| Re: *SPOILER*: The Big E in Trek XI Movie |
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Group: alt.startrek · Group Profile
Author: JaxtrawJaxtraw Date: Jan 13, 2008 11:13
GeneK wrote:
> "Jaxtraw" knickersjaxtrawstudios.com> wrote...>> I think TNG only worked because it was an ensemble show. Picard or
>> Data just weren't strong enough characters to carry the thing the
>> way the legendary triumverate were. They should have played to the
>> strengths of the ensemble format instead of trying to change it.
>
> TNG never worked for me because it started as
> an ensemble of weak characters, and because
> it was an ensemble, the characters never got
> better. I don't think the ensemble format has
> any strengths, unless you count its ability to
> fill an hour so full of triviality that the audience
> doesn't notice the absence of a plot.
>
It can work. In BSG it works. Babylon 5 was a semi-ensemble show. Away from
sci-fi we have such gems as Hill Street Blues or the utterly awesome
Homicide: Life On The Street. It's a very good format for diversity in
storytelling. It does require strong writing and strong characterisation
though. I'm not sure TNG ever excelled at either of them.
But then I'm unabashedly a TOS fan. And I prefer the series to the TOS
movies too. The movies, for me, had a bit too much of the weakness of
character I associate with TNG. Kirk has noticably softer edges in most of
them, for instance, compared to the series Kirk.
Ian
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