Star Trek

I have almost finished all three seasons of the original series and the first 6 films and i am about to start The Next Generation. I heard that it was very different from The Original Series and am worried that i'll hate it and i'm already feeling really worried about the end of TOS. Does this mean there'll be no more Spock or Captain Kirk or Dr. McCoy or Scotty? Is it anything like Star Trek TOS at all? Is it worth watching or will i just feel rubbish the whole way through it due to the absence of all the good charatcers?  

A difficult question to answer. It all depends on your own opinion and your own preferences in the show. What exactly do you like so much in TOS?

I've gone through the same process the other way around: watching TNG first and loving it, and being rather hesitant about TOS - if it wouldn't be way too different.

I did watch TOS in the end (after getting acquainted with it through some of the novels first). There certainly are some big differences between the two - but also big similarities.

One reason for the differences is the era in which the respective shows were made. Despite its pathbreaking qualities in many respects, TOS still has some typical features of TV shows of the sixties - which is only logical. These include the dominance of standalone episodes with no clear beginning and ending of an overall story arc throughout the season or the series, the big hero gets the beautiful girl every week, and powerful commentary on the social and global issues of the world of that time.

TNG dates from the late eighties and early nineties, which was more an era of ongoing story arcs in TV land, though still every episode is a separate story. The focus is divided on all of the main cast, allowing each of them in turn to shine and to make mistakes, thus showing them very human and allowing them all some character development throughout the series. And of course its social commentary is more directed at the social issues of its own era of its making.

The stories both are very much Star Trek minded, but present different angles of it. Where TOS is strongly focused on exploration and action, TNG limits itself more to diplomatic issues and peacekeeping within the Federation and with its enemies. Hand to hand combat scenes and shooting other ships into oblivion are fairly rare, so if that is your major pleasure from TOS, you might find TNG somewhat lacking.

As I said, it's very much a matter of opinion and preference. Many people will tell you that the first season of TNG is quite bad. However, it's that very first season that got me into loving Star Trek two years ago, so I don't think it can be all that bad.

Perhaps you should indeed just give it a try. Try and keep an open mind to it - as if you were going to watch a whole new show - and judge it for what it is, without comparing every detail to the series you know you love. TNG is not a remake of TOS - it's a different show based on a similar premise. Even if it may be quite a difference from the Star Trek you already know and love, there is a good chance that you will find interesting aspects in these other series as well.

Or you can do what I did: try it out with some of the novels. They are certainly cheaper to come by (Amazon) for a try-out than an entire DVD box. In that case, I'd recommend "Boogeymen", "Spartacus" and "Dragon's Honor" - not necessarily the best among them, but I think they are quite representative of the kind of stories TNG tells on the screen.

As for your favourite characters from TOS: Spock, Bones and Scotty all make a guest appearance at one time or another - so you will not feel entirely lost!

Yeah, that pretty well describes it, but it would also be worth pointing out that when TNG started, many TOS fans were hesitant because they thought it was just some rehash of the old format, trying to duplicate the same character dynamics.  Those that gave it a chance though realized that it was more of a continuation rather than a reboot.  It featured different characters with different interactions.  For example, they establish right from the start that the captain does not go off on landing parties, now referred to as away teams, every time they establish orbit around a planet.  I would recommend giving it a chance.  Some of the fans on here do criticize the early episodes, but there are some good ones so don't rush trying to love it. 

It was the jokes i liked between the main characters; their witty comments and Spock's various insults to Dr. McCoy and just the general structure you know? I'm sure other Star Trekkers will have felt the same way leaving TOS, it's just so great and i just can't imagine TNG being able to live up to it and make me enjoy it as much. Did anyone else feel this way but find TNG was just as good in a different way?

TOS was the first Star Trek series, so it was the one we old-timers started with.  When someone told me about TNG, I didn't think it would be any good.  But, after watching it--with its updated writing and special effects--it became my favorite series!

The same could be said about the series that followed TNG.  TNG, though, remains my favorite, and I always thought the other series were not quite as well-done.

However, when we watch Nemesis and other films with the original TNG cast, they seem sadly to have aged so much.  Perhaps it is time for a new series, to introduce some new characters and pump some vitality back into the franchise.

TOS introduced the world to the Trek Universe.....TNG showed us how truely wonderful that universe can be....

Thank you guys, you've made me feel much better  I'm still nercous but i'm beginning to look forward to it now 

I don't think that there's any question about it- if you liked Star Trek, you should definitely watch Star Trek- The Next Generation.

It was a VERY different show in most respects, though...so you should be warned about that. But, the reality is that in the Star Trek franchise, "different" is a good thing. Why would anyone want to watch countless hours of the same thing? TNG is a show for (and about) a different era. Here are a couple of the major differences you'll notice. Not for "better" or "worse..." just "different."

1. Space exploration: In TOS, there is a sense of wonder and "newness" to space exploration. In TNG, it's a little bit more like packing up the family and driving around the local neighborhoods because the technology has advanced so far. The TNG Starfleet are more experienced at it, and the technology of space exploration has advanced considerably.

2. Technology: In TOS, the sci-fi technology the various storylines referred to was visionary and ground-breaking, but often glossed over. TNG was just the opposite. Most of the tech was based on concepts already established, but you may literally get a 5 minute scene talking about all kinds of technical stuff about how something works, and many of the scripts focused on technological solutions.

3. Character Interactions:  The TOS characters, as you pointed out, are loose and at-ease with each other. They interact like a family in some ways (both the fun and the bickering). The TNG characters are much more formal with each other. They interact like professional work colleagues for the most part. Great relationships form on both shows...just in a different way. The TOS characters had dramatic conflict between them. The TNG characters had almost none by design.

4. Sensibilities:  TOS, because of the very nature of when it aired, has some very outdated sensibilities (gender equality, etc), and can appear embarassingly insensitive to "political correctness" at times. TNG was almost OVERLY-sensitive to these things, and on the other end of the spectrum, can appear preachy, stuffy and elitist at times.

5. Themes:  TOS was had a very "pioneers on the frontier" feel to it. The Captain shot from the hip and had to trouble-shoot problems on his own using his guts and his intuition. TNG portrayed a more responsible and networked Starfleet, and had more of an "ambassadors on patrol" kind of a feel. The Captain on TNG was much more of an accomplished diplomat and an ambassador than a pioneer and a troubleshooter, and was much more connected to the command structure for guidane and support.

6. Story Structure: TOS ended up being more of a action oriented show, wiht a fist-fight or a space battle to be had somewhere because that was the style of television at the time. TNG was rarely action oriented (although when it was, it did it very well), and was much more of a puzzle/problem-solving or mystery-solving type of show. TOS went out of its way to have conflict. TNG went out of its way to show restraint.

7. Philosophy: TOS was largely about highlighting the fact that a flawed human race can work hard together as one unified species to surpress those flaws and bury them deep down to go on and achieve great things. TNG took that a step further by portraying humanity as BEING that evolved, enlightened species. There is a subtle but significant difference between the two in terms of how those two differnt approaches play out in the drama of the stories.

8. The Universe: TOS was a very contained show, and we only saw glimpses of the rest of Starfleet or the United Federation of Planets. Continuity often took a moderate back-seat to simply telling the story of the week. TNG, becuse of the improvement in resources and technology (fictional AND on the televison production side!) painted a much more broad and open picture of the Star Trek universe and was the birth of maintaining a strict adherence to continuity.

To tell you my personal feelings: I liked TNG wien it came out, but I was frustrated by it at first because of the differences. Later, by about the 3rd season, it really hit its stride and I was very pleased that I stuck with it. I think the original Star Trek is a superior show (it's tough to beat an undisputed classic, though) in almost every way...but TNG has its own set of great things about it.

I put TNG as a close "third" on my list of favorite Star Trek series. I recently (1 year ago) completed watching Deep Space Nine, which I didn't pay a lot of attention to when it aired (contrasted to TNG, which I saw every single episode of). I went back and watched it and found it to be excellent...almost as good as the original series. TNG comes in at a very close third. Voyager and Enterprise are distant fourth and fifth on my list.

Enjoy TNG...!

Very poetic and true.  Well said.

Vger23 said it well. Only thing I would add is that unlike TOS, which focuses on "the big three"- Kirk/Spock/McCoy- all the main characters in TNG receive more or less equal exposure, which is probably one of my favorite aspects about the show.

I wish DS9 and Voyager were on in syndication. I miss those shows so much.

They're free streaming on Netfilx and a number of similar services. Heck, I think you can watch them for free right here on this site!

No, not on this site, just previews.

Its sworth watching.