Type of stories

[Darth Thanos]

The first Star Trek series (original, animated, next generation) had an episodic format: an adventure that starts and ends, and by the end leaves the characters at basically the same places, ready to meet the next alien of the week. The original series ended and it was followed by a series of films, and eventually the Next Generation did the same.

Deep Space 9 changed the angle a bit and used more the "ongoing story divided in episodes" format. Eventually it became the standard for series, and that includes the modern ones. SNW and Lower Decks are episodic, but still follow the ongoing format in some level; Discovery fully embraces it.

Which is your preference when it comes to Star Trek content? Episodic, ongoing story, or film?

 

[The Wormhole]

The matter of episodic vs serialized is not clear cut matter of one or the other. Ultimately what matters is does the story that's being told need multiple episodes or can it be handled in just one? Now I get why many Trek fans have long desired serialization. Certainly it can get frustrating watching shows like TNG or Voyager where most episodes feel disposable. Though as Disco and Picard have proven, season long arcs aren't always the answer. I like SNW's approach best, episodic in that each story is resolved each week, but with character arcs which develop over the course of the season so that there's no feeling of disposable episodes.

 

[Moviefan2k4]

The matter of episodic vs serialized is not clear cut matter of one or the other. Ultimately what matters is does the story that's being told need multiple episodes or can it be handled in just one?

This, right here. It all comes down to the characters, their situations, and how the writers want to tackle things. Movie sequels are largely done with the same idea in mind, though major studios tend to think more about a quick buck in the latter example.

 

[Tosk]

I would argue that what DS9 did is not what Disco (and Picard) did.

Discovery and Picard have full one full-season stories, told (more or less) a piece at a time in every episode. DS9 mostly did single-episode stories but with ramifications. They continued ideas, or events, or character arcs when they thought they would work. Any season-long arc was only the barest of notions at the start, such as "this year the Klingons become bad guys again".

This is the model I prefer. Lots of individual stories, and some/many of them connect over time to form an ongoing tapesty.
The 'one big story per year' approach leaves me quite cold, and personally I feel like every season that has done it this way so far has been less than the sum of its parts.

 

[1001001]

 

[at Quark's]

Even 'episodic' series aren't 100% episodic. Take Voyager or TNG. Yes, many episodes are 'disposable' but even so, a S7 episode from either VOY or TNG would look distinctly out of place when put between S1 episodes (the other way around too); the characters have changed quite a bit.

 

[Shawnster]

I liked the old TV series ER and wish Star Trek would embrace this style. Like 1001001 shared, it's a mix of both. ER would have multiple story/character arcs going at the same time with some arcs lasting a couple of episodes while other arcs lasted many episodes, an entire season, or maybe (can't remember) spilling over into the next season. Meanwhile each season is peppered with stand alone single episode stories.

Such a style, along with more than 10 to 15 episodes a season allows for fuller development of stories, a lot of growth, and the development of secondary and minor characters that seems to be lacking in modern streaming Trek.

I've yet to find another series anywhere that really rivals ER. The format plus quality of writing was like catching lightning in a bottle.

 

[Alexander Corrino]

I like the way X Files did it. There was this one ongoing arc (that they overdid at some point, granted, but that's beside the point here) with the aliens and then there were iconic standalone monster of the week episodes that also allowed for a lot of character-driven moments. THAT is the style I'd want for Trek to adapt. I don't want the zillionth "something something is at stake and the entire season is all about dealing with it" narrative. Neither do I want to go back to purely episodic stuff where massive trauma and other plot points are ignored and we hit the reset button each week.

In a way, ENT did things the way I like it. It comes closest, at least.

 

[BillJ]

Which is your preference when it comes to Star Trek content? Episodic, ongoing story, or film?

I can watch any format provided it is a compelling story, but I favor episodic. Serialized, if the first couple of episodes aren't engaging, the season is pretty much over for me. Episodic, there's always hope for next week.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I can watch any format provided it is a compelling story, but I favor episodic. Serialized, if the first couple of episodes aren't engaging, the season is pretty much over for me. Episodic, there's always hope for next week.

I prefer limited Serialization with a Season Long Over Arching plot that plays out in a few eps specifically focused on it.
But the rest of the season focuses on individual episodic story telling and/or short form multi-episode arcs.

Think Buffy / Supernatural / Alias.

Some eps will be Core Season Long Over-Arching plot, others might not be, others might be tangential short story arcs like in Season 4 of ST:ENT where they had many short arcs.

A nice mix of all types of story telling keeps things fresh.

There's nothing wrong with episodic, but it can't be the "ONLY THING" in the season wide arc.
Same with Babylon 5, they had Season Arc focused eps, they had episodes that drove the longer story arc, they had episodes dedicated to furthering side plots or plots of other characters.

A variety smorgasboard / sample platter is good IMO.

More like Column A, B, C, & D.
A = Episodic, seemingly random from the outset, you won't realize how it impacts the greater story universe until later.
B = Season or Series long Story Arc eps
C = Short Story Multi-Ep Arc eps
D = Side Character Story Arc eps

 

[fireproof78]

Which is your preference when it comes to Star Trek content? Episodic, ongoing story, or film?

All of the above. I prefer it when things actually matter, so serialized character development is far more my preference than people ignoring it and moving on as episodic tends to do (note, there are always exceptions). If stuff doesn't matter, at least give me characters who I care about that it matters what happens to them.

 

[maneth]

I would argue that what DS9 did is not what Disco (and Picard) did.

Discovery and Picard have full one full-season stories, told (more or less) a piece at a time in every episode. DS9 mostly did single-episode stories but with ramifications. They continued ideas, or events, or character arcs when they thought they would work. Any season-long arc was only the barest of notions at the start, such as "this year the Klingons become bad guys again".

This is the model I prefer. Lots of individual stories, and some/many of them connect over time to form an ongoing tapesty.
The 'one big story per year' approach leaves me quite cold, and personally I feel like every season that has done it this way so far has been less than the sum of its parts.

Yes, I agree. I haven't seen any Trek past Enterprise yet, and if I'm honest, the season-long arcs are putting me off watching them. I also don't want Trek to go the same way that Star Wars and MCU have done where you are supposed to have seen a dozen movies and every show so far made to get the most out of the most recent offering. Callbacks are fine, but don't make it impossible to understand what's happening if you haven't seen every episode of every show that's come before.

My recent rewatch of Voyager worked because I finally got past the TNG-lite feel of the show and I could enjoy it on its own terms, even if the big red reset button annoyed me a bit sometimes because I tend to enjoy a show more if actions have actual consequences.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

My own preference is for a blend of episodic stories and serialised arcs, like DS9 and Lower Decks, but it depends on the series.

TNG did well being mostly episodic with some surprise continuity. The Inner Light didn't need any other character arcs interrupting the drama, but Lessons benefitted from bringing back the flute. Plus you had Worf's Klingon drama adding a sense of progression to the setting. The show's big weakness was that it barely ever brought back things introduced in earlier episodes to solve problems in later ones, which is something Stargate SG-1 did very well. If the audience remembers something, the characters should too.

Voyager set up an ongoing story of two crews forced to work together to survive with limited resources and then got bored of it and just told episodic stories instead. It was a real disappointment back in the day, especially with DS9 to compare it against, so I'd say that's a situation where the format wasn't always ideal.

Enterprise had a similar issue with the Temporal Cold War and the birth of the Federation hanging over it. The first time I watched it I got tired of waiting for the series to really get started and quit. I didn't come back until the heavily serialised season 3, and the three-ep arcs of season 4.

Then you've got Discovery, which has the same problem as a lot of modern shows in that the season arc feels dragged out to fit the episode count and things can feel repetitive. It's great that characters are actually affected by the things in their lives, but when the episode synopsis is "Book faces his trauma, just like in the last seven episodes", I lose interest real fast.

So I don't think there's one right answer, and even if there was, people would get bored of it and it'd become the wrong answer.

 

[WarpTenLizard]

I prefer the SNW approach; episodic, with underlying continuity for character arcs. TNG and "Voyager" were a little too episodic, but I'll take that over the modern streaming series style. I actually hate binging TV shows, and even for shows I love it's frustrating not to be able to pick out individual episodes for casual rewatches. "Strange New Worlds" is the perfect blend of both. The continuity is satisfying, without demanding my complete devotion.