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this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2023
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I think it's as alien of the week as we can get while still having meaningful character growth. Each episode is pretty well contained and can be enjoyed in a vacuum. Yes, you get more enjoyment from seeing the payoff of character arcs and relationships, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Even classic 90s Trek had season long arcs and rewarded viewers who joined in every week.
I think you're missing that TOS and TNG were written as an episodic show and not typically as a serial. Aside from the faintest of arcs, that came via arc specific episodes, you could pick a random episode in syndication and it wouldn't matter if you could name the previous or next episode as there wasn't no need to connect them together. Many episodes were written by single episode writers who had the faintest notion of the show and that was all the was needed.
I don't agree about the payoff for arcs in shows like SNW because the arc is both too controlling of the episodes while also never really being the point of the episode. If you're going to do an serial drama then do that. Picard was that, you must watch in order and not miss any.
The arcs of TNG were sooooo faint you only knew about them if you chose to dig in deep to a handful of episodes in the season that specifically pushed the arc along. Otherwise you could take the middle 80% of episodes and scramble their order and absolutely nothing would change. Instead with SNW every other episode drops a new plot point for Pike's dooms day, or Spok's love life or what character died or went to another dimension, etc.
Character development in TNG was more about us learning about them than it was about having the characters grow. Again, you don't have to see all the episodes in order to understand the intricacies of a character to understand why they acted the way they didn't in a TNG episode. At best the growth was seasonal but even then it wasn't massive. In SNW the character development is probably the biggest tie back to previous episodes.
The reason why I wanted another episodic ST was that I feel none of these shows have any rewatch abilities. We can binge the seasons before the next season starts but I don't think it's ever be sitting in a hotel room and turn on the TV and find an episode of SNW and care to watch it on its own. Though I guess that type of TV just doesn't exist anymore. Maybe it's just me who likes to flip on the TNG station on Pluto or turn on cable when I'm visiting my parents and watch a random episode and enjoy it without all the extra baggage. I need to finish the last season of Picard and I doubt I'll ever watch it again. Same with Discovery.
Hey thanks for the well thought out and detailed reply.
As much as I don't want to just say "well I guess we like different things" and just leave it at that, I think it does come down to how one defines episodic and rewatchable.
I think your hotel room example is a perfect example of this. I'd be very happy to put on a random episode of Strange New Worlds or Lower Decks in the same way I would with TOS, TNG, or VOY. The other shows (like Prodigy, Discovery, or Picard) I would want to rewatch the whole season to get the satisfying story (like DS9 or ENT).
I also think that you're correct that character development in TOS was more about learning who the character was, rather than watching them grow. I feel TNG had character growth episode-to-episode but, like you said, I can see how it's much more prevalent and important to the episodes in SNW.
Like I said, I hate saying this, but I think it just comes down to preference. I think I could watch a random episode of SNW and enjoy it the same way I would TNG or VOY. Maybe because I've already seen the episodes so I'm enjoying the alien of the week knowing that I don't need to see the resolution of the season long arcs. For the same reasons, though, if I recommend TNG to a friend, I always recommend watching it in order, even from the really bad first couple seasons.
You are absolutely correct in it being personal preference. I agree I'd definitely watch a random SNW over some of the others. Honestly i think (and this probably goes for everyone else with my view) it's more about just missing 90s TV. 30 episode seasons that you dont have to schedule your life around. There are TNG, TOS, VOY episodes i watch all the time and some it's been years since i last saw. Same goes for pretty much anything from that time period that i rewatch now. I think that's the underlying issue, no one makes episodic shows anymore unless it's a reboot. Just wish this reboot was the same.