Star Trek

Written by David Reed

Directed by Amanda Row

Note: This is a second attempt, as technical difficulties were preventing people from seeing the original discussion post. Apologies to the people who were able to comment in the original.

##"Where should I start?"

At the time of writing, there are 11 Star Trek shows (3 actively running) and 13 movies with a further show and a movie 'special event' in development.

With that in mind, it's no wonder that people come to this subreddit on a regular basis to ask where should I start?

This page is intended to be a spoiler free, quick start guide for people starting their journey through the Star Trek franchise.

We hope you find it useful, and please do contribute to the subreddit with your questions as you take your own journey; just be warned that you may see the odd spoiler.

LLAP,

StarTrek moderation team

What is canon? What can I skip?

The broad rule for the Star Trek franchise is that it's canon if it appears on screen though this still has its exceptions, maybe.

Instead of telling you what you can and can't skip in an unwieldy list, we'll start with a quick rundown of the shows in the Trek 'canon', the initialisms you'll see over the subreddit to refer to them, how many seasons they have and when they aired:

Now we have that out of the way, here are a few suggestions:

##The "production" order.

If you're committed to watching everything eventually, and want to do it the "right" way, we recommend the following:

TOS^^1 → TAS → Films (1-6) → TNG → Generations (Film 7) → DS9 → First Contact (Film 8) → VOY → Films 9-10^^2 → ENT → Films 11-13^^3 → DSC → PIC → LD → PRO → SNW

^1 It's often recommended to skip "The Cage" on your initial watch-through. It was an unaired pilot and most of the footage was recycled into the two-parter "The Menagerie" (watch it later for the novelty, though!).

^2 The Movies 7, 8, 9 and 10 feature the TNG cast, and can be watched anytime after TNG without spoiling anything from DS9, Nemesis however contains a Voyager spoiler.

^3 Films 11-13 The "Kelvin Timeline" Films take place in an alternate timeline and can be watched anytime; however, there are a lot of references and easter eggs to the prime timeline.

Late TNG and early DS9 (as well as late DS9 and early VOY) were on the air at the same time, (an episode from each came out each week). Consequently, their story lines take place at the same time. If you want to watch it in the order it was aired on TV then this list is for you. It should be noted that nothing is lost/gained by watching each series one at a time in the order above due to the nature of 90s syndicated television.

Other popular suggestions

If you're not super keen on older television shows, or you're looking for a way to hook a significant other, there are several other approaches that come up.

Start with TNG

TNG → DS9 → VOY → Films 8-10 → ENT → TOS → TAS → Films (1-7) → Films 11-13 → DSC → PIC

This method is for those that think (or have found) that they struggle with the production value of TOS, ease yourself in with something a bit more modern and then go back to the start once you've developed a ~~lifelong obsession with~ fondness for the universe.

The Next Generation was the start of the Berman era of Star Trek in the late 80's (despite Star Treks creator Gene Roddenberry having the reigns for the first couple of seasons). It had much higher production values than The Original Series, and it set the tone and style for the following three shows. While TOS is mentioned, referenced, and characters from it even appear, this won't affect your enjoyment of those episodes because of how ubiquitous TOS characters are throughout pop culture. You'll definitely come to appreciate those episodes a little more after watching TOS though.

Start with a more modern show

This usually means starting with either ENT, DSC or SNW. This method is for those that really don't like older, slower-paced TV shows, or find black bars on the side of the screen a barrier to enjoyment. ENT has good effects and more modern pacing (along with less reused stock footage of the ship for the ship lovers out there). DSC ties in a fair amount with TOS- but can be safely watched before it without missing out on or spoiling anything big.

Enterprise takes place chronologically before all other series. It references a lot of things from the other series though, and for maximum enjoyment should be watched after. But if you (or whomever you're trying to turn into a Trekkie) has a hard time getting into older series, this is a good way to get started. Many a Trekkie was created with this method.

NOTE: Picard is also a "modern" series, and while it can be enjoyed on it's own, there are considerable references/callbacks to the older series, including several main characters. So it's usually recommended to at least be familiar with TNG first.

Child Friendly

Star Trek contains a fair amount of adult themes and content, especially the newer shows with their higher production budgets and lack of television broadcast restrictions. Your parental boundaries may be different from ours, so to be safe; we recommend watching any live-action show episodes yourself before watching them as a family (despite TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT being marketed as family-friendly).

You can, however, safely watch Star Trek Prodigy with your family. It's specifically aimed at a younger audience (but is enjoyable for adults as well)!

Chronological order or Air Date

ENT → DSC → SNW → TOS → TAS → TNG → DS9 → TNG → DS9 → TNG → DS9 → TNG → DS9...

Did you watch Star Trek during it's original run and aren't worried about being spoiled, but don't really remember everything?

• This is a list that was created by /u/jkeysgamer of every episode and movie in in-universe chronological order. It's not really recommended for newcomers, because it jumps around a lot, but can be fun for the adventurous types.

• This is another in-universe chronological list made by /u/bernasm, he also put together a list that includes non-canonical sources, like games, books, and comics!

• This is a list of every episode and movie by air date, while it will make more sense to a newcomer to watch it this way, opposed to in-universe chronologically, it's still quite the task for a casual viewer. (Special thanks to /u/busfahrer for making this site)

• /u/Kraetos has also written a more involved guide over at the Daystrom Institute. It's also worth checking out.

My spouse felt commemoratively inspired and asked me to post.

(It’s the Eaglemoss Kelvin D-7. The peony petals just did their own thing.)

Lol the linked promos are all pretty funny robot chicken style. Scotty would make a great DJ.

I'm rewatching it now, it's so well written that it almost stands out from the rest of the episode. It comes off like something from David Mamet or The West Wing. It's not Far Beyond The Stars or In The Pale Moonlight, the stakes of the episode are too low. But the material it gave all the actors to work with, the incredibly realistic way it weaves together different conversations going on between a large group, that the (really really good) acting abilities of the cast just get pushed over the top. It's all in one room, no effects, no cost except for the appearance of Bareil, but it's riveting, you can't stop paying attention. It's kind of a master class in writing. And it's buried after the opening credits in the second episode of season 2.

This is a long-running (13 years!) weekly discussion of Star Trek episodes, formerly on Twitter, but now hosted by Joe Sondow on Mastodon.

The discussions are on Tuesdays at 1300 PT / 1600 ET, and each week features a different episode. Questions are sourced from the community, and answers are shared on Mastodon.

This Tuesday's episode is Discovery's "Choose to Live".

Since many of us are relatively new to the Fediverse, I wanted to draw some attention to it - check it out!

Personally I would probably put "Devil's Due" at number one, but I realized not everyone can have such a refined taste in Trek.

Sometimes I feel like I'm part of the minority who actually enjoyed Enterprise. Sure, there were some stinkers but the world was incredibly interesting and in Series 3 / 4 I really felt like it scratched that Trek lore itch for me.

If Enterprise was to be rebooted for a series 5, perhaps on Paramount+ or another streaming service, what would it look like? I don't think Jolene Blalock would come back but I'm sure Scott Bakula could be convinced as well as most of the other actors.

I would really hope they keep the early 2000s aesthetic of the NX-01 and all of the retro low-tech gear, perhaps show a gradual transition into the aesthetic of Strange New Worlds. You could mix in some time shenanigans to explain why things look different than they did in TOS and make some fun callbacks, like In A Mirror Darkly.

There's a lot of room to move before the series finale happens - or you could just retcon it and present it as a deep cover-up. So many opportunities! I want to hear this community's opinions!

As a noob this is likely me, but I tried to start a community on another server and I can't see the post (my other account used to make said community) made and set as english. Unless it's just me being a noob, that can't be good. A cursory look seems to confirm that I can't see anything aside from "Undetermined".

In the scene between Q and Jean-Luc Picard, Q delivers an amazingly stirring monologue about the importance of one person, saying "Must it always have galactic import? Universal stakes? Celestial upheaval? Isn't one life enough?" This line is an impressive reminder that sometimes, saving a single individual can be just as important as saving a galaxy.

In this moment, we see a different side of Q - one that is vulnerable and sincere. Or was that his true side all along? The scene impresses the deep friendship between Q and Jean-Luc, as Q reveals his true motivation - to heal Jean-Luc's heart.

Overall, this scene is such a beautiful and touching moment that adds even more depth to these two already well-developed characters. It reminds me of the power of friendship and the importance of valuing individual lives.

"Humans. Your griefs, your pains, fix you to moments in the past long gone. You’re like butterflies with your wings pinned”. There is so much food for thought in this piece of wisdom alone. Every sentence in this scene has its place, has meaning beyond the words expressing it. Note also the stunning, subtle yet powerful soundtrack.

This scene and the one to follow is so well paced and delivered by John de Lancie and Patrick Stewart, it will stick with me for many years to come. I have rewatched it over and over. It alone makes the entire 2nd season worthwhile.

May we all remember to say this to someome from our heart. Almost nothing means more than this:

"You matter to me."

That article speculates that elements of Paramount (including CBS Studios, which produces Trek these days) could be sold off to other companies, perhaps even Netflix. This, however, doesn't get into the hairy discussion surrounding rights to the franchise.

I've been watching through ds9 for the first time and the show has always been good, even the first season I thought started fairly strong. And season 6 (as I've said in another post) has started really strong, with an actual deviation from the show's status quo that lasts longer than one episode.

But holy shit, this might be one of my favorite episodes. Not just of ds9, or star trek in general, but maybe of any show I've seen. And as far as I'm aware people barely talk about it.

The whole episode is essentially Dukat's facade of composure slowly breaking down. He's always been an interesting villain, and at times his insistence that he's doing his best can almost convince you that he might not entirely be the bad guy; that maybe he is, in some way, trying to do good.

And a lesser show might try to redeem him. But not ds9. Millions died under his command, people were sent to the deaths, and as long as he tries defend his actions in any way there's no room for redemption.

This episode finally breaks down all of his fake pretenses of helping Bajor, or trying his best to "rule with a softer hand." Finally his deception is broken down and reveals what he has always been. And it's done in the best way possible.

The scene where he finally breaks down is fantastic. No music, just Marc Alaimo acting his ass off. The panning back and forth between him talking to sisko and talking to the various voices in his head...

"And that is why you're not an evil man?"

From Wikipedia, "A practical effect is a special effect produced physically, without computer-generated imagery or other post-production techniques."

Some of my favorite practical effect species are from TOS. There's the Horta from TOS "The Devil in the Dark" s1e25. I was about 9 years old when I first saw the Horta episode. Old enough to know it wasn't real, but young enough to be utterly fascinated by something that looked like an angry chunk of hot lava making its way around on the ground.

TOS's the Salt Vampire's look scared little kid me. Truth be told, the way it looks still gives me the creeps.

The Gorn (TOS "Arena" s1e18) didn't scare me, but I thought it was intimidating. Sure, it looks like somebody in a lizard man suit. But, that Gorn had a knife! And, was trying to kill Kirk! Bonus points for the Gorn's sparkly, stylish armor.

I think tribbles are just adorable.

Written by Dana Horgan

Directed by Valerie Weiss

Narrated by the plain and simple tailor himself.