Picard S2 Discovery S4 Strange New Worlds S1 Lower Decks S1 Prodigy S1 I love DSC but I’m a 24th-century diehard at heart. PIC stumbled for me here and there, especially with regard to Agnes Jurati’s personal arc, but I loved its beginning and ending — and Seven’s terrific inclusion — too damn much not to be super duper excited. Toss in Guinan, as well as the likelihood of (at least) Geordi and Q, and I can’t not rank this my #1 most-anticipated next batch of Trek. As for DSC, you know, I’m with the (apparent?) critical consensus that S3 was its best year yet. The cast chemistry is at its peak, newcomers Book and Adira are both charming, the mixture of episode types is refreshing, and there’s just something fascinating about being introduced to a new era. I’m also grateful that Osyrra — while certainly a major threat to the Federation — was not a repeat of “a threat to all sentient life.” I feel like the writers and producers have responded well here to quibbles that the epic stakes of prior years don’t always need to be one-upped. That said, I also understand why some fans feel like S3 is missing a “spark” that S1 and S2 possessed. There was a “panic at the Disco,” if you will, that gave things a kinetic energy that S3 (purposefully?) lacked. Either way, I’m stoked for S4. SNW is in an interesting place for my household. We all love Pike and Spock (though nothing against Ethan Peck, he’s a fantastic Spock, but we wish he kept the beard) and I think we’re all happy that Anson, Ethan, and Rebecca are getting the show they richly deserve. I’m eager to see it. I’m also a tad... “worried” is too strong a word, but perhaps “iffy” is better, over the possibility that the writers will go a bit too far with the episodic structure and avoid building up to momentous events. It’s a funny refrain, right? I know people who have “given up” on DSC and PIC for being so serialized and view SNW as some sort of “last chance” to win them over because of this. And don’t get me wrong! I think it will be cool no matter what, and I am somewhat excited by the prospect of modern Trek planet-of-the-week shenanigans. I just hope the writing doesn’t lean too hard into that. LD... I liked S1 more than I thought I would. It’s fun times, especially after the first episode. (I thought that one was hella mediocre, not gonna lie.) But Western animated stuff takes a lot to get me truly hooked, and even with my beloved 24th-century wrapping I’m not sure LD truly hooked me. In fact, I think Avatar: The Last Airbender — which I’ve only just now given a chance at my roommate’s urging! — is the only show that’s done the trick. It doesn’t help that my roommates aren’t especially interested in trying it out... and I honestly don’t blame them. The marketing... didn’t do it any favors over here. But I digress. I did enjoy S1 to a point. I’ll certainly check out S2. Prodigy may be cute. I like that Kate Mulgrew is involved. I’ll give it a shot. It’s not my target demo, but hey.
I'm only really interested in SNW, I disliked Discovery s3/Picard, I liked LD just fine but don't particularly want any more and Prodigy doesn't look like my thingSo I'm whichever the "apatethic" option is
Let’s see… “STD Trek Sucks!’’ is light-years away from my near-indifference (I’m not entirely indifferent since I do watch the shows for lore), but I can’t very well say “It depends” either, since it doesn’t: how likely is it that TPTB would choose a writer-producer who shifts ST from sci-fi back into SF, understands that IDIC means taking the viewer out of their comfort zone and goes on to win a bunch of writing Emmys? “Bring Back Rick!” won’t do that either. Basically, I think the franchise must end so that Star Trek can be treated as something like Twin Peaks or True Detective, where you don’t just find anyone to put on anything. Every once in a while a showrunner would come up with a great idea and Paramount/CBS would give them free rein because they know the end result will be uncomfortable even if it fails (like TD S2 did). But that’s all: the money would have to come in the way it does for any groundbreaking show, and the individual series would be relatively disconnected but still, in theory, part of the same universe, which wouldn’t be nearly as important as the individual shows in question. Movies? Possible, but as independent alternatives to TV shows, not as TV tie-ins. Lit-verse? Very difficult unless the showrunner is also involved, and even then it would be limited.
1. PIC S2 (At this point PIC edges DSC if only because we’ve had far less of it than DSC at this point) 2. DSC S4 (I think S3 was less interesting than the previous two seasons, but I still love these characters) 3. SNW S1 (I love the cast and characters we’ve already met. If this is a return to the same kind of storytelling we’ve already seen 700+ episodes of, though, I’m not sure it will be enough to hold my interest) 4. PRO S1 (I’m looking forward to this mainly as something to share with my kids. Hopefully they dig it) 5. New Trek Movie (Feels like the same level of anticipation I had for Van Halen III....I love Van Halen, but no David and no Sammy? You gotta know when to stick a fork in it fellas) 6. LD (I like it. I don’t care about it. So zero “excitement “ factor. If it never came back, I wouldn’t notice)
I didn't think indifference really exists in a decade like the 2020s where everything is so polarized. But, I can add that option in. EDIT: Just did.
I think one can completely disagree with the way Star Trek is perceived by its owners — as a sci-fi franchise that needn’t be terribly special in order to bring in regular returns, where even showrunners can be replaced as the product is managed towards continued existence — without actually using expressions that make it seem like that person is taking it fairly personally.
Enthusiuasm, from highest to lowest: Lower Decks season 2: Loved season 1, am very excited for season 2. Discovery season 4: even though I felt season 3 was a bit worse than the previous seasons the new setting and characters are intriguing and I'm looking forward to seeing more of them. Strange New Worlds: Liked Pike, Number One and Spock, the Enterprise bridge looks neat, and the behind-the-scenes stuff we've heard so far sounds promising. Prodigy season 1: Don't really care and I don't find the character design as imaginative as some other people, but who knows. It could be good! Picard season 2: Don't care at all. I thought season 1 was poorly paced, and I still don't care about most of the new characters. Star Trek movie: I absolutely don't believe this is happening, but if it does, it'd probably go between Prodigy and Picard.
I'm not really a fan of the Kelvin Movies either, but it's surprising. If you told me back in 2009 that they'd have a shorter run than the TNG Movies, I never would've believed you.
Few could’ve predicted the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney, the Star Wars sequel trilogy and JJ Abrams doing TFA instead of ST3, though an interesting question is what the M:I films are doing right that Star Trek couldn’t if summer spectacle was the goal.
Tom Cruise > Chris Pine, for some reason. Also the M:I films are highly divorced from the M:I show (quite dramatically even), to the point that they carry an almost completely different fandom and are only beholden to themselves as high-octane espionage action thrillers.
As somebody who's been watching through the original show, it's a constant source of frustration for me that, thanks in part to the episodes tending to have very short, undistinctive titles, IMDb searches for them inevitably lead to the what I'm searching for being buried under movie spinoff games and whatnot that I have no interest in whatsoever.
To me, that is one of the greatest missed opportunities after Voyager in Trek history. Completely wasted new enthusiasm with newer fans.
I can't really say. I'm a fan of the original Mission: Impossible TV series from the '60s and '70s. I watched it on FX in the '90s. Then I saw the first film in 1996, and I didn't like it. I thought it couldn't have been less like the TV series if it tried. I gave it another chance with the second film and another with the third, then stopped. If I had to guess, I think it's because they're seen as Tom Cruise movies first-and-foremost and he's a big name. Which is pretty much the same thing as @Tim Thomason said.
My own ranking: LD Season 2 - The first season had a bit of a shaky start but closed very well. Also my enthusiasm might be higher since I know it's coming some time in the next 9 months. PIC Season 2 -Picard's first season was mixed, but very intriguing. I can't wait to see where things are going - particularly because we have been waiting so long. SNW Season 1 - It's still mostly tabula rasa, but we have a good main cast, they hired an excellent manager of the writer's room (from The Magicians) and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with episodic Trek. DIS Season 4 - While I liked the third season of Discovery, it was ultimately kind of bland/safe after two divisive seasons with big highs and lows. I'm kinda expecting more of the same in the fourth season, which is hard to get enthused about. PRO Season 1 - I'm not a kid, so I don't see why I'd look forward to a kid's show. Hopefully I can get my seven-year-old son interested in watching with me though.
I voted for "It depends," but for me: 1. PICARD. I'm probably looking forward to this the most. Really want to see where things go next with Picard and the crew of La Sirena. 2. LOWER DECKS. A very close second. I really enjoyed the first season and thought it ended on a high note. It's been a too long time since I had this much fun with a Trek series. 3. DISCOVERY. The show has always been a mixed bag for me from the start, although I generally like it. I'm not as enamored with the show as I am with PIC and LD, and don't particularly care for where they took the Federation and Starfleet in Season 3, but I do think Season 4 is a new beginning. 4. STRANGE NEW WORLDS. While I'm curious about the show, I'm not all that enthusiastic about it. After the Kelvin Timeline movies and the first two seasons of DIS, I'm really kind of over redoing the 23rd-Century again. 5. PRODIGY. I can appreciate the show for what it's probably trying to do, reach a younger audience, but what I've seen so far suggests this show isn't for me at all. I'll watch the first episode with an open mind, though and hope that it proves me wrong.
SNW by far, in hopes it will have a better mix of fun and drama than Picard and Disco. LD Prodigy, I guess (losing steam here) Picard Disc
Strange New Worlds-because Pike. Discovery Picard/Lower Decks-a time period that I am less and less interested in. Wild card: Prodigy-have no idea, and no real hook for me to get excited so...eh?