PATRON TAKES - Family (TNG S4E2) | Star Trek Journey 183
Comments (28)
I'll be very surprised if you guys don't love this.
2:38 I also agree, for Picard: Sarek > BoBW2
BoBW1+2 was Riker-focused, not Picard, so it makes sense
Did any one mention that this episode was the first time you heard O'Brian's whole name?
Can’t compare the greatness of BOBW and Family. One is a Michelin star 10 course meal, the other is your mom’s home cooking.
I like to imagine that Brent Spiner was sitting on the bridge set all week in full makeup waiting for the film crew to arrive.
Now that sounds like hell on earth.
I'm sorry Alex but did you just drop the hottest Killers of the Flower Moon take like it was nothing? That's insane.
Josh and Alex after best of both worlds- "I hope they don't just ignore the whole thing from BBW and never come back to it" TNG- the very next episode
Rick Berman wrote that after Gene died, when they would discuss a story idea that involved the crew arguing or fighting with each other, he would put a towel over the Gene bust in his office.
I may not like many of Berman's ideas and views, but I like that he respected the rules Gene laid down enough to feel shame/guilt when they were deciding to break them.
Brett Spinner may or may not totally die as data in the coming episodes and be playing the part of a Klingon with a lot of makeup so no one knows its him.
While Brent Spiner appearing in future seasons is an unfortunate spoiler, it's worth noting that Data is probably the easiest character to remained without recasting. As in The Schizoid Man.
Gene Roddenberry most certainly did not want conflict in TNG. He thought humankind would advance above that by then. Consequently, the writers (and producers) tore their collective hairs out in the first 2 seasons trying to meet his expectations in that regard.
Sorry for the long take. I just find the behind-the-scenes stuff about how various episodes end up getting made fascinating.
Don't apologize, I'm glad they read it. It provides much-needed background information
Overall, I'm glad that Gene fought so hard for the humans of the 24th century to be very evolved and have little to no conflict among each other, because it makes the show more unique and as another comment said it forced the writers to earn it when they got their way. DS9 pushes this more, and I wasn't always glad for it, even though I adore that show overall. Plus, it's not as if there aren't plenty of other conflicts with rival species/empires/space anomalies.
Those damned anomalies.
Personally, I like that Gene had that ideal the writers had to fight against. It kept them from pulling some easy cliche tropes out in their writing, and fostered more creative ideas, and when the characters were allowed to not live up to those ideals, it made those failings that much more powerful. It's why I believe and ideal is not something you will ever attain, but should still strive for, as you'll get closer to it in the attempt than you would in admitting defeat to reality.
I agree, actually. I think Gene was totally wrong about this episode in particular, but I think that his rule about no interpersonal conflict often forced the writers to be more creative. In short, I think the show is better because of Gene's rule, and also better because the writers kept trying to break it.
"Data doesn't die in the series, SPOILER." All he said is that BRENT SPINER isn't missing.....
Your comments on Roddenberry maybe holding the show back made me think of a commentary for Star Trek II from the director Nicholas Meyer. He knew very little about the original series when he got the job, and he basically said he wasn't completely on board with the idea of humanity becoming better. He said in his mind, he saw no evidence that humanity was progressing to that. And yet, he made what SOME thought of as the best Trek movie.
He also made another of what some thought was the best Trek movie ;)
Now, now, Data is only ONE character Spiner plays, right?
yeah the guy plays so many parts in trek. Klingon, Feragani, MachNah syndicate, it just goes on and on.
Gene's ideas about the future evolved into some extreme places as the years went on. By the mid-80s, his ideas of ideal humans were frankly bizarre. He didn't want Jeremy Aster mourning his mom in The Bonding, either. Human perfection, in Gene's eyes, would have made for an almost unrecognizable future! It was good that Berman and Piller pulled him back (and sometimes, outright ignored him!).
Yeah, as much as he claimed the "ideal version of the future" thing was his vision all along, it's clearly something that was crystallized in his mind in the years between TOS and TNG. I think Roddenberry started to believe too much in his own myth.
NOT the only episode with no bridge scene