Great Trek eras

[Quantum21]

What do you think of as great Trek eras? A fit of nostalgia hit me as I was going though the list of shows on streaming, and made be think about this. By this I mean not just the quality of the productions, but also real world fan reaction.

First on my list, and the one I barely knew was the 70s. It was the era of anticipation and endless reruns, culminating in a massive return film. I don't want to forget TAS in this mix either. This was the era that built fandom into what it became: cons, fanzines, etc. I'm not forgetting the 3 years of the 60s show, but I feel this is the period that built Star Trek.

Next, the movie era. While a lot of us wanted a TV show, there's no denying the anticipation of a big noticeable movie every 2-3 years was exciting and memorable. Terry Matalas' nostalgia comes from this period.

TNG. While the story goes that lots of fans resisted, the truth is most people were happy to see it, and it set records! It set the tone not only for 18 years of Star Trek, but spawned a scifi TV revolution. The last 3 years of the show were probably overall the most popular Trek has been in every aspect...

Related to this is the 90s in general. New TV series, movies and everything under the sun but with a noticeable downward creep after 1998.

The Kurtzman era. Not sure what else to call this...Secret Hideout era? CBS destabilization era? While the middle 90s hit all cylinders, this period from about 2017 to 2023 had its own highlights. It could be said the streaming show licensing sub-era from Netflix and Amazon led to the widest and most immediate viewing audience in Trek history. Modern communication makes the effects a bit different than the 90s but there's no doubt it's a significant part of Trek history with a big following.

The era is technically still going on, but in a holding pattern. Will the 60th anniversary, new movie and Hideout contract ending change things? Stay tuned, Trek isn't going anywhere.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Call it the streaming era.

 

[Quantum21]

Call it the streaming era.

It's a bit too general for me, but not inaccurate.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

The Piller-Behr era. Great stories, great focus on character, lots of episodes, new writers, ... .

 

[Greg Cox]

The Bantam Books era, the Pocket Books era . . . .

Not to be confused with Gold Key era, the DC era, the Marvel era, the DC era again, the Marvel era again, the Malibu era, the IDW era . . .

 

[publiusr]

I think TNG is what most folks think of if asked to name a Trek Era.

 

[Greg Cox]

I think TNG is what most folks think of if asked to name a Trek Era.

I don't know. The TNG era is just one era of Star Trek, not the era.

Star Trek was a phenomenon, with a famously active fandom, long before TNG came along.

And a whole new generation of Trekkies is growing up on the modern shows and movies.

 

[Lord Garth]

I'm going to look at it by decade.

'60s --> New episodes of TOS every week.
'70s --> TOS reruns, TAS, and TMP as the punctuation mark.
'80s --> Most of the TOS Movies along with the first three seasons of TNG.
'90s --> The majority of TNG, all of DS9, most of VOY, the final TOS Movie, and three TNG Movies.
'00s --> The tail-end of VOY, all of ENT, the final TNG Movie, and the 2009 Movie.
'10s --> Into Darkness, Beyond, and the first two seasons of DSC.
'20s --> The majority of DSC and everything since.

Hmmmm. In the '70s, TMP would be THE Star Trek Event. In the '80s, new Star Trek still felt like an event. The '90s had Star Trek overload. The '00s had Star Trek fatigue. The '10s were back to Star Trek feeling like an event. Now we've got the 2020s (just typing the "the '20s" still makes me think of the 1920s). I'd say Star Trek is on overload, except it's not true because of the long gaps between seasons and how short they are.

Looking at it this way, I'm going to go with the '80s as the Great Era. Star Trek would've felt like an event from start-to-finish, if you include that TMP was still in theaters for much of 1980. If "The Best of Both Worlds" had aired in 1989 instead of 1990, it would frame up together perfectly. It still can, if you don't want to leave it out on account of a technicality.

In the '90s, Star Trek starts to feel too common place. Even though "The Best of Both Worlds", TNG's 100th Episode (namely "Redemption"), "Unification", Star Trek VI, "All Good Things", the premieres of DS9 and VOY, Generations, and First Contact would all feel like Big Events. There are others too, but those are arguably the main ones. Quite a few episodes and movies that felt like events in the '90s, the more I think about it. But the '80s didn't have oversaturation the way the '90s did as time wore on.

 

[Vger23]

My favorite era in the Trek timeline was 1979-1994.

It may be a little long to classify as an "era," but it was definitely where my interest was maxed.

1979: TOS re-runs ongoing, TAS reruns ongoing, TMP released
1980-1986: Reruns ongoing, TWOK, TSFS, TVH, TNG announced
1987-1991: Reruns ongoing, TNG premiers, TNG earlier seasons, TFF, TUC
1992-1993: DS9 Announced, TNG later seasons
1994: "All Good Things...", GEN

To me, that was the "peak" or the golden age.

If I had to nail it to a decade, I'd say the 1980's for sure.

 

[1001001]

What do you think of as great Trek eras?

 

[Uhura's Song]

For me, working chronologically:

1) Original era: 1966-1978. TOS, TOS syndication. TAS.

2) TOS Movie era: 1979-1986. TMP, TWoK, TSFS, TVH + TOS/TAS syndication & reruns.

3) Berman era. 1987-2008. TNG, TFF, TUC, DS9, GEN, VOY, FC, INS, ENT, NEM + continued reruns of old shows.

4) Kelvin era: 2009-2016. The three Kelvin movies plus syndication of the prior shows.

5) Streaming era: 2017-present: DISCO, Short Treks, PIC, LD, PRO, SNW, Section 31, SFA + continued reruns.

Quibble with starting a new era only when new shows/movies come out.

For me:
1) Berman era
2) Streaming
3) Original
4) TOS movie
5) Kelvin

 

[I am not Spock]

i got into trek in 94. TNG was winding down, and we had DS9. TNG movies and VOY were on the horizon. I consider 90s a golden era of Trek , most definitely.

It started winding down after DS9 ended.

I would consider the Kurtzman era similarly a golden era. We have more trek than ever before. Although it also feels Kurtzman era is winding down too. In 2023 we had 5 trek shows in production . Now we have one , SFA

 

[CoveTom]

I don't know. The TNG era is just one era of Star Trek, not the era.

Star Trek was a phenomenon, with a famously active fandom, long before TNG came along.

And a whole new generation of Trekkies is growing up on the modern shows and movies.

True, TNG is just one era. However, there is not another Trek era before or since that had the same level of popularity, ratings success, and pop culture penetration *at the time it was airing* as TNG. Yes, TOS achieved much of that later, but not at the time. TNG is the only time Trek has really achieved mainstream ratings success on a level that would match hit network television shows.

 

[Mage]

1966-current time. Best Trek era.

 

[fireproof78]

TOS era through the films.

 

[Qonundrum]

I could go back and forth on this... but my top 3 (based on known conventions/series titles) are:


1 (or 2 or 3) is TNG (seasons 2-4)
2 (or 1 or 3) is TOS (seasons 1-3 and movies lumped in)
3 (or 2 or 1) is DS9 (seasons 4-6)

Honorable mention is VOY (seasons 4-5)

The seasons in parentheses contain the greatest number of episodes I'll rewatch out of genuine like. Each series has a sporadic count of individual episodes that rise above the others, Even TNG season one, but those in parentheses are where the highest quantity of the best of the best end up in.


TNG definitely hit the right place at the right time, as TOS was at its zenith and would eventually decline as reruns can only go on for so long (noting how often some of us rewatch older episodes on home video venues, of course, as some of them really do stand out well beyond the time in which they were made... also, if my lengthy posts ever bore you, here's one that's more tedious and boring! ) I do remember at the time feeling mildly irked as TNG was taking itself seriously all while TOS was using joke fodder, but that was when there were only two series tied to the same franchise name. But the casting was spot on and they brought in the right writers and producers to ensure long-term success, which is not unimportant. Nowadays, there's so much more to gravitate toward, in whatever direction one wants, and all have at least a handful of interesting stories regardless of all else. But, IMHO, the first three series in the franchise umbrella will always remain the best.


IMHO, I just can't get into the prequels (even ENT) the same way most do, though one or two standalone episodes I would put in a "like" list.

 

[Qonundrum]

True, TNG is just one era. However, there is not another Trek era before or since that had the same level of popularity, ratings success, and pop culture penetration *at the time it was airing* as TNG. Yes, TOS achieved much of that later, but not at the time. TNG is the only time Trek has really achieved mainstream ratings success on a level that would match hit network television shows.

Any sci-fi show, any, that breaches the "niche" of the genre to pique the adoration of mass pop culture, while still feeling like sci-fi, is a VERY impressive feat. A rare one too.