Yup. That's what I've been up to the past couple of days. I am not a purist, so it's not only the first STAR TREK (the William Shatner/Leonard Nimoy years) series that I'm loyal to. I absolutely love STAR TREK The Next Generation. Also loved the newest film, a prequel to the original series.
Didn't even realize that Netflix had the seven years worth of STAR TREK Next Generation episodes all in one handy/dandy fell swoop of an extravaganza. Yes, they do.
So I've been going overboard cruising NEXT GENERATION which for me really began with the third year or so, maybe the fourth. That's when I began watching in earnest. The earlier years I didn't like as much because Jonathan Frakes (as Commander Riker) didn't have a beard and Michael Dorn (as Worf ) didn't have long hair (I like the later Klingon prosthetics better as well). Simple as that. I also wasn't so crazy about Dr. Crusher's son on the bridge. (Though Wesley Crusher did show up in season four, he eventually was done away with...uh, sent off somewhere. Can't remember. Don't care.)
Michael Dorn as Worf.
Much as I love the cast, especially the aforementioned Worf (hubba-hubba), I must say that my main reason for watching is, was and always will be Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean Luc Picard. (All together now, BIG SIGH!) He was superb and should have, of course, won several Emmys if there was any justice and sanity in the world which there obviously isn't.
Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean Luc Picard.
There's method to my madness. I am trying to compile a list of my Five (or maybe Ten) Favorite Next Generation episodes and while I mostly remember what they were, I don't remember the episode titles. So I'm going through the shows having a high old time watching.
Eventually, my list will be up on the blog and then we can all dish about our favorites. For those of you unable to appreciate science fiction or for those purists who refuse to accept the later shows (after the original Star Trek) as valid and true, all I can say is, tawk amongst yourselves while the rest of us have some fun.
Next generation is by far my favorite of the series.
ReplyDeleteMy 4 year old daughter has discovered The Next Generaation via my brother in law who is a sci-fi nut. She's totally into it and loves Mr Data. I'm not a huge sci-fi fan but I'm delighted she's chosen something like this rather than that Hannah Montana type nonsense
ReplyDeleteEarlier this year my (aerospace engineer) husband and I watched the very last episode of The Next Generation. We'd watched them all in order over the course of two years! There are very few television shows that stay consistently good for their entire run--TNG was one of them.
ReplyDeleteI don't like Wesley either.
Patti: Between you and me, I agree. Though there are many episodes from the original series that I remember with fondness.
ReplyDeleteLucy: Oh, for sure. Much better TNG, then fluffy headed stuff like Hannah Montana. I agree. Good for your daughter. Obviously, she is very intelligent. :)
ReplyDeleteLauren: I laughted out loud at your comment: I don't like Wesley either. What is it about that kid that annoys so much?
ReplyDeleteThe show is really still an intriguing and good today as it was then.
I am a Trekkie!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter absoluely LOVED The Next Generation and Patrick Stewart. Her friends nicknamed her "Data" in junior high as she is very bright and always had the answers. When my husband and I visited Las Vegas a few years ago one of the casinos had a "Stark Trek Next Generation" experience ...it was a lot of fun!
Pat: Oh, you lucky thing! A Star Trek experience. Sounds so much fun. I am a big fan of Patrick Stewart. (....sigh!) My daughter gave me a Jean Luc Picard action figure for Christmas a few years ago. Ha!
ReplyDeleteI'm also a Worf kind of gal. :)
Yvette, I can see you too love Worf (or as I say, woof woof!). Manly man! Jean Luc is like the prefect man, is he not? I have Netflix Instant Streaming, and I am going to run over after I post this and start my own marathon! Loved your post!
ReplyDeleteBecky: I'm basically living in outerspace aboard the Enterprise now. HA!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Becky. We are Trekkies one and all, young and old. That is our mantra.
Woof-woof Worf - I like it. I'll always feel he should have wound up with Counselor Troy.
Yes, Picard is the perfect man and he's not obnoxious about it. That is his allure. Plus he looks mighty good in skin tight spandex. Though I admit I like him best in those baggie things he wears in his off duty hours. ;)
And I adore him as Dixon Hill. I'm looking for the episode where he played Hill for a good part of the hour. One of my faves.
Yvette, I like him as Dixon too. I have to say, though, that the original Star Trek case is still my VERY favorite. Shatner was a ham and overacted a lot, but he was GORGEOUS in those days and so charming. Spock, Bones, Scotty and Kirk, with Uhura, Chekov and Sulu, were a great ensemble cast. TV itself and special effects were not as sophisticated as now, and perhaps the original show seems more primitive in many ways, but with what they had to work with, they sure created an empire! LOL!
ReplyDeleteWell, nothing can beat the original and yes, they had a great cast. The NEXT GENERATION cast except for Picard and Worf (and later Whoopee Goldberg (of all people) was not nearly as perfect.
ReplyDeleteOne of the episodes shows Whoopee as 'Gloria from Cleveland' in a holo-deck bit featuring Picard as Dixon Hill. But it was so short! Still I was laughing out loud.
Re: Shatner. I love him. He was superb in BOSTON LEGAL, deserved every Emmy he won.