As a kid i loved watching the next generation and deep space 9 with my dad. Ive always liked sci fi, more of a (stargate fan) and wanted to get back into star trek, but Im just so lost on timelines and whats going on. There are like 6 kirks and I have no idea how/where to get started with watching this again.
A quick rundown of what is out there:
TOS - the original series - I don’t think it holds up too well, only watch if you get into Trek.
Suggested episodes - trouble with tribbles and balance of terror
TNG - the next generation - the basis of modern Trek. Probably what most people think of with star Trek
Eps - measure of a man, darmok, inner light and cause and effect
DS9 - deep space nine - my favorite, the story of the dominion war and the fate of cardasaia. It has a slow start but really picks up
Eps - duet and in the pale moonlight
VOY - voyager - I’m not a fan but it’s popular, jerri Ryan and Robert Picardo are the best parts of the show
Eps - year of hell pts 1&2
ENT - enterprise - it’s been a long road getting from there to here, but your time is finally here. It’s campy and bad, but I love it. Go in with low expectations and come out with a love of Shran.
Eps - not going up suggest any, quality tends to trend upwards over the course of the show, but there isn’t any one episode that highlights anything good about the show.
DISCO - discovery - the start of nutrek. It isn’t as bad as some people say, but it isn’t great. There are some good characters, I like Tilly, some neat twists and callbacks (Lorka) but on a whole it’s just meh.
Eps - none for DISCO every episode builds towards a season arc pretty directly, so it’s not good to watch out of order
Picard - it’s bad. Season 3 is better if you are a big fan of TNG, DS9 and VOY, as an entry point it’s awful.
Eps - I didn’t enjoy any enough to recommend
LD - lower decks - funny animated star Trek. I think it’s great, but very referential to old series. Not a good jumping on point.
Eps - wej Duj and much ado about Boimler
SNW - strange new worlds - still running and great. An excellent jumping on point, pretty and well acted
Eps - ad astra per aspera and the Elysian Kingdom
Ok, so as a starter, I’d recommend that someone going by the above do a kind of seven episode primer on Star Trek and what it’s about. Moral/Ethical philosophy.
TOS - Balance of Terror, is preemptive aggression ever justified?
TNG - Measure of a Man, what makes a person a person?
DS9 - In The Pale Moonlight, do the ends justify the means?
VOY - I’d go with Equinox parts I & II over Year of Hell, but also a “do the ends justify the means.”
ENT - Judgement, is justice arbitrary or universal?
Skip DISCO, plenty of issues to be examined but each one takes a whole season.
Skip LD, there’s a few issues but they’re not as well presented.
SNW - Strange New World
After being gone from it since Star Trek Enterprise, my wife and I got back in with Star Trek Lower Decks (oddly enough). If you can handle it being animated (and goofy), it is actually a very dearly written love-letter to TNG and some of the most important moments in Star Trek lore. We appreciated that it didn’t try to reinvent characters that already exist, and did a good job of bringing on old actors for cameos. They bring on people from TNG, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager all the time to reprise their roles.
There’s a live-action Star Trek currently running that I can’t attest to, but it has a crossover with Lower Decks that means I’m going to give it a try.
to get back into Star Trek I would recommend either Strange New Worlds or Lower Decks. Strange New Worlds is Star Trek heart and soul. Lower Decks is a comedy but also does a great job capturing the heart and soul of Star Trek.
The movies with Chris Pine.
jk lol
Many of us feel the impulse to recommend whichever Trek first pulled us in. Others are completists or like to get everything in release or chronological order.
I see lots of recommendations starting along these lines here. That might not best for you OP. I’ve had the personal experience of watching everything in first run in release order, but I don’t know if I would attempt that if I were wanting to break back in after a long hiatus.
If you liked the original 1960s show (TOS) with Kirk, Spock and McCoy, Strange New Worlds may be your best entry point now. It takes place on the original Enterprise under an earlier captain, 10ish years before the time of the original show. Kirk and Spock are the same people you know but younger, and necessarily played by new actors. It’s designed to be a gateway show for fans who’ve never seen any Star Trek so you won’t be lost trying to figure out where things fit in. (The movies with Chris Pine as Kirk are set in a separate universe.)
If you were a Next Generation fan, then you might wish to start with Picard season three or Lower Decks.
Definitely don’t start with Picard. Aside from the IP, it isn’t recognizable as Star Trek.
they did say picard season 3, which aside from missing out on some of the background given by seasons 1 and 2 is by far the superior season
To you.
Just watch The Orville instead.
I second this the orville is the best star trek show since deep space 9
In that both The Orville and DS9 miss the point of Star Trek despite being made by people who clearly like Star Trek.
Sorry, I know I’m alone in being grumpy about DS9, but I’ve been grumpy about DS9 since the 90s.
My vote is for Strange New Worlds. I don’t hate The Orville, I think it’s funny and has its own sense of internal consistency, but I’d definitely watch it as a loving parody from a different political tack. If one is into academia or analytically-minded, comparing where the humor comes from in Lower Decks and The Orville would be a fantastic paper or video essay to put together, though.
@Princeofspace @StandingCat Terrible take! I love The Orville, but it doesn’t replace Trek in any way.
It feels more like Trek than anything from this decade.
The first season came closer to TOS than any other show imo
