When it comes to Star Trek, few series garner as much admiration, hype and reverence as The Next Generation. As the first installment of Gene Roddenberry’s vision since the original series from the 1960s, this show opened up fans’ eyes to a universe of everything they knew and loved while introducing something new, exciting and revolutionary. One particularly fantastic way to experience all the great moments, both planned and unplanned, of every single twenty-something minute TNG episode is to watch just three seconds of each episode – all in rapid succession.
It might sound a bit strange and counterintuitive at first, particularly for a lover of the show obsessed with storylines, isolated moments and individual character arcs. But the result is one of the wildest, most intriguing ways to experience Star Trek without much of the tediousness associated with hour-long series.
Contained within each three second ‘snippet’ lies a microcosm of anything and everything one could hope to get from Star Trek. A single picture contains a myriad of storylines, beloved characters, human struggle, emotion, free-thought and hope. This is in addition to epic space battles, wild adventures, thrilling science fiction concepts and, of course, Jean-Luc Picard’s galaxy-spanning wisdom.
In doing this, suddenly all the miscellaneous moments of Star Trek are no longer secondary – they are integral to the show. Even fleeting moments like comedic exchanges, scientific discoveries, brief character developments and interactions become part of the show and not just a brush stroke in the grand painting. This result is a far more diverse TNG experience than the average fan would likely get from watching the show in its entirety.
Added to this are the benefit of cramming hours of content into mere seconds. Without any of the logistical or technical hurdles that come with switching from one episode to the next, a watcher of three-second-TNG can soak up huge chunks of raw content with minimal guesswork, frustration and tedium.
Many might argue that true fans of Star Trek won’t be willing to settle for a subpar TNG experience – but this is far from the truth. Parcing down TNG to just three seconds of an episode opens up a level of access, intimacy and understanding far beyond any devotee of the show would have ever expected. It’s quite possible the result could lead to whole new appreciation and determination in watching various Star Trek series.
Finally, such a rapid-fire viewing of TNG episodes alone is its own form of entertainment. Three-second-TNG stands as its own cheeky, fun and original way to experience a beloved universe. The result won’t be the most accurate or detailed visualization of Star Trek, but it is an experience. And sometimes, an experience is all we need.
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