Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

Star Trek - :up::up::up:

The Next Generation - :shrug: Some good eps, some bad ones, with a mostly bland crew.

Deep Space Nine - :banana::rock2::clap:

Voyager - :down::down::down:

Enterprise - :mad::chainsaw: Though, I did give up halfway through season two.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

I don't want to be a thread crapper as I have been a Trek fan in the past, but...

I seriously wonder if anyone who says that TNG got significantly better after S1 & 2 have actually watched through the series lately. I started watching it again with my wife a couple months ago - we watched a LOT of it in a short time and we're up to a few episodes into S6 - and seasons I thought I remembered as being stellar were riddled with boring, bland episodes with ridiculous plots. It was a real eye opener to me - I don't know if I can watch that series through again.

Q still rocks though.

I admit I've always been a fan of the original series - it somewhat surprises me when new viewers focus more on the sets and dated costumes than the plots which have more true SF sensibilities in the best ones than a lot of what followed in later series. I was always bummed that TNG didn't solicit more scripts from real SF writers like TOS did - it had a couple involved at the beginning I believe.

DS9 - boring 1st couple seasons - but it definitely works better as a show for me once the main series arc kicks into full swing. One of the things I've been pointing out to my wife as we go through TNG is the severe whitewashing that the federation does when it talks about how mankind has evolved - and I was glad that this show at least hints that there's more going on behind the scenes. It's a darker show and I never really felt that DS9 and Babylon 5 couldn't coexist together.

Voyager - I watched the show - less said the better

Enterprise - bland and boring for all four seasons. Couldn't finish it the first time it aired - I don't know why I forced myself to sit through it later on.

Michael

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

We are Hugh.

The Hugh influence wasn't anything more than a Cube's worth of Borg. IMO, it was nothing like an entire Quadrant of Borg like Voyager. :shrug:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_(Voyager_episode)

If Braga calls it a stinker, you know it is. :lol:

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

The films Star Trek IV: the Voyage Home and Star Trek: First Contact are probably the most newbie-accessible entry points to the original cast and the Next Gen cast, in my opinion. I'm not necessarily saying they are the best, but they are good for jumping in and getting to know the characters while still being fun for mainstream audiences who think 'Bajoran' is a member of ABBA. :)

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

Why don't you just recommend "Spock's Brain" from the original series while you're at it?

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

At least "Spock's Brain" is entertaining (provided you have a box of wine handy...)

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

Brain and brain, what is brain?!

I don't know what brainee is talking about, Spock's Brain is a great comedy episode.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

Which episode of Voyager was about the piece of space cheese that nearly destroyed the ship? That's my favorite.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

I consider myself more of a fan of the Trek feature films. I have watched a few episodes here and there of TNG. I recall watching the Pilot and a few eps here and there and the series finale.

I would love to revisit TNG on DVD, but the sets have always been a little too pricey and the complete series set still hovers at about $200.

Wasn't interested enough at the time to get into DS9, Voyager or Enterprise.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

Please don't lump DS9 in with Voyager and Enterprise. DS9 is amazing TV, probably my favorite series of all-time. The character development, plots and writing were top-notch. I think anyone who appreciates good TV needs to watch Deep Space 9.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

Bias much? ;)


But you are correct.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

This

The less said about Voyager and Enterprise the better. Those 2 shows were responsible for killing Star Trek.

DS9 isnt just a great Star Trek show. Its a great television show period.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

I will be the dissenting voice then and say I really liked Voyager. I think it does take a dip in quality, from the heights of DS9 and TNG, but I think it was a really fun action adventure show. I think it's the kind of show you don't go out of your way, but if it fits in your schedule (and it's being ran in syndication), it's a fine way to kill an hour.

I don't think it's half as bad as people make it out to be.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

My girlfriend and I went through the entire series earlier this year and I totally agree with you. Seasons 1 & 2 are alright, but they feel really cheap and 80s. Seasons 3 through 5 are pretty solid, but Season 6 drops off in quality big time, and about 2/3 of Season 7 is pretty mediocre. We actually ended up skipping several episodes throughout the series just because of how unwatchable they were.

Anyway, I'd imagine that anyone trying to get into Star Trek nowadays might have a hard time starting with TNG for all the above reasons. I still love the series for its nostalgic value though. Never did get into TOS and I stuck with DS9 and started on Voyager but eventually just lost interest in both. Never gave Enterprise a chance.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

I agree it is not that bad. My biggest problem with the show was how inconsistent it was. For every good episode there was a clunker. You never knew what you were going to get. That said, I do own the DVDs so I can revisit the episodes I truly loved. There were some definite great moments.

Enterpise, on the other hand, I found a chore to watch while it first aired. Even though I am a huge Trek fan I have never had any desire to own the DVDs or ever watch it again.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

I recently have been catching some TNG reruns in late night and yeah some of those eps are real clunkers. I think where TNG shines is the cast. I dont think any incarnation of Trek had a cast with the chemistry that TNG had.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

At least we did get this hilarious Agony Booth review from that episode.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

A rule of thumb to remember is that aside from Star Trek: The Original Series (where the 1st season was great), the 1st season in all of the spin-off series was the worst season for that particular show. Definitely watch the pilot episode of any of the spin-off series just to get your bearings, but then skip past the rest of the 1st season to get to the later, better seasons ASAP, otherwise you might lose interest before you got to the good stuff.

And if you like story arcs like Battlestar Galactica had, I think the best story arcs on Star Trek were the "Dominion" storyline on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the "Xindi" storyline on Star Trek: Enterprise so definitely seek out the episodes featuring those storylines.

Although there's been a lot of hate towards Star Trek: Enterprise in this thread, I think most are from people who stopped watching before it got good (I was one of those until this year), which started getting good late in Season 2 and continued through the end of the show (which was only on for 4 seasons). And I personally think someone whose knowledge of Star Trek is only the new movie would probably like Star Trek: Enterprise best of all the series because it had some amazing scenes like this in it:

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Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

The fourth season was like bad fanfic. I mean, the Tholian Web is connected to Mirror Mirror? The Klingon forehead mystery is connected to both Khan and Data? I'm surprised they didn't reveal that Riker is descended from Peter Kirk or canonize the "Trelaine is a retarded Q" idea from the novels.

Voyager at least had the merit of being memorably bad. Enterprise was so bland that I usually forgot the plot before the preview for next week's episode aired.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

I am a big star wars fan but I have to say the original star trek is the only way to go. I never liked any other spin off.

If there is no kirk or spock its just not star trek IMHO.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

I've enjoyed Star Trek a lot over the years, but if you're just now looking at it having seen the movie, keep this in mind: The shows are mostly older and will feel that way. TV has changed a lot--especially sci-fi TV in recent years. Many of the older shows have great mind-bending writing, but they also are acted and edited like 80s and 90s shows. Just something to keep in mind so you're not having too high expectations that they will move and feel like the recent Battlestar Galactica or Firefly.

Re: So I've never seen Star Trek...
 

But consider the alternate plan Geordi and Data proposed -- they basically wanted to show the Borg and Escher picture and drive them crazy because it's impossible for machines -- even machine people -- to recognize when a picture shows something that can't physically exist.