- Deep Space 9
- The Next Generation
- The Original Series
- Discovery
- Enterprise
- Voyager
- The Animated Series
Rank the Trek shows
- Thread starter BlueStuff
- Start date
1 - DS9 - character growth through the years, war lets it down a little but the threads push it higher than TNG
2 - TNG - most optimistic, some growth, some story threads
3 - Enterprise - optimistic, consequences, fits in remarkably well with the rest of Trek despite being a prequel
4 - Discovery - obviously early days, but there are consequences. Depending how it goes could well shift this up to 3.
5 - Voyager - very little changes from one episode to the next, so much potential
6 - The Original Series - Far too many awful episodes, no consequences
7 - The Animated Series - Like TOS but without the occasional gems
I value an ongoing interwoven story. I know it's not cool, and people hate what's gone before, but I like a single universe with interwoven threads -be in the MCU in film, or the Arrowverse in TV. Enterprise did this remarkably well, Discovery seems to be doing it's best, and I trust them enough to solve any continuity problems that crop up.
2 - TNG - most optimistic, some growth, some story threads
3 - Enterprise - optimistic, consequences, fits in remarkably well with the rest of Trek despite being a prequel
4 - Discovery - obviously early days, but there are consequences. Depending how it goes could well shift this up to 3.
5 - Voyager - very little changes from one episode to the next, so much potential
6 - The Original Series - Far too many awful episodes, no consequences
7 - The Animated Series - Like TOS but without the occasional gems
I value an ongoing interwoven story. I know it's not cool, and people hate what's gone before, but I like a single universe with interwoven threads -be in the MCU in film, or the Arrowverse in TV. Enterprise did this remarkably well, Discovery seems to be doing it's best, and I trust them enough to solve any continuity problems that crop up.
TNG
DS9
DIS
TOS
ENT
VOY
Have not watched much TAS, and only half of TOS. Have seen every episode of the others.
A few individual things (Mudd episode) about DIS have bothered me, but overall I feel positive about it.
Orville is pretty awful. It's a mean parody that fools you into thinking it's trying to be earnest.
DS9
DIS
TOS
ENT
VOY
Have not watched much TAS, and only half of TOS. Have seen every episode of the others.
A few individual things (Mudd episode) about DIS have bothered me, but overall I feel positive about it.
Orville is pretty awful. It's a mean parody that fools you into thinking it's trying to be earnest.
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Your comment about VOY is what I felt about ENT. Just have seen a few ENT episodes and have read a few ENT short stories. Never wanted to see more of it although the short stories were interesting.
My favorites:
1. DS9
2. VOY
3. TOS and TNG (seasons 2-7)
4. TNG season 1 (some episodes are really bad....)
5. ENT
1. Final Frontier
2. Federation
3. Hopeship
4. The Lions of the Night
5. Assignment: Earth
6. Phase II
7. The Worf Chronicles
2. Federation
3. Hopeship
4. The Lions of the Night
5. Assignment: Earth
6. Phase II
7. The Worf Chronicles
0. TNG. Most cerebral, most concerned with matters of ethics, great camaraderie between the characters (and actors, IIRC), most humanistic and hopeful.
Outside of Wesley (and even then, he was occasionally nicely written, as in The First Duty and Final Mission) and Tasha/Worf stepping on each other's toes in S1, all regular characters are pretty good, IMO.
I feel TNG had the best overall writing quality. A few dreadful episodes, but not many.
TNG was more mature than the others as well in that its villains were not cartoonishly evil "we're going to dstroy everything for destruction's sake" ones, they were rather more realistic: either fanatics (Admiral Satie, for instance) or self-interested sociopaths (e.g., the alien from Devil's Due).
None of that pah-wraith nonsense.
1. TOS. Ups and downs, but it went where nobody had gone before and the chemistry between the characters is just there. Too campy, hasn't aged great, but still fun to watch.
2. DS9. Although I dislike the pro-religious outlook (and the ridiculously medieval "prophets vs pah-wraith" dichotomy of the latter seasons) of the whole series, it had a few great episodes and some very good characters (Quark, Garak, early Dukat, Weyoun, Jadzia).
Sometimes, the interactions felt forced (usually when they involved Kira), but sometimes they clicked very well, like the O'Brien-Bashir friendship.
3. VOY. At its peak, VOY was very good, but it very rarely reached those peaks, and the camaraderie between the characters felt forced most of the time. In the end, most characters were either forgettable (Kim), neurotic (Janeway) or annoying (Paris, Torres, Chakotay).
Neelix deserves a mention on his own. Over the whole series; all but one scene with him were cringefests. The most annoying character in television history, eclipsing even Wesley.
Best theme, though.
4. ENT. Some good, but nothing great. Pretty mediocre overall. Most characters were bland, themes and allegories removed in favour of a continuous story high in adrenaline, but low in substance.
5. DSC. Forgetting the "Trek" part of Trek. At the moment, it's "Star Wars: the live action series".
Writing is often bad: excess exposition, a "tell, don't show" approach to characterisation, which leads to informed attributes for Mary Sue Burnham (at least SHOW her being "the bravest" or "the smartest", rather than merely have the other characters exclaim it), the motivation of the Klingons is unclear at best, clichés abound.
Character wise:
- Tilly could be a new Neelix. She's more at Wesley levels right now, but there's potential for worse.
- Tyler seems to be there solely as a romantic interest for Burnham.
- Lorca just isn't a good person, and neither is Burnham.
The only one I like is Saru. Captain Georgiou was ok, too, but well, didn't last long.
Morals? Not only are they no longer discussed, but quite frankly, the Federation of DSC does not seem to believe in them. Gone are the days where the Federation held itself to standards, even if it cost them dearly.
Outside of Wesley (and even then, he was occasionally nicely written, as in The First Duty and Final Mission) and Tasha/Worf stepping on each other's toes in S1, all regular characters are pretty good, IMO.
I feel TNG had the best overall writing quality. A few dreadful episodes, but not many.
TNG was more mature than the others as well in that its villains were not cartoonishly evil "we're going to dstroy everything for destruction's sake" ones, they were rather more realistic: either fanatics (Admiral Satie, for instance) or self-interested sociopaths (e.g., the alien from Devil's Due).
None of that pah-wraith nonsense.
1. TOS. Ups and downs, but it went where nobody had gone before and the chemistry between the characters is just there. Too campy, hasn't aged great, but still fun to watch.
2. DS9. Although I dislike the pro-religious outlook (and the ridiculously medieval "prophets vs pah-wraith" dichotomy of the latter seasons) of the whole series, it had a few great episodes and some very good characters (Quark, Garak, early Dukat, Weyoun, Jadzia).
Sometimes, the interactions felt forced (usually when they involved Kira), but sometimes they clicked very well, like the O'Brien-Bashir friendship.
3. VOY. At its peak, VOY was very good, but it very rarely reached those peaks, and the camaraderie between the characters felt forced most of the time. In the end, most characters were either forgettable (Kim), neurotic (Janeway) or annoying (Paris, Torres, Chakotay).
Neelix deserves a mention on his own. Over the whole series; all but one scene with him were cringefests. The most annoying character in television history, eclipsing even Wesley.
Best theme, though.
4. ENT. Some good, but nothing great. Pretty mediocre overall. Most characters were bland, themes and allegories removed in favour of a continuous story high in adrenaline, but low in substance.
5. DSC. Forgetting the "Trek" part of Trek. At the moment, it's "Star Wars: the live action series".
Writing is often bad: excess exposition, a "tell, don't show" approach to characterisation, which leads to informed attributes for Mary Sue Burnham (at least SHOW her being "the bravest" or "the smartest", rather than merely have the other characters exclaim it), the motivation of the Klingons is unclear at best, clichés abound.
Character wise:
- Tilly could be a new Neelix. She's more at Wesley levels right now, but there's potential for worse.
- Tyler seems to be there solely as a romantic interest for Burnham.
- Lorca just isn't a good person, and neither is Burnham.
The only one I like is Saru. Captain Georgiou was ok, too, but well, didn't last long.
Morals? Not only are they no longer discussed, but quite frankly, the Federation of DSC does not seem to believe in them. Gone are the days where the Federation held itself to standards, even if it cost them dearly.
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Indeed, think about how shocked Sisko was with himself in Pale Moonlight, or the disgust that Bashir had towards Ross in Inter Arma, and this was at well into a far bloodier war.
However it's still early days
I've always had this in my sig:
1. DS9 - Greatest TV show ever made to me. (Edit: I also link to a post I made sharing my feelings on DS9 in my sig)
2. TNG - Masterpiece of TV. Deserves all the praise it gets.
3. VOY - Criminally underrated by the fanbase and some fans. Brilliant show that, on it's day, can actually become my favourite.
4. ENT - Great idea, awful execution. 2 dire seasons, 2 brilliant seasons. Could (and should) have been so much more.
5. TOS - Classic, brilliant, started it all...but easily the worst one. Repetitive plots and only 3 real characters hinder it too much.
I haven't rated Discovery yet but so far im feeling that TOS won't be last on my list anymore!
1. DS9 - Greatest TV show ever made to me. (Edit: I also link to a post I made sharing my feelings on DS9 in my sig)
2. TNG - Masterpiece of TV. Deserves all the praise it gets.
3. VOY - Criminally underrated by the fanbase and some fans. Brilliant show that, on it's day, can actually become my favourite.
4. ENT - Great idea, awful execution. 2 dire seasons, 2 brilliant seasons. Could (and should) have been so much more.
5. TOS - Classic, brilliant, started it all...but easily the worst one. Repetitive plots and only 3 real characters hinder it too much.
I haven't rated Discovery yet but so far im feeling that TOS won't be last on my list anymore!
1. The Original Series/The Animated Series (as far as I'm concerned, they're one and the same).
2. Deep Space Nine
3. The Orville
4. The Next Generation
5. Voyager (stopped watching towards the beginning of the fourth season)
6. Enterprise (stopped watching towards the beginning of the second season)
7. Discovery (stopped watching after the fifth episode)
2. Deep Space Nine
3. The Orville
4. The Next Generation
5. Voyager (stopped watching towards the beginning of the fourth season)
6. Enterprise (stopped watching towards the beginning of the second season)
7. Discovery (stopped watching after the fifth episode)
1 TOS
2 ENT
3 DIS(so far)
4 VOY
5 ENT
6 DS9
2 ENT
3 DIS(so far)
4 VOY
5 ENT
6 DS9
Just posted above realised I put ENT twice number 5 is TNG
TOS - The original and still best. The characters are great, the stories are thoughtful, and it has the most rewatchability of any series. There are some episodes I've seen at least 20 times and I can still enjoy rewatching.
DS9 - The depth of characters and storytelling is amazing. I like the first two seasons, but the show definitely gets better and better as it rolls along. Also, contains my single favorite episode of any television show - "The Visitor."
TNG - The first 2 seasons get a little too much flak sometimes. The first two-thirds of season one is mostly dreadful, but towards the end it gets consistently entertaining. Season two, for all it's faults, is still a better season overall than season seven IMO. Seasons three through six are great television. I also have a lot of nostalgia for this series, as it aired during my junior high and high school years when my fandom really solidified.
ENT - Started off very promising with the first handful of episodes, quickly settled in to the same old, same old before finally finding its way in seasons three and four. The first three shows in my list are the ones I love, this and the next are the ones I like.
VOY - I like the characters a lot, particularly Tom, B'Elanna, Seven and the Doctor. I also think there are some really good episodes, but most of it is pretty samey. Entertaining, but not as engaging as the other series. Would probably rate above ENT if it's last two seasons hadn't been as good as they were.
I love TAS, but it's hard to rank it compared to the others, not only because the format was different, but there are a lot less episodes of TAS than any other series. However, if I were to rank it purely on what I would pick to watch if I just wanted to watch some random Trek, I might be more likely to go with an episode of TAS over ENT or VOY, but not TOS, DS9 or TNG.
DSC is still too new to properly rank. Based on what we've seen so far, I'd say it edges VOY and has a good chance to pass ENT, but probably won't top TNG. Of course, if you'd asked me if I thought DS9 could surpass TNG after only 8 episodes, I would have probably said no. The potential is there if it shows the same improvement over the next couple of seasons, but it is just to early to tell.
DS9 - The depth of characters and storytelling is amazing. I like the first two seasons, but the show definitely gets better and better as it rolls along. Also, contains my single favorite episode of any television show - "The Visitor."
TNG - The first 2 seasons get a little too much flak sometimes. The first two-thirds of season one is mostly dreadful, but towards the end it gets consistently entertaining. Season two, for all it's faults, is still a better season overall than season seven IMO. Seasons three through six are great television. I also have a lot of nostalgia for this series, as it aired during my junior high and high school years when my fandom really solidified.
ENT - Started off very promising with the first handful of episodes, quickly settled in to the same old, same old before finally finding its way in seasons three and four. The first three shows in my list are the ones I love, this and the next are the ones I like.
VOY - I like the characters a lot, particularly Tom, B'Elanna, Seven and the Doctor. I also think there are some really good episodes, but most of it is pretty samey. Entertaining, but not as engaging as the other series. Would probably rate above ENT if it's last two seasons hadn't been as good as they were.
I love TAS, but it's hard to rank it compared to the others, not only because the format was different, but there are a lot less episodes of TAS than any other series. However, if I were to rank it purely on what I would pick to watch if I just wanted to watch some random Trek, I might be more likely to go with an episode of TAS over ENT or VOY, but not TOS, DS9 or TNG.
DSC is still too new to properly rank. Based on what we've seen so far, I'd say it edges VOY and has a good chance to pass ENT, but probably won't top TNG. Of course, if you'd asked me if I thought DS9 could surpass TNG after only 8 episodes, I would have probably said no. The potential is there if it shows the same improvement over the next couple of seasons, but it is just to early to tell.
1st>DSN overall this was the most consistant in terms of quality
2nd=>TOS and TNG, TOS has a strong 1st couple of seasons, but a poor third season which was largely hit and miss.
4th=>VOY and ENT both shows weren't bad per say but just rather average with little in the way of risks taken in the case of VOY as for ENT it wasn't until it's last season that it began to live up to the Prequel idea.
DSC is a little too soon to place but at the moment if I had to rank it, I would place it between TOS & TNG and VOY and ENT. in 4th place with VOY and ENT moving down to 5th=
For me I think I'm enjoying the episodes were Burnham isn't the direct focus of the episode .
2nd=>TOS and TNG, TOS has a strong 1st couple of seasons, but a poor third season which was largely hit and miss.
4th=>VOY and ENT both shows weren't bad per say but just rather average with little in the way of risks taken in the case of VOY as for ENT it wasn't until it's last season that it began to live up to the Prequel idea.
DSC is a little too soon to place but at the moment if I had to rank it, I would place it between TOS & TNG and VOY and ENT. in 4th place with VOY and ENT moving down to 5th=
For me I think I'm enjoying the episodes were Burnham isn't the direct focus of the episode .
1. TNG - easily the best, it has so many memorable stories and the procedural format gives it lots of rewatch value.
2. DS9 - objectively the best story but it became so serialized that it's hard to just watch a random episode, in the later seasons I often feel like I'm dropped in the middle of the story for an hour.
3. VOY - not as good as TNG but it had still a ton of great episodes.
4. DIS - Very good so far, we'll see where ot ends up when it's over.
5. TOS - it's okay but not nearly as good as many people think in my opinion. Many of the so called "smart" allegories are really just stupid and as obvious as they can be for example.
6. ENT - So much wasted potential, T‘Pol and Trip were good characters at least and the third season was good.
7. TAS - Pointless, a few decent ideas but the short runtime and crappy animation killed it.
2. DS9 - objectively the best story but it became so serialized that it's hard to just watch a random episode, in the later seasons I often feel like I'm dropped in the middle of the story for an hour.
3. VOY - not as good as TNG but it had still a ton of great episodes.
4. DIS - Very good so far, we'll see where ot ends up when it's over.
5. TOS - it's okay but not nearly as good as many people think in my opinion. Many of the so called "smart" allegories are really just stupid and as obvious as they can be for example.
6. ENT - So much wasted potential, T‘Pol and Trip were good characters at least and the third season was good.
7. TAS - Pointless, a few decent ideas but the short runtime and crappy animation killed it.
1. DS9.
2.TNG
3.TOS
4. DIS
5. VOY
6. ENT
2.TNG
3.TOS
4. DIS
5. VOY
6. ENT
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