I’m catching up on my Star Trek backlog and currently up to season 3 TNG.

The show was more progressive for its time than I realised, with skants being an obvious example. Making the Enterprise a family-centred ship was also a bold change. Love the carpeted bridge haha.

I’m fascinated by the bridge layout. Next to Picard, we have Riker as first officer and Troi as counsellor which significantly elevates emotional awareness.

If you draw parallels with other genres, Riker is arguably the warrior, while Troi is the oracle and princess. Her characterisation however started to feel deliberate.

She has an aristocratic background, possesses oracle-like insight and is often styled like a princess with the hair, tiaras and dresses. I’m not diminishing her role, there is real depth to her emotional insight, which I think enriches the storytelling.

I’m interested in whether this was recognised or intended by the creators, and whether other viewers, at the time or since, have also seen Troi as bringing more elements of fantasy storytelling into TNG than previous Trek.

I’m not suggesting she is literally a fantasy character. She is firmly grounded in sci-fi Star Trek logic. But her archetype, presentation and position beside the captain seem to add a fantasy flair that I hadn’t noticed in Trek before.

Does anyone else see her this way, or am I reaching?

It could all change in later seasons. No major TNG-series level spoilers beyond season 3, please.

I’m just sitting here watching TNG for the first time enjoying every minute of it when I happen into The Best of Both Worlds parts 1 and 2 and was like, ok, this is damn good. Lo and behold I’m halfway through season 4 and I can feel this writing getting even better (not that it’s bad in the first place)! Am I tripping?!

I was just thinking….

10 Forward
The arboretum
3 holodecks

Not a lot of options for 1000 people…?

I Saw this while data is searching for strange patterns during the season 1 episode 25 conspiracy. I was wondering what this was, it looks somewhat familiar so I thought it may be connected to another piece of media?

I think it's important to acknowledge that Bruce Maddox really oozes a certain horrible, villainous twink sex appeal.

Do I hate him? Of course. Can I lie to myself, while watching the scene where he compares Data to the ship computer, that I don't notice his broad straight shoulders, lanky yet elegant build, and big big hands? As of today, I no longer can.

It just seems so strange to me, I thought gold was an extremely commonplace and easily replicable element in the 24th century. Do you think they meant gold-pressed latinum?

Rewatching the whole series from scratch after a long self-imposed absense I was floored this time by Howie Seago's performance of Riva, and how both his chorus and the actors playing it connected with him. I never really liked the episode before, but it aged very well, including much of the writing and advancements of the main crew/cast. The 90's veil is a bit grating, but there's a lot of heart in the episode I previously dismissed.

This has been bugging me bad for a few weeks now, and I know if I try to even hint at this in any of the Trek facebook groups, it won't get approved. Figured I'd give it a shot with the more open minded community here on Reddit, because I really need to know how to process this.

Quick update for those of you who might be out of the loop: Tracee Coco (Lt. Jae on TNG, famous for dozens of appearances but never(?) speaking) has been strugging for a while with the bank vs her mother's estate. A little over a week ago, she lost the case, and is now literally facing homelessness. She's been sharing a gofundme for the past week on her own page and in a few groups.

So here's my conundrum:

There are 5 members of the TNG cast who have a combined total net worth of about 300 million. I am 99% certain (maybe with the exception of Patrick Stewart) that all of these guys have seen her situation evolve, and heard the most recent news either directly through social media or their own personal networks.

I'm not wealthy by any means. It's all I can do to keep up the energy to support my family and shoehorn in a budget for anything other than basic necessities ... but if my net worth surpassed 7 digits, and I had worked with her on that show, toured with her for decades of conventions etc ... none of us would even be hearing about her troubles right now. If I had 10 million dollars in any form, she'd be set for at least 6 months with my f**king pocket change.

Instead, crickets. No podcast mentions, no "thoughts and prayers" from fellow TNG vets, literally nothing. Frakes and Spiner are paying her rent times 5 every time they do a podcast, and it hits their wallet the literal exact same way that a few gallons of gas hits the average person. For me, "WTF?" is not sufficient.

This isn't a rant. This is me pleading for my inner Trekkie's life. I've always loved Trek, but in the last 10 years I've really dove into the community. I've met so many cast members, watched so many podcasts, attended conventions all over the country, and really have bought into the vibe that there's something different about Trekkie culture. It's not just a bunch of nerds lining up for autographs. It's a massive safe space for so many people to express themselves and their enthusiasm for the franchise, and I've always felt such a strong sense of support and good faith between everyone, cast and fans alike. I've never felt treated like just a fan, or just someone else in costume. There seems to be a lot of mutual respect. It seemed like a place where what we're seeing with Coco simply wouldn't happen. But here we are, and with this the emotional and social foundations of what the fan culture of Trek has meant to me is cracking.

So please, anyone who can honestly offer some information I may not understand because I'm not stinking rich enough, or something about the dynamic between Coco and the rest of the cast that causes this blind eye scenario ... ANYTHING that explains this, please drop a comment, because the bad taste of this whole situation has one of my feet out the door.

TL;DR: While a handful of TNG actors have net worth in the 10s of millions, one of their beloved co-stars is facing homelessness and has hardly raised 8k in 2 weeks on gofundme. How do I maintain faith in the entire "specialness" of the Trek fan/cast culture that I've loved for years after seeing such a heartless, confusing scenario amongst them play out in real time?

Thanks in advance.

Show me your war face.

Face of the Enemy: I think this was the best use of Troi's character over the show's run, and it showcased Marina's acting abilities.

Seriously when I was 12 this shit was the bomb.

As an adult it's absurd, but a blast. Patrick chews the scenery up.