# ST:TNG, Encounter at Farpoint makes so much more sense ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 21, 2015, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065 "2015-06-21T04:56:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/1 "2015-06-21T04:56:04Z")
ST:TNG, Encounter at Farpoint makes so much more sense … … if you’re shitfaced while you watch it. Worst scene in the whole of ST:TNG was when Commander Riker met Dr. Crusher and Wesley. Wesley says that Cpt. Picard brought his father’s body home. And his mother says, “Yes, long, long ago”. The fucking kid is, what, 14 years old? How can he relate to “long, long ago”? He was fucking alive, and Cpt. Picard brought his father’s dead body home. You’re 14 years old. How do you understand “long long ago”? Stupidest line ever. When you’re 14, long ago" means what, a couple of years ago? But, the only reason I was watching that episode tonight was because I recently, on Facebook, declared Peter Dinklage to be the finest actor of my generation. My 4-years-older-than-me former uncle mentioned that Dinklage was in the ST:TNG pilot. Yeah, there he is, the dwarf ringing that bell. In 1987, I was 21. So Dinklage was, like, 18 years old, and just starting out. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/2 "2015-06-21T05:50:44Z")
And it’s _beautiful_!\* \*We really need a :vomit: smiley here! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/3 "2015-06-21T08:46:14Z")
A year or two ago I started watching TNG from the beginning (I got to around the third series before I stalled - I just couldn’t take it anymore), and I was a bit shocked by how terrible Encounter at Farpoint was on rewatching. I was younger than you when I first it - I would have been 12 in 1987 - and I remember it being awesome. But it was so, so bad. The best actors were the jellies at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/4 "2015-06-21T11:21:42Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > A year or two ago I started watching TNG from the beginning (I got to around the third series before I stalled - I just couldn’t take it anymore) Oh, you stopped too soon. I’ve always felt that the show really found its footing in the fourth season. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/5 "2015-06-21T14:14:04Z")
I remember saying to my wife at the time (well, she wasn’t my wife at the time, but that’s another story) that the guy ringing the bell. He’s going to go places. It was the way he rang the bell, mind you. So convincing. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/6 "2015-06-21T14:57:49Z")
Ughhh. My vote for one of the crappiest Star Trek episodes EVAR. Look, I get your actors haven’t found their “feet” yet. Things will take time to gel. And so on an so on. But seriously, particularly for something with as much “weight” as a Star Trek reboot, can’t you at least come up with a pilot episode plot that is at least halfway decent? Yeah, over the years you might come up with some stinkers, or run out of good ideas, but it doesn’t seem to me to be much to ask that the very first plot doesn’t suck donkey balls. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/7 "2015-06-21T15:13:11Z")
They introduced Q. I guess thats the one good thing about the episode. Otherwise it was typical of all the bad season 1 episodes. Its amazing this series got renewed. It wasn’t until season three that they turned it around. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/8 "2015-06-21T15:28:23Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > They introduced Q. I guess thats the one good thing about the episode. Otherwise it was typical of all the bad season 1 episodes. Its amazing this series got renewed. It wasn’t until season three that they turned it around. Well, it didn’t get “renewed” in the typical sense, (as in, by a network,) did it? Because it was syndicated. But I guess that just means it was some suit at Paramount looking at the sales outlook who gave the go-ahead for a season 2, instead of some suit at a network looking at the ratings. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/9 "2015-06-21T16:10:45Z")
Q was a terrible character, albeit slightly redeemed by John de Lancie’s acting, which I enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/10 "2015-06-21T16:52:03Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Q was a terrible character, albeit slightly redeemed by John de Lancie’s acting, which I enjoy. I think one of the reasons the new My Little Pony got so much traction with the demographic it did was because they got John De Lancie to do Discord. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/11 "2015-06-21T17:44:24Z")
Q is always so _precious_ when he leans in close and says “Jean-Luc…!” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/12 "2015-06-21T17:54:52Z")
I sense great joy. And gratitude. Joy. And gratitude. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/13 "2015-06-21T17:55:34Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Oh, you stopped too soon. I’ve always felt that the show really found its footing in the fourth season. Hence, [Growing the Beard](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GrowingTheBeard). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/14 "2015-06-21T17:56:16Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > But, the only reason I was watching that episode tonight was because I recently, on Facebook, declared Peter Dinklage to be the finest actor of my generation. My 4-years-older-than-me former uncle mentioned that Dinklage was in the ST:TNG pilot. Yeah, there he is, the dwarf ringing that bell. Hate to break it to you, but, no, there he _ain’t_. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/15 "2015-06-21T17:58:23Z")
I enjoyed seeing a character with superior powers to any member of the Federation. It harkens back to the original series. They met several that had superior knowledge and abilities. Q was a mix of Trelane ( a naughty boy) and groups like the Melkotians who felt Humans were still too primitive and violent to be trusted. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/16 "2015-06-21T18:39:43Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Hate to break it to you, but, no, there he _ain’t_. [Hmmm](http://imgur.com/r/geek/KoiaY). I’m thinking ‘no’ but not disproven. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/17 "2015-06-21T18:46:56Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > [Hmmm](http://imgur.com/r/geek/KoiaY). I’m thinking ‘no’ but not disproven. Link to the [IMDB entry for the Post-Atomic Horror Bell Ringer](http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0317309/?ref_=m_ttfcd_cl25) from that episode. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/18 "2015-06-21T21:52:55Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > I sense great joy. > > And gratitude. > > Joy. > > And gratitude. \ ☹ Ugh…lunch didn’t taste as good the second time I had to swallow it. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/19 "2015-06-21T22:51:45Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Q was a terrible character, albeit slightly redeemed by John de Lancie’s acting, which I enjoy. The initial concept of Q is ridiculous…that they salvaged him and made him and the Continuum compelling is a testament to the creators. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/20 "2015-06-21T22:54:05Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Link to the [IMDB entry for the Post-Atomic Horror Bell Ringer](http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0317309/?ref_=m_ttfcd_cl25) from that episode. Really? Cause that kind of thing would be something everyone would know I would think. It would just be common knowledge disseminated several years ago and brought up in interviews and such. But if so, add to the list: Bronn Doran Head Thenn. All appeared in a ST episode or movie. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065.md?page=2)