Star Trek noob
Posted by SlackerDegree@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 33 comments
I’m home recuperating for the next few weeks. I already beat Mario Galaxy and am thinking of bingeing some Star Trek. I vaguely remember catching some episodes of the Next Generation with my Dad but haven’t ever delved. I’ve loved Firefly, Quantum Leap, Battlestar Galactica, My Secret Identity and Dr. Who .. so I should like Star Trek, right? Any suggestions on where to start?
freeisreal1@reddit
I would do Next Generation and Deep Space 9. Give each season a few episodes. I think the captain you like the most will be the season you like the most.
Real-Championship331@reddit
This might be heretical - but I would say go for Star Trek Voyager for a noob starting on 90s Star Trek. I love The Next Generation but the first season is honestly not great and Deep Space Nine somehow feels less accessible if not already a Star Trek fan.
Based on the shows you already like, I think you would probably like Star Trek
de_propjoe@reddit
My heretical opinion is that you can just skip the first couple of seasons of TNG. TV back then wasn’t designed to be watched from the beginning in strict order—you couldn’t even count on the networks to put the episodes in the order the creators wanted. And sometimes you’d miss an episode and just hope to catch it on a rerun or something.
So just jump in to season 3 of TNG, if you like it you can always go back. And since you like BSG, season 3 is when Ronald D. Moore joined the writing staff!
Hilsam_Adent@reddit
TNG didn't start firing on all cylinders until S3, IMO.
Im in the minority in disliking DS9 with a passion (still refer to it as "Deep Sleep 9) and I liked Voyager a fair bit. Haven't watched Enterprise or anything after, so can't comment there.
TOS, is, I have found, harder for younger folks to watch because the effects just aren't there. I love it, however. Memories of watching it with Pops as a young warthog, etc.
SlackerDegree@reddit (OP)
I have vague memories of parts of this series like the simple set and Captain Kirk’s sweet moves and laser gun prowess lol
Hilsam_Adent@reddit
Another commenter was talking about the "even/odd" curse with the Star Trek movies and I can assure you, it's a thing. If you only watch one of the movies, make sure it's II: The Wrath of Khan.
That's just a damned fine Sci-Fi movie, period, with or without the Star Trek trappings. A lot of classical elements in the writing, Shakespearean revenge, a strong nod to Moby Dick and callbacks to any of a number of World War II films where the central theme is "make do with what ya got".
For bonus points, watch the TOS episode "Space Seed" right before you watch the film. Doing so isn't necessary, but it does enhance the enjoyment of both, in my estimation.
happy_snowy_owl@reddit
Star Trek II is a good movie, but a bad Star Trek Movie.
If I were to rank them based on the theme of the show, it's IV > VI > III > II > I > V. Unfortunately, you miss key plot points if you don't watch them in chronological order.
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
I never got the hate for III. I thought that was an awesome follow up to II, and Christopher Lloyd played a great villain.
happy_snowy_owl@reddit
II was just a sci fi action movie with Star Trek characters.
III at least has an exploration objective (the Genesis project) as the tension between the Klingons and the Enterprise, which is more in line with the series. It wasn't just space wars for the sake of being space wars.
And yes, I know the Genesis project is present in II, but it's a tool for Khan's revenge and not the central exploration objective.
Perhaps III gets hate because Spock sits out for most of the movie? I didn't know it was hated.
DamarsLastKanar@reddit
This is the Janeway.
tonto_silverheels@reddit
I reluctantly agree. While I never got into Voyager because it largely felt a little simple and lacked the story depth of TNG, it would be a good intro to the franchise.
SlackerDegree@reddit (OP)
I just learned about Star Trek day this Sunday, it was the Ad on Paramount+ as I turned on the first movie lol! I swear this was not a paid advertisement 🖖😂
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
Each series has its own score, though TNG reuses the theme from the first movie.
itsasnowconemachine@reddit
I never got into Voyager, or have seen any of the later shows, so I won't speak for them.
If you're referring to liking the 2003 re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica, then I'd recommend DS9.
DS9 delves into the more "gritty" or less Rodenberry-esque bits of the Star Trek universe, and adds some shades of grey and moral ambiguity. Where the ideals of the Federation come into contact with the rest of the universe. The characters evolve quite a bit, and even the main villains have some complexity. The later seasons become more serialized, and have an interesting overall story arc. Garak is still my favourite character. Or Morn.
As an aside, Babylon 5 is another good sci-fi to go through, if you can get through the first season.
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
I love Garak! Anything that involves him I’ll watch. I just love that you never really know for sure who he is or what his motivations are. He’s just a dressmaker who lies alot and may or may not have been an elite assassin. Lol
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
Okay, so personally I'm of the school that you should watch in rough order, and some of the callbacks will bear that, as well. So if you are of the same perspective, then of course TOS, first 6 movies, TNG, DS9, next 4 movies, Voyager, and finally Lower Decks. (I skipped some, see below)
You may not be into all of them because all of the series are quite different. Here are my takes on them:
TOS: This one is very slow-paced and philosophical. There are some (cheesy) action scenes and love stories and what have you, but the overarching themes are of discovery and wonder and how, morally, to interact with alien species.
First 6 movies: These are the movies surrounding the original enterprise crew helmed by Captain Kirk and they run from I think 1979 to 1991? Anyway, these have a very different tone and each is their own beast. It's hard to lump them all into one bucket, but they have alot more action, they tend to be a bit darker in tone, and the stories don't really revolve around discovery anymore. It's more military-style. But the ideals of the federation are still there, and they flesh out the motivations of the characters much more than the series ever does.
TNG: This goes back to the roots of the story with lots of exploration of new worlds and alien races. The space quadrant is (mostly) at peace, but the enterprise crew finds themselves often in situations where they are having to battle some creature or race, or some equipment is malfunctioning that could ruin the crew. Also, Q is there, which is always a fun time. This one is much more action-packed than the original series, but still focuses more on discovery. And there are some interesting stories revolving around the enterprise and whether they have any business performing military functions, when they are clearly a science vessel. And I personally find this crew to be the most likeable of the live action series.
DS9: This take place mostly on a stationary space station in the aftermath of an interplanetary war. The federation has taken over the space station to act as a neutral party and ease the transition of peace between the two previously warring factions. And then a wormhole opens up that allows travel between two different quadrants, and this leads to alot of the stories in the back half of the series. I go back and forth on whether I like this or TNG better, but this one has by far some of the best storytelling of the entire franchise. There's a lot of moral ambiguity going on with some of the decisions that get made on this series and it goes to some very dark places. Some of the characters who seem like clean-cut boy scouts will make some decisions that will absolutely change them forever. The latter half of the series takes place during a full-on war and there's a lot of fallout from that. I also encourage you to watch TNG before you watch this because a certain story arc explains the back story of some of the characters.
The next 4 movies revolve around the enterprise D/E crew helmed by Picard. They ran from I think 1994 to 2002. The first one actually transitions from TOS to TNG, and then it's all TNG after that. They vary in quality. The last two, while still good (and one features a young Tom Hardy), are definitely a little cheesier and seem a bit like an extra long TNG episode rather than a theatrical film.
Voyager...It's been a while since I even watched this. I enjoyed it enough at the time because it was Star Trek, but I always found this one to be lacking a bit. I feel like it went a bit into fanfic territory and it was just a little cheesy for me. This one revolves around the Voyager crew getting trapped in a far-off quadrant and their long journey to get back home.
Lower Decks: This one is waaaaaay different than the others. This is a comedic animated series that revolves around a handful of ensigns who live in the Lower Decks of their ship the Cerritos. Two of them are slackers and the others are driven but just too goofy to get ahead. Hilarity ensues. But there are some serious stories too. This one is alot of fun and I highly recommend it, but you won't get alot of the jokes unless you've watched TNG and DS9 first, at least.
The ones I left off:
Star Trek Discovery - I watched the first couple of episodes when it premiered. I did not care for this. It was incredibly cheesy, the characters were forgetful, and it was too much of an action story.
Picard - I have only watched the first couple of episodes of this. I really liked them, but I haven't seen enough of the series to recommend it yet. It's on my list.
Strange New Worlds - This one is also on my list. I have not seen a single episode, though I've heard it's very good.
Enterprise - I've only seen a couple of episodes of this, but what I did see felt very "k-mart version of Star Trek."
I might have missed some stuff, but that's about all I've got anyway.
SlackerDegree@reddit (OP)
Wow, thank you for the thorough reply! I’m leaning towards diving into TNG today 😃
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
Cool! You’re in for a treat! Personally I like the first couple of seasons, but most people do not. But keep on pushing through and from around season 3 onwards the show is fantastic!
terententen@reddit
Stargate is probably my favorite franchise ever, sci-fi or not. SG1 and Atlantis is a lot of seasons but I’d recommend that over anything. As for Star Trek, I was more or less a noob but watched DS9, Voyager and Enterprise all during Covid and they’re all good but DS9 was another level.
SlackerDegree@reddit (OP)
Ooh I forgot about Stargate! I remember the movie
gooch_norris_@reddit
Next generation is still the pinnacle to me but you may want to skip around for episodes that sound particularly interesting to you if you already know the gist of what’s going on- almost every episode stands alone without much in the way of callbacks to previous episodes (not 100% but mostly) and it didn’t start getting consistently great until season 3
SlackerDegree@reddit (OP)
This sounds great, ty!
J0k3r77@reddit
Star trek strange new worlds is the best take on modern trek imo. Im jealous that you get to discover so much of it still.
DamarsLastKanar@reddit
SNW decidedly average, which makes it better than Discovery or Picard. It's a low bar.
Lower Decks and Prodigy remain the saving graces of this era.
SlackerDegree@reddit (OP)
Very cool perspective, I think I’ll read up some on the timeline and then get started! I didn’t know there was a new series either.
J0k3r77@reddit
Its got everything prime trek (90s, TNH DS9 VOY) had but with movie quality effects
VectorJones@reddit
Are you adaptable to era specific content? Each era of Trek is made for that era and as a result stands out from the others. So, for instance, the original series is very, very 1960s. The Motion Picture and the first animated series are very much 70s. Trek movies 2,3,4 and 5, along with the first two seasons of TNG, are heavily '80s. TNG Season 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, DS9, Voyager, and movies 6 7, 8 are all very much of the 90s. Enterprise and Trek movie 9 are early 2000s, and the JJ Abrams reboot movies have their era. New Trek stuff up to the present are their own era specific thing as well.
So don't expect a smooth transition from one era to another. They can be wildly different and it's not required that one appreciate them all.
bud_4z0@reddit
If you’re going to attempt to watch STD skip 90% of dialogue, stay for the CGI, and for the love of Roddenberry don’t stare directly at a Klingon.
SlackerDegree@reddit (OP)
J/k! This made me smile 😄
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
At the beginning, if you're patient, and want the payoff of back-references. Be warned, the odd-numbered movies struggle.
SlackerDegree@reddit (OP)
Oh boy, movies too? 😆 Do they correlate with the tv episodes in a certain order?
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
Thankfully no. You can do the original series (ToS), then the movies up to generations (save it for after TNG). Deep Space 9 (DS9) kicks off beforen the end of TNG and is considered by some to be the best Trek there is. The TNG movies then pick up after TNG ends and don't depend on DS9. Voyager stands alone, but chronologically pairs with later DS9. And I couldn't tell you a damn thing about anything after Y2K 😅
SlackerDegree@reddit (OP)
Awesome guidance, ty!