What are your favorite Star Trek shows?

[mendelin]

Star Trek will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary.

For 50 years we got various TV-shows and big screen movies, covering each decade.

TV-shows:
1960s - The Original Series;
1970s - The Animated Series;
1980s - The Next Generation;
1990s - The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager;
2000s - Voyager, Enterprise.

Movies:
1970s - ST: The Motion Picture;
1980s - ST: The Wrath of Khan, ST: The Search for Spock, ST: The Voyage Home, ST: The Final Frontier;
1990s - ST: The Undiscovered Country, ST: Generations, ST: First Contact, ST: Insurrection.
2000s - ST: Nemesis, Star Trek '09.
2010s - Star Trek Into Darkness.

Each show is in keeping with its times; some of them were outsiders, some of them were OK, some of them were good, some of them were brilliant.

Let's try to make an popularity rating!
So, what are your favorite Star Trek shows and why?

 

[Trek Survivor]

Well, my two favourite shows are TNG and DS9, and I enjoy all the movies.

However, I also voted for Enterprise. I have never seen this before, and my wife & I started watching it from the start a couple of weeks ago. We're up to the episode "Shuttlepod One" - and I really enjoy it! So glad I finally got around to watching it, so I voted for that one too!

 

[Levi]

I voted mainly for TNG. I grew up with it, fell in love with Star Trek from it, and I think it is still the best series out there!
I also enjoyed TOS and all the other series, just not as much as TNG. Same with the movies. And yes, I am a fan of the rebooted stuff!

 

[Galileo7]

TOS
TAS
TOS Movies #1-6 (TMP - TUC)
JJ reboot Movies #11,12,13+

 

[F. King Daniel]

I grew up with TNG but find it, with the exception of some gems like "Yesterday's Enterprise", virtually unwatchable now.

TOS is the original and still the best series. The classic movies are fantastic, and the reboot is exploring the universe anew. The TNG movies I find far more pallatable than the majority of the series, although Insurrection is a total dud.

Voyager has a lot of clunkers, but like TOS, the characters and their interactions (which is where TNG fails miserably, IMO) keep me watching. Enterprise is vitually two shows - the often awful first two seasons pale next to the third and fourth. I'm overdue a rewatch of Deep Space Nine, but I remember it being often drab and dull.

TAS is shit, but I still love it.

 

[dub]

The Original Series - I respect the series. I have watched it and it's okay but just not something I have a desire to rewatch again and again. I didn't vote for this one.

The Animated Series - I have not watched this. I'm not really into animated anything, so I doubt I'll watch it. I didn't voted for this one.

The Next Generation - I've watched these episodes many times growing up and recently rewatched again. I enjoy the series and the characters. I voted for this one.

Deep Space Nine - I watched a few episodes when this was on originally but never gave it a chance. I watched all of it last year and discovered it's my favorite series. I rewatched it again with my wife and she loved it too. Definitely voted for this one!

Voyager - I watched the early seasons when it first came out but lost interest. I recently rewatched it and found some of the episodes to be good, especially when Seven first joined the cast. But overall, it's not a favorite of mine. I will say the theme song is my favorite. But that wasn't enough for me to vote for this one.

Enterprise - I don't understand the hate for this series. The first 2 seasons are very much TNG-esque to me. It's okay but certainly not bad in my book. Season 3 is probably my favorite season of any Trek series. Season 4 was also good except for the finale. I'm looking forward to a rewatch. I voted for this one.

Star Trek Movies with original crew (TMP - TUC) - I grew up with these and TNG. These were the first VHS tapes I purchased. I first saw TVH on television and laughed my head off. I purchased the rest and really enjoyed the adventure. I saw TFF to STID in the theater. I voted for this group.

Star Trek Movies with NextGen crew (GEN - NEM) - I enjoyed each of these in the theater, though some of them have less rewatch-ability. First Contact and Generations are my favorites of this group. I voted for them.

Star Trek Reboot - The jury's still out for me. I liked 2009. And I was really enjoying STID (smiling, beaming even) until

Spoiler: STID

the death of Kirk scene

through the end of the film. It's the only Trek film that made me mad and literally face-palm in the theater. I'm really hoping the next one is a winner, but we'll see. I didn't vote for these films, but it's subject to change in the future.

 

[bbjeg]

I like this poll.

I voted for them all but Enterprise (it had some good episodes, but I wasn't a fan of their initial direction) and TAS but I never saw it do to the mixed feelings fan have for it.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I voted for everything except TNG and the TNG movies. Though.. I do love FC so that's kind of a shame. But as a category, meh.

 

[HaventGotALife]

For me, Star Trek is about worlds inside and out. It's about morality plays that explore human behavior through the prism of imagination of what we would find in space. I want it to be original and add to the Star Trek tapestry, I want it to be imaginative (strange, new worlds), and I want something that has good production value, including acting.

I hate "pop culture Trek," which is what I call everything that has come after Voyager (with exception to Star Trek: The Next Generation movies--Soran, The Borg Queen, the Son'a and Bak'u, and Shinzon are all original elements). The universe was so vast that it could sustain shows that had no premise beyond playing with the same elements. Take, for instance, Voyager. They are home because of the Borg. The Borg didn't appear until the end of Season 3 (sans the Borg corpse). Yet, how many episodes did they have after that? 17? And what did they add that was new to the experience of the Borg? Even Enterprise got into the act, despite the fact the Enterprise-D didn't discover them until 300 years later. Voyager had how many visits from Q? Their best episode, arguably, is a Q episode.

This is not to say that we cannot have familiar elements, just add something new to them. The Klingons, Cardassians, Bajorans, and Trills were all in DS9 and they were introduced in other series. But they added to the tapestry by fleshing them out more, the Bajorans and Klingons in particular. They had something original to say with them.

The three series I like: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are not similar in scope or execution. They contrast each other and the tone of the series is different in each instance that allows me to see an original tale in the same universe.

Star Trek was about deep space exploration, true exploration. Rarely did they re-tread with what they found. Exceptions to that rule came in Season 3 (The Romulans are using the Klingons' design now). But they did original tales and laid the groundwork for 50 years of adventures. It takes more imagination because the scope of the production and the scope of the scripts are not in the same realm. But the original ideas are pure and insightful. I wish Star Trek was this layered today.

Next Generation was about the morality plays. It was a more cultured show than the original. It took chances (The Inner Light, Family) in storytelling that we never got with the Original Series adventures. It is my favorite series.

Deep Space Nine was about a single thread through 7 seasons--oppression. It was an exploration of those pieces of humanity left unexplored by the more perfect humans of both TOS and TNG. Once you have that as a key, the stories come alive.

The only movies I cannot do without are The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, and Insurrection.

Spoiler: STID Thoughts with SPOILERS!!!!

This new generation is a greatest hits. They shoe-horned a Kirk-Spock relationship that took 25 years to develop into 6 months. They did the same thing with STID as they did with Wrath of Khan and Search for Spock--the crux of the relationship and how they approach death. It's an imaginative re-make, but it remains the same piece of music being played by a different band. All the nods reminded me that Star Trek is redoing itself. This has not been enjoyable for me. Once again, what I want to see is some of the strange, new worlds. If I never see another action scene in these movies, I wouldn't be disappointed. The conclusion I have ultimately come to, is that I like the original crew. I was open-minded, but I feel like I have wasted my money.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I love DS9.

I like TNG and the TOS/TNG Movies, whilst VOY and ENT had their moments but were more or less just ok. TOS and TAS I haven't watched in years but got me hooked as a bairn--I don't really want to rewatch them in case it destroys my fond memories.

NuTrek 1 was ok (obvious irritants aside) but STID was just tripe. I'm hoping for a decent NuTrek 3 but aren't holding my breath.

 

[Runetouch]

My favourite Star Trek show is TNG, followed by TOS and then DS9. I love the Original Crew's movies a lot as well.

 

[lurok]

Pretty much everything bar TAS (finally got round to watching this year, but meh) and TNG - which did have a couple of decent episodes and actors, but not really my cup of tea.

 

[1001001]

I liked most of it, except for DS9 and a couple of the movies.

 

[mendelin]

I voted for TNG, DS9 and movies with original crew.

I respect the Original Series as a beginning of Star Trek and as the Roddenberry's brainchild. Majel Barrett gave the best description of TOS:

You go through at least the first two years of Star Trek and you find some amazing stuff. Everything that was going on Gene put into the series. He just put strange costumes on the actors and painted them funny colours and left the same situation in. - Majel Barrett - Roddenberry

TOS is funny, it looks like kaleidoscope without long plotlines. As for me, TOS works better on big screen.
I enjoy all of movies I-VI, especially the trilogy TWOK - TSFS - TVH. These movies are extremely naive, but they have the soul.

TNG is nearly perfect reincarnation of TOS-ideas and it works better as TV-show. ST:Insurrection can be enjoyable as bonus episodes, but in general I don't like TNG-movies. In movies there is no further development, characters stuck in their positions, there is no believable relationships between characters (e.g. sudden bromance between Picard and Data).

I love DS9: the story, characters, plotlines, conflicts, feelings - all in one brilliant show. DS9 is a "Mirror Star Trek", it deals with imperfect humans, which are closer to real life.

As for Star Trek Reboot... The first movie is really good and perspective, but STID is more a parody than a real Star Trek movie (screaming Spock ). It's a pity. May be the third movie will improve the situation.

 

[TheGoodStuff]

I adore Star Trek.

For me, it is the deeper, moral, philosophical, ethical side of the show that I adore so much. Thus, I voted for...

1. TOS: For me, the worst series but still superb. I adore it but its too poorly written.

2. TNG: Classic. What TOS wishes it was. Deep, thought provoking and an acting masterclass from Patrick Stewart. The ensemble cast really adds depth and the Galaxy class is gorgeous.

DS9: My favourite. Utterly wonderful bit of entertainment, showing how Roddenberry's idealistic TNG philosophy would work when confronted with real world problems [like racism, bigotry, hatred, war...] that cannot be warped away from. Alaimo, Brooks, Robinson, Visitor, Combs, Shimmerman....fantastic.

VOY: The most UNDERRATED part of the franchise. I have it as my 3rd favourite yet...on its day...its the best. Mulgrew/Ryan/Picardo/Dawson are superb, the ship is my favourite in Trek, the music is outstanding and it is just so damn watchable. For me it is the middle ground between TNG and DS9.

ENT: Two shows. I rate it higher than TOS simply because its last two seasons are fantastic. The look, the feel...its wonderful. Sadly, the first two seasons are a braindead mess.

TOS Movies: While TOS on TV wishes it was as good as TNG...TNG wishes it had films like TOS. For me, TOS films are where that crew really 'clicked'. Wrath of Khan and Undiscovered Country are still brilliant.

TNG Movies: They are all poor except First Contact...yet I love them. They pale in comparison to the TOS films but they are with a deeper, better crew so I cant resist.


I HAVE the Animated series but it just isn't the same. What JJ is doing, to me, isn't Trek. Its just a brainless action franchise.

 

[Isolinear]

VOY: The most UNDERRATED part of the franchise. [...] it is just so damn watchable. For me it is the middle ground between TNG and DS9.

Damn right!!! That sentence sums it up. In spite of the cliche shuttlecrashes and lack of continuity, the episodes themselves are just... fun to watch. I don't understand people who claim they love TNG, but hate VOY. Most VOY-episodes are basically TNG-stories with a different crew.

All 5 series have their ups and downs, but I voted for TNG/DS9/VOY/classic-movies. TNG is what got me into Star Trek. I love 24th century Trek. The classic movies are great as well. The Undiscovered Country is my favorite.

I enjoy TOS, but it's not my first choice when I want to "watch some Trek".

Enterprise can be a good show (the later seasons), but I don't rate it as high as the previous series. The crew is just not that interesting compared to the others.

The TNG-movies. Well, I like Generations and First Contact. But Insurrection and especially Nemesis are abominations. I'd rather watch Star Trek-V.

The reboot movies? You mean that is Star Trek??? Could have fooled me!

 

[bbjeg]

I'm surprised that Enterprise is beating Voyager.

 

[TheGoodStuff]

VOY: The most UNDERRATED part of the franchise. [...] it is just so damn watchable. For me it is the middle ground between TNG and DS9.

Damn right!!! That sentence sums it up. In spite of the cliche shuttlecrashes and lack of continuity, the episodes themselves are just... fun to watch. I don't understand people who claim they love TNG, but hate VOY. Most VOY-episodes are basically TNG-stories with a different crew.

All 5 series have their ups and downs, but I voted for TNG/DS9/VOY/classic-movies. TNG is what got me into Star Trek. I love 24th century Trek. The classic movies are great as well. The Undiscovered Country is my favorite.

I enjoy TOS, but it's not my first choice when I want to "watch some Trek".

Enterprise can be a good show (the later seasons), but I don't rate it as high as the previous series. The crew is just not that interesting compared to the others.

The TNG-movies. Well, I like Generations and First Contact. But Insurrection and especially Nemesis are abominations. I'd rather watch Star Trek-V.

The reboot movies? You mean that is Star Trek??? Could have fooled me!

Agreed with pretty much all of that.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I'm surprised that Enterprise is beating Voyager.

When you have a woman captain you don't need to whip it out and compete.