Watch all Star Trek Series but not TOS. Not Sure If I should

[tafkats]

Do you have a Netflix account? I don't know if their license extends internationally, but in the U.S., Netflix subscribers can stream all the Trek series. If it's not available in your country, you might be able to watch it anyway using a VPN to trick Netflix into thinking you're in the U.S.

 

[Maurice]

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[Zaminhon]

Netflix streams all three seasons of the remastered version. About the music, I take it you don't like the opening and closing theme music since you apparently haven't seen the show itself. Don't worry, those are the only places that that specific theme plays. There is original music and for the most part pretty good. (Love the drunk Scotsman theme, myself).

 

[tafkats]

And if you've watched TNG, the first two seasons of TNG are pretty close to TOS musically.

What I find most jarring about TOS is the gender politics. It was plenty progressive for its day, but still pretty cringe-inducing by modern standards, and I find it takes a real effort to remind myself of the period it was created in and not be bothered by what today seem like ridiculously reactionary attitudes for a show set in the 23rd century.

 

[Michael]

[snip]

I was just going to look which version this was exactly, but ended up watching it almost all the way through. Such a great episode! Sucks you right in. The plot, the dialog, the music, Nimoy, Shatner and Windom firing on all cylinders – this is just amazing television right there. I love this show!

 

[IronMaiden]

I believe Netflix is not in Australia, but I think it said it was going to be released here in March, but I'm going to buy a episode on iTunes

 

[IronMaiden]

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnhcrZ_RFqo[/yt]

I might watch that, thanks

 

[Ssosmcin]

Yeah you can stream the series on Netflix (TOS-R), Amazon Instant Video (both), and Hulu Plus (TOS-R). If you've never seen it and you want to give it the best possible chance, watch the new effects versions. They will be easier to take for you and give you less to find fault with. I mean, if you already don't like the music, you won't like the 60's effects. I would only start new, younger fans on the originals effects if they are VERY young and won't care, or show a preference or liking for any era's technology (for example, people who enjoy the 1933 King Kong and don't look at it as dated at all). Since they don't alter the story, and in some case help them (Tomorrow is Yesterday), just go for the new effects.

As for Enterprise, it was a good series. The first season was weakest, but it improved as it went on. The third season was great and the fourth season was a lot of fun as it tried to fill in the gaps between that series and the original. It deserved three more years.

Voyager, I didn't care for. DS( was mostly excellent. TNG was great at the time, but it is the lest "rewatchable" for me. Too talky and stuffy a lot of the time with technobabble A & B plots.

Good luck, I hope you like it. If not, I give you credit for trying it.

 

[The Old Mixer]

"On the next exciting episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Parenthesis...."

 

[Orphalesion]

And the Next Generation is a very 1980s/early 90s version of the future. Everything is a product of a time. However, that should not effect enjoyment. Twilight Zone frequently had episodes about things like the far off year of 1999 and something bad on a space colony we'd surely have by then, but that should not effect the reception of the show nor does it hinder the quality. Similar things can be said about all sorts of science fiction from various authors; Bradbury's Mars comes to mind. A good story is a good story regardless, and art is art regardless, and anyone who would complain about "I don't think miniskirts are futuristic" is being very shallow and ignoring the actual story.

Not to say that people won't take that shallow route, but the thread author shouldn't.

That would be good if the aesthetics were all that's dated about TOS. I could life with the bright primary colours everywhere, the blinking lights and beehives. I also don't care whether special effects are outdated and think that sometimes a good matte painting can look better than a SGI shot.

However, in my eyes, the storytelling, characters and the interaction among them are also all very, very dated. Particularly the leads and the female characters.

 

[bbailey861]

[snip]

I was just going to look which version this was exactly, but ended up watching it almost all the way through. Such a great episode! Sucks you right in. The plot, the dialog, the music, Nimoy, Shatner and Windom firing on all cylinders – this is just amazing television right there. I love this show!

Me, too, and courtesy of Maurice, who made it so easy to do, I just finished watching it again.

 

[RandyS]

Letting him go into "The Alternative Factor" without warning? You're a mean old man, BillJ.

Could be worse, he could stumble onto "City on the Edge of Forever". He'll run screaming from the room, and probably never turn on the TV again. "The Alternative Factor" might make him a fan.

Would it be bad to skip to the good ones
or should I watch it from the start?
I can watch 30 seconds trailers

Re-reading this post, I think I finally see Iron Maiden's problem. TOS is not a serialized show. You can watch any episode in any order and it doesn't matter. They are self-contained. In fact, Star Trek as a whole was largely produced before serialized TV came into popularity. DS9 being an exception.

Does that help you at all?

 

[Zaminhon]

I thought everyone in the world (with TV or Internet access) is familiar with 60's style tv.. Gilligan's Island, Batman, Lost in Space, Bonanza, Bewitched?. No surprise it's kind of the same thing.

 

[The Grim Ghost]

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnhcrZ_RFqo[/yt]

I might watch that, thanks

Why "might"? You want to know if the show is any good and he posted up an episode for you to watch for free. Most people consider it one of the best episodes. You could save yourself a lot of money on bluerays by just spending 50 minutes of your life watching this and seeing if you enjoy it.

BTW I am not trying to be a jerk or anything, and I'm glad you are interested in watching TOS. But I guess it's a little frustrating that people have named tons of ways (some free) to watch the show for you already and we kind of wonder why you just don't sit down and watch a couple already?

Hope you enjoy it! Watch a few episodes and then you can decide whether it's worth buying them on DVD or Blueray or whatever. And come back and let us know what you think even if you hate it.

 

[urbandefault]

I love TOS. I cut my scifi teeth on the afternoon reruns with the chopped up episodes and original effects, on a 19" black and white tv. The Sci Fi Channel's restored version in the late 90s really tripped my trigger.

What I find hard to watch now is TNG. It hasn't aged well. The TNG movies are better, but the series is full of the 80s pastel and big hair touchy-feely cheese.

DS9 was ok in the first three seasons, but really found its legs starting with season four.

Voyager? Meh.

Enterprise? Double meh.

TOS is where it all started. It had good to great storytelling, iconic characters and (for its time) state of the art SFX. It's the one by which all subsequent Trek is measured.

So, should you watch it? Absolutely.

 

[The Old Mixer]

The TNG movies are better

Now that's just crazy talk.

 

[Trek Survivor]

You can watch any episode in any order and it doesn't matter. They are self-contained. In fact, Star Trek as a whole was largely produced before serialized TV came into popularity. DS9 being an exception.

Does that help you at all?

The serialisation of DS9 really is talked up a bit too much by fans. Compared to other TV shows, it's not really (aside from the final stack of episodes and multi-part episodes). Enterprise season 3 was far more serialised. The majority of DS9 was episodic, and I am quite fine with that.

 

[RandyS]

What I find hard to watch now is TNG. It hasn't aged well. The TNG movies are better, but the series is full of the 80s pastel and big hair touchy-feely cheese.

What's wrong with that? That's what makes it good.

 

[RandyS]

You can watch any episode in any order and it doesn't matter. They are self-contained. In fact, Star Trek as a whole was largely produced before serialized TV came into popularity. DS9 being an exception.

Does that help you at all?

The serialisation of DS9 really is talked up a bit too much by fans. Compared to other TV shows, it's not really (aside from the final stack of episodes and multi-part episodes). Enterprise season 3 was far more serialised. The majority of DS9 was episodic, and I am quite fine with that.

True, but what I was really saying was that DS9 is the closest thing to contemporary standards that Star Trek produced.

Iron Maiden keeps asking "What should I watch?", "Where should I begin?". This indicated to me that he believes TOS was made under the same conditions as today's shows, and I was pointing out that it wasn't.

 

[BillJ]

What I find hard to watch now is TNG. It hasn't aged well. The TNG movies are better, but the series is full of the 80s pastel and big hair touchy-feely cheese.

What's wrong with that? That's what makes it good.

I find TNG hard to watch because so much of the time it was just downright dull. Modern Trek had a problem with that in general, but TNG seemed to lead the pack in the dull category.