" cliffhanger was so brilliant but, at the time, so painful. Riker had the angel and the devil sitting on his shoulders, each telling him to do something different, and he tried to do what he knew was right - his duty of ending the Borg's threat - though he hated doing it. The build up to it was wonderfully acted and written and the music in that moment had you holding your breath.
That was a massive blow to me at the time haha! And to have to wait until the next season for the conclusion, unbearable! So happy bingewatching is a thing these days.
Maybe I'm a sadist, but to me that long wait actually made it more epic...every day wondering how the hell they were going to resolve it. Nowadays with binge-watching it'd just be over immediately...no time to stew on it and obsess.
"Best of Both Worlds" (pts 1&2) is rated the third highest-rated sci-fi "episode" of all time. At the end of part 1, we all thought that Picard/Locutus would die and that Riker would become the new captain. "Sector Zero-Zero-One" "Earth"
People HATE change.Just as some people hold onto the original Superman movie,Man of Steel was needed for a modern audience,after the BORE-FEST-Superman Returns. LOL.
@@UltimateGamerCC I’d argue that Voyager had strong points. I actually like it a bit more than DS9. It was more about exploration, which is what TOS and TNG were about.
I remember that exact commercial for TNG in the summer/September of 1987. I was so hyped by the new ship, I was willing to forgive them for having a new cast of characters with new uniforms. It was a very exciting time. And TNG remains my favorite to this day.
10:58 - was the promo that first got me into the Star Trek franchise! Back in the early 80s, I always preferred Star Wars and Buck Rogers over the classic Star Trek. I always thought the classic ST was primitive, whereas Star Wars and Buck Rogers was modernized sci-fi. When I saw that promo, it was so intriguing - a modernized Star Trek!
Back in '88, I got caught in the middle of an argument over whether TOS was better than TNG or the other way around. Personally, I like both and I don't really feel that one is superior to the other. But I can understand the cases made in both directions.
In '87, Honey Nut Cheerios offered a free _TNG_ poster w/proof of purchase (something like 6-8 boxes). To this day, I can't watch _TNG_ without the phantom taste of Honey Nut Cheerios.
in the summer of 1990, i became a "trekker" when i tried to draw the enterprise-d from my 6th grade tng lunchbox. the pic was too small to get good detail so i watched a few eps to fill them in. hooked ever since
Also from 1998-2008 the Las Vegas Hilton brought the interactive and immersive Star Trek the experience. If you owned a copy of first contact on VHS there was a promotional commercial before the movie started. You can still find videos about the experience and what it involved on RUclips. Will you do anymore Star Trek videos?
I regret not going to the Star Trek Experience one year when I was in Vegas. By the time I went again, it had shut down. I did go to Quark’s bar though. I was literally right there. 😅
Interesting, I didn't know about Roddenberry's involvement in the 1st season of TNG. I ways wondered why it was lackluster, and I wonder if he stifled the creativity of the writing staff and actors with his litigious antagonism with Paramount. I also did not know why Crusher was replaced with Dr. Pulaski who by 24th century standards seemed very closed minded and was somewhat obnoxious toward Data. The series really took off with season 3 IMO with the return of Crusher, new uniforms, and better writing.
Roddenberry was over-controlling and micro managerial over the writers in Season 1. Joe Michael Stracynzski just wrote the episodes himself for Babylon 5 in order to maintain creative control.
Picard may well be the superior commanding officer and Captain, but Sisko is and was the best wartime ships commander amongst them. (And Janeway was a'ight, I guess.)
Different CO's for different galactic-political contexts - Kirk was a colonizer, Picard's a philosopher & diplomat, Sisko was a pragmatic strategist, Janeway was a survivor, and Archer was a true explorer. They never completely shed the naval roots - they just adapted to explore different facets, and roles/eras, of the US & British Navies.
TNG was the pinnacle of the franchise but DS9 was my favorite because of the multitude of awesome characters...that was a really good stretch of really good Trek tv.
i remember when you could mail in memorabilia to be signed, i'd sent 2 different dr crusher cards from the 25th anniversary set. gates signed the one from her 3rd season portrait, but got a note stating that she "doesn't sign" the card of her season 1 portrait. probably because of maurice hurley?
An excellent and intriguing documentary of the STTNG series, thank you. Also, I want to add that I was introduced to STTNG by a Nun (or Sister) from the IWA convent. Anyways, I know- how? Well, I used to make fun of all Trekkies in my teenage nerdy years, because I was a Star Wars Jedi, Hans Solo, Bobba Fett, Darth Vader, and Yoda fan... One day, many moons ago, Sister Yirma challenged me to watch her VHS taped or recorded Star Trek The Next Generation episodes... I took the challenge, and well- I enjoyed and loved STTNG series. I immediately liked LTCMDR Data and CMDR Riker... Anyhow, time has passed, I became a Trekkie and Star Wars fan. Yet, I probably lean more towards Star Trek sci-fi than Star Wars... With this in mind, Sister Yirma, wherever you are- thank you, and to all- Live Long, and Prosper 😎😁🙌🤜🤛🤟🖖💪
Here’s a challenging question: if somehow the Galaxies were to connect and the USS Enterprise D were to host the final Jedi Council, what wisdom do you think they’d have for Starfleet?
@@Ironcabbit An intriguing inquiry; yet, I will not be able to humor you with a crossover sci-fi ordeal of "what ifs." For example, I never liked the crossover between STTNG & X-Men novel. Horrific. I prefer to keep Marvel to Marvel worlds, DC to DC, Star Wars to Star Wars, and Star Trek to Star Trek. So, I do not like to have Luke Skywalker mixing logically with Spock to fight the Empire and Dominion/Borg. One more detail, I do not like the BS concept of Star Wars vs Star Trek. Therefore, I will respectfully keep both of these sci-fi universes separate. Thank you, and I hope someone else can help you answer your inquiry.
They also banned 'Miri' and 'The Empath'; both episodes ended up being released on a single videotape in the mid-eighties and caught in the Video Nasties debacle. Edit: Should have said, from the original series.
Another fun fact about Conspiracy, the head explosion at the end wasn't going to be as graphic as it ended up. Some exec asked Roddenberry to tone it down, and out of some offense to being questioned or just plane spite, he upped the gore. (Even though the exec backed off the gorier version stayed)
from Riker's sitting to Riker's crotch near Data's face to Riker making eggs with flair - it was a glorious show though the series really doesn't become legendary until Yesterday's Enterprise - one of the greatest pieces of sci fi ever
I think Season 3 is when started taking the show seriously in general. Otherwise I was a sometimes watcher of the show for the first couple seasons. But Season 3 so much changed that it really felt different.
Next month would be Star Trek TNG's 35th anniversary. I watched it religiously with my grandparents on WPIX-TV. What got me hooked on the show was when The Borg confronted Picard. He was transformed and into the Borg leader in that episode. Resistance is futile!
Fantastic episode, guys! While TNG is my favorite Trek series, my biggest takeaway here was that Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz produced TOS...I had no idea!
I grew up with TOS reruns, and was 14 when TNG came out. I was living in Germany at the time and was so excited when AFRTS picked up the show for AFN because prior to that I would have had to wait for family in the States to send it to me on VHS. I'll always be a fan of both. They're very (deliberately) difficult to compare. Recently, I'm really loving Strange New World's.
Great Video! Some of my earliest memories are of watching TNG when I was only a few years old and my dad flying me around the living room to the end credits music. I've been a trekkie ever since.
One of my fondest memories of ST TNG, when Enterprise D exploded and the saucer crashed, ensuring that THAT ship would cease to exist. Don't take me wrong, the show had great stories and characters, but always hated that ship design. 😹
Couple of little points: 1) Roddenberry was unhappy with his treatment on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, as he was demoted to creative consultant after Star Trek: The Motion Picture was considered by Paramount to be a box office flop and 2) You mentioned Star Trek 2009 but not the 6th show Star Trek: Enterprise...
He also said at the beginning not every point would be covered in this video. Only those pertaining most to TNG. Enterprise being a prequel (with an awful theme song) to TOS, would naturally omit it here.
@@lutherheggs451 Agreed, as Star Trek: Enterprise was also part of the Roddenberry/Burman era Star Trek, the last episode also features Riker & Troi and is set during the TNG episode: The Pegasus.
I can't express how much of an impact TNG had on me. It was released one month before I was born, and I grew up watching it with my dad, who himself grew up watching TOS. The shows themes of science, philosophy and optimistic outlook have shaped who I am today. I have fond memories of it and continue to watch to this day.
I remember Denise Crosby telling people at a convention that she enjoys her scripts after she character passed away. Including when she was Celia Yar and past versions of herself
Roddenberry was also kind of against the more militaristic representation of Starfleet the way it was first done in Wrath of Khan, which turned out to be one of the best choices for a change in general feel.
The _'more militaristic Starfleet'_ was first done in _The Cage_ and reinforced in episodes like _Balance of Terror,_ _Errand of Mercy,_ _The Ultimate Computer,_ and _The Enterprise Incident._ Trekkies tend to have a bit of a Mandela Effect when it comes to TOS, misremembering it as having a tone like TNG. It didn't.
I understand you have a leave a ton of stuff out, but talking about Gates Mcfadden leaving for a season but not a single mention of Denise Crosby's infamous decision to leave the show and being unceremoniously killed off after only half a season is an interesting call.
I was a huge ST fan when Kirk and Spock were making movies. But, when the new show was released, it wasn't brought into my cable provider, so I missed out on the first several years. How I loved going to my Dads and Grandmas in order to sit by myself and watch TNG.
@@TitularHeroine All depends on the market. My market currently doesn’t show it anymore after it airing on & off for around 2 years at 6am Sunday Mornings local time.
As much as a history of Star Trek’s development as it is a lesson on how broadcast and fandom was changing during this time period. And oh my goodness Roddenberry’s lawyer was something else. I highly recommend the documentary “Chaos on the Bridge” to anyone who likes wacky behinds the scenes stories about television production. Thanks for the great video, Dan & Greg!
I saw a single clip of that documentary a year or so ago which had me look for it. I rented off of Amazon one night and I do not regret it. I never looked at TNG (regarding the first two seasons) the same. And Gene's lawyer was definitely the pure distilled stereotype of your typical Hollywood lawyer.
You missed something. Patrick Stewart believed that the show wouldn't last beyond 1 season and was actually surprised when it did. Also, part of the reason he was assimilated by the Borg in the Season 3 conclusion, is because (like Harrison Ford before him) wasn't entirely sure he'd be back for further seasons. Also, like Ford before him, once he read the scripts and the reason for his return, he indeed DID sign back on to continue. However, unlike Ford, he didn't want his character killed off to save everyone else.
I remember at first not liking STTNG but then it grew on me and have loved everything since. The Toy line was great. I worked at Toy R Us at the time that was released it was great.
I’m always surprised when Trek re-caps point out the “no antagonism” edict handed down by Gene, but then don’t show a clip of the old lady from the Wendy’s commercials saying “Where’s the beef??” 🤣🤣🤣
“Identity Crisis” was the creepy episode I was drawn to so often as a kid, but over the years, “The Vengeance Factor” to “The High Ground” is the episode run I go to when I need some comfort food tv to watch. The introduction of Commander Tomalok and the Romulan episodes make TNG a ton of fun.
I'd say one of my favorite Family Guy gags was when Stewie kidnapped the available Star Trek TNG crew, and they all behaved like annoying children on a road trip. And I'd say that lead Patrick Stewart to his best role to date, Deputy Director Bullock on American Dad. I've always loved when the Star Trek actors got to branch out to other things where they got to be wacky. Michael Dorn as I. M. Weasel for example, and of course when someone decided "Q" should be a mythical monster sent to torture a bunch of ponies, and one time a couple of beaver brothers. And the nostalgia wave of Reading Rainbow as well. Loved the episode where they actually went behind the scenes of TNG.
@@wbennin I’m probably as old as you. I’m a star wars fan and didn’t watch any trek in the 80’s and 90’s. I watched Picard because I enjoyed the new Trek movies
@@luckymon I love to piss off the trek fanboys by constantly mentioning that I think Into Darkness is a far better movie than Wrath of Khan....There is actually stuff happening in Into Darkness, Wrath of Khan is half the crew sitting in a bunker for 3/4th of the movie and the other half of the crew sitting in the broken Enterprise and nothing really going on until around the last 15 minutes or so.
What a pleasant surprise, i always love a toy galaxy upload but star trek tng also, yall must have known my birthday is in a few days and made this one just for me. You guys rock! Probably the best (and if im being honest only) birthday present ill he getting. Ill happily take it. Thanks for making my night.
Okay, hear me out on this…. Will Wheaton and I are nearly the same age, and had a similar experience of growing up with the original series in re-runs. Say what you like about Wesley Crusher, I know a lot of fans dislike the character. But for me personally, he was always one of my favorites. By embodying that character, Will Wheaton got live the fantasy of actually being on the bridge, saving the ship a time or two, and being friends with some of the coolest people both real and imagined! For these and many other reason, Will Wheaton has as my admiration and respect! Live Long and Prosper Will!
The irony is that he saved the ship multiple times, yet nearly got expelled from Starfleet, got his credits revoked, had to repeat a semester or more, and ultimately quit in the end.
I always thought it was sort of incredible that TNG managed to survive it's spandex days. Even when it was new I just did not like the first seasons much at all but the show after that while not always perfect, felt like it had grown considerably. I really wonder if it'd have even made it past those early seasons in today's world coming out of the gate the way it did.
This show changed my life. I wouldn't be who I am without TNG. I was 10yrs old and I kept falling asleep before the end of the premier. I didn't find out what happened until yeas later.
Your timing was perfect on this, as I have been rewatching the entire series over the last three weeks and just finished the last episode this morning. What a perfect way to cap it off, keep up the great work!
I had grown up in the 80's with reruns of TOS. Watched Wrath of Kahn every time it came on HBO. When I started seeing promos for the new show I was convinced it was going to be terrible. I remember watching Encounter At Farpoint at 8yrs old and hating everything about the new crew and I thought the Enterprise D was a horrible looking ship. Nothing was going to beat the old crew and ship. Thankfully by the end of the 1st season I started to come around. In fact I think it was The Royale episode that hooked me.
Thanks for this one. While I’m not that much of a TNG fan, it was still quite good (Classic Star Trek/Deep Space Nine/Enterprise are my fave Trek series). The Next Generation, I think, didn’t start to get it’s act together till the events of Q, Who? in the second season, which introduced the Borg. Granted the first season had some good episodes like The Big Goodbye and The Battle. TNG’s issues were generally Roddenberry’s own making, insisting on a utopia and barring the Enterprise D crew from arguing with each other. As well as disliking space battles and conflict in the show (conveniently ignoring that Classic Star Trek wasn’t presented as perfect; Bones and Spock were always bickering, and that he approved the episodes Balance of Terror and Errand of Mercy. Gene Roddenberry at this point started to believe his own press and his restrictions damaged the show. Thankfully, Rick Berman and crew ignored what he dictated once he left active production and later passed on.
Berman, et al don't get enough credit - from the fandom, or the studio - for really letting Trek grow beyond its initial bounds. It definitely would not have had the depth, or longevity, that it enjoys without that era of production.
I'm glad this touched upon the "Best of Both Worlds" cliffhanger. I don't think shows ended seasons with cliffhangers before that, but since then I've lost count of the number of shows that end one season on a cliffhanger, with the promise of continuing the story next season. Whether that promise gets broken or not is another matter.
A few shows did, yes. Soap did it in 78. ALF did it at the end of its fourth season, but that backfired, as the show got cancelled, leaving the story unfinished for a decade
I grew up in the 80s and actually _loathed_ a lot of things about the 80s--mostly the image-conscious stuff. I was disgusted when I saw the new 'Big E' and put off by the 80s-style nicey-nice, touchy-feely, goody-goody 'ship of families' angle--and Wesley, who was like every obnoxiously 'nice' kid at my school. That said, when I got into episodes such as the drug lords planet, and the enhanced warp drive debacle, and the 20th-century cryonics people (pit whoofies!), and the creepy alien conspiracy, aaaand anything 'Q', I was hooked. By the third season, nicey-nice was gone in favour of true character and story development with some very stark and frightening episodes. So, TNG became something I never missed and love dearly to this day. Except "Sub Rosa" and "Masks". I will never forgive those and other atrocious seventh-season episodes.
George Takei...he is awesome, and it is fair to say that the strangest character that he ever played (that of which I know) is that of a trans-dimensional mutant rubber duck - admittedly, he was just doing the voice, but - anyroadup, the movie he was in was called "Space Milkshake". He's a legend anyway, so. Other stuff of significance - Will Wheaton was in "The Secret Of Nimh". Sorry I don't talk much, but...reasons. Any chance to speak of "Deep Space 9" at some point?
Great video as always, fellas! I remember that night in June when Best of Both Worlds Pt I aired. The "To Be Continued..." had barely left the screen and my phone started ringing. I spent the next hour and half talking with all my friends, tying up the line in the days before we had call waiting. We spent that whole summer playing FASA's Trek rpg and ship combat sim and the conversation always led to speculation on how it would all resolve when the show came back.
We grew up with occasional syndicated reruns of the classic series, as my Mom had been a fan when she was a teen. Plus watching the movies on TV/VHS/theatrically and seeing the animated show on Nickelodeon. We were fully on-board with THG when the pilot aired. I was a more casual; fans while my brother collected everything-the Playmates figures, ships, and roleplay gear, not to mention a bunch of the model kits and the big technical manuals and reference books.
I grew up watching TOS in syndication. I was already in LOVE with Star Trek when TNG debuted. I still remember being so excited when Encounter at Farpoint came on. I greatly enjoyed DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise. Abrams Trek, Disco, and STNWs...not so much.
It’s ironic that a spin-off that everyone expected to fail turned out to arguably be the best interpretation of Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future with every iteration following sliding downhill ever since.
I was intentionally late to work the night of the season three finale. I just couldn’t miss it and didn’t have a way to record it at the time. To this day it is still one of the best cliffhangers in television history.
Haha - that is similar to what the Italian Parliament did when the resolution to the episode, "Who Shot J.R." was going to be broadcast - they convened early just so they could catch the show!
"Best of Both Worlds" (pts 1&2) is the third highest-rated sci-fi "episode" of all time.
The Borg were most likely copied from the cyborg aliens in Michael Jackson's Captain EO. They were "ugly" when he first met them, but then his music brought out their "inner beauty".
What job and what hours were you working? Just curious. I respect the dedication also. 😎
I remember reading George Takei's biography. And he had the same fears when he first heard about Star Trek the Next Generation. But he was catching a flight somewhere and Patrick Stewart happened to be on the flight and they had a very good conversation about Next Generation. And George Takei said that he felt comfortable that Patrick Stewart wasn't going to be a Captain Kirk clone.
Oh my!
I like that bit of trivia, especially since I think both Takei and Stewart seem like decent people.
@@Volyren
While interesting I wouldn't believe anything Taki says he's a drama queen and was actually barely on set during filming and was only paid stock pay as Shatner pointed out ...lol that's why he hates Shatner.
@@50jakecs Stewart was when he was younger but now he's insane Takai has always been nuts! Any man who would blame his father for his family being thrown in concentration camps during WW2 and yet would still be a lifelong Democrat the people who came up with the idea, is obviously insane.
I loved how Data, in his quest to become more "human", became a mirror that reflected our humanity back at us, contradiction and all.
"Data's Day" is just a superb story.
Interesting fact. Gates McFaddens real first name is Cheryl. And uses that for her stage work. Which includes choreographing the ballroom scene in Labyrinth among other Jim Henson projects
I KNEW IT!! I knew somewhere I had read her referred to as Cheryl McFadden instead of Gates! Thank you for confirming this for me!
I recall the incorporation of her mad dancing choreography skillz into the fourth-season episode "Data's Day," where Dr. Crusher teaches Data how to tapdance, and then ballroom-dance, for Chief O'Brien and Keiko's wedding.
I wonder if she lobbied to do some kind of dancing in a TNG episode after being inspired by Jonathan Frakes' smattering of trombone solos in prior seasons...
I like name Cheryl better.
She is also the only Star Trek character to have ever fucked a ghost.
@@zagnorch1336 The Dancing Doctor! That's one of my favorite episodes of the show.
I was watching TOS in reruns as a kid and was 14 when TNG hit. I wasn't a huge Trek fan (similarly a huge Star Wars fan) but MAN did TNG blow me away. There was a great year when we could watch A-Team, B:SG reruns and then TNG in one night.
Same. Rarely liked a TOS episode but TNG had me. Episode “The Inner Light” was high concept, existential sci-fi and I loved it. Wrecked me for days when I first saw it.
In the mid 1980's, I was a bigger fan of Doctor who. The neat part was when Janet Fielding showed up during a Trek convention at the time that TNG was to debut
@@EricGranata that used to be my favorite episode. Measure of a Man has overtaken it. The whole court scene is just so good. Stewart was absolutely the best choice for a new captain.
Year younger, but was a 3rd-gen Trekkie - grandpa watched TOS with my mom, and my sibs & I were raised on Trek (among other new & old SF classics). We were all highly skeptical when the new series was announced, but ultimately fell hard for the series' continuing expansion of the world/vision we loved. By the time DS9 came along, that ultimately completed the arc started by the Original, as far as we were concerned.
Gotta admit, that colon in the middle of "BSG" had me wracking my brains trying to figure out what show you were talking about! LOL!
Love The Next Generation and ty for the content.
Was wondering if you had ever considered doing a video about the rise and fall of Kids’ WB? I think that could be a really good topic and would love to see what you thought about it. It’s my favorite lineup ever and I loved it ever since it began back in 1995.
Also maybe a video about the rise and fall of Smallville considering how popular Superman has been? Smallville had kind of a similar path to tv with Fox and the WB in a bidding war for it but Fox would only commit to 13 episodes.
Ty again and please keep up the awesome work!
I've been following the podcast talkville that's hosted by Clark and lex, it's a lot of fun listening to them reminiscing
It's on RUclips and Spotify and Itunes whichever you fancy
Fun fact: Michael Bell played “Zorn” in the pilot episode. He was also the voice of Duke on GI Joe, along with many other characters in various animated shows.
I recognized Sideswipe when Zorn spoke.
I remember recognizing his voice as Duke’s when I first watched this episode. I never really thought about what he’d look like IRL (granted under heavy make up and in costume)
He will always be my sweet boy, Raziel. Funnily enough, his antagonist, Kain, is married to Keiko.
he also voiced swoop! I luckily meet him at a transformers con a few years back and had the opportunity to have a conversation with him. Class act that fella
What Casey Kasem was to the G1 TransFormers show, Michael Bell was to G.I. Joe, voicing not just Duke, but also one of the Tomax/Xamot brothers, Major Bludd, and Blowtorch (AKA the other G.I. Joe pyromaniac besides Barbecue). I think he also voiced one of the Dreadnoks, but I forget which one.
Speaking of TransFormers: he voiced Constructicon leader Scrapper, who formed the right leg of Devastator.
in the 60s my dad grew up watching star trek original series.
in the 80s i grew up watching star trek TNG and we watched it together.
today in the age of smartphones and memes, we are always sharing those silly star trek memes with each other 😊
Hey, ST: TNG was the only show that my whole family watched - my sister, my mom, and my dad! My dad was surprised that some people in my generation (Gen X) were actually into the classic ST more than TNG.
Later on when Babylon 5 was on, nobody else in my family was into it like I was. :(
One of the things that I loved about TNG was how they shifted around crew roles.
Instead of the cowboy captain that Kirk was, Picard was a statesman and diplomat, but still able to get his hands dirty when needed. Meanwhile he had Riker being the adventurer and lady killer, so that role wasn't lost.
Data filled in wonderfully for Spock, giving another emotionless character who helped explore the human condition. And his android nature opened up even more possibilities. The episode where they had to fight in court for his independence as a person was epic.
Geordi was a great character, and his friendship with Data made the pair wonderful to watch. And it was great seeing a blind character being treated as someone independent, and not a liability.
Crusher, Worf, Troi, Yar... all brought so much life to the show. Gave everyone someone that they could relate to and admire.
I would add that Worf and Data split duties filling in for Spock, since Spock and Worf were both outsiders who didn't really fit in completely with humans or their own respective species. For instance, Vulcans looked down on Spock for having a human mother, while he didn't always fit in with humans either because they thought his cold Vulcan logic was weird, and Worf had the same thing going for him where Klingons thought he was weak for being raised by humans and they hated his father because they thought he was a traitor, meanwhile he didn't always fit in with humans either because of his Klingon temper and warrior instincts.
The Crushers.
@@nastyvandal Shut up Wesley.
Captain Kirk remains the better CO. He isn’t beholden to the rules and doesn’t waste entire acts calling a staff meeting just to make a decision.
@@dinomonzon7493 well if you watch the original show again, you'll be reminded that's not the case.
but
is (ding!)
it (ding!)
phaser canon? (ding!)
(star wars noise)
Star Trek TNG was the show my Dad and I bonded over while I grew up! Great episode!
I love the James / SORTED clip “Where’s the dish?!”
Loved this episode. Please add Galaxy Quest to your list of things to talk about.
If you want a truly comprehensive deep dive into Star Trek (TNG included) I can't recommend Rowan J Coleman's retrospective enough.
Agreed, he is so thorough.
Rowan's retros are pure-GOLD.A must watch for TREK fans.
I was going to mention that, but you got this covered. His videos are professional quality, and very entertaining.
If you like Star Trek: TNG, watch Seth MacFarlane's (Yes, the "Family Guy" guy) The Orville, which is basically a slightly more comedic, but just as good modern take.
It's on Hulu and Disney+!
If enough people watch it, we'll get another season!!
Hulu bought it from Fox and just dropped a new season and dropped a huge budget.
@@fritzk3627 Disney outright bought Fox and already owns a percentage of Hulu.
And Season 3 was the new season, I want more than that!
Fox was a part-owner of Hulu, so was Disney, pre-buyout. The move to Hulu and change in episode length/count was already decided pre-pandemic. I don't think there's gonna be another season after this, though - MacFarlane already said he was looking to exit the show, and he's the star & showrunner, no Orville without him. Waiting until S3 wraps to binge it - Orville S2 was some amazing television.
@@fritzk3627 Disney owns Fox and Hulu...
Engage!
It's a bit ironic that for the pilot Encounter at Farpoint the best part, Q, was written by Roddenberry, a notoriously bad writer while the meat of the episode, everything not Q, was written by D. C. Fontana, an excellent and well respected writer.
It kinda makes sense that for Gene's portions of the script he just repurposed the "Enteprise gets toyed with by a godlike being" plot that TOS used multiple times.
I think Q trial is the worst part of Farpoint. Try imagine as first time watcher without the knowledge of what Q evolved to be in future episodes, it just doesnt make any sense. A deus ex machina that just want to suddenly erase whole humans just because. I still don't understand what happened in the trial as Q stance on humans is not changed at all, in fact he just dismissed all Picard argument and plea without even considering them. He just let them go because the episode is over and you can't kill the whole crew in their first episode. Q only come alive thanks to future writers writing him as god with childlike arrogance and curiosity with outstanding performance of John de Lancie.
_"It's a bit ironic that for the pilot Encounter at Farpoint the best part, Q, was written by Roddenberry, a notoriously bad writer (...)"_
In 1957, Gene Roddenberry received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Script for the episode "Helen of Abajinian". He wrote 24 episodes of _Have Gun Will Travel._ In 1963 he created _The Lieutenant,_ which was cancelled when the episode "To Set It Right" (written by Lee Erwin), which was about racial prejudice, and featured Nichelle Nichols as the fiancée of a black Marine, was never broadcast. The subject of race was considered taboo in entertainment television in 1964, and because the network refused to broadcast "To Set It Right" or even pay for it, MGM had to shoulder the entire cost of production.
As far as Star Trek, Gene wrote _The Menagerie_ in it's entirety, as well as _The Omega Glory_ and _Bread and Circuses._ He rewrote the scripts of _Balance of Terror_ and _The City on The Edge of Forever._ Don't call him a 'bad writer'.
@@Idazmi7 The Omega Glory is... not a good episode. At all. Voyager revisited the basic concept ("Nemesis") and did it much better. Bread and Circuses is mediocre.
Roddenberry wrote some quality stuff, and he also wrote some garbage.
@@fluffysheap
_"The Omega Glory is... not a good episode. (...) Bread and Circuses is mediocre."_
Nice of you to not bother providing any evidence or context to your statements at all. If and when you do bother providing any 'evidence', I expect that you will completely _ignore_ the context of Hollywood's interference in the 1960's television industry and Star Trek in particular, as if the only person involved at every phase of development and decision-making on Star Trek was Roddenberry himself, even though they often demanded changes, and even edited his work directly.
I also expect that you simply *do not know* the hallmarks of Roddenberry's writing style beyond _collected fan opinions_ of Star Trek episodes, instead of his entire writing career, which goes far beyond the Star Trek brand label.
The "Fire!" cliffhanger was so brilliant but, at the time, so painful. Riker had the angel and the devil sitting on his shoulders, each telling him to do something different, and he tried to do what he knew was right - his duty of ending the Borg's threat - though he hated doing it. The build up to it was wonderfully acted and written and the music in that moment had you holding your breath.
That was a massive blow to me at the time haha! And to have to wait until the next season for the conclusion, unbearable! So happy bingewatching is a thing these days.
Agreed. It was a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng wait before we got to see Part 2.
Maybe I'm a sadist, but to me that long wait actually made it more epic...every day wondering how the hell they were going to resolve it. Nowadays with binge-watching it'd just be over immediately...no time to stew on it and obsess.
"Best of Both Worlds" (pts 1&2) is rated the third highest-rated sci-fi "episode" of all time. At the end of part 1, we all thought that Picard/Locutus would die and that Riker would become the new captain.
"Sector Zero-Zero-One"
"Earth"
More things change, more they stay same. Even back then Trekkies were upset about new crew and casting choices for TNG.
People HATE change.Just as some people hold onto the original Superman movie,Man of Steel was needed for a modern audience,after the BORE-FEST-Superman Returns. LOL.
Having said that, the new Trek shows are terrible.
@@ForceMaximus84 YES.They are.Picard,Discovery and the animated one TOO.Haven't seen Strange New Worlds.
@@ForceMaximus84 ngl, but Trek hasnt been good since DS9...
@@UltimateGamerCC I’d argue that Voyager had strong points. I actually like it a bit more than DS9. It was more about exploration, which is what TOS and TNG were about.
Thanks for doing a Star Trek:TNG look back. It saved my life as a kid. This was a great video!
I remember that exact commercial for TNG in the summer/September of 1987. I was so hyped by the new ship, I was willing to forgive them for having a new cast of characters with new uniforms. It was a very exciting time. And TNG remains my favorite to this day.
I remember it too
10:58 - was the promo that first got me into the Star Trek franchise! Back in the early 80s, I always preferred Star Wars and Buck Rogers over the classic Star Trek. I always thought the classic ST was primitive, whereas Star Wars and Buck Rogers was modernized sci-fi. When I saw that promo, it was so intriguing - a modernized Star Trek!
Back in '88, I got caught in the middle of an argument over whether TOS was better than TNG or the other way around. Personally, I like both and I don't really feel that one is superior to the other. But I can understand the cases made in both directions.
The beloved next generation
In '87, Honey Nut Cheerios offered a free _TNG_ poster w/proof of purchase (something like 6-8 boxes). To this day, I can't watch _TNG_ without the phantom taste of Honey Nut Cheerios.
Win/win situation!!
They also had an enterprise toy that came in the regular cheerios boxes.
Classic
had almost all the TNG toys, twice over including the micro machines, and ds9 so good!
I loved TNG. While I, like many, grew up with the original series... TNG was just something epic.
Agree. Next Gen maintained the great crew interaction that the original had, while displaying realistic tech progress.
Happy belated 101st birthday, Gene Roddenberry.
😵
Trekkies: We are TREKKERS
Roddenberry: I created you. You're Trekkies
I gave a like regardless of you bringing up the dumpster fire that is Star Trek: Picard.
I remember watching this daily as a kid with my parents.
Same here. My mother loved it.
Often they would fend off Klingons floating around Uranus
in the summer of 1990, i became a "trekker" when i tried to draw the enterprise-d from my 6th grade tng lunchbox. the pic was too small to get good detail so i watched a few eps to fill them in.
hooked ever since
Also from 1998-2008 the Las Vegas Hilton brought the interactive and immersive Star Trek the experience. If you owned a copy of first contact on VHS there was a promotional commercial before the movie started. You can still find videos about the experience and what it involved on RUclips. Will you do anymore Star Trek videos?
I regret not going to the Star Trek Experience one year when I was in Vegas. By the time I went again, it had shut down.
I did go to Quark’s bar though. I was literally right there. 😅
I have that First Contact VHS Tape. The one with the holographic cover.
Interesting, I didn't know about Roddenberry's involvement in the 1st season of TNG. I ways wondered why it was lackluster, and I wonder if he stifled the creativity of the writing staff and actors with his litigious antagonism with Paramount. I also did not know why Crusher was replaced with Dr. Pulaski who by 24th century standards seemed very closed minded and was somewhat obnoxious toward Data. The series really took off with season 3 IMO with the return of Crusher, new uniforms, and better writing.
It is ironic that the show did better (S3) after Gene Roddenberry left as showrunner.
Roddenberry was over-controlling and micro managerial over the writers in Season 1.
Joe Michael Stracynzski just wrote the episodes himself for Babylon 5 in order to maintain creative control.
And now I can introduce my girlfriend to the channel with her favourite show. Perfect timing!
Keep up the content 😁
Picard may well be the superior commanding officer and Captain, but Sisko is and was the best wartime ships commander amongst them. (And Janeway was a'ight, I guess.)
Different CO's for different galactic-political contexts - Kirk was a colonizer, Picard's a philosopher & diplomat, Sisko was a pragmatic strategist, Janeway was a survivor, and Archer was a true explorer. They never completely shed the naval roots - they just adapted to explore different facets, and roles/eras, of the US & British Navies.
TNG was the pinnacle of the franchise but DS9 was my favorite because of the multitude of awesome characters...that was a really good stretch of really good Trek tv.
ST: TNG is now rated the greatest sci-fi show of all time.
And the Galaxy-Class Enterprise-D is the most iconic sci-fi spaceship of all time.
i remember when you could mail in memorabilia to be signed, i'd sent 2 different dr crusher cards from the 25th anniversary set. gates signed the one from her 3rd season portrait, but got a note stating that she "doesn't sign" the card of her season 1 portrait. probably because of maurice hurley?
Fascinating!
Be cool of the note was hand written and signed by her tho
I had to eat a lot of Honeynut Cheerios to send away for that Enterprise poster.
This mandatory TV time with my dad. He hooked me on the TOS at a young age, and this cemented that love of Star Trek.
It is SIR Patrick Stewart
next video should on BABYLON 5!
😮😮😮😮😮
An excellent and intriguing documentary of the STTNG series, thank you. Also, I want to add that I was introduced to STTNG by a Nun (or Sister) from the IWA convent. Anyways, I know- how? Well, I used to make fun of all Trekkies in my teenage nerdy years, because I was a Star Wars Jedi, Hans Solo, Bobba Fett, Darth Vader, and Yoda fan... One day, many moons ago, Sister Yirma challenged me to watch her VHS taped or recorded Star Trek The Next Generation episodes... I took the challenge, and well- I enjoyed and loved STTNG series. I immediately liked LTCMDR Data and CMDR Riker... Anyhow, time has passed, I became a Trekkie and Star Wars fan. Yet, I probably lean more towards Star Trek sci-fi than Star Wars... With this in mind, Sister Yirma, wherever you are- thank you, and to all- Live Long, and Prosper 😎😁🙌🤜🤛🤟🖖💪
Here’s a challenging question: if somehow the Galaxies were to connect and the USS Enterprise D were to host the final Jedi Council, what wisdom do you think they’d have for Starfleet?
@@Ironcabbit An intriguing inquiry; yet, I will not be able to humor you with a crossover sci-fi ordeal of "what ifs." For example, I never liked the crossover between STTNG & X-Men novel. Horrific. I prefer to keep Marvel to Marvel worlds, DC to DC, Star Wars to Star Wars, and Star Trek to Star Trek. So, I do not like to have Luke Skywalker mixing logically with Spock to fight the Empire and Dominion/Borg. One more detail, I do not like the BS concept of Star Wars vs Star Trek. Therefore, I will respectfully keep both of these sci-fi universes separate. Thank you, and I hope someone else can help you answer your inquiry.
Yes,thank you Sister Yirma for making a new fan of STTNG !!! God bless you Sister-Yirma.
Trek was the show my dad watched as a kid than he watched TNG with his kids but it kinda ended because its kinda worn out
_Star Trekkin' across the universe, bodly going forward, still can't find reverse._
Imagine Patrick Stewart with a wig and French accent ... that almost happened!
Fun fact: The BBC banned the episode "Conspiracy" from airing for many years. It's also a pretty great episode.
Coz de head asplodes :/
That episode freaked me out
They also banned 'Miri' and 'The Empath'; both episodes ended up being released on a single videotape in the mid-eighties and caught in the Video Nasties debacle.
Edit: Should have said, from the original series.
And they banned "The High Ground" for the fact it said that the IRA successful in the reunification of Ireland
Another fun fact about Conspiracy, the head explosion at the end wasn't going to be as graphic as it ended up. Some exec asked Roddenberry to tone it down, and out of some offense to being questioned or just plane spite, he upped the gore. (Even though the exec backed off the gorier version stayed)
from Riker's sitting to Riker's crotch near Data's face to Riker making eggs with flair - it was a glorious show
though the series really doesn't become legendary until Yesterday's Enterprise - one of the greatest pieces of sci fi ever
I think Season 3 is when started taking the show seriously in general. Otherwise I was a sometimes watcher of the show for the first couple seasons. But Season 3 so much changed that it really felt different.
“Data…Data something’s got me” …..worst episode when Riker was in a coma reliving traumatic events from his past
Next month would be Star Trek TNG's 35th anniversary. I watched it religiously with my grandparents on WPIX-TV. What got me hooked on the show was when The Borg confronted Picard. He was transformed and into the Borg leader in that episode. Resistance is futile!
Fantastic episode, guys! While TNG is my favorite Trek series, my biggest takeaway here was that Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz produced TOS...I had no idea!
I grew up with TOS reruns, and was 14 when TNG came out. I was living in Germany at the time and was so excited when AFRTS picked up the show for AFN because prior to that I would have had to wait for family in the States to send it to me on VHS. I'll always be a fan of both. They're very (deliberately) difficult to compare. Recently, I'm really loving Strange New World's.
Great you mention SNW! I love that series too and I stongly hope they can carry on. It's crazy how they are flying under the radar.
Ahhh, interactive VHS games, the kids these days have no idea what fascinating awkwardness they missed out on / dodged.....!!! XD
Still have my TNG one, although my little sibs were too young to play it properly back then.
Great Video!
Some of my earliest memories are of watching TNG when I was only a few years old and my dad flying me around the living room to the end credits music. I've been a trekkie ever since.
Don’t forget they also invented the male romper.
But you forgot the most important crossover of all: a behind the scenes clip of TNG appeared on the Reading Rainbow, with Lavar Burton as host. :D
and yet Patrick Stewart on 1 American Dad episode that WAS a Star Trek Parody based one Denied that Star Trek even exists.
One of my fondest memories of ST TNG, when Enterprise D exploded and the saucer crashed, ensuring that THAT ship would cease to exist.
Don't take me wrong, the show had great stories and characters, but always hated that ship design. 😹
I’ve been on a huge binge of toy galaxy. This is what I’ve been waiting for. Let’s do this!!!
Couple of little points: 1) Roddenberry was unhappy with his treatment on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, as he was demoted to creative consultant after Star Trek: The Motion Picture was considered by Paramount to be a box office flop and 2) You mentioned Star Trek 2009 but not the 6th show Star Trek: Enterprise...
He also said at the beginning not every point would be covered in this video. Only those pertaining most to TNG. Enterprise being a prequel (with an awful theme song) to TOS, would naturally omit it here.
I know that, but why mention Star Trek: 2009 & Discovery then?
@@PDRich you could mention them as Star Trek is still around after decades.
@@lutherheggs451 Agreed, as Star Trek: Enterprise was also part of the Roddenberry/Burman era Star Trek, the last episode also features Riker & Troi and is set during the TNG episode: The Pegasus.
@PD Rich I don’t know what you guys are talking about but I wish I did
My inner geek is sooooo happy right now. Thanks for this amazing video!
I can't express how much of an impact TNG had on me.
It was released one month before I was born, and I grew up watching it with my dad, who himself grew up watching TOS.
The shows themes of science, philosophy and optimistic outlook have shaped who I am today.
I have fond memories of it and continue to watch to this day.
I started with TNG almost exclusively because it had the host of Reading Rainbow.
Loved Reading Rainbow, but my Trek-loving family knew him as Kunta Kinte from Roots.
I have a complete collection of the Playmates figures. Took me about 4 years to collect.
"One is my name, the other is not."
I remember Denise Crosby telling people at a convention that she enjoys her scripts after she character passed away. Including when she was Celia Yar and past versions of herself
Yeah,she was tired of say-Hailing frequencies open,Captain.
Yesterday's Enterprise was a proper send-off for Tasha Yar, redeeming her character's initial exit.
Roddenberry was also kind of against the more militaristic representation of Starfleet the way it was first done in Wrath of Khan, which turned out to be one of the best choices for a change in general feel.
The _'more militaristic Starfleet'_ was first done in _The Cage_ and reinforced in episodes like _Balance of Terror,_ _Errand of Mercy,_ _The Ultimate Computer,_ and _The Enterprise Incident._ Trekkies tend to have a bit of a Mandela Effect when it comes to TOS, misremembering it as having a tone like TNG. It didn't.
The ONLY thing I think you missed was John "Q" Delancie's character, where you jumped to season 3's the BORG
I understand you have a leave a ton of stuff out, but talking about Gates Mcfadden leaving for a season but not a single mention of Denise Crosby's infamous decision to leave the show and being unceremoniously killed off after only half a season is an interesting call.
Yeah,she was tired of saying-HAILING frequences open,Captain.
All the women were treated like crap & it's why the 2 of them left.
I was a huge ST fan when Kirk and Spock were making movies. But, when the new show was released, it wasn't brought into my cable provider, so I missed out on the first several years. How I loved going to my Dads and Grandmas in order to sit by myself and watch TNG.
6:37 - that must be why Paramount kept the home video versions of Star Trek priced out of the reach of so many of its fans for so many years...
Hoping some day you can do a video on The Powers of Mathew Star. That show has fascinated me ever since I found it on ME-TV a few years ago.
Oh that's on ME TV now? No kidding. I guess I will no longer be the only living person who remembers that series! 😃👍
@@TitularHeroine All depends on the market. My market currently doesn’t show it anymore after it airing on & off for around 2 years at 6am Sunday Mornings local time.
@@EvaFull They always had good stuff on in that time slot. 😂 Destroyed my sleep schedule for a while
As much as a history of Star Trek’s development as it is a lesson on how broadcast and fandom was changing during this time period.
And oh my goodness Roddenberry’s lawyer was something else. I highly recommend the documentary “Chaos on the Bridge” to anyone who likes wacky behinds the scenes stories about television production.
Thanks for the great video, Dan & Greg!
I saw a single clip of that documentary a year or so ago which had me look for it. I rented off of Amazon one night and I do not regret it. I never looked at TNG (regarding the first two seasons) the same. And Gene's lawyer was definitely the pure distilled stereotype of your typical Hollywood lawyer.
You missed something. Patrick Stewart believed that the show wouldn't last beyond 1 season and was actually surprised when it did. Also, part of the reason he was assimilated by the Borg in the Season 3 conclusion, is because (like Harrison Ford before him) wasn't entirely sure he'd be back for further seasons. Also, like Ford before him, once he read the scripts and the reason for his return, he indeed DID sign back on to continue. However, unlike Ford, he didn't want his character killed off to save everyone else.
You can watch TNG and it rarely feels dated. It holds up very well.
I remember at first not liking STTNG but then it grew on me and have loved everything since. The Toy line was great. I worked at Toy R Us at the time that was released it was great.
Full speed ahead, Mr. Larson!
I’m always surprised when Trek re-caps point out the “no antagonism” edict handed down by Gene, but then don’t show a clip of the old lady from the Wendy’s commercials saying “Where’s the beef??” 🤣🤣🤣
I still consistently rewatch seasons 2-4 of TNG. RLM’s videos definitely inspired many re-watches too 😅
“Identity Crisis” was the creepy episode I was drawn to so often as a kid, but over the years, “The Vengeance Factor” to “The High Ground” is the episode run I go to when I need some comfort food tv to watch.
The introduction of Commander Tomalok and the Romulan episodes make TNG a ton of fun.
RLM is a bunch of hack frauds.
Those are AMAZING RLM episodes. I wish they would do more.
It just struck me when Dan saluted: There is no Federation salute in Next Gen and onward. They nod in acknowledgement of an order.
I'd say one of my favorite Family Guy gags was when Stewie kidnapped the available Star Trek TNG crew, and they all behaved like annoying children on a road trip. And I'd say that lead Patrick Stewart to his best role to date, Deputy Director Bullock on American Dad. I've always loved when the Star Trek actors got to branch out to other things where they got to be wacky. Michael Dorn as I. M. Weasel for example, and of course when someone decided "Q" should be a mythical monster sent to torture a bunch of ponies, and one time a couple of beaver brothers. And the nostalgia wave of Reading Rainbow as well. Loved the episode where they actually went behind the scenes of TNG.
Gargoyles
@@tetravega567 🦇
I used to get butt hurt as a child when I would look up at the clouds and didn't see one that looked like the Enterprise.
I just have to say thank you to this man, he's helped me remember shows and cartoons that I had totally pushed to the back of my memory.
I Still waiting for a ben10 or nicktoons video!
Just started watching this series after watch Picard on Amazon. Really enjoying it
Wait, you caught Picard first? And it got you interested in TNG? 🤯 I'm old.
@@wbennin I’m probably as old as you. I’m a star wars fan and didn’t watch any trek in the 80’s and 90’s. I watched Picard because I enjoyed the new Trek movies
@@luckymon I love to piss off the trek fanboys by constantly mentioning that I think Into Darkness is a far better movie than Wrath of Khan....There is actually stuff happening in Into Darkness, Wrath of Khan is half the crew sitting in a bunker for 3/4th of the movie and the other half of the crew sitting in the broken Enterprise and nothing really going on until around the last 15 minutes or so.
@@lutherheggs451 There's a lot of stuff happening in "Into Darkness" in the same way there's a lot of stuff happening a cocaine addled fever dream 🤣
@@lutherheggs451let me guess you hate motion picture cause you think it's boring
What a pleasant surprise, i always love a toy galaxy upload but star trek tng also, yall must have known my birthday is in a few days and made this one just for me. You guys rock! Probably the best (and if im being honest only) birthday present ill he getting. Ill happily take it. Thanks for making my night.
Okay, hear me out on this…. Will Wheaton and I are nearly the same age, and had a similar experience of growing up with the original series in re-runs. Say what you like about Wesley Crusher, I know a lot of fans dislike the character. But for me personally, he was always one of my favorites. By embodying that character, Will Wheaton got live the fantasy of actually being on the bridge, saving the ship a time or two, and being friends with some of the coolest people both real and imagined! For these and many other reason, Will Wheaton has as my admiration and respect! Live Long and Prosper Will!
The irony is that he saved the ship multiple times, yet nearly got expelled from Starfleet, got his credits revoked, had to repeat a semester or more, and ultimately quit in the end.
Excellent video about one of my favorite shows. Thank you Dan & Greg!
I always thought it was sort of incredible that TNG managed to survive it's spandex days. Even when it was new I just did not like the first seasons much at all but the show after that while not always perfect, felt like it had grown considerably. I really wonder if it'd have even made it past those early seasons in today's world coming out of the gate the way it did.
This show changed my life. I wouldn't be who I am without TNG. I was 10yrs old and I kept falling asleep before the end of the premier. I didn't find out what happened until yeas later.
Your timing was perfect on this, as I have been rewatching the entire series over the last three weeks and just finished the last episode this morning. What a perfect way to cap it off, keep up the great work!
Brilliant retrospective of TNG! Love the attention to detail and background gossip!
I had grown up in the 80's with reruns of TOS. Watched Wrath of Kahn every time it came on HBO. When I started seeing promos for the new show I was convinced it was going to be terrible. I remember watching Encounter At Farpoint at 8yrs old and hating everything about the new crew and I thought the Enterprise D was a horrible looking ship. Nothing was going to beat the old crew and ship. Thankfully by the end of the 1st season I started to come around. In fact I think it was The Royale episode that hooked me.
Thanks for this one. While I’m not that much of a TNG fan, it was still quite good (Classic Star Trek/Deep Space Nine/Enterprise are my fave Trek series).
The Next Generation, I think, didn’t start to get it’s act together till the events of Q, Who? in the second season, which introduced the Borg. Granted the first season had some good episodes like The Big Goodbye and The Battle.
TNG’s issues were generally Roddenberry’s own making, insisting on a utopia and barring the Enterprise D crew from arguing with each other. As well as disliking space battles and conflict in the show (conveniently ignoring that Classic Star Trek wasn’t presented as perfect; Bones and Spock were always bickering, and that he approved the episodes Balance of Terror and Errand of Mercy.
Gene Roddenberry at this point started to believe his own press and his restrictions damaged the show. Thankfully, Rick Berman and crew ignored what he dictated once he left active production and later passed on.
Berman, et al don't get enough credit - from the fandom, or the studio - for really letting Trek grow beyond its initial bounds. It definitely would not have had the depth, or longevity, that it enjoys without that era of production.
I couldn’t agree more. 🖖
I'm glad this touched upon the "Best of Both Worlds" cliffhanger. I don't think shows ended seasons with cliffhangers before that, but since then I've lost count of the number of shows that end one season on a cliffhanger, with the promise of continuing the story next season. Whether that promise gets broken or not is another matter.
A few shows did, yes. Soap did it in 78. ALF did it at the end of its fourth season, but that backfired, as the show got cancelled, leaving the story unfinished for a decade
I grew up in the 80s and actually _loathed_ a lot of things about the 80s--mostly the image-conscious stuff. I was disgusted when I saw the new 'Big E' and put off by the 80s-style nicey-nice, touchy-feely, goody-goody 'ship of families' angle--and Wesley, who was like every obnoxiously 'nice' kid at my school. That said, when I got into episodes such as the drug lords planet, and the enhanced warp drive debacle, and the 20th-century cryonics people (pit whoofies!), and the creepy alien conspiracy, aaaand anything 'Q', I was hooked.
By the third season, nicey-nice was gone in favour of true character and story development with some very stark and frightening episodes. So, TNG became something I never missed and love dearly to this day.
Except "Sub Rosa" and "Masks". I will never forgive those and other atrocious seventh-season episodes.
There is a SMALL group of people that would recognize the Sorted Food reference, and I'm proud to be a part of that group. Thank you, sir.
Same here! Loved the inclusion of James Currie’s most epic line… 😂
George Takei...he is awesome, and it is fair to say that the strangest character that he ever played (that of which I know) is that of a trans-dimensional mutant rubber duck - admittedly, he was just doing the voice, but - anyroadup, the movie he was in was called "Space Milkshake". He's a legend anyway, so. Other stuff of significance - Will Wheaton was in "The Secret Of Nimh".
Sorry I don't talk much, but...reasons.
Any chance to speak of "Deep Space 9" at some point?
Great video as always, fellas! I remember that night in June when Best of Both Worlds Pt I aired. The "To Be Continued..." had barely left the screen and my phone started ringing. I spent the next hour and half talking with all my friends, tying up the line in the days before we had call waiting. We spent that whole summer playing FASA's Trek rpg and ship combat sim and the conversation always led to speculation on how it would all resolve when the show came back.
We grew up with occasional syndicated reruns of the classic series, as my Mom had been a fan when she was a teen. Plus watching the movies on TV/VHS/theatrically and seeing the animated show on Nickelodeon. We were fully on-board with THG when the pilot aired. I was a more casual; fans while my brother collected everything-the Playmates figures, ships, and roleplay gear, not to mention a bunch of the model kits and the big technical manuals and reference books.
I grew up watching TOS in syndication. I was already in LOVE with Star Trek when TNG debuted. I still remember being so excited when Encounter at Farpoint came on. I greatly enjoyed DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise. Abrams Trek, Disco, and STNWs...not so much.
This is one of your most enjoyable episodes ever!
It’s ironic that a spin-off that everyone expected to fail turned out to arguably be the best interpretation of Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future with every iteration following sliding downhill ever since.