I've watched each season of any Star Trek show more times than I can remember. The Next Generation was a show I rejected at first but with every time I watch it I embrace it more and more.
Yes, there are a lot of things debatable about the premiere season in terms of quality of the writing, continuity errors, character developement, actors performances to name a few. It is easy to critisize after the fact and with many years now gone. And even I am the first to admit that there are many cringe worthy or eye rolling moments in this first season. But remember, althought they had the original show to base it upon, they literally started with a white sheet of paper. Especially with the characters.
I also like to write a few words about the remastered HD version as I was initially oposed to that. Having now seen it I have to say it really looks great. The special effects are what most benefitted from the overhaul. They look much more crisp and detailed now. In general the picture looks great and I am amazed what they got out of the original source material. A minor negative is that the picture background looks very grainy at times especially if you're sitting close to your screen, whereas the important foreground is almost always amazingly clear. It also gets grainy when there is camera movement whereas static shots are really the best. But that is not really a downside. Brilliant and vibrant colours.
It is now easy to read the screens (which I did ocasionally). At the same time it is also easier to spot minor imperfections on the sets and props plus you sometimes spot the egdes of the make-up on characters. And it becomes really obvious now when a stunt double was used. But those are all not really flaws, nevertheless I thought I share this remarks.
A transformative season for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 3 sets the course that the rest of the series will follow. Featuring such classic episodes as “Sins of the Father”, “Yesterday’s Enterprise”, and “Best of Both Worlds”, the show makes the move to serial storytelling by setting up story arcs that will continue throughout the series. And with the return of Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher, the cast is finally whole again; with everyone in their proper place. Additionally, Denise Crosby returns to give Tasha Yar new life in the series, while Tony Todd and Dwight Schultz debut as fan favorite characters Kurn and Lt. Barclay. The third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation is incredibly bold and ambitious, and moves the show out the shadow of the original series.
I think the first season was so-so.
They took about everything that worked for Star Trek so far in the past in terms of stories. We had Holo-Adventures, Alien-mind-takes-over, some sorts of time travel, other dimensions, nebular entities and so on. The rare exception, and highlight of the first year, being "Jetrel". Very powerful episode. And some stories just don´t work at that early stage of the show. I mean you build a whole show about the fact that they need 70 years to come back and than you have early episodes that promises to take out huge chunks of that trip. Not going to work.
I never quite had a favorite character from the beginning as I did in TNG or DS9. The Kazon were a race I never liked - I always saw them as a poor mans Klingon. Another general flaw of the show for me was althought they wanted to show that they are one crew, a Starfleet crew, and did everthing possible to create togetherness, you could always identify Marquis from their rank insignia. It might look minor but that shows seperation in my eyes.
Nevertheless, as with most shows, the first season is a building block from which you go on.
Bereft of ideas, Star Trek rips off Battlestar Galactica for its 4th series, Star Trek: Voyager. Thrown halfway across the galaxy and suffering from massive casualties, the U.S.S. Voyager embarks on a long journey to Earth after reforming its crew from a captured terrorist vessel and a pair of friendly aliens who offer to be their guides. Unfortunately the casting is rather poor, as none of the actors quite have the screen presence of previous Star Trek casts (except for Robert Picardo). And the series is unable to setup any interesting new alien races that compare to the traditional ones from the other series: i.e. Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, etc. However, the show is still Star Trek and manages to deliver a few good episodes full of adventure and mystery. Season 1 of Star Trek: Voyager is pretty rough, but it has its moments and shows promise.
Enterprise gets rebranded as “Star Trek: Enterprise” and is given a revamped theme song in its third season as it attempts an unprecedented season long story arc. In the wake of a deadly attack on Earth by an unknown alien race called the Xindi, the Enterprise is sent on an urgent mission into unexplored space to find them and prevent them from launching any further attacks. It’s a really interesting idea, but the execution is a bit lacking, as the Xindi story is broken up by a number of stand-alone episodes that disrupt the momentum. Yet, these breaks allow the show to balance out the main story arc with more traditional episodes about character development and exploration. Incredibly ambitious, Season 3 of Star Trek: Enterprise pushes the limits of the series and asks some very provocative moral and ethical questions.
The first season is often derided for being weak. While it definitely pales in comparison to what comes later, it's nowhere near as bad as people say. At worst, it could be accused of being a bit bland but there are some incredibly strong moments here. Characters are strongly defined and a huge amount of plot elements are established. The episodes are all standalone and there aren't many major story arcs, but the characters are consistently grown across the season.
It's nowhere near as bad as early Next Generation, that's for sure.
Best episodes for me: Emissary, Babel, Battle Lines, Duet, In the Hands of the ProphetsWorst episodes for me: Dramatis Personae, The Passenger, Move Along Home, If Wishes Were Horses
One of the most ambitious seasons of the series, Season 5 of Star Trek: The Next Generation launches the franchise to new heights. This season original cast member Denise Crosby returns to the show as a recurring character, Leonard Nimoy guest stars in a two part movie tie-in for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and Michelle Forbes joins the show as the fan favorite character Ensign Ro. Additionally, the writers attempt some daring and unconventional episodes, including “Darmok,” “Cause and Effect,” “I, Borg,” and “The Inner Light.” However, some of the episodes get a little preachy, such as “The Masterpiece Society” and “The Outcast.” Still, the season’s strong focus on high-minded sci-fi concepts and contemporary sociopolitical issues provide plenty of opportunities for creative and compelling storytelling. The last season under the helm of creator Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season 5 does an extraordinary job of realizing his vision.
Just finished season three of Voyager.
Luckily the Kazon are gone. If you´ve read my other reviews you know why I never liked them. That freed up time for other stories and species. In a way they pushed the reset button on certain things which helped the show in the long run. I would say this is the better Season 1. This Season has one of the best episodes up to this point f.e. "Unity", "Real Life", "Distant Origin" which was my favorite of this year. We meet the "Q" again, "Before and After" was really well made and "False Profit" was a fun episode to watch. But this season also contains the infamous "Trilogy of Terror". If you don´t know what this is about google it. For me it felt like a rolercoaster that has some really exicting sections and than some boring ones. They still couldn´t keep it on the same level for a whole year. Since there were more good episodes than in the first two season combined (this is my personal opinion I´m sure other´s feel different) I´d rank this as the best Season so far.
I could never quite figure out why Voyager was my least favorite of all the Star Trek shows. With TNG and especially DS9 I was hooked after Season 1. Voyager was more of an effort to like. Since it was Star Trek I wanted to watch it and like it. Which ultimately I did. For me until the end of this year in general everything was "just-so". Watching it now, almost 20 years later, I wonder if it hadn´t been Trek would I have had the patience to see it through ?
Star Trek: Voyager enters into a third season of Delta Quadrant adventures as the crew continues their voyage home. This season starts to hint at the coming Borg threat, which will change the direction of the show for the rest of the series. Additionally, a budding romance between Paris and Torres begins as the romance between Neelix and Kes comes to an end. Some of the major episodes of the season include “Future’s End,” “Real Life,” “Scorpion,” and the Star Trek 30th Anniversary special “Flashback” (featuring George Takei). However, the writing is inconsistent, and the character development is rather weak. Star Trek: Voyager continues to improve, but it still pales in comparison to the other Trek series.
First season was good but that was just about it. When I started the second one it seemed that would go in the same direction but after the introduction of Toph, this season just keept getting better and better...
9/10
The second season didn´t provide much progress compared to the first. They were still doing what worked best before. I saw little in terms of character developement.
The whole idea of the show was to put a ship literally "where no one has gone before" but we only see glimpses of other cultures. Instead they keep dragging the Kazon along and it became more and more aparent with every Kazon episode that they didn´t work. As the writers and producers agreed later it was unfathomable that you travel a year and a half at high warp and still haven´t left them/their space behind. After all they were a sub-culture that overthrow their supressors just 30 years ago.
I still couldn´t pick a favorite character. Althought I don´t really hate one each of them had a minor flaw or two as far as I saw it. K. Mulgrew does a great job but I never could bring myself to like Janeway. Chakotay is kind of the dog that wants to please his master. The Doctor was still to arrogant but showed promise. Neelix is symply irritating. I can´t really say why I never liked Tuvok. Kes is a non-factor - they just didn´t found a way with her. B´Elana, Tom and poor Harry Kim all had there moments in the show but nothing that got to me. This was unusual because with every other Trek incarnation I had a favorite right from the get-go no later than the end of the premiere season.
But overall it still was on a level back at the time that few shows had so there was reason to go on.
Season 3 turned the show around, and I'd go as far as saying that it saved the franchise. A massive change of people behind the scenes resulted in a big shift in tone for the show, and this bled over into every aspect of production. Michael Piller took the reins as what we would now call showrunner, and writers like Ronald D. Moore, René Echevarria and Ira Steven Behr did their first work.
The show became more confident, and made its storytelling far more about the characters than the plots. It looked better, with a more cinematic style and much improved uniforms for the cast. We got to know these people in a far more intimate and relaxed manner than previously, and they each managed to find their own voice. Beverly Crusher was a welcome return.
While it's not a perfect season, it's such an improvement over what came before as to be almost unrecognisable. The first two seasons of the show almost feel like they fit into The Original Series at times with their cardboard planet sets, overly dramatic camera shots and quirky acting. Here, Star Trek: The Next Generation came into its own.
Quite surprisingly, Wesley Crusher becomes quite interesting here. Maybe it's because he wasn't constantly saving the ship and acting like a brat, or maybe it's because they finally gave him some personality. His conversations with his mother are some of the highlights of the season. Data gets a massive amount to do and starts to show that he is capable of very nuanced human behaviours.
The one character who is left behind somewhat is Geordie. The poor guy just never gets developed well, there's not much personality and he doesn't seem to have anything much going on other than his engineering work. His dating attempts are routinely abysmal, and I can't help but think that LeVar Burton deserved better.
Best episodes for me: Yesterday's Enterprise, The Offspring, The Best of Both Worlds (1), Who Watches The Watchers, The Enemy, The Defector, AllegianceWorst episodes for me: The Price, Booby Trap, The Vengeance Factor, The High Ground, A Matter of Perspective, Tin Man
This entire season was a delayed response to 9-11. The Twin Towers became the Xindi (themselves surrogates of Osama Bin Laden) attack on Florida and Venezuela. As such, it feels like a snapshot of the American collective state of mind that prevailed during the early 2000's. "The Mission". Enemies everywhere. Compromises. Torture. The character crossed lines that no other crew had in Star Trek history, and that had a huge cost in viewership. Even after 10 years, it's hard to watch it without wondering... it was worth it?.
I know Stephen King is corny but this is a new low, zero tension, couldn't care if they die horribly, in fact I hope they do! Watch the film, its not quite as bad!
Totally idiotic way to show 16 minute webisode.
After these "webisodes" AMC next project for TWD is spin-off that will be shown 1 frame/week.
A fascinating science fiction anthology series, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams delivers an extraordinary first season full of provocative, mind-bending stories of the fantastical. Based on ten Philip K. Dick short stories, the episodes deal with alternate realities, psychic abilities, alien invasions, and Orwellian states. Some are more loosely inspired than others, but they all have the dystopic feel that is characteristic of Dick’s work. Produced by Ronald D. Moore and featuring Anna Paquin, Terrence Howard, Steve Buscemi, Bryan Cranston, Vera Farmiga, and Juno Temple, the show has assembled a number of talented writers, directors, and actors. Season 1 of Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams is incredibly exciting and thought-provoking, and really captures the spirit and vision of Philip K. Dick.
Even though I love the first season's finale, my first feeling that this series can be something special is during Toph's introduction episodes, because "The Blind Bandit" - "Zuko Alone" - "The Chase" is a helluva run.
That promise is more than confirmed by the Ba Sing Se stretch that covers about half the season (from "The Serpent's Pass" to "Crossroads of Destiny"), which ranks up there with the most sustained best stretches of any show. All excellent to show-stopper, not a weak, or even just merely good, episode to be found. I love the many recurrent characters and their intersections, even right down to minor comic ones. Especially partial to the epic episodes, in which the actions are so, so good and inventive ("The Drill", "Lake Laogai", "The Crossroads of Destiny"). "Appa's Lost Days" isn't one of those but so format-breaking, and intense (but never exploitative) in its animal-in-peril depiction that I love it about the same anyway. Speaking of, Appa is one of the great animated creatures ever, a very Miyazaki mix of the cuddly, the whimsy, and animal rough instinct.
As something of a tradition, early seasons of Trek shows don't really work too well. Voyager 's main problem - for me - is how safe and predictable it is. By the time it had aired, the formula established by The Next Generation had been thoroughly used up, and then Deep Space Nine recognised this by changing things up. Voyager always feels like it wants to emulate TNG, and it never wants to stray outside of the lines.
The first season isn't a total disaster but neither is it compelling. There are false hopes given far too early on about opportunities for the crew to get back home, which we know are not going to pan out. There's also surprisingly little effort made to dive into the characters, with only the Doctor seeming to get any real depth (and maybe Tuvok). The Starfleet and Maquis crew merge without anywhere near as many problems as you would expect, and everyone is a happy family who run into aliens of the week and don't seem to learn all that much. Whats worse, the aliens really suck: the Kazon are trash who feel entirely nonthreatening, the Vidiians introduction is strong but they are then reduced to silly villains.
Despite all that, it wasn't as bad as I had remembered. While it has very few genuinely amazing episodes, most of the time it hovers around average storytelling without diving into really bad stuff.
Best episodes for me: Eye of the Needle, State of Flux
Worst episodes for me: The Cloud, Ex Post Facto, Heroes and Demons
A few Episodes were really great, like "Real Life" or "The Father Thing" but most episodes really are average. Still a good show though, hoping for a second season. P.K. Dick provided the world with enough content for multiple seasons, so bring it on Amazon!
Overall 7,2
The final season of the show takes some risks and feels different to what's come before. Especially in the first half we are given episodes which feel almost experimental, and there is a big change up to the status quo for the characters. It was almost off putting until I got used to it: Aang with hair, the group disguised in Fire Nation clothing, the heavily reduced role for Uncle Iroh (no doubt due to the sad loss of voice actor Mako).
It's a strong ending, though. Each character is given a lot to do and their stories are all compelling which makes this a show its very easy to get invested in. Prince Zuko probably remains the most interesting character on the show and it's easy to root for him despite his role as an antagonist - and I'd go as far as saying that this season really belongs to him. Even his sister Azula, whose personality is far less subtle, was given further substance. I particularly enjoyed the prison break episodes which continued to throw surprises while always being fun.
The actual ending, I'm a bit torn on. It's certainly epic and while it's satisfying, the overabundance of action on all fronts was slightly draining to the point where the emotional beats didn't really reach me. It's a shame that the Fire Lord is such a one-note bad guy. I found myself very appreciative of the various issues raised along the way though, most notably with Aang not wanting to be a killer. And the humour throughout is essential to the identity of this wonderful show, and always hit the right mark.
I'm so glad I watched this.
Voyager’s journey comes to an end in the seventh and final season of Star Trek: Voyager. The show returns to the well one last time, exploring the usual themes of Seven’s reclaiming of her humanity, Q’s meddling with Janeway, The Doctor’s civil rights, and the Borg. Additionally, there’s a continuing story arc of Paris and Torres having a child and another TNG crossover episode with Marina Sirtis and Dwight Schultz. And Alice Krige, the original Borg Queen from Star Trek: First Contact, reprises her role for the series finale. However, the finale is kind of a mess, throwing in time-travel, the Borg, and romance; and while it can be entertaining and exciting at times, it’s a disappointing conclusions to the series. Yet, the finale notwithstanding, Star Trek: Voyager delivers a solid seventh season full of thought-provoking and thrilling adventures.
Star Trek: The Next Generation carries on without creator Gene Roddenberry in its sixth season. Season 6 also marks the launch of Trek’s first spin-off series, Deep Space Nine, and its first cross-over episode “Birthright.” Yet this branching off comes with the loss of Colm Meaney from the recurring cast, along with several others from TNG’s creative team. Still, the writers deliver a number of impressive episodes, including “True Q,” “Chain Of Command,” “Ship in a Bottle,” and “Rightful Heir.” And, such guest stars as Olivia d’Abo, Ronny Cox, and original series cast member James Doohan beam aboard. Season 6 of Star Trek: The Next Generation continues to deliver entertaining adventures, but somehow it seems a little less ambitious than previous seasons; sticking to what has worked in the past rather than boldly going where no one has gone before.
Stephen King’s epic apocalyptic thriller The Stand is brought to television as a four part miniseries. When a plague wipes out 99% of the population a number of survivors begin to receive mysterious dreams calling them to Boulder, Colorado, to begin anew, but a rival community rises up in Las Vegas lead by the demonic Randall Flagg. Featuring Gary Sinise, Laura San Giacomo, Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Shawnee Smith, Matt Frewer, and Ed Harris, the cast is quite impressive. Yet the performances aren’t very good, and neither are the production values. The storytelling’s also rather weak, failing to capture the dyer tone of this apocalyptic tale. The Stand clearly has an ambitious vision, but it’s unable to deliver on it.
Resistance is futile as Jeri Ryan sexes up Star Trek: Voyager in its fourth season. The Borg take center stage as Voyage finally enters Borg space and gains a Borg crewmember, Seven of Nine. Seven proves to be the missing ingredient that the show needed to take off, as the character exponentially improves the quality of the storytelling. She fills the Spock/Data role of the outsider commenting on humanity. And, Seven’s interactions with Capt. Janeway and the Doctor make for some of the strongest character dynamics of the show. Additionally, the series finally finds a compelling villain in the form of the Hirogen; who are reminiscent of the Klingons. This new energy is also reflected in some incredibly ambitious episodes, such as “Year of Hell,” “The Killing Game,” “Living Witness,” and “One.” Plus, the season is able to gather some impressive guest stars; including Kurtwood Smith, Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen, and Ray Wise. Season 4 of Star Trek: Voyager re-launches the series and finally makes it worth watching.
I can't stop rating high recently. I'm both in the middle of great Bowie albums and my wonderful Blu Ray collection. What a shame enjoying awesome thing after awesome thing. So I do think that (after watching this quickly after season 3) this is the best season of the show. There is no mediocre scene in this season. It is all great, followed by one of the best season finales of TV history.
And not just the last episode, but really the last 4 episodes are all wonderful. I chose a pic from one of my personal favorite sequences. Always a good time seeing what the bad guy does outside of the protagonist's view. Then you get a super strong set ending the season. It could have been the end of the whole show honestly. I don't wish that, the fallout is still a great watch, but it would have been perfectly fine.
So just in case you didn't get my point, watch Breaking Bad.
Filled with too many stereotypical characters. Sure, generations 1 and 2 had a few, like Tony, Cook and Effy, but generation 3 is a load of clichés. Too fucking much for me. Not to mention the lack of originality in the plots. Generation 3 did not feel like the original Skins I watched beforehand. A definite and complete incompatible style... And a waste of fucking time.
I appreciate the Cold War style setting, which reminds me a bit of East Berlin during the 70s, and the retro robots that make the atmosphere even more post modern.
Maybe the authors also found a little bit of inspiration from Twilight Zone, but otherwise, the first 4 episodes so far are pervaded by a deep sadness that prevents you from fully enjoying it.
However, one is led to watch the whole series.
Season 4 feels very "settled". I'm sure that in no small part due to the show finally having a permanent writing staff and a unified direction. It provides us with a number of fantastic episodes and really fires on all cylinders, providing a wonderfully varied season of storytelling.
What struck me most this time is how much continuity and seralisation is actually here. I always think of TNG as being episodic, with 45-minute stories told each week and then forgotten about, but it's not true at all. There are a large amount of references to things that happened earlier and the characters definitely grow as a result of certain events. Notably, the story of Worf's discommendation and the brewing Klingon civil war/pact with the Romulans is spread very nicely throughout. Things really come to a head in 'The Drumhead' as a number of seeds previously sown are recalled. Background character Chief O'Brien starts to take on a much larger role, and of course Wesley Crusher finally departs.
The season begins by resolving the Borg cliffhanger, and Picard is given a whole episode to deal with it in 'Family'. A good deal of the first third of the season actually uses family as a recurring them; we meet Picard's brother, Data's father (and his brother again), Worf's parents, Wesley's (deceased) father, Tasha Yar's sister, Riker's (fake) son, Worf's son and O'Brien gets married. It's a clear demonstration of how the show wanted to emphasise the bond between these people, and highlighting what was most important.
There's an unfortunate run of terrible episodes around the halfway point, but the season recovers. Great stuff, and firmly establishing the golden age of TNG (although, I think better might be yet to come).
Best episodes for me: Family, Remember Me, The Wounded, Reunion, Data's Day, Qpid, The DrumheadWorst episodes for me: Legacy, Devil's Due, First Contact, Identity Crisis, The Host, Suddenly Human
A stronger season overall, although I didn't think it quite reached the highs of the first one. However, this was far more consistent throughout with pretty much no truly weak episodes. This show has captured my imagination and I'm continually impressed with the logical worldbuilding and how it it all grows. Our characters learn enough to be able to unleash their true abilities and it gives us some really stunning and endlessly creative action sequences in which you think, "oh, of course they would be able to do that!".
Toph is a great addition to the main characters, and I quite like Azula and her gang as antagonists (in particular, Ty Lee is really fun and I love her bizarre infatuation with Sokka). I had a few issues with things once the gang got to Ba Sing Se where the overall narrative really seems to stall. This sorts itself out eventually, but I can't say it's my favourite place to spending all these episodes.
Mostly, I really love seeing the development of all these characters. They are staying true to themselves while also learning and growing. Katara maybe my favourite aspect of the show, and I love how her abilities have developed into making her a truly formidable opponent. But she's also the real emotional heart of things. However, the show may be shining best when it comes to Prince Zuko and his Uncle Iroh who are compelling with every moment of screen time they are given.
Fantastic season! Hoping for a season 3 as well!
