The Very Turbulent History of Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. It originally aired from September 28, 1987 to May 23, 1994 in syndication, spanning 178 episodes over seven seasons.

Star Trek: The Next Generation proved that the Star Trek brand could thrive without the original cast but the fights and the firings almost derailed it before it got going...

Star Trek: The Next Generation was a landmark in TV history not just for the quality of the show but for how it reshaped the landscape.

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[MaximumWarp]

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.

[grapeshot]

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.

[KaijuAKD]

I loved how Data, in his quest to become more "human", became a mirror that reflected our humanity back at us, contradiction and all.

[chrislongbeard]

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

[ayufever]

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 😊

[Trekapedia]

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!

[seibervideo]

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.

[PaleHorseShabuShabu]

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.

[BensBrickDesigns]

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.

[AdamBladeTaylor]

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.

[christopherwilson]

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.

[Mecha]

More things change, more they stay same. Even back then Trekkies were upset about new crew and casting choices for TNG.

[briancherry]

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.

[wstine]

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

[stevemanart]

If you want a truly comprehensive deep dive into Star Trek (TNG included) I can't recommend Rowan J Coleman's retrospective enough.

[AaronENichols]

Thanks for doing a Star Trek:TNG look back. It saved my life as a kid. This was a great video!

[Dea_Ex_Machina]

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?!”

[earnestbrown]

"One is my name, the other is not."

[jaredneal]

Loved this episode. Please add Galaxy Quest to your list of things to talk about.

[paradox]

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.