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

In article <Ar2dnb2xXvCViLzVnZ2dnUVZ_hzinZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
 Michael Bowker <mikeb@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

> 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?

Sure, go for it

-- 
Star Trek 09:

No Shat, No Show.