New to Star Trek, watch order

[Nyuling]

Hi guys. I'm really a newbie to star trek, so I need some advice on how to get in to this massive series.

My Star Trek experience before now was the new J.J. Abrams Trek movies and I've started watching Discovery.

Before this, I watched the odd episode on TV but I always found them pretty boring. Now I was a pretty dumb kid, so when I noticed that every other series of Star Trek was on Netflix I decided to give it another go and have a look at the first episode of the original series. I was surprised to find that the story was interesting and wanted to see more...but where on earth to start?

After a bit of research of where to start watching, I found this website that shows a Chronological order of each episode.

I really enjoy watching Spin off series' in an order where cross over episodes line up. I've done this with Stargate SG1/Atlantis and Buffy/Angel so I'm looking forward to doing the same with Star Trek (I have links to watching order if anyone is interested).

I am episode 15 into Star Trek Enterprise at the moment, and thoroughly enjoying it despite being told it isn't that great compared to other series, I know that some of you may recommend not starting with this series, I feel I've committed now and it would be pointless to stop half way through and come back later.

So just a few questions for you Trek experts out there.

1. Should I watch the animated series or just skip? I can take old special effects, but that animation looks pretty bad.
2. Those enterprise episodes that slot in waay later in the chronology list...what's up with that and should I actually watch in that order? Looking ahead, it would mean not watching the final episode of Enterprise until I'm well into TNG which may leave me with no closure to Enterprise.
3. The TOS order on that Chronology website is actually different to the order on Netflix, the reason that this website gives is because it's going with production order rather than release order. Is there any merit to going with the websites order, or should I skip the hassle and go for the Netflix order?

 

[Tosk]

1. Honestly, I would watch a few key eps of TAS and skip the rest.

2. I would finish ENT before moving on. The chronological aspect of one ep won't spoil anything important for later. (On the other hand, prepare for the last ep of ENT to be a bit of a bummer.)

3. I personally prefer production order for TOS.

 

[sbk1234]

I recently started my daughter on her first watch of Star Trek. I had her watch in production order, starting with TOS. I figure this was the order that helped catapult Star Trek into the phenomena it is today, so that works just fine.
Also, in this order, you'll be learning things in the order that the producers intended audiences to learn them.

 

[Nyuling]

Thanks for the reply Tosk. Which of the episodes of TAS are worth the watch?

@sbk1234 I've already started with ENT I'm afraid and I don't really want to stop now. The production order I was talking about is specifically for TOS, it's different to the release order that is on Netflix.

 

[Tosk]

Which of the episodes of TAS are worth the watch?

Yesteryear is a must. Beyond that I'll defer to others that know TAS better than me. Some of them might even encourage you to watch the whole lot.

 

[Mattadd]

First of all Enterprise is a great series and I wouldn't let anyone tell you otherwise. Also I looked at that list and I disagree with where they put those late Enterprise episodes. I understand why they were put into the list the way they were, but I don't think it's accurate, the entire series, including the late listed episodes all take place in the same few years.

Second, skip the Animated Series. And The Original Series.

On second thought though, I actually do think it's a good idea to watch "These Are the Voyages" which is the Enterprise episode listed in the middle of TNG to watch it where it's listed. You can for all intents and purposes treat the second last Enterprise episode as the series finale.

 

[sbk1234]

Thanks for the reply Tosk. Which of the episodes of TAS are worth the watch?

@sbk1234 I've already started with ENT I'm afraid and I don't really want to stop now. The production order I was talking about is specifically for TOS, it's different to the release order that is on Netflix.

Keep at Enterprise, by all means. Of course, after Enterprise it's more or less in production order, anyway.

I know you'll hear a lot of negative about Enterprise, but I liked the series. Like any show, it had its good and bad episodes. I agree that the final episode was a clunker, but make up your own mind.
Enjoy.

 

[Mattadd]

Keep at Enterprise, by all means. Of course, after Enterprise it's more or less in production order, anyway.

I know you'll hear a lot of negative about Enterprise, but I liked the series. Like any show, it had its good and bad episodes. I agree that the final episode was a clunker, but make up your own mind.
Enjoy.

As a series finale for Enterprise it's terrible. But if you treat it as a 7th season episode of TNG, which is where it is in the list, then I think it actually becomes a lot more palatable.

 

[Nyuling]

Second, skip the Animated Series. And The Original Series.

I do want to watch The original series, just to see the one that started it all.

 

[Captain pl1ngpl0ng]

Enterprise is a good show, i used to play 2-3 episodes on dvd as a "christmas-calendar" for my kids during december at bed-time when they where younger. Good memories.... "Sniff"

 

[Mattadd]

I do want to watch The original series, just to see the one that started it all.

Good luck then. I will tip my hat to you if you manage to make it through the whole original series. I've tried several times and can never make it past more than a few episodes.

 

[Nyuling]

Good luck then. I will tip my hat to you if you manage to make it through the whole original series. I've tried several times and can never make it past more than a few episodes.

I actually enjoyed the Pilot The Cage, very dated but I thought it was an interesting story.

I watched The Man Trap after and enjoyed it too, but less so than the cage, I've seen the alien that can disguise itself as a human plenty of times before. Due to the age of the show though, I imagine that it may have been the first to do that, so I'm interested in seeing the origins of a lot of sci fi tropes.

I've been told that some of TOS movies are pretty good too and worth the watch.

 

[Captain pl1ngpl0ng]

I've been told that some of TOS movies are pretty good too and worth the watch.

The voyage home! its simply brilliant entertaining!

 

[Mattadd]

I actually enjoyed the Pilot The Cage, very dated but I thought it was an interesting story.

I watched The Man Trap after and enjoyed it too, but less so than the cage, I've seen the alien that can disguise itself as a human plenty of times before. Due to the age of the show though, I imagine that it may have been the first to do that, so I'm interested in seeing the origins of a lot of sci fi tropes.

I've been told that some of TOS movies are pretty good too and worth the watch.

I'll admit the TOS movies are pretty good. A lot better than the series. But if you managed to get through The Man Trap without wanting to claw your eyes out then you have a much better chance of getting through TOS than I did.

 

[Balok's Decoy]

Hi guys. I'm really a newbie to star trek, so I need some advice on how to get in to this massive series.

My Star Trek experience before now was the new J.J. Abrams Trek movies and I've started watching Discovery.

Before this, I watched the odd episode on TV but I always found them pretty boring. Now I was a pretty dumb kid, so when I noticed that every other series of Star Trek was on Netflix I decided to give it another go and have a look at the first episode of the original series. I was surprised to find that the story was interesting and wanted to see more...but where on earth to start?

After a bit of research of where to start watching, I found this website that shows a Chronological order of each episode.

I really enjoy watching Spin off series' in an order where cross over episodes line up. I've done this with Stargate SG1/Atlantis and Buffy/Angel so I'm looking forward to doing the same with Star Trek (I have links to watching order if anyone is interested).

I am episode 15 into Star Trek Enterprise at the moment, and thoroughly enjoying it despite being told it isn't that great compared to other series, I know that some of you may recommend not starting with this series, I feel I've committed now and it would be pointless to stop half way through and come back later.

So just a few questions for you Trek experts out there.

1. Should I watch the animated series or just skip? I can take old special effects, but that animation looks pretty bad.
2. Those enterprise episodes that slot in waay later in the chronology list...what's up with that and should I actually watch in that order? Looking ahead, it would mean not watching the final episode of Enterprise until I'm well into TNG which may leave me with no closure to Enterprise.
3. The TOS order on that Chronology website is actually different to the order on Netflix, the reason that this website gives is because it's going with production order rather than release order. Is there any merit to going with the websites order, or should I skip the hassle and go for the Netflix order?

YES, I think you should watch TAS because it's an underrated gem. If you can look past the shoddy 70s animation, there's some excellent Trek stories in that series. Worth a try.

Also, honestly, if you liked the first episode of TOS, just keep going. It's a blast.

And don't listen to other people's opinions on ENT. There are actually many people on this board who really dig it (I'm one of them).

 

[sbk1234]

TAS. Yesteryear is considered the best. I personally really liked the Pirates of Orion, also.

 

[Iamnotspock]

After a bit of research of where to start watching, I found this website that shows a Chronological order of each episode.

Those enterprise episodes that slot in waay later in the chronology list...what's up with that and should I actually watch in that order? Looking ahead, it would mean not watching the final episode of Enterprise until I'm well into TNG which may leave me with no closure to Enterprise.

My advice is to simply follow that website. All will become clear when you watch in that order.

Although generally a prequel series set 100 years before the original series, there are occasional episodes of ENT that tie into later events in the earlier series, which depend on a working knowledge of those shows. When ENT was cancelled in 2005, it didn't just mark the end of ENT itself, but of 18 years of TV Trek since 1987, beginning with TNG and encompassing DS9 and VOY, so the final episode is a coda to that whole era, with TNG characters looking back at the events of ENT from a historical perspective, thus fitting ENT into the wider canon. It's best watched during your TNG run, as it's effectively an episode of that show (this was controversial at the time; many fans and, understandably, some of the ENT cast didn't care for their final episode being essentially a TNG episode). The two episodes before that form a two-parter that's much more of a true finale to ENT, and give some closure on that era and those characters.

 

[cwellslovell]

I've been told that some of TOS movies are pretty good too and worth the watch.

I grew up on the TOS movies, only watching the TOS series out of order and in spurts as I could rent them on VHS, they weren't as important to me as the six TOS movies, which are in my humble opinion the best stretch of franchise sci fi filmmaking there is. TMP is clunky and dated but a gorgeous story and watching 2-6 you see the cast age and tackle cold war era politics, environmentalism, religious zealoutry and more in really fun ways. The TOS movies along with TNG/ DS9 is really the best of Trek for me. ENT and DIS are enjoyable fleshing out of the universe but I could watch those movies over and over.

The VHS releases that formed a big portrait of the Enterprise on their spines is still a prozed possesion in my house.

 

[cwellslovell]

Also, and I'm sorry to break the rules about double posting uninterrupted but I forgot to say the most important thing...

CONGRATULATIONS!! I'm so excoted and happy for you to experience a really cool artistic and cultural experience for the first time!

 

[The Old Mixer]

Production order definitely makes more sense for TOS, especially the early 1st season episodes.