Is Star Trek worth getting into?

[SL JediKnight]

Thinking about getting into Star Trek but I don't know where to start I was thinking about the original series /movies but my mom said I should start with the next generation but I don't know looking for something new to get into cause Disney ruined star wars for me also is there any good star trek books\novels ? Is it worth getting into?

 

[Autistamatic]

I don't know about "getting into" consciously. For me it was just on TV when I was a kid and there were just 3 TV channels. That & Doctor Who started my lifelong love of science fiction.

TOS (the original series) is good fun, but campy and inconsistent. For me it obviously has immense nostalgia value, but for a newcomer it's probably left for later. Deep Space 9 (DS9) is probably the most mature and narratively satisfying series and benefits from relatively modern effects work. TNG (Next Generation) is a little dated and doesn't really get to it's best until season 3. Enterprise seems to be a marmite show - people either love or hate it - personally I loved it. Voyager can be great at it's best but has plenty of filler and relies heavily on techno babble. Discovery, the latest show is brilliant IMO and could be watched as a standalone.

For a noob, I'd start with TNG but be patient with the first 40 or so episodes which are mixed in quality. Next DS9, then TOS, Voyager, Enterprise then finish off with a treat - Discovery.

If you like Sci Fi then it's definitely worth watching. It's one of the biggest cultural touchstones of television and of Sci fi. Be patient with it's slower moments and you'll be rewarded with some great story telling and iconic characters.

And when you watch "Spock's Brain" treat it as a comedy

 

[SL JediKnight]

I don't know about "getting into" consciously. For me it was just on TV when I was a kid and there were just 3 TV channels. That & Doctor Who started my lifelong love of science fiction. Thanks

TOS (the original series) is good fun, but campy and inconsistent. For me it obviously has immense nostalgia value, but for a newcomer it's probably left for later. Deep Space 9 (DS9) is probably the most mature and narratively satisfying series and benefits from relatively modern effects work. TNG (Next Generation) is a little dated and doesn't really get to it's best until season 3. Enterprise seems to be a marmite show - people either love or hate it - personally I loved it. Voyager can be great at it's best but has plenty of filler and relies heavily on techno babble. Discovery, the latest show is brilliant IMO and could be watched as a standalone.

For a noob, I'd start with TNG but be patient with the first 40 or so episodes which are mixed in quality. Next DS9, then TOS, Voyager, Enterprise then finish off with a treat - Discovery.

If you like Sci Fi then it's definitely worth watching. It's one of the biggest cultural touchstones of television and of Sci fi. Be patient with it's slower moments and you'll be rewarded with some great story telling and iconic characters.

And when you watch "Spock's Brain" treat it as a comedy

 

[Misery]

One thing I always point out to people about Star Trek is that it's not ENTIRELY a traditional sci-fi show (as in, the sorts that are pure science and tech all the time period). It has some aspects that sort of go outside of that, and it can go really far with them.

I could compare certain aspects of it to what is often common in anime. For instance, while there are plenty of "normal" characters who rely on typical science/tech and such, you also have other characters who are astonishingly powerful just by themselves. Take Q for instance. Pretty much a literal god, he can do... anything. Just anything. And he's just the tip of the iceberg. Star Trek likes to explore all sorts of different concepts like that.

And if you go into the extended universe stuff (books), there are things even stronger than Q. And loads of wild ideas.

That being said, I've always thought they were well done. Heck, Q is a fan favorite for good reason... everybody likes that guy.

And yeah, I know Star Wars does this to some degree too, with the Force and all, but Trek tends to take it way, way further when they decide to do it. Things can get gloriously WEIRD in Star Trek. Mostly I mention this all because I know some sci-fi fans just despise this sort of thing.

Everything else? Honestly it's all just pretty darned good. Memorable, likeable characters, great story aspects and worldbuilding, and so on. There are certainly dud episodes, but you get that with any show. And the original series can be a bit goofy at the time... you know how old series are, some aspects dont age too well even when the series as a whole is amazing. So that one has it's moments that might seem just silly now. One way or another though, I've always been a fan.

 

[SusanLR]

Grew up a Trekkie. I love anything Star Trek.
The original series would seem hoaky compared to today's standards, but, it is like Misery said,
there were original science things in it.
Of course since I was a kid and saw it first, it will always be my nostalgic fav.
And Spock, oh my, he was just the most perfect speciman in every way to me.

I liked Next Generation as far as the series looking back and any of the movies.
Originals like Star Trek the movie, and all the rest.
I also loved Q. And Data.
When that Q was a favourite, a lot of people at work nicknamed me Q.
Thank you!

Voyager was next in line as a favourite.

 

[SL JediKnight]

Grew up a Trekkie. I love anything Star Trek.
The original series would seem hoaky compared to today's standards, but, it is like Misery said,
there were original science things in it.
Of course since I was a kid and saw it first, it will always be my nostalgic fav.
And Spock, oh my, he was just the most perfect speciman in every way to me.

I liked Next Generation as far as the series looking back and any of the movies.
Originals like Star Trek the movie, and all the rest.
I also loved Q. And Data.
When that Q was a favourite, a lot of people at work nicknamed me Q.
Thank you!

Voyager was next in line as a favourite.

Is it worth getting into?

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

The idea of 'getting into' something deliberately is a little strange to me. Any way the original series is a good place to start, next gen starts out assuming you know a load of backstory about the various aliens and science etc (and it sucks).

 

[Illkurok]

If you're so easily displaced from Star Wars over your opinion of Disney's handling of it, were you really a fan in the first place?

I personally don't care for Disney's "version" of Star Wars, but that doesn't derail my love for the franchise. I will still play the games and rewatch the old trilogy's over and over until my dying breath.

 

[Mia]

The original television series for Star Trek is quite different from Star Wars. It's a little dated as far as the set and some of it's interactions between characters. There were books that were written around the same time, related to the television series:

"Star Trek has a fifty-two year history of tie-in fiction, beginning with the 1967 publication of James Blish's Star Trek 1.[a][1] As of November 2019, approximately 850 novels, short story anthologies, novelizations, and omnibus editions, have been published."
List of Star Trek novels - Wikipedia

The ideas for plots for Star Trek were often taken from old science fiction novels, from the 1910's onward. Writers like E.E. Smith, H.G. Wells, Edgar R, Burroughs, C.S. Lewis, H. P. Lovecraft, Wylie & Balmer, Olaf Stapledon, Robert Heinlen and many more.

You might first try reading short science fiction stories, they were published every year and they were a compilation of the best writers of sci fi of that year. So, treasuries of sci fi, the best of science fiction that sort of thing. In that way you'll form an idea of what you like and whose ideas you like, and read that writer specifically. Much of Star Trek and even Star Wars, found many of their ideas in these books.

As far as the Star Trek series on television, I would start with the original, and then work my way through to the series that occurred later and then the movies.

 

[SL JediKnight]

If you're so easily displaced from Star Wars over your opinion of Disney's handling of it, were you really a fan in the first place?

I personally don't care for Disney's "version" of Star Wars, but that doesn't derail my love for the franchise. I will still play the games and rewatch the old trilogy's over and over until my dying breath.

I love the original Star wars and the Prequels and yes I watch them over and over again I have been a fan my whole life

 

[Eclipse14]

I haven't seen too much Star Trek, just occasional episodes of Deep Space Nine, Voyager and TNG re-runs on TV. As well as a few of the movies. I want to fully get into the franchise some day.

Not sure if it would work as a replacement for Star Wars. It's very different. It's clearly more slow paced and cerebral science-fiction stories as opposed to Star Wars which is essentially fantasy in space. If you want something new that's probably more in the same vein as Star Wars, maybe try Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter? Or play the Mass Effect games. They're awesome. Halo is worth playing too.

I'm a huge Star Wars fan as well, and I don't exactly love what Disney has done with the franchise either, but it's not really a reason to give up on it altogether. Disney isn't all bad. I loved Rebels and Rogue One, as well as the Mandalorian so far. And Jedi Fallen Order.

 

[leehart]

I love Star trek but not the original series (which to me is lame..sorry) and not deep space 9 which has woeful acting (couldnt get passed the pilot) and a freaky smooth alien that weirds me out!

I would say watch Enterprise, Discovery (netflix), next generation and then voyager.

But yeah it is awesome, the Borg, Q, warp and so much more to ponder.

 

[asperagus]

OP, why not "try it out"?

You're asking for opinions here on whether or not to plunge into Star Trek.

Try it out, see if you like it. If you like it, you can join Star Trek forums. Once you become a super elite Trekkie who knows the series better than most, you'll impress the odd Trekkie you'll encounter once in a while. But if you dive into it, do it for yourself. If you like it, then let it stick. If you don't like it, then move onto other things. *Hopefully* no one will judge you if you don't stick to Star Trek and even if they do, that'd give you a good reason to walk away from such people.

 

[Judge]

Is it worth getting into?

Getting into?

Both Star Wars and Star Trek are merely a series of television and film product brands one either enjoys or not. Not a cult to join, nor a political ideology or religion to embrace, commit to and polarize like a drunken zealot.

If you like entertainment, watch it. If not, don't.

And if you like a particular brand, that's great. But don't turn it into a crusade. That's just plain sad.

 

[SL JediKnight]

I haven't seen too much Star Trek, just occasional episodes of Deep Space Nine, Voyager and TNG re-runs on TV. As well as a few of the movies. I want to fully get into the franchise some day.
I love Lord of the rings!
Not sure if it would work as a replacement for Star Wars. It's very different. It's clearly more slow paced and cerebral science-fiction stories as opposed to Star Wars which is essentially fantasy in space. If you want something new that's probably more in the same vein as Star Wars, maybe try Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter? Or play the Mass Effect games. They're awesome. Halo is worth playing too.

I'm a huge Star Wars fan as well, and I don't exactly love what Disney has done with the franchise either, but it's not really a reason to give up on it altogether. Disney isn't all bad. I loved Rebels and Rogue One, as well as the Mandalorian so far. And Jedi Fallen Order.