I just finished re-watching the first two seasons of Star Trek: TNG as they were released in brand new shiny Blu-ray.
The show was running between 1987-1994 and was considered to be an underdog when it first aired. The cast, the producers, everyone didn’t hold their breath for it to keep going past its first season.
It lasted much longer than that. In fact, it ran for seven seasons! More than twice as long as the original series which run 1966-1969 for mere three seasons. Good thing they didn’t consider re-doing the original series in Blu-ray. Cardboard doesn’t look better in high definition. It also yielded four full-featured films, and I regard it (the tv show, not the movies) as the best Star Trek franchise realization to date.
During its course, it gave room for many guest stars, some whom were anonymous back then and only shot to celebrity status later. To name a few: Kirsten Dunst, Kelsey Grammer, Teri Hatcher, Stephen Hawking (as himself), Famke Janssen, Ashley Judd, and many others.
The show also gave room for some items that look perfectly natural today in the 21st century. Tablets, global (and space) communication, video calls and many other inventions which blended nicely into the show’s theme and also inspired generations of wide eyed kids to go and make something like what they saw on TV. Transportation via molecular disassembly and re-assembly haven’t been achieved quite yet, but we’re on our way.
It was also a big improvement over the original series. Not only by using sturdier props and sets (not always, but mostly), but also by making the characters a bit less stiff and creating a more liberal show in the confines of the conservative american television limits.
The stories that TNG followed were always very human and dramatic in nature. It also might have been one of the reasons the team behind the show didn’t foresee the success that followed. They viewed it as somewhat of a soap opera in space. And it seems like an unlikely mix.
Gladly they were wrong, and each time the show was renewed for a new season, they re-counted their blessings.
Anywho.. I finished watching the first two seasons, and started wondering – how would the old team handle their jobs 20 years later? Obviously they wouldn’t be in the same positions, but as this was done with the Original series cast, I think that bringing this team together would have a big potential for re-igniting people’s imagination and especially a generation that didn’t have the pleasure of growing up watching this show.
So, I set about checking with the cast, the stars of the show who frequent comic-cons, and trek-cons and all kinds of cons to busk in the warmth of fans adoration through all these years, and to see if they would be willing and able to take on this challenge. If they would be prepared to take part at a reunion TV film, or mini-series that shows where they are 20 years later.
I used the same text for all of them as follows:
Good day [Person’s name and title], I wanted to ask – for 1-3 episodes – would you reprise the role of [Relevant character’s name]?
And off it went on Twitter. I couldn’t locate all of them on twitter though, as Marina Sirtis who played the ship counsellor, Diana Troy, seems to go incognito on the web. I am still looking though.
Now all there is to do, is wait and see how and if they will respond to my little query.
To be updated..
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