Screen Rant article ranking every Trek series
- Thread starter Arpy
- Start date
Personally I think ranking the shows on a tier list makes more sense, because then you are able to place some of them on the same level, even if within that level you can rank them as well.
Here’s how that looks like for me right now …
Would love to see other people post their tier lists as well!
I have only had a chance to glance at this thread first page... but your list is very, very close to how I rate the shows. (Only difference is I put them in numerical order.)
1. DS9
2. TNG
3. VGR
4. TOS
5. ENT
6. SNW
7. LDS
8. PRODIGY
9. TAS
10. PICARD
11. DISCO
(Note: TOS and VGR really switches for me frequently between those two spots on a regular basis, but for today, they are like that.)
I can't take the original article seriously for one simple reason... recency bias is VERY STRONG there. As much as I absolutely love SNW, there is no chance it is #3 on this list... only 20 episodes in 2 seasons across 3 years, against shows that have been around for decades? Once the current era of shows have been around for a decade or so more, I think it will be more fair to judge them. Test of time, particularly for a franchise as old as STAR TREK, is an important factor. (Which I have noticed ENT is getting some reexamination for the better in the last couple years, sort of like how DS9 got a huge positive reexamination years before that.)
LD and DS9 are the best the franchise has to offer, imho.
TNG is in a class all of its own.
Enterprise has risen in the rankings after realizing how much problems it inherited from Voyager, TPTB, etc. And for all its criticisms of not being about the birth of the Federation, it works as a nice bridge between FC and TOS.
TOS and TAS have always been grouped together by me.
Voyager has fell down the rankings. Its still liked, but of the first five live action Treks, to me its dead last now. It set certain things in motion that led to the franchise being off the air for over a decade.
PIC, SNW, ST, and PRO are average. Some good, some meh, and a bit of great.
Discovery, like ENT, has also risen in the rankings, as its had quite the glow up since moving to the 32nd century. As well as a certain nostalgia for certain aspects of the first season.
Very Short Treks is... the less said, the better.
* Anyone wondering about the Short Treks and Very Short Treks thumbnails, which aren't a part of the Tiermaker list, i just found them on Google and added them in.
DS9
TNG SNW TOS
LD
Prodigy, Voyager, Enterprise
Disc
TNG SNW TOS
LD
Prodigy, Voyager, Enterprise
Disc
My current ranking:
1. TOS, TNG, DS9 (shared 1st spot).
I started watching TOS reruns as a kid, and have seen every new show when it first aired since. The first three shows were each a step forward for the franchise: TOS introduced the basics, and the chemistry between Kirk, Spock and Bones was amazing. TNG had deeper character development and the best standalone sf story ideas. DS9 had even deeper character arcs, deeper characterization of the alien races and longer story arcs, and its characters are amazing -- there are hardly two characters on DS9 you can combine and there won't be entertaining dialogues.
4. SNW
My favorite of the new shows. It did so many things right from the beginning, and is just great fun.
5. LD
Great humor and a wonderful easter egg hunt for fans of the 24th century shows!
6. PIC
I like the nostalgia in all three seasons, which feel each like some extra long movie-like event, but season 3 was considerably stronger than the other seasons (I guess I'd rank s3 better than LD). A big problem that drags the show down a bit is the uneven writing of the season arcs. They feel somewhat shaky and don't make sense on a couple of points. The show makes up for it with great character moments and dialogues, even if the show fails to be more than the sum of its parts.
7. ENT
The first two seasons are ok, but wasting a huge potential by being mere playing-it-safe alien of the week episodes. I can't stand the Xindi arc in season 3 at all. But season 4 is amazing -- if the show had started that way from the beginning, it would be much higher on my list. I also like the characters.
8. VOY
For a long time, this used to be the one Star Trek show I didn't like. I still don't think it's great, but it has improved in my view with some distance. I feel after TNG and DS9, which both took the franchise further, the shallow character development, lack of arcs and dominant reset button were a step backwards. Also, I find many of the characters somewhat bland. Still it has a couple of decent episodes, imo.
9. PRO
Really a great show for kids, and really well written. The only reason for it ending so low on my ranking is because I'm not the target audience. It's clearly aiming at kids and it's hard for me to look beyond that.
10. TAS
It has a couple of good ideas, but I have a hard time looking beyond the dated, static animation and constantly repeated music which gets quickly annoying, which kind of hampers with my enjoyment of the show.
11. DSC
I give them that they at least tried many new things instead of playing it safe, but most of these new ideas didn't work for me. I can't stand Burnham and think she is probably the worst written lead character in the history of Star Trek. Clearly the bottom of the bottom for me, currently.
1. TOS, TNG, DS9 (shared 1st spot).
I started watching TOS reruns as a kid, and have seen every new show when it first aired since. The first three shows were each a step forward for the franchise: TOS introduced the basics, and the chemistry between Kirk, Spock and Bones was amazing. TNG had deeper character development and the best standalone sf story ideas. DS9 had even deeper character arcs, deeper characterization of the alien races and longer story arcs, and its characters are amazing -- there are hardly two characters on DS9 you can combine and there won't be entertaining dialogues.
4. SNW
My favorite of the new shows. It did so many things right from the beginning, and is just great fun.
5. LD
Great humor and a wonderful easter egg hunt for fans of the 24th century shows!
6. PIC
I like the nostalgia in all three seasons, which feel each like some extra long movie-like event, but season 3 was considerably stronger than the other seasons (I guess I'd rank s3 better than LD). A big problem that drags the show down a bit is the uneven writing of the season arcs. They feel somewhat shaky and don't make sense on a couple of points. The show makes up for it with great character moments and dialogues, even if the show fails to be more than the sum of its parts.
7. ENT
The first two seasons are ok, but wasting a huge potential by being mere playing-it-safe alien of the week episodes. I can't stand the Xindi arc in season 3 at all. But season 4 is amazing -- if the show had started that way from the beginning, it would be much higher on my list. I also like the characters.
8. VOY
For a long time, this used to be the one Star Trek show I didn't like. I still don't think it's great, but it has improved in my view with some distance. I feel after TNG and DS9, which both took the franchise further, the shallow character development, lack of arcs and dominant reset button were a step backwards. Also, I find many of the characters somewhat bland. Still it has a couple of decent episodes, imo.
9. PRO
Really a great show for kids, and really well written. The only reason for it ending so low on my ranking is because I'm not the target audience. It's clearly aiming at kids and it's hard for me to look beyond that.
10. TAS
It has a couple of good ideas, but I have a hard time looking beyond the dated, static animation and constantly repeated music which gets quickly annoying, which kind of hampers with my enjoyment of the show.
11. DSC
I give them that they at least tried many new things instead of playing it safe, but most of these new ideas didn't work for me. I can't stand Burnham and think she is probably the worst written lead character in the history of Star Trek. Clearly the bottom of the bottom for me, currently.
Of the shows I've watched...
S: DS9
A: LD
B: TOS, TNG
C: VOY
D: TAS
Still haven't seen ENT or any of the streaming shows besides LD; I'll get around to it.
S: DS9
A: LD
B: TOS, TNG
C: VOY
D: TAS
Still haven't seen ENT or any of the streaming shows besides LD; I'll get around to it.
Top tier: DS9
A: TOS, Lower Decks, SNW
B: TNG, Picard, Disco
C: TAS
Others I haven't watched all of them to rate, but it's a fair bet they wouldn't be in the top or A tiers.
I actually agree that TAS was doing the best it could with the format it had... but the format its creators chose was a poor choice. The half hour shows. They're strictly episodic, and 22 minutes of actual air time is just not long enough to meet a New Civilization, a conflict to develop, and to resolve it in a satisfactory way. And the decision to air it Saturday mornings, when it's children's programming, so no morally tough decisions, no implied sex between people who weren't married, no threats of mass destruction, no ambiguous endings.
A: TOS, Lower Decks, SNW
B: TNG, Picard, Disco
C: TAS
Others I haven't watched all of them to rate, but it's a fair bet they wouldn't be in the top or A tiers.
I actually agree that TAS was doing the best it could with the format it had... but the format its creators chose was a poor choice. The half hour shows. They're strictly episodic, and 22 minutes of actual air time is just not long enough to meet a New Civilization, a conflict to develop, and to resolve it in a satisfactory way. And the decision to air it Saturday mornings, when it's children's programming, so no morally tough decisions, no implied sex between people who weren't married, no threats of mass destruction, no ambiguous endings.
I think this is where I'm at right now.
Lower Decks really stumbled with its final season, but bad seasons are a Trek tradition so I can't knock it off its pedestal for that. TNG and Voyager are neck and neck after I rewatched them together, but Enterprise didn't compare well much of the time.
Disco and Picard have significant problems that hold them back, but a lot to appreciate as well. Prodigy was a step beyond both in storytelling but was a little too childish and goofy for my taste.
Strange New Worlds is probably the most frustrating series for me. It's like Spock, torn between its two halves. Except one of those halves is a beautiful tribute to TOS, and the other half is a big goofy retcon with screwball antics and characters singing about how they're not communicating properly in their relationship. People call it the regular Star Trek show about weekly space adventures and I really wish it was.
TAS earns lots of points for its faithfulness to the original series and its ambition to tell proper Star Trek stories in an animated format. Unfortunately a lot of the stories it tells are crazy-pants bonkers.
Yes. Picard and Discovery aren't better than TOS, Voyager, and Enterprise. I also enjoyed Prodigy more than Picard.
Lower Decks should be higher.
DS9 should be #1.
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