The Informal Romulan Story Arc

[Mojochi]

One can see the intent to have TNG flesh out a Cardassian trilogy with The Wounded, Ensign Ro, & Preemptive Strike, & certainly with the Klingon arc, the Duras & K'Ehleyr & Kurn etc...

But it's much more obscure trying to spell out the Romulan arc, which I feel centers around Tomalak. Clearly, we're meant to find the connections between the Golorndon Core events in The Enemy, & the Jarok events of The Defector. It even looks like the whole thing was orchestrated for Tomalak to save face by ensnaring the Enterprise, in that second appearance & get some payback for his embarrassment

However, I just realized another link. The Mind's Eye is significant as the beginning of the Sela story, but I now think it harkens back to those Tomalak stories as well, because how do the Romulans even know about Geordi's visor, such to hatch a whole scheme around it?

Centurion Bochra, that's how. He survived the Golorndon Core with help from Geordi, & returned home with intimate knowledge of that device, that they then used to target Geordi for nefarious purposes. Looks like Geordi was right. No good deed goes unpunished.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I'll be honest, I never saw TNG as a show with story arcs. Two-parters and follow-up episodes, sure, but not story arcs. It's interesting to try and approach the show from a story arc POV. There was certainly an arc with "Yesterday's Enterprise," "The Mind's Eye," "Redemption," and "Unification."

 

[Phoenix219]

It started out attempting story arcs - the S1 stuff that led up to Conspiracy, and then the 2nd season stuff that leads up to the Borg, with one of the Q episodes intended for the arc. Its one of the biggest failures of the series, IMO.

This is the exact reason why i think the double twist in Future Imperfect doesn't work - it would have fit, and made way more sense, as another Romulan, Tomalak plot.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

It started out attempting story arcs - the S1 stuff that led up to Conspiracy, and then the 2nd season stuff that leads up to the Borg, with one of the Q episodes intended for the arc. Its one of the biggest failures of the series, IMO.

This is the exact reason why i think the double twist in Future Imperfect doesn't work - it would have fit, and made way more sense, as another Romulan, Tomalak plot.

I like to think of the show as having less story arcs, but more strong continuity and mini arcs. Like, the 6 Borg episodes, we can call that an arc. The Conspiracy episode and the episode that foreshadowed it, we can call that an arc. There's "Yesterday's Enterprise" and the Sela episodes. There are the Q episodes. There are the Troi's mom episodes. The arcs are there, but often short term, subtle, or in the form of a recurring character or alien race.

 

[Phoenix219]

it started out shooting for more continuity, and let it go by S3, in my opinion. Lots of TV was going serialized around that time (mainly bochco shows) and TNG missed the mark.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

it started out shooting for more continuity, and let it go by S3, in my opinion. Lots of TV was going serialized around that time (mainly bochco shows) and TNG missed the mark.

Bochco?

 

[Phoenix219]

Bochco?

Stephen Bochco shows, Hill Street, LA Law, NYPD Blue, Murder One.

Homicide and others followed suit with the ensamble with ongoing-continuity.

Soon after, X-Files and its ilk were doing mythology arcs mixed with episodic stories.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

Stephen Bochco shows, Hill Street, LA Law, NYPD Blue, Murder One.

Homicide and others followed suit with the ensamble with ongoing-continuity.

Soon after, X-Files and its ilk were doing mythology arcs mixed with episodic stories.

Thanks for that. I never really followed cop/law shows beyond random reruns. The only ones I can think of where I did are Blue Bloods, Fringe, Gotham, Space Precinct, and... that's really it. hah

When I was a kid in the 90's, the first shows I watched with actual story arcs were The X Files (and The Lone Gunmen), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Stargate SG-1, and Roswell. The other shows I watched with arcs came in the 00's.

 

[Phoenix219]

the only one of them that is really a cop/law show is blue bloods lol.

i got into most of those shows later as an adult.

sliders tried continuity, quantum leap was building some near the end. fringe (and supernatural) is following the x-files/buffy/angel formula. The Pretender built its mythology, and The Profiler predicts all of the later police procedurals, Saw, AND full season arcs. Alias. led to Lost, Fringe, etc. The 90s had awesome tv. X Files had some crossover with Twin Peaks, which was absolutely influential. Stargate is one of those late 90s, runs-into-the-2000s shows like buffy and angel. '96 was actually a pretty huge year for television methinks.

We would not have modern tv without Hill Street, X Files, Profiler, etc.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

the only one of them that is really a cop/law show is blue bloods lol.

i got into most of those shows later as an adult.

sliders tried continuity, quantum leap was building some near the end. fringe (and supernatural) is following the x-files/buffy/angel formula. The Pretender built its mythology, and The Profiler predicts all of the later police procedurals, Saw, AND full season arcs. Alias. The 90s had awesome tv. X Files had some crossover with Twin Peaks, which was absolutely influential. Stargate is one of those late 90s, runs-into-the-2000s shows like buffy and angel. '96 was actually a pretty huge year for television methinks.

We would not have modern tv without Hill Street, X Files, Pretender, etc.

I guess I was reaching, trying to jump on the cop/law show train.
If we're talking 90's shows:
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-94)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-99)
Star Trek: Voyager (1995-01)
Mad About You (1992-99)
The X Files (1993-02)
Frasier (1993-04)
Stargate SG-1 (1997-07)
Roswell (1999-02)

These were my 90's shows.

 

[Qonundrum]

It started out attempting story arcs - the S1 stuff that led up to Conspiracy, and then the 2nd season stuff that leads up to the Borg, with one of the Q episodes intended for the arc. Its one of the biggest failures of the series, IMO.

And Pulaski growing to accept and even appreciate Data.

This is the exact reason why i think the double twist in Future Imperfect doesn't work - it would have fit, and made way more sense, as another Romulan, Tomalak plot.

The double-twist was innovative, but - yeah - given later stories where Romulans and Klingons were working together, it would have made more sense to keep it a Romulan ploy. Later seasons also keep the Romulans playing up guile as well.

 

[Maj. Dick]

I've been saying forever, Romulan episodes are always bangers. Subterfuge, political intrigue, and spy thriller elements.

 

[JesterFace]

I'll be honest, I never saw TNG as a show with story arcs.

There is at least one story arc that lasts seven years from very first episode to the least, the trial of humanity.
Q says in the final episode that the trial never ended, they didn't reach a decision until the last episode.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

There is at least one story arc that lasts seven years from very first episode to the least, the trial of humanity.
Q says in the final episode that the trial never ended, they didn't reach a decision until the last episode.

When I think of story arcs, I think of the later seasons of DS9, ENT's Xindi saga and 4th season, the newer streaming shows, the 3 Stargate shows, stuff like that. Yes, TNG "has" arcs, but what I meant by what you quoted is that TNG is largely an episodic show. It's always resolved by the end credits. 2-hour premiere, 8 two-parters, 2-hour finale. That's it. Yes, we get a low of "follow up" episodes, but to me, that's not the same as a story arc. To me, an arc is more something planned in advance. Taking Q for example, I see this as a recurring character, not a story arc. I doubt anyone had "All Good Things..." in mind as an ending way back when "Encounter at Farpoint" was made.

When I think "story arc," I think of something like DS9 being taken by the Dominion in the S5 finale, occupied 5 episodes into S6, and then retaken in the 6th episode. Over on Voyager, S1-2 had some good arcs with the Kazon, Seska, and Jonas the spy. TNG never did anything like that. Maybe the closest I remember them getting was that little Sela arc at the end of S4 and beginning of S5.

 

[JesterFace]

Yes, TNG "has" arcs, but what I meant by what you quoted is that TNG is largely an episodic show. It's always resolved by the end credits.

I don't have a problem with that.
It all depends on how the program is built.
For me STNG works well as an episodic series but because I love 1st season of 24 continuing storyline can work too.
Problem with a continuing storyline is plotholes, if you get one in the middle of a season rest of it might be ruined in some fashion.