Since everyone’s talking about it and not doing it, here’s a thread to discuss Star Trek. What do you think of Star Trek? What Star Trek shows have you watched? What are your favorite shows and episodes?
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Also, what’s your favorite Star Trek opening title sequence and music? Prodigy is honestly one of mine, though, really, I enjoy most of them.
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TNG and Picard are the only ones I’ve watched in their entirety. I’ve tried to get through original but find it a slog; DS9 never appealed back in the day but I think I’d be more attuned to it now; I saw a fair chunk of Voyager.
Loved TNG and thought Picard was brilliant - although apparently that’s a bit of an unpopular opinion, especially as I thought Season 2 was great!
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To be fair, the reason I only saw one episode of Picard has more to do with that having been the only episode I had available at the time, as it was released for free but you needed Paramount+ for the rest.
And later, when I actually got Paramount+, I was far more interested in watching Lower Decks and Prodigy…
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Star Trek is definitely my #2 behind Doctor Who. I’ve seen all the shows and all the movies except Beyond. Deep Space Nine of course is the best one, my least favorite is Voyager. Most other questions you’d ask me across the series, my answer will most likely be the DS9 answer.
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Add “The Wife” and Tuvix to dislikes.
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Was watching the season one summary of Voyager Reviewed by an ar*ehole/pedant, and couldn’t resist posting that from it. Very entertaining series both on the front of watching him poke fun at episodes and point out all the inconsistencies and issue, and also in that he often goes on tangents talking about the themes of the episodes and occasionally how they could have been improved. (He suggested switching Tuvok for Chakotay at the end of Prime Factors, for example, which really would have worked better…)
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Ooh a Star Trek thread. Yes this is also one my favorite universes. I’ve seen most of the shows, tho I haven’t seen Prodigy and only seen the first season of discovery. My favorite would have to be DS9 but I also have a lot of fondness for TOS and TNG. Tho I’ve generally liked all the shows.
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Seen all of it. My favourites would probably be TOS, DS9, Strange New Worlds. I like everything else, but these are my baes.
Seen all the films too. My faves are prob 2-4.
I’d probably say Star Trek was my first big fandom. Good memories of TNG on BBC2 at 6pm.
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Those 3 are probably my top 3 as well, but SNW and LD are fighting for that third spot.
As much as it’s clichéd in Trek fandom, 2, 4, and 6 are my top 3 films (6>2>4).
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I’m in a similar spot, but Strange New Worlds clinches it to me because it’s a return to episodic, and fun, ST.
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Sheesh, now you’ve gotten me started. Brief thoughts on various properties…
Star Trek - There’s a lot of good writing in it. The acting style is often considerably more melodramatic than we’ve generally seen in later programs. Can be hokey and painful to watch and for all its “enlightened” approach to women, it is often quite patronizing and even characters leaders, scientists and officers are made up and dressed up as sex objects. Still, groundbreaking.
The Animated Series - Surprisingly well written. You’d expect it to be dumbed down for the cartoon, but it stayed a lot closer to its predecessor than you might think. It also could do things with alien lifeforms that you just couldn’t manage with live action. Worthwhile.
TOS Movies - The first one is stunningly slow-moving, like a half-hour episode stretched on the rack. The only one I really like is IV. Some of the others are okay, but I’ve seen them more than enough.
The Next Generation - Season 1 is pretty bad, exhibiting many of the cringier aspects of the original. They started out copying the earlier series too closely. It found its footing and produced some real standout episodes, buoyed by the gravitas Patrick Stewart brought to his role. Michael Dorn also stands out to me. The one problem I had with the series (and still do) is the way it would reset to the default settings most of the time. Too many events that should have resulted in character growth or significant changes of some kind just went away with no lasting effects.
TNG Movies - Almost universally letdowns. Feel they could have made better movies and I generally see these as opportunities wasted.
Deep Space Nine - An interesting choice, so set Trek in a location rather than roaming, and serialize it more, rather than the story-of-the-week format. I like the mix of characters, though the downside of the ongoing storylines is that if you don’t like the Dominion and the founders, you’re kind of stuck.
Voyager - The introduction of Seven of Nine vastly improved the show. Seemed like Jeri Ryan had all the best lines (well, Kate Mulgrew had some too). Less fond of the crew overall, but my biggest issue with the series relates to the premise. They spend the whole series going in one direction…and as they travel in that direction, they keep running into the same people. Either they’re navigator is terrible or someone missed a memo.
Enterprise - Really got off on the wrong foot. The whole schtick of having the crewmembers rub gel on each other was terrible. Scott Bakula’s very likeable as the captain, though, and there’s some good stuff. I’ve only really watched this the once, so I’ll be going back to it.
Kelvin Movies - Diminishing returns. I loved the first one, the ways it played with and altered show lore. Really liked the second one, which also made similar tweaks. The third one is okay.
Discovery - Another one with a big mistake at the start. Massive amounts of Klingon dialogue with subtitles. Now, the subtitles aren’t a dealbreaker for me, but the Klingon dialogue is just noise, and so you never get any character out of the Klingons because the actors have no actual words to work with. It gets better once it gets past that, it gets better. I like the series, but I don’t love it, and it gets too saccharine touchy-feely at times. However, it does some pretty interesting things, too.
Picard - Each season is one story. I would have been fine if they ended this after the first season. I thought it was a well told story and a fine farewell to the Picard character, and they easily could have ended him there. But they went on, and while I do enjoy things in later seasons, I didn’t always agree with the choices they made. Jeri Ryan is a highlight in this series as well. She remains charismatic, but they make good use of her status as an ex-Borg.
Lower Decks - Love this one. It’s just so much fun. Can’t wait to see the current season, but the previous ones I really got a kick out of.
Prodigy - Hope to see it someday.
Strange New Worlds - Absolutely love this to bits. There’s some great drama to be had around Pike’s future, as we all know what happens to him from TOS. And if we didn’t, they tell us here. There are great characters and wonderful performances. Spock is a bit different than we’re used to, but it still works. Very different take on Chapel, too. Veers a little too far into the horror genre when the Gorn come to play (for my tastes, at least). But if you’re looking for the vibe of the original without the sexism, this is where you should look.
I wonder if anyone is still reading at this point…
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You know, thinking about it, the episode “Threshold” of Voyager is basically “Love and Salamanders”…
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Ah yes, a Trek Thread, finally! I must admit out of the big two “Star” (three if you want to include Star Gates) this is easily my favorite, there is so much which I just love, so similarly to the Star Wars Respond, I wrote here are some thoughts on some stuff I have seen:
- I have watched a good chunk of the Original Series, but really have to commit some day, funnily enough while I have massive respect for the Series and think the Casting is quite well for the most part, unlike 60s Who, this (from what i’ve seen at least) ranks lower with Trek Stuff.
- TOS Movies, I have to admit I still have to rewatch 4-6(?) it’s been a while since I’ve seen them, but some thoughts about the previous three: 1) The Motion Picture is very unpolished in many regards, I liked the twist, but I must admit it’s just a bit “meh” from me. Not as bad as many say, but definitely a weaker entry. The Wrath of Khan is masterfully crafted, it’s highly regarded for a reason. Khan is amazing, just superb. And the third one… it’s been a few months since I last saw it, but I really liked when i rewatched it.
- Love Next Generation. It really had some of the best Episodes of the whole Franchise for me. The entire Cast is superb, be it Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart and so on. They might be my favorite crew (teamwise) probably. Adore it, really excellent for me.
- The TNG Movies have their ups and downs. I think the only truly incredible one is the 8th one, really. Generations, I have a soft spot for, but it has some issues. The 9th one was just really whatever for me, definitely the weakest. And Nemesis… I feel conflicted, there are bits I love and bits I really didn’t care for. As a finale for the classic era of Trek Movies, certainly a letdown.
- I do adore Deep Space Nine and I think in many ways this is easily some if not the very best Trek we have gotten. But I have to admit, unlike most others Trek, this is one I can only revisit when I am in the Mood for. Either way it’s splendid, no question asked on that front.
- I do really like Voyager, dare I say it does rank in my personal Top 3. There are some choices which undoubtedly were ones I didn’t like or cared for much. Still, there are a lot of great bits in there, and it’s the one I see myself revisit the most, in some way this can be called “my comfort Trek Show”. Adore Seven of Nine, easily my personal favorite Character here
- Enterprise is a tale where it starts out in one of the worst possible spots for a Trek Show, but it improved over time, which I am thankful for. Not much to add on it, some likeable Castings, some nice Moments and even Episode, but out of the original Batch of Live Action Trek Show? Yeah, pretty much.
- Discovery… I must admit, this is one of the first where my knowledge on Trek released Stuff goes down. I have Discovery a try with Season 1, but I really couldn’t get on board as much as I wanted to. Maybe I should give it another chance, but it really didn’t do for me
- Tried with Picard as well, hearing a lot of positive Words of the third Season, so I might rewatch the first Season and then watch the other two. There were bits which I liked, but I am not sure what to pinpoint down to, it just didn’t get me on board really.
- The “New Timeline” Movies are probably my least liked from the Movies, the Casting is pretty spot on and each of the Actors does give their own version, while still embodying the original Character. I must admit the first one is the best out of the ones, I really like how they went about it, really clever idea to “reset” things. Into the darkness… the less said the better. And Beyond was really just whatever, the definition of “I just kinda don’t care”. Some more stunning scenery, but I really couldn’t remember too much of it besides remembering it as a rather “meh” installment.
- Out of the new Shows, Strange New Worlds is easily my favorite, admittedly I don’t keep up as much as I would like to, but my god is this one so charming. Great Cast, looking forward to getting back to it, hopefully eventually
- I haven’t seen really any of the animated Shows, besides some Orphan Episodes of the original animated Series. I do love to try all of them at one point, honestly. From what I remember, the OG animated Show was really charming with its simplistic HB Artstyle. Lower Decks interest me for sure, but I have to say the Artstyle reminds me a bit too much of “Rick & Morty”, which I don’t really like. I will get that Show a Chance for sure, because it would be unfair if I just judge it by the Artstyle (which doesn’t peak much interest in me, sadly). And haven’t seen anything of “Prodigy” but really want to give it a try as well!
I haven’t really tipped my toes into anything else, as I said, been rewatching some Movies this year and probably going to continue this into next Year. And I really should give some of the modern shows another go or a first try, for some reason they just didn’t resonate with me that much, but who knows maybe it changes it. Would love to see Trek return to theaters with a new Movie, the fourth Kelvin Timeline Movie is pretty much in a state of limbo and at this point I don’t really see it happening, which I wouldn’t be upset since I didn’t like the approach after the first one. It’s a true shame for the Cast since they were superb, but oh well, possibly they can return to the Character at some point. There was also a time when a Tarantino penned Trek Movie was in the works, and I am really glad this didn’t go forward. I do think Tarantino is good at his craft, but I can’t see him working in Trek too well, since his style is so radical different from Trek.
Anyway enough of my Trek Ramble (This Post is sightly inspired by what kevinwho wrote, so give theirs a try to read too! Highly recommending it)
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When I say I’ve seen the first season of Discovery and some of season 2, that’s kinda abbreviated. What happened was I saw the first two/three episodes, hated it, binged a bunch of Voyager to watch something better, then went back to it, coping by posting my thoughts and dislike of each episode online as I watched it.
It got more tolerable in the latter half of the season, and I will probably continue watching at some point, but it’s lowest on my list for Trek.
If Voyager is your comfort Trek, you really should see Prodigy. Kate Mulgrew is great as Janeway in it, and it is rather a followup to what happened after Voyager. The Prodigy episode “All the World’s a Stage” is high up for me on best Star Trek episodes.
Lower Decks is great, too. The first few episodes do have some Rick & Morty vibes, but it gets better, and the people writing it obviously love Star Trek. Some of the best episodes are near the end of pretty much every season. And “wej Duj” is a great episode of Trek. Also, lots of guest appearances and great callbacks. (One of the captains we run into was the ensign who spilled hot chocolate on Picard!)
Both Prodigy and Lower Decks have referenced both the salamanders and Tuvix. 
Since you are watching Strange New Worlds, make sure to watch “Those Old Scientists”, and you might get a bit of a better idea about Lower Decks…
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Ah, thank you for this reply, really helpful to hear from somebody who have seen those two animated Installment, yeah I heard Prodigy could be something for me, considering I do really enjoy Voyager.
Ah, that’s great to hear, admittedly I was worried it might go for a similar vibe, which just doesn’t suit Trek that much personally speaking. I will definitely give this also a shoot, when I find some time to commit myself to either of those two shows.
Thanks for all the recommendations! Most kind!
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No problem!
I will say on Prodigy, if after the initial two parter, the next few episodes don’t hit, give it a few more. It gets better. I might actually peg 3-5 as my least favorite of the series. I loved most of the second half of season 1, though, and 2 was stellar.
And, you know, Lower Decks is great…
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I think I’ve been watching some form of Star Trek pretty much all my life, although I’m not as much of a fan of Trek as I am of Who. I’ve seen at least some of all the series with the exception of Prodigy or Lower Decks but I do intend to rectify that.
Much as I love the crew of the original series, I have to say quite a lot of the episodes from ToS can be a struggle to get through. There are some great individual episodes in there though (mainly from the first two seasons) that I could happily rewatch over and over. I’m more of a ToS movie fan than a series fan.
Next Gen was more my thing and it came out, in the UK at least, around the time Doctor Who was ending so it was a suitable substitute for that. For some reason, though, I seemed to lose interest during Season 4 and there’s still whole chunks of the latter half of the Next Gen that I’ve never seen. I’m only just catching up on those now. Ditto with DS9 and Voyager. I think I’ve seen maybe just half a dozen DS9 episodes so I know I’m missing out there.
Of the more recent shows, I really liked all three seasons of Picard and I’ve also enjoyed what I’ve seen of Discovery and Strange New Worlds.
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