New to Star Trek --> What am I in for?

[Star Runner]

Hey all! I'm new to this forum as I'm also new to Star Trek. I first came in contact with it when the JJ Abrams film came out 2 years ago. I'm probably one of many who got first exposed to Star Trek when that movie came out, not only because of its popularity but because I'm 22 and was never really turned onto it by anyone.

I was ignorant to Star Trek as being legit or any different from Star Wars, until I saw the 2009 film. Now I understand why there are Trekkies (or is it Trekkers?). It's totally different than Star Wars in a sense that it's more based on reason and has a more realistic feel to its portrayal of the future. At least that was my take on it. But that idea really left an impression on me. It was all about human's advancement in technology as a catalyst for these explorations. I also liked the conflict between Spock's logic driven lifestyle versus Kirk's emotional driven one (through gut feelings, and personal sense of right and wrong). I thought that was a real interesting concept considering that is usually a huge difference when considering personalities (an example being the Myers Briggs Type Indicator).

Anyway it has piqued my curiousity and now that I've discovered how many tv series and films were made (let alone the number of shows) I can't think of a better thing to involve my interest in.

So, where do you all recommend I start? I've heard the Wrath of Khan is considered by many Star Trek fans to be the best ST film. And what about tv series?

 

[TiberiusMaximus]

Well, if that's what you liked about Star Trek '09, you'll probably enjoy the other series and movies as well.

The Wrath of Khan is classic Trek, and it would probably make a good starting point. Then I'd suggest you watch a few episodes of The Original Series to see where it all began. And if you like the 'character driven' parts of ST09, Deep Space Nine probably has the best written and performed characters of any of the series, though opinions differ on that one.

 

[BillJ]

So, where do you all recommend I start?

The Cage, the first pilot shot in 1964.

 

[iguana_tonante]

What are you in for? Hell of a ride.

 

[RandyS]

^I agree, start with "The Cage". As for you're in for, I can answer that with one word:

Fun. A good time.

Okay, that's four words. I stink at math.

My personal feeling is that even bad Star Trek is better than any other show.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Welcome to the franchise, Star Runner! Don't believe what they say about Trek fans... well, a lot of it is true, probably, but pay it no mind, anyway.

You sound like someone who would appreciate what Star Trek has to offer; the things you cited as what you enjoyed from the new movie can be found in great abundance all over the place.

It's a very diverse franchise, though. And the shows (with the exception of the first one, back in 1966-1969) have a strong tendency to start out pretty weakly compared to how great they get once the writers and actors have a firm grasp of what they're going for. So in other words, it's sometimes easy for new fans to get turned off by something they might have really enjoyed if they'd stuck around for a season or two.

Where to begin really depends on what you're in the mood for. Some will say it's best to start with the first episodes of the first show, but I've always held to the belief that if you're getting involved with Trek for the first time, you should start out with things immediately up your alley and then expand outward from there. You can always do a full-blown chronological rewatch sometime into the future if you get sucked into it all. And have a lot of time on your hands.

You sound like you really enjoyed the characterization of the film. Like Tiberius pointed out, Deep Space Nine focuses on its cast the most. That's not to say the other shows have totally bland casts by any means, but that one really hammers out a plot and sticks with it. 'Tis the most serialized of the series; the rest are significantly less so.

You'd also miss out on some of the oomph behind DS9's earlier hours (which are, admittedly, pretty iffy compared to later on) because it builds off of a pre-established world from the shows before it.

If you're in the mood for something more 'typical Trek', then your options are quite diverse. TOS, the old show with the original Kirk, Spock and so forth... well, it's not everyone's cup of tea (it was TV from the 60s!) but it's damn good if 'dated' doesn't bother you. TNG is a terrific show overall (the one with the 'bald guy', Picard) but its first season is dreadful and I'd worry you would get turned off from Trek for good.

There's also Voyager and Enterprise. Voyager's about a crew trying to find its way back home and Enterprise is a prequel to everything but really benefits from viewer familiarity with stuff, so I wouldn't recommend them.

Oi, I've typed your eyes off. Sorry!

 

[Kai "the spy"]

I was ignorant to Star Trek as being legit or any different from Star Wars, until I saw the 2009 film.

Wait, the Abrams film made you see the differences to SW?

As for where to start, Jeff O'Connor's essentially right, go for what interests you, but have patience. If you like the Kirk/Spock routine, TOS is the obvious choice, ENTERPRISE has a similar routine with Captain Archer and T'Pol.

 

[Kirkman1987]

Welcome to the Star Trek Universe

You'll find quite a few younger people here, and I think we've picked up several members since the film came out, so you are not alone in any regard. I'm 23 myself, although I've been watching Trek for a long time.

Anyway, I disagree with starting out with DS9. It's my 2nd favorite series but It's steeped in backstory. I suggest starting out with episodes of the original series since you are already familiar with those characters from the new film. It's very episodic, so start with any episode. If you just want to test it out, just search this board or google for a list of top 10 episodes or something.

Otherwise, Try the original cast films. The first and fifth films divide the fanbase a little, but II-IV and VI are almost sure bets.

 

[sbk1234]

What are you in for? Hell of a ride.

That is exactly, word for word, what I was going to add! Well, maybe not the smiley. But still, I like the way you think.

Welcome to the Trek family. We're wierd, you'll love it.

 

[Stoek]

Hello and welcome Star Runner.

Many of the suggestions you've been given are good ones. The truth is that is will take some time and investigation on your part to figure out your personal Trek style. I do however have one very concrete suggestion.

Look for this DVD Collection. It contains episodes from each of the series, one episode each selected by the actor who played the Captain of that series (Shatner, Stewart, Brooks, Mulgrew and Bakula) it will give you a pretty good sense of each series and may help you to decide which one to watch first.

Also there are a great many wonderful books in fact there is a whole sub forum here to discuss them. Not only are there books which continue the adventures of the tv shows and movies but there are also books featuring characters and events that are set in the same mileu but are wholly original to the novels. Also of interest to you may be books like this.

Ultimately, have fun, and don't be afraid to Trek your own way. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. Someone (usually several someones) will be more than happpy to answer.

 

[The Wormhole]

Welcome the the Trek Fold. If you liked Trek XI, than you're going to be blown away with what the rest of Trek offers.

When it comes to the rest of the movies, I would recommend going in order of when they were released. Mind you, this is only required with 2, 3, and 4, but really it's a nice way to go through the run.

When it comes to the TV shows, I would recommend you check out the various Fan Collective DVD sets. These include fan-voted episodes from all the series focusing on certain themes. There's a Borg set, Time Travel, Q, Klingons, Captains, and Alternate Realities. From these you cna get a good sampling of the various series, and depending on which one you like, you can explore further with the season sets of that particular series. Though if you want to sample TOS or TNG specifically, there's also best of sets for those two series.

Star Trek is a wonderful world which can bring out the best and worst of television and movies, and you have no idea how lucky you are to be experiencing it all for the first time. Cherish the experience, these hours will never come again.

 

[Star Runner]

Thanks all for the great advice!

I'll check out DS9 and TOS, along with the earlier films. I take it that most would recommend starting w/ Wrath of Khan as opposed to ST1. So I'll look into watching ST2.

 

[6079SmithW]

If you're going to watch Wrath of Khan, you should know that it's a sequel to the TOS episode "Space Seed." Although TWOK can be enjoyed on its own, watching SS first might give it some context.

 

[Subcommander R.]

Each show has its own emphasis.

The Original Series: Its a seat-of-your-pants classic space adventure. Fistfights, alien babes, and crazy creatures.

The Next Generation: Its a universe of diplomacy, friends, enemies, disasters, politics, and the continual quest for peace and prosperity. My personal favorite.

Deep Space 9: Its basically a serial. Some people swear by it, I hated most of it. Too grandiose and sweeping.

Voyager: Now there's a divisive series. Its pretty much impossible for me to describe, you'll have to form your own opinion. I see it as a weird combination of DS9 and TNG attributes with a dozen other influences.

The Movies: These vary wildly. To summarize though (IMO of course), II (Wrath of Khan), IV (Voyage Home), and VI (Undiscovered Country) are very good. But you'll need to watch III (Search for Spock) to understand IV. Then the TNG movies: Generations is meh. First Contact is amazing (you will love it). Insurrection was meh. And Nemesis? I pretend it didn't happen.

 

[Nerd unRage]

I, too, am new to Star Trek via the 2009 movie so I completely understand where you are coming from. I've watched all of TOS and if you can get past the 60s sets and some of the questionable acting and plots, it's really quite enjoyable. I find it interesting to see how many of the ideas presented in it have come true already or are still highly relevant to now.

Since I'm into going in order, I'd watch TOS first then the movies although ST: The Motion Picture is just a bad movie. Other than that one, I've enjoyed all the other movies with the original cast.

TNG is hit and miss for me. Some of the episodes get so bogged down in technobabble that I fall asleep but lately I've been enjoying those more especially when it's a bit more action oriented or has Klingons.

I haven't seen any of the other shows but I look forward to having time somewhere in my life to see the rest of them.

Welcome and live long and prosper

 

[M-Red]

You could actually start with VOY. But don't. And when approaching Voyager, take it slow. Be patient. Don't expect the moon right away...or maybe ever. But focus on this last...it's got its high points, but you won't regret that decision either.


Don't even attempt DS9 until after you've got a good grasp of TNG and TOS. You can....but you'll miss so much that you won't even realize, and it's ultimately not worth cheating yourself.


Try to see the TOS movies before you watch TNG. To start, you can toss in TMP, go run all your daily errands, and make it back for the ending without missing anything.


Try to watch the meat of TOS before doing anything else. Get a feel for it. How the broader narrative is depicted...the themes and philosophies that underwrite the Trek universe.


Start with "The Cage."



And lastly, welcome! Hope you enjoy it. Live long and prosper

 

[Robert DeSoto]

Welcome aboard!

I say you should watch TOS episodes before you go to TOS movies. Especially "Space Seed" because it relates to the second movie.

Some of the younger fans who are used to with modern day special FX and may not really like TOS. But they have a remastered version with some really nice modern day CGI. But I'm around your age and I like TOS fine either way.

After that I'd just suggest you go in order, TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT.

Keep in mind tho, that this is the regular universe you are watching, the one where elder Spock came from. This Captain Kirk didn't have to grow up without his father and get into trouble all the time. So he's a little more disciplined.

One thing you'll find about the Star Trek world is that its huge. Around 700 episodes and 11 movies. And they often relate back and forth to each other. But this is part of the reason why I like it so much. Each episode and movie is like a little piece of a much bigger puzzle. And believe it or not, to help us keep track of this puzzle, we have our own wikipedia site called memory-alpha.org lol. Whenever you're watching a show and you're wondering what they are talking about, this helps.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

And believe it or not, to help us keep track of this puzzle, we have our own wikipedia site called memory-alpha.org lol.

With all due respects, "Glee" has its own wiki.

Still, I have to agree on the usefulness of Memory Alpha. The guys (and gals) working on that site do a really great job.

 

[ColeMercury]

The thing about Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is that it almost completely ignores the existence of The Motion Picture (the only exception is they keep the ship's external redesign from the previous movie -- otherwise it's as if The Motion Picture never happened). So that's why you can skip the first movie entirely. Star Trek II, III and IV all form a sort of loose trilogy so it's best to watch them one after the other. Also, watch them first before moving on to any of the series. (I know some people have said "start with the original series!" but the truth is it's very 1960s-looking, and it's easy to be put off -- particularly if you're expecting something as flashy as the 2009 movie. There are quite a few storytelling gems in there, though -- as well as some complete stinkers, but oh well.)

With TNG, there are some episodes that are essential viewing -- even from the first two seasons which are of much lower quality than the rest. Also, there are several continuing storylines that run through TNG which are definitely worth following, although the format is mostly episodic.

You can skip Star Trek V for basically the same reasons as The Motion Picture: it's not a good story and it's basically completely ignored by everything that came after. Make sure you watch Star Trek VI, though -- it's the original crew's swan song and a damn good story. As for the TNG movies -- Generations is okay but flawed, First Contact is brilliant, Insurrection is okay but flawed, and Nemesis is entirely skippable. I mean, seriously, don't even bother -- it's like Star Trek's equivalent of Superman IV.

DS9 is much more serialised than any of the other series -- it's not completely serialised like Lost, but it's still very very much worth your while to watch the whole thing from beginning to end, in order, skipping nothing. Most of the first season is mediocre (except for the last two episodes, which are amazing), but the quality only goes up and up and up with every season. Yes, it's my favourite, why do you ask?

VOY is structured much like TNG, with the episodic style and a few continuing storylines. It has some really good episodes, but nothing that really reaches the level of "essential viewing". And a whole lot of bad episodes as well.

ENT's first two seasons are episodic and mediocre. Its third season is serialised and pretty damn good. It's fourth season is semi-serialised and pretty damn good in a different way -- except for its final episode, which is again entirely skippable. Seriously, the penultimate episode would function as an excellent finale -- you can pretend the real finale doesn't exist and be happy.

Oh, and viewing order: within each series itself, it's probably best to watch in order of airdate. You may want to watch each series in order of release as well -- it's not essential, but it's still highly recommended to watch TNG before DS9.

 

[Star Runner]

thank you all again for the insight! I got a chance to see part of the very first episode of season 1 (not the pilot), and it was pretty tough to stomach. I love how the ST website offers all their episodes for free streaming! that's effin' sweet. I don't see myself getting into a series though, as I've always been a movie lover primarily and am not very big into tv series. I DO however understand that those very passionate about this world would say its necessary to watch the series at least for context. I'll check out Space Seed though before beginning Khan.

I'm also finding out how passionate the original actors are about Star Trek, with them even being really involved in the production (Nimoy directing 3 and 4 which I didn't know, and Shatner directing 5). Whenever I see them on tv or whatever at Trek events they seem genuinely happy and involved with fans and such. You can tell many of them appreciate what it is, and that fact draws me into it even more. (Harrison Ford when it comes to Star Wars on the otherhand, couldn't see the point in Han Solo as a character and wanted him to die in Empire Strikes Back)

I'm excited to start the films II-IV, and I'll take everyone's advice and skip V, moving on to VI instead.