151: TNG Forever

Enduring Popularity of TNG. Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered on television in 1987 - almost 30 years later, the second live incarnation of Star Trek on television remains a vital part of the franchise and an enduring pop culture icon. Phillip, Daniel, and Darren have taken apart TNG for over three years on this podcast - discussing characters, story lines, technical aspects, themes, and everything else in between. This has led to one great question: What is behind the enduring popularity of Next Gen? Earl Grey conducts a roundtable discussion that focuses on how TNG remains relevant, what characters and storylines fit in with today's world, and how new fans are "re-discovering" a thirty-year-old television show. They examine the reputation of Next Gen compared to the other Trek series, what the stereotypes are, and what the "popular opinion" is of Captain Picard and the crew of the 24th Century starship Enterprise. Join Earl Grey as they compress their 3 years worth of discussions into one retrospective episode about the enduring popularity of Star Trek: The Next Generation.  A SPECIAL TREK.FM EARL GREY EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR STAR TREK LAS VEGAS Listeners know #BridgeMates from Earl Grey episodes 82 (“When in Doubt Choose Data”), 109 (“He Hasn't Watched That One”), and 141 (“The Council of Mistresses”), as well as To the Journey 117 (“BridgeMates Rematch”) and Standard Orbit 102 (“Trying to Kill Zoolander”). There is even the original trivia panel show “Encounter at All Good Things” from Earl Grey 137. Earl Grey is proud to announce a live presentation of “Super BridgeMates” at the Star Trek Las Vegas 50th Anniversary Convention on Friday, August 5 from 12:30 to 1:15 pm. It will be held on the Roddenberry Stage at Quark's Bar, hosted by Phillip Hunter Gilfus. Your favorite team of “Free Enterprise” (Darren Moser and Daniel Proulx) will attempt to escape defeat (again) against two rival BridgeMate Teams - “Team Lizard Babies” (Charlynn Schmiedt and Tristan Riddell) and “The Council of Mistresses” (Andi VanderKolk and Jarrah Hodge). When it comes to celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek, regular BridgeMates simply won't do. That's why this game show will be “Super BridgeMates”- a fun-filled, comedic game show involving fans, cosplayers, and audience members. Not only will the teams compete in hilarious trivia, but those in the audience will participate by acting out selected scenes from our favorite Star Trek moments and cosplayers will help create puzzles for the teams to solve. It's all about the love of Star Trek! ‪#‎roddenberry‬ CHAPTERS Roundtable Questions (00:04:27) Closing (00:54:47) HOSTS Daniel Proulx, Phillip Gilfus, & Darren Moser PRODUCTION Darren Moser (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer) Michael E Hueter  (Associate Producer) Stephen Boyd (Associate Producer) Ron Saarna (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact Visit the Trek.fm website at http://trek.fm/ Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm Support the Network!Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep our shows coming to you every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm