Really enjoying this soon-to-be trilogy of pieces on ‘Star Trek TNG’. It’s always a pleasure to read a thought-provoking and indeed invigorating reading of a television series I’ve loved since childhood more or less. Perhaps for some aesthetic reason or other I was always drawn slightly more to TOS as a youngster, but I’ve always felt that TNG drew even deeper from the popular intellectual tendencies of the ‘60s than even TOS, albeit refracted through a ‘80s lens, something which always struck me as quite daring for a mainstream show in an era one (perhaps lazily) associates with a general recession from the idealism of the 1960s. Perhaps the association with the original helped incubate its ‘60s-ish/New Age tone…
Anyway, I’ll spare any further banal thoughts on my part, but I just wanted to ask on the subject of television whether you had ever given much thought to my favourite 1960s programme, Patrick McGoohan’s ‘The Prisoner’? I feel that it vibrates to many of the same rhythms to the things you write about here…
Thank you very much for these comments, which aren't banal at all.
Regarding TOS, I've only recently got into it myself. As a kid I was prejudiced against it on account of its age. I've contemplated writing something about it, but I should really watch more episodes first. The films also interest me—I returned to The Motion Picture recently (as you can probably guess), and found it better than I remembered.
There's a correction I need to make here, to part 2. Returning to that Roddenberry bio, The Impossible Has Happened, I see GR was the instigator of the 'hostile NBC' myth. The fans certainly embraced the myth, and amplified it. But the original myth-maker was Roddenberry himself.
As regards The Prisoner, I think it a fascinating series. However, I've only ever watched one or two episodes. Maybe I'll invest in a boxed set at some point.
I'm also of a mind to write at least one piece on the Doctor Who of my childhood. But my memories are very vague, I would need to do some heavy rewatching.
The third part of The New Age Generation is mostly complete by the way. Look for it next week.
Really enjoying this soon-to-be trilogy of pieces on ‘Star Trek TNG’. It’s always a pleasure to read a thought-provoking and indeed invigorating reading of a television series I’ve loved since childhood more or less. Perhaps for some aesthetic reason or other I was always drawn slightly more to TOS as a youngster, but I’ve always felt that TNG drew even deeper from the popular intellectual tendencies of the ‘60s than even TOS, albeit refracted through a ‘80s lens, something which always struck me as quite daring for a mainstream show in an era one (perhaps lazily) associates with a general recession from the idealism of the 1960s. Perhaps the association with the original helped incubate its ‘60s-ish/New Age tone…
Anyway, I’ll spare any further banal thoughts on my part, but I just wanted to ask on the subject of television whether you had ever given much thought to my favourite 1960s programme, Patrick McGoohan’s ‘The Prisoner’? I feel that it vibrates to many of the same rhythms to the things you write about here…
Thank you very much for these comments, which aren't banal at all.
Regarding TOS, I've only recently got into it myself. As a kid I was prejudiced against it on account of its age. I've contemplated writing something about it, but I should really watch more episodes first. The films also interest me—I returned to The Motion Picture recently (as you can probably guess), and found it better than I remembered.
There's a correction I need to make here, to part 2. Returning to that Roddenberry bio, The Impossible Has Happened, I see GR was the instigator of the 'hostile NBC' myth. The fans certainly embraced the myth, and amplified it. But the original myth-maker was Roddenberry himself.
As regards The Prisoner, I think it a fascinating series. However, I've only ever watched one or two episodes. Maybe I'll invest in a boxed set at some point.
I'm also of a mind to write at least one piece on the Doctor Who of my childhood. But my memories are very vague, I would need to do some heavy rewatching.
The third part of The New Age Generation is mostly complete by the way. Look for it next week.