Star Trek

I am aware that not everyone shares my affinity for Star Trek. In 2009, a new film with a new cast was released that gave me hope about the future of the franchise, and I think the new changes have opened up the franchise to a new generation. Personally, I love The Next Generation. I think those seven years were television at its best, except for maybe the six years The West Wing was on the air (okay, the first four years at least). What is great about TNG is that it gives you hope for the future. I know that is SO not what you expected me to say, but it's the truth. I want nothing more than to have a replicator and to be able to transport anywhere --- wait. I have to interrupt my train of thought to point this out. I am currently watching an early season one episode of TNG, "The Last Outpost," and Data just said, "This shouldn't be." I know that production errors happen and they probably had yet to flesh out all of the eccentricities of Data's character, but one of the primary points eventually becomes the fact that he is incapable of speaking with contractions. This is largely the only reason Wesley is able to tell Data and Lore apart in a later episode, and one of the red flags to Data when he created his daughter Lal. Yes, that sounded extremely nerdy, I am definitely aware. I didn't know that they ever had Data use contractions, but I excuse the error because it's still season one. For crying out loud, they still have no collars on their uniforms and Riker doesn't even had a beard yet. And Geordi is at the helm, for crying out loud.

Anyway, my point is that I believe there is a major difference between the original series and TNG. Obviously, there are many differences, but this one is important because I firmly believe TNG is an improvement. The characters on the original series, for the most part, were one dimensional. Predictable and one dimensional. The characters on TNG were more fleshed out over time and different aspects of their personalities emerged that allowed for dynamic and interesting plotlines within the general plotline of the episode.

My small issues with TNG are the same as with any show about the future - the references to the past are too frequent and there are too few that reference anything between the 1990s and the 24th century. I understand it would be problematic to make these assertions about 22nd century philosophers and the like, but Data is obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, Riker loves jazz from the 20s, Alexander likes westerns, and Picard goes to the Holodeck to enjoy the detective stories of Dixon Hill. Of course, these are great stories for the audience and they are hilarious, but you want some new stories too to supplement the obsession with 20th century Earth. It was a genius stroke to make the Federation with a home base at Earth. This means most of the cast can be human or at least humanoid, which means little to no make-up or lengthy explanations. With a majority of the cast as humanoid, the few characters that are different are more interesting. Getting the backstory on Worf and the Klingons is amazing because you see a totally different race and they are now allies of the Federation where they were enemies in the original series.

As with everyone television show, there are characters you love and characters you hate. For me, I loved Data, Picard, Geordi, and Worf. And I could do without Deanna Troi, either Crusher, and Riker. I mean seriously, she is the worst Betazoid ever - my favorite Troi moments are when she says something like, "I sense that he believes he is being honest, but I do not know any more than that." Wow, very helpful Troi. Or most of the time she says, "He's hiding something," which is the most vague thing anyone can say. Without her empathic ability, she would be a useless counselor.

Another great aspect of TNG is the addition of a first officer like Riker. His personality is very similar to Kirk from the original series - he is quite slutty and also is the point man for most away missions. This actually makes more sense than the captain going down to every dangerous planet. Picard only goes on away missions when absolutely necessary for diplomatic reasons or if Riker is too busy sleeping with some alien. Obviously, the original series came first, and there would be no model to change if the show had never happened. Also, I was born in 1984, so I did not see the original series when it first aired in the 1960s. It is difficult to look back on those episodes and see them through the eyes of someone seeing it in that time period for the first time. It must have been amazing, just like it was amazing for me to watch TNG. I suppose it is generational, and I would probably like whichever one I saw first the best. But I still maintain that TNG is just plain better.

My favorite episode of TNG is "Darmok."