I have long held that Season 5, Episode 2 of is the best episode to “test” if you’ll like Star Trek or not. It is a generally well-liked and well-reviewed episode, but more than that, from both a story and a character standpoint it is representative of what your average Star Trek episode is generally about.
So, my recommendation is to watch that one episode and report back.
Ooooh! I really like that idea! Several people that I know started to watch TNG and just couldn’t get into it. And I feel like part of it is the wacky crustiness of the first few episodes of the first season. So, I second this idea of diving right into the core of the show!
Okay. It’s not “Q” weird, but that is absolutely a weird episode. The whole “speaking in metaphors” thing is sort of a ridiculous concept as you’d have to have a language in place to even develop the metaphors. I loved how “out there” that episode is, and it is genuinely thought provoking, but if that was the first episode that I ever saw, I’m not sure I ever would have watched another one.
But I do like the concept of checking it out given a single episode. I’d rather recommend Season 5, Episode 18 (Cause and Effect), Season 2’s The Measure of Man.
Which numbers do you mean, the numbers of people who enjoy it or the numbers of people who are willing to pay Paramount a monthly fee to watch it? Because the latter is the problem, and they think this will save them money, but they are fucked. Paramount Plus does not have enough programming for a lot of people, myself included, to justify their monthly fee. Their selection is paltry. I love Star Trek, but not enough for that.
This was always a problem and something that I fear is going to curse streaming until it dies. Everyone saw how well Netflix did for itself, and wants a cut of the pie, failing to realize that Netflix’s success was entirely because the pie was all in one place for people to enjoy.
All these smaller streaming apps that fizzle out after 2-5 years would have made more money for themselves if they had just negotiated out licensing deals with Netflix or any other major shareholder. Exclusivity is anti-consumer and sooner or later anti-consumer tactics will kill a product or service as soon as something better comes a long or the consumers decide they really don’t need it.
I started with Voyager way back in the day because that’s what was on TV at the time. I picked it up just fine. There isn’t really a wrong way to start watching. If you just jump in wherever, at most you might miss out on some Easter eggs or on the impact of some callbacks, but for the most part the idea of Star Trek is so infused in pop culture you’ll pick up most of it.
I love TOS, but it seems like a major chunk of Trek fandom has either skipped it or only watched an episode or two. If you want to get to know the TOS characters but can’t get into the show, start with the second Star Trek movie and watch through the 6th movie before starting on TNG.
TNG starts out pretty rough. It has some issues finding it’s voice, with many initial episodes being recycled or heavily inspired by TOS episodes. It has good early episodes, but often feels “off”. Good episodes throughout the first two seasons, but it becomes consistently solid in the third. TNG set the baseline for modern Trek.
DS9 comes after TNG. It’s very good right from the start, although it really, really gets good when the more overarching storylines pick up.
Voyager starts part way through DS9, but it really does it’s own thing.
ENT is a prequel. People are ultra harsh on the first two seasons, which I think is somewhat overkill. The first two seasons have some bad episodes, some good episodes and a good number of “meh”. Season 3 is an attempt at grimdark Star Trek, which is a divisive taste. Season 4 is genuinely really great. The writers finally figured out their niche.
Lower decks is such a fantastic exploration of the universe of star trek.
It adds more than its own isolated contribution to the federation universe!
Literally the embodiment of star fleet.
I had written so much more, vut it van be simplified…
Voyager eventually had to come home, every star trek series has had it’s final goal.
Every ship has a lower deck crew of unsung hero’s - that’s at least 6 ships to explore (maybe more, maybe less… I don’t mean to faux pas). Never mind significant engagements (is movies)
I recommend starting with Next Generation, or the original series.
After that, it’s a jumping point to any of the other series you want to try, and any of the movies. NextGen season one is a bit clunky, but it gets much better from season two onward.
Be forewarned that:
Even numbered Star Trek movies are much better than odds.
Not everyone likes Star Trek Discovery as its tone is completely different than most of the other shows.
Season two of Picard is a stinker. Skip it.
Original series has some cheesy episodes, but you can learn to love them in the same way that people love old Doctor who episodes.
Firstly, that website is cancer and should be avoided.
Secondly this clearly what we’ve been waiting on. Not a brand new bit of work but another origin story that will be shoehorned into the existing cannon.
Edit: Also, on most systems you can assign a menu to a keystroke combo. On my Mac, CMD-SHIFT-R for reader, CMD-SHIFT-E for Translate to English, etc. Not even worth reaching for a mouse these days…
Tilly was a bit too much with Raynor. I get she wants him to connect but also he is a commanding officer and he got the gist of many crew members in a short time. Maybe this is supposed to be a joke on how much emotional talking there is in Disco?
Grey/Gray(?) is a bit annoying. Basically forcing it out of Adira to break up. I guess that means no more of them going forward. Hope Adira finds someone else to be happy with.
I am glad they talked about the fact the Trill dude could have just given away the position of the tech instead of sending them off on the riddles. But honestly, I don’t get how those scientists had all these precautions and then still felt like, yes, some day the universe will be ready and not abuse this tech. Destruction of the tech makes a lot more sense. But maybe they’ll clear that up.
Edit:oh and wtf was that scene at the end in the caves. The actually nice monologue but all the guardians and Adira just weirdly standing there while the monologue is going. Then only at the end we see they released that symbiont into the pool, like no explanation at all what that is for. Is it going to die? Is that always done? Did the host just die during the last minutes of the show? Give some background please!
To your edit: It seems like some cut content that would better explain Kalzara’s parting words “Thank you, for now I can rest,” the Tilly/Raynor scene, and hastily followed by the pool ceremony. I can get unexplained world building, as with Mad Max: Fury Road (the random mud stilt walkers, for example). 30 seconds of “I’ve fulfilled my sworn duty and will no longer be joined” might have sufficed. This was “Reel 3 missing” kind of messy. Still intrigued by the overall story, just a little let down by the execution.
After four seasons, Discovery still can’t figure out how to pace a full season arc. The A-plot was a miniature Humanity on Trial story which Trek has done to death, and the rest was filler.
Jinaal was a fun character and Wilson Cruz did a great job with him. “This guy really works out” made me laugh. Beyond that, sheesh, what a snooze.
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