TNG fans please identify yourselves ...

[Gold Grizzly]

We don't tend to have much pinned in this forum, so I think that we can get away with having one of these introductory threads. If you're a regular poster or visitor here, or a recently arrived newbie, then take a moment to post in here, and give us a few words telling us which characters/actors and aspects of TNG are your favourites to discuss.

I will start us off ... I like to think of myself as fairly flexible in my TNG viewing, but have come to have a slight preference for the more character driven stories in recent years. I also like finding good qualities in some of the more often critisised episodes ("Justice", "Shades Of Gray", "Sub Rosa" etc ...).

While I consider Picard and Data to be the best written characters, Riker is nonetheless my favourite, with Q my favourite guest star.

I like to amuse myself by disturbing people with Picard/Q pictures like this one.

Anyone else?

 

[Naraht]

Greetings all! I'm Naraht; I'm 23, and currently doing a doctorate in Victorian history.

In this forum, I'm probably best known for my obsessive interest in Beverly Crusher, and in the Picard/Crusher relationship, with all its complexity. (I also consider myself a Jack Crusher/Beverly Crusher shipper.) Picard is probably the character with whom I identify the most. But I also have a soft spot for Riker...

I've grown up on TNG, right from the first episode. I love it for its humanism, its philosophical depth, and its optimistic belief that we can aspire to be more than we are today. For me, the spirit of TNG is summed up by Picard's quote: "Oh, I know Hamlet. And what he said with irony, I say with conviction: 'What a piece of work is man...'".

I prefer reflection to action; I like character development and philosophical speculation. Seasons one and two are just fine in my book, but you will never convince me that the movies actually happened.

The picture that I like to post:

 

[mackillian]

Gold Grizzly and Naraht, you are both evil. How many sets of eyes do I have to claw out?!

Mmph.

Anyway.

I'm 25 and also grew up watching TNG. As a kid, I was all about R/T. I remember waiting for Imzadi to come out in hardback. A month or so ago, I found the very first fanfiction I wrote ever at my father's house. I was eleven or so and I'd written it with my best friend. Apparently my P/C inclinations were so ingrained that I didn't even think twice about it--in the fic, P/C were married and had a kid. I didn't even remember this until I read over again. o_O

Overall, I just like TNG. I was upset when it was over, mourned, and moved to The X-Files.

In real life, I'm a photographer, writer, and fencer. And I post pictures like this:

 

[3 of 11]

Forgive me for not putiing out much personal info (Im paranoid like that), but I'll be glad to talk about TNG till kingdome come . Ill post just some (pseudo)random thoughts on TNG in general:

People say TNG has aged badly, I stare at them at disbelief, TNG feels very real to me (as I was a teen when I first started watching, and TNG was my first trek show, this might influence my judgement). I think its 'over optimism' is a good thing, especially when you are a hormoned up and disillusioned teenager.

Character wise, Ive always had a soft spot for the Geordi Data friendship, the strongest on the show (next to maybe Guinan-Picard, but we dont see it much). Two very different people (both from each others perspective, and relative to 'normal' in society) forming such a strong bond; plus I always root for the engineer.

Although I dont like the early seasons very much, I enjoy seasons 6 and 7 more than others, I don't see why 7 gets bashed so much. I also want to add, I thinkForce of Nature is a pretty good episode *ducks*.

The biggest mistake I feel TNG made was keeping itself so episodic. True that there were some serialized elements that carried and developed through the series, too many times did characters not really change when they should have, that is part of the appeal of DS9, but thankfully TNG didnt resort to the bigblinkingredreset button like VOY has done.

Finally, how can you talk about TNG with out talking about Picard, IMO the best role model in all of trek. The character represents the height of integrity and morality in my view, while at the same time, hes never perfect, and has made many mistakes in life (its nice to see someone who is capable of becoming a great person, whilst having a slightly checkered past). 'Picard speeches' are TNG at its best. No other trek show (or practivally any other tv show in general) can quite reach that level imo.

 

[tomalak301]

Hi All. I'm 21 and have been a TNG fan for pretty much my entire life. I started watching TNG as family viewing every Saturday Night at 8:00 PM and it was something that kept with me ever since. At first I didn't understand the concepts, because I was watching it at like 3 years old, but as I grew older and wiser, I started to really love TNG and that is how it became my favorite series. I remember when it was about to go off the air, and there was that viewers choice marathon that saturday and then the finale Monday night. At the time, I had no idea that TNG was going to go to movies, so while I wasn't sad, I was emotional thinking that All Good Things would have been the last time I saw my second family on TV.

I'm a fan of the other series too, but everything stemed from TNG. I found the concepts and themes unique and cool, and as a young trek fan at the time, I was excited for DS9 and then Voyager. Because of school, I didn't see all of DS9, stopping at season 4, but picking it up again at mid season 5 and watching it till the end. I did see all of Voyager, and really enjoyed that series. Unfortunatly, I didn't much care for the final 2 seasons, and the finale felt like an insult to me, since I had watched them for 7 years. It felt incomplete and just a total slap in the face. I watched all of Enteprise, but didn't like seasons 2 or 3, so I decided to stop watching. I'm regretting that decsision though because I heard so much about the greatness of season 4, and decided to watch some of it. I was impressed that ENT had improved, and I'm currently watching it in syndication. If you want more on my Enterprise history, there is a great thread in that forum: Enterprise Link

I guess what I really love about TNG were the characters and how they just clicked together. There are so many character moments, and the stories every week not just fascinated me, but were cool consistantly every week. I try to look for good in everything, and I even find a lot of good in things people bash about, such as season 7 (Which I do like). Here are some of my favorite episodes via seasons in two catigories, best and underrated:

Best:

Season 1: Conspiracy
Season 2: Contagion
Season 3: Defector
Season 4: The Drumhead
Season 5: The Inner Light
Season 6: Chain of Command
Season 7: All Good Things

Underrated

Season 1: Heart of Glory, The Battle

Season 2: Contagion, Peek Performence (I did like Shades of gray this season too)

Season 3: High Ground, The Survivors, The Enemy

Season 4: Family, The Mind's Eye

Season 5: The Masterpeice Society, Perfect Mate, The Game

Season 6: Ship in the Bottle, Timescape

Season 7: Pre-emptive Strike, Lower Decks, Emergence, Thine Own Self

My favorite character is probably Riker, even though I like all of them except for Troi.

 

[degraClosed]

I'm a big TNG fan. I was ten years old and saw it from start to finish. I've probably seen all episodes except for some in season two and seven at least thirty times. I think they've held up well. I enjoyed the nice mix of standalone stories and the fact that the series respected TOS but didn't feel weighted down by it. As a result the show had a nice mix of stories from high concept scifi to character stories.

I like *all* the cast as well as all the characters that includes the unfairly maligned Wesley Crusher and Lwaxana Troi.

Picard is my favorite captain and character followed closely by Data but I really like all of them pretty equally. Picard/Crusher and Riker/Troi were nice mature relationships. Data/LaForge is a great friendship. And Worf/Riker were a great manly man pairing. I also like it because I can remember what was going on in my life when each episode aired. Plus it was when Trek was fun and being a TNG fan was cool. There were all sorts of action figures, posters to collect. It was just a nice show I could look forward to each Saturday night.

I generally like almost every episode from season three through six. I also have found I tend to like even the episodes considered bad like Hero Worship, Imaginary Friend, Rascals, Genesis, Skin of Evil, Coming of Age, The Bonding, When the Bough Breaks, The Loss. I'm not sure if it is because I'm more forgiving or I just have diferent tastes from others. The Best of Both Worlds I&II is my favorite episode.

I enjoyed all the sci fi episodes like Clues, Conundrum, Power Play, The Game, Disaster, Cause & Effect, Parallels, Phantasms, Night Terrors, Remember Me, Future Imperfect, Timescape, Rascals to name a few. I also enjoy the more emotional ones like Skin of Evil, Silicon Avatar, The Survivors, The Defector, Dark Page, The Chase, Relics, Unification to name a few. To me All Good Things.. is the best Trek finale.

I also loved the bright interior sets and corridors. I loved the way the three chairs were side-by side representing the more egalitarian attitude of TNG. The ship is a beautiful sight, well designed and a believable evolution from the ones seen on TOS.

 

[mrs_sideshow_bob]

Okay here goes....I'm 23, although loathed to admit it and studying a law degree and not really liking it.
I stumbled across TNG as an ickle girl. It was a bit of a chance thing - and being rather young and not exactly bright, it took me a while to realise that it was on every Wednesday at 6.45pm on BBC2 (doesn't help that I had a head like a seive either, not literally!!! ); so basically I only saw a handful of episodes for a while. Then, having finally figured out how a "series" works, the episode which really started me good and proper was "Cause and Effect" - became a big Dr Crusher fan after that one too. (still am). At one point I even made my mum buy me hair clips so I could do my hair like her!
That said, I do have a soft spot for Riker also......just a very amiable chap, despite the women thing.
Favourite episode: Probably "All Good Things" - perfectly encapsulates all that was great about the series and used all the characters wonderfully.
Can't help but wonder about the beige interiors though.....

I feel rather nostalgic now - ahhh the good ol' days of TNG on BBC2 (no ad breaks).

 

[Swampfeet83]

Greetings! I'm 22 and just finished getting a 2-year journalism course in Canada, and I've moved back to the Bahamas, where I grew up, looking for a job when I didn't find any up in the Great white north.

I was 3-just-about-to-turn-4 when TNG premiered but we missed much of the 1st season until the spring of 88 when we got our big C-Band satellite. The first ep I remember seeing is 'Where Silence has Lease' and Nagilum scared the crap out of me .

What do I like to talk about when discussing TNG? Well, really anything, but I like getting into character debates most of all. My faves are Picard, Data, Riker, Q, Guinan, Vash and Chief O'Brien. I would have liked to have seen how Tasha turned out had Denise Crosby decided to stay.

The acting company on the show was stellar, with Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, and Colm Meany being the ones that stick out the most. ANd the guest casting (most notably Jean Simmons, David Warner, Ronny Cox) was almost always spot on.

I *hate* Wesley! Always have, always will! The fact that this *child* is allowed to fly the flagship with no Starfleet training, he's this 'Mozart' of time and space (gag me) and manages to outthink the senior staff at times is ridiculous! Not to mention that sometimes the other characters have to be dumbed down so that Wes could be this little 'hero' infuriates me. I also pretty much can't stand season 1 Troi.

I feel that TNG got into a little but of a rut after about mid-season 6, things got a little too status quo and dull until AGT came along. That was most of my problem with season 7 - it *bored* me to death. If they had ended season 6 with 'Timescape' and then 'All Good Things' then I think that would have been a more worthy send-off season.

Oh, and the whole 'perfect 24th century human' philosophy never appealed to me. At all.

But overall, I regard TNG and DS9 as the pinnacle of Star Trek in terms of quality and popularity. Not perfect, by any means, by damn good. :thumbsup:

 

[BolianAuthor]

'Tis I, the infamous BolianAdmiral, here, saying hello, to all my fellow TNG fans! I grew up watching TNG, and my first episode was "Conspiracy". My favorite character, on a non-hormonal level, has always been Data, but I also love Picard, because he is a very composed man, in full command of his emotions and faculties.

My favorite character, on a physical attraction level, is DEFIANTELY Doctor Crusher... Gates MacFadden is HOT, HOT, HOT! She'll always be my favorite, followed by Commander Neela Darren.

My favorite episode would have to be "The Wounded". It has some VERY powerful character moments in it, and Bob Gunton gives a very convincing performance as Captain Maxwell. I also loved "Sarek". That episode actually DID make me cry. When Picard speaks out Sarek's thought that he has always loved Spock, I just lost it... that was a VERY powerful moment.

My favorite seasons of TNG are 3 and 4. In my opinion, the show's best writing was during those seasons.

My favorite TNG ship is of course the 1701-D, but my favorite ship class from the show is the Nebula-Class ship.

My favorite guest character has to be Captain Edward Jellico. He knew his stuff, and he whipped the crew into shape! I also REALLY like Gul Madred.

 

[RAMA]

I love STNG, it's likely to be my favorite ST show of all time, though I'm not close minded enough to think one day a ST show might be better.

As with most of these thread I could just point people out to yahoo:

Profile

 

[Ohappydagger]

Ooh, okay. I'm 26 and a nursing student in California and I've been a TNGer since the tender age of 8. My dad was (still is) a huge geek and he raised me in the grand geek tradition, making sure I got to comic conventions and was sitting there with him the night Encounter at Farpoint premiered.

I'm a Bev-head. Less now than I was at 13 and 14, when I was quite the obsessive over her as well as a P/Cer (although I never attained the mastery of either subject as High Priestess Naraht has!). I have calmed down over the years, but Bev is still my classic fave.

My favorite episodes are Cause & Effect and Timescape. I hate Seasons 1 and 2... I'd almost rather watch ENT! Other episodes I love are Frame of Mind, Power Play, and Remember Me.

I have to say, I probably technically prefer DS9 to TNG, and TNG is tied with VOY as my second fave. But TNG will always have a special place in my heart. I grew up with it!

You know, since it's Halloween today I figure it's an ideal time to post a pic of me dressed up as Bev on Halloween sixteen, yes, sixteen years ago. It was S3. I was so overjoyed to have Our Lady of Sickbay back on the show I had to celebrate.

 

[Rikerbabe]

Hi everyone!

I'm your resident Will Riker Number One Fan (Number One...get it?), though I'll gladly share that title with WillsBabe. I'm 38 (that sounds awfully old next to you young ones ), and remember TNG from the first days of airing. I remember my hubby trying to get me interested in watching "this really neat new sci-fi show" and me resisting until the end of Season 3. Which was, coincidently, BOBW I .

Needless to say, that was all she wrote. I was hooked.

It's pretty obvious that Riker is my favorite character. I will watch his 'lead' eps time and time again. Personal favorites are BOBW I, Second Chances, The Pegasus and Frame of Mind . I also like Picard and Beverly, though I never was very fond of Worf. Troi I could take or leave, along with Geordi. Not that I didn't like them, just depended on the show. Data...the jury's still out on that one. For the most part, I enjoyed his character. At times, though....too much Data is not a good thing .

I'm also an avid reader and will search high and low to find interesting fanfic or novels that continue the story of the TNG crew. I watch my DVD's when I can, will re-watch First Contact and Insurrection , occasionally Nemesis , but somehow never find time to pull out Generations .

I'm terrible with posting pics (not sure if I even know how), but I sure do appreciate all the pro-Riker pics you post, Gold Grizzly !

 

[Scatta]

This is where I get to slaughter handles!

degra Why would you loathe to admit that?

Lady with the Torres Av (sorry!) That's such a cute costume. My mom sewed me Beverly's uniform for halloween one year when I was little. However, when I went to get a red wig, I found a mask that looked like Data, and bought it and painted it up like him. So, I went as Data in Beverly's uniform. Quite a disturbing thought, actually.

----

Hey! How ya'll doin'? I'm Nikki, or just Nik for short. I'm a 24-year-old from Tennessee. I was born in Bristol, TN/VA and have lived in various parts of the middle of the state since I was 9 (except for one semester at ETSU in 2000).

I'm on year 6-and-a-half of a B.S., thanks to changing majors and schools several times. (I wanted to leave school and come back when I knew exactly what I wanted, but dad forbid it.) I also took a semester off to get an EMT certification, which I just let expire, because I never was able to use it. (I get motion sick on ambulances.)

I work two part time jobs on the weekends, one selling music that I love and the other as a hotel desk clerk. (Wow, for the most basic info of my name, where I'm from, and what I do, that was dern long.)

As for my connection to TNG, I've only recently started watching it again. I was obsessive when I was in middle and high school, but, I forgive myself for that, because my sanity more or less depended on it. Though, I am sorry that I probably got on some shakey ground with the First Commandment there.

---

I prefer to the term Bev-centric or anything else you can come up with to Bev-head or Bev-wor$#--er (the latter is censored, because I have no intentions of using that word in a secular context). The term Bev-head makes me run to the mirror to make sure I haven't dyed my hair a brassy red again!

 

[Whoa Nellie]

I am Mrs. Whoa Nellie, 37 years old, happily married for 17 years and a stay-at-home mom with two children. I was raised on TOS and began watching TNG when it first aired while I was in college working on my degree in Psychology. I'm one half of the writing team known under the penname of Whoa Nellie, who have been writing Star Trek romance fan fiction for nearly a decade. My co-author and I are one of the few writers who pair Picard with Vash. The Picard/Vash pairing was decided on for a number of reasons.

Like Picard, Vash is an explorer with an expertise in archaeology. She is an adventurer, a female Indiana Jones. In the episodes where she appears, this beautiful brunette, with her beguiling smile and blue eyes, manages to charm not only the good captain of the Enterprise but the omnipotent Q as well. She is not a Starfleet officer and her brilliance is matched only by her brazen recklessness. This provides a great deal of leeway in stories. My co-author and I are constantly admiring writer Ira Steven Behr who created her for the series. She is the perfect foil for Picard's straight man. As a couple, they are Bogart and Bacall. Watch Bogart and Bacall in the classic movie "To Have and Have Not" and then watch "Captain's Holiday." You'll see what I mean. The pairing of Picard/Vash is just plain fun to write!

My favorite image of Picard.

Warmest Wishes,
Whoa Nellie

 

[degraClosed]

Posted by Ohappydagger:
You know, since it's Halloween today I figure it's an ideal time to post a pic of me dressed up as Bev on Halloween sixteen, yes, sixteen years ago. It was S3. I was so overjoyed to have Our Lady of Sickbay back on the show I had to celebrate.

Cute costume. I too went one year as a Trek character. TNG had been on about a month at the time--this was October 1987 and I was in fifth grade. We didn't have much money so my step dad put me together a Starfleet uniform out of stuff just hanging around. I went to the school festival and everyone recognized who I was trying to be--Geordi. But the funny thing is we didn't have any red for his costume just blue and I'm white not black yet even then people knew the characters. I guess the fact that I used my sister's hairclip tied with rubber bands around my eyes as Geordi's VISOR helped

 

[May 20]

Hello. I'm May 20. I began watching TNG during the third season, but I didn't get hooked until my local station, for reasons still unknown to me, showed "The Arsenal of Freedom" one night. I loved the character interaction, especially how Beverly told Picard to simply "turn it off". I loved how everyone seemed to have something important to do in that episode. And Riker's quick wit: "My ship? Uh...it's the Lollipop. Yeah, it's a good ship."

I tracked down most of the first two seasons through a friend, then followed the rest of the series in first run. I liked the character interaction, the utopian feel, the value of diplomacy first and weapons second.

I can't say it's my favorite; I'm a 24th century gal. I love all three series equally but for different reasons. But TNG is the series that introduced me to Trek and gives me hope that we, as human beings, can become better than we currently are.

 

[USS Canadys]

I'm USS Canadys, lurker and lover of all things Trek Except for TATV, STV, Insurrection, Threshold and Spock's Brain.

I can't post pics yet, I would steal Naraht's image of Beverly Crusher from the second post in this thread.

I've loved TNG since its debut in 1987 and cried during All Good Things. I just won't say which scene.

I've actually followed Trek since catching TWOK in the Philippines in 1982. The sequels and syndicates TOS's drew me in farther. TNG sucked me in completely. My first conveention was headlined by William Shatner and Patrick Stewart at the Hotel Pennylvania in NYC. There was a Klingon security force. I should've taken pics.

My fave TNG eps include "Conspiracy," "The Defector," "The Most Toys," "The Inner Light," "The Pegasus," "The Drumhead," and... oh, my hands hurt.

That's it for now!

 

[Orac Zen]

G'day, all. After a very long hiatus I recently started posting in this forum again because...well, TNG is one of my three favourite Trek series (TOS and Voyager are the others) and I felt it was time I started talking about it again.

I'm one of those people who was initially very skeptical about TNG. I'm not one of those dreary people who believes TOS is the only series, but I was very doubtful about TNG. But I watched with an open mind, persisted through the first couple of seasons, and reaped the rewards.

To me, the claims that TNG is sterile, dated, irrelevant, bland, whatever, make no sense. It's a series that offers a positive view of the future - a view where humanity finally "grows up", gets past all the mindless crap that presently divides us, and starts accepting people for who and what they are. I cannot see anything wrong with that.


Edit: I should add that I'd follow Picard anywhere, and that I regard "The Inner Light" as the single greatest "hour" of Star Trek in existence. Not by much...but it definitely leads the pack IMHO.

 

[WillsBabe]

Hi, folks. I'm 39 years old and work for a charity. I live on the English Riviera. I was rasied on TOS, it will always be what I think of when someone says Star Trek. I went to my first convention back in 83 and have been going to them ever since, and yes, shock horror, I've even worn a uniform! Although never the ears! Con-going for me is all about sitting in the bar and chatting to friends; I've lost most of my enthusiasm when they mostly became about autographs and merchandise. Still, I'll be celebrating my 40th at a con with Shatner in the New Year.

Took me 3 seasons to get into TNG. Really didn't care for it until season 3. I was quite vociferous in my dislike. But once I fell, I fell heavy! Of course Riker is my favourite character. I appreciate his flaws and think I see more good points in him than his many detractors. Of course him having Jonathan Frakes' pretty face and nice ass helps.

My favourite episodes are those that ponder the inponderables, pose the tricky questions, contemplate their navels. I think SF in general and Trek in partcular is a great crucible for studying the metaphysical aspects of living. And, of course, any Riker-centric episodes are my favourites, too.

R/T is an okay pairing and probably my default pairing, if such a thing exists, but I hanker after Riker/Ro and Riker/Yar. The last two would have been great together. Although, to be honest, Trek isn't really about the 'ships for me.

I love reading fanfic. I've been reading it for 25 years. My favourite stuff are pieces that are well-written and convincing. I'll read about anything as long as the author convinces me they believe it.

I like making icons and avatars, as y'all have probably guessed by now. I don't think I have any particular talent for it, but it keeps me off the streets! Here are one or two I made earlier...

 

[od0_ital]

Hey, everyone, I'm od0.

Nice to see I wasn't the only one growin' up on first-run episodes of TNG. I still have the store-bought VHS tape of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, which has that trailer for TNG, and all those scenes from 'Encounter at Farpoint'.

I'm a bigger Niner than I am a TNGer, but I still enjoy Picard & Crew, have a few seasons on DVD, and went to see all four movies in the theater, as close to opening weekend as possible.

I've met a few folks from Star Trek: The Next Generation and for the last couple of months, I've enjoyed postin' this pic of me with Marina Sirtis, but meeting Wil Wheaton is still one of the coolest things ever.