Hello guys Ive never had any interest in the Star Trek franchise what so ever but I ended up watching the first episode of Voyager today and wanted to ask a question... Do all the different named series follow the same storyline e.g. Im not going to understand whats happening in Voyager until Ive watched Original, Next Generation and Deep Space Nine? Also if their not following the same storyline which one would you recommend to watch? (apologies if this sparks on argument )
No, there's no over-arching story connecting the different shows, so you can watch any series and understand what's going on. Voyager's the fourth series, so it incorporates a lot of elements introduced in the earlier shows, so watching them first might enhance the experience, but it's by no means essential. Enterprise might be a slight exception, since it's a prequel and towards the end it contains a lot of stuff designed to appeal to fans of the original series, but you can still watch it without having seen the other shows. You'll get plenty of different opinions on which show to watch, but The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine are my personal favourites.
Voyager was the first star trek I watched properly. I'd seen a few original and next gen but I hadn't really got into them. Voyager is still my fav but I like DS9 a lot too.
We can only give you our own personal views here, yours can & will differ in the end most likely. As for MYSELF, I recommend TOS-Remastered with new FX (Though many 3rd season eps lacked depth), TNG (mostly- some eps are *meh*- mostly in the last season, but a fantastic final episode!), and Voyager, however, Voyager is so hit & miss- for every great ep in the series, there is one *meh* one AND one *YAWN* one. Lots of gold if yer willin' to mine it, though. I also plan on getting the final season of Enterprise (season 4).
Ok thanks for opinions guys, I dont remember which channel it was I watched it on earlier I believe it was Virgin but theyve kind of ruined Voyager for me, I believe theyve been showing the seasons from the beginning and today they were showing the final two episodes followed by the first ever episode. Therefore I already know what happens in End Game parts 1 & 2 so kind of ruins the storyline for me. Ive had a look at the other shows and out of the others I recognise the majority of the cast in The Next Generation so might give that a look... I noticed that Michael Dorn is in Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, does this connect the two? Personally I think Ill have a look at the first season of The Next Generation see what I think of it... Ive seen there's a great number of movies around the franchise, do those storylines lead away from the ones on the TV Show or are these important to watch also... E.g. If I watch the Next Generation will I have to watch the movies with the Next Generation cast which I understand are Generations, First Contact, Insurrection and Nemesis.
Welcome to the Trek BBS and to the Star Trek universe at large. There are a few overriding themes such as the Maquis which was carried over to DS9 and to Voyager. There are characters like Q which appear in the 3 24th Century series (TNG, DS9, VOY) and there is species development which has evolved throughtout the series such as the Klingons, the Vulcans and the Bajoran/Cardassian dynamic. There is also advancement in technology throughout 3 centures. So to get a fuller understanding it might be good to start at the very beginning with the Original Series where all the basic concepts began and proceed from there. However, there are very few episodes from all the series that need a broad knowledge of Star Trek as a whole to be enjoyed. Some of the story arcs in the final seasons of DS9 might as well as the last season of Enterprise; but on a whole most episodes can be enjoyed as stand-alones or at least they give enough information within the epsiode itself to provide the neccessary backstory if needed. If you're interested, I have written a comprehensive Star Trek chronology I would be glad to share with you if you wish. Granted it is VERY inclusive and contains a lot of minutae but it does have synopsis of all the episodes and how they tie in with each other and the travels and adventues of the characters throughout the centures. It might pique your interest in the other shows and can answer any questions about backstory and Trek history that you might have. Just let me know. Again, welcome and enjoy. Keep on Trekkin'
Thankyou, Ill start to watch one Im just not sure which yet. Should I watch the movies aswell depending on which era Im watching.
alexlloyd, There is no story connecting the different shows to each other. Furthermore, none of the shows have stories within themselves that connect the episodes to each other. Except for DS9, which is the only Trek show with an ongoing story that continues from episode to episode within the series. In other words, you are worrying about a continuity that isn't there. The writers never wrote it into the shows (again, other than DS9), so it doesn't exist. You can watch any episodes of the non-DS9 shows in random order and it will make no difference at all. I recommend to watch DS9, because since it is the only one with a continuing story, it is by far the best show, and also the only show that has character development, something that cannot be done in shows with no continuing story.
Enterprise also did that in its third season and even Voyager made a token attempt in its second season before abandoning that sort of thing.
well, not really. it umm, connects the two in that Dorn appears in both, but he like, just shows up on DS9 after TNG ends. Colm Meaney is also in both. unfortunately, he drags Keiko with him to DS9. umm, I'd suggest watchin' the Original Series movies in order after watchin' TOS. welcome to the board and the Trekverse, alexlloyd! have some nachos...