# Which is better, Star Trek: TOS or Star Trek: TNG? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 22, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187 "2015-06-22T21:57:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/1 "2015-06-22T21:57:02Z")
I can’t say, because I’ve only seen a handful of TOS episodes when I was younger. Was TOS “campier?” If so, was that just a product of it’s era? I heard the TNG’s sets were sometimes filled with recycled trash with a coat of paint, the writing, and especially Picard’s intellect and demeanor really sold you on the show’s perceived authenticity. The talent of the rest of the cast varies… but I believe that if people think that Kirk’s a better, then he, (Kirk/Shatner), must have been extraordinary. I would be interested to see the results. I searched the best I could for a poll made for this subject, but I couldn’t find one. ---
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/2 "2015-06-22T22:07:21Z")
You are going to get a variety of opinion here Yes, both the TOS and the TNG had their good and bad episodes. I like both series and if you look through the archives on this board on both series, you should get a variety of opinions on each series and the good and bad episodes of each series. I really could not put one series above the other. TOS has some good episodes worth viewing 50 years later and the TNG has reasonable special effects considering the time frame and the budget it had. If you could do better with the roughly 1.5 million budget that the TNG had per episode in the 1987 - 1993 time frame and technology, you are welcome to try it. ---
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/3 "2015-06-22T22:18:26Z")
Also, Patrick Stewart played Picard as a Shakespeare play and did try to show that he was a very capable and intellectual leader who would think and talk his way out of problems William Shatner played Captain Kirk as a brash, rarely make a mistake gung ho captain who rarely lost a battle Different perspectives and both of them have their own points that are enjoyable to watch ---
**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, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/4 "2015-06-22T22:19:36Z")
I picture both shows having a bell-curve of quality and _TNG_, having more episodes overall, will have more episodes of high quality and more episodes of terrible quality. “Yesterday’s Enterprise” and “Inner Light” in a tag-team against “City on the Edge of Forever” and “Balance of Terror”? Tough call. Better to compare two episodes of roughly comparable plot: “The Royale” vs “A Piece of the Action”… ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/5 "2015-06-22T22:26:18Z")
TOS, as much as Gene tried to be progressive was still sexist towards women. TNG did a much better job at moving the line forward to where we would hopefully want society to be. I think philosophically, that was the intent of both these series. So by that reasoning, I’d say TNG is clearly the best of the two. Also, TOS is incredibly dated. Hell, my phone could out smart the Enterprise. When I was in college, my room mates and I used to watch TOS NOT because it was great TV (which it actually was, but still) but because it had such great comedic value. We were all tech students. So seeing a space ship adorned with giant Christmas lights on the consoles and that cheesy talking computer was comedy gold. Not to mention Kirk and _his_ conquests which of course would be funny young male college students. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/6 "2015-06-22T22:30:27Z")
I think if you judge them by the standards and competition of their own eras, they are both top-notch shows of roughly equal quality. But if you judge them side by side with no historical discounting, TNG comes out on top. But that’s hardly a fair way to compare. ---
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/7 "2015-06-22T22:34:06Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I picture both shows having a bell-curve of quality and _TNG_, having more episodes overall, will have more episodes of high quality and more episodes of terrible quality. > > “Yesterday’s Enterprise” and “Inner Light” in a tag-team against “City on the Edge of Forever” and “Balance of Terror”? Tough call. Better to compare two episodes of roughly comparable plot: > > “The Royale” vs “A Piece of the Action”… Easy - A Piece of the action as the Royale seemed to have too much of cheesy ending As for the other top episodes mentioned It is hard to put one above the other ---
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/8 "2015-06-22T22:36:42Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > TOS, as much as Gene tried to be progressive was still sexist towards women. > > TNG did a much better job at moving the line forward to where we would hopefully want society to be. > > I think philosophically, that was the intent of both these series. So by that reasoning, I’d say TNG is clearly the best of the two. > > Also, TOS is incredibly dated. Hell, my phone could out smart the Enterprise. > > When I was in college, my room mates and I used to watch TOS NOT because it was great TV (which it actually was, but still) but because it had such great comedic value. We were all tech students. So seeing a space ship adorned with giant Christmas lights on the consoles and that cheesy talking computer was comedy gold. > > Not to mention Kirk and _his_ conquests which of course would be funny young male college students. Yes the technology is dated somewhat but how many other close to 50 year old shows can still be competitive with the newer shows especially with the updates ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/9 "2015-06-22T22:38:39Z")
One being the first of it’s kind, one is “better quality”. I know it’s a brood question. You may \*like \*that the first is a bit ridicules. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/10 "2015-06-22T22:39:57Z")
I prefer TOS, mainly (though not solely) for reasons stated earlier today on [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=760149). > [@Wrath of Khan--Kirk's cry of KHAAAN](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrath-of-khan-kirks-cry-of-khaaan/723102/8): > > That was one of the main points of the _ **TOS** _ Writer’s Guide: “Tell your story about _people_, not about science and gadgetry. Joe Friday doesn’t stop to explain the mechanics of his .38 before he uses it; Kildare never did a monologue about the theory of anaesthetics; Matt Dillon never identifies and discusses the breed of his horse before he rides off on it.” > > This is one reason why for fans of _ **TOS** _ the later series suck in comparison. > [@Wrath of Khan--Kirk's cry of KHAAAN](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrath-of-khan-kirks-cry-of-khaaan/723102/9): > > Anytime I try to picture a moment of TOS techno babble, I picture either Scott crawling in a Jeffries tube or Spock saying “cross circuiting to B” during a problematic transport. In either case, a risky and possibly contraindicated emergency procedure, not just bullshit pseudophysics. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/11 "2015-06-22T22:44:49Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Better to compare two episodes of roughly comparable plot: > > “The Royale” vs “A Piece of the Action”… “The Naked Time” vs “The Naked Now” ---
**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, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/12 "2015-06-22T22:47:17Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > TOS, as much as Gene tried to be progressive was still sexist towards women. > > TNG did a much better job at moving the line forward to where we would hopefully want society to be. I dunno, there were many moments in TNG that seemed downright racist or even childish (even sometimes in episodes that didn’t actually involve children, though children being present even some of the time was a major drawback). I’ll cite some episodes when I get home. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/13 "2015-06-22T22:48:42Z")
My biggest problem with TOS is that I have a very hard time fitting everything in TOS into a single, coherent universe. The crew can encounter omnipotent immortals on one planet and then move on like that’s not really such a big deal after all. It’s easier for me to think of it as being like the show Sliders, where the same characters are put into a different universe for every show. TNG gives me something that seems more like a coherent galaxy that real people live in. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/14 "2015-06-22T22:51:59Z")
The original series had The Shat. Star Trek in any form without The Shat is an inferior product. The issue is settled, the thread can be locked. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/15 "2015-06-22T23:03:38Z")
The poll doesn’t have enough choices. DS9 is better than TNG and TOS. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/16 "2015-06-22T23:14:39Z")
TOS started the ball rolling, & as such it is more original. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/17 "2015-06-22T23:19:41Z")
I never watched DS9 after the boring first couple seasons, and so never saw the Dominion War that everyone says is so good. That being said, I think TNG seasons 3-5 are about as consistently good as Star Trek ever got. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/18 "2015-06-22T23:23:43Z")
The writing of TOS made for much better science fiction than that of TNG, and since I’m a science fiction aficionado, that’s the metric by which I judge them. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/19 "2015-06-22T23:43:24Z")
TOS has the single best episode (“A Private Little War”) but TNG has more good episodes, simply because of the numbers. DS9 is better than either, though. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187/20 "2015-06-22T23:57:20Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > My biggest problem with TOS is that I have a very hard time fitting everything in TOS into a single, coherent universe. The crew can encounter omnipotent immortals on one planet and then move on like that’s not really such a big deal after all. It’s easier for me to think of it as being like the show Sliders, where the same characters are put into a different universe for every show. > > TNG gives me something that seems more like a coherent galaxy that real people live in. You conveniently forgot about Q there. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-better-star-trek-tos-or-star-trek-tng/723187.md?page=2)