I think TNG pretty much accomplished whatever it was they set out to do. Then they started making action adventure movies.

I'd like to see whole different takes on the genre. Too bad star trek is so iconic, it uses up a lot of the air.

I thought Firefly was a pretty good attempt, shame it didn't take off.

It didn't take off because it didn't gather enough audience. Most people have a prejudice against SciFi. It took me several months to convince my girlfriend to watch Firefly and more than a year for BSG, but in the end she loved them both very much.

> It didn't take off because it didn't gather enough audience.

Which of course had nothing to do with the network showing a series of shows written with developments carrying through multiple episodes out of order.

I'm hoping that the mass appeal of BSG (especially now that it has a second life on Netflix) and the accessibility of the new Star Trek movies will pave the way for more space opera on TV.

It was OK. I don't think it was better than TNG when it first came out.

Better or not is a personal preference. But the world it describes (much closer to our time, which also affects the technology), the kind of protagonists (regular folk, not associated with an all-mighty quasi-military governmental structure), the action (more personal, less "submarine in space"), and the issues (more political, and in general more grown-up, than Star Trek) do make it better for some viewers. (Disclaimer: myself included.)

Completely agree. As a guy living along in college some of the best nights would be watching Start Trek TNG. Just the opening was incredible. It made me feel like it really was the future.

I've heard it described as the differences between the Gene Roddenberry universe and the Rick Berman universe. Supposedly, Roddenberry took a backseat after TNG season 2, and there are differences in camerawork, acting, and storylines between the first 2 seasons & the latter 5.

Check Star Trek : Hidden Frontier. they are very old in this, and it's obvious that they do all with low budget, but they made seven seassons!!! And It get improving and getting more interesting in each seasson. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Hidden_Frontier