Getting into Star Trek, what should I watch!??

Discussion in 'General Trek Discussion' started by Nibbz, Dec 21, 2012.

  1. Star Wolf

    Star Wolf Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I know I choose two first year episodes out of my three DS9 suggestions but generally aside from TOS I would avoid the first season of the spin offs. It was like the production staff and actors were intimidated by the history of Trek and its survival after decades of syndication with the rapid Trekkers thus went too far in protecting Gene's legacy and not far enough in producing entertainment.

    In any event I would recommend episodes that were fun, not episodes because they established the canon.

    From Voyager
    The Year of Hell
    Endgame
     
  2. You_Will_Fail

    You_Will_Fail Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    One of the first episodes I ever saw was TNG "Cause and Effect", really got me liking and interested in Trek. I might recommend that. I'm not a huge fan of TOS like some here, have a look at my 30 favorite Trek episodes video and you can have a look to see which episodes looks good. Then simply google their name alongside "memory alpha" and you'll find the series/season and episode.
     
  3. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    From the Star Trek prequel Enterprise:

    Strange New World
    Carbon Creek
    Dead Stop
    Regeneration
    Impulse
    North Star
    Observer Effect
    Bound
    In A Mirror, Darkly I/II
     
  4. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    I'm not sure that "Encounter at Farpoint" (the TNG pilot) is something I would recommend to any newbie. Maybe "Measure of a Man" which was possibly the first truly classic episode of TNG.

    For DS9, "Duet" is far and away the best ep of Season One--and a good indicator of things to come.

    VOYAGER, on the other hand, had probably the best pilot of any of the latter-day shows. A nicely-paced introduction to the series and its characters.

    Meanwhile, I hesitate to recommend certain "change-of-pace" classics like "The Inner Light" or "The Visitor" or "Far Beyond the Stars" just because, as memorable and creative as they are, they're far from representative of what those series were usually like (which is part of the reason they're so good). Great eps, but not ones you'd want to use to introduce somebody to Trek . . ..
     
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2012
  5. Mr_Homn

    Mr_Homn Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Ick. I thought it was absolutely terrible. I thought DS9 had the best pilot of the later treks. Enterprise had a decent pilot too. TNG pilot is a mixed bag. The first time you see it, it's kinda sucky, but it's pretty cool once you have seen the whole series I think. Which of course means it's not very good as a pilot....
     
  6. JRoss

    JRoss Commodore Commodore

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    To Greg's list I'll add "The Savage Curtain."
     
  7. Bishop76

    Bishop76 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Agreed. Voyager's pilot was embarrassingly bad, in my opinion. Want some corn?

    Emissary was really slow, but set up the premise of the series solidly and Broken Bow was probably the best of all the latter series pilots, which is a shame that the show couldn't follow suit. Encounter at Farpoint is laughably bad, but the show got better so it's easy to forgive it. There's no question though, The Cage or Where No Man Has Gone Before are the best pilots of the franchise.
     
  8. R. Star

    R. Star Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    You'll have noticed contradictory opinions on this thread, and in the end that is what they are(despite some opinions being offered tentatively as facts) opinions, so really in the end you should just start watching and form your own conclusions. :)
     
  9. The Overlord

    The Overlord Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I am not sure Star Trek TMP and Star Trek V are the best ways to get new people into Trek. I would say Star Trek II, III and IV are better for attracting new viewers.
     
  10. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Heck, let's not mince words. Star Trek V should be avoided at all costs!
     
  11. Bry_Sinclair

    Bry_Sinclair Vice Admiral Admiral

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    If not expunged from your conciousness entirely.
     
  12. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    STV was the first Trek movie I ever saw, and I turned out okay...
     
  13. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    It's always inspirational when someone beats the odds and rises above adversity . . . :)
     
  14. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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  15. miraclekid

    miraclekid Ensign Red Shirt

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    Same.

    Annnnyhow there are a lot of good recommendations here in this thread but I think your best bet is to read up on the TV series and just pick the one that appeals to you the most and go from there. That way you can discover your own favorites. ;)
     
  16. Nibbz

    Nibbz Ensign Newbie

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    Well I took a look at a couple original series episodes, which I don't mind at all, but yes they are dated. Watched TNG pilot and a couple other eps. I enjoy TNG and really love Patrick Stewart so its easy to get into. I also watched the pilot of Star Trek Enterprise and really enjoyed it.

    A big question I have and would like to have answered is what series are episodic (i'm assuming TOS and TNG are), and which have continuing story arcs across multiple episodes (I understand DS9 is like this). So I really just want to know if Voyager and Enterprise have story arcs across episodes. Thanks guys.
     
  17. T'Girl

    T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

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    From the animated series, you might try Albatross, Yesteryear and One Of Our Planets Is Missing. The rest of the cartoons are fair through bad, but those three are above many of the live action episodes.

    :)
     
  18. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    Enterprise had a series long arc called the Temporal Cold War which was only touched on sporadically, a season long arc in season three and several multi-part episodes in season four.
     
  19. Nibbz

    Nibbz Ensign Newbie

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    Caught Space Seed and Wrath of Khan tonight. Wow to the latter, what an amazing film. If the new movie piqued my interest, 2 turned me into a fan. Loved it.
     
  20. Nibbz

    Nibbz Ensign Newbie

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    Update on my foray into Star Trek. Saw a handful of TOS, TNG, two DS9 episodes, and two Enterprise episodes. Plus movies 2 through 4 and the Undiscovered Country.

    With all of this taken into account, I must say that I prefer TOS much more than the others so far. The actors and dialogue are much worse imo in TNG and DS9. Sisko in particular is difficult to listen to, and I'm not particularly a fan of Data.

    It may just be Kirk and Spock that make me love TOS so much, plus the movies with the original cast are just so entertaining and helped me really like the characters even more. Any tips to get me into TNG and DS9? I wanna enjoy DS9 in particular as I've heard as a continuing series, its the best Star Trek has to offer.