So I stayed up far past my bed time last night, just ladeling episode after episode of The Next Generation on my masculine chest, and fuck man, was that ever a good show. Even today it is surprising to me how well the episodes have aged. In my personal opinion, I truly think it is the best scifi television series of all time.

And heres why:

1. Good Actors and Writers. The two most key elements for an enjoyable show are sometimes the most overlooked. I mean shit, Patrick Stewart.
2. Stand Alone Episodes. Some shows can get away with nothing but ‘mythos’ episodes, ones that just continue the main storyline that keeps the show running. TNG however was not afraid to devote entire episodes to the most whimsical story lines, and I think it benefited from this. A breath of fresh (if too many holodeck’d) air.
3. Sluts. Nothing makes me as giddy as when Riker meets some new chick that is in heat, and we just know hes gonna be sleazing his way into her bunk. It is so preposterous, and also amazing. Fuck yeah.
4. A Varied Cast. Ok, now some shows really go to far with this shit, but what I am talking about is taking the standard archetypes and really turning them on their ear. Worf the Samurai, Data the Philosopher…Geordi the Virgin. Shit, I mean geek, Geordi the geek. These roles are so familiar that we can easily identify with them, even though they are fictional (and sometimes non-human). And then theres Captain Picard. He represents the ultimate Father Figure, someone that we can all look up to and admire, and hope to someday emulate ourselves. Just like my Super Nintendo.

hehehe, you see that? you see me make humor out of thin air?

5. Time Travel I think all good Science Fiction could use a dash of time travel to spice things up. Groundhog day this shit up a notch hoss, its only going to make things better. Futurama did it, Lost did it, Ghostbusters did it. Oh shit.
6. I Lied About Ghostbusters Doing it, Fatty Ha, for a second I bet you wished I wasn’t lying. Although actually…did an episode of the cartoon do time travel? Hmmmm. Possibly.
7. The Killing Joke I know, I know, they killed off that big tittied Natasha Yar just because she wanted to go become famous or something (good career choice btw… ok, that was mean, sorry) but I instantly respect any television show that kills off a main cast member. Kinda like when a band will say Fuck. If you don’t say Fuck, then you got no balls kid. Except in X-files when they both didn’t say Fuck, and killed off the Lone Gunman. That was bullshit.
8. Did you like the way I awkwardly fit a Batman reference in #7? I’m sorry baby, I’ll try to stop. It just feels so good.
9. Family Harkening back to my point in #4, I have never watched a show (except maybe MST3K) that made me feel like I was not only watching a group of characters that cared greatly about eachother, but almost an adopted family of sorts. Even with their wildly different beliefs and cultural backgrounds the crew of the SOL still managed to touch my heart each time Servo dressed up like a woman, or Mike was made fun of for being a Midwesterner. Wait, wat?

-kidc

Take a stand!

1. except for season 2, and Mark Twain, TNG was pretty consistent in quality. And I would do anything Cap’n Picard says. anything

   — gary! · Apr 8, 09:00 AM · #

2. Amen, brother! Stewart for the win.

   — Horatio · Apr 8, 12:48 PM · #

3. You had me at Stewart.

   — B · Apr 9, 08:43 AM · #

4. Right on!

   — Pat_Stand · Apr 12, 07:41 AM · #

Commenting is closed for this article.