What's The Best?

[nickblack2010]

I love Star Trek as far as the movies go but I've never really seen any of the tv shows other than a few episodes here and there. Is it worth it to watch the episodes? And what's the best ones?

[jelgate]

Deep Space Nine

[maneth]

Depends on what you like I guess. Which is your favorite movie?

[Dixie_Vampiress]

Well personally I love every series. It's kind of a matter of personal preference. There's no universal "best". Each is different in their own way. But each is absolutely worth watching (believe me, I've seen every episode of every series). I'd say just watch a couple episodes and each and see which you think looks most promising. Just to warn you though, the original series is a bit different than the original series movies.

[blueray]

DS9!! I love how it gets somewhat serial at points (with the longest story arc in star trek history). It has great characters and is more of a darker show. and as for best episodes (the better question is what episodes aren't good).

p.s I do also like VOY and TNG but they aren't as good. and I haven't seen much of the original series and none of enterprise (but I'm thinking about give it a go).

[Snowman37]

I love Star Trek as far as the movies go but I've never really seen any of the tv shows other than a few episodes here and there. Is it worth it to watch the episodes? And what's the best ones?

I'd suggest beginning with the original show, Star Trek (1966-69). I'd also suggest saving "The Cage," the rejected pilot, for last. It's a lot of fun to finish the series and view it as, "This is how the show almost went down." If you start with the rejected pilot, you're going to see almost the whole episode again as recycled footage half way into the first season as part of "The Menagerie" two-parter. The show ended in '69, and no one saw "The Cage" until the 80's. Whether you go with broadcast or production order (most people prefer production order), I'd start with the official pilot and end with the rejected pilot as a "lost episode." After you're done with the series, there's six feature films that reunite the actors/characters from the series on an upgraded Enterprise. I know you've seen the movies, but they'll have more depth once you've seen the TV series.

If the show is just too dated, too cheesy; start with The Next Generation (1987-94) and the subsequent movies.

[Klenotka]

I love Star Trek as far as the movies go but I've never really seen any of the tv shows other than a few episodes here and there. Is it worth it to watch the episodes? And what's the best ones?

I always recommend either DS9 or Enterprise. DS9 is more serialized and has a story-arc and some of the best characters. I usually skip first two seasons but I don´t think it´s a good thing for someone who hasn´t seen it

Enterprise, and I am in a minority here, is the best imo. It is a little more "modern", but with the story set before all the other Star Trek. It is suitable as a stand alone sci-fi (for just sci-fi fans) but can also help to introduce you into the ST world. However, characters and stories are not too trekkish. In the first season, yes, it is a typical Trek. But then they try to do it differently (they don´t use "reset" so when something happens in one episode, is mentioned three episodes later). I like character development, especially Archer, who comes from a peaceful explorer to basically a captain of a battleship in two seasons. It is a little darker, the first Enterprise is not as roomy as the other ships, it is not a super ship and also, Earth is virtually unknown so nobody really cares about exploring and meeting other species. There are some interesting moral dilemas as well.
Also, some of the known things in later series (red alert, prime directive, teleporation...) are either new, in development or non-existent. Especially the lack of the prime directive and the fact Enterprise is alone, far from Earth, makes it sometimes very appealing.

[Morbo]

If you want the real Star Trek experience, do this:

Watch a handful of episodes of the original series. I would suggest City on the Edge of Forever, The Trouble with Tribbles, the Tholian Web, Space Seed, Tomorrow is Yesterday, Balance of Terror, the Corbomite Maneuver, and maybe The Naked Time for fun.

Then watch movies 2, 3, 4, 6. (6 is my favorite)

Then watch TNG in its entirety.
Then watch DS9 in its entirety.
Voyager is optional.
Enterprise is optional.

You'll love TNG for it's similarity, yet updating, of the original series. It's campy, it's fun, it's interesting, and you'll instantly love the characters and stories.

Then you'll watch DS9, and understand that Star Trek has an amazing dark side, and you'll understand why DS9 is easily, far and away, the best Trek has to offer.

Voyager is plagued with terrible actors and acting, and a bunch of dumb stories, but, it's worth watching after the fact just for fun. There are some great episodes, but it doesn't stand up to TNG or DS9.

Enterprise is cringe-worthy most of the time.

[Snowman37]

To help Nickblack2010, here's a chronological timeline for the franchise...

Star Trek (the 23rd century)
Star Trek "The Cage" (the rejected pilot, recycled in ST's "The Menagerie")
Star Trek (original series - 3 seasons)
The Motion Picture (The first feature film, heavily criticized, but one of the best movies.)
The Wrath of Khan (sequel to "Space Seed")
The Search for Spock (immediate sequel to TWOK)
The Voyage Home (immediate sequel to TSFS)
The Final Frontier (a one-off movie, heavily criticized, but worth seeing)
The Undiscovered Country (the grand movie finale)

Star Trek (the 24th century)
The Next Generation (Seasons 1-5)
The Next Generation (Season 6) / Deep Space Nine (Season 1)
The Next Generation (Season 7) / Deep Space Nine (Season 2)
Deep Space Nine (Season 3) / Voyager (Season 1) / Generations (TOS / TNG crossover film)
Deep Space Nine (Season 4) / Voyager (Season 2)
Deep Space Nine (Season 5) / Voyager (Season 3) / First Contact (2nd TNG movie)
Deep Space Nine (Season 6) / Voyager (Season 4)
Deep Space Nine (Season 7) / Voyager (Season 5) / Insurrection (3rd TNG movie)
Voyager (Season 6&7)
Nemesis (4th & final TNG movie)

Star Trek (the 22nd century)
Enterprise (prequel TV series, aired after Voyager ended, lasted 4 seasons)
I recommend saving Enterprise for last, because that's how long-time viewers saw it. It also references a lot of previous TOS & TNG stories, events, and characters. It won't have the same effect if you watch the prequel show first. The finale will especially fall flat.

Star Trek (the 23rd century rebooted)
Star Trek (11th movie, released in 2009 - a soft reboot of the saga)

[Dale Volker]

I'd say you could start off watching Next Gen rather than the original. Everything will still make sense and I find Next Gen a lot easier to watch (for better quality etc).
DS9 is excellent. Definitely watch that. I've recently watched some
EVERYBODY on this forum pretty much hates Voyager but I for one, really like it, so give it a shot.
I have no idea about Enterprise but apparantly it's average.

[Snowman37]

EVERYBODY on this forum pretty much hates Voyager but I for one, really like it, so give it a shot.

Message board science-fiction geeks love to slam the show, because they nitpick it to death. The other Star Treks are just as flawed. Why VOY is singled out, I have no idea. I will say this, though. When the show was on, it was extremely popular with casual viewers.

[Dale Volker]

Message board science-fiction geeks love to slam the show, because they nitpick it to death. The other Star Treks are just as flawed. Why VOY is singled out, I have no idea. I will say this, though. When the show was on, it was extremely popular with casual viewers.

Thats nice to know. At least some on the forum have some respect for the show

[Klenotka]

I personally love Enterprise and it obviously isn´t loved either so there you go

[Snowman37]

Enterprise was a good show, but it suffered from...

• Rushed Production (Rick Berman wanted to spend a year or two developing the show)
• Creative Burnout (wouldn't have been an issue if Berman had been given time to develop the show)
• Audience Burnout (after fourteen years of Star Trek, people were bored with it)
• Lack of Studio & Network support (it was there for the first year, then completely gone)
• Studio Interference (Berman wanted to do a radically different prequel, the first season would have been set on Earth while the Enterprise's construction finishes.

It wasn't a bad show, it just had a lot going against it.

[Morbo]

that and it was on freaking UPN