Argyris
Head-Fi's third most long-winded poster.
A certain someone should do a late review of 'The Next Generation', for those like me that weren't born yet at the timeWatched only 'Enterprise' and 'Discovery' (and some random episodes of the original). Liked both.
I was technically alive throughout most of TNG's original run, but I was so young that I couldn't have hoped to comprehend any of it when it was on. I know the show was frequently rerun because I remember hearing the opening theme music occasionally on my father's television, but I never actually watched it on TV myself.
It wasn't until about four years ago that I worked through the series on Netflix, alongside the original series. TNG has its ups and downs (like any successful series), but it's generally worth the time investment. None of its worst episodes are IMO as bad as the worst TOS ones. The third season of TOS is pretty dire overall, whereas the final season of TNG, while not quite up to the lofty heights reached near the middle of the run, is nonetheless stronger than the first few seasons, and the final plot arc is satisfying (much better than the infamously bad final episode of TOS).
In headphone terms, TNG is like a Sennheiser HD 6x0—it's an obviously polished and high quality experience in most respects, with a few weaknesses (it takes a few seasons to rev up) and a tendency toward subtlety rather than an in-your-face presentation. Just like with the Sennheiser headphone, some find TNG (and Picard specifically) a little restrained and overly polite.
TOS, on the other hand, is like a typical Grado—brash and unrefined, but full of character. The show generally comes across as energetic and fast paced, especially in comparison to TNG, which is a slower show with less straightforward plots that take some time to unfold. TOS tends to be one of those things where, if you like it, you really, really like it. Kirk in particular has legions of fans, and it's not hard to see why. I certainly like him.
Personally, though, I prefer Picard for the same reason I like my HD 600: he's refined and even-keeled, and while playing the character, Stewart doesn't manage to monopolize attention the way Shatner does. With TNG, the focus is as much on the plot as it is the characters. With TOS, the camera is pretty much glued to Shatner (apart from the rare instances where Scotty gets to be in charge of the bridge—now those are fun!).
That all said, keeping in mind I've only watched through the show once, I feel like the writing for Picard's character in the first season might make him come across as a little too reserved (maybe HD 650-like? I've never tried one), with Jon Frakes' Commander Riker ("Number One") sometimes appearing as the more interesting and authoritative character. Midway through season two, the writers evidently discover that their HD 600 has a bad impedance mismatch with its amp and is sounding a bit slow and bloated from all the extra midbass, and they gradually start swapping over to an amp that yields a better damping factor, resulting in a Picard who is still reserved but who is unambiguously the lead.
Just for fun:
Among the major characters of the Trek series' I've seen (just TOS and TNG so far; I keep meaning to get around to the others), I feel like Tyll is the equivalent of Data: inquisitive, polite and devoted to performing his work to the highest standard he can (though, as an android, I imagine Data would have made fewer typos
). I'll leave it as a fun discussion exercise for the thread to choose a Trek counterpart for the new leadership at IF.
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