Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted 35 years ago

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation

The series, somewhat of a sequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, debuted on September 28, 1987 with TOS fans saying they would not watch it. There simply couldn’t be another captain in charge of the Enterprise as that was Captain Kirk’s command. And as for the crew, well, they couldn’t possibly know what they were doing.

Series star Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), in an interview on Graham Norton’s BBC radio show [via Comicbook] said the actors really had to win the audience because the fans hated that The Next Generation was on.

"“The fans hated the fact that we were on. I mean people assume because we became so successful that it was always that way. But no, I would go to conventions where there were like 30 people and they’d all be sitting with their arms crossed going, ‘how dare you take the place of our heroes.’ So we really had to win our audience.”"

The first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation didn’t win over the audience, though.

The series struggled through its first season, airing some of the most cringeworthy episodes that are even considered the same today. A look back at Skin of Evil, Code of Honor, and Angel One reminds us that The Next Generation had a difficult time finding its footing. But, once it did, fans flocked to the watch the series which ended after seven seasons and four movies and resulted in a Picard spin-off and the upcoming reunion of most of the entire cast on Star Trek: Picard’s final season next year. That’s over thirty-five years of history.

And after all of that displeasure from fans who simply refused to watch a series that wasn’t about Captain Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy, now, The Next Generation consistently ranks high on the “best of” lists. Most recently, Empire Magazine ranked it the 17th greatest television show ever, and considering the competition like ER (which came in at 31), House (#56), NYPD Blue (#86), and Black Mirror (#61), that’s high praise, indeed.

The Next Generation has been one of the most successful sci-fi series, and though there has been recent chatter about a reboot, most of the fans are hoping that won’t come to fruition. Some things, like really good television, should remain as picture perfect portraits of the past.