Star Trek: The Next Generation - It's So Underrated!

As usual, I'm probably not saying anything new in this blog, but the following bears repeating: Star Trek: The Next Generation is a vastly underrated television series.  There's no sarcasm in that statement; if there has ever been a better science fiction show, I haven't been made aware of it.

There are those who might disagree that TNG is underrated.  Characters like Data, Picard, Worf, etc. are part of Sci-Fi lore, they might say, or, the show has survived forever in syndication; how can it be underrated?  Well, the original Star Trek made it on Time Magazine's "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time" list, but TNG, which is a much more thoughtful and fully-realized product, is absent. 

 Startlingly, no major network ever picked up TNG, which I believe has led to its being underrated.  So yes, while it continues to exist in syndication today, syndication is the only existence that TNG has ever known.  There was never a CBS, NBC, ABC, or even a FOX to lend its brand name, its seal of approval, to TNG.  Unfortunately, human nature does not always allow us to be open-minded, myself included, and so when selecting shows to watch, we require that they belong to a major network that will "vouch" for the show's quality.  WPIX, as it was called then, did not carry as much weight as the network giants.

I probably should do actual research to see how the show was received by critics, but if memory serves, it earned largely positive feedback.  But when do people actually talk about TNG?  Although the show transcends science fiction, people who aren't science fiction fans haven't embraced it the way they should.  Among the various issues addressed by TNG are: the definition of life, the risk of making peace with a dangerous opponent as opposed to destroying your opponent when you have the chance, the effects of absolute power, and whether or not it is justified to interfere in other cultures.  As far as I know, these are still relevant issues.  

TNG is an allegory for the troubles we face in the modern world.  But because it was never on NBC, has relatively low-budget special effects, and is labeled "Science Fiction", it has not received the due it deserves, and that is to our detriment.