Jump to content

Star Trek TV


Your Mom

Recommended Posts

Yeah I probably shouldn't start a whole thread for this but fuck it I'm in charge and stuff. I was looking through Netflix and noticed they had all the Star Trek TV shows on there. I'm kinda curious to watch one all the way through and I know a lot of you love the shows so I'd like some of your learned opinions.

A little background:

I've seen all the Next Generation movies and some of the TV. I've seen the first 2 movies of the Original and a few random episodes and then nothing else of all the rest of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd watch Deep Space 9, but before that, I'd watch TNG's Season 4 episode "The Wounded" (introduces the Cardassians) and Season 5's "Chain of Command", which was the last episode of TNG to air before DS9 and really sets the stage for DS9. Voyager is largely pointless, as is Enterprise. But DS9 really is fantastic; there's a shitload of recurring characters, and massive story arcs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Virtually all of them will spend their first two seasons being enjoyable but somewhat clumsy - Next Generation more than most, since it was the first Star Trek they'd made in over 20 years and as yet weren't really sure how much of the "twee 1960s sci-fi" feel they were looking to keep. Plus it was the late 80s, bless them.

The Original Series is very different to the others and probably not a good starter for anyone used to...well, modern television.

Although parts of the Star Trek universe get fleshed out between series, you can start up on any of the later ones and be just fine so there's no real need to, say, watch Next Generation before you watch Deep Space Nine or Voyager (they overlapped each other when they were being made anyway). For example the Cardassians' debut episode in TNG has nothing to do with anything and they get a bit reworked before they get brought in as a major species for DS9.

But hey, since you've watched all the Next Generation movies I'm sure you would enjoy trying that first. Just try not to hate Wesley Crusher too much, or spend too much time wondering "who is this Tasha Yar?" (she's not around long enough for it to matter).

DS9 is the series most like a non-Star-Trek TV series if only because it eventually becomes continuous rather than purely episodic (although it doesn't do this for a few seasons). It is also my personal favourite, but that's something that could be debated all year.

Off-hand, I think the only bit of DS9 that might throw someone who hadn't watched TNG is one early episode involving the character Q. While they take the time to introduce the important players like the Cardassians, Bajorans, etc., they do just kind of assume we know who Q is. That's just one episode though.

Voyager is good - more 'polished' than TNG due to starting several years later - but despite having a few gems amongst a mediocre cast, is not as good or varied as DS9...again, in my opinion.

If you have the option to watch the Enterprise TV series, don't. Seriously, back away right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For example the Cardassians' debut episode in TNG has nothing to do with

anything and they get a bit reworked before they get brought in as a

major species for DS9.

Setlik III ring any bells? :shifty:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For example the Cardassians' debut episode in TNG has nothing to do with

anything and they get a bit reworked before they get brought in as a

major species for DS9.

Sestik III ring any bells? :shifty:

No.

Setlik III does.

BOOM, GEEK-SHOT.

(Got there before you edited, you cheap whore. :shifty:)

But anyway, my point was you don't need to know like that prior to watching DS9, as it's always explained when it's brought up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yea..plus if you haven't seen the shows, the movies do a pretty good job on filling in other things..like Picard being Locutus. My personal recommendation would be

1. DS9

2. TNG

3. TOS

4. Enterprise

5. Voyager

I always loved DS9 myself. I grew up while TNG was on the air in syndication, and it was frequently what my family watched while having dinner. But the adult in me loves the darker, grittier storylines of DS9 more. Like most Trek series, the first season and a half or so is pretty cheesy...I think its somewhere in the 2nd/3rd season the Dominion is mentioned, and even then it was what seemed like a throw-a-way episode focused on the Ferengi. But when DS9 hits its stride..good lord, there isn't much better writing then that

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm in for this. I'm trying to get through all of Star Trek series' at the moment (I've never actually watched them all the way through for some reason). I've got through six seasons of Voyager and still think that people are overly critical of it. It does have the weakest crew, but it's still not as bad as some claim (barring...

... that inane Borg children story).

In fact, it has some of my favourite holodeck stories, like that Irish town and Captain Proton. I've got season seven recorded, but I'm on TNG Season 3 at the minute, and waiting for DS9 to record, so that may have to wait.

My rankings:

1. TNG

2. DS9

3. TOS

4. Enterprise

5. Voyager

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My main problem with Voyager is, aside from a few episodes where they needed to find some element, the ship was never worse for wear. The Equinox 2 parter I loved, because it showed the darker part of what Voyager could've been..doing whatever they could to make it home

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, that is where Voyager falls down. No matter what, Janeway always does what's right, she never really looks at blurring the lines between what's right and what's needed, and never pays the consequence for it either. The whole Maquis element was killed off way earlier than it should have been because Chakotay had no balls in the early seasons. I think someone else defined it well the other day by saying that if Voyager came to a full stop, Janeway's ass would be full of the crew's heads. Not enough friction between the crews.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stokerina was saying to me yesterday how every Star Trek fan she meets in the real world all love Voyager (and TNG), but are firmly "NO DS9 IS TERRIBLE THEY DON'T EVEN GO ANYWHERE".

Aside from this telling me that they've never really watched DS9, the stark difference between that and you interwebs people is remarkable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think someone else defined it well the other day by saying that if

Voyager came to a full stop, Janeway's ass would be full of the crew's

heads. Not enough friction between the crews.

That was me! :D

Enterprise, for all it's good intentions, fell flat by, what I believe was trying to fucking hard to make tie-ins to everything. Like that Borg episode, or the katra bit, for starters...the Ferengi, Rura Penthe. It was like they decided to take every concept explored by other shows and somehow tie it all in, when what we really should've gotten is a badass war with the Romulans. The only episode I felt that were really worth the price of admission was the Mirror Universe one (which totally fucks with continuity; they get a ship that advanced a hundred years early and can't make any advancements? No wonder they get conquered :shifty: ) . It also had a horrendous finale.

What they should've done, which would have been gold, was go ahead with the rumors of

William Shatner making an appearance as Chef. It would've been a hell of a lot better then it being Riker

<_< .

Voyager...it wasn't Enterprise, but it certainly wasn't The Next Generation or Deep Space 9. Voyager could've improved immensely if they would've taked some of the things from Deep Space 9 that made it so great; more recurring characters, etc. I think there's only four crewmen that show up more then once; Ayala (your typical "oh hey, it's that guy" guy), Joe Carrey (Briefly was considered for Chief Engineer, disappeared for no reason, then shows up again in Season 7), ...Whichever Wildman was the mother (I forget their names), and that Vulcan that went through Pon-Farr. That's it. The Next Generation at least kept the same worthless Conn officer around until it was time for the console to explode, as well as people like O'Brien, Ogawa and Barclay (the latter two even made it into movies!)

But overall, Voyager suffered from the problem of having a boring crew that refused to question their captain (Let's face it, if Data was on that ship, he'd bring up some pretty good points about doing some of that shit), coupled in with some major villain decay in the form of the Borg. And then there's my personal pet peeve, the uniforms. :shifty:

Fucking replicators, people! You got into contact with Starfleet, the Doctor fucking saw them in person how many times? It would not be too hard to recycle the current uniforms (which is basically the same material) for the First Contact/Later DS9's one :( . And the nerd part of me should point out that the uniforms on Voyager (the "Class B", so to speak, the ones that made the debut on DS9) were only meant for those working on space stations. They have starships show up on DS9, what's the crew wearing? The TNG style. Sisko goes to Earth? TNG uniform! So yeah, this annoyed me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think someone else defined it well the other day by saying that if

Voyager came to a full stop, Janeway's ass would be full of the crew's

heads. Not enough friction between the crews.

That was me! :D

Enterprise, for all it's good intentions, fell flat by, what I believe was trying to fucking hard to make tie-ins to everything. Like that Borg episode, or the katra bit, for starters...the Ferengi, Rura Penthe. It was like they decided to take every concept explored by other shows and somehow tie it all in, when what we really should've gotten is a badass war with the Romulans. The only episode I felt that were really worth the price of admission was the Mirror Universe one (which totally fucks with continuity; they get a ship that advanced a hundred years early and can't make any advancements? No wonder they get conquered :shifty: ) . It also had a horrendous finale.

What they should've done, which would have been gold, was go ahead with the rumors of

William Shatner making an appearance as Chef. It would've been a hell of a lot better then it being Riker

<_< .

Voyager...it wasn't Enterprise, but it certainly wasn't The Next Generation or Deep Space 9. Voyager could've improved immensely if they would've taked some of the things from Deep Space 9 that made it so great; more recurring characters, etc. I think there's only four crewmen that show up more then once; Ayala (your typical "oh hey, it's that guy" guy), Joe Carrey (Briefly was considered for Chief Engineer, disappeared for no reason, then shows up again in Season 7), ...Whichever Wildman was the mother (I forget their names), and that Vulcan that went through Pon-Farr. That's it. The Next Generation at least kept the same worthless Conn officer around until it was time for the console to explode, as well as people like O'Brien, Ogawa and Barclay (the latter two even made it into movies!)

But overall, Voyager suffered from the problem of having a boring crew that refused to question their captain (Let's face it, if Data was on that ship, he'd bring up some pretty good points about doing some of that shit), coupled in with some major villain decay in the form of the Borg. And then there's my personal pet peeve, the uniforms. :shifty:

Fucking replicators, people! You got into contact with Starfleet, the Doctor fucking saw them in person how many times? It would not be too hard to recycle the current uniforms (which is basically the same material) for the First Contact/Later DS9's one :( . And the nerd part of me should point out that the uniforms on Voyager (the "Class B", so to speak, the ones that made the debut on DS9) were only meant for those working on space stations. They have starships show up on DS9, what's the crew wearing? The TNG style. Sisko goes to Earth? TNG uniform! So yeah, this annoyed me.

Didn't think it was til season 7, but Carrey was killed off...and Samantha was the mom, Naomi was the child..and she turned out pretty cute..

scarlett-pomers-1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's my thoughts for Srar.

Start with The Next Generation the first season drags a bit, but the second season is exceptional, and generally it's the best jumping on point because it's a good example of what you'll see throughout the franchise as a whole. It's got a bit of everything, and some of the best characters.

Then go to Deep Space 9. It's the best of the series, its characters aren't always as strong as TNG, but it has arcs and depths that are phenomenal. It's got some of the best relationships ever - see Odo and Quark.

If you're still up for it, go for The Original Series. It's the shortest of the franchises, but it's a classic (obviously) and set a standard. If you can get past how dated it is, you'll find some really good episodes. If you're still watching at episode 28 of season 1 "The City on the Edge of Forever", then you'll probably be hooked, because that episode si great.

Next up would be Voyager. As I said, it's not as bad as people claim, it's just not as good as others. You may end up hating it. If you can't get through the first season, it won't be your cup of tea, because it takes until about season four to pick up it's real pace.

Finally, if you're still in the game, go for Enterprise. It's an origin story, but it's an origin story that goes last in airing, so you may as well watch it last. As with Voyager, you may just give up on it, but it's worth a shot if you've come this far.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's my thoughts for Srar.

Start with The Next Generation the first season drags a bit, but the second season is exceptional, and generally it's the best jumping on point because it's a good example of what you'll see throughout the franchise as a whole. It's got a bit of everything, and some of the best characters.

Then go to Deep Space 9. It's the best of the series, its characters aren't always as strong as TNG, but it has arcs and depths that are phenomenal. It's got some of the best relationships ever - see Odo and Quark. Garak and Bashier, Bashier and O'Brien

If you're still up for it, go for The Original Series. It's the shortest of the franchises, but it's a classic (obviously) and set a standard. If you can get past how dated it is, you'll find some really good episodes. If you're still watching at episode 28 of season 1 "The City on the Edge of Forever", then you'll probably be hooked, because that episode si great.

Next up would be Voyager. As I said, it's not as bad as people claim, it's just not as good as others. You may end up hating it. If you can't get through the first season, it won't be your cup of tea, because it takes until about season four to pick up it's real pace.

Finally, if you're still in the game, go for Enterprise. It's an origin story, but it's an origin story that goes last in airing, so you may as well watch it last. As with Voyager, you may just give up on it, but it's worth a shot if you've come this far.

Clarified that a bit..

and I think Enterprise goes actually well with the Star Trek reboot movies...alternate timeline...best way to explain it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

*Bashir

Indeed, considering how Bashir starts off the series as a nothing-character ("we put a doctor in because there's always a doctor, but he had no personality or backstory written for him"), he becomes pretty integral to some of the best parts of the series later on.

Plus there's the Garak and Dukat relationship, which I enjoy just because their open loathing is so amusing. I think they spend the first few seasons sniping each other whenever the other's name is mentioned (or, on rare occasion, they're in the same place) but it isn't explained until later.

Speaking of which: Gul Dukat. You know what the other Star Trek series are lacking? A proper, long-term, son-of-a-bitch villain. Oh sure, you'll get the odd recurring bad guy if only because it makes things simpler (like that Romulan commander in TNG, whose name I forget), and although the Borg Queen in Voyager gets a decent number of appearances, she doesn't really develop in any way - aside from descending into an Alpha Female fight with Janeway, that is.

People usually go straight to Odo, Quark, etc. when pointing out DS9's great characters, but I'd say Dukat is one of the most significant factors in the series' brilliance.

(Then there are other recurring villains like Winn, who is so good at being a villain that I still feel the urge to punch her every time she opens her mouth.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. To learn more, see our Privacy Policy