It’s so bizarre to read this in the present, knowing how incredible TNG was, but I get it - the original crew WAS Star Trek to them.

The dedicated fans revived this series in syndication, well after it had gone off the air in 1969, and felt attached to the characters that they had obsessed over between then and the 1980s. Like modern fans, they thought that departure from what they knew would ruin it.

I wish I could go back in time and tell them that TNG is going to rock.

    • The Picard Maneuver@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      4·
      2 years ago

      Yeah, what was revolutionary in the 1960s (humans of all nationalities working together) wouldn’t have been enough in 1987, but I appreciate that it set the groundwork for the series as a whole.

      The acting in TOS is over the top and often silly, but I try to watch it as a product of its time - audiences didn’t really want their shows to have an edge or get deeply philosophical back then, so Roddenberry and team had to sneak that type of stuff in where they could. I have a soft spot for TOS and the campy characters and still think it’s a fun lighthearted watch.

  • ramble81@lemm.eeEnglish
    18·
    2 years ago

    “unknown British Shakespearian actor…” Wow, I never thought I’d hear Patrick Stewart described that way.

    • theangryseal@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      2 years ago

      Yeah, who even thought that for a second?

      I grew up with Next Generation first, sitting on my dad’s lap watching the show with him.

      When I first watched TOS I remember seeing Spock and saying, “oh yeah, the original Data”.

      • TimewornTraveler@lemm.eeEnglish
        2·
        2 years ago

        I remember thinking, “I don’t wanna watch a Trek without Spock,” and then Data came along and I was hooked.

    • CeruleanRuin@lemmings.worldEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      Was that part of the marketing at the time, or just some bizarre leap from the author? I’m having a hard time finding any good comparisons between La Forge and Spock. In season 1 Geordi wasn’t even in engineering, let alone the science officer. He was a helmsman, so in that sense more comparable to Sulu or Chekhov, and he certainly doesn’t have anything like the relationship with the captain that Spock did.

      Is it just because he was a recognizable name at the time? It’s just a weird jump to make.

  • I Cast Fist@programming.devEnglish
    5·
    2 years ago

    The only thing I wish TNG did from the get go, or kept from season 2 onwards, was Dr. Pulaski. She was simply a much better character and doctor than Crusher, she fit in with the rest of the crew much better as well.

  • Nmyownworld@startrek.websiteEnglish
    4·
    2 years ago

    There were Star Trek fans at the time screaming from the rooftops about how TNG would ruin Star Trek. Before TNG even aired. But, there were also Star Trek fans who, while disappointed to not have the TOS crew back, were curious about what TNG was going to bring to the table. And, really happy to have a Star Trek series again. But, “Curious Trekkies Wait to See What’s What with TNG” wasn’t going to sell as many papers and stir up as much drama.

    • TrustingZebra@lemmy.oneEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      There were Star Trek fans at the time screaming from the rooftops about how TNG would ruin Star Trek.

      Is this what people had to do to spread their word before the internet?

    • Match!!@pawb.socialEnglish
      0·
      2 years ago

      Well, they probably have one point - how many modern Trek fans have even watched TOS?

      • Nmyownworld@startrek.websiteEnglish
        1·
        2 years ago

        A lot, I think. At the time of TNG’s initial broadcast, TOS was omnipresent in syndication. And outside of TAS, the only Star Trek series at the time. Star Trek fans watched the heck out of TOS. Then, the Star Trek movies with the TOS cast. The first four films were released before TNG first aired.

  • Julian@lemm.eeEnglish
    3·
    2 years ago

    It’s always funny looking back at stuff like this. I remember looking at old articles about Catherine Tate becoming a companion in doctor who and people were furious - and in retrospect not only was she one of the best companions, but that was probably the greatest era of the show.

  • maegul (he/they)@lemmy.mlEnglish
    2·
    2 years ago

    Honestly, those people, or rather their opinions, can all go to hell.

    A new star trek series then or now won’t take away, alter or affect in any way TOS and their ability to enjoy it. Not to mention how incredibly un-Trek like it is to literally avoid “explore[ing] strange new worlds” like the plague.

    I get that Trek is comfort food for many of us, and that probably creates a strong form of protective nostalgia, but staying in the past to the exclusion of the future is just awful (not to mention that I’m personally bothered at the extent to which this has happened with modern Trek and it’s proclivity for reboots and prequels, SNW becoming increasingly both).

    Also, is that picture of Stewart from Dune (1984)?!

  • maegul (he/they)@lemmy.mlEnglish
    2·
    2 years ago

    Hmmm. Came back here looking for the snippet but the image link seems to be broken … any chance of digging it out again?

  • mothersprotege@lemm.eeEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    I recall this being posted ad nauseum on r/startrek, and the comments were always full of people using it to dismiss any and all criticism of Discovery and/or Picard. Nice to see that not being rehashed here.

  • hesusingthespiritbomb@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    I mean let’s be real here they had every right to be concerned. TNG had serious problems in the beginning and had some pretty big flaws even as the show got going. Off the top of my head

    • The first few episodes (besides Q) were straight trash. Even if you take out the ample racism and sexism, they still kinda suck
    • Worf didn’t become a thing until Yar died. He was just kinda there. Also his hair looked ridiculous
    • Riker was half as sexy in terms of looks and a quarter as sexy in terms of personality
    • Picard was a dick. Not firm but fair. A straight up dick.
    • They straight up got rid of crusher for a season
    • The Ferengi were awful. Not like in a “lol what shenanigans is Quark up to now” but in a “TOS Gorn” way