What is the best series and why?
- Thread starter Sheepwash
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In my opinion, DS9 is the finest of the five Trek series (minus the odd Ferengi-centric episode), with the worst being a toss-up between Voyager and Enterprise.
DS9 is a little more demanding on the viewer's attention though, with all of its serialized storylines and its vast collection of secondary characters--I feel it requires a bit more 'commitment' than a series full of mainly self-contained episodes such as TNG or the Original Series.
DS9 is a little more demanding on the viewer's attention though, with all of its serialized storylines and its vast collection of secondary characters--I feel it requires a bit more 'commitment' than a series full of mainly self-contained episodes such as TNG or the Original Series.
Best?
As in favourite?
For me, TNG. But I think there is also a case to be made that it was the "best" in more objective terms.
20 years after it had been cancelled (with occasional movies) TOS was still a fav among a select group of afficionados - God bless them, because without the TOS fanbase there would have been NO ST, never mind a number of series to choose favourites from.
But as far as TV is concerned, TNG took ST out of the fan ghetto and into the entertainment mainstream. Its amazing success is what has made everything that followed possible, up to and including ST 2009.
As in favourite?
For me, TNG. But I think there is also a case to be made that it was the "best" in more objective terms.
20 years after it had been cancelled (with occasional movies) TOS was still a fav among a select group of afficionados - God bless them, because without the TOS fanbase there would have been NO ST, never mind a number of series to choose favourites from.
But as far as TV is concerned, TNG took ST out of the fan ghetto and into the entertainment mainstream. Its amazing success is what has made everything that followed possible, up to and including ST 2009.
Your question is extremely difficult to answer since all of the series have amazing episodes and a bunch of duds as well. While TNG is probably not my favorite, if I needed to introduce ST to someone unfamiliar with it, I would probably go in this order: TNG, VOY, DS9, ENT, TOS. And skip the duds in all of them.
Deep Space Nine. The best show on both a technical and dramatic level. The characters are incredibly rich compared to TOS, TNG or VOY, the story was great, and the production value was incredible. It always felt to me like in TNG they were still experimenting, trying to find their way, but with DS9 they were doing the real deal.
And then there's the thing that after watching an episode of DS9 I immediately want to watch the next one. Not the case with TNG.
And then there's the thing that after watching an episode of DS9 I immediately want to watch the next one. Not the case with TNG.
For me, as much as i hate to say it, i think TNG is the best. It's hard for me to utter those words since TOS has such a special place in my heart. I love them both...but i guess TNG edges out TOS a wee bit.
TOS is by far the best Trek series. There's not a close second.
Deep Space Nine. For pretty much all the same reasons that have previously been stated in this thread. I've probably watched this series from start to finish at least 4-5 times and it still doesn't get old. There is also a bit of nostalgia when I watch this show because it was the first series that I was able to watch on television from the beginning. I was too young to see the early seasons of TNG as they were airing.
I think strong cases can be made for TOS, TNG and DS9. TOS for the immense impact on popular culture, Nimoy as Spock, the quality of the first two seasons and for giving birth to the whole franchise. TNG for the ratings bonanza, mainstream appeal, Patrick Stewart as Picard and the quality of seasons 3-6. DS9 for the overall quality of the production, writing and acting, the willingness to experiment, the epic scope and the depth of character development.
For me personally, I would choose DS9. If I were attempting to be objective, I would probably choose TOS, followed by DS9 and TNG.
For me personally, I would choose DS9. If I were attempting to be objective, I would probably choose TOS, followed by DS9 and TNG.
TOS is viewed as a very progressive and hard (by TV standards) sci-fi show. It focuses little on character development or plot development in favour of exploring sci-fi concepts and the human condition. The wonder and strangeness of the universe and our place within it is the focus of TOS.
TNG is generally viewed as dry and intellectual sci-fi. It has fantastic writing and (some) great characters, but tends to be very stuffy and preachy with a few too many Patrick Stewart Speeches. TNG is mostly concerned with examining political and sociological issues while being light on sci-fi concepts, character development, and story arcs.
DS9 is the soap opera of the group and my personal favourite. It has by far the best and most developed characters and a complex, serialized plot. On the downside, it completely abandons its science fiction premise.
Voyager is generally viewed as light entertainment. It has some decent characters, decent writing, great action, great comedy (including general lightheartedness), and amazing special effects. The problem is that it's dumb as a stump. It's a great show to watch if you turn your brain off first, but it lacks the intelligence that defines the Star Trek brand.
Enterprise ... well, Enterprise sucks.
As you can see all four Star Trek series of value have very different styles and appeal to different types of people, so you're not going to find many fans who agree on a best Star Trek. Although I believe DS9 is the most popular here.
TNG is generally viewed as dry and intellectual sci-fi. It has fantastic writing and (some) great characters, but tends to be very stuffy and preachy with a few too many Patrick Stewart Speeches. TNG is mostly concerned with examining political and sociological issues while being light on sci-fi concepts, character development, and story arcs.
DS9 is the soap opera of the group and my personal favourite. It has by far the best and most developed characters and a complex, serialized plot. On the downside, it completely abandons its science fiction premise.
Voyager is generally viewed as light entertainment. It has some decent characters, decent writing, great action, great comedy (including general lightheartedness), and amazing special effects. The problem is that it's dumb as a stump. It's a great show to watch if you turn your brain off first, but it lacks the intelligence that defines the Star Trek brand.
Enterprise ... well, Enterprise sucks.
As you can see all four Star Trek series of value have very different styles and appeal to different types of people, so you're not going to find many fans who agree on a best Star Trek. Although I believe DS9 is the most popular here.
Deep Space Nine - Even it's secondary characters like Nog get more character development than most of the main cast of the other shows.
The story paid itself off over time thanks to the serialized format.
Yes it got soap opera-y at times, but the characters acted less like the ideal humans of TOS/TNG/VOY and showed us their flaws and dark sides.
There were some really bad episodes, but as I've gone through my DVDs over the years I skip a lot less DS9 than I do TOS or TNG (I don't own VOY or ENT, but I'd probably end up skipping a lot of those).
The story paid itself off over time thanks to the serialized format.
Yes it got soap opera-y at times, but the characters acted less like the ideal humans of TOS/TNG/VOY and showed us their flaws and dark sides.
There were some really bad episodes, but as I've gone through my DVDs over the years I skip a lot less DS9 than I do TOS or TNG (I don't own VOY or ENT, but I'd probably end up skipping a lot of those).
I'll sit through a lot more of Enterprise than of Voyager or DS9...except for the Ferengi episodes and "Far Beyond The Stars."
Well let me see.
TOS started it, TNG threw it "out there", DS9 pulled in personal drama to sci-fi, VOY was just like its ship [flung out there and then got lost but somehow survived 7 seasons anyway], ENT tried to pull it back out from the supposedly forming hole as a prequel [but as Voltaire sang in the live-only line, "it's such a bad idea you'd swear that Lucas was involved"]. I don't even know what to say about TAS and the movies... well they're their own species.
Oh, and what I've just said up there about VOY, not my opinion, because I really like it [better than DS9 or ENT IMO] but I'm just saying how it got mainstream.
There's that.
TOS started it, TNG threw it "out there", DS9 pulled in personal drama to sci-fi, VOY was just like its ship [flung out there and then got lost but somehow survived 7 seasons anyway], ENT tried to pull it back out from the supposedly forming hole as a prequel [but as Voltaire sang in the live-only line, "it's such a bad idea you'd swear that Lucas was involved"]. I don't even know what to say about TAS and the movies... well they're their own species.
Oh, and what I've just said up there about VOY, not my opinion, because I really like it [better than DS9 or ENT IMO] but I'm just saying how it got mainstream.
There's that.
TOS is almost always watchable. There are a few rough ones in season 3 and scattered other areas, but it's just always good. TNG has a few skippable seasons but for the most part was a decent follow up to TOS. DS9 had moments. I liked it, but other than 3 or 4 really good episodes I don't find myself rewatching a lot of DS9. I think it just became too much of a soap opera. ENT would be next with a few good episodes from each season but the only episodes I rewatch a lot are the Mirror universe ones. VOY is trash. I think there were maybe 6 episodes I liked in the whole thing and I never sit down and want to watch a Voyager episode.
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