New Fan to Trek - Want a good opinion =]

[PhoenixIreland]

Yes I will take your advice on that. I did that with the TV show Heroes season 1 and I regret it.

How is Voyager in your opinion? I watched a youtube video of it just to see the acting and the captain was a woman? I am not sure but she seemed kind of bitchy!

I am not trying to offend anyone, that was just my first impression =]
Sorry for the foul language just trying to get my impression across.

I'd still be willing to check it out however after the others if you all say that it is a great show along with the others.

She just has a diffrent command style to Picard and Sisko, shes only like that when she needs to be, most of the time, espechally after the 2nd seasons shes more of a maternal figure to the crew, and Mulgrew is a very good actress.

Every single trek series is pretty crap untill the third season with the exception of TOS and Voyager which got better in the second but wasnt so bad in the first anyway.

Voyagers great.

TNG, DS9 and Voy are split equally in my eyes, it's probably a bad idea to compare them they are just very diffrent shows.

 

[captcalhoun]

VGR had a good premise, some decent characters and some good story ideas.

it was just incredibly let down by the execution.

personally, best to worst, i'd go:

DS9
TOS
ENT
VGR/TNG

 

[Mr. Fergy]

It's cool to become a new Trekker. TNG vs. DS9? I think DS9 is the best, but TNG I'd start with that first for a beginner.

BTW:Buy used, they are available at places such www.cdtradepost.com, and their cheaper.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

DS9 beats all the other Trek series in terms of "rich and evolving story." The others series don't make much use of plot arcs. Even DS9 is less of a plot arc than Heroes, which is entirely serialized.

The problem with VOY is inconsistent characterization for Janeway - different writers seemed to have different opinions about how to write her - and the series doesn't really make full use of the possibilities of the premise. That also was the problem with ENT.

 

[Saratoga NX-3842]

Hello all,

I am fairly new to star trek. I have seen the movies when I was a kid and watched the old shatner/nimoy episodes on scifi channel, but I recently watched enterprise the newest show and it was so cool and exciting!

I looked online and there were other shows (the next generation, deep space nine, voyager, and enterprise)!

I am very much exited to have discovered something new here! I am a Sci-Fi fan (movies) and an amateur author on adventure stories so this definitely seems like something I can get myself into.

I am at a crossroads however because I want to purchase a series and sit with it for a while. I already purchased enterprise 4 seasons because I really enjoyed the one I saw. And the Vulcan science officer on that show is.... WOW. Hahah!

I am debating between 'the next generation' and 'deep space nine'. I like a lot of adventure with a rich and evolving story.

Which of these two shows should I get on dvd and why do you think so? I ask you all here because you can never trust the amazon.com reviews, and you all would have a much more experienced opinion than any John Smith on those websites.

Thanks for reading my long post, and hopefully I don't get flamed for being new. I just want to get the true fan opinion on what show I should check out first.

Thank you everyone who posts their opinions for me =]

-Bradacus

I envy you- I would give anything to see All of Trek again for the first time. you are in for a treat.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Every trek series has a lot of great episodes. DS9 is known for having a great evolving storyline, while TNG has a lot of great stand-alone episodes. Voyager doesn't get praise for either, but still has plenty of good episodes that are worth watching.

Keep in mind there's a lot of Trek episodes, so getting through everything ever made is a big task

 

[Timewalker]

Welcome to Trekdom, bradacus. I've been a Trekker for over 30 years, so I've definitely got some good opinions you may have!

Sorry to double post but nobody seems to mention voyager.

Is it the least favorite I take it?

Sadly, I don't often find other people who love Voyager as much as I do. Next to TOS, it's my favorite Trek series.

How is Voyager in your opinion? I watched a youtube video of it just to see the acting and the captain was a woman? I am not sure but she seemed kind of bitchy!

Captain Janeway's characterization changes quite a bit over the seasons. Which episode were you watching? If you could let us know that, I'd have a better idea why she was acting as she did. Oh, and it would also help to describe Janeway's hairstyle -- she changed it from season to season, so it's a good general indicator of the timeframe of the events.

Also, some people find Kate Mulgrew herself to be a bit "grating." I don't -- to me, she's the perfect embodiment of Kathryn Hepburn, a decidedly smart, independent actress who played smart, independent characters in the movies she made.

And don't forget The Animated Series.

Animated Series? Was it a children's program? I have never heard of it, but I will google it right now. Thank you!

The Animated Series was made in the early '70s, and some of the episodes are every bit as good as the live action ones. The first one, "Yesteryear", is a classic example of this. The crew is on the Guardian of Forever planet doing historical research. Some go back in time a few decades in Vulcan's history and return to discover that only Kirk knows who Spock is -- because somehow history was altered so that Spock died at age 7! Spock has to go back in time to his own family home to save himself as a child; we meet Sarek and Amanda as young parents, Spock and his pet seh-lat, and learn a lot about Vulcan customs and family life. I remember reading an article where somebody who reviewed this episode stated, "This is no children's program."

Yes, it was THAT good. And if you can obtain any of the Star Trek Log paperbacks by Alan Dean Foster, you should do so. Alan Dean Foster is a science fiction author who has done many script-to-novel adaptations of science fiction TV shows and movies (ie. he ghost-wrote the Star Wars novelization that George Lucas supposedly did). And Foster does the Star Trek adaptations so well that they are much more than just a 'He said, "[insert dialogue]"' -- he describes action well, and goes into the characters' inner minds to show their point of view.

Another really good Animated story concerns Doctor McCoy, who is arrested and charged with genocide, for a mistake he allegedly made on a planet early in his career in Starfleet. It's up to Spock to prove his innocence, or McCoy will be executed...

And the Animated series is the ONLY place where you will see Captain Robert April, the REAL first captain of the Enterprise. Jonathan Archer? Pfft. Not in Gene Roddenberry's canon. Robert April is the character they should have had in the Enterprise series.

Picard is a different captain from Kirk and so a lot of time the shows take a different approach, and also its a different Federation so occasionally we'll see a new twist on a TOS idea.

Yep. TNG is basically Starfleet Hilton, with spiffy carpets and abstract artwork, compared to TOS. There's a running joke among older fans that in the 24th century, the first thing a Starfleet captain must do when faced with certain destruction is... call a meeting. And talk. And talk. And talk a lot more... I remember the first time Picard actually got mad enough to punch somebody -- I stood up in my living room and cheered, "It's about TIME!"

VOY (Voyager) tries to take the TNG approach into a Lost in Space direction with a little of the tension that DS9 has. Not all of the original set up stays with the show, and some of the eps seem to rehash TNG. And occasionally it will rehash an episode of TNG that was a rehash of TOS. Personally I find VOY and the first two seasons of ENT some of the weakest Trek, but I'll end up owning and watching and loving all of it anyway. And there are some really good episodes of Voyager, anything that focuses on The Doctor is gold and Seven got some really good episodes, and Captain Proton is a lot of fun if you like the old scifi serials.

Well, they literally were lost in space.

Actually, there were story arcs in Voyager, too, but since they tended to play out over much longer periods (years, in some cases), they weren't as noticeable. Some examples: Seska, one of Chakotay's crew. I won't post any spoilers, but her character's actions have far-reaching consequences for the rest of the crew even after she's not there anymore. Tom Paris' fascination with the 1950s is another story arc I enjoy -- it goes way beyond his enjoyment of "Captain Proton" holodeck adventures. It would have been fun if one episode had featured B'Elanna as a 1950s housewife.

Other story arcs include various holodeck settings and characters, such as Leonardo da Vinci (played by the wonderful British actor John Rhys-Davies, who was also Arturo in Sliders). And the most effective story arcs, in my opinion, were the ones to do with time travel and the Borg.

 

[bradacus]

Sorry for the late reply! I have been out and about all day doing errands and the like. So many people have posted to offer their opinions so I will try to reply to each of you in kind! It's the least I can do for sharing your opinion and knowledge on this extensive subject. Thank you again you really have an excellent community here! Hopefully I may join the ranks one day =]

DS9 is great for the story arcs and really getting to know a lot of the races in Trek. They really develop the Cardassians, Bajorans and the Ferengi. And they pick up the Klingon banner from TNG. Even get to see the Romulans once and a while. Also the characters are more diverse and they do a lot more character centric stories.

VOY (Voyager) tries to take the TNG approach into a Lost in Space direction with a little of the tension that DS9 has.

This sounds right up my alley as far as character developments and the like. Do the characters tend to evolve during the show or do they mostly stay the same from beginning to end of the season/series? I will be watching it none the less but I am just curious.

Start off with Star Trek:TOS, then Star Trek:The Animated Series, followed by Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise (but I see that you've already started off with that!)

Is this the best way to go? If you think I will get lost in a story I don't understand by going with the newer stuff first then I defintely will go the correct route.

he best out of all the fan productions is
Star Trek: New Voyages, aka Star Trek: Phase II, a letter perfect recreation of the original series done by uber-fan James Cawley.

I watched some of these fan made movies and wow what great quality and acting! Very well made presentations, thank you for the easy to follow links as well =]

TNG, DS9 and Voy are split equally in my eyes, it's probably a bad idea to compare them they are just very diffrent shows.

I will keep that in mind but all three shows sound very appealing to me.

Deep Space Nine is by far the best modern trek. TNG is also very good, and Voyager is mediocre at best. Enterprise's1st two seasons were terrible, but the 3rd was pretty good and the 4th was outstanding.

Thank you for making me more excited to watch Enterprise =]

VGR had a good premise, some decent characters and some good story ideas. it was just incredibly let down by the execution.

It will probably still be good for me because I will come into it with no expectations. And everyone else seems to very much enjoy it. I guess I will have to wait and see.

BTW:Buy used, they are available at places such www.cdtradepost.com, and their cheaper.

Thanks for the advice I will definitely check them out. I already bought the Enterprise series but they haven't arrived yet. I was about to buy The Next Generation but now I am starting to think that I should go in chronological order based off a few posters ideas.

The problem with VOY is inconsistent characterization for Janeway - different writers seemed to have different opinions about how to write her - and the series doesn't really make full use of the possibilities of the premise. That also was the problem with ENT.

I read on some website the other day(might have been this forum I can't remember =/ ) that Star Trek has an open script submission policy. Is that true? If so that's really a great thing for fans who really enjoy the show and writing their own lore for the story. But maybe that can cause issues, as you outline in your post. That may not be true, so if not then I am way off base =]

I envy you- I would give anything to see All of Trek again for the first time. you are in for a treat.

You can come over and watch them with me if you like. You can pretend to have never seen them, or maybe do some self induced amnesia. Haha I am just kidding please don't do that to yourself! =P

Keep in mind there's a lot of Trek episodes, so getting through everything ever made is a big task

I am not sure I know exactly what I have gotten myself into. Lets just say it seems I will have my summer scheduled accordingly.

Welcome to Trekdom, bradacus. I've been a Trekker for over 30 years, so I've definitely got some good opinions you may have!

You certainly do! I read your post through twice to extract the information from it completely =] I am also planning on ordering the animated series because of your post! Also you put the nail in the coffin for Voyager, I will definitely be watching those as well.

Sorry for the extremely long post! On a side note I just learned of the later movies as well, the ones staring the cast of TNG. I will have to check those out, are those pretty good as well? I do have a set of the first six that I bought a few months ago and watched those over the course of last month. What a great treat that was to watch.

Thanks again everyone for your information it is invaluable coming from you guys. Please don't hesitate to reply back =]

-Bradacus

Edit: Wow, I am terribly sorry for this posts length! I just wanted to reply back to everyone that took time to write to me. Thank you again!

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Regarding the Animated Series, I wouldn't worry about it too much (I'm not saying don't watch it, there's definitely great episodes). I'm just saying that, if you miss it, you won't have any trouble following later shows, since, aside from a few odd references, it's not referenced much at all. I'd definitely suggest watching the next generation next (once again, a warning that the first two seasons are viewed by many to be weaker than the rest of the show). There's not many animated episodes, though, and they're all less than a half hour, so it'll be quick going through them.

 

[Mistral]

I said earlier that you should watch TNG before DS9-and I can think of one really big reason-Worf is in both and evolves as a character across both shows. I mean REALLY goes through some changes in his life and things on DS9 refer directly to things that happened on TNG. Plus, the more I think about it, there are very important guest roles that repeat into DS9 from TNG as well-and at least three that reach all of the way to Voyager, two of which are defined in TNG and rely on that definition in their appearances on Voyager.(Its hard to say this without spoilers-best I can do ya!)

Also, RE: Voyager not being as good-I'd say its more accurate to state that its an uneven show, not a bad one. When its bad its like any other bad Star Trek episode-still better than watching reality TV! And when its good it equals the best Trek out there.

My other argument for watching the shows in the order they came out:technology. Not ST tech but real tech. You can see the techniques get better as the various series progress. Watching it out of order would detract from the more "primitive" productions, coloring your view about otherwise great episodes.
The final argument for TNG in general:

Best of Both Worlds
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Inner Light

just to name a few.

 

[Lindley]

The best out of all the fan productions is
Star Trek: New Voyages, aka Star Trek: Phase II

Debatable. It's certainly the highest-profile one, though.

Although the quality of the product varies, I'm extremely impressed with the ability of the Hidden Frontier folks to run two concurrent series, plus develop a Hidden Frontier movie, plus develop a future miniseries, PLUS develop a non-Trek series. That right there is a heck of a lot of concurrent projects.

 

[Wowbagger]

Gorram, I envy you. The moment someone discovers Star Trek... that must be an incredible experience. For me, I became Star Trek fan several years before I became a Barney fan in pre-school, so that instant of discovery never happened for me. You're about to embark on a wonderfully entertaining--and, dare I say it, potentially life-changing--odyssey through the best television ever produced.

The arguments about which Trek series are the best and worst have raged since for twenty-two years now and will continue long after we're all dead. (One of Trekdom's greatest talents is for arguing passionately about incredibly stupid things.) While there are some episodes I hate, I love every series in its own right. All of them speak to me in different ways.

Frankly, if you enjoyed Enterprise (particularly its early seasons), you'll probably fall in love with Voyager. If you really are after deep, involved storylines, than latter-day Deep Space Nine will be your cup of tea, Earl Gray, hot. (Do not skip the early seasons of DS9. Yes, the episodes are much more standalone for the first two years, but just don't do it.) And, if you just want the all-time pinnacle of episodic, one-hour televised storytelling, watch The Next Generation.
Odds are, because they're all great, you'll end up watching all of them. In my opinion, it doesn't matter what order you watch them in: though each series had its own underlying mythology that built up over time, the creators were fairly careful to make sure that they all stood on their own from one another. Each is pretty much completely accessible starting from the pilot episode even if you've never seen an hour of Star Trek in your life. But Mistral and others make some good points, too.

All of the TNG movies were great (in this Trekkie's humble and rather unpopular opinion, Insurrection was better than The Wrath of Khan), but, in that case, you really should watch the television series before getting to the movies.

Really, have fun. Have at it. And live long and prosper.

Dang; I don't usually wax poetic like that.

 

[Timewalker]

...you really should watch the television series before getting to the movies.

In particular, The Wrath of Khan pretty much requires you to already have watched the TOS episode "Space Seed" to get the full impact.

 

[bradacus]

Hmmm ok maybe my coming here wasn't such a good idea... I have basically purchased (or plan on purchasing) everything with the word star trek on it! Haha but I guess that is my own fault! =]

I just received TNG Season 1 in the mail today, surprisingly before I have gotten Enterprise.

I popped the dvd on my 42" Sharp Aquos and watched the first episode just because I couldn't wait to check it out. What a great story that was! The encounter with Bones was a treat and 'Q' putting humanity on trial was a very cool idea. They save the space creatures mate haha and the look the counselor gave the first officer Ryker. =D

I am itching to watch more but I feel like I should visit the classic episodes first (which I have ordered the complete series online already).

What have I gotten myself into? I am not entirely sure yet but I am glad that I am in it =]

Hopefully I can hold out watching more TNG before I go crazy to see another episode. Would it really hurt to watch more before seeing the classics? I am pretty good at picking stuff up and the real life tech won't bother me. I LOVED the classic series repeats on SciFi and that was only a few years ago, in fact the lack of real life tech used is more compelling to me, since they had to rely more on story and less on dazzling effects and things like that.

 

[Wowbagger]

Would it really hurt to watch more before seeing the classics?

No. You'll be fine. Gene Roddenberry worked very hard to make sure that Next Generation was accessible to new viewers who had never seen the classic episodes.

He was successful.

Glad you're enjoying it! "Encounter at Farpoint" is not generally a fan favorite episode, but I personally love anything with Q in it... and he's rarely in better form than he is in his debut outing here in "EaF."

Plus, double-length episode. What's not to love about that?

 

[bradacus]

Well if that's not a fan favorite surely the episode ' The Naked Now ' is one of them. I was laughing half way through the episode watching everyone stumble around intoxicated from the other starships disease. Watching Picard hit on the Doctor nearly had me in tears =P

 

[judge alba]

i;liked the encounter at far point myself you'll love episodes like yesterdays enterprise and unification when you get that far not that tng is my favorite series more of a ds9 fan myself

 

[amdmiami]

Cool keep informing us on your viewings .

 

[Leroy]

I'd watch all of classic trek first followed by Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and keep Voyager and Enterprise for last since their quality is debatable. Don't forget the movies.

 

[Lindley]

What's astonishing to me is how old the shows are now----even the "modern" ones. TNG started in 1987.....the year before I was old enough to know what year it was.