Of the 5 Trek series made so far, (the original series, TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise), which are your two personal favorite ones and please say why they are.
Posted by Irishman (Member # 1188) on :
TOS, because, as hokey as it is looking back now, without it we wouldn't have had the others.
Enterprise, because it shows how new interstellar life was for humans, and updates the tech without making it look overpowered by TOS standards.
Posted by Futurama Guy (Member # 968) on :
You had to clarify what the 5 were?
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
TAS would be six.....
TOS, the original is this case is among the best....
TNG, I really enjoyed most of the eps.
I also liked the concept of VOY, and DS9 would come in as third, leaving VOY and ENT as a tied 4th.
ENT would be better ha they not 'updated' the equipment..... It just doesn't seem to sit right...
Posted by Manticore (Member # 1227) on :
DS9 ranks as my favorite, followed by ENT.
TNG IMO has a lot of boring stories while at least the 3rd season of ENT is rarely boring, and the character's are far more interesting too. Haven't seen enough of VOY for an opinion. TOS is good but uneven.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
IMHO, Voyager and Enterprise both lack something I can't really describe. They just don't have character. Especially Voyager with it's sterile hospital look. Enterprise is better, but they haven't found a real balance yet, IMO. The naive exploring was too soft, but this war might be a bit too harsh. And Archer's fluctuating morals really irk me.
I'd like to say TOS is one of the best, but I haven't seen most of it. I've only seen season one and barely half of season 2, and that was a few years ago.
DS9 was my favorite (yeah I know.. cliche). I'm currently watching the DVD boxes front-to-back (haven't done that with TNG), but I've had a hard time getting into Season 4. Perhaps introducing Worf and the Klingons was one of the few mistakes of DS9.
Later season TNG was good too. Possibly the best crew of any series. But the first seasons in particular have aged noticably. It really shows they were still finding their way.
So, uhm, DS9-TNG-ENT-VOY for me. TOS will be judged when it finally comes out on R2 DVD later this year.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
While "which one is your favorite" topics annoy me, I'll just throw in this: The only reason Voyager is on the bottom of my list is because it had such promising beginings and unlimited potential. And they did very little with it.
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
There are many good shows and many cool shows, but in my experience the really fine ones are the ones that can make you cry, at least once.
TNG did it, in the episode where Picard lives a whole life in his dreams, after an ancient probe had made contact with him. Picard mourning his "wife's" death struggle and that flute play in the end gets me every time.
Voyager also made me misty once, in the episode where the Doctor meets a race that has a museum dedicated to the terrible crimes of the once-visiting ship USS Voyager. At last the camera pans out and we hear that the doctor really had helped the people keep their illusion of an "evil" Voyager, so that their two population-groups might make peace, than had promptly left to find Earth on his own. It was just so damn nice, I couldn't help it.
DS9 of course had "What You Leave Behind", that was a great sorrow as well.
I think even Babylon 5 had a really good drama episode, something with Mollari I think. Some sacrifice or something. Very subtle, tasteful. Hmm.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
"...something with Mollari I think. Some sacrifice or something."
Well, that's B5 in two sentences. B)
Posted by deadcujo (Member # 13) on :
I hate Star Trek.
Posted by StarCruiser (Member # 979) on :
"Star Trek" first, then probably DS9 with TNG coming in close. Enterprise and Voyager just don't cut the mustard...
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
TNG. That show actually defined Science Fiction. Top notch cast with very good episodes, especially in seasons 5-7.
Next up is DS9. A nice change of pace with a decent crew and a kickass ship and station. With good episodes to boot. I just watched Duet on the local TV station here, I just remembered how good that episode was.
Posted by MarianLH (Member # 1102) on :
quote:Originally posted by Saltah'na:
TNG. That show actually defined Science Fiction. Top notch cast with very good episodes, especially in seasons 5-7.
Did you mean to say, "that show actually defined modern science fiction television," or are you just on crack? Hugo Gernsbach may have a claim to defining science fiction. Maybe Jules Verne. But nobody on this side of WWII, that's for sure.
Marian
PS: My money's on Gernsback. He didn't invent science fiction (although he did invent the term), but he did more to define it, and earlier, than anyone else I can think of. And he is also the (inadvertant) godfather of science fiction fandom, although some might consider that a wash, all things considered. Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
DS9. "Emissary" was my official introduction to the Star Trek universe.
TNG. Fuelled my passion for Star Trek.
These two shows had heart, originality, good stories, good sci-fi, great drama, brilliant characters and allowed you to escape yourself for a while.
VOY was good but it just fell short, Enterprise is Getting Better and TOS is BRILLIANT but I feel distant from it - it would come a close third.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
And good episodes includes season 7? I know "Parallels" and "The Pegasus" were good, but apart from that? Seasons 4 and 3 beat it.
And why are we listing our two top Trek shows? Why not three? Or one?
Posted by MirrorCaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
THERE IS AN ANIMATED SERIES THAT YOU ALL MUST'VE ACCIDENTALLY FORGOTTEN TO MENTION
Posted by Ace (Member # 389) on :
"And why are we listing our two top Trek shows? Why not three? Or one?"
Because 2 is the only even, prime number, obviously.
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
NUMBER ONE: STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, STARRING AVERY BROOKS AS CAPTAIN SISKO AND ARMIN SHIMMERMAN AS QUARK THE FERENGI BARKEEP.
REASON: THERE WAS NOT MUCH TO LEAVE ME DOUBTING IT'S DEEPNESS OR THE SPACE IN WHICH IT WAS. AND THAT THERE WERE NINE OF THEM BEGOGGLED THE MIND SENSES.
NUMBER TWO: STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, FEATURING THE DIRECTOR OF THE UPCOMING 'THE THUNDERBIRDS', THE INCOMPARABLE JONATHAN "ALIEN AUTOPSY: FACT OR FICTION - THIS SUNDAY ON FOX" FRAKES.
REASON: I REMEMBER WATCHING THIS AFTER MY SUNDAY NIGHT BATHS ON THE LOCAL TELEVISION CHANNEL.
Posted by MirrorCaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
I look back on those old years, the wild pixie stick parties, the time spent hiding within cupboards and beating my younger brother about the head and neck with a kabob, and I ask myself, what could make this travesty all right? What one, shining moment of redemption exists, if any, in all those wasted days. The army men burned, the dolls we stole from little girls, molested and fondled the peach colored plastic, but it would give up no information on those mysterious genitalia we knew nothing of. Then, I remember. Spock. Data. Whoopi Goldberg. Clint Howard as Balok. Mark Lenard played everyone. Brannon Braga was a baby, learning to write as we watched the scifi drama which was written by people he was probably getting coffee for. Dexter Remmick's head exploding. William Shatner refused to damage a $15 piece of styrofoam on a $45 dollar piece of Gorn-shaped rubber, and thus was saved from the skinny blond faggy dude vaporizing him with his gay voice. I had a little book which listed quite clearly the disposition NCC-1017, NCC-1371, NCC-1701-D, NCC-1305-E, NX-2000 and so on and so forth. I wondered why Gene went on so much about Ilia's hard-tipped breasts in the novel version but didn't put them in the movie, which I listened to over and over again to decipher the NCC numbers that chick was spouting, and The Entropy Effect novel, Sulu fucking the shit out of Mandala Flynn before I knew what a fucking the shit out of someone was.
I was a TOS-TNG trekkie. Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"THERE IS AN ANIMATED SERIES THAT YOU ALL MUST'VE ACCIDENTALLY FORGOTTEN TO MENTION"
Well, except Ritten.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Sulu shagged someone in The Entropy Effect? I missed that.
Of course, I was about 10 when I read it. And I have no idea today what actually happened in it. Was it extremely badly written?
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
Do you really have to ask that?
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
MIKE AND MAGNUS: SEPARATED AT BIRTH
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Nim: The Inner Light always makes me cry too. So does The Visitor (DS9). I called my parents after I saw that for the first time my sophomore year in college.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by PsyLiam: And good episodes includes season 7? I know "Parallels" and "The Pegasus" were good, but apart from that? Seasons 4 and 3 beat it.
And why are we listing our two top Trek shows? Why not three? Or one?
Well if we are going to rate seasons...
TNG: Season 6 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 7 Season 2 Season 1
DS9: Season 6 Season 5 Season 3 Season 4 Season 2 Season 1 Season 7
Voyager:
Season 4 Season 1 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 Season 2 Season 3
TOS:
Season 2 Season 1 Season 3
Enterprise:
Season 3 Season 2 Season 1
Movies:
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Star Trek: First Contact Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Star Trek III: The Search For Spock Star Trek: Generations Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Star Trek: The Motion Picture Star Trek: Insurrection Star Trek: Nemesis
Babylon 5
Season 3 Season 2 Season 4 Season 1 Season 5
Stargate-SG1
Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 2 Season 1 Season 7 Season 6
The X-Files
Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 1 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 Season 8 Season 9
Earth: Final Conflict
Season 1
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by Aban Rune: Nim: The Inner Light always makes me cry too. So does The Visitor (DS9). I called my parents after I saw that for the first time my sophomore year in college.
I really cried after seeing The Visitor.
I can't just sit down and watch that episode again - it would have to be a very special time.
The BEST hour of Star Trek, nay television, ever broadcast.
The Inner Light is beautiful too. One of TNG's and Trek's best. *THAT* should have one an Emmy.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
DS9 tops my list: Trek had finally matured past TNG's endless stories about "the main three" and established a huge ensamble cast of believable characters played by truly great actors.
Next is Enterprise. It's been consistantly good, developing solid characters and -in season three- reaching real greatness in drama and (something rare to trek) desperation.
Third is TNG: when it's great, it's really great. It set the standard that all Trek would be compared to ever after. Buuuut...when it sucked, it sucked harder than even the most cheesy episode of TOS.
Fourth is Voyager: as Aban put it, Unlimited potential....wasted. Several really good episodes and a handful of great episodes.
Fifth is TOS. Groundbreaking for it's time and still (in many cases) fun to watch after 30 odd years....but the bright colors hurt my brain and I've seen even the really bad episodes so often that I could do without ever seeing the show again.
Annnnd lastly, TAS. As in, I'd rather be buried naked in a mound of angry fire-ants while Tom Jones sings his own "special" renditions of The Offspring's greatest hits than watch the run of this horrid cartoon from start to finish.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
"Next is Enterprise. It's been consistantly good."
For what otherworldly definition of consistent is that true?
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
I think Jason touched on something there... Voyager had no desperation. That was the premise of the show, but it never delivered. We got a handful of really bad times in episodes like... oh... what was the one with the Krenim? Where the ship was in shambles and they didn't know how in the hell they were going to make it. "Year of Hell". That's it.
But Voyager needed to be alot more like the experience of the Equinox. I could've even done with some gaps of several months or years where some really bad crap happened. Heaven forbid we pick the show up after a gap of 3 years and have to be introduced to some new characters and a ship that had changed. Would've left some good material for a movie too.
But then... we couldn't have a series like that, where people had to deal with a truly bad situation week after week. I'm not saying that there couldn't be good times. But the series was ALWAYS relatively good times. The first and second season came close to showing what a truly screwed position they were in. After that, it was a non-issue.
Posted by Irishman (Member # 1188) on :
TNG is not real Trek. The premise of the show was a stationary spacebase, where everyone trekked to them. Booooooooring. I honestly think they probably pitched it as "Star Trek meets Babylon 5". The introduction of the Defiant late on was the only thing that saved this otherwise trash show.
TAS? Star Trek as a cartoon taken seriously??? C'mon people. Jeez.
Posted by Irishman (Member # 1188) on :
I meant DS9, not TNG..oops
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
You can edit your posts, you know.
And your opinion of DS9 is just SO 1993.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Lots of things could be done well as animated series, Star Trek most definitely included. I'm not saying that TAS did it well, but it certainly *could* be done well. And taken seriously.
We're all aware of the premise of DS9 and I never had a problem with it. The political issues they got into on Bajor were great. The addition of the Dominion as an enemy in the Gamma Quad was a good idea. And, yes, so was the Defiant.
DS9 was different than other Trek series, yes, but it didn't make it bad.
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
"The Visitor", was that the one with Tony Todd? If it is, I've only seen it the one time, and on TV at that, but man, what a mindjob. Watching your son die for you, I couldn't even begin to discuss it. I had no idea Todd had it in him. He deserves more roles like that.
Man I gotta stop talking about this now, I'm a mess. How am I supposed to play "HALO" when I'm like this?!
*Red Team has taken the Flag* SargeNim: "Why can't we all just get along???" *sniff* NE0-Fr4663R: "Whut R U gay, fag?" *lobs grenade* *BOOM!* SargeNim: "Aargh!! I'm dying for your sins... This world is black. Black like the ace of spades!!" *SargeNim banned by admin* Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
You just need to watch "Siege of AR-Whatever" to get you back in the mood to kill.
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
Nonono, "Rascals". If I could get my hands on that young Picard, with that forward-leaning, stunted zombie-walk of his, I'd be a happy camper.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"[DS9] is not real Trek. The premise of the show was a stationary spacebase, where everyone trekked to them."
The early-'90s equivalent of "I WANT A POST VOY SERIES STAR TREK ORIGINAL MESSAGE WAS LOOKING FORWARD NOT LOOKING BACK.".
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
Tim = ONE MILLION
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
POUNDS
Sorry.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
OF STUDLINESS.
Nyah.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Bitch.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
One million pounds of studliness would be pretty terrifying.
And wasn't it "LOOKING FORWARD NOT BACK", not "LOOKING FORWARD NOT LOOKING BACK"?
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
I looked up the original post and copied-and-pasted. So, no.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Tim fucks fat things??
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
No, Tim actually fucks fat. He's got a bacon grease fetish.
Posted by MrNeutron (Member # 524) on :
quote:Originally posted by Jason Abbadon: No, Tim actually fucks fat. He's got a bacon grease fetish.
F A C T not fat. Ya sillies...
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
You saying we are lack facts about Tim's fact fucking fixation?
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
We aren't lack facts about Tim's fixation, however, you am become too concerned with it.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Me am tired: need beer, possibly sex.
Wait....you mock Bizarro!?!
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
I'm not aware of a Bizarro-strip that uses the words I did.
I like Bizarro. "My foot's asleep. -You're lucky, my foot's a jeep."
There, that's as far as I'll get this thread off-topic. Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Bizarro often uses "you am" or "me am" instead of "you are" or "I am". Thus the refrence.
I wonder if Thread Hijacking is covered in the Patriot Act? Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
I R not certain coz I R knows nothing
Posted by Futurama Guy (Member # 968) on :
Me always knew you am weasel.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
If only we had a Flarite named "Lois", this could drag on for days...
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
I'm tempted to do a Mojo-Jojo style voice for an entire post, but that would require far too much effort.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
I imagine you really sound that way anyway, if that helps.
Should'nt you be slaving somewhere around word 8,000 at this point?
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Liam has finished his dissertation that he was writing. He is no longer slaving on it because his dissertation that is finished has been written. There is only one dissertation, and one is the number of dissertations. Liam's dissertation is the only dissertation, and since he has finished it, he can not be slaving on a dissertation that he has already written. Keep up.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
You sound like John Cleese.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
When did John Cleese ever sound like that?
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"You sound like John Cleese."
Or Michael Palin, maybe?
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
This is decidedly not what I was going for, no.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
Think of a John Cleese in the Parrot Sketch. Or the Brontosaur Theory.
Posted by MrNeutron (Member # 524) on :
Sounded like Mojo Jojo to me.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
MrNeutron = ONE MILLION
Posted by Sea Tyger (Member # 1313) on :
Star Trek will always be my favorite, partially because that's what I grew up on, but mostly because it captured my imagination. I spent many summers glued to the TV every weekday afternoon, watching Trek reruns. I never tired of it. I focused on math and science because of my fascination with the show.
I saw ST II-VI in first run, and have watched them on VHS and DVD so many times I've lost count. The original crew can never be replaced.
Of course, I'm also a huge fan of Star Trek: Enterprise, because I feel it captures the almost-childlike excitement of space. Sure, it's had it's ups and downs (like every single series), but the show is really coming into it's own and I'm having a blast with every episode. I like it, and I look forward to seeing it every week.
Of the rest, I rate DS9 higher than the others, most because TNG became too "high minded" and "superior." I got tired of the overly-PC feel to the show, although TNG produced some fantastic episodes. Voyager, as someone else said, had a lot of potential but never really used it, and I eventually stopped watching the show regularly.
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
I'll preface this by saying that each and every one of the SIX series and the films have had their moments, and none of them are entirely without merit. I love Star Trek, period.
In response to the direct question asked by the poster, I say that my favorite was DS9 because of the interesting character development and plot arcs and the original premise, and ENT is my second favorite for similar reasons. The fact that both of them have made great strides in binging a more "edgy" feel to Trek probably contributes as well.
TOS was a great and groundbreaking show, and comes in a close third. Though in many respects it is quite dated, IMHO it has held up commendably and is very much enjoyed by me.
The Animated Adventures, which I hope were not mentioned by the poster merely because he is of the opinion that they are part of the same series as TOS, are equal to their live-action predecessors on pretty much all levels. Some were forgettable, but overall they were very enjoyable.
I always found TNG to be somewhat tepid, but I admittedly haven't seen all of it, and what I have seen I haven't seen for a while. (Say that five times fast. )
As for VGR, I didn't watch the first couple of seasons because at the time they aired I was in a non-Trek phase. So my comments can only be based on the latter ones, which I'm sure had their moments, though I can't say I remember them...
-MMoM Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"The Animated Adventures, which I hope were not mentioned by the poster merely because he is of the opinion that they are part of the same series as TOS..."
Hopefully, he is a she, with a name like "Cristina".
And it's hard to judge her motives, considering that the full extent of her activity at Flare has been to make a single post surveying posters' tastes in science fiction, to disappear for four months, and then to make another single post making a similar survey restricted to Trek.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
"And it's hard to judge her motives..."
The same as his/her/its motives, I'd say.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim: The Animated Adventures, which I hope were not mentioned by the poster merely because he is of the opinion that they are part of the same series as TOS, are equal to their live-action predecessors on pretty much all levels.
Constantly repeating that statement will not make it any more true.
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
Quiet, you.
Frigging stand-up comedian.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Oooh, the nostalga.
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
You mean nostalgia, Sir, surely.
Posted by CM (Member # 1202) on :
Sorry I didn't reply myself, but if I'm going to get flamed for not, I will. For me the best Trek series is the original series, as it was the birth of a tyoe of fandom never seen before and that still lives on, but not as much. The original show may look very dated now and has been overshadowed by the other Trek spin-offs, but it still has a �magic� that the clones haven't been able to copy.
The next two best ones are Next Gen and DS9. They both depict a more realistic view of what our future in space could be and include the relationship dynamics, as well as including family in other locations from Earth, to other ships. They also explored the possibility of interracial and interspecies relationships.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Why would you get flamed? People are just confused as to why you seem to be going around creating polls, that's all.
I am slightly confused by the statement that TNG and DS9 "explored the possibility of interracial...relationships". Because, y'know, black and white people getting it on isn't some sort of crazy sci-fi idea.
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
Hmm, as both klingon-trill, klingon-human and klingon-romulan offspring is viable, the alpha and beta quadrant races seem too compatible to be different species.
Or did you mean Kira and Odo? That would be interesting. Odo could be the perfect tentacle demon...
Speaking of decency, wasn't there a TNG-episode where Cardassians, Klingons, Romulans and Humans chased some sort of hidden message left behind from an ancestor race?
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
"The Chase"
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Not to mention that TOS explored interracial relationships. Y'know, what with it featuring the first-ever interracial kiss on television, fake though it may have been.
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
Indeed, Shatner wore lip prosthetics, so his family wouldn't disown him and nullify his Bar Mitzvah.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nim the Fanciful: Hmm, as both klingon-trill, klingon-human and klingon-romulan offspring is viable, the alpha and beta quadrant races seem too compatible to be different species.
Although I don't want to go down the really tiring "they are not different species because they can produce viable offspring" route, I should point out that TOS did the interspecies thing before everyone else. Or did you not notice Spock back there?
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
What, you mean btw him and Nurse What's-her-face? During his Pon Farr? That wasn't exactly hot steaming alien sex, like with Worf/Jadzia.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
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