This Week in History: Star Trek: The Next Generation Celebrates 20 Years

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Twenty years ago, between September 28 and October 4, 1987, millions of people in the United States tuned in to a new show called Star Trek: The Next Generation. This event was eagerly welcomed by fans even though the show was treading on sacred ground as the first Star Trek spin-off. (This is partly why there were some skeptics out there too.) The new Star Trek was also a bold experiment on the part of Paramount in that it was an hour-long sci-fi drama airing in first-run syndication, not the perceived safe haven of network television. During this week in 1987, depending on where you lived, you would have seen the premiere on the Monday or any of the six days that followed. And even though some still refer to the premiere episode as the show's "pilot," it wasn't really. A pilot is normally produced for a major network to float the possibility of a show going into a full slate of production should it hit the required viewership. With TNG, this was never the case.

Almost four months to the day after filming commenced in May of 1987, the week of September 28 essentially marked a rebirth for the Star Trek franchise. The Next Generation was an immediate success, numbers-wise, during this debut week. In several major markets, the new Star Trek show beat the regular network programming. An impressive feat indeed! Creatively the show would have some growing pains, particularly in its first two seasons, but those got worked out and that's also part of the reason why we are celebrating today. It is due to the success of this show and its seven-year run that three other series followed, as well as four movies. Of course, no one at the time could have foreseen this. In 1987, the Original Series remained hugely popular, was still in syndication, and was enjoying its own successful run of films. The fourth movie was a smash the previous year, and the fifth would be released in less than two years. It could be argued that The Next Generation arrived at a perfect time to satisfy the audience's hunger for simply more Star Trek. After all, there were only 79 episodes of the original to watch and they were starting to show their age!

As we look back today, the first season of TNG also shows its age. The stagey sets, the pre-digital special effects, Deanna Troi's severe bun hairstyle, and even the original uniforms. But if you put it side by side with the Original Series, it's a huge creative leap. It's just that in the 20 years since '87, TV has undergone a renaissance of sorts with the introduction of computer-generated special effects, flashier editing, and more high-definition picture. No longer do we have the noticeable matte lines or the repeated fly-by shots of the Enterprise. Planets on TV now have their own size, color, texture, even cloud formations.

As far as popular culture events go, people today can still recall where they were and who they were with when they first laid eyes on the English-accented Frenchman, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and his crew, as well as the all-new and improved Enterprise-D. It was just one of those "must see" TV events before the now-hackneyed phrase was even coined. You could also soon tell the real fans from the part-timers: "The New Generation" anyone?!

There was a cultural and creative bottom line for The Next Generation: it proved that the successful Star Trek format, as envisioned by Gene Roddenberry and his original creative team, could work again. In fact, better and more successfully. To its credit, TNG opened up more complex storylines, drama and ensemble acting to go along with the better special effects ... Most of all, it opened up the audience.

If you are at home or work reading this, you are likely one of the millions who helped make this show a seminal success. You watched TNG and you liked it — you really, really liked it. For as great as the Original Series was, the lack of Neilsen-measured audience was the missing ingredient. Television, after all, is product. If it doesn't sell, it's removed from the shelves and discontinued. The legacy of The Next Generation, besides being one of the best shows ever produced, is that it extended the shelf life of Star Trek and for that we are all eternally grateful.

Thanks for watching!

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