They're all worth watching, if only so you can make your own decisions.
this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2025
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You won't get this meme but trust me it slaps
I'm guessing it's talking about non-canon/retconned works, huh?
When the show with the Black lady aired a lot of """longtime fans""" and YouTubers decreed that it was "not canon" because of XYZ...
Oh, this definitely includes Renegades 👌
People are saying that Renegdes is actually the only canonical Star Trek
Not totally right. Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, and Prodigy are all decent as well. TOS is also worth a watch with an episode list, and TAS has a few good ones as well.
Discovery, in my opinion, isn't as bad some say either. It's hardly peak Star Trek, but I've found I enjoy it sometimes. I also have to throw in obligatory Orville suggestion.
As others have set, Lower Decks is not the first show you should watch though - it's more enjoyable after watching everything. Also, both Lower Decks and Prodigy, I'd recommend watching through the first 10 or so episodes before making a judgement - the first few episodes aren't their best. Lower Decks is often funny and at least once a season (from season 2) puts out a masterpiece that belong with the best of Trek. I'd say the top/my favorite LD episodes are (in no particular order):
- S1 E8 "Veritas"
- S2 E5 "An Embarrassment of Dooplers" (I hate the Dooplers, but everything else about that episode is solid)
- S2 E9 "Wej Duj"
- S2 E10 "First Contact"
- S3 E1 "Grounded"
- S3 E5 "Reflections"
- S3 E6 "Hear All, Trust Nothing"
- S3 E8 "Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus"
- S3 E10 “The Stars At Night”
- S4 E4 "Something Borrowed, Something Green"
- S4 E6 "Parth Ferengi's Heart Palace"
- S4 E9 "The Inner Fight"
- S4 E10 "Old Friends, New Planets"
- S5 E2 "Shades of Green"
- S5 E4 "A Farewell to Farms"
- S5 E6 "Of Gods and Angles"
- S5 E7 "Fully Dilated" (I think there were some things I wish this episode did better, but I still enjofed it.)
- S5 E9 "Fissure Quest"
I don't suppose that (after everything else recommended here) I could just watch those individual episodes you named and skip the rest, huh? Haha. Also, to be fair, the friend who recommended those shows hasn't watched Lower Decks, I think, which does have a high Rotten Tomatoes rating. Thanks for sharing.
Some of the early episodes are important in my opinion but a little rough at times.
Once you hit season 2, there is rarely a bad episode - they're all at the very least funny, except for "A Mathematically Perfect Redemption", which is just the most brutal form of torture and an experiment in anti-storytelling. .
Always striking to me how many Star Trek fans are so dismissive of Star Trek. I know its of it's time, but TOS didn't take its place in history by accident. Wonderful storytelling, iconic characters - absolutely a must to watch, at least to try it out.
Voyager, by comparison, is pretty mid. The writing is super inconsistent and it absolutely squanders its own premise. Notable for Janeway, Seven, and the Doctor, but it's definitely rough going.
But it's still a good watch. The only ones I don't think I could enthusiastically recommend are TAS, Enterprise, and Picard.
Strange New Worlds is fantastic. Lower Decks is great too but you will appreciate a lot more if you watch some of the previous series.
Enterprise all the way.
It starts strong with lots human/vulcan conflict and then eases into 2 seasons of TNG-style adventures.
Season 3 is an imperfect masterpiece that ultimately delivers some incredible episodes. This is where Enterprise comes into its own.
Season 4 is more like a collection of 3-parters that sees the crew touch on all the lore they missed in the first 3 seasons. Satisfying but a different vibe.
Highlights include:
- Captain Archer feuding with Duras
- Dr Phlox improving every episode he appears
- Lt Reed vs Major Hayes
- Grapplers!
Low points include:
- Decontamination
- Archer/Tpol tension
- Cogenitor episode
- The finale
I particularly liked the way ENT spaced out its story arcs as a series of episodes which can stand alone but hit on a recurring conflict across multiple seasons, season 3 as the glaring exception.
Do you prefer story arcs or bottle episodes?
Optimistic or dark stories?
I know DS9 is considered the "dark stories" one, but it's still bursting with optimism compared with the majority of scifi out there.
I just go for thought-provoking. TNG S2 has been excellent for the most part (I've started with TNG).
Isn’t “thought provoking“ is kinda the whole point of sci-fi?
All 3 series have plenty of those, as well as their share of dud episodes. DS9 leans heavier into stories of war/colonialism. VOY is more about survival in desperate circumstances.
Isn’t “thought provoking“ is kinda the whole point of sci-fi?
Of good sci-fi. I heard ST:Picard missed the mark for many, for example.
I mean the original series. Yeah its dated but so great. I liked enterprise personally. I was turned off by discoveries first season but I stuck with it and liked the second one. Lower decks cartoon is hilarious. I have not watched any more seasons fo discovery or any other recent content though.
From the new(ish) Star Trek shows I really liked Lower Decks and mostly liked Strange New Worlds and the last season of Picard (you can watch that season on its own, especially if you’ve watched TNG).
I have mixed feelings about Enterprise, but would recommend it as well. It’s only 5 seasons, so …
TV has also changed a lot since the TNG-era, so if you like the vibe of those shows, I’d recommend checking out other sci-fi shows from that time.
All of that is highly subjective of course.
Lower Decks is great but best saved for last so you get all the references they drop.
TNG is a bit too slow-paced for me, but I understand that was sort of the culture at the time. Thankfully, for that we've got Jump Cutter, one of the best add-ons to grace browser stores.
I wouldn't say pale in comparison. Enterprise was really good in my opinion. Lower Decks and Prodigy too, these are a bit different, but have the same spirit I think.
I also rewatch The Original Series episodes every once in a while. The show as a whole is not really good by modern standards, but it has gems and it's interesting to see where it all began.
Every show except Discovery has a balance of great episodes, filler episodes, and bad episodes. Discovery was bad from A to Z.