After 21 years of liking sci-fi but being apprehensive about Star Trek, I finally started watching it. As per a friend's recommendation, which I've since learned was atypical of most trekkies' preferences, I started with VOY, but couldn't make it past episode six. I've since switched to TNG and am halfway through season two.
I genuinely can't see why Riker is so lauded by everyone. He's extremely petulant, best seen in those episodes with his father and that copy of himself. He also has a real problem with authority, which I can't see as a positive in a military officer.
I've yet to see TOS, but I get the impression that Riker is sort of another incarnation of the Kirk character (from what I've heard of him). Although I tend to share your confusion, there are some nice Riker scenes. The curiosity and wonderment he displays in the pilot when he first meets Data are
great; one might expect him to be competitive or dismissive with an artificial life form.
He shows similarly refreshing emotions when listening to Picard explain that humans are electrochemical machines, similar to Data and Lore.
The GIF quality is lacking because I had to maneuver within MacRumors' file size constraints.
But I think it derails a little when they talk about other races that actually are very primitive in their presentation: Romulans, Klingons, etc. They seem still human to me and not only that but actually backwards, which I find boring.
If I understand you correctly, you find their
presentation primitive and not the characters themselves. If so, I agree. I'm liking TNG so far, but find it a bit campy whenever they meet a new humanoid "race" (
again?! What are the odds?!) that coincidentally speaks English. They don't always
just speak English, though. For example, Klingons speak… Klingon. Like how humans speak Human. Yes. And humans are all just as homogenous as Klingons, Vulcans, and Romulans—same hair, cloths, and skin tone.
