Which is "YOUR" Star Trek?

[JoaquinSlowly]

My Star Trek is all onscreen Trek.

‪‪I don’t connect to it all to the same degree, but ‪‪I see it all as one thing, and ‪‪I embrace it all, those ‪‪I enjoy the most, and those I enjoy the least alike.

 

[NCC-73515]

needs multiple votes.

 

[dupersuper]

needs multiple votes.

Yeah: mine would be a tie between TOS (show and movies), TNG (show) and DS9

For new Trek it'd be Lower Decks, Short Treks and Prodigy, but two of those are unavailable.

 

[ananta]

What a cool question. It’s so hard for me to pick one series. Ultimately, I think “my Trek” is primarily from before I was even born. Although I was initiated with TNG, the era I think defines Trek for me is TOS plus the first six movies. That’s the Trek I always go back to. The world seemed so much simpler back then and I kind of like the fact the Trek universe was much smaller then. If that was all of Trek that existed, I think that would be enough for me.

That said, I also have an attachment to the first three seasons of TNG. While the consensus is the show’s mid to latter seasons were strongest, I just prefer the earlier season even though the quality is variable. It had a certain style and punch that was lost to an increasing blandness latterly. Maybe my feelings are coloured because my life was happier when the first three seasons aired (between 1990 and 1992 here in the UK) and I wasn’t as happy when watching seasons 4 onward. Funny how your feelings about a show can be coloured by what was going on in your life at the time.

Then there’s DS9 which I really see as the peak of the Berman era. I loved it and defended it like crazy back in the days it seemed the majority of people hated it. Again, it brings back memories of mixed times in my adolescence but the characters and the storytelling are just fantastic. I’m really sad it has been unfairly sidelined while Voyager has been given so much attention in the recent Kurtzman era. Speaking of which, Voyager and Enterprise are just …not my Trek. And I’m fine with that. Both have been critically reappraised by fans in recent years, but I still have no desire to rewatch.

I like Discovery for all its unevenness, and Picard, too, and I’m delighted to have both, although they’re not quite “my Trek”. Lower Decks is definitely not my Trek; I went from outright hating it to begin with to tolerating it, to now finding it passable. The in your face style of humour just isn’t my cup of tea but that’s ok, I can appreciate that I don’t have to outright love all Trek. Prodigy is surprisingly enjoyable, although, again, it’s not my kind of show and it’s not geared to me.

TL;DR — I’d probably go with TOS plus the first six movies, although I’ll always have a soft spot for early TNG and DS9.

 

[Joanna McCoy-Kirk]

TOS.

 

[Takeru]

As a child I watched TOS reruns first before TNG started in germany but TNG is still my Star Trek, I remember being obsessed with it, each new episode was so exciting. When I hear Star Trek the Enterprise D and its crew pop into my head.

 

[Hawku]

TNG, and I refuse to acknowledge any other series and am destroying their blurays tonight!

 

[Qonundrum]

DS9 and TOS for me.

(Honorable mention to TNG, and not just because DS9 starts out with a confrontation with Picard that really sets the bar high. Especially when Sisko won the proverbial skirmish... not to mention, Q was one of the best things to happen to Trek - and John DeLancie, who took a character not unlike Trelane and was quick to make far more out of the being, also largely improving in every season (even in the season 3 and 4 joke-a-thon episodes.) Props... PIC as well, especially if season 2 continues its upward quality.)

 

[fireproof78]

TNG, and I refuse to acknowledge any other series and am destroying their blurays tonight!

And now you know why I have VHS.

 

[Greg Cox]

I've watched and enjoyed every Trek show to varying degrees, but TOS is the show I grew up on, long before any of the latter-day shows came along, so it will always be near and dear to my heart.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

TOS. It's the one I grew up on, and it's still my favorite out of the bunch.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I suppose TNG would have been the one humming away in the background when I was growing up in the 1980s. In the U.K. though, it wasn't an easy show to catch. I rented a few random VHS tapes from time to time, I saw Generations and First Contact at the cinema, but I didn't watch TNG from beginning to end till around 2007.

Those movies though. I used to skip TMP a lot (I like it a lot these days), but Star Trek II-IV I watched monthly. I have very fond memories of seeing V and VI at the cinema as well. I have a lot of affection for The Final Frontier.

So I'd say Movies with TNG floating around somewhere in spirit.

 

[Alexander Corrino]

TNG. It's not only the first Trek series I was talked into watching, it's also the only one I truly like (despite its admittedly numerous flaws).

 

[Ron M]

My parents took me to most of the original series movies when I was a kid, and, after Star Trek IV, I started watching TOS reruns and really got into them; even went to a couple of Star Trek conventions. I was excited for the premiere of TNG, and faithfully watched TNG, DS9, and Voyager during their original runs. I enjoyed all three, though for different reasons.

I didn't watch Enterprise when it first aired--was busy with grad school by then, and ready for a bit of a break from Trek. I finally watched the whole series a few years ago; it wasn't bad, and had a lot of good intentions and some genuinely great episodes, but I found it a bit of a step down from the earlier shows. Season 3 in particular was a slog.

I genuinely tried to watch Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks, but couldn't get into them. I didn't care for the serialized approach, the R-rated language, and the generally more cynical tone of the new shows. (It's like someone watched Enterprise Season 3 and decided to use it as a model for all Trek moving forward.) I might give Strange New Worlds a try.

So, if I had to pick "my Star Trek," I guess I'd say everything TNG through Voyager: those are the episodes I go back and rewatch most often, with an occasional TOS, TAS, or ENT thrown in.

 

[gweeps]

Before the age of 10 I was watching TOS as weekend TV repeats and on laserdisc. And the TOS movies on VHS. Eventually I got into TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT on TV. So 1989-1995 is my nostalgia era.

But DS9 is "my Star Trek" because it's the first Star Trek show I didn't have to catch up on. The first premiere I was excited for. I remember rereading that TV Guide overview of the series with all the pictures, etc.

Star Trek has been, if not in the foreground of my life, in the background for over 30 years.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

ENT is my favorite Trek so far, although I'm suspecting SNW may take over once it starts.

 

[BlueStuff]

DS9’s my favourite - but TNG is quintessential Star Trek for me.

 

[Eckauskas]

I don’t think about Trek in those terms. It’s probably why I have never got as riled up about new series as some do.

I started out with TNG and TOS, but I would never limit Trek to being defined by a particular series. Indeed, I consider that part of its strength is its variety.

I don't think it's a case of limiting the definition to just one series, it's essentially a rewording of the "which is your favourite Trek" question. I'm not as crazy about the new series because, for me, they lack that little bit of magic that made Trek in the 90's so iconic. That's not to say they aren't worth the time and effort put into them, I imagine some people had the same complaint about TNG when it first aired.

 

[Relayer1]

DS9 was a step away from the planet of the week format which has been done to death by the other shows. The show took some of the political cues from TNG and exploited that as a model, developing and expanding it. I loved the 'political' stuff.

We got a show that was more in line with modern storytelling styles and character development for even recurring characters that outstripped that for core cast in other shows.

DS9 is the gem in the Trek crown.

 

[gweeps]

DS9 was a step away from the planet of the week format which has been done to death by the other shows. The show took some of the political cues from TNG and exploited that as a model, developing and expanding it. I loved the 'political' stuff.

We got a show that was more in line with modern storytelling styles and character development for even recurring characters that outstripped that for core cast in other shows.

DS9 is the gem in the Trek crown.

It has arguably the best opening theme, too.

 

[JesterFace]

TNG. It's not only the first Trek series I was talked into watching, it's also the only one I truly like (despite its admittedly numerous flaws).

Every series, not just Trek series, has their not so strong moments so no problem.