Re: Sci-Fi gets "Ghost Whisperer," "Star Trek: TNG," "Charmed," "Highlander,"

Anim8rFSK wrote:
> In article <7YGdnUa8Edn8RoLVnZ2dnUVZ_j2dnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
>  Michael Bowker <mikeb@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> 
>> Anim8rFSK wrote:
>>> In article <yeGdnZPeW7b9WILVnZ2dnUVZ_oninZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
>>>  Michael Bowker <mikeb@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Anim8rFSK wrote:
>>>>> In article <oYGdnStU9-tb9oLVnZ2dnUVZ_umdnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
>>>>>  jewahe <j.hanvey@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> PV wrote:
>>>>>>> "Obveeus" <Obveeus@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes:
>>>>>>>> The Next Generation, being the best of the Star Trek series, is
most 
>>>>>>>> certainly not 'crap'.
>>>>>>> Except that TNG isn't even the second best Star Trek series (if
you 
>>>>>>> include
>>>>>>> TOS), and most of it *is* crap that doesn't survive rewatching. *
>>>>>> Except that it isn't. It is the best of the ST series.
>>>>> Third best.  Fourth, if you count TAS.
>>>>>> TOS was too much a product of its times. Some of the episodes have 
>>>>>> withstood time, but it's overall look and language dates it too
much. 
>>>>>> What's more, the series often became tiresome with its 
>>>>>> monster-of-the-week repetitions.
>>>>> We'll have to agree to disagree.
>>>>>> DS9 was incredibly inconsistent with plot and character, and too
often 
>>>>>> descended into soap-opera plotting.
>>>>> It's last season was awful, and it's finale a crime against
humanity, 
>>>>> but overall it was much better than any Trek since real Trek.
>>>>>> VOY, of course, might as well have been a stand-along series,
without 
>>>>>> any regards to the established universe. When the plots weren't
just 
>>>>>> plain inane, they were too much of a soap-opera. And the characters
were 
>>>>>> very inconsistent, annoying, or useless.
>>>>> Yes
>>>>>> ENT, like VOY, discarded the established universe and just couldn't

>>>>>> figure out what it wanted to be about.
>>>>> It wanted to be about crap, and succeded spectacularly.
>>>>>> TNG, at least, attempted to be consistent (both in its own universe
and 
>>>>>> the greater ST universe), broke new ground in many of the plots and

>>>>>> devices, and distinguished itself effectively from the past
incarnations.
>>>>> I disagree.  Almost every time they started something interesting, a
bad 
>>>>> case of 'our writers are idiots' destroyed it.
>>>>>> While I'd agree that Seasons 1 - 2 were weak (suffering from
turnover, a 
>>>>>> writers' strike, and the normal growing pains) even many of those 
>>>>>> episodes resonate with events that are going on in today's world.
By 
>>>>>> Season 3, the show had found its voice and direction, and started 
>>>>>> consistently producing extremely good and entertaining television.
>>>>> Granted one is weak.  Two is better by virtue of less Crusher.  But
it's 
>>>>> last two seasons produced some of the worst shows ever put on 
>>>>> television.  
>>>>>
>>>>> I doubt there are more than 3 or 4 watchable TNG eps in any given
season.
>>>>>
>>>>> Whenever it comes on and I catch it by accident, I watch for 3 or 4 
>>>>> minutes until I say "oh, this is a bad one" and turn it off.
>>>>>
>>>>> I doubt there are more than half a dozen TNG eps I wouldn't classify

>>>>> that way.  The last one I watched again was RELICS, and it suc***bed
to 
>>>>> 'our writers are idiots'
>>>>>> One of my biggest complaints about DS9 and VOY, in fact, is that
they 
>>>>>> ran many of the themes introduced (and often done extremely well)
in TNG 
>>>>>> into the ground, and never distinguished themselves sufficiently
from 
>>>>>> the series. These themes mostly revolve around the exploration of 
>>>>>> individual "species-ness": Data's quest for humanity, Worf's quest
for 
>>>>>> Klingon-ness, etc...these stories repeat ad infinitum in the arcs 
>>>>>> followed by Ba****r, Dax, Torres, Seven, Tuvok, etc.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The biggest weakness of TNG is that it did tend towards preachiness

>>>>>> (especially in S5, when the actors were allowed to introduce their
pet 
>>>>>> causes into the show), the insistence of keeping Troi (and her
mother) 
>>>>>> as an active cast member, and the reliance on too much
techno-babble.
>>>>> Agreed.  So it's last 3 seasons were bad.  So:  Bad: 1,2,5,6,7. 
Good: 
>>>>> 3,4.
>>>>>> As far as re-watchability goes, I can sit through a lot more TNG 
>>>>>> episodes than I can DS9 or VOY episodes - and I often don't have
the 
>>>>>> desire to watch episodes of the later series at all.
>>>>> Agree, Voyager and Enterprise have no repeat value except to laugh
or 
>>>>> howl.
>>>>>
>>>> I raise it to ten or so, but agree with the other points.
>>> 10 *per season*?  That's like 50%.  I think that's way high, given
that 
>>> there are entire seasons approaching zero.
>>>
>> No ten total, perhaps I misunderstood?
> 
> yeah, I said:
> 
>>>>> I doubt there are more than 3 or 4 watchable TNG eps in any given
season.
> 
> I'm giving 'em twice as many as you.  :D
> 
Oh well, then a retroactive "What he said"  would be in order?