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[WanderingWinder]

So... I like Star Trek? This is just a place for general discussion of Trek-y things.

I will start off with this: Ranking the TNG seasons

5>3>4>6>2>7>1
1 is by *far* the easiest call, as it's just way the worst. 3-6 are all just really excellent. Probably 2 over 7 is the most controversial here, but when you look at it, I don't know, 7 just doesn't do *that* much for me.

I'm actually also guilty of *liking* something from "Shades of Gray" - the joke at the end, I dunno, I just sorta like it.

[shMerker]

This is a good place to note that every episode of every Star Trek series is free to stream on startrek.com.

[theory]

Suppose someone -- a "friend" -- has never seen anything remotely Star Trek-related, with the exception of the Futurama parody episode (which wasn't particularly funny if you haven't seen anything else Star Trek-related).  Advice?

[Kirian]

So... I like Star Trek? This is just a place for general discussion of Trek-y things.

I will start off with this: Ranking the TNG seasons

5>3>4>6>2>7>1
1 is by *far* the easiest call, as it's just way the worst. 3-6 are all just really excellent. Probably 2 over 7 is the most controversial here, but when you look at it, I don't know, 7 just doesn't do *that* much for me.

I'm actually also guilty of *liking* something from "Shades of Gray" - the joke at the end, I dunno, I just sorta like it.

I'd put 7 over 2, certainly--if nothing else the finale makes up for a good chunk of the terribleness of some of the episodes.  3-6 are really, really hard to rank.

Suppose someone -- a "friend" -- has never seen anything remotely Star Trek-related, with the exception of the Futurama parody episode (which wasn't particularly funny if you haven't seen anything else Star Trek-related).  Advice?

That... is a tough order.  A good chunk of me wants to tell your... friend... to watch seasons 3 to 6 of Next Generation, then seasons 4 to 7 of DS9.  But a really good part of me wants to suggest instead watching movies 2, 3, and 4, which essentially tell a single story--though you're only watching 3 in order to understand 4 better, it's not a great movie (though it does have Christopher Lloyd as a Klingon).

Others would suggest going with some of the highlights of the original series (Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, City on the Edge of Forever, Mirror, Mirror, and some others).

[shMerker]

Space Seed, Amok Time, and Balance of Terror are all episodes I would recommend for hooking someone.

Bear in mind I still haven't seen anything past season two so there may be better stuff I'm missing.

[jonts26]

Suppose someone -- a "friend" -- has never seen anything remotely Star Trek-related, with the exception of the Futurama parody episode (which wasn't particularly funny if you haven't seen anything else Star Trek-related).  Advice?

I'd say watch the next generation in order starting from season 2. After you your friend finishes that you can think about other series.

[theory]

Is it heresy to start with a movie?  What's the relation between the movies / TV versions?

[shMerker]

It is if it's a Next Generation movie.

[WanderingWinder]

Suppose someone -- a "friend" -- has never seen anything remotely Star Trek-related, with the exception of the Futurama parody episode (which wasn't particularly funny if you haven't seen anything else Star Trek-related).  Advice?

And they want to start watching it? Uh, well it's a little tricky. I would suggest Next Generation, for sure, but of course the first season is rather much worse than the rest, and that is where you get to know the characters at all. I actually am not sure if starting in season 2 would really hurt you that much - sure you don't know some things, but on the other hand there are lots of universes that this is the case for, and it's not really a big deal. I guess I would recommend that, and maybe if they have a friend who they are watching with (I presume this is likely the case, otherwise they probably would either already be familiar with it or wouldn't be so interested in picking it up now), then they could spend 3 seconds now and then explaining relevant little bits.

On the plus side, apart from the occasional 2-parter, the show is very episodic, so watching things out-of-order doesn't really hurt you very much. Some other Treks are far less this way (Deep Space Nine got to be, as it progressed, as did Enterprise; Voyager is this way a little bit, but is still fairly episodic. The Original Series is *very* episodic).

It can also depend on the situation, too. If someone really likes old corny sci-fi, they will like the Original Series more. If they are somehow really into the thing (I don't know how they would be without having seen them...), then you could start with TNG season 1. If they like more of the frontiersy space western, Deep Space Nine is better. If they are really going to want fast action, you might start in TNG season 3, or even go for specific episodes.

But it's a lot harder question than with e.g. Star Wars, where they just go watch A New Hope, or Doctor Who, where you start them on "Rose".

[Kirian]

Is it heresy to start with a movie?  What's the relation between the movies / TV versions?

For the original series, the good movies are better than the good episodes.  All of the actors got better, and they look much more like good SF.

Suppose someone -- a "friend" -- has never seen anything remotely Star Trek-related, with the exception of the Futurama parody episode (which wasn't particularly funny if you haven't seen anything else Star Trek-related).  Advice?

I'd say watch the next generation in order starting from season 2. After you your friend finishes that you can think about other series.

Do not listen to this man.  Go back and watch the highlights of Season 2, perhaps, after 3-6.

[Kirian]

or Doctor Who, where you start them on "Rose".

Or "Blink," then take them back to "Rose."

[WanderingWinder]

Is it heresy to start with a movie?  What's the relation between the movies / TV versions?

Movies take the characters and setting from the TV series, then make the characters act in some ways quite a bit differently - the original movies (1-6) generally have much more mature characters than the TV series (but never ever watch Star Trek 5, and probably not Star Trek: The Motion Picture, either); whereas the Next Generation films (Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, Nemesis) generally feature characters being less mature and stupider.

Not coincidentally, the Original movies are better, and the Next Generation TV series is better.

The newest 2 movies are just very different from the other stuff.

[sudgy]

And I just watched all of the original series in order, then TNG in order, then Voyager in order (not sure why we did Voyager before DS9), now we're on DS9 going through it in order...

[Kirian]

Is it heresy to start with a movie?  What's the relation between the movies / TV versions?

Movies take the characters and setting from the TV series, then make the characters act in some ways quite a bit differently - the original movies (1-6) generally have much more mature characters than the TV series (but never ever watch Star Trek 5, and probably not Star Trek: The Motion Picture, either); whereas the Next Generation films (Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, Nemesis) generally feature characters being less mature and stupider.

Not coincidentally, the Original movies are better, and the Next Generation TV series is better.

The newest 2 movies are just very different from the other stuff.

More specifically, the 2009 movie is a great action flick that uses all sorts if names and settings from Star Trek, yet fails hard at being an actual Star Trek movie.  I haven't seen the most recent one, and I'm not sure I will.

[WanderingWinder]

I would probably not recommend the Original Series to most people nowadays - it is slower, it is a little weird and corny, it doesn't have very high production values, excitement, great pacing... don't get me wrong, I like it, but it's, I guess I would say it's not at all modern.

[Watno]

This is a good place to note that every episode of every Star Trek series is free to stream on startrek.com.

Did I mention today that it sucks to be European?

[Qvist]

I have seen TNG, most episodes from VOY and many from ENT and haven't seen TOS and DS9.
I like TNG most because of all the "philosophical" episodes/themes.

Suppose someone -- a "friend" -- has never seen anything remotely Star Trek-related, with the exception of the Futurama parody episode (which wasn't particularly funny if you haven't seen anything else Star Trek-related).  Advice?

Hard to say. Are you talking about yourself? As WW said TNG is recommendable, but only if you get around the first or first 2 seasons.
The new Enterprise series isn't that good, but has a much lower barrier to understand everything as it's a prequel series.
But I still think I would start with TNG, but I wouldn't start with Season 2 honestly. The Pilot for example is really important. Maybe watch the Pilot and then the best episodes from the first season (WW will name them shortly, I suppose  ).

And I wouldn't start with the movies.

Is it heresy to start with a movie?  What's the relation between the movies / TV versions?

Movies take the characters and setting from the TV series, then make the characters act in some ways quite a bit differently - the original movies (1-6) generally have much more mature characters than the TV series (but never ever watch Star Trek 5, and probably not Star Trek: The Motion Picture, either); whereas the Next Generation films (Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, Nemesis) generally feature characters being less mature and stupider.

Not coincidentally, the Original movies are better, and the Next Generation TV series is better.

The newest 2 movies are just very different from the other stuff.

More specifically, the 2009 movie is a great action flick that uses all sorts if names and settings from Star Trek, yet fails hard at being an actual Star Trek movie.  I haven't seen the most recent one, and I'm not sure I will.

I disliked the 2009 movie, well not entirely true. I was dissapointed by it. It's a decent movie with no Star Trek feeling, but still entertaining.
I wathed the new one and I liked it way more. It has a lot of Star Trek references in it (haven't seen TOS, but still I know many things about it), had a much better storyline (I think). It still is very different to the old Star Trek feeling, but comes closer to it. I watched it with Trekkies and Non-Trekkies. Both sides enjoyed it.

[Kirian]

Note: Amazon Prime--and I'm guessing Netflix--have the first two seasons of TNG in remastered HD.  I've heard it actually significantly increases the quality.

[() | (_) ^/]

.

[shMerker]

Is anybody here familiar with sfdebris? It has a lot of individual episode reviews for Star Trek. They aren't that great for looking for to-watch recommendations even though they do all have 1-10 ratings at the end, but as critical commentary I think they make a pretty good companion to the series.

[() | (_) ^/]

Is anybody here familiar with sfdebris? It has a lot of individual episode reviews for Star Trek. They aren't that great for looking for to-watch recommendations even though they do all have 1-10 ratings at the end, but as critical commentary I think they make a pretty good companion to the series.

I would say the same about Jammer's Reviews.

[werothegreat]

Suppose someone -- a "friend" -- has never seen anything remotely Star Trek-related, with the exception of the Futurama parody episode (which wasn't particularly funny if you haven't seen anything else Star Trek-related).  Advice?

The Trouble with Tribbles.

[Kuildeous]

I'd be curious to see how someone reacts to the recent two movies without having seen anything from Star Trek before. Maybe this can be such an experiment.

I'm mostly curious to see if the scene in Into Darkness where Spock screams "Khaaaaan" does not seem stupid to someone unfamiliar with the reference.

Then again, I seriously doubt that Theory['s friend] has never heard it used before, especially within geek culture. I suspect that it is impossible for anyone over the age of 10 to not be familiar with that particular meme. But if Theory['s friend] watches Into Darkness before watching Star Trek 2, then I'd be curious about his reaction.

Personally, I thought it detracted a lot from the scene. It's become so campy, and they never should have gone that direction in Into Darkness.

[sudgy]

I'd be curious to see how someone reacts to the recent two movies without having seen anything from Star Trek before. Maybe this can be such an experiment.

I'm mostly curious to see if the scene in Into Darkness where Spock screams "Khaaaaan" does not seem stupid to someone unfamiliar with the reference.

Then again, I seriously doubt that Theory['s friend] has never heard it used before, especially within geek culture. I suspect that it is impossible for anyone over the age of 10 to not be familiar with that particular meme. But if Theory['s friend] watches Into Darkness before watching Star Trek 2, then I'd be curious about his reaction.

Personally, I thought it detracted a lot from the scene. It's become so campy, and they never should have gone that direction in Into Darkness.

Personally, I liked it.  When I realized what the movie was going towards, I was waiting for someone to say it.  I also thought it interesting how Kirk and Spock got switched in that whole sequence.

[Watno]

I'd be curious to see how someone reacts to the recent two movies without having seen anything from Star Trek before. Maybe this can be such an experiment.

I'm mostly curious to see if the scene in Into Darkness where Spock screams "Khaaaaan" does not seem stupid to someone unfamiliar with the reference.

Then again, I seriously doubt that Theory['s friend] has never heard it used before, especially within geek culture. I suspect that it is impossible for anyone over the age of 10 to not be familiar with that particular meme. But if Theory['s friend] watches Into Darkness before watching Star Trek 2, then I'd be curious about his reaction.

Personally, I thought it detracted a lot from the scene. It's become so campy, and they never should have gone that direction in Into Darkness.

I did that (ok, I think i had seen the first six episodes of the first season I think). I might have heard the thing you're talking about before, and my housemate told me about the reference later, but i didn't find especially strange when it happened.

[WanderingWinder]

I'd be curious to see how someone reacts to the recent two movies without having seen anything from Star Trek before. Maybe this can be such an experiment.

I'm mostly curious to see if the scene in Into Darkness where Spock screams "Khaaaaan" does not seem stupid to someone unfamiliar with the reference.

Then again, I seriously doubt that Theory['s friend] has never heard it used before, especially within geek culture. I suspect that it is impossible for anyone over the age of 10 to not be familiar with that particular meme. But if Theory['s friend] watches Into Darkness before watching Star Trek 2, then I'd be curious about his reaction.

Personally, I thought it detracted a lot from the scene. It's become so campy, and they never should have gone that direction in Into Darkness.

Personally, I liked it.  When I realized what the movie was going towards, I was waiting for someone to say it.  I also thought it interesting how Kirk and Spock got switched in that whole sequence.

I HATED that whole thing.

[michaeljb]

I'd be curious to see how someone reacts to the recent two movies without having seen anything from Star Trek before. Maybe this can be such an experiment.

I'm mostly curious to see if the scene in Into Darkness where Spock screams "Khaaaaan" does not seem stupid to someone unfamiliar with the reference.

Then again, I seriously doubt that Theory['s friend] has never heard it used before, especially within geek culture. I suspect that it is impossible for anyone over the age of 10 to not be familiar with that particular meme. But if Theory['s friend] watches Into Darkness before watching Star Trek 2, then I'd be curious about his reaction.

Personally, I thought it detracted a lot from the scene. It's become so campy, and they never should have gone that direction in Into Darkness.

Apart from the Abrams movies, I've only seen a handful of episodes from TOS and TNG, but of course I'm familiar with that reference. During that whole scene in Into Darkness, I was sure it was coming, and was pretty much just laughing to myself about that. Later I learned that not only the scream, but most/all of the dialogue was taken directly from Star Trek 2. Kind of disappointing that they couldn't/didn't want to make the scene/situation more original...also, I found Nimoy's cameo in Into Darkness really cheesey. It was like, "Hey, let's call Old Spock and see what happened in the other movies!" And then he's like, "You know I can never tell you anything about the past, but now I shall do just that and tell you that this Khan guy is bad news." Apart from that, I thought the movie was entertaining and a good time.

[Fuu]

Suppose someone -- a "friend" -- has never seen anything remotely Star Trek-related, with the exception of the Futurama parody episode (which wasn't particularly funny if you haven't seen anything else Star Trek-related).  Advice?

Watch "The Measure of a Man" from TNG season 2. We recently watched all of TNG (now doing DS9) and I thought this was one of the stand-out episodes.

Don't bother with the TNG movies though - a huge disappointment that we wished we could 'unwatch' after the TV series.

[sudgy]

Suppose someone -- a "friend" -- has never seen anything remotely Star Trek-related, with the exception of the Futurama parody episode (which wasn't particularly funny if you haven't seen anything else Star Trek-related).  Advice?

Watch "The Measure of a Man" from TNG season 2. We recently watched all of TNG (now doing DS9) and I thought this was one of the stand-out episodes.

Don't bother with the TNG movies though - a huge disappointment that we wished we could 'unwatch' after the TV series.

I was fine with the movies (actually, I seem to think differently than a lot of people here I realized...).  My main problem with them is that Data died at the end.  He finally becomes basically human, then they kill him!

[Kirian]

Suppose someone -- a "friend" -- has never seen anything remotely Star Trek-related, with the exception of the Futurama parody episode (which wasn't particularly funny if you haven't seen anything else Star Trek-related).  Advice?

Watch "The Measure of a Man" from TNG season 2. We recently watched all of TNG (now doing DS9) and I thought this was one of the stand-out episodes.

Don't bother with the TNG movies though - a huge disappointment that we wished we could 'unwatch' after the TV series.

I was fine with the movies (actually, I seem to think differently than a lot of people here I realized...).  My main problem with them is that Data died at the end.  He finally becomes basically human, then they kill him!

Yeah.  That was quite annoying.

I enjoyed 8 and 9 quite a bit.  7 was about as good as 3.  10 never happened.  Seriously.  Worse than 5.

[jonts26]

All these spoiler tags are making it hard to follow this thread. Maybe I should actually get around to watching into darkness.

[DStu]

Suppose someone -- a "friend" -- has never seen anything remotely Star Trek-related, with the exception of the Futurama parody episode (which wasn't particularly funny if you haven't seen anything else Star Trek-related).  Advice?

Watch "The Measure of a Man" from TNG season 2. We recently watched all of TNG (now doing DS9) and I thought this was one of the stand-out episodes.

Don't bother with the TNG movies though - a huge disappointment that we wished we could 'unwatch' after the TV series.

I was fine with the movies (actually, I seem to think differently than a lot of people here I realized...).  My main problem with them is that Data died at the end.  He finally becomes basically human, then they kill him!

I remember to have heard that Spiner wished that Data died because he doesn't want to reappear as Data for the next 3 centuries^{[citation needed]}

[sudgy]

Suppose someone -- a "friend" -- has never seen anything remotely Star Trek-related, with the exception of the Futurama parody episode (which wasn't particularly funny if you haven't seen anything else Star Trek-related).  Advice?

Watch "The Measure of a Man" from TNG season 2. We recently watched all of TNG (now doing DS9) and I thought this was one of the stand-out episodes.

Don't bother with the TNG movies though - a huge disappointment that we wished we could 'unwatch' after the TV series.

I was fine with the movies (actually, I seem to think differently than a lot of people here I realized...).  My main problem with them is that Data died at the end.  He finally becomes basically human, then they kill him!

I remember to have heard that Spiner wished that Data died because he doesn't want to reappear as Data for the next 3 centuries^{[citation needed]}

He could have just refused to be in things...

[Titandrake]

I'd be curious to see how someone reacts to the recent two movies without having seen anything from Star Trek before. Maybe this can be such an experiment.

I'm mostly curious to see if the scene in Into Darkness where Spock screams "Khaaaaan" does not seem stupid to someone unfamiliar with the reference.

Then again, I seriously doubt that Theory['s friend] has never heard it used before, especially within geek culture. I suspect that it is impossible for anyone over the age of 10 to not be familiar with that particular meme. But if Theory['s friend] watches Into Darkness before watching Star Trek 2, then I'd be curious about his reaction.

Personally, I thought it detracted a lot from the scene. It's become so campy, and they never should have gone that direction in Into Darkness.

I've seen the two most recent Star Trek movies (and liked both a lot, but Star Trek reboot > Into Darkness by a bit.) My experience with other Trek stuff is one episode of the original series, and the Kirk + Gorn fight, and the Red Shirt trope. Going into Into Darkness, I knew about the KHAAN meme, and that in Wrath of Khan Spock dies, and comes back to life sometime later. Nothing else. I didn't realize Harrison = Khan, even after he said it, until maybe 10 minutes after the fact. And then I went, "Ohhhhhhhh it's a callback." So I was expecting Kirk's death in the end sequence, and knew he'd end up coming back. The whole Spock thing was definitely campy, but I still liked it.

[sudgy]

I'd be curious to see how someone reacts to the recent two movies without having seen anything from Star Trek before. Maybe this can be such an experiment.

I'm mostly curious to see if the scene in Into Darkness where Spock screams "Khaaaaan" does not seem stupid to someone unfamiliar with the reference.

Then again, I seriously doubt that Theory['s friend] has never heard it used before, especially within geek culture. I suspect that it is impossible for anyone over the age of 10 to not be familiar with that particular meme. But if Theory['s friend] watches Into Darkness before watching Star Trek 2, then I'd be curious about his reaction.

Personally, I thought it detracted a lot from the scene. It's become so campy, and they never should have gone that direction in Into Darkness.

I've seen the two most recent Star Trek movies (and liked both a lot, but Star Trek reboot > Into Darkness by a bit.) My experience with other Trek stuff is one episode of the original series, and the Kirk + Gorn fight, and the Red Shirt trope. Going into Into Darkness, I knew about the KHAAN meme, and that in Wrath of Khan Spock dies, and comes back to life sometime later. Nothing else. I didn't realize Harrison = Khan, even after he said it, until maybe 10 minutes after the fact. And then I went, "Ohhhhhhhh it's a callback." It was definitely campy, but I think it would have worked with different delivery.

I didn't notice it was a callback until Kirk went into the Warp Core (I think that's what it was) and all that.  When I knew he was Khan I didn't even realize it was a callback.

[Titandrake]

I'd be curious to see how someone reacts to the recent two movies without having seen anything from Star Trek before. Maybe this can be such an experiment.

I'm mostly curious to see if the scene in Into Darkness where Spock screams "Khaaaaan" does not seem stupid to someone unfamiliar with the reference.

Then again, I seriously doubt that Theory['s friend] has never heard it used before, especially within geek culture. I suspect that it is impossible for anyone over the age of 10 to not be familiar with that particular meme. But if Theory['s friend] watches Into Darkness before watching Star Trek 2, then I'd be curious about his reaction.

Personally, I thought it detracted a lot from the scene. It's become so campy, and they never should have gone that direction in Into Darkness.

I've seen the two most recent Star Trek movies (and liked both a lot, but Star Trek reboot > Into Darkness by a bit.) My experience with other Trek stuff is one episode of the original series, and the Kirk + Gorn fight, and the Red Shirt trope. Going into Into Darkness, I knew about the KHAAN meme, and that in Wrath of Khan Spock dies, and comes back to life sometime later. Nothing else. I didn't realize Harrison = Khan, even after he said it, until maybe 10 minutes after the fact. And then I went, "Ohhhhhhhh it's a callback." It was definitely campy, but I think it would have worked with different delivery.

I didn't notice it was a callback until Kirk went into the Warp Core (I think that's what it was) and all that.  When I knew he was Khan I didn't even realize it was a callback.

I meant "callback" as in "Oh they're rebooting Khan in the 2nd reboot movie, that's neat." I didn't realize the Kirk thing until the Warp Core as well.

[Kirian]

All these spoiler tags are making it hard to follow this thread. Maybe I should actually get around to watching into darkness.

Hey, if you don't like spoiler tags, you can just go see it yourself in the theater.

[Davio]

I only watched TNG and Voyager and quite liked them both.

Obviously not all episodes are winners, but I munched through them.
What I liked most about Star Trek is that the stories could mirror earth problems in a different setting, giving you a different perspective on them.

[DStu]

All these spoiler tags are making it hard to follow this thread. Maybe I should actually get around to watching into darkness.

Hey, if you don't like spoiler tags, you can just go see it yourself in the theater.

If you ctrl+a-select the whole page, you can read spoilers (you might to reconfigure the color scheme of your OS, though)

[WanderingWinder]

So, I am genuinely in theory's situation - one of my friends has never seen any Star Trek and is asking me what to watch. Here's the list of episodes I would recommend, from The Next Generation:

Season 1: WATCH the following:
Encounter at Farpoint
The Last Outpost
The Battle
Hide and Q
Haven
Datalore
11001001
Coming of Age
The Arsenal of Freedom
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy
The Neutral Zone

Rest of the Series: DON'T WATCH the following:
Shades of Gray (Season 2)
The Host (Season 4)
Sub Rosa (Season 7)


The first season, I am just trying to hit the good ones plus the ones which have important set-up. Probably half of those episodes I am suggesting are still rather bad. Later on, there is the odd bad episode here and there, but they're not too common. The three I list are just so, so bad, though.

[sudgy]

I remember when watching "The Host" (if it's the episode I'm thinking of), before it we were saying, "This episode is horrible.  We're warning you."

[() | (_) ^/]

.

[Kirian]

I assume Skin of Evil entirely because it explains the sudden disappearance of Tasha Yar?  Because otherwise, that episode ranks up with Sub Rosa.

Edit:  Also, I suddenly have this irrational desire to go back and watch TNG straight through.  I don't have the time, of course...

[Voltaire]

The thing I'll say about the original series is that, despite the low budget, campy-ness, slow pacing, flagrant sexism, etc. etc. is that it's still darn good at dealing with serious things™. I put on "The Conscience of the King" once while my girlfriend was working on her computer. She groaned about something so cheesy being on, but thirty minutes later she was focusing entirely on the TV and said "Wow, this is deep."

So if you go in with the right expectations, the Original Series can be fantastic.

[WanderingWinder]

I assume Skin of Evil entirely because it explains the sudden disappearance of Tasha Yar?  Because otherwise, that episode ranks up with Sub Rosa.

Yes. Oh, shoot, do I need to include The Naked Now to explain the Data/Tasha thing?

Edit:  Also, I suddenly have this irrational desire to go back and watch TNG straight through.  I don't have the time, of course...

How is that irrational?

[Voltaire]

Also this thread explains why, when I wanted to get into TNG and started with Season 1 (I'm "one of those people"), I thought it sucked so hard I couldn't understand why anyone watched it ever. I guess I'll have to start with Season 3 someday.

[lympi]

Also this thread explains why, when I wanted to get into TNG and started with Season 1 (I'm "one of those people"), I thought it sucked so hard I couldn't understand why anyone watched it ever. I guess I'll have to start with Season 3 someday.

I agree that if you're gonna watch TNG, you gotta take the good with the bad and watch all of it. But there's a reason Growing The Beard is named after Riker… season 1 is pretty rough. (And not just because of the dudes in skirts.) My friends and I sometimes refer to it as season 4 of The Original Series.

[Voltaire]

Also this thread explains why, when I wanted to get into TNG and started with Season 1 (I'm "one of those people"), I thought it sucked so hard I couldn't understand why anyone watched it ever. I guess I'll have to start with Season 3 someday.

I agree that if you're gonna watch TNG, you gotta take the good with the bad and watch all of it. But there's a reason Growing The Beard is named after Riker… season 1 is pretty rough. (And not just because of the dudes in skirts.) My friends and I sometimes refer to it as season 4 of The Original Series.

The fact I like TOS proves I'll like bad TNG...but I can't get into a show if it starts off bad (TOS is old enough I forgive it for all its faults - TNG doesn't get that pass with me). If I like Season 3, I'd go back and watch 1-2.

[WanderingWinder]

Also this thread explains why, when I wanted to get into TNG and started with Season 1 (I'm "one of those people"), I thought it sucked so hard I couldn't understand why anyone watched it ever. I guess I'll have to start with Season 3 someday.

I agree that if you're gonna watch TNG, you gotta take the good with the bad and watch all of it. But there's a reason Growing The Beard is named after Riker… season 1 is pretty rough. (And not just because of the dudes in skirts.) My friends and I sometimes refer to it as season 4 of The Original Series.

The fact I like TOS proves I'll like bad TNG...but I can't get into a show if it starts off bad (TOS is old enough I forgive it for all its faults - TNG doesn't get that pass with me). If I like Season 3, I'd go back and watch 1-2.

2 is quite a bit better than 1, and even has what some consider the best episode of the series - The Measure of a Man.

[Polk5440]

If you're trying to figure out what to watch in order to see the new movie (Into Darkness), don't bother; just see the movie. I saw it in the theater with someone who had never seen any Trek, someone who only saw the 2009 movie, and people who had seen most of the TV shows and movies. Everyone loved it.

It is interesting to think about how to get into Trek if you have a limited time.

• Suppose you wanted to see, say 1 episode or movie, what would it be?
• Suppose you wanted to see the equivalent of one season (say 16 hours of material, so you could do it in a weekend). What would you recommend? One full season from one series? a sampling from all shows and movies? Focus on story lines? Or all stand alone episodes?
• Suppose you wanted to see the equivalent of one quality series (say 5 seasons, or 80 hours), what would you recommend?

I was also thinking about this for someone who has never seen Doctor Who.

[Voltaire]

I was also thinking about this for someone who has never seen Doctor Who.

Ooooo, do we have a Dr. Who thread?

[Archetype]

I was also thinking about this for someone who has never seen Doctor Who.

Ooooo, do we have a Dr. Who thread?

We do now.
http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?board=10.0

[Davio]

I assume Skin of Evil entirely because it explains the sudden disappearance of Tasha Yar?  Because otherwise, that episode ranks up with Sub Rosa.

Yes. Oh, shoot, do I need to include The Naked Now to explain the Data/Tasha thing?

Edit:  Also, I suddenly have this irrational desire to go back and watch TNG straight through.  I don't have the time, of course...

How is that irrational?

The one before Skin of Evil is actually quite funny, because I think it was shot after it and in it Tasha waves to the audience in the background to say goodbye.

Also, originally Denise Crosby (who ended up playing Tasha) had auditioned for the role of Deanna Troi while Marina Sirtis auditioned for Tasha. I'm glad they switched them around.

Brent Spiner is just fantastic as Data, it must be a hell of a role to play. His maniacal laugh as his evil self or evil twin is so great.

Picard is my favorite captain, maybe because he never became admiral.

[Kirian]

I assume Skin of Evil entirely because it explains the sudden disappearance of Tasha Yar?  Because otherwise, that episode ranks up with Sub Rosa.

Yes. Oh, shoot, do I need to include The Naked Now to explain the Data/Tasha thing?

No.  No, you do not.

Edit:  Also, I suddenly have this irrational desire to go back and watch TNG straight through.  I don't have the time, of course...

How is that irrational?

Because that's ~120 hours I could be playing Dominion?

[WanderingWinder]

I assume Skin of Evil entirely because it explains the sudden disappearance of Tasha Yar?  Because otherwise, that episode ranks up with Sub Rosa.

Yes. Oh, shoot, do I need to include The Naked Now to explain the Data/Tasha thing?

No.  No, you do not.

Edit:  Also, I suddenly have this irrational desire to go back and watch TNG straight through.  I don't have the time, of course...

How is that irrational?

Because that's ~120 hours I could be playing Dominion?

Multi-task, my good man!

[Polk5440]

Multi-task, my good man!

This is why my rating (and play) fluctuates so erratically, sometimes. When I am (re-)watching Star Trek or Dr. Who, my Dominion skills go in the tank.