Star Trek: Discovery brought Trek back to weekly television (albeit via streaming) in 2017. Since then we've had Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard and Lower Decks with lots more on the horizon. How do you rate this era of Star Trek thus far?
Poll Rate modern Trek
- Thread starter F. King Daniel
- Start date
I would rank them according.
Lower Decks
Short Treks
Picard
Discovery S2-S3
Discovery S1 (T’Kuvma was needlessly killed off)
Its very clear that DIS is for newbies to Trek while PIC and LD lean more to those that are a bit more hardcore in their fandom. Short Trek just fleshes out character and stories more.
Its not bad. It's very different to not have filler episodes, compared to the Berman era.
Lower Decks
Short Treks
Picard
Discovery S2-S3
Discovery S1 (T’Kuvma was needlessly killed off)
Its very clear that DIS is for newbies to Trek while PIC and LD lean more to those that are a bit more hardcore in their fandom. Short Trek just fleshes out character and stories more.
Its not bad. It's very different to not have filler episodes, compared to the Berman era.
As a whole? I tend to vote an 8 on average in the episode polls.
N
Not A Dominion Spy
Guest
8 because while LD and DSC season 3 have been great, I didn’t like the first two seasons of DSC and I didn’t like PIC either.
Probably a 6.
I'm finding Discovery to be the best of the new series, especially having seen Season 1 and 2 recently and enjoying Season 3. Both Lower Decks and Picard were hit or miss, with Lower Decks being slightly better.
I'm finding Discovery to be the best of the new series, especially having seen Season 1 and 2 recently and enjoying Season 3. Both Lower Decks and Picard were hit or miss, with Lower Decks being slightly better.
Its hard to put a number on this. I really liked Picard, enjoyed Lower Decks (once I got into it) and liked STD Season 2 well enough, but STD Seasons 1 & 3 I consider the absolute worst official ST productions.
So, I voted 3 on the poll. As much as I enjoy Picard and Lower Decks, STD brings everything down in a major way.
So, I voted 3 on the poll. As much as I enjoy Picard and Lower Decks, STD brings everything down in a major way.
I’d rate 8 overall. They gave us compelling characters and filled in some of the blanks of the universe that need to be filled in, and created a new vision that modernizes the idealism without throwing it out.
Unlike the Kelvin movies, the new shows respect the franchise’s legacy without being hogtied to its aesthetic.
Unlike the Kelvin movies, the new shows respect the franchise’s legacy without being hogtied to its aesthetic.
DSC: 8
PIC: 7
LD: 5.5
That’s a 7.5 for me (3 seasons of DSC and 1 each of the others)...not too shabby. Overall “modern Trek” as an entity would rate below TOS and DS9, and ahead of everything else
Others (just for context):
TOS: 10
TAS: 4.5
TNG: 6.5
DS9: 8
VOY: 4
ENT: 5.5
And this is all relative within the franchise. I still like VOY more than 85% of other available television options.
PIC: 7
LD: 5.5
That’s a 7.5 for me (3 seasons of DSC and 1 each of the others)...not too shabby. Overall “modern Trek” as an entity would rate below TOS and DS9, and ahead of everything else
Others (just for context):
TOS: 10
TAS: 4.5
TNG: 6.5
DS9: 8
VOY: 4
ENT: 5.5
And this is all relative within the franchise. I still like VOY more than 85% of other available television options.
I give that clip of Lower Decks that I saw on Youtube where some lady yells at Q four lights out of five.
I give the rest of modern Trek zero.
I give the rest of modern Trek zero.
Gotta be honest, I gave it a ten. In all the years I've been watching Star Trek, I've always felt "late to the game"; I was always watching either shows that were made before my time or at the very least when I was too small to remember (such as TOS, TMP or TNG) or just wasn't interested in it at all (DS9 and VOY...yawn!). I can think of no other time in Star Trek history when people dared to write the stories as awe-inspiring as they are written now. Though this thread obviously details 2017 and onwards, if you go back to the Abrams films, having the Enterprise be built on the surface of the Earth, or having it land at the bottom of an ocean, or hell, even Starbase Yorktown, THOSE are the things I love in Star Trek, the things that blow my mind and are places only Star Trek can really take us, when it tries. The early Star Trek films with the TOS crew were the closest we got to that scale and scope of spectacle. In the case of Discovery, we are literally more than a thousand years in the future, with ships that boggle the mind (for spoiler purposes I won't divulge beyond that) . The cinematography, effects, and visuals on both Discovery and Picard are leaps and bounds beyond what Trek has ever been, and everything looks and feels cinematic in ways it never did before. I'm kinda jealous in a way, in that I wish TNG had been filmed in such incredible quality. I guess Berman era trek just felt too "safe": they played it by the numbers, too by the book. It felt stale, with very little that inspired me. Discovery and Picard make me feel, and think, and give me characters I give a damn about. I did my time waiting for great characters, and while I will respectfully disagree that DS9 and VOY had very many good characters, I will respect your opinion as long as you respect mine.
TL;DR: Berman-era felt too stale and too by the book for my liking, Trek since 2009 has been pushing the boundaries for storytelling and visuals, and giving me characters I care much more deeply about.
TL;DR: Berman-era felt too stale and too by the book for my liking, Trek since 2009 has been pushing the boundaries for storytelling and visuals, and giving me characters I care much more deeply about.
I went with a 7 because its entertaining but has never become amazing television on the level of Sherlock or Westworld. It sometimes comes close (some moments in Disco S1 and 2, and PIC's first 2 episodes and a few moments throughout) but always slips back down into Arrowverse-style silliness.
So I am entertained but not amazed.
So I am entertained but not amazed.
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For me since it started Disco has been the 4th best Trek by a wide margin in both directions.
Not nearly as good as TOS, TNG, DS9. Way better than all the ratings obsessed facsimile Treks that followed. Even when Voyager had a good episode you could tell they were writing for the trailer. They were so desperate by the end they wrote an entire episode around having The Rock cameo just because they followed wrestling and naively thought they could get wrestling fans to watch for more than that episode.
Not nearly as good as TOS, TNG, DS9. Way better than all the ratings obsessed facsimile Treks that followed. Even when Voyager had a good episode you could tell they were writing for the trailer. They were so desperate by the end they wrote an entire episode around having The Rock cameo just because they followed wrestling and naively thought they could get wrestling fans to watch for more than that episode.
I originally rated the current era 6, but changed my vote to a 7. Here's why:
By instinct, I started with a 6 because while I have been very entertained by DISCOVERY so far, I haven't felt the need to watch it immediately when a new episode airs. Actually, I've only seen every season 1 and 2 episode twice... once on air, and once on dvd. And season 3, only the once so far. PICARD and LOWER DECKS, while I have only seen each of their episides twice, I felt I had to watch a new episode immediately.
As a comparison with a current era tv series, I NEEDED to watch a new episode of SUPERNATURAL every single time.
To compare with the franchise itself, I look more forward to rewatching any of the older shows... each I have seen AT LEAST 11 times over... before watching new DISCOVERY episodes.
As strange as this sounds, it's not a dig at the show because I genuinely feel it has gotten better with each season and is good. And I really feel they are telling some great stories and has some good characters. But something just feels... missing. I don't know what it is. Call it a spark of magic, for lack of a better term. But because it has improved season over season, I upped the overall score to a 7.
I am also prepared to concede it's entirely my own bias to overdone visual effects that makes me not as excited. While visually the current shows ARE phenomenal... I certainly agree with that... it's unfair to compare the eras because the technology to do the visuals now are FAR more advanced than Berman era and TOS. Which is why I based my vote on the stories, characters, plots, and other intangibles. (I don't know what else to call my other feelings.)
I think the biggest reason why I don't feel the need like I did with the other eras is because the show has NO standalone episodes. DS9, I feel, hit the perfect balance. They had plenty of standalones that gave us gems like "PROGRESS", "NECESSARY EVIL", "WHISPERS", "BLOOD OATH", "THE WIRE, "CIVIL DEFENSE", "EXPLORERS", "THE VISITOR", "OUR MAN BASHIR", "HARD TIME", "TRIALS AND TRIBBLE-ATIONS", "CHILDREN OF TIME", "THE MAGNIFICENT FERENGI", and "FAR BEYOND THE STARS". They had excellent arc episodes, like "DUET", The Circle trilogy, "IMPROBABLE CAUSE"/"THE DIE IS CAST", "THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR", "STARSHIP DOWN", "HOMEFRONT"/"PARADISE LOST", "TO THE DEATH", "THE SHIP", "FOR THE UNIFORM", "IN THE CARDS", "CALL TO ARMS" - "SACRIFICE OF ANGELS", "YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED", "WALTZ", "IN THE PALE MOONLIGHT", and the final 10 episode arc. I love arcs and I love standalones, but there should be room for both. (Also likely a reason why SUPERNATURAL appeals to me so much.)
Having such short seasons, I understand why they choose to focus on arcs. But when you cut that much fat, you lose a lot of flavor.
To continue the food metaphors, here's my take...
TOS = cheese
TNG-ENT = bacon
Current era = burger
While a burger is good on its own, I will ALWAYS want cheese and bacon.
By instinct, I started with a 6 because while I have been very entertained by DISCOVERY so far, I haven't felt the need to watch it immediately when a new episode airs. Actually, I've only seen every season 1 and 2 episode twice... once on air, and once on dvd. And season 3, only the once so far. PICARD and LOWER DECKS, while I have only seen each of their episides twice, I felt I had to watch a new episode immediately.
As a comparison with a current era tv series, I NEEDED to watch a new episode of SUPERNATURAL every single time.
To compare with the franchise itself, I look more forward to rewatching any of the older shows... each I have seen AT LEAST 11 times over... before watching new DISCOVERY episodes.
As strange as this sounds, it's not a dig at the show because I genuinely feel it has gotten better with each season and is good. And I really feel they are telling some great stories and has some good characters. But something just feels... missing. I don't know what it is. Call it a spark of magic, for lack of a better term. But because it has improved season over season, I upped the overall score to a 7.
I am also prepared to concede it's entirely my own bias to overdone visual effects that makes me not as excited. While visually the current shows ARE phenomenal... I certainly agree with that... it's unfair to compare the eras because the technology to do the visuals now are FAR more advanced than Berman era and TOS. Which is why I based my vote on the stories, characters, plots, and other intangibles. (I don't know what else to call my other feelings.)
I think the biggest reason why I don't feel the need like I did with the other eras is because the show has NO standalone episodes. DS9, I feel, hit the perfect balance. They had plenty of standalones that gave us gems like "PROGRESS", "NECESSARY EVIL", "WHISPERS", "BLOOD OATH", "THE WIRE, "CIVIL DEFENSE", "EXPLORERS", "THE VISITOR", "OUR MAN BASHIR", "HARD TIME", "TRIALS AND TRIBBLE-ATIONS", "CHILDREN OF TIME", "THE MAGNIFICENT FERENGI", and "FAR BEYOND THE STARS". They had excellent arc episodes, like "DUET", The Circle trilogy, "IMPROBABLE CAUSE"/"THE DIE IS CAST", "THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR", "STARSHIP DOWN", "HOMEFRONT"/"PARADISE LOST", "TO THE DEATH", "THE SHIP", "FOR THE UNIFORM", "IN THE CARDS", "CALL TO ARMS" - "SACRIFICE OF ANGELS", "YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED", "WALTZ", "IN THE PALE MOONLIGHT", and the final 10 episode arc. I love arcs and I love standalones, but there should be room for both. (Also likely a reason why SUPERNATURAL appeals to me so much.)
Having such short seasons, I understand why they choose to focus on arcs. But when you cut that much fat, you lose a lot of flavor.
To continue the food metaphors, here's my take...
TOS = cheese
TNG-ENT = bacon
Current era = burger
While a burger is good on its own, I will ALWAYS want cheese and bacon.
I can't put a number on it. Lower Decks isn't available in the UK so I can't comment on it. Discovery is hit and miss, but I don't think it's made for me, and that's fine. I'll watch it out of loyalty and see how it goes. Picard, though not perfect, was more to my to taste, but that was mostly just the call backs to TNG/VOY.
I'll refrain from judging/rating modern trek because it'll never stand up to TOS/TNG as viewed through rose tinted glasses. As much as pains me to admit it, I think I've moved on from Star Trek.
I'll refrain from judging/rating modern trek because it'll never stand up to TOS/TNG as viewed through rose tinted glasses. As much as pains me to admit it, I think I've moved on from Star Trek.
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