# 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:** 2
**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, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/21 "2015-06-21T23:04:32Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > [QUOTE=The Other Waldo Pepper] > Link to the IMDB entry for the Post-Atomic Horror Bell Ringer 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. [/QUOTE] What? No, I’m the guy pointing out that it’s _ **not** _ Dinklage; it’s some little-person actor who’s best known for playing “Carnival Midget” in a Dukes of Hazzard TV movie. By contrast, _ **Dinklage’s** _ IMDB page dovetails with his Wiki page: he wasn’t racking up any onscreen credits, including this one, as a teen still in school back in '87. ---
**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, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/22 "2015-06-21T23:35:51Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > What? No, I’m the guy pointing out that it’s _ **not** _ Dinklage; it’s some little-person actor who’s best known for playing “Carnival Midget” in a Dukes of Hazzard TV movie. > > By contrast, _ **Dinklage’s** _ IMDB page dovetails with his Wiki page: he wasn’t racking up any onscreen credits, including this one, as a teen still in school back in '87. Ahh, okay cool. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/23 "2015-06-22T00:18:01Z")
I like the show a lot - but season 1 was just _painful_. Looking in retrospect, it’s amazing the show survived. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/24 "2015-06-22T00:57:16Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > ST:TNG, Encounter at Farpoint makes so much more sense … > > … if you’re shitfaced while you watch it. Whatever you do, do not take acid and then watch _Wrath of Khan_. It was hilarious (first time, in the theater). ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/25 "2015-06-22T01:02:10Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > I like the show a lot - but season 1 was just _painful_. Looking in retrospect, it’s amazing the show survived. ``` I didn't think much of it when it was broadcast but I watched every week. Judging by this, it was popular and Paramount did well financially. Going the syndicated route was probably the best move, as it was for "Baywatch" a decade later. ``` > **[Star Trek: The Next Generation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation#Syndication_and_profitability)** > > Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. It originally aired from September 28, 1987, to May 23, 1994, in syndication, spanning 178 episodes over seven seasons. The third series in the Star Trek franchise, it was inspired by Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the latter third of the 24th century, when Earth is part of the United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of a Starfleet starship, the USS Enterpri... ``` It always struck me as strange that the pre-broadcast history made much of "saucer separation", they do it fairly quickly in "Encounter at Farpoint" and very seldom the next seven years. ``` ---
**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 22, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/26 "2015-06-22T01:12:16Z")
The biggest improvement was in developing Picard. They tried making him this by the rules, administrative bureaucrat. Middle aged, balding, very stereotypical. That is accurate for real life high ranking officers too. They don’t usually go on dangerous missions. They plan the missions and send younger men. But on tv we want to see a kick ass captain or it gets boring. I initially disliked Picard. The episode where he goes back to the Enterprise for a saddle and goes all Die Hard. Didn’t work well. He began to improve in that holodeck episode playing a pulp fiction detective. By season 3 he was fighting hand to hand with Klingons. Very bad ass. Then the Borg episodes. Picard got better and better. He became my favorite on the show. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/27 "2015-06-22T01:34:52Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > … It always struck me as strange that the pre-broadcast history made much of “saucer separation”, they do it fairly quickly in “Encounter at Farpoint” and very seldom the next seven years. Yeah, saucer separation was supposed to be a regular thing (every time the ship had a dangerous mission the civilians would get dropped of somewhere safe in the saucer), but the special effects needed proved too expensive to use on a regular basis. The original Enterprise was also cable of saucer separation, but only in a direr emergency as the ship couldn’t be put back together afterward. ---
**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 22, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/28 "2015-06-22T01:38:04Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > The original Enterprise was also cable of saucer separation Well, if they need a _cable_, they’re not really _separate_, are they? ---
**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 22, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/29 "2015-06-22T02:04:59Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Hate to break it to you, but, no, there he _ain’t_. Yah, further investigation reveals that it wasn’t him. I’ll have to inform my uncle. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/30 "2015-06-22T02:50:59Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I initially disliked Picard. The episode where he goes back to the Enterprise for a saddle and goes all Die Hard. Didn’t work well. Wasn’t that episode in the final season? ---
**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 22, 2015, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/31 "2015-06-22T02:54:46Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Wasn’t that episode in the final season? “Starship Mine”, season 6. Not a great episode (actually a pretty bad one, I thought) but mildly notable for a pre-Tuvok Tim Russ in a minor role. ---
**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 22, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/32 "2015-06-22T03:25:08Z")
The Data small talk program was a hoot. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/33 "2015-06-22T04:37:52Z")
You people are insane. _Starship Mine_ is one of the best episodes. ---
**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 22, 2015, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/34 "2015-06-22T04:43:37Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Wasn’t that episode in the final season? huh, you’re right. Starship Mine > **[Starship Mine (episode)](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Starship_Mine_(episode))** > > On an evacuated USS Enterprise-D, Picard plays a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with terrorists who want to steal explosive toxic waste from the warp core as a lethal beam sweeps the ship. "Captain's log, Stardate 46682.4. The Enterprise is docked at... I thought it was one of the season 1 stinkers. \ I never cared for that episode. Die Hard was too recent and it seemed like an obvious copy. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/35 "2015-06-22T04:51:28Z")
I have seen maybe a third of SNG, and mostly not been impressed with what I have seen. The one episode that stands out for me is _Captain’s Holiday_. The character of Vash (who resurfaced in _Qpid_) was so well done. I like the way the viewer really wants to trust her, but always has doubts. ---
**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 22, 2015, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/36 "2015-06-22T04:54:20Z")
My favorite season 1 episode is The Battle. > **[The Battle (episode)](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Battle_(episode))** > > When a group of Ferengi present Captain Picard with the derelict remains of his old starship, he begins to lose himself in the past. "Captain's log, Stardate 41723.9. In response to a Starfleet order, we are in the Xendi Sabu star system having... It still had season 1 flaws but I thought the story was very compelling. Picard has to relive an old battle where he blew up a Ferangi ship. Patrick Stewart did a nice job questioning his decision to take so many lives. Could I have avoided shooting? It showed what the series potentially could be. I liked the War Veteran stories. The Wounded is another standout TNG that deals with war trauma. > **[The Wounded (episode)](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Wounded_(episode))** > > When Captain Benjamin Maxwell apparently goes rogue, the Enterprise is ordered to apprehend him before his actions result in another war between the Federation and the Cardassian Union. "Captain's log, Stardate 44429.6. We are on a mapping survey... ---
**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 22, 2015, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/37 "2015-06-22T05:55:49Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Yeah, saucer separation was supposed to be a regular thing (every time the ship had a dangerous mission the civilians would get dropped of somewhere safe in the saucer), but the special effects needed proved too expensive to use on a regular basis. It also slowed down the storytelling considerably and underlined the stupidity of having children and other nonessential personnel on board the ship. ---
**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 22, 2015, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/38 "2015-06-22T06:05:28Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Whatever you do, do not take acid and then watch _Wrath of Khan_. It was hilarious (first time, in the theater). Couldn’t have been better than watching _ **Time Bandits** _ absolutely bombed out of my mind! :o Ever wonder how the starship in _ **Khan** _ managed to just kind of wander into that system and never notice that all of its planets had been thrown into disarray? I mean, all sorts of alarm bells should have gone off automatically the second sensors detected nothing corresponded to the earlier system cartography! Duh! :smack: Yeah, I agree that _ **TNG** _ sucked big-time the first two or three seasons. There were some good episodes but they were few and far between. ---
**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 22, 2015, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/39 "2015-06-22T06:05:43Z")
The Enterprise was a long range exploration ship. Families were included because they would be away for such extended periods. The Enterprise shouldn’t have gotten involved in so many battles. That was never its intended mission. But the battles made for great tv entertainment. It’s an interesting dilemma. Armament and shields are needed to defend the ship on exploration missions. Some aliens will be hostile. They also need to avoid being mistaken for an invading battleship. ---
**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 22, 2015, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065/40 "2015-06-22T06:19:33Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The Enterprise was a long range exploration ship. Families were included because they would be away for such extended periods. As I’ve noted here many times before, this is pure BS. Service personnel can and do spend long periods of time away from their families; it’s their job. If they don’t like it, they should have chosen a different career path. (And there never seems to be any shortage of personnel willing to endure the hardship.) Husband and wife teams on board, of course. Mandatory birth control for unmarried females, absolutely. Reassignment or retirement for pregnant females, makes perfect sense. If a child is born on board ship during a long mission, drop it and the mother off at a Star Base at the earliest possible opportunity. Peaceful, shmeasful. The Galaxy is full of dangers we still know nothing about and aliens that would kill or enslave you at the drop of a hat. Exposing children to that sort of thing is downright criminal, and no one incapable of manning a Battle Station has any business being on board. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tng-encounter-at-farpoint-makes-so-much-more-sense/723065.md?page=3)