Where to head to after TNG ?

[medwatt]

Hello,
I'm very new to the fandom but gaining grounds faster. I started watching Star Trek: TNG about a month ago and I'm almost done with season 3. With the exception of season 1's early ridiculous episodes I'm enjoying the show immensely and was quite surprised to find deep overtones of morality in most of the episodes. Even those episodes with ludicrous plots had some message they were conveying. I'm not particularly a fan of the overuse of action and ST:TNG plays right into my hands. I've purchased all 5 TNG series released in BluRay and hopefully by the time I'm done with the 5th, the 6th will be out.
So as you might have guessed I've become a fan with an insatiable appetite for more. I've grown accustomed to TNG's crew, like Captain Picard a lot, Riker and Data and bear no hate toward Wesley Crusher or Dr. Pulaski. I'm watching a sci-fi fiction depicting events 300 years from now. If I can't prove something is wrong then I'm going to believe it. That's the attitude with which I'm watching these episodes.
I was checking out the other ST:TOS and realized that it didn't have captain Picard. I just didn't like Captain Kirk after I've seen Captain Picard. Captain Kirk looked like any regular action film hero. Captain Picard was just different. For one, he was old and wise and drank tea !!
So, that leaves DS9 and Voyager. I have been reading on this forum that DS9 is way better than TNG and I wonder whether I will enjoy it given my taste and not feel nostalgic about TNG's characters.
Thanks

 

[Makarov]

If you wanna watch more trek then I would say Voyager. It's my favorite after TNG and I enjoy the crew. Some really good episodes in that show, although the bad episodes are worse than TNG ever was. Sometimes I feel nostalgic about Voyager just like TNG.

I just could not get into DS9, I've heard it takes a while to get going but the episodes I've seen have put me to sleep.

 

[Ro_Laren]

If I were you then I would watch the series in chronological order. IMO, you should watch DS9 next.

 

[MacLeod]

I would agree with Ro go with chronological order. So that would be DSN, it was fairly well recieved critically, moreso than VOY or ENT, but some didn't care for it. It certainly ads to the ST universe expaning on what we know about several ST races as well as some new ones. It has well develpoed characters, including recurring characters and some might say those recurring characters are better developed than some regulars on some of the ST shows,.

 

[Mojochi]

Also based on your opinions & tastes, I too would recommend DS9 over any other series you might carry on to. Even some of the TNG characters make their way there

 

[Emperor Norton]

As a TNG-kid, I staved off watching DS9 for a very long time and existed in a TNG/TOS bubble, and I saw all of VOY and the vast majority of ENT. I will say it can be argued it's the best, but having been in that TNG bubble for years and years, and moving on to TOS afterward and that really Roddenberry-vibe Star Trek, DS9 kicks that in the gonads a fair bit.

All that future positivity and we-can-do-it sensibility and Utopianism is replaced with things like Section 31, and no one really being pure and it all being a bit of a facade, and a lot of post-modernist commentary on Star Trek and its tenets in the form of a Star Trek series. I think I'm ok enough with Star Trek that I can take what I do think is a post-modern deconstruction of Star Trek, but it may be a turn off for you.

 

[jimbotron]

Since you're through season 5, do what we did in 1993 and 1994. Watch TNG season 6 and DS9 season 1 together, back and forth, followed by seasons 7 and 2.

Oh, make sure the episodes of the corresponding shows match up perfectly. Consult the original airing dates to make it exact.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

If you want more episodes that are like TNG and focused on adventure, watch Voyager.

If you want stories that expand on Trek ideas and that are more involved than TNG, watch DS9.

 

[jimbotron]

If you want more episodes that are like TNG and focused on adventure, watch Voyager.

If you want stories that expand on Trek ideas and that are more involved than TNG, watch DS9.

And if you feel like you want to take a long break from Star Trek, watch a few episodes of Enterprise.

 

[Melakon]

TOS originally aired when I was in high school. Of the later series, I prefer Voyager as I think it's closest in spirit to that show.

But in your case, I would recommend Deep Space Nine. It's set immediately after the events of TNG, and opens with a vignette of the Battle at Wolf 359. Once we're introduced to the main character of Sisko, Picard has a brief cameo, and O'Brien is a regular on the series.

 

[Relayer1]

Voyager's not exactly great. It's not all bad, but there's a lot of issues with it.

I know it's down to personal taste, but for me DS9's far and away the best show, and it's chronologically the next show.

Watch it next...

 

[Beta-Z]

Since you're through season 5, do what we did in 1993 and 1994. Watch TNG season 6 and DS9 season 1 together, back and forth, followed by seasons 7 and 2.

Oh, make sure the episodes of the corresponding shows match up perfectly. Consult the original airing dates to make it exact.

I did that once but woudn't do it again.
The disc changing after every episode can get quite annoying if you watch several eps in a row.
I recommend buying a second player for that experience.

 

[T'Girl]

Since you liked TNG, the next step would be to make your way though the TNG movies. There are reference to later series in the movies, but that won't prevent you from enjoying the later series if you watch the movies first.

 

[Mutai Sho-Rin]

Enterprise is my second favorite Trek series, just slightly behind TNG. I know that's a minority opinion but I have to offer it. Watching Bakula's Archer and his crew stumble, struggle and learn through the 4 ears of the show was a great treat for me.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

On the basis of quality I would recommend DS9 next. It's plotted similar to TNG with a lot of the same themes carries forward only more serialized and darker. And unlike TNG it gives you more perspectives from outside the Federation.

As for Voyager, I think if you took the best 60 or so episodes and watched only those episodes, you'd come away thinking it was a really good series. If you watched all of them, you would think much more negatively of it.

 

[Iamnotspock]

As for Voyager, I think if you took the best 60 or so episodes and watched only those episodes, you'd come away thinking...

...like you'd watched each one three times.

Another vote for chronology. Start DS9 a few eps into TNG Season 6 - they overlapped for two seasons. It's not a massive deal but there are a few crossovers that you'll get more from if you know both shows.

 

[RandyS]

Since you're through season 5, do what we did in 1993 and 1994. Watch TNG season 6 and DS9 season 1 together, back and forth, followed by seasons 7 and 2.

Oh, make sure the episodes of the corresponding shows match up perfectly. Consult the original airing dates to make it exact.

My best friend tried to do that a few years ago with his DVD's and all he got for his trouble was a massive mirgraine.

He finally just threw up his hands said "screw it!", and watched the series in order of chronology (ENTERPRISE was first).

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Since you're through season 5, do what we did in 1993 and 1994. Watch TNG season 6 and DS9 season 1 together, back and forth, followed by seasons 7 and 2.

Oh, make sure the episodes of the corresponding shows match up perfectly. Consult the original airing dates to make it exact.

I did that once but woudn't do it again.
The disc changing after every episode can get quite annoying if you watch several eps in a row.
I recommend buying a second player for that experience.

The two series need not be strictly interleaved, only one needs to make sure that some episodes precede other:

Chains of Command I and 2 before Emissary
Q-Less before Tapestry
Birthright 1 before Passenger before Birthright 2
Keep Descent together
Keep Homecoming/Circle/Siege together
Keep The Gambit together
Journey's End before Maquis (keep Maquis together) before Preemptive Strike

 

[QuarkforNagus]

Watch DS9. It's the best of the ST series. It's got the best characters and the most morally interesting plot lines.

 

[medwatt]

It was very interesting reading all your posts. I think I will end up watching all ST series at some point in time. DS9 will be next. DS9 is available only on DVD. TNG HD might have spoiled me.
Just one more question. Its obvious that the presence of an actor like Patrick Stewart enriched TNG evident on how the series progressed once the writers understood the attributes and competence of Patrick Stewart. How much does Captain Sisko influences DS9 as Captain Picard influences TNG?