Since I gave more info to Louise...I'll tell my opinions about the series I have watched. Can't say anything about TOS as I have never watched it but have seen the 6 TOS movies The Next Generation: The series was great and I loved it. Great episodes. I plan on getting the DVD box sets. TNG is my first most favorite. Deep Space Nine: Well...I didn't watch all of season 1 and 2 as I didn't see those two seasons very interesting to me as I found those 2 seasons kinda boring (don't hurt me lol) but I did see most of season 3 and watched all of season 4, 5, 6 and 7. The series to me and to many of us, its a decent series. Great in some ways...mainly for season 5 to 7 more. Perhaps I should get the dvd box sets for this series to give season 1 and 2 another try and watch all of it, and yes, all the seasons too lol DS9 is my third favorite series. Voyager: Voyager is my 2nd most favorite trek series. The series was great and so on. Great episodes there and there. I plan on getting the dvd box sets for this series too. As for the TOS movies... All TOS movies were great except that The Motion Pictures and The Voyage Home...in my opinion were decent/alright movies I loved all 4 TNG movies. First Contact was the best TNG movie by the way...you'll enjoy that one the most.
"aliens that look just like humans but with clay bumps" And absolutely incorrect on that point where TOS is concerned. They just look human!
Unless you get to, say, Babel, and think "well THAT sucked." In that case, skip away! But if you like Babel, then you might as well see em all. Rest assured that there's little in the first season that you need to watch simply for the sake of the storyline. The good episodes I mentioned are also the storyline-important episodes. The show doesn't get into serialization bigtime till later seasons. If paint drying was as exciting as DS9, I'd be buying stock in Sherman-Williams! People could throw away their TVs and just slap on a new coat every evening. The only reason to watch TNG first is so you can appreciate how much better DS9 is than it. Seriously, I've tried watching TNG - erg. Has NOT aged well. Even the non-sucky seasons are kind of painful.
Joining this party a little late but id suggest watching trek in the order it aired. This way you kinda get the feel of what it was like to watch first run without the pesky commercials or waiting a few weeks. Also, don't forget the movies!
That's yet another thing DS9 has going for it. With the exception of The Bajorans, the aliens on that show actually look like aliens for the most part. I have a fondness for Next Gen because I grew up with it. It still looks good. But compared to TOS or DS9 it's so light and fluffy and the obsession with political correctness really hurts it. There were times I thought the characters were just going to sit down and hug each other for an hour. This was the point where Roddenberry had become a complete pacifist weenie and turned a military organization like Starfleet into the Peace Corps in Space. I realize that the idealistic future is the point, but I just don't think that having a setting that perfect makes for good drama. Good Sci Fi perhaps. But not drama. Strictly imho though. Feel free to disagree.
You've already got more advice than you can handle, but I'd recommend starting by sampling episodes of TNG and TOS. Neither show is very arc-based. There are some ongoing storylines in TNG, but you can tune into any episode from any season and be just fine. You don't need to know any character backstories to get it or anything. TNG is basically the template of all the shows that followed, so it'll give you a good sense of what Trek is like. Then you can check out some TOS episodes. Obviously, since it's the first, TNG takes its cues from here. But since it's much older, it's also more dated, so if you see TNG first it might be easier to swallow. And you can see how the story telling evolved between the two. Also, every episode is completely standalone, much moreso than TNG, so you can sample from any point in the series and be just fine. Get a sense of what those two shows are like. These are basically the purest forms of Trek; they're both a ship called Enterprise exploring the universe. The subsequent series had to find different twists to distinguish themselves. When you watch DS9, try to watch it in order, since for the most part, it tries to tell an ongoing story. With Voyager, watch the pilot to get a sense of what the show was supposed to be about. After that, don't worry about continuity; it's inconsistent. There's less of an overall story, so you can basically pick up any episode, like TOS and TNG. ENT is kind of similar to VOY--at least for the first two seasons, you can just watch any episode. The third season is intended to be a full arc though, and I'm not as familiar with the fourth season, except that it's the one that tries really hard to do its job as a prequel, so it's probably better to see it after you're familiar with all the other shows. Also, make sure you watch all the movies, especially the TOS ones.
I thank you all for your advice and opinion. Just in case you're wondering what my final choice is - I ended up purchasing TNG season 1 from Amazon, so it should come soon! It was a tough tie between The Next Generation and TOS, but after watching First Contact, and Patrick Stewart being one of my favorite actors, it only seemed natural. I'm aware the first season isn't the strongest, but I'm prepared! I'd also like to check out DS9 sometime too.
If You liked First Contact, then I highly recommend DS9 from Series 3-7, Its a wide range I know, but imo, All these series have the range of humour, drama and action most like what you get from First Contact. (But yeah, TNG 3-4 cliffhanger, Best of Both Worlds, kinda pointless seeing as you've seen FC, but its still a fantastic episode thats just drenched in excellence :P)
Great choice, and just to hammer in the point again, when you watch DS9 watch it from episode 1 to the last one, and don't worry, the first and second season tries too hard to be TNG on a space station, from season 3 it's one of the best show's on tv-period, BUT season 1 and 2 ARE important do not not not skip anything And Try very hard to watch TNG from start to finish aswell, while there might not be such a big story arc, the friendships developed etc are clearly being developed.
I think you made a good choice, Louis. Have you thought about what you'll watch next? I'd recommend TOS Season 1 or 2. It might be fun to get to know the original Enterprise after you've spent some time with the Big D.
Louis, As a child of the eighties, I'd suggest you start with the ol' Genesis trilogy: ST 2: The Wrath of Kahn ST 3: Search for Spock ST 4: The Voyage Home Those three movies can be watched with no Star Trek frame of reference, and if you don't like them, then you probably don't like Star Trek.
Louis, ignore everyone here and watch Galaxy Quest FIRST. then watch Free Enterprise. and then watch The Final Frontier. (sorry, GQ fans, it's a great movie) my point? after that, you'll breeze through the snorefests that were the first two seasons of both TNG and DS9. (that said, my absolute favorite Trek episode is actually from DS9's first season: Duet).