Rewatching the various series.

[cynical dreamer]

When I first got the DS9 dvd's I devoured them in one long 2 month marathon (despite seeing them before on tv). Same with the other series on dvd.

However, now that I'm trying to rewatch the various series for a second go around I find the only one I have patience for is Voyager.

Now I'm well aware of the disdain this series gets from the fan base and I'm at a loss why I connect to that one the most but alas that's how it's ended up.

My reason for mentioning DS9 earlier is that I'm finding it the one I'm least involved in when rewatching.

I wonder if it's the ease that I can get in to a Voyager ep because of the lack of serialization (I'm much busier than i was when i originally watched all the dvd's) or some other reason. I still like all the series but the replay value isn't equally shared.

Anyone else experience this with Voyager or one of the other series? There must be something in Voyager that I'm connecting to more so than the others. I suspect it's the same for others for it or one of the other 4 shows. Just not sure why I'm noticing it on the second pass and not when i made the first one.

by the by, it was the same thing with Farscape and Buffy. I LOVED both on first pass (ESPECIALLY Farscape) yet I can hardly watch Farscape the second time around yet i can watch a buffy ep at the drop of a hat.

Weird...

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The only shows I rewatch are DS9 and TOS - generally just the best written episodes. I also watch stretches of DS9 that make sense together, the Occupation Arc and the Final Arc.

TNG has become too dated, and VOY and ENT don't have the quality level to make it wortwhile. Once I know how a story goes, it's got to be a very well written story to get me to go back to it. Otherwise, it's just a bore.

 

[I am not Spock]

The only shows I rewatch are DS9 and TOS - generally just the best written episodes. I also watch stretches of DS9 that make sense together, the Occupation Arc and the Final Arc.

TNG has become too dated, and VOY and ENT don't have the quality level to make it wortwhile. Once I know how a story goes, it's got to be a very well written story to get me to go back to it. Otherwise, it's just a bore.

I agree with you Temis.

Few shows have much rewatch potential.
I tend to come back to arc-based shows more than episodic ones. It comes down to personal preference. I prefer arc series. Others may prefer stand alone ones. DS9, B5, Buffy,Lost, etc, I can continue coming back to. Because I know my investment in the characters will be paid off. Whereas with a 'reset button' show, I know it won't be.

 

[RandyS]

With all the garbage on TV now (99% of TV), Star Trek is about the only thing I watch anymore. Thankfully I have the whole thing on DVD.

Out of that, I watch whatever I feel like at any given time.

 

[Astraea]

I re-watch DS9 and TNG on a fairly regular basis (I watch DVDs while I work out, so I can get in 1-2 episodes a day if I'm lucky. Lately I've gotten into the first season of Battlestar Galactica, but today I went back and watched The Best of Both Worlds.)

I found that DS9's the only one I can even attempt a complete re-watch-through on (I tried to start a complete re-viewing of TNG, but found that season 1 is well-nigh unbearable to watch.) Most of the time I just go through and pick a particular episode that jumps into my head, although sometimes I'll do a theme (the most recent was two days of TNG Cardassian episodes.)

I'm debating getting Voyager and Enterprise on DVD, just to see if my initial frustrations with both series were justified, but at the moment nu-BSG is going to take precedence over either. I honestly don't remember most of the Enterprise I watched - apparently, it was just that forgettable. OTOH, I sort of think that if I buy these series, I may just get reminded why I was frustrated with them in the first place. (I quit Enterprise after the first two seasons.)

Strangely enough, I find that serialized shows tend to be my favorites to watch (Rome, Dexter, BSG, Buffy) but I don't go back and re-watch them as often.

 

[Praetorian]

It's true that a big part of the appeal of arc shows/shows with continuining stories is to find out what happens next. Once one knows that, there's not much interest...Or so I think. Of course if the episodes are good, they are good and rewatching them is nice, but many times arc episodes also fail to have an impact when rewatched alone. Better just see the whole arc (or series even).

On the other hand a nice standalone episode has alot of rewatchability.
Although for the "what the hell is going one here??" episodes like "Before and After" or "Frame of Mind" also lose a great part of its appeal once we already know the twists and what's going on...

@Astrea: You stopped watching Enterprise when it became good! At least that's the general impression. Season 3 and 4 certanly are better than 1 and 2 and quite original even for Star Trek.

Voyager has some very nice episodes but also alot of bad ones. However, I rewatch the good ones with some frequency cause they're that good. And being mostly standalone you can jump right in..so I understand cynical dreamer!

 

[Jeri]

Now I'm well aware of the disdain this series gets from the fan base...

There has been disdain from the fans here at the TrekBBS, but not in RL. In RL, people generally like VOY. I think this is the answer to your question, so please enjoy without reservation.

The TrekBBS has not been representative of the fan base in the past. At one time a poll showed more than 60% were DS-9 fans; and of that 60%, approximately 40% liked only DS-9.

It's a bit of a mystery why this bias has existed; personally, I suspect it may have to do with the median age of internet users and that DS-9 appeared at the time in their lives when they would be impressionable.

Also I think DS-9 was the first show to really take advantage of the internet. I know I talked about Next Gen since 1989, when I started as a lobby guide for Apple Link Personal Edition (which became America Online); but the online community wasn't well established until later.

 

[Tachyon]

I have rewatched TNG a year ago. The first season was "so-and-so", but then it went on quite nicely. I have rewatched DS9 during the last six months and it is alright. It does not get me hooked, though, like Voyager does, which I rewatch every now and then again and again. Voyager will never get old for me.

 

[RealTime]

I re-watch TNG all the time, it provides good, sub-60 minute background noise while doing something else. Probably helps to have seen the shows so many times that actually seeing the screen it is not required .

RT.