Official Star Trek thread

[Guest wildpegasus]

I've watched about 13 episodes of Star Trek and one movie my whole life so obviously I'm no expert on the shows but rescently I've taken the plunge and starting watching the old, original Star Trek series. And than looking at this forum I noticed there was not enough Star Trek talk. Quite frankly, I was ashamed of everyone here so out of the goodness of my heart I decided to create this thread so everyone can redeem themselves.

 

Whatever episode, movie or series you want to talk about -- just go for it.

 

I'll try to start some discussion with a question I don't really know the answer of. I hear the original and Star Trek "The Next Generation" are the best series but what do all the smart marks here think? What is the best series?

[BorneAgain 0]

DS9's the best just by the acting and character development.

 

Here's my rankings from best to worst.

 

Deep Space Nine

The Next Generation

The Original Series

Voyager (Avoid like the fucking plague)

 

 

Haven't seen enough of Enterprise to judge.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

DS9's the best just by the acting and character development.

 

Here's my rankings from best to worst.

 

Deep Space Nine

The Next Generation

The Original Series

Voyager (Avoid like the fucking plague)

 

 

Haven't seen enough of Enterprise to judge.

No mention of The Animated Series?

[BorneAgain 0]

DS9's the best just by the acting and character development.

 

Here's my rankings from best to worst.

 

Deep Space Nine

The Next Generation

The Original Series

Voyager (Avoid like the fucking plague)

 

 

Haven't seen enough of Enterprise to judge.

No mention of The Animated Series?

My mistake. I completely spaced it. Again though, I really haven't seen enough of it to give an accurate judgement. From the episode guides I've read, it doesn't sound too bad.

[Guest SP-1]

I've loved Trek since . . . wow, since 5th grade or a little before. And I turn 21 on August 1 (tomorrow~!).

 

I tend to think DS9 outchines Next Gen, but only because the War really did alot for that show. It was a stroke of genius that truly set DS9 apart. As well, once Sisko went into war mode, he rocked. HARD.

 

Next Gen was tremendous on so many levels.

 

TOS is fantastic. But the Classic Movies are what really pulled that cast together and made them a familial unit. Something TNG did around Season 3, IMO. Though, to be fair, if TOS had gotten 7 years, it might have done the same in its television run a little better. Kirk/McCoy seem closer to me in the series than Kirk/Spock though.

 

Voyager had a great concept. But was, IMO, executed with all the warmth of a block of ice from day one and that was its failing.

 

Enterprise seems to be falling into the same trap.

 

NEMESIS ruled, I don't care what anyone says.

 

As did First Contact but thats not all that disputed.

 

. . . Insurrection was like an episode of TNG with a bigger budget. But its not outright terrible, IMO.

 

 

There . . . I guess that covers my most basic thoughts on Trek. But I could geek out about it for quite some time to come.

[Highland 0]

From best to worst.

• DS-9
• TNG
• TOS
• Voyager
• Enterprise

[razazteca 0]

The best part of Star Trek was the character Q. At 1st all he did was taunt Captian Picard and put him on trial for the crimes of the human race.

[MrRant 0]

TNG

DS9 (I need to rewatch the series now that it's on Spike... set the Tivo if I remember)

TOS

Voyager/Enterprise - I haven't seen enough Enterprise to pass judgement but the ones I've seen has me being kinda eh on it.

[Anakin Flair 0]

DS9

Voyager

TNG

TOS

Haven't seen enough of Enterprise to rank it (seems to be a common theme...). I loved Nemesis, but thought they dropped the all with Insurextion. Dodgy special effects, and driving the Enterprise with a FREAKIN JOYSTICK do not an entertaining movie make.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Voyager had some really good episodes so it doesn't deserve the hate it gets. Sure, the first season generally sucked it hard (eugh Kazon eugh Seska eugh Vidians) and they had a habit of relying on "alternate realities" too much (though they were often their best episodes), but Season 4-on, IMO, they were able to hit their stride (The first half of Season 6 was bad, but the other half was good) with the episode of the timeship (with Red from T70'sS) was superb.

 

Next Gen vs. DS9 is a nice fight. TNG had a lot worse growing pains, IMO, and their first 2 seasons were awful and the 3rd had very little redeeming value. With that said, 4-7 were freaking awesome. The two episodes that got me "hooked" were the one where they all experienced Deja Vu and the one where Worf kept moving into alternate realities (maybe that explains why I like voyager so much ). However, I think I may have to go with DS9 here. I think it had the most heart and didn't suffer as much in its initial seasons as the other 2 did (I don't watch Enterprise or The Original). I think it suffered some in the last season when it lost Dax and got silly w. Dukat, but like SP said, once the war started going it was ON (that's what hooked me - the big arch in season six and specifically in the eps. when Sisko says "fortune favours the bold" did it). The one with Jake grown up w. Tony Todd in the role was IMO the best of all of em.

 

Man, I need to do some ~lists~..

[Guest SP-1]

"By the Pale Moonlight" was fantastic for DS9. Sisko finding himself as a struggling black writer in the early 20th century, trying to sell a story about a space station called Deep Space Nine.

 

Sisko had some TIGHT speeches during the war. I remember when they abandoned the station and he gave the speech before beaming out to those who were remaining on the station. And Dukat finding that Sisko had left his baseball in his office as a reminder and a promise.

 

Such good stuff.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

The original series is by far the best, because it's so campy. The show oozes personality, with Shatner dying before your eyes to act like a tough guy/sex symbol in some episodes. It's a riot. Spock doing the vulcan mind trick to a shuffling overcooked calzone-like creature called the Horda was pretty cute, too. This is the series with all the characters and cliches that get the show universally loved/made fun of, so go with it. The die-hard trekkies probably like the newer ones better, but they don't have the same personality.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

As far as quality, Next Generation is the classiest. Anyone doubting ought to investigate "The Picard Song." Just wait for the "Blue Monday" breakdown.

 

The original series is the most charming. The sexy black communications officer, the rascally Russian, the steely Oriental, the anxious Scotsman...it was multi-cultural out the wazoo in the most hilarious ways. The best alien designs too; AoO's already mentioned the death calzone, but I'm also fond of the dinosaur warrior, the "Man Trap," the little death pizzas, and the aliens with the enormous foreheads. It also yielded the best movies - Khan and Voyage Home are a pair that anyone can just walk into, no big series background necessary.

 

Then there's "City on the Edge of Forever." Just great.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

...but I'm also fond of the dinosaur warrior, the "Man Trap,"..

 

Is that the episode where Kirk has to make gunpowder from scratch, and shoots the dude in the chest with a big piece of diamond, even though the powder wasn't compressed or anything, and the rock didn't fit the tube?

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Oh, that was bad phrasing on my part. The dinosaur warrior (the Gorn, I think it was) was yes, the diamond-gun episode, "Arena," i.e. the big fight that lasts the whole time. Wonderful. The Man Trap was a different episode with this hot chick/evil monster that sucked all the water or salt or something out of people and hence made them dead.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

The only thing I really like about the Original is the fight scenes and how it's clearly another actor/stuntman doing them. They don't even shy away from it.

 

I respect that.

[WrestlingDeacon 0]

It was a salt sucking monster in "Man Trap." That was the first episode actually shown on air, even though it was like the fourth or fifth made.

 

What does anyone think of the original pilot, The Cage, with Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike?

 

Has anyone read any of the books? I read a few when I was a kid. The one I remember was a sequel to the one where the scientist makes a robot clone of Kirk. In the novel a second clone survived, revives the first one and they make an army of Kirk clones to kick ass. I remember reading a blurb for one I always wanted to read but never found anywhere. McCoy is acting like a bitch about how he doesn't get any respect, so Kirk leaves him in charge of the bridge, because he's technically the highest ranking officer after him and Spock, when they go on an away mission. They wind up missing and I think some Klingon cruisers show up and McCoy has to pilot the ship into battle. That's sounded cool as hell.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Deacon: I believe that book you're talking about is "Doctor's ORders"

 

Read it when I was in the 4th grade.

 

Trek Books you shouldn't try reading: the later works of William Shatner. He brings Kirk back from the dead and makes him super-powerful...or so I've heard.

[Vyce 0]

The real order goes like this:

 

Babylon 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then way down below it:

 

TNG

TOS

DS9

Enterprise

Voyager

 

The franchise is utter shit at this point. I've been advocating for a while now that they should just shut down the shows / movies, and wait a long time - at least five years - before they restart anything. Take a LONG hiatus, and in that time take a scythe to the current creative team, hire new people, and work on producing a kickass new series that does a lot of things we haven't seen before (because the main problem that Trek has had - with Voyager, and now with Enterprise - is that we've seen all of this shit done before, and done infinitely better).

 

Has anyone read any of the books?

 

I've read a few. They range from good to really bad.

 

If you're going to read a Trek book, stick to the ones written by Peter David - he usually does a pretty good job with them.

[hitman2003 0]

IMO, the William Shatner novels are some of the best Star Trek books. I think "The Return" was the best one.

 

As far as the best series goes.

 

DS9

TNG

TOS

Enterprise

Voyager (I haven't seen many episodes yet)

 

I think that most Star Trek series seem to take a while before they get into a grove. The first 2 seasons of TNG are just awful, but it really starts to pick up by the third year, as did DS9. Enterprise really got a lot better in its third year. The first 2 seasons were like TNG, mostly stand alone episodes. But they came back in for year 3 with an interesting arc and I really started enjoying it by the end.

 

I know most people don't seem to like Enterprise that much, but I really think that it's getting better.

[Highland 0]

Andromeda > Lexx > Babylon 5 > Star Trek.

[MrRant 0]

It was a salt sucking monster in "Man Trap." That was the first episode actually shown on air, even though it was like the fourth or fifth made.

 

What does anyone think of the original pilot, The Cage, with Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike?

 

Has anyone read any of the books? I read a few when I was a kid. The one I remember was a sequel to the one where the scientist makes a robot clone of Kirk. In the novel a second clone survived, revives the first one and they make an army of Kirk clones to kick ass. I remember reading a blurb for one I always wanted to read but never found anywhere. McCoy is acting like a bitch about how he doesn't get any respect, so Kirk leaves him in charge of the bridge, because he's technically the highest ranking officer after him and Spock, when they go on an away mission. They wind up missing and I think some Klingon cruisers show up and McCoy has to pilot the ship into battle. That's sounded cool as hell.

I have the paperback of Doctor's Orders.

[Downhome 0]

You can't have a Star Trek thread without mentioning this.

 

 

[MrRant 0]

dvdanswers.com?

[Downhome 0]

There, I fixed it.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

The end of DS9 was pretty much the end of quality Trek. The rest is just the same formulaic nonsense.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

...DAMN...

 

The Trek DVD Box is...bright.

 

I wonder...does that mean the other two seasons will be in the other two colors? (blue and red)

[Rendclaw 0]

Diane Duane was the best Trek novelist, hands down.

 

I am in total agreement in that DS9 was best, but by then they had learned to avoid the pitfalls that TNG fell into during its first three seasons.

 

I liked Voyager, though it didn;t start picking up steam until the third season.... and the writing was on the wall when they brought in Seven of Nine.. they knew that Trek was starting to lose momentum when you have to bring in a hot actress to try and boost ratings. They are doing the same thing with Enterprise, though watching the growing relationship between Trip and T'Pol is interesting.

[Anakin Flair 0]

It's funny- I remember always hearing how DS9 sucked, and it wasn't as good as TNG, and how it was just terrible. Now, everybody seems to like it.

 

Man, I just saw the original series on DVD for sale at Slackers. I gues the owner saw that Boxed set and decided to trade up, or something.

[Steviekick 0]

The original series is by far the best, because it's so campy. The show oozes personality, with Shatner dying before your eyes to act like a tough guy/sex symbol in some episodes. It's a riot. Spock doing the vulcan mind trick to a shuffling overcooked calzone-like creature called the Horda was pretty cute, too. This is the series with all the characters and cliches that get the show universally loved/made fun of, so go with it. The die-hard trekkies probably like the newer ones better, but they don't have the same personality.

Even better was the fact that the stories had great messages that were still strong and poignant even though it had bad acting and a low budget.