Rank the Trek series

[Ometiklan]

1. DS9 - great main cast, best supporting cast of all shows, best villains (along with the Borg), best overall worldbuilding; turned a couple of sci-fi adventure shows into a universe

2. TNG - my sentimental favorite, the best cast "family", felt like almost anything amazing and exciting could happen week-to-week

3. TOS - Obviously most iconic main characters, best sense of adventure, really strong through 2 seasons

4. LDS - Recaptures the best of '90s Trek and the Trek optimism while adding more humor and perspective, could rank higher in the future if it keeps it up

5. SNW - Like LDS, recaptures the spirit of Trek; almost nothing I dislike about it; hope it continues its current quality level and maybe goes a little deeper with plot/story complexity or more innovation once the characters are all introduced

6. VOY - Some great sci-fi concepts and several great actors/characters (Seven, the Doctor, Tuvok), but didn't really fulfill its premise or its full potential; needed more character development/character continuity

7. PRO - Good, if a little lightweight; need to see a full season to really know where it ranks and if it will stand the test of time

8. ENT - Has a few good characters (T'Pol, Phlox, and maybe Trip), and some great episodes, but didn't really hit for me until season 4, just in time for cancellation; didn't really "feel" like early space exploration (because the tech performed exactly the same with just different names slapped on) with the exception that they didn't have any support out there (except for eventually the Vulcans and Andorians, the characterization of which I really enjoyed)

9. DIS - Has very strong actors (could have been an all-time triumvirate with sarcastic Prime Georgiou, human-raised-as-a-Vulcan Burnham, and super-cautious Saru; original-flavor snarky Stamets and pre-MU-reveal Lorca were also great); struggled with walking back a lot of the "interesting" artistic choices/differences from the start (some of which, like the interesting character traits mentioned above, should have been kept); suffers massively from bad serialization, too much melodrama and tonal whiplash, and frankly boring or nonsensical or overly dire (i.e., galaxy-threatening) plot arcs

10. PIC - Really liked the new/different characters of Rios, Raffi, and Elnor (more the candor, less the Elvin warrior) and the focus they got when introduced; but like DIS, suffers even worse from bad serialization; I was the most excited I have ever been for a new Trek show when they announced the return of Picard, hopefully season 3 will redeem it

11. TAS - nice that they had (most of) the original cast, and they stretched what cool sci-fi stuff they could do with animation compared to live action, but the stories are largely bad (with a few exceptions)

Short Treks I didn't rank because they aren't a show, more like a bunch of "deleted scenes" from other shows

 

[FederationHistorian]

1. DS9
2. LD
3. TNG
4. TOS/TAS
5. VOY
6. ENT
7. SNW
8. PIC
9. ST
10. PRO
11. DIS

 

[donners22]

DS9 - Best character development and most interesting ongoing stories. Started slow and lost its way towards the end, but seasons 4-6 are excellent.

TOS - The stories still hold up well today, and I love the main trio.

VOY - It’s frequently lazy, relying far too heavily on tired tropes and reset buttons, and it wasted its premise. However it’s consistently enjoyable light entertainment.

DSC - I adored the first season, finally breaking Trek out of its Berman-era rut, and mostly enjoyed the second. The third was flat and I’ve not seen the fourth thanks to the move off Netflix. While it is bad at finishing stories, I enjoy the characters more than most other Trek series.

ENT - Often juvenile or just dumb, but the last couple of seasons were very good.

PIC - They’ve thrown away opportunities - the first season ended so flatly and the second lost momentum and wasted my two favourite characters - but it has produced some wonderful moments.

Short Treks - Very hit or miss, but the hits are worthwhile and it’s a good idea.

TNG - has some brilliant episodes, but on average it’s dull with uninteresting characters and technobabble overload. I skip more of it than any other series on rewatches.

LDS - I don’t find it particularly funny and don’t like the characters.

TAS - I’ve owned the complete set for years but haven’t been able to force myself through it.

Haven’t seen SNW or PRO.

 

[ELCHawk]

1. TNG and DS9: My two all time favorite shows of any genre. Grew up watching them both. Far and away the greatest Trek shows by far. They are quite different shows but both great representations of Star Trek and Star Trek at its best. I do hate season 1 of TNG, however. As for DS9, the Ferengi episodes were not my favorite. Picard and Sisko are my favorite captains. Great shows!
3. Strange New Worlds: It may sound silly as I only watched 4 episodes, but they have been fantastic. It also doesn't take it to seriously unlike Discovery and Picard.
4. Prodigy: IMO the first 10 episodes of the first season is the best first season of any Trek. At first, at 46, I had little interest. But, damn, I am glad I watched it.
5. Lower Decks: Took me a few episodes, but damn do I love it now. It is funny and you can tell the creator really loves Trek. Closest show to TNG.
6. Picard: Picard is my favorite Trek character, but the show has been a tad disappointing. Still love it though. The cast really grew on me and Patrick Stewart is still the man. Really excited for season 3 but will miss Jurati and Rios.
7. Discovery: I don't hate it like many do. However, it is my least favorite of the new shows. Burnham really improved in season 4. I like the characters and visually it is so beautiful. I like it better in the 32nd century. I really hope season 5 is not them saving the galaxy, but more episodic like SNW.
8. Voyager: I don't hate it, but don't love it either. There are some really great episodes but also some really terrible episodes. It could have been so much better. It could have been Star Trek's version of Battlestar Galactica. Liked the cast though, especially Janeway, the Doctor, and Seven.
9. Enterprise: Like Voyager, could have been so much better. It did get much better the last 2 seasons. Scott Bakula, one of my favorite actors, and the rest of the terrific cast deserved better. Still better than a lot of shows out there.
10. TOS: To be honest, before my time. Also, a little to cheesy for me. Still groundbreaking television.
11. TAS: Never watched it.

 

[tomalak301]

Not sure if I've done this in this thread but considering we have so many new series now, it's good to revisit.

TNG/DS9 - This was top tier Trek for me, and it came at a time when I was growing up. For Nostalgic reasons I don't think they will ever be passed.

Voyager - This came out when I was in middle school and High School so there is still that nostalgia factor for me. It's a bit of a step down from TNG/DS9 though.

Prodigy - I've been really impressed by Prodigy. I know it's still early, but I think this is the one series I get excited about when it comes to new episodes.

Lower Decks - This is Trek having fun and I'm having fun with it

Enterprise - The series that got me through the end of High School and Start of College. I've come to like it more on each rewatch

Star Trek - It's the original so I can't place it last. I still prefer the other series over this though, and Age has a factor as well

Picard - Season 1 was better on a rewatch and Season 2 started out so well. I hated what Season 2 became though, as I thought it was an incoherent mess.

Discovery - Season 1 and 2 were good. I haven't been a fan of Season 3 or 4 and wish there was more depth to the characters not named Burnham.

It's too early to rank SNW, but I am loving it very much. I would probably put it below Lower Decks

 

[brandnewfan]

I can't accurately rank all the current shows since they're still airing...but as of right now, here's mine. Fan since 1992, btw.

1. Deep Space 9
2. The Next Generation
3. Strange New Worlds (realllllllly hard to rank this one since we're only a handful of episodes in....but I'm loving it)
4. Lower Decks
5. Prodigy
6. The Original Series
7. Picard
8. Enterprise
9. Voyager
10. Discovery
11. The Animated Series

 

[ELCHawk]

1. TNG and DS9: My two all time favorite shows of any genre. Grew up watching them both. Far and away the greatest Trek shows by far. They are quite different shows but both great representations of Star Trek and Star Trek at its best. I do hate season 1 of TNG, however. As for DS9, the Ferengi episodes were not my favorite. Picard and Sisko are my favorite captains. Great shows!
3. Strange New Worlds: It may sound silly as I only watched 4 episodes, but they have been fantastic. It also doesn't take it to seriously unlike Discovery and Picard.
4. Prodigy: IMO the first 10 episodes of the first season is the best first season of any Trek. At first, at 46, I had little interest. But, damn, I am glad I watched it.
5. Lower Decks: Took me a few episodes, but damn do I love it now. It is funny and you can tell the creator really loves Trek. Closest show to TNG.
6. Picard: Picard is my favorite Trek character, but the show has been a tad disappointing. Still love it though. The cast really grew on me and Patrick Stewart is still the man. Really excited for season 3 but will miss Jurati and Rios.
7. Discovery: I don't hate it like many do. However, it is my least favorite of the new shows. Burnham really improved in season 4. I like the characters and visually it is so beautiful. I like it better in the 32nd century. I really hope season 5 is not them saving the galaxy, but more episodic like SNW.
8. Voyager: I don't hate it, but don't love it either. There are some really great episodes but also some really terrible episodes. It could have been so much better. It could have been Star Trek's version of Battlestar Galactica. Liked the cast though, especially Janeway, the Doctor, and Seven.
9. Enterprise: Like Voyager, could have been so much better. It did get much better the last 2 seasons. Scott Bakula, one of my favorite actors, and the rest of the terrific cast deserved better. Still better than a lot of shows out there.
10. TOS: To be honest, before my time. Also, a little to cheesy for me. Still groundbreaking television.
11. TAS: Never watched it.

After rewatching Prodigy, I think it has passed SNW.

 

[dupersuper]

TNG - ...technobabble overload.

Yet Voyager's your 3rd...

 

[Eddie Roth]

These rankings are always tricky. But here's my attempt:

1a) The Original Series - Nothing beats the classic, or: This is the show I would choose if I could only keep one ST show.
1b) Deep Space Nine- Clearly 'the best' in terms of writing, scope, ambition, innovation. What slightly annoyed me over the years was the narrow focus on one or two characters in an episode which they often had, where much of the main cast was reduced to a cameo in the first or last scene. (I distinctly remember seeing "Through the Looking Glass" for the first time, and the Quark/Odo business in the teaser being an obvious way to bring them into the episode, because the rest was going to be in the mirror universe, where they were both dead). But that's a minor quibble of course.
1c) The Next Generation - also a co-number one because it combines the best of both of the above, expanded greatly upon TOS, forged its own path and prefigured some of the character work that would later happen on DS9. It's the most rewatchable all around and my go-to show whenever it's been a while and I need a Star Trek fix.

4) Voyager - the longer it's been, the more I appreciate this show. It has the warm family feel of TNG, and as such, I see it as seasons 8-14 of that show almost. But they also did exciting things of their own doing. Never lived up to its premise, yes, but if you watch it as episodic Star Trek, it's on the same level as the others.

5) Picard - The only complaint I have is how convoluted the season-long story arcs have been, needlessly so. It just goes to show that the current producers have a bit of a misunderstanding of how modern TV works. It doesn't need to be a mystery if you want continuing storylines. Less is more sometimes. But I find the development of Picard and the exploration of his character extremely moving and can't wait for the TNG reunion in season 3.

6) Enterprise - Like Voyager, a show I was critical of when it was new, and I even gave up on it during its original run. But a recent rewatch has shown that their hit-to-miss ratio, while slightly worse than the above, was still pretty good. Especially season 3 brought some uniqueness.

7) Strange New Worlds - Before this week, I would've rated this higher, maybe even above Picard. But then, they served up their first stinker in "Spock Amok", which causes me some concern that the generally great concept of going back to classic Trek adventure has been just a fig leaf intended to cover up that they really just want to do more silly bits of character randomness and focusing on feelings. The jury is out on this show.

8a) & 8b) Lower Decks & The Animated Series - Regardless of franchise, animation tends to register as "less important" than live action. Both have had excellent episodes though. But they never feel like the Trek main course, rather a side dish or dessert.

10) Prodigy - I've only seen half the season yet, and it's alright, but it feels more like Star Wars to me than Star Trek. Maybe that changes in the back half. I don't know yet. Thus far, it's nice but forgettable as Star Trek.

11) Discovery - how anyone could seriously claim that this show has been improving is beyond me. IMO, the show got worse with every season, culminating in the absolutely laughable season 4 HAMMERING HOME of their intended "theme": every f**** episode saw some character taking about "uncertainty" and "connecting", which to my mind signifies helplesness in communicating your intent through actual story. This is a show aimed at a Gen Z audience and plays, accordingly, like a mediocre young adult novel. Conflicts and emotional moments never feel earned because they are often pulled out of a hat. Occasionally, that would be fine, but it's become so frequent that it's comical. Although I've always at least 'liked' every ST in over 30 years as a fan, this has become the one show that I actively dislike.

 

[brandnewfan]

11) Discovery - how anyone could seriously claim that this show has been improving is beyond me. IMO, the show got worse with every season, culminating in the absolutely laughable season 4 HAMMERING HOME of their intended "theme": every f**** episode saw some character taking about "uncertainty" and "connecting", which to my mind signifies helplesness in communicating your intent through actual story. This is a show aimed at a Gen Z audience and plays, accordingly, like a mediocre young adult novel. Conflicts and emotional moments never feel earned because they are often pulled out of a hat. Occasionally, that would be fine, but it's become so frequent that it's comical. Although I've always at least 'liked' every ST in over 30 years as a fan, this has become the one show that I actively dislike.

I mostly agree with this assessment. I started out as a fan. Even though I recognized the clear flaws in the beginning, it was still mostly enjoyable for me. I will say that I thought season 2 was a slight step above season 1, and now that SNW has premiered, I'm wondering if that's more due to having Anson Mount's Pike and that crew show up than anything to do with Discovery itself. Either way, I enjoyed season 2 (although, looking back now, the ending of that season was pretty terrible).

Season 3 is when the quality really started to degrade. And season 4, oh man, what a travesty all the way around. Just a horrible season that is nearly unwatchable. The only reason I've stuck around is because it's Star Trek and the franchise has been part of my life for so long, and it means so much to me. But that's starting to feel like a bad reason, and I have zero excitement for season 5; literally zero.

It pains me, because like I said the franchise means so much to me. I want to like it. And so much of it has potential. I don't think it's beyond saving. But not with its current direction. Not with its current writing staff.

 

[Annorax849]

DS9
TNG
TOS
VOY
ENT
DIS
TAS

My rule is that I only rank series once they reach 3 seasons (or are complete).

 

[Oddish]

VOY - It’s frequently lazy, relying far too heavily on tired tropes and reset buttons, and it wasted its premise. However it’s consistently enjoyable light entertainment.

That's about as good a description as exists for that particular series.

It was decent but unexceptional as Berman era Trek went. With a mere two or three minutes of added dialogue (enough to explain changed premises and resolve a few utterly stupid inconsistencies), it could have been far better. And it still would have been the TNG Mark II they made the decision to turn it into.

Of course, if they'd really tried to use its premise instead of setting it aside, it might have gone from good to outstanding.

 

[at Quark's]

However it’s consistently enjoyable light entertainment.

Mostly, yes, but not always. On days that i don't feel well, I'd better not watch Memorial, for example. Not a bad episode, but very heavy subject material.

 

[Verteron]

From least to most favourite:

• Discovery
  I'm sorry to say I've given up on it. I didn't watch Season 4. I just can't take the clumsy arcs and weak writing and forgettable characters. I actually think Sonequa Martin-Green is a great actor, but there's too much focus on her, and I didn't like the time jump. I also don't need dystopian future in my Star Trek timeline.
• Short Treks
  S1 was just Discovery Lite. S2 is better but still, not enough for me to give it much of a second thought.
• Enterprise
  Had its good moments, and not so good moments. Went before its time. I feel like S3/S4 had some great episodes in them, and the characters were very good (with a few notable exceptions, the writers could have made much better use of Travis and Hoshi imho). I also feel they could have made better use of the era and setting, as it did quickly feel like they had all the tech bells and whistles from every other series pretty quickly available. If you compare it to the fan production Pacific 201, I'm forced to wonder what could have been.
  Picard
  I really wish this was higher. I love the nostalgia, the cameos and the callbacks, I love seeing Jean-Luc and Seven back in action one more time, and some of the new characters are great as well. but I just got so tired with the hackneyed writing and deus ex machina wrap-ups of S1 and S2.
  
• Voyager
  I'm surprised to be placing Voyager mid table because it is a great series for the mostpart. I do think though it suffers from some missed opportunities like having the Year of Hell arc be a whole season (or whole series...) and a few too many Trek tropes despite being half a galaxy away. That and a few too many reset buttons. But it's great. Just not as great as what follows...
• Lower Decks
  Love it. Cute at first, but has evolved to be real Trek with its own unique feel. I like the humour, and even at its silliest moments it's still very respectful of the Star Trek canon for the most part. I genuinely look forward to watching episodes every week.
  
• The Original Series (+ classic movies)
  Can't beat the classic. For me the movies that followed the series make the memories sweeter than the three seasons we actually got, TWOK and TUD are by far and away my favourite ST movies.
  
• Strange New Worlds
  Maybe it's recency bias, maybe it's nostalgia, or maybe it really is that good. The first five episodes of this series have blown my socks off.
• TNG & DS9 (tie)
  Nothing's perfect but damn, TNG and DS9 both came close in their later seasons. These were 'my trek' when I was a teenager and young adult. To paraphrase Scotty, I've watched many series, but these are the ones I think of when I want to pop on a random episode.

I'm not ranking TAS as I haven't watched an episode of it in about 30 years, and Prodigy I haven't seen at all.

 

[Oddish]

Mostly, yes, but not always. On days that i don't feel well, I'd better not watch Memorial, for example. Not a bad episode, but very heavy subject material.

"Repentance" or "Course Oblivion" are also in that category, I would think.

 

[Eddie Roth]

I mostly agree with this assessment. I started out as a fan. Even though I recognized the clear flaws in the beginning, it was still mostly enjoyable for me. I will say that I thought season 2 was a slight step above season 1, and now that SNW has premiered, I'm wondering if that's more due to having Anson Mount's Pike and that crew show up than anything to do with Discovery itself. Either way, I enjoyed season 2 (although, looking back now, the ending of that season was pretty terrible).

Season 3 is when the quality really started to degrade. And season 4, oh man, what a travesty all the way around. Just a horrible season that is nearly unwatchable. The only reason I've stuck around is because it's Star Trek and the franchise has been part of my life for so long, and it means so much to me. But that's starting to feel like a bad reason, and I have zero excitement for season 5; literally zero.

It pains me, because like I said the franchise means so much to me. I want to like it. And so much of it has potential. I don't think it's beyond saving. But not with its current direction. Not with its current writing staff.

My thoughts exactly. And yes, the future SNW crew was a big draw in season 2. And sometimes it feels as if this was the main intention behind Discovery and its problematic setting in the TOS era: to spin off an Enterprise show from it. In retrospect, I could've done without the middleman here.

 

[at Quark's]

"Repentance" or "Course Oblivion" are also in that category, I would think.

I would agree, but for some reason I don't understand myself, those don't quite hit me as hard. I suppose that's simply down to individual differences and such.

Back on topic, I can only provide a ranking for part of the shows. If I don't mention some shows below, that's simply because I haven't seen anything of them (or at least, not enough to rank them).

DS9 The best for me. Long arcs, detailed attention to character development of nearly every cast member and even many extras. Intricate politics, interwoven with the religion vs. secularism debate, especially so for our religious icon, Sisko. Shifting alliances. Among the rare cons would be it sometimes taking on a soap opera character, with Kira and Dax discussing their love interests.

TNG Extremely good in displaying moral dilemmas, interspersed with great action episodes. Likable characters, it feels like they all are friends (which they were, AFAIK). Updated Trek to the 80's / 90's requirements and in doing so cleared the way for later shows. Does suffer a bit from the Reset Button Syndrome, but it was made before longer arc storytelling became popular. Also, S7 characters are still markedly different from S1 characters so it's not as if no development took place. A bit 'stiff' perhaps for modern standards, people are almost too perfect.

VOY The direct successor to TNG. Like TNG, it suffered a bit from the Reset Button Syndrome, to about the same extent, but was made (partially) after DS9. Like in TNG, there is character development, S7 Voyager feels quite different from S1 Voyager. Sadly, most attention seem to have gone towards the Big Three in the last few years (Janeway/EMH/Seven) at the cost of the other cast members. What Voyager does do well, better than TNG, is introduce humor and a bit of levity in its stories and characters, making the characters a bit less perfect and more human than the TNG characters. Also I'd like to commend Voyager for creating this sense of community on board- they're in the DQ and they'll have to survive together or not at all.

DIS I'm really not sure what to think of this one or where to rank this, having seen the first three seasons only. I like that they're trying to make it their own thing but I'm not sure I still would call it classical Trek. It seems that this show is constantly bending and changing, always taking an unpredictable arc, both story telling wise and in terms of character development. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. I like many of its characters, but not all. Some concepts are plain silly in my view, but not necessarily so from a story telling point of view (e.g. the spore drive). For now, I am positioning it between VOY and TOS, until I get a better feeling of where to place it.

TOS The one that started it all. I like it for its Kirk/Spock/McCoy triangle friendship, often compared to the ego/superego/id triangle. However, I've never quite been able to get into it- it is a product from a decade I never lived in and in that sense TOS can feel a bit alien and impenetrable to me - weird as that may sound. The style of acting, the overdramatization of specific moments, the extremely slow unraveling of the plot - I know they all shouldn't matter, but they still get in the way for me to enjoy the show.

ENT The new first Enterprise ever. Not sure what to make of this one. It isn't bad but it wasn't remarkable either. I thought the first two years were largely wasted, but that may have been due to my expectations. I was expecting a 'prelude to the Federation' show, showing the (political) buildup to that, and instead we got a bumbling space crew on yet another set of one-off adventures. Season 3 was better in terms of telling an ongoing story, even if it introduced a huge threat never referenced 'before' (after, really), and season three was almost 'too heavy' for me. It started getting really good, hitting the right balance in S4, but unfortunately, it was canceled by that time. I never felt particularly passionate about the crew members. They weren't offensive in any way, but not outstanding either. Though I liked the T'Pol development. All in all, not a revolutionary show, but still enjoyable enough for an evening.

PIC Only have seen Season 1. I can be brief about it. Way too dystopian for my tastes. Even though I liked seeing a bit of Data's progeny (so to speak).

 

[Uhura's Song]

I have trouble comparing live action/1 hour shows to 30 min/cartoons. The cartoons, even if well done, just have a lower ceiling. Same with shows that have 26 episodes in a season vs 10 episodes. It just isn't a fair fight. Also, series that are completed vs series that are ongoing isn't fair either. TNG & DS9 would look a lot different if you ranked them after 2 seasons.

1. Completed Live Action (5).
1. TNG
2. TOS
3. DS9
-----------
4. VOY
5. ENT

Not a lot of space between 1, 2, & 3. Nor 4 & 5, which I still enjoy for the most part. There is some distance BETWEEN 3 and 4, though.

II. Ongoing Live Action (3).
1. SNW (early days, though)
--------
2. PIC
3. DISCO

III. Cartoons (3).
1. LD
2. PRO
--------
3. TAS

OVERALL (11).
1. TNG
2. TOS
3. DS9
------------
4. VOY
5. ENT
6. SNW
-----------
7. PIC
8. DISCO
9. LD
10. PRO
----------
11. TAS

26 > 10. Episodic > serialized. Live action > cartoon.

 

[Kirby]

1. DS9
2. TOS/TAS - I count these as one.
3. TNG
4. SNW (love it so far - could go higher)
5. LD
6. VOY
7. ENT
8. PIC
9. DIS

** Haven't seen Prodigy yet, but I will after SNW s1 is done.

 

[dupersuper]

Thinking about it: those Youtube videos in which they rank things A - F might be better for me.

A+ TOS/TNG/DS9
A SNW/LD/Prod/ST
C+ Ent/Voy/TAS
C- Discovery
D Picard