What episodes would the "Voyager people" here recommend to watch before Picard series begins? Obviously because Annika will be appearing in the new series. I have watched through VGR but it was long ago. Some time ago I started to go through VGR again but didn't get very far, Annika didn't even appear yet. So, Picard series will begin shortly and I guess I don't have the time to go through Voyager before that, so, what episodes to see before the new Picard series? On the other hand, it's a new series, maybe Annika's story is explained well enough for anyone to jump into the new series without any earlier knowledge of her?
Scorpion The Raven Drone Endgame There's probably many more but these were the first that came to mind.
If the goal is to learn enough about Seven to understand her characterization in Picard, the minimum necessary is the major main story two parters plus Gift. Other important episodes for her character development are Raven, Prey, One, Hope & Fear, then just pick any Seven focused episodes in the later seasons to see how she evolved. After Dark Frontier her evolution is more gradual.
None of them, since PIC should be able to stand on its own and you want to be able to tell if it doesn’t.
Right! But it's not just about Kes. It's also about having a better knowledge of the series by watching all of the episodes (except one episode in season 6 which sould never have been made).
But how can you recommend watching seven seasons of a middling series? Does PIC want to be associated with VGR to such an extent anyway?
Well, no, because a middling series (as opposed to its parent franchise in some cases) is one that doesn’t enter public consciousness or go on to win prestigious industry awards in the core creative departments (especially writing). VGR isn’t The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones or even Lost, any of which I’d have no problem recommending from start to finish. I mean I can’t even do that for TNG or DS9: watch them in full if you feel like it, but they aren’t part of any television canon. TOS, perhaps, but mainly because it’s relatively short and so good for the most part.
Pretty much this. Basically, only thing people should pay attention to before PIC should be all the TNG stuff?
Picard should stand on its own, but also understanding the history should make it better. I’d argue for people who focus on space operas, TNG and DS9 are part of TV canon.
The issue here is Lynx’s recommendation to watch all but one episode of VGR, not personal preferences. Everyone is free to discover VGR and watch it for whatever reason (completeness?); it just shouldn’t be recommended, and I don’t see PIC showrunners making that a prerequisite if they know the history of how the series was received.
If it's someone's personal preference that Voyager is the best television ever, of course they're going to recommend it. Not everyone has the same preferences you do.
That doesn’t necessarily follow since a recommendation implies greater responsibility: you’re asking someone to watch at least a couple of episodes, with full awareness that they may dislike them intensely and wonder what you were thinking.