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Everyone knows Star Trek The Next Generation Season 1 is bad. But why? This video dives into the crucial character writing problem which hampered TNG’s first year and how it was fixed later on.
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00:00 Intro
00:35 Star Trek’s Character Problem
04:40 Why TNG Season 1 is Bad
07:32 How TNG Improved
10:37 Conclusion
11:07 Sponsor
12:21 Outro
#startrek #startrekthenextgeneration #writing #rowanjcoleman
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Why is early TNG so bad? They hadn't figured out how to fling Wesley Crusher into an airlock and expel him into space. 😁
I could tell you, but you'd get pissed and insult me.
3 things BAD ACTING, STIFF ACTING, And Jonathan Frakes in anything he works in. (BAD ACTOR) Simple
It bloody, wasn't. To each their own. I don't remember finding fault with it, at all.
I'm glad I was only about 11 when I first got to watch Season 1, because most of the stories are so simplistic they almost felt like they were aimed at kids, it wasn't demanding – however even at that age, a lot of it felt too simple. Thank goodness it wasn't released in the streaming era, the chances of getting a second season would be slim to none. I suspect the viewing figures were boosted by die-hard Trekkies desperate for new material, so that probably helped to ensure the continuation of the show.
Season 1 had a few really bad episodes but over all a good season
I think it's because the show tried too much to be like the original series, when you watch those easly episodes they really feel and seem like the campy and bad episodes of TOS, while they were excusable in the 60s and grew to have their own charm like Spocks Brain, that isn't going to work in the but 80s. Gene Roddenberry was probably give too much freedom and tried to recreate what had succeeded but he needed to reeled in a bit, then the show found it's own identity.
I LOVE TNG season 1. Top 3 seasons of TNG for me. It has some of my favorite episodes. 11001001, The Neutral Zone, Where No One Has Gone Before and The Big Goodbye are so good. The vibe of these episodes are classic to me. I still love the development done later but sometimes the vibe completely trumps everything else and is what I go back to. The Inner Light will always be my favorite TNG episode but god damn a love The Royal from season 2 for the atmosphere. Episodes like this and others from season 1 and 2 are just not replicated, again in terms of the vibe, later in the series.
I have been a Trekkie since the first airing of TNG and I feel like I’m just hearing this. Of course I also am one of the people who dislike DS9.
TNG worst first season episode is still better than modern day Trek's best episode.
It's still better than basically everything we're getting since 2009
Add me to the short list who think early TNG was a far better show than what followed. The fist couple seasons really felt like we were watching what would become of our culture in the distant future. S1 season finale "The Neutral Zone" is a great example and one of the best episodes of the entire series.
It was always good but eventually the writing moved towards the same old prime time drama with the same tired tropes and stereotypical characters and plots but just set in outer space; woohoo.
I agree that Tasha is the most well-developed character in season 1, and I suspect that’s why she was my favorite when I was watching it during the initial run.
But I think it’s also worth considering what it’s compared to. Taken as a whole, S1 TNG is still better than any entire season of Voyager, or seasons 1-2 of Enterprise. And I’d take it over any entire season of TOS, but that’s mostly because TNG’s weakest eps in season 1 weren’t as bad as the weakest eps in TOS, IMHO — looking at the best episodes from each season would probably put TOS ahead of Season 1 TNG.
It wasn't bad, it just got much better in seasons 3+.
I dont know WTF everyone is talking about. Season 1 and 2 of TNG are my favorite. I love the Code of Honor episode too. It is a shame the woke cast has to come out and complain about it or be ostracized from their shitlib social circles. I thought it was a great episode. I guess black people with inferior technology and levels of civilization offends some people. They must really hate reality then because that is how it is here on earth currently, so why is it so hard to believe and accept it could occur in space without throwing a shitlib bitchfit?
TNG thin season one can be summed up in one word. Roddenberry. He was notorious for driving writers nuts by rewriting their scripts to take most character conflict out. Roddenberry had an idea that was Star Trek, but imo he often held it back. Once he stepped back TNG was better for it.
harsh lighting… the near soft-core porn episode….
It isn’t.
Wait… what? I’m not a part of that universal agreement.
I can't help but think this particular video is more of a Doctoral Thesis rather than a simple YouTube video.
The first season of most shows is rough. They are still figuring it out. It's not that rare.
Season 1 is still better than most of Discovery, god what a pile of crap of a show. it started to get better in the middle but then got worse again.
the biggest reason why season one stunk is because there was termoil behind the scenes. termoil leads to a directionless product on screen with lack of character and little to no consistency in quality in scripts
This is some excellent analysis. You do a great job breaking down how inconsequential and plot driven season 1 was.
Good video RJC. Was visiting my folks and showed it to my dad who scoffed and said you were being too critical. I said fine, let's watch an episode. He happened to pick "The Big Goodbye" although the episode where Wesley was sentenced to death looked promising. Not ten minutes in he was checking his phone. He groaned when Wesley announced he was joining the rescue team. We both groaned when the red shirt was shot. We grinned at Lawrence Tierney's guest appearance. I suggested he left to make his shift at the Try and Save. We laughed at Picard's "speech" at the end. We agreed the episode never seemed to end. When all was said and done my dad announced, "Fine, he's right. But rather than waxing eloquently for ten minutes he shoulda just said 'They suck" and moved on." At least my mom thought the episode was great. Thanks from two old Trekkies.
(Before watching the full video) I heard Roddenberry insisted by the time of TNG mankind would have evolved past interpersonal strife so there’d be no arguments etc completely robbing the show of any drama between crew members
Ok ok fine stop making these and go make your own films!
Thanks for the interesting video. I've seen the "characters plugged into plot" is bad before. But I've never seen it expressed like this. I think I'd still say that Characters should be able to be plugged into any plot. We just always have to remember that they won't run the plot like a rat in a maze, but instead try to affect it and make changes that might or might not affect things for the better.
As I recall most of season 1 of DS9 wasn't the greatest either.
I've always chalked it up to a show needing a season or so of "Flanderization" before the characters had enough established quirks to really make the show interesting.
I found it all pretty cringeworthy with the very occasional bright spot. The acting wasnt great and the characters bland. Charnless. D+
I have to agree….but also disagree.
We had seen all Star Trek episodes that started at birth….we mostly had to grow with the cast, and therefore see what their character really was.
Now, let's look at Star Trek in the 1960's. After Jeffrey Hunter, being the captain of the Entrerprise, we saw William Shatner…maybe some, to most, already knew he was a 'class-act,' so most already knew that his character was how it was, even acting as a military type captain.
So, in a nut-shell we just have to "grow" with our beautiful family in the Trek paradise…..and then see how much further they can STILL grow into new character 😊
Bad? It's Heaven. It's perfection. WTH? How Can a first season feel 'off'? Compared to what?
I didn't watch Star Trek for character stories, but for phenomena! I hated the character focused episodes, like Warf and his son and his Klingon affiliations….soooo boring!! Data character stories, on the other hand, was great…because Data IS a "phenomena".
It wasn't. Geordi was more fun as the blind pilot on the bridge, Tasha was great, Riker was Kirk 2.0, there was great music, a lot of background extras and details that went away later; actual sci fi plots driving the stories instead of character-based, political morality plays, that are good to watch once, but not fun to rewatch. The early seasons were just FUN. Its downhill after Season 3. The first two seasons are the superior ones. They still feel like Star Trek. They end with the funny comedy bits at times, they even use the TOS planet set soundstages for alien worlds. Its just so pure. I can't push myself to plod through most later TNG.
Why TNG Season 1 is So Bad?
When the series was first broadcast here on Friday early in the evening, I could catch episodes only randomly, since I used to go doing kids stuff outside with my brothers classmates.
As a pre-teen, I took TNG as an example how times have changed. It was more about philosophy, and politics, less about pure action. Under Picard, the Starfleet observes, provides assistance, and uses force only when necessary. The Enterprise D ventured out to discover, and help whenever help is needed. This can be done without going in all guns blazing!
Think about Stargate, where, in each world, basically the US Army steps into an alien culture, liberates them and establishes the status quo; the US one, mind you.
You may guess correctly, that I like "Everyone, Everything, All At Once".