The Unofficial Star Trek Thread

[Baloo]

Alright, so I know some Trekkies exist on this forum, but I wanted to know what people thought of the shows. I was always a Star Wars guy growing up and never watched any Trek. But I've been bored and got into TNG, which turned into me watching a lot of Star Trek lately. Used this essential guide to watch most of Star Trek: TNG, over the last six months or so



I am finished TNG now, it was pretty enjoyable and the acting was good. Q steals the show in every episode he's in, the Borg were a truly scary villain, and even though you know it would all end up alright in the end, it still felt like there was some risk. I still stumbled across a poor episode or two (the weird pilot episode, anything with Lwxana Troi, that time the ship's crew "devolved") but overall I thought the ensemble cast was great and the overall arcs were good for most of the characters. It was serial so I don't need to pay attention to every close detail, and the action was fun enough.

Then I watched Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan because I've read that the other movies are pretty bad except for Star Trek VI. And they were fun action-packed adventures as well, again nothing too plot driven. I watched the one episode of Star Trek TOS that sets up The Wrath of Khan, but I havent really watched much else of TOS. I thought they were also very good.

And then I kept reading online that Deep Space Nine was the real gem of Star Trek. A show where there was actual conflict between the characters and not everything turned out peachy in the end each time. Interwoven plots. It was on the same time as TNG partially so I figured why not. I plunged in a few weeks ago. And boy do I feel ripped off worse than when I played through 3/4s of Shenmue!

I am up to Season 5 now and feeling sunk cost fallacy. I also have been using an essential episodes guide and I still feel like this show has'nt gone anywhere and plots are dropped in the middle of being started. Threats end so anticlimactically. Worf acts out of character. Avery Brooks is a terrible actor. My favorite character is Garek, and he is never there.
I have read that Season 5 and the Dominion War is where the show gets good. But I ham having trouble continuing on.
Is it worth it for me to keep going?

So...what are your thoughts on Star Trek? Hate it all? Picard or Kirk? Love Deep Space Nine? Or is your favorite character really the EMH-MARK-I doctor?

[Gryson]

I mean, DS9 is still an episodic series, so it's got all of the negatives (?) associated with that: different writers, inconsistencies, lots of filler, etc. A lot of the initial 'overarching plotline' stuff is just used to drive individual episode plotlines, which is why plots seem to get dropped a lot.

I'd say it's a mistake to try to binge-watch Star Trek like some modern serialized TV show that has 8-episode seasons. It's a different viewing experience. If you're just trying to get to some big payoff at the end - it's not there. The journey is where the fun is: the cheap SF plots (with occasional gem), the (sometimes annoying) characters, the Worf humor. That's why I recommend not skipping episodes. Chances are, if you can't stand the bad episodes, you're probably not going to care all that much for the series.

[Mega Drive Bowlsey]

Nice idea for a thread. As far as Star Trek goes I love both the original series and the movies up to the 7th film, Generations. I really enjoy TNG, but for me Kirk and company are the real Star Trek, the Star Trek I loved as a kid by watching the original show and films with my mother in the late 80's/early 90's (I was born in '83). For me classic Trek is a perfect blend of pure sci-fi, morality, and the ultimate hope of a better future for mankind. TNG, DS9 and Voyager were also very well made and surely proof that the 90's, alongside the 80's, was a golden period for Star Trek. By comparison I think modern Star Trek shows, like Discovery and Picard, are nihlistic and cynical garbage, consisting almost entirely of woke identity politics and ideology clumsily masquerading as sci-fi 'entertainment'.

[Baloo]

Considering how woke everything has gotten, and the bad reviews I have seen, I have no interest in watching a show where people are concerned about US-like Earth "representation" issues on a show about literally discovering other planets and other people with other problems. So I wont be watching Discovery or Picard anytime soon.

I mean, DS9 is still an episodic series, so it's got all of the negatives (?) associated with that: different writers, inconsistencies, lots of filler, etc. A lot of the initial 'overarching plotline' stuff is just used to drive individual episode plotlines, which is why plots seem to get dropped a lot.

I'd say it's a mistake to try to binge-watch Star Trek like some modern serialized TV show that has 8-episode seasons. It's a different viewing experience. If you're just trying to get to some big payoff at the end - it's not there. The journey is where the fun is: the cheap SF plots (with occasional gem), the (sometimes annoying) characters, the Worf humor. That's why I recommend not skipping episodes. Chances are, if you can't stand the bad episodes, you're probably not going to care all that much for the series.

Eh...but I liked TNG and skipped plenty of episodes that I knew were bad. Granted, I did not binge watch TNG either, but I also thought the episodes wrapped their plots up well. Now you're probably right in that clearly DS9 is not a binge-type of show since it wasn't meant to be watched that way, but that doesn't mean episodes can be boring soap opera type plots. Maybe its just me but I didnt remember this much romantic tension in TNG.

And I still think DS9 crosses over too much from the serial adventure into the long-arc territory, and I think that is one of its flaws if the show itself doesnt really settle that.

The best episodes of DS9 I thought so far were: Miles O'Brien recovers from the 20-year prison simulation; Garek and the Obsidion Order; Julian Bashir as 007; and the initial episodes at the start of Season 3 revealing the Dominion and the Jem'Hadar where Sisko and Quark get captured. But I am baffled at how the Dominion War with the exception of a few episodes hasnt gone anywhere yet in Season Four. The stories clearly tilt that way, but the resolutions feel odd. Like it is too weird for Earth to just randomly go back to normal after an attempted military coup

And DS9 cant just be a serial show because the big bad threat looms over every episode. Its not like TNG where the Borg are a threat in what....6 episodes tops and theyre on the other end of the galaxy. Cardassia is involved. Then the Klingons. Then the Federation. I was dumbfounded when the Klingons beamed onto DS9 and they fought and killed each other and then the episode ended like nothing happened. Or when the Jem'Hadar and the Defiant randomly team up to kill a Macguffin Plot Point literally never mentioned in the show except on one episode of TNG, but we are supposed to care this is a huge threat.

This to me is lazy writing. It reminds me of the Force Awakens. Macguffins and big bads that the watched doesnt know enough about to care, but we are supposed to care.

Maybe I'm just salty. I'll keep watching, probably so I have enough cred to keep complaining on these boards.

[gamevet]

I think that you would really like Enterprise. It has a few side episodes, but there is a larger story being told throughout the 4 seasons it aired. The crew is likeable and the stories all hold up very well.

[Team Andromeda]

I'm a Star Trek fan. I love the old original films and love the Next Generation

God rid of most of my VHS Star Trek tapes and just have this now

[Mega Drive Bowlsey]

I'm a Star Trek fan. I love the old original films and love the Next Generation

God rid of most of my VHS Star Trek tapes and just have this now

Nice little collection, TA. I have the original series remastered on DVD and the movies from 1-7. Captain Kirk all the way, baby. What's your favourite Trek movie? Mine is probably Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, but I also love the 6th movie, The Undiscovered Country, and the 2nd movie, Wrath of Kahn. "KAAAAAAAAHHN!!"

[Team Andromeda]

Nice little collection, TA. I have the original series remastered on DVD and the movies from 1-7. Captain Kirk all the way, baby. What's your favourite Trek movie? Mine is probably Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, but I also love the 6th movie, The Undiscovered Country, and the 2nd movie, Wrath of Kahn. "KAAAAAAAAHHN!!"

I used to have the entire Next Gen and the old movies on VHS. I'm a Picard man myself, sorry mate. I love all the movies really. My fav out of them all is Star Trek 4: The voyage home and I also love Insurrection too. My Fav Star Trek Ep is Elementary, Dear Data and I also love Future Imperfect

[profholt82]

Gun to my head, I'm a TOS fan first and foremost, but I love TNG as well. I've watched them all numerous times, and will likely continue to do so until my dying days. They're still so much fun for me to revisit. I like most of the movies as well, some are better than others obviously, but I enjoy them all to some extent. Wrath of Khan is easily my favorite though. I actually got to see a screening at a local theater a few years back which was hosted by William Shatner himself. He told stories about the shooting and did a Q and A after the screening. It was great. He autographed a poster for me after as well.

As for the newest movies (the Kelvin trilogy as they're known), I really liked the first one, Star Trek 2009. It was great to see the characters as kids and then coming into their own in Starfleet. The villain Nero was good, with a compelling backstory, so that worked for the overall plot. However, the second movie, Into the Darkness, which was essentially a retelling of Wrath of Khan, was garbage in my opinion. Aside from the lazy plot, they completely changed the core characters. The most egregious for me was turning Spock into some kind of 90s Van Damme-esque action star where he's constantly beating the crap out of everyone with kung fu moves. Seriously, what the heck were they thinking? The third one Beyond was a bit better, but those two movies just aren't ST to me, they're like generic popcorn action flicks that they shoehorned our beloved ST characters into. I was glad when Abrams moved on to Star Wars instead. Let him go bastardize another franchise, and leave Star Trek alone. Haha

Anyway, here's my little shrine to Trek on my basement movie shelf.

[gamevet]

@Profholt82 I'd really like to complete my show collection for TNG and the original series. That big box is pretty expensive.


Here's most of my movie/show collection. I know I've misplaced at least a couple of the movies on DVD and VHS, especially The Motion Picture. I do have it on BR though. The VHS tape on the top right is labeled "Star Trek - Last Episode." I don't know if that's TNG or a special airing of the final show for the original. I'll have to check out what is on the tape.

[profholt82]

Sweet collection, gamevet. What I loved about that original VHS movie collection is that if you have them all, an image of the Enterprise is formed:


I never had that set, but one of my buddies did, and it looked awesome displayed.


As for the TNG blu-ray set, I bought it shortly after it came out, and at that time, I noticed that while the US edition was around $200, the UK edition was only £60, which was around $80 at the time. When I researched it, I found out that the discs were identical and region-free, so that's what I got. It looks like the price has since gone up a bit, but it's probably still cheaper than the US edition.

This is the one I bought: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Star-...lu-ray/113673/

[gamevet]

What’s funny about that is my dad sent that set for Christmas. It was missing one of the movies for some reason.

[JCU]

First off, nostalgia is about the only thing TOS has on TNG. All things considered it just isn't as good as the Picard captained Enterprise adventures. With that said though, TNG movies (although good) can not compare with TOS movies. Khan, Search and Undiscovered are some of the finest science fiction films ever produced which makes me wonder what in the hell was going on with IV and V. Were Bennett, Nimoy, Shatner, Meyer, etc.., on pharmaceutical grade or what as those were written and directed? II and III were wonderful whether speaking of character development, soundtrack, plot, etc.., and then the franchise flopped around with IV and V. Whales and God? Are you kidding me?

[Leynos]

I lOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Star Trek. JJ Trek is eh but tolerable. STD and Picard are pure garbage. Orville has become great and it's proper Trek.
TNG remains my fave show of all time. Voyager was inconsistent. Some good stuff but often wonky writing. DS9 was a great Sci Fi show but not a great Trek show. Enterprise was best in Season 4. I feel Star Trek TMP and Star Trek IV are the best films. Not some dude wanting revenge yadda yadda. Tho I still like the OG and TNG films.

[gamevet]

The Wraith of Khan is awesome. It’s like watching one of those old Submarine battles taking place, with tension building as each ship looks to gain an advantage on the other.