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What "third generation" Trek is worth watching?

I started with Star Trek after watching the Star Trek (2009) movie in college. After that I went wild watching everything I could since I was young with loads of time. I watched most of TOS, all of TNS, all of DS9, all of Voyager, all of Enterprise and all of the movies. I then stopped since I didn't have the time and wasn't ready to download a new app to watch Discovery.

I am interested in watching some of the new shows from Discovery onwards but don't know where to start and what are worth watching. I no longer have hours to watch TV or movies anymore and want to prioritize series on an easy to find streaming service. What is worth watching and what is worth skipping? Is it worth while to watch them all the way chronically or just watch one series and then another one.

47_Alpha_Tango ,
@47_Alpha_Tango@lemmy.world avatar

Watch Picard Season 3, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks and possibly Prodigy.

Avoid all of Discovery and the first two seasons of Picard. They are the worst Star Trek has ever been and seem to exist for no other reason than to pander to the “we need to be represented” crowd.

cmdr_nova ,
@cmdr_nova@hackers.town avatar

@47_Alpha_Tango @dumples oof bro, you know you're not on Reddit right?

allflooby ,
@allflooby@retro.pizza avatar

@47_Alpha_Tango

@dumples

I love Discovery. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations...Trek should aspire to that. Also...as a queer person I appreciate seeing people like me in Trek.

47_Alpha_Tango ,
@47_Alpha_Tango@lemmy.world avatar

Discovery forces in representation for representations sake. It’s not relevant to the plot at all. Like did we really need two scenes explaining that there is a non binary character? No, no we didn’t.

porthos ,

I mean, some of them are inconsistent but they are all good and all of them are very much in the spirit of star trek.

Rainhall ,

A lot of people in these comments sleeping on Prodigy. I think it's very good and would probably put it behind only Strange New Worlds. For me, the start of the season is just meh and feels more Star Wars Kidsy, but the season just grows and grows and has a real heart, real drama, and action.

pinwurm ,
@pinwurm@lemmy.world avatar

If you’re going to start a new Trek, I seriously recommend The Orville.

It’s a love letter to TNG, VOY, DS9 era Trek. Better in many ways.

It starts as a goofy comedy and the first few episodes are kind of.. okay. But by the third episode they find their footing and it just gets better and better.

The third (and possibly final) season is up there with the best of Trek. No bad episodes, and a much more serious tone. The show even has actors from ST series like Penny Jerald (Kassidy Yates in DS9) as main cast, cameos from Robert Picardo (Doctor on VOY), Tim Russ (Tuvok), John Billingsley (Dr Phlox from ENT). Also Brannon Braga produces/writes on it and Jonathan Frakes directs some episodes.

If you want to continue with TNG/VOY/DS9 era - Lower Decks is my personal favorite new Star Trek property. It’s a cartoon geared to a more adult audience, very funny - and very well written.

Strange New Worlds is the best of the new live action series. It’s episodic ‘alien of the week’ kinda vibe. It’s a spin-off from Discovery. It’s a prequel to TOS.

Discovery is a different approach. It’s season-long story archs and follows one main protagonists’ journey. It does become more about the crew later on. It had a very weak first two episodes - way too much lens flare and shaky cam. It gets a little better after but Season 1 was fairly weak. Season 2 is a huge improvement (and is the precursor to Strange New Worlds). You could start there if you read up about the characters and plot points.

Season 3 is their best - and is practically a whole different show. They flip the entire setting and premise and introduce some new characters. You could also start here if you do some light reading. Season 4 is a continuation of Season 3 - not as strong, but still solid.

I should also mention that Discovery is the least Star Treky-feeling show. It’s kinda in its own world.

Picard is pretty much fan fiction.
Some of the new characters are fun (I like Rios a lot), but the writing doesn’t do any of them any justice. Season 1 and 2 are pretty bad. If you don’t have time to kill, skip it.

Season 3 is actually the show many fans wanted. It’s pretty much like a long-format TNG sequel mini series. It has some plot holes, but it’s a real joy to watch and puts a nice bow around the series. And around TNG.

I_Hate_Blackbirds ,

I'm not a big fan of DIS S1 but I'd still watch it for context. Plus I absolutely loved the performances from both Michelle Yeoh and Jason Isaacs - Isaacs in particular makes S1 for me.

zloubida ,
@zloubida@lemmy.world avatar

Almost all series of the third generation are serialized, so it’s harder to just watch episodes separately. Most are best watched one after the other.

  • I’m not the biggest fan of Discovery, but still I think that most fans are too harsh with it. It’s not the best Trek, but it has its moments and grew better and better. I wouldn’t advise to begin with that, though.
  • Picard was good. The first season is maybe a little too unoriginal, but I’d say that it’s a very solid season until the second half of the last episode. The second season is good, and the third is a nostalgia fest (and I loved every second of it). It may be a good entry point.
  • Lower Decks is fun and offer a very different point of view on Star Trek lore. If you like “classic” Trek but are ready to gently mock it, watch it first. I’m in love with this show.
  • Prodigy is for children, and its noticeable. It’s a good show, but still, a good show for children. If that doesn’t bother you, go for it, but pass if it’s not the case.
  • Strange New Worlds is the best one. Simply that. It would be my advice, and, as the show is almost episodic, you can watch it taking your time.
T156 ,

I personally think that they’re all worth watching, but it is worth keeping in mind that they’re mostly built to appeal to different audiences, so they’re not all everyone’s cup of tea (and some of them have/had production issues that did them no favours).

The idea of the current age of Trek being “Trek for everyone”, so that instead of the same show and concepts being repeated, there would be different shows, trying their own things, aiming for different audiences.

Discovery, for example, seems to have been aimed more for people coming off of the 2009 movies/contemporary sci-fi, which has a bit more in the way of melodrama, and action. It also seems to have been something of an experimental testing ground for what Trek could be, since the show tried all sorts of things.

Meanwhile, Lower Decks is aimed for older fans who want something lighter, with its heavy doses of references to older Trek, and much more comedic style.

Prodigy was aimed at a younger audience, letting them get into Trek on their own terms, with a modern show, compared to the Funimation-based TAS, which is much more dated.

Picard seems to be a bit for “passing the torch”, as it were (basically a repeat of what Enterprise tried, but in a slightly better way), as a way to integrate both the prior Trek series, and the current ones into one smoother, cohesive whole, opening up potential issues, and setting the ground for new concepts, that later series can dive into.

Strange New Worlds is basically a modern take on “RetroTrek”, putting down a Captain of the Enterprise, and the standard 5-year mission-type plots, and is probably for people who wanted more of the old shows, but with modern effects and things instead.

onionbaggage ,

Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds are the best.

Parts of Discovery are good... Parts aren't tho.

readbeanicecream ,
@readbeanicecream@kbin.social avatar

@dumples I enjoyed the first season of Strange New Worlds. Also, first episode of the second season was pretty good.

buckykat ,

Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, Prodigy, and The Orville.

LibraryLass ,

IMO, all of it.

In terms of general agreement, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, and season 3 of Picard are generally the most well-regarded projects to date.

Mister_Haste ,
@Mister_Haste@kbin.social avatar

I agree! I have enjoyed all new Trek. I think some shows, like Strange New Worlds are better than others, but overall it's all been worthwhile for me.

LibraryLass ,

Me too.

be_excellent_to_each_other ,
@be_excellent_to_each_other@kbin.social avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    End0fLine ,
    @End0fLine@startrek.website avatar

    I like when somebody else says what I was thinking way better than I ever could. I personally enjoyed each and every one of the new series. I think each one of them bring new and fun ideas to the universe, though I'm not saying they are perfect in any way.

    paradox2011 ,

    That’s a tough one. I think Strange New Worlds is the must see of new star trek. Unfortunately the plot lines for SNW S1 are linked with stuff that happened in Discovery S2 and of course Discovery S2 is linked to S1 a bit as well. Maybe try watching an episode or two of discovery S1, but the greatest pieces of new trek writing are Disco S2 and SNW in my opinion, well worth the watch. I think the only way to watch them is the paramount+ streaming service, but I could be wrong.

    StillPaisleyCat ,
    @StillPaisleyCat@startrek.website avatar

    The context of The Cage / TOS The Menagerie 1&2 provides the foundation.

    julieofthespirits ,
    @julieofthespirits@kolektiva.social avatar

    @dumples so far, Strange New Worlds is the best of the New Trek, so far it's been all killer no filler

    Both Picard and Discovery have high highs and low lows, so your mileage with them will vary

    dumples OP ,
    @dumples@kbin.social avatar

    I think I will wait on Picard and Discovery then. I would love to get hooked and the good shows first and then fill in

    McBinary ,
    @McBinary@kbin.social avatar

    I'm gonna go the other way and recommend Discovery before Strange New Worlds. Canonically, SNW happens after Discovery and even refers to it at times. Also, people like to hate on Discovery but I found Discovery so much better than most modern Trek. It brought dramatic cohesion to the ST universe and abandoned the silly episodic crap that had no ties with the episodes before or after it.

    LibraryLass ,

    By and large episodic is what Star Trek fans want. At least to some extent.

    tymon ,

    As a purist, I’d say watch them all and in release order, but if you really have to be choosy with your time, here’s a list of things you can skip (in my opinion):

    • Star Trek Into Darkness
    • Discovery (whole show)
    • Picard S1 and S2
    • Short Treks

    I know suggesting skipping Discovery outright is going to be seen as… extreme, but I suggest doing so only if time is a crucial factor. It’s a dizzyingly uneven show with the lowest points of quality in all of Trek. However, it also has some incredible highs and some truly great characters, so if you find the time to watch it, you should. And I know I’m in the minority on this, but I found Short Treks to be unwatchable.

    On the flip side, Lower Decks is incredible, and Strange New Worlds is good. The third season of Picard is excellent. Prodigy is a little weird but it’s got a lot of strength. Star Trek Beyond is also a surprisingly good movie.

    LibraryLass ,

    It’s a dizzyingly uneven show with the lowest points of quality in all of Trek.

    Dude I’ve seen TNG season 1 and Enterprise seasons 1-2. I know we both know it can get worse.

    beefcat ,
    @beefcat@kbin.social avatar

    TOS also has some truly awful episodes, but it's pretty easy to ignore them.

    I think the low points of DSC and PIC stick out for two reasons:

    1. Recency bias. It's been 15 years since I last watched Code of Honor, and I rarely even think about it except when it's time to make memes about season 1.
    2. Serialization. You can watch TNG, skip bad episodes like Code of Honor or Sub Rosa, and not really lose out on anything. But if you watch DSC and skip a bad episode, you blow a giant gaping hole in the over-arching story.
    nonsense ,

    Definetly give Lower Decks a chance. Strange New Worlds is really good too imo. Its worth noting that it is a spinoff of Discovery. Specifically season 2 I think.

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