STNG’s fall from grace has only been a recent event. But before we get into that, I need to say how much I loved this show. I was 17 when Star Trek the Next Generation debuted in September of 1987. I was both excited and cautious at the same time because really, was there anything out there that could rival TOS? I mean, who could compete with Captain Kirk? But, who was I kidding? Another Star Trek series…beam me up. We hadn’t seen another live action show since the original was canceled in 1969 and we only got to see the original Star Trek crew every few years in the movies at that time. So, having a weekly series that we could sink our ever loving Star Trek teeth into was oh so deservedly amazing.
Star Trek the Next generation didn’t disappoint
Its first episode, Encounter at Farpoint, debuted to 15.7 million viewers and introduced a recurring antagonist in “Q”as well as gave us a member of the original Star Trek series in Dr. Mcoy. Year after year STNG didn’t disappoint its audience. Were there episodes that were boring and ridiculous? Of course there were. But there were also episodes that were timeless and so memorable that they outweigh those forgettable ones. Episodes like “Inner Light” and “Measure of a man” that gave us real insights into some of our characters, or episodes like “The Best of Both Worlds parts 1 and 2” that gave us an edge of your seat cliffhanger and a villain so scary that the phrase “Resistance is futile” is part of any true fans’ lexicon. This was a Star Trek series comparable to the original in its dedication to the original premise of going boldly where no one has gone before, but also, possibly, exceeding the original in its ability to develop its characters. STNG created a new generation of fans that stemmed from the original Star Treks generation and created a fun debate among fans of which series was better. I was hooked and loved that I was able to experience all of that from beginning to end. But, because of politics and cancel culture, the stars of the TNG, as well the creators of Discovery and Picard could not leave well enough alone and decided that berating the fans and destroying beloved characters was the way to go.
STNG: Fall from Grace
I could write a novel on what a trash show Discovery is and how it demoralizes the essence of what the original intent of Star Trek was. Star Trek was a show about overcoming obstacles by defeating the bad guys or ones own inner demons. It was a show that gave us action, introspect and hope and allowed us to escape week after week and forget about our daily lives for 60 minutes. It was…fun. Discovery and Picard have given us how bad the human race is and specifically tell us, episode to episode, how America sucks and that we are racist. Its dark, unimaginative, poorly written, and unhopeful messages are antithetical to what Star Treks original message was. Picard runs around on an apology tour and Discovery thinks the “white man” is the bane of everyones existence. But, just like Patrick Stewart said in Variety back in January of 2020 “The world of the ‘Next Generation’ doesn’t exist anymore”. If you read on in that article, you will see that Patrick Stewart looks at his role in Picard as a platform to display his politics. I mean, in that same article he talks about his one man show in ‘A Christmas Carol’ “as a “profoundly angry attack” on a society that treats marginalized people as subhuman. “Forget about Tiny Tim and all that stuff,” he says. “It’s a political document.” Are you kidding me? I’m sorry but I never grew up, and to this day, watched ‘A Christmas Carol’ and thought it was a political statement on society and how it marginalizes groups of people. I thought it was a mans journey towards redemption for the ills that he caused. It was a message of hope. Just like Star Trek was and Star Trek the Next generation were. But, apparently what Patrick Stewart thinks is that Picard should hop around the galaxy apologizing for the Federation and their discriminatory ways. What? Wait a second…wasn’t the Federation a place of peace and inclusivity among races where bigotry was frowned upon and we debated and talked through our differences. What happened? Did I miss something? Nope. Alex Kurtzman(executive producer for Discovery and Picard) and the gang want to shovel their political ideologies down our throat instead of giving us some good old fashion entertainment. Well, that was strike number one.
“But they’ll watch it…They are watching to make sure they hate it.”
Strike number two came later that year from Number One actor Johnathan Frakes. Frakes responded to a question on a Facebook livestream event, hosted by Mike Broder, in which Mike Broder asked Frakes what his response was to those critics of ‘Picard’ who didn’t like the show. Frakes responded with “But they’ll watch it…They are watching to make sure they hate it.” Wow. I mean way to respect the fans for having an opinion you don’t like. Way to disrespect the millions of loyal fans who have loved STNG and your character for decades. So, little by little now, the celebrities who have enjoyed and reaped the rewards of a loyal customer fanbase decide that it’s not enough that they have made millions from characters that we have loved for decades. They feel the need to now berate and chastise those fans for having a dissenting opinion. An opinion that the show runners of this abysmal show should take into consideration. How hard is it to really reflect and listen to those around you, even though they are fans, and take some criticism. Are the show runners on ‘Picard’ that sensitive that they can’t take a little critique of their show…apparently they are. Their response more times than not is to blast the fans as toxic and blame that on why their show’s ratings plummet week after week.
Then we have Marina Sirtis
Surely the STNG’s counselor would know better than to be one-sided, righteous, and indignant to her listening audience. Nope, another one bites the dust. Back In February, Texas was blasted with a winter storm that plunged large parts of Texas into sub freezing temperatures. This resulted, at one point, in 4million plus Texans without power because the power went out or was turned off deliberately to avoid further catastrophes. In total, 57 Texans died and many Texans went without power for weeks. Marina Sirtis thought it would be appropriate to kick Texans while they were down and suffering by tweeting this:“Don’t get me wrong, my heart bleeds for what Texans are going through right now but the mean girl in me says you get the government you deserve and they have voted Republican, across the board, for the last 20 years. #BetoForGovernor.”
She then tried a back handed explanation with this follow up tweet:“People are suffering because of a total lack of preparedness by the Republicans in Texas. My words are not making these people suffer. The politicians are.”
So why say anything at all. How about just leaving it at “my heart bleeds for what Texans are going through.” Because you can’t just leave it there. You have become irrelevant and want to be relevant again. So you attack people when they are suffering and it got you noticed. When someone responded to Sirtis’ tweet and called her out for what she said, Sirtis again couldn’t just leave it alone. She responded with this tweet: “I love how you’re putting words into my mouth. Where did I say people deserve to die. I was making a point that the Republicans in the state legislature have screwed you royally for over 20 years. Thank you.”
Ummm, no you actually did insinuate that Texans deserved what they got because of how they voted. It seems pretty clear to me. And if you “meant” to blame who voted in the house legislatures, then maybe you should have been a little more clear in what you said. Maybe you could have responded by saying something kind instead of bringing your politics into it. And that’s just it. The Hollywood left has got to bring their politics into everything they do. Remember the good old days when celebrities would focus on making great entertainment and we never their knew their politics. One great example is Woody Allen. That guy is as left as they come, but I never watch one of his movies and know exactly where he stands on any one issue. This is how I can disassociate the entertainer from the real person. Mark Hamill is another great example. He’s as left as they come too, but he never espouses his ideology in his movies. Why? because he genuinely cares about the character and the story. Then there’s Wil Wheaton. A talentless hack who wouldn’t know good Trek if it stared him in the face. In an interview he did with Anthony Pascale from Trekmovie.com last year, Wil Wheaton thinks Trek “is as exciting now as it maybe has ever been.” and followed up later in the interview with“There’s just so much wonderful storytelling happening,” said Wheaton. “And there are such great casts bringing such great stories to life right now. It is a wonderful moment to be a Star Trek fan.” Sure, if you’re writing stories to appease certain groups of people and then pat yourself on the back for checking off all the right boxes. Meanwhile, you have just alienated half of your audience.
“I think we have a consequence culture”
And finally, we have Commander Geordi Laforge aka LeVar Burton. He was on the View last week and chimed in on the whole cancel culture thing and said it was misnamed and that it was a misnomer. “In terms of cancel culture,” Burton continued, “I think it’s misnamed. That’s a misnomer.” He continued to clarify by following up with this:“I think we have a consequence culture, and that consequences are finally encompassing everybody in the society, whereas they haven’t been ever in this country.” “I think that there are good signs that are happening in the culture right now, and I think it has everything to do with a new awareness on people who were simply unaware of the real nature of life in this country for people who have been “othered” since this nation began,” So, basically what Mr. Burton is saying is that it’s good see ‘other’ people feel what Black people have felt since this nation was founded. If it was so bad, why would Mr. Burton want to expose other people to that experience. That just seems mean and hurtful. I’m sorry but I thought the United States was a place where we learned from our mistakes. Does our history not even matter to Mr. Burton or would he rather make sure a group of people in this country, who don’t agree with the way he sees things, be subjected to the same “consequence culture” he purports has been happening since the founding of this great Nation. Oh, and does he think we have all been blind to what has happened in this country in the past? I mean I’ll give him that the history taught in our public classrooms is perverted to say the least. But, LeVar, come on man…our country has a rich history of righting wrongs and injustices since the founding of our country. Maybe you should get off your soapbox and listen to some of the fans once in a while before you make an assessment like you did on the View. There are reasons we don’t like Picard or Discovery. It’s because we are constantly being preached to in every one of those episodes about how racist and bigoted we are.
STNG has succeeded in alienating a fandom that helped you get where you are today
So, to the STNG cast I say you’ve succeeded in alienating a fandom that helped get you to where you are today. You’ve managed to insult loyal paying customers, of the STNG franchise that have helped you be worry free, monetarily, for the rest of your life. You’ve made millions as a result of fans buying products, toys, clothes and tickets to your movies and comic cons. But what do the fans know? Well, we know what we like and we can tell you we don’t like what you’re selling. Worse than that you’ve created an apathy in the fandom that doesn’t care anymore. With each episode that comes out that lectures us on how to respect the alphabet community you will see your audience continue to diminish. Every time you insult or are condescending to one of the fans is one more fan that has left and moved on. For every time you make an analogy about how bad this country is in one of your storylines is one time a fan walks away because they have had enough. And, every time you discriminate and insult “the toxic fandom” because they don’t like what you’ve said or hate the story you’ve told is a time you’ve bought one less customer. We don’t have to like your shows or movies. This is what America was founded on. Freedom of expression and choice. But, in the last few years, the people in control of Star Trek have lost us…have lost me a fan from the beginning. Have lost me because I don’t subscribe or conform to their way of thinking and then get punished for it and lectured to by the likes of LeVar Burton, Johnathan Frakes, or Wil Wheaton. There is always hope, however. At least we have the original Star Trek to enjoy and watch over and over again. At least we have Captain Kirk played by William Shatner who never treated his fans the way the STNG cast has in recent years and, I think, never will.
