What do you think of my 'viewing plan'? No spoilers please :]

[RocksW]

Hi, I just recently got into star trek after seeing the new movie, and now i'm currently almost at the end of series one of the next generation. (I might watch TOS at a later stage)

Im planning to watch TNG up to where the borg are introduced (I know they're a fan favourite, I dont know a lot about them though) Then I was thinking of maybe trying voyager or deep space nine, though Im not sure which would be the better option.

I'm also pretty confused about the 10+ movies and where they all tie in, i'm afraid if I skip them i'll miss something important... What would you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance

 

[BillJ]

You really should start with The Original Series then watch films I - VI. Then move onto The Next Generation then the film Generations. Then watch series Deep Space Nine and Voyager after that the films Insurrection and Nemesis.

You should really watch the prequel series Enterprise after everything else. As many of the 'winks-nods' to the other shows would be meaningless.

 

[JRoss]

I'd recommend watching series 1-5 of TNG, series 1 of DS9, series 6 of TNG, series 2 of DS9, Series 7 of TNG, the film Generations, and then alternate between Voyager and DS9 until finished with Voyager, but watching First Contact after series 5 of DS9 and Insurrection after series 6 of DS9. After those, then go to TOS, followed by films 1-6 (although you aren't missing anything if omit films 1 and 5) and finally Enterprise.

 

[RocksW]

I'd recommend watching series 1-5 of TNG, series 1 of DS9, series 6 of TNG, series 2 of DS9, Series 7 of TNG, the film Generations, and then alternate between Voyager and DS9 until finished with Voyager, but watching First Contact after series 5 of DS9 and Insurrection after series 6 of DS9. After those, then go to TOS, followed by films 1-6 (although you aren't missing anything if omit films 1 and 5) and finally Enterprise.

And if I can ask without spoiling anything, why do you say watch 1 to 5 of TNG and then DS9? I know they run parallell but I assumed they were basically pretty seperate?

 

[Kadratis]

I'd recommend watching series 1-5 of TNG, series 1 of DS9, series 6 of TNG, series 2 of DS9, Series 7 of TNG, the film Generations, and then alternate between Voyager and DS9 until finished with Voyager, but watching First Contact after series 5 of DS9 and Insurrection after series 6 of DS9. After those, then go to TOS, followed by films 1-6 (although you aren't missing anything if omit films 1 and 5) and finally Enterprise.

And if I can ask without spoiling anything, why do you say watch 1 to 5 of TNG and then DS9? I know they run parallell but I assumed they were basically pretty seperate?

DS9 was a spin-off made between the fifth and sixth season of TNG that ran concurrently during the same time frame. Ditto with Voyager.

 

[lurok]

I'd argue that it might be better to watch ENT before TOS as it sets up several crucial aspects of that series (even if you can get over change in style. But fortunately we are blessed with imaginations). This might be radical but my guide to any complete newcomer for narrative links would be:
ENT (apart from finale)
TOS
movies 2-6 (although I love it, narrative-wise TMP can be missed)
TNG seasons 1-5
Generations
DS9 season 1-5
VOY season 1-4
First Contact
DS9 season 6-7
Insurrection
DS9 finale
VOY season 5-7
Nemesis

 

[RocksW]

From the promos I think 'Voyager' looks quite interesting, could I watch that without spoiling too much of deep space 9? Thanks for all the replies

EDIT: Come to think of it, could I watch any voyager without spoiling the next generation? the last episode I watched was 'skin of evil' if that helps.

 

[lurok]

From the promos I think 'Voyager' looks quite interesting, could I watch that without spoiling too much of deep space 9? Thanks for all the replies

EDIT: Come to think of it, could I watch any voyager without spoiling the next generation? the last episode I watched was 'skin of evil' if that helps.

VOY was my first complete series, so from memory didn't spoil DS9 narratively for me. Ditto for TNG: the only TNG crossovers I recall are two main characters who you've met already, and a secondary from after "skin of evil' who first appears in VOY season 2 (but not really as himself ) and more crucially in season 6. But I don't think it will spoil TNG for you

 

[TheGodBen]

Star Trek doesn't cross over in terms of stories between series too much, but things will be easier to understand if you watch the shows in the original order. Trying out Voyager right now wouldn't make much sense to you as you have no idea who the Maquis are, they only get introduced during TNG's final season/DS9's second season. You'd still be able to follow along with Voyager, but you wouldn't get the full reasoning behind the conflict between the two crews. What's more, jumping from the introduction of the Borg to Voyager wouldn't make much sense as you'd miss out on the other TNG episodes that focus on the Borg, some of which are very important. Best of Both Worlds is the best Borg episode in all of Star Trek and it redefines the motivation of their race, missing that before watching Voyager would be criminal.

Why are you so eager to skip TNG? If you're having trouble getting into that show right now, that's perfectly understandable; only drug addicts and people with severe brain damage enjoy TNG's first season. It is widely considered to be one of the worst seasons of Star Trek, but the show improves a bit in the second season and it improves astronomically in season 3 to become a fantastic series.

I can sort of understand your desire to get to Voyager as quickly as possible because it does have the best premise of any of the Star Trek series, but a lot of people (myself included) feel that Voyager doesn't live up to that premise. Meanwhile, DS9 has the most boring premise of any Star Trek series yet it is a fan favourite (including mine) and often wins best series polls on this site. Obviously, your opinion on the shows could be drastically different from my own as there are plenty of people on this site that love Voyager and dislike DS9 and you could be one of those people.

Anyway, back to the original question. You could watch Star Trek backwards if you want and you'd probably be able to understand what's going on, but it would be a much easier experience to try and watch it in order. You can start watching Voyager right now if you want but you wont fully understand the Maquis, you wont fully understand the Borg, you wont know who that shy guy in the later seasons is... all things that Voyager used that were originally from TNG or DS9.

 

[Merky]

I'm also pretty confused about the 10+ movies and where they all tie in, i'm afraid if I skip them i'll miss something important... What would you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance

The first six movies tie into TOS. Movies seven through ten tie into TNG.

ST The Motion Picture and The Final Frontier are standalone. You don't have to watch anything else to really understand what's going on in those movies, you only have to be familiar with the characters. You might need to watch some bits of TOS to understand what's going on in TMP to figure out the time frame as the movie doesn't properly explain the gap well (IMO).

Though, TOS is episodic so you don't have to worry about a story arc. You just need to be familiar with the characters.

ST The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, and The Voyage Home are a movie trilogy. You can watch The Voyage Home on it's own but the first ten minutes or so will be confusing if you didn't watch TSFS and that movie will totally be confusing if you didn't watch TWOK.

TWOK is the only ST movie in the TOS franchise that actually connects and expands on an episode in the series. So you're better off to watch Space Seed (Season 1) before jumping into TWOK. It's a great movie but you fully won't understand why Khan is so batshit crazy, especially towards Kirk.

Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country follows, continuity wise, after The Voyage Home in terms of characterization, plots, story, and events. Mostly due to the fact that it follows the world set up by Meyer/Nimoy and his crew (and probably because the studio was trying so hard to forget that TFF even existed). It's also a send off movie so watch it last.

Generations is another "send off" movie but it's really, really shitty. It's like a Kirk vs Picard team up but done like shit. Super Sentai does team up better than Star Trek. You're better off watching this version and be done with it:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrz8_jNL1a4[/yt]

First Contact, I felt, you could watch it without having to watch TNG. I watched a few episodes of TNG but I enjoyed the movie without being a fan of TNG.

Didn't bother with Nemesis or Insurrection.

As for the series, I watched DS9 as it aired and didn't feel as if I needed to watch Voyager or TNG to understand what was going on in that series. The tie ins are so weak that each show, in my opinion, stand alone pretty well without being stuck having to go back and forth to figure out wth is going on. TOS is obviously stand alone... so yeah, personally, I just watched TOS (when it aired on Sci-fi back in 98 - 99) and DS9 and enjoyed it without having to watch TNG or VOY.

 

[AstroSmurf]

^ "Like being inside joy..." Joy Behar?


That gets me every single time.

 

[JRoss]

@RocksW it's not too spoilerific, but there is a group called the Maquis that makes more sense if you see it in DS9 first.

 

[RocksW]

Why are you so eager to skip TNG? If you're having trouble getting into that show right now, that's perfectly understandable; only drug addicts and people with severe brain damage enjoy TNG's first season. It is widely considered to be one of the worst seasons of Star Trek, but the show improves a bit in the second season and it improves astronomically in season 3 to become a fantastic series.

Really? I thought it was pretty good so far Whats so bad about it? I watched 'we'll always have paris' last night and I thought it was fantastic. Great to hear that it gets even better though. cheers for the reply

As for the series, I watched DS9 as it aired and didn't feel as if I needed to watch Voyager or TNG to understand what was going on in that series. The tie ins are so weak that each show, in my opinion, stand alone pretty well without being stuck having to go back and forth to figure out wth is going on. TOS is obviously stand alone... so yeah, personally, I just watched TOS (when it aired on Sci-fi back in 98 - 99) and DS9 and enjoyed it without having to watch TNG or VOY.

Thats good to know, I was thinking of dipping into DS9 soon, you guys make it sound really good :] thanks for clearing that up about the movies

 

[Temis the Vorta]

BillJ's advice is good, with the caveat that:

and Voyager after that the films Insurrection and Nemesis.

Those aren't as good as what comes before. Also, the fifth Trek movie is horrrrrible. TNG's first two seasons are painful (I tried watching them when they originally aired and it put me off Trek till I finally got back in, with DS9). But if you're a completist, go for it.

Welcome to Star Trek!!!

 

[F. King Daniel]

The films are stand-alone. Although two of them (Wrath of Khan and First Contact) are sequels to episodes, you're told everything you need to know. Movies II-IV form a loose trilogy.

Just watch bits of everything, and don't abandon a whole series just because you saw one terrible episode. I'd recommend having two series' on the go at once, alternating episodes, to prevent fatigue.

Enjoy!

 

[BillJ]

...only drug addicts and people with severe brain damage enjoy TNG's first season.

The same can be said for Voyager as a whole.

 

[lurok]

^ Ouch Do we really need these cynical attacks on Trek for newcomers like Rocks? Why not let him discover wonders/glories (and faults) of movies and series for himself?

 

[AstroSmurf]

^ There will be no Voyager fan bashing her BillJ. Bash the show all you want but I would appreciate it if you wouldn't troll the Voyager fans.

 

[TheGodBen]

Really? I thought it was pretty good so far Whats so bad about it? I watched 'we'll always have paris' last night and I thought it was fantastic. Great to hear that it gets even better though. cheers for the reply

TNG's first season is an uncomfortable mix of 60s cheese and 80s sensibilities that isn't helped by having stiff characters and stories that fail to connect on an emotional level. Many people regard it as the worst single season in Star Trek, myself included. The second season improves on this a bit, but the real improvement comes in the third season when Michael Piller came onboard as head of the writing staff. He seemed to have a better understanding of the differences between having a good sci-fi concept and having a good story, and his era focused on the characters more and made them more interesting. For example, my favourite episode is called The Defector and it contains much intrigue, suspense and action, but what gives the episode its edge is a brilliant guest character that is struggling with the fear that he is betraying his own people. That's the heart of TNG that's mostly lacking in the first season.

 

[BillJ]

BillJ's advice is good, with the caveat that:

and Voyager after that the films Insurrection and Nemesis.

Those aren't as good as what comes before. Also, the fifth Trek movie is horrrrrible. TNG's first two seasons are painful (I tried watching them when they originally aired and it put me off Trek till I finally got back in, with DS9). But if you're a completist, go for it.

Just trying to present the facts. What I like and what others like are probably I touch different. I'm a fan of The Royale.