I started watching Strange New Worlds the other week, I’ve really enjoyed the writing! The only other Trek media I’ve seen were the Abrams movies, which were okay I guess. I understand Strange New Worlds is a prequel to the original series, is it worth it to watch the original series after I finish it? Are there any series to avoid?
I really feel like the quality of the property began to decline after the TNG crew started making movies. Everything (both on TV and the Big Screen) started to thoroughly suck starting with Insurrection. After that point, it’s easier to name what I liked than it is to name what I disliked. I liked the first reboot movie. I liked the first couple seasons of SNW. That’s about it.
Not to say the eras that I liked were free of dogs. I, V and Generations are all pretty terrible. TNG Seasons 1-2 were not great. The Way to Eden exists, lol.
My biggest gripe is so much crap got made in this modern era. They’re able to do things much faster now. They really hurt a property that imo was already dragging by piling on so much dogshit.
My biggest hope is that Star Trek gets something made that manages to do for it what Andor did for Star Wars.
For me it’s TNG, DS9, and Voyager in that order. I’m sure many people will include TOS…while I respect it, I personally couldn’t get into it.
Are there any series to avoid?
That’s something to decide after watching them all ;)
There’s a few movies I’d avoid, like Section 31.
That crap actually got made?
Yes. It’s…not great.
Yes I’m planning on watching most if not all of them! I just didn’t want to miss self-references and want to understand the good bits to laugh at the bits that aren’t so good (happens with any long-running show)
DS9 is my favorite, but TNG is super important for setting the theme.
Agree. DS9 is my favorIte Trek for being in conversation with TNG. And, to be totally real here, Battlestar Galactica was created by a Trek show runner and is also deeply in conversation with Trek. No reason to be docrinaire. Also on that note, The Orville is pretty much TNG in so many ways.
I’ll also throw Babylon 5 in the mix if you don’t mind non-utopian fiction.
Bab 5 isn’t really related to Trek at all in my mind. Heck, some of the new Trek properties aren’t related to Trek but in name.
So TNG first up, got it!
also ignore anyone who says skip season one. don’t. there are a few things there that you need to know for later seasons and honestly, it’s not that bad.
Ay ay, my plan is to watch it and just shrug off the bad bits. I’m usually able to take something from media most people call bad (even if I agree), because sometimes a good actor saves bad writing or vice versa or there’s a good bit of set design or worldbuilding. Trek sets such a rich world that I don’t mind the occasional ‘bad’ episode
you’re in for a treat then. oh man I wish I could experience Star Trek again for the first time, especially TNG and DS9. I’m insanely jealous of you right now.
It’s pretty bad lol, but not in a bad way if that makes sense. The actors just hadn’t found their roles yet, and the writers hadn’t figured out how to use the characters. But it’s all worth watching so you can appreciate what it becomes.
Definitely TNG is where to start.
Honestly, as a sci-fi nerd who has watched The Original Series (and many others) and loved it, it is rough. It’s very much a product of it’s time and you can see and feel that in everything. Costumes, scripts, acting, sets, everything. For example, the below image is an actual alien from the original series, as it appeared in the show.
Now, if you can enjoy the camp and enjoy the show for what it is, then sure, give it a shot, but just know going in what you’re getting into.
Don’t forget it was on a tight budget. I think it was the Official Encyclopaedia that had an article/interview with the costume lady, who told the actors often were scantily clad due to limited money for shopping on the market, not necessarily because hot.
Oh I don’t mean to attack the show or anything, it’s very understandable why it is what it is and it certainly led to a lot of great shows and stories that we all love. Like I said I watched and loved it. I just wanted them to know that if they’re going in expecting more Strange New Worlds just older that they might be disappointed.
Haha it’s like the coconut horses in Monty Python!
It really is!
Thanks for the heads up! I saw it was from the 60s and figured it would feel super dated, but I’m a lover of camp so it might be up my alley. I just heard that Roddenberry was a raging antisemite which definitely doesn’t fit with the show’s writing from what I’ve seen, and was worried it would be present in TOS more. I can deal with a dog in a costume though hahaha
I haven’t looked into it super deep but my impression is some of the antisemitism was more anti religion in general and that targeted the Jews because they are very central to American religion.
But whatever the truth about him, no, I don’t think it really showed up in the show. It feels very inclusive and truly utopian dreaming in many ways. There’s the classic sci-fi trope episodes about looking beyond physical characteristics or dogma and judging a person based on who they are.
If you like camp then for sure give it a shot, just don’t feel bad about stopping part way through if you change your mind either.
On the plus side literal Nazis get punched in one episode
It’s good it doesn’t show up on the show. He seemed like a reddit atheist stuck in the 1960s. Always down for punching Nazis though hell yeah
I would avoid Discovery entirely. Personally, Voyager and the first two seasons of Enterprise are my favourites, but I do recommend watching The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine first. Regarding the Original Series, I’d go for a list of best rated episodes and then watch the movies (you can skip the first one, though). There is a lot of criticism about newer Trek in general, but I absolutely recommend watching Prodigy after Voyager and save Lower Decks for when you watched most of the other shows. Otherwise you will miss out on many fun references.
So TNG -> DS9 -> Voyager -> Enterprise -> Prodigy would be a good order?
sure?
If you want to speed up the process, the best of TNG is seasons 3-5, it skips the weird early stuff and the later season “we’re running out of ideas” stuff.
I can only speak for myself, but I doubt there’s anything wrong with that order. You can easily skip the first half of TNG season one to avoid some very bad episodes, but apart from that TNG is very solid.
Contrary to many other opinions, I did enjoy the TNG movies with the exception of Nemesis.
I would recommend you make up your own mind about Discovery. It gets a lot of hate for being very different than other Star Trek, but if you take it on its own it can be enjoyable, and it’s visually gorgeous to watch. It also feeds into Academy, which has similar criticisms, but again you should watch them and see if you like them, don’t let strangers’ hate keep you from something you might end up loving. I’m a traditional Trekkie, but I find a lot to like in the new shows.
But otherwise, yeah, that order is good. Save Lower Decks for last to catch all the jokes and fan service.
I’ll give it a whirl at some point!
The ones I’ve seen, in order from favorite to least favorite:
- TNG
- Lower Decks
- SNW
- The Orville*
- DS9
- TOS
- Voyager
- Discovery
Discovery’s the only one I really didn’t like. I knew in 2 episodes I didn’t like it. There’s really nothing you need to avoid preemptively.
You can watch them in any order, but watching at least one episode of TOS might give you some good context for SNW. And likewise watching some TNG/DS9 would give good context for what Lower Decks is building from. Lower Decks is mostly a parody of the TNG/DS9/Voyager set.
TNG probably the most popular one for people to reference, so is a good pick if you want to fit in with Trekkie culture. (DS9 too.)
Wow, SNW over DS9? Hot take.
We’re all allowed our opinions, strange though they may be!
Voyager , fuck haters.
Voyager and DS9 are my pref
But it’s fun to have seen TNG before hand
I feel like you need to watch TOS, just to understand Kirk, Spock, Bones, Uhura, and Scotty. Also, how so many tropes came into being, like red shirts, and transporters, and time travel, etc. Why some of the props and control panels look the way they do, why there’s a handle in the turbo lift. There are references and call-backs dating back 60 years to the original series, and you’ll miss them if you don’t watch it.
But, not only in the ST universe, so many other Sci-Fi media reference TOS and the rest.
Don’t miss The Orville, either.
I think at some point TOS is a needed watch, even after getting into TNG some. There’s a lot of good stories and background there. But TNG is fine for a start, as it began assuming little to no knowledge of TOS from viewers then, trying to reboot the series. Like any series, the first season has some so-so episodes as they try to figure out the show and characters, but most aren’t so bad as to say skip entirely, as usually there’s some development that will be used later. TNG is a well rounded show, with DS9 and VOY being more nuanced plots that drive their story.
Discovery I wouldn’t say avoid, but I never got pulled into it from various clips I’ve seen to care too much about it. Maybe because of the time travel stuff and how much they changed of “canon” things for me. Same issue I have with the Abrams movies, the casting was spot-on, terrible job and acting, but the stories… meh. And they touched the real canon that I live for with Star Trek, the ship. Way too much wrong with it. But the first scene from the 2009 movie, and the hook that gets Kirk to join Starfleet, yeah, that was pretty good writing, even if it broke earlier lore.
Star Trek TOS novel Kirk though… he’s a legend. The good writers knew how to build depth to their characters, and none of the visual media, even Shatner, can touch book Kirk.
I’ve felt that with SNW a little bit, the time travel stuff felt a little… disjoint? As someone who doesn’t have context for the entire show, I understood they were playing with past story hooks (like that episode when Pike would start a war with the Romulans in the future ergo he needs to let Kirk become captain eventually). I don’t know if that is changing canon or explaining it though. Definitely giving TOS a go given the feedback here, probably a little later on in my journey though.
I actually didn’t might that particular episode, since it feeds into the whole idea of Kirk and who he is as a captain, and the logical idea of a more peaceful captain like Pike making things worse. And Pike thanks to Discovery is built all on him knowing his future and pushing things because of it, so kind of hard for it to avoid time stuff. Overall and not just in Trek, it’s hard to do time travel plots well, and too often is used as an easy route to fix things.
Time travel done well - TOS - The City on the Edge of Forever - but don’t watch it until you’ve watched a few other episodes to understand the Kirk - Spock - McCoy relationship, because in the end it’s about that, and not time travel itself.
Yes!
Consider starting with the TOS movies. They’re a great introduction to the original cast, using a higher budget and better writing that the show. They’re set after TOS, but don’t require you to know anything about it to watch them. The quality of the movies follows the playground rhyme “first the worst, second the best”.
My personal favourite series, by a country mile, is Lower Decks. You are on for an absolute treat whenever you decide to start on them. Unlike the others, though, Lower Decks massively rewards familiarity with other Star Trek series. The more of them you watch before picking it up, the more you will get out of it.
Watch them all, in chronological order, then decide for yourself
