Not only that, I am grateful that sci-fi generally has less ”filler” episodes now. I prefer they only make as many episodes as is necessary to get the story arc and side stories filled out.
A lot of sci-fi shows like Star Trek generally just have “filler” episodes since they’re supposed to explore themes of humanity, life, diplomacy, the devastation of war, whacky science, and exploration. The episodes should be numerous because the scope and ethos of such a show demands it. That’s partially why I’m not fond of most contemporary Trek shows because they tend to gloss over all that for some story sequence that doesn’t really pay off in my opinion.
Star Trek TNG certainly had a lot of cheap “bottle episodes” but rather than finding them boring I appreciated how these episodes let us spend more time with characters in a different setting, and flesh out the wider universe of the show. The ship doesn’t have to be blowing up every single week, there are other things going on too.
And great things can happen when you slow down.
The episode “The Measure of a Man” in which the question of Data’s ‘humanity’ is put on trial was itself a low-budget bottle episode that only happened because of a writer’s guild strike, and mostly consists of just a few members of the cast sitting around a table for the whole episode.
And yet, it turned out to be an amazing episode that is widely regarded as one of the most defining and influential in the entire show.
Episodes like that simply can’t happen when you only get eight per season.
Not only that, I am grateful that sci-fi generally has less ”filler” episodes now. I prefer they only make as many episodes as is necessary to get the story arc and side stories filled out.
A lot of sci-fi shows like Star Trek generally just have “filler” episodes since they’re supposed to explore themes of humanity, life, diplomacy, the devastation of war, whacky science, and exploration. The episodes should be numerous because the scope and ethos of such a show demands it. That’s partially why I’m not fond of most contemporary Trek shows because they tend to gloss over all that for some story sequence that doesn’t really pay off in my opinion.
My opinion is the opposite
Absoutely.
Star Trek TNG certainly had a lot of cheap “bottle episodes” but rather than finding them boring I appreciated how these episodes let us spend more time with characters in a different setting, and flesh out the wider universe of the show. The ship doesn’t have to be blowing up every single week, there are other things going on too.
And great things can happen when you slow down.
The episode “The Measure of a Man” in which the question of Data’s ‘humanity’ is put on trial was itself a low-budget bottle episode that only happened because of a writer’s guild strike, and mostly consists of just a few members of the cast sitting around a table for the whole episode.
And yet, it turned out to be an amazing episode that is widely regarded as one of the most defining and influential in the entire show.
Episodes like that simply can’t happen when you only get eight per season.