Transition from series to series...

[Beulah]

I have been wanting to ask this question for ages...

I remember the first time I watched ST:TNG back in '89, and was thrilled with some decent TV at long last.

178 episodes later, and then Voyager started, DS9...I intend to rewatch all of these...

I recall feeling rather sad when watching Voyager; I felt a sense of loss when the casting was completely different. I found myself MISSING the TNG crew...

How did you feel when the "spin offs" were broadcast? Were you able to make the transition easily and enjoy watching them? I actually stopped watching Voyager and DS9 because of the original TNG crew...

 

[Vic Sixx]

When they premiered, in TNG, I felt uncomfortable with Picard, he seemed to stuffy, and by the book, but the series grew on me as it went on. As did he.

In DS9, it was a very different horse. very untrek-like. The stories were all very serious, and dramatic. With a heck of continuing story arc through out. I got use to it and liked it.

In Voyager it seemed to try to go back to what Kirk and Co. were doing, going where no man had gone before, not cruising around the Alpha quadrant. It likewise grew on me, despite having problems with Janeway in the latter seasons.

Enterprise is the only series I gave up on and pretty quick. It seemed to much like a different universe. A re-inventing or re-telling of the early Fed. years, their way. I couldn't take it. It was just too far a departure of what was. I hated it.

 

[Kirkman1987]

Well, I didn't watch most of the shows when they were on, but I did roughly watch them in order. I remember when I was a casual trek fan I only watched TOS in the afternoons after school, and it was a few years before I really caught on and wanted to try the other shows. It was a big deal at first, I had a tough time letting go of the classic crew and accepting Star Trek without them. Eventully I did, and today I think TOS, TNG, and DS9 are roughly equal.

I tried watching voyager, but also found myself missing the TNG crew. In every way, as much as an occaisonal voyager amuses me, It was a step back for me, and "TNG lite" as the phrase goes. I also missed the Alpha Quadrant stuff.......I think they should've stuck to doing one show at a time.

With Enterprise, Which I did see when it premired, I was mostly going in as a Quantum Leap fan (I know it's overdone, but that's what I was thinking at the time!) I thought it was so cool that Scott Bakula was doing Star Trek. The prequel Idea threw me, and I wasn't much of a fan. that's still true. I thought it was better than voyager.

 

[WillsBabe]

I wasn't really very impressed with the idea of TNG to be honest, when I first heard about it. Then I watched it and remained unimpressed. If it hadn't have been for the group of friends I hung around with at the time I wouldn't have watched it. To be perfectly shallow, my interest peaked at the start of season 2 when Frakes grew his beard! By the time season 3 was under way I was starting to become a real fan - episodes like Yesterday's Enterprise, Sins of the Father and the Offspring really converted me.

When DS9 arrived I watched it but I never really made a connection to it. I thought that there was too much Trek, but I think that's just my attitude to things rather than there really being too much Trek on the tv. I enjoyed DS9 when it started getting into its war stories and I thought it was really impressive in later seasons.

Voyger has never really connected with me, although after having said that, I am quite fond of some of the characters because I've read some really good fanfic concerning them. Guess that might seem odd, reading fanfic of a show I don't watch. Voyger is my least favourite Trek.

Enterprise is okay but by the time it aired I'd really lost interest in Trek (new Trek anyway). After having said that Twilight is one of my favourite Trek episdoes (as is Timeless from Voyager) which just shows that any trek can impress you even if you aren't invested in it as a show or its characters.

 

[Red Ranger]

Beulah, et al.,

A good question. Well, TNG was the first non-TOS we'd ever seen, so I do remember feeling strange hearing this Frenchman-with-an-English-accent recording a captain's log. While there were weaknesses in Encounter at Farpoint, most of the characters interested me and I was eager to find out more about them, especially Picard, Riker, and Data.

TNG's first season was hard to labor through, but good eps like Where No One Has Gone Before, The Big Goodbye, The Battle, and Heart of Glory gave me hope the series would improve.

When DSN came out, it was such a departure from the first two series I wasn't sure if it would gather a fan base. I did like Sisko from the get-go, as a tortured, less exemplary commander. All the Bajor stories in the first season bored me to tears, to be honest. When we saw the first few races from the Gamma Quadrant, esp. the first look at Tosk and the Hunters in Captive Pursuit, I just knew that's where the future strength of DSN lay.

I watched most of VOY, but by the end, I had to force myself to watch the last season. That show failed to live up to its potential too often, but there are many fine VOY eps.

And ENT, I gave up on it after season two, missed most of season three, but did watch most of the last season, where it finally succeeded in delving into its promise of being a prequel. I esp. liked how they characterized the pre-Federation Andorians, and generally liked how they showed the 22nd century Vulcans as more flawed and arrogant.

Red Ranger

 

[Saxman1]

Tough question. As a hard-core TOS fan, I was throughly prepared to hate TNG, but loved it from the get-go. I was less than happy with Pulaski in season two, but had to admit the show had improved a ton. I was thrilled when Crusher returned in season three and was happy with the show throughout its run, although I do think season seven had more clunkers than any season save one.

DS9 - loved the flawed Sisko, couldn't stand the Bajor stuff, dropped out right before Worf joined. I picked up the entire show on DVD and discovered one of the best Treks ever. Always admired the show for being different (not all about life on a starship, etc.).

Voyager - loved it from the get-go, but some characters bored me to tears (Paris, for example). Really fell out of love with the Borg overdose and Seven Of Boobs. Ryan was fine in the part, but she could fix everything and boys, look at those hooters! OINK! The final ep is better upon rewatching than I remembered, but C/7 makes no sense except to make fanboys horny. I also don't like that Janeway is left like some old maid, in both the alternate future and present. C/J made more sense, but I guess they couldn't have done that: unspoken rule like with P/C.

ENT - I was very doubtful when I saw the premiere: the detox gel scene was inexcusable soft-core porn. I stuck with it for a while, finding it better than Voyager, but season two bored me to death. The Borg AGAIN? The ep was exciting, but the HELL WITH THE FREAKING BORG AT THIS POINT! I watched all of season three and was pretty thrilled with it until the end with the space Nazis. That turned me off so much I didn't bother with season four until DVD. The final season is better than I think I had a right to expect, but there are a few clunkers. What show doesn't have those? TATV is too rushed and strange. Not a good finale, but it originally wasn't meant to be a series finale.

 

[Ghel]

I actually didn't watch season one of TNG. My friend Kevin was an avid fan and got me interested in season two.

With DS9, I loved the pilot, but soon found myself bored with the "religious extremest blows up the school yet again" episodes. I stopped watching for a few seasons and returned to the series. This is my least favorite series as it feels most soap operatic.

I liked Voyager from its inception, but felt that it was often "Star Trek Light." It was too often artificially light when the tone of the show should have been darker since it should have been dealing with Federation/Maqui conflicts and issues of survival. Instead we got too many Tom Paris' shuttlecraft races.

I really liked Enterprise, especially the first season. There was an awesome rookieness to the crew, especially Malcolm and Trip. This series is actually one of my favorites.

 

[Albertus]

Well, I grew up with TOS and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I remember watching the first moon landing on TV in 1969, and the film 2001: A space Odyssey had been released the year before, so TOS was, in a way, a weekly beacon of hope for all 13-year-old's who yearned for the stars.

I was unsure how I would react to TNG when I heard it was to be aired, but I was hooked when I saw the E-D - I just love that ship.

I liked Picard but Riker and Data looked very young, Troi just baffled me and Geordie was cool with his Visor. The only thing I found kinda lame was the reveal of the 'jellyfish' aliens, and even more so, when they 'held hands' at the end.

TNG is, I confess, my favourite Trek series.

I liked DS9's darkness and the interplay between a good number of strong, self-willed characters. The over-arching storyline was also a welcome if, unusual, departure from the previous series. Overall, I enjoyed this Trek experiment.

Voyager, on the other hand, was more difficult to deal with. The initial premise of the show seemed just a little too contrived. I had no real problem with Janeway. It was a brave attempt to introduce a female captain as the lead in a new Trek show. For all her failings (blame the writers for that) I think Kate Mulgrew did a fair job, but there were at times I thought I was watching Katherine Hepburn (very famous 1930's to 1980's actress).

My favourite character was the EMH. Robert Picardo, what a delight, the rest of the cast were very 2D. A good enough series, but nothing of note for me.

Enterprise...... What a wasted opportunity. As soon as the title song started I knew it was gonna be a turkey. Nice song, but no way was it Trek. Even the opening titles and visuals seemed more like a feature on the Discovery Channel.

I suppose the big giveaway that this was going to be a horrible car-crash of a show was that the precursor 'Star Trek' was missing from the title. Even RS and BB knew that it didn't deserve that accolade. It was only when the ratings bombed that they added Star Trek to the title in a vainglorious attempt to legitimise this stillborn abomination.

I liked the characters and the actors brought depth to them. I thought Scott Bakula was very good as were the supporting cast. Jolene Blalock had the most difficult task - to be portray her character with 'gravitas' and also to titilate the schoolboys. T'Pol was a reincarnation of Seven of Nine - A cold, unemotional, uncaring, sexually naive hottie just waiting for a full-blooded human to show her what she was missing.

And don't get me started on the 'Enterprise' Akira-class refit - what a swizz. No originallity and no reference to the TOS 1701.

I guess you have figured out by now that I didn't like Enterprise, but I have found a solution to my dislike. Enterprise is not Star Trek, it is simply a nondescript, half-way decent Sci-Fi series that ripped off a whole load of Trek ideas. If you watch it in that frame of mind, its not so bad.

This is not my thumb... It is the bandage that used to be on my thumb.

 

[Markas]

I grew up watching TOS as well. I was so young that the complete wonderment of it has sealed it in my mind as by far my favorite. That, and having seen it in re-run a billion or so times a piece.

I don't feel there was any "transition" between series. The closest was between TOS and TNG, because of the Enterprise component, as well as the traveling around the galaxy meeting new beings component. However, I didn't like Picard at the beginning and felt there was no real chemistry there. I HATED Encounter at Farpoint. A few episodes in, I stopped watching. I don't really think it was that bad, but I chalk it up to missing the TOS cast. I returned to TNG sometime in the 3rd season mostly due to pressure from friends. I liked it much better and then caught up on older episodes. Thank goodness for VHS.

DS9 left me rather cold, and I liked Babylon 5 better as a "space station series". I always enjoyed Trek's exploration of space more than stationary political intrigue. I ended up watching it after B5 went off the air. Getting the Defiant certainly helped, as far as I am concerned. The Dominion War also made for more compelling storytelling.

I liked the idea of Voyager. I liked the idea of a female captain. I relatively enjoyed the first season but kept wondering why the Kazon were always around. If you aim your ship back to the Alpha Quadrant and keep running in to the same people, you're going the wrong way. I have seen a lot of Voyager, but definitely not all of it.

Enterprise...well...they lost me completely after the beginning of the second season. I liked some of the backstory and it was interesting to meet some of the core races for the first time, but I couldn't muster enough care about the characters, which to me is the kiss of death. I saw a couple of eps during the 4th season and was enjoying the direction it seemed to be taking, but we know what happened there......

 

[Damask]

With DS9, I loved the pilot, but soon found myself bored with the "religious extremest blows up the school yet again" episodes. I stopped watching for a few seasons and returned to the series. This is my least favorite series as it feels most soap operatic.

I liked Voyager from its inception, but felt that it was often "Star Trek Light." It was too often artificially light when the tone of the show should have been darker since it should have been dealing with Federation/Maqui conflicts and issues of survival. Instead we got too many Tom Paris' shuttlecraft races.

I find this interesting. You wanted certain things from Voyager which actually are in DS9 (darker, conflict, survival) but disliked DS9? Or am I misunderstanding you there?

Though I can only remember one episode where the school blows up and I quite liked it.

 

[Mirror_Barclay]

I love seeing a new crew for the first time. So much there to be explored.

That's why I really hope we don't get TOS-2 after the movie. Such a waste to retread what we've already got, when we've been waiting for something new.

 

[Albertus]

I love seeing a new crew for the first time. So much there to be explored.

I feel the same way, but you said it better - and shorter.

 

[KDoug]

I never minded when a new series came along. I always felt that the best way to view a new Star Trek is to give it a chance and to see how it goes. For me, it was never about whether or not my favorite characters were on the new show. It was about how well the show was done.

I will say that I felt like Voyager and Enterprise were more hit-and-miss in terms of their quality than the others were. For Voyager in particular, I had pretty much lost interest in the last couple of seasons. I only came back at the end to watch the finale. They did have some good episodes, but they had plenty of mediocre and poor ones, too. They never really adhered to the premise of two crews living side by side in the same ship, playing by somewhat different rules, both trying to get back home without the benefit of the allies that would allow them to easily repair and maintain their ship and supplies. Those difficulties were largely glossed over. In retrospect, I think they could have used a long-term plan for their stories, roughly along the lines of what Deep Space Nine did, or even Babylon 5, with big story arcs.

As for Enterprise, I felt that it was largely hit-and-miss in the first two seasons and that it improved in the last two seasons, particularly the very last season. Much of my criticism of Enterprise has to do with the fact that they didn't take their prequel status seriously for a long time. And also because the Temporal Cold War story never seemed to get beyond, "there are bad guys from the future who are trying to do bad things. But no one knows what they're really up to, so watch out."

Going back to The Next Generation, much of the reason why I liked it is simply because I grew up with it. Watching some of the earlier episodes now, I see that the quality was a bit lacking at many levels. But, when I was a little tyke, I was just thinking, "yay, it's Star Trek!" As I grew older, I came to appreciate the nuances in the character relationships and storylines that the show developed in its later seasons.

And as for Deep Space Nine, I feel that it's a continuation and refinement of the kind of quality that began with The Next Generation. And, it's kind of funny: Everyone talks about how the show is dark and gritty, but I never felt that was an adequate description. Compared to The Next Generation, it was more a case of characters from much more diverse backgrounds having to live in close proximity with each other over the long term, carrying out their own agendas in their own ways and often butting heads along the way. And yes, that often meant battle and war. But that's nothing new. The Next Generation had its share of battles and wars, too.

 

[kissthestar]

There were sufficient cross-references here and there among the series to give me a sense of continuity, but I don't recall much sense of transition, except possibly with the DS9 opener ep.