Imma be real, I find a lot of TNG ugly. The interior of the Enterprise-D looks like it was designed by the same people who design chain hotels. The lighting everywhere is blaring. The bridge has a weird layout. The uniforms are ugly. It’s a great show, but I don’t enjoy the aesthetics. It’s not about the ability to make modern effects, but the aesthetic choices.
Voyager to me defines a better look. The interiors of the ship have more blues, metallics, and cool grey tones. The lighting is more subdued without being grimdark. The Voyager or DS9 era uniforms both look much better.
DS9 was intentionally ugly, and I don’t mind. The station isn’t supposed to represent Federation aesthetics, and it goes with it. Even so, the dimmer lighting makes it less overwhelming.
TOS people now might say is ugly but I give it quite a pass due to the age. The uniforms don’t look great on close inspection, but I still like them more than the TNG ones. The smaller bridge feels cramped compared to TNG, but it again makes sense for the setting.
Okay, related note, I’m going to be hanging out with my 13 year old nephew this weekend. He has never seen any Star Trek. What episode for any series would you suggest to start him out on?
Trying to think of something that will grab his attention and pull him in. All my favorite episodes are ones like Measure of a Man, but I think something with some action would get his attention better.
Back when everybody had to get their close-ups, lol. I think it was partly because TVs were small back then, and they wanted to show off clear shots of the stars.
My favorite is how every woman they meet gets the same shot, but with that “Vaseline smeared on the lens” effect.
Devil In The Dark is still a top Trek episode for me, and I actually like the space battle in Balance Of Terror much more than the finale battle in Wrath Of Khan.
I was blown away by how good Balance of Terror was on my current rewatch. The tension, the strategizing - this is the kind of action that I find exciting.
All of the “submarine combat but in space” tricks were so good. It’s one of my favorite depictions of space combat in any TV show. Visual media rarely replies on tricky cat & mouse space fighting.
I just watched Reptilicus (1962) and am unable to make any comment on technology. Maybe don’t grow giant reptiles in an aquarium with no plan for what happens when they mature.
You realize 90s Trek had a massive budget for the time and the effects were actually considered outstanding, right? It was never cheap, it’s just become dated. Fanservice varies. Early TNG had TOS-style skimpy outfits, but generally avoided references to TOS. Later on they got better outfits, but also became more self-referential.
Add comment