DS9 is by far the best Trek series. There's not even a close second.
What is the best series and why?
- Thread starter Sheepwash
- Start date
I hate TOS, and it's only value is that it started the franchise, and the concept of the show was innovative and groundbreaking for its time. This is why Trek did become, and still is, a successful franchise.
TNG and DS9 are the best IMO, and both get 10 out of 10. Both had, IMO, the best acted, written and developed captains, the best written stories, the best acted stories, and the finest character development of all Trek series. Both IMO are two of the finest sci-fi shows ever made.
Voyager was good, but not great as TNG and DS9 were. It had some very good stories now and then, but had too many production flaws to be a great (and not just good series). Voyager to me gets 6/7 out of 10.
Enterprise had some moments, but akin to Voyager suffered from poor production. Season 4 though is probably the best season of Trek period, at least in terms of the consistent quality of episodes. Terra Prime and the Klingon Augments eps were excellent IMO.
TNG and DS9 are the best IMO, and both get 10 out of 10. Both had, IMO, the best acted, written and developed captains, the best written stories, the best acted stories, and the finest character development of all Trek series. Both IMO are two of the finest sci-fi shows ever made.
Voyager was good, but not great as TNG and DS9 were. It had some very good stories now and then, but had too many production flaws to be a great (and not just good series). Voyager to me gets 6/7 out of 10.
Enterprise had some moments, but akin to Voyager suffered from poor production. Season 4 though is probably the best season of Trek period, at least in terms of the consistent quality of episodes. Terra Prime and the Klingon Augments eps were excellent IMO.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Why does this question even come up anymore?
Remember everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if it's wrong.
Am I the only person who has watched "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and thinks "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was better? TNG was more 'safe' and less ambitious since it had less conflict between characters and lacked some of the innovations of DS9 like serialized stories and deeper exploration of certain alien races, but I still think it was more consistent overall.
TNG's first two seasons were weak (as were the first three of DS9), but at least from season 3 onwards it maintained a very consistent quality aside from a bunch of crap in season 7 and the lame Sela stuff. It's easy to overlook some of DS9's problems because of all the things it did amazingly that no other Star Trek series did, but DS9 still had some major story arcs and character development that seriously tainted it. For example, the character assassination of Gul Dukat and all the excruciatingly boring Bajoran stuff in the early seasons.
I think DS9's stories and characters took a lot longer to become bearable than those of TNG. While it has episodes in season 1 better than any in TNG's season 1 ("Duet", for example), I don't think its first two seasons were significantly better than those of TNG. I expect better from a series with creators who should have learned from the mistakes of their last one.
Another thing is, I can't really explain how, but for some reason TNG just seemed more effortlessly iconic to me, with its more sharply defined characters and more resonant self-contained stories. The important TNG episodes just feel more epic. While there was a bit of that during the Dominion arc, too much of DS9 feels like filler to me. It is often very enjoyable filler, but filler nonetheless. Sometimes being self-contained makes something come across more powerful because it stands on its own as opposed to relying on something else (i.e. the Dominion arc) to give it weight.
I think it's Odo and Kira that are the deal breaker for me, making me choose TNG over DS9 when it's a close call. They were just so annoying for the first few seasons, they dragged the whole thing down for me. As I said, there were only three characters in TNG that really irritated me. Only one of them was one of the main cast members for all 7 seasons and Troi wasn't too much of a problem since she was often overshadowed by more interesting stories/character development involving Picard, Riker, Data, and Worf.
TNG's first two seasons were weak (as were the first three of DS9), but at least from season 3 onwards it maintained a very consistent quality aside from a bunch of crap in season 7 and the lame Sela stuff. It's easy to overlook some of DS9's problems because of all the things it did amazingly that no other Star Trek series did, but DS9 still had some major story arcs and character development that seriously tainted it. For example, the character assassination of Gul Dukat and all the excruciatingly boring Bajoran stuff in the early seasons.
I think DS9's stories and characters took a lot longer to become bearable than those of TNG. While it has episodes in season 1 better than any in TNG's season 1 ("Duet", for example), I don't think its first two seasons were significantly better than those of TNG. I expect better from a series with creators who should have learned from the mistakes of their last one.
Another thing is, I can't really explain how, but for some reason TNG just seemed more effortlessly iconic to me, with its more sharply defined characters and more resonant self-contained stories. The important TNG episodes just feel more epic. While there was a bit of that during the Dominion arc, too much of DS9 feels like filler to me. It is often very enjoyable filler, but filler nonetheless. Sometimes being self-contained makes something come across more powerful because it stands on its own as opposed to relying on something else (i.e. the Dominion arc) to give it weight.
I think it's Odo and Kira that are the deal breaker for me, making me choose TNG over DS9 when it's a close call. They were just so annoying for the first few seasons, they dragged the whole thing down for me. As I said, there were only three characters in TNG that really irritated me. Only one of them was one of the main cast members for all 7 seasons and Troi wasn't too much of a problem since she was often overshadowed by more interesting stories/character development involving Picard, Riker, Data, and Worf.
You are not alone Too Much Fun. TNG is much better then DS9 who really abandon Gene Roddenberry Utopian vision of the future that was present throuhout TOS and TNG for more darker vision. This swifts from Roddenberry vision was really one of the big factor why Star Trek went into decline. General audiance didn't like DS9 dark vision with religious fanatsim, terroism and war as their main story arc so they stopped watching. DS9 popularity from season to season was always on rapid decline until it stooped airing. If DS9 was so great claimed by their supporters why this decline in popularity.
Williard, there was no rapid decline. The show's ratings tipped over time, as is the nature in all serialized storytelling. Factor in the god-awful scheduling concerns and it's not surprising the ratings did their natural thing and slowly fell.
TooMuchFun, no, you're certainly not alone! I don't agree with you one bit but I don't think you have an unpopular opinion on your hands. I've seen it voiced in many places.
Temis the Vorta... *smirk*
TooMuchFun, no, you're certainly not alone! I don't agree with you one bit but I don't think you have an unpopular opinion on your hands. I've seen it voiced in many places.
Temis the Vorta... *smirk*
I think this question is difficult to answer, as you are not specifying what the criteria is to judge it "The Best". I think TNG is the best acted, with the best inter-cast chemistry. I think DS9 has by far and away the best writing with the most interesting characters. TOS has the the most iconic characters (due to simple longetivity), and it is the only Trek that consistently was Sci-Fi, not soap opera or space opera. I am not going to piss all over VOY and ENT, especially if you care for them; but I just don't feel either of those shows, overall, match the quality of the first three series...barring a few gems in their runs - Tuvix and In A Mirror, Darkly immediately come to mind.
Now, if I had to pick a favorite Trek series? Gun to my head, I'm gonna pick DS9. That said, I love TNG and TOS almost equally.
Now, if I had to pick a favorite Trek series? Gun to my head, I'm gonna pick DS9. That said, I love TNG and TOS almost equally.
That is exactly my ranking, except I don't split TNG in two.
DS9 - Best character development, best storylines, best assortment of recurring characters, best everything
ENT - first two seasons are average, third season was great, fourth season was exceptional
TNG - it's what got me into Trek, good characters, needed more serialization/development
VOY - I enjoy it for what it is, but it could have been so much more
TOS - I just didn't grow up with it, so it's not my cup of tea.
Most days I'd say DS9, but TNG is right up there with it. TOS is great, but, having grown up in the '90s, it maybe doesn't fit my sensibilities quite so much.
I don't think Voyager and Enterprise are in the same league.
I don't think Voyager and Enterprise are in the same league.
I'm intrigued by the phenomenon of dedicated Trek fans not liking TOS. I get that it's a different look from the other shows because it's from such a different time period, but really it's the show that started the franchise and the stories don't suffer from the look of the show. I think BillJ nailed the reason why it remains so good: none of the shows afterwards reached the level of unselfconscious fun and adventure that TOS could get to.
It'd be like a big Star Wars fan saying "yeah, I can watch any of the movies whenever, but I'm just not that into that Episode IV: A New Hope movie. I try to avoid that one."
It'd be like a big Star Wars fan saying "yeah, I can watch any of the movies whenever, but I'm just not that into that Episode IV: A New Hope movie. I try to avoid that one."
It is very broad, very inconsistent and very much a product of it's time. In many ways TOS is best enjoyed as artifact.
The best art is timeless. While there are certain aesthetic characteristics like costumes, props, etc. that make "Star Trek" look dated, I consider its best episodes just as intelligent and riveting as any other sci-fi I enjoy, and its '60s constraints don't stop its quality from often far surpassing that of many Star Trek spin-offs, particularly "Star Trek: Voyager", which I would consider vastly inferior.
The writing, acting, and production design may be weakened at times by limitations of the period, but the series has done some incredible storytelling in spite of that, with classics like "Balance of Terror" and "The City on the Edge of Forever" that I'm sure will always enthrall me.
The writing, acting, and production design may be weakened at times by limitations of the period, but the series has done some incredible storytelling in spite of that, with classics like "Balance of Terror" and "The City on the Edge of Forever" that I'm sure will always enthrall me.
I go along with this, but ENT remains my favorite (yeah, I know, it's not logical ... but it's true).
I go along with this, but ENT remains my favorite (yeah, I know, it's not logical ... but it's true).
Ditto. But to be honest I can't decide between the two. Some weeks it is DS-9 while others I go with ENT. I love them both for basically the same reasons: story, characters and heart. (Damn logic. ENT holds a special place for me and I am not ashamed to admit it. And the NX-01 is my ship. She has become my home away from home.)
If I was being completely truthful here, I can find something about all of the series (including TAS) that I absolutely love but ENT and DS-9 just stand out a little more.
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