Limited time offer. I have an upcoming trip and I’m looking for something to watch. Is Star Trek actually good, or only nostalgic? Should I just search for episode 1 and press play, or is there something I need to know first?
Limited time offer. I have an upcoming trip and I’m looking for something to watch. Is Star Trek actually good, or only nostalgic? Should I just search for episode 1 and press play, or is there something I need to know first?
Yes, it’s wonderful. Timeless. I didn’t watch it when I was a kid, I watched it for the first time more than a decade after it aired with no nostalgia, and loved it.
As most people would say, start with The Next Generation, at the beginning of season 3. There are good episodes in season 2, but there are also some really bad ones, whereas almost every episode in season 3, 4, and 5 are excellent. And, almost every episode is a self-contained story that doesn’t need over-arcing context. The only additional context you really need which comes up from before season 3 is that there was a security officer before Warf who was awkwardly killed off in season 1 named Tasha Yar, and she does come up. Otherwise, just jump in there.
Go in expecting thoughtful sci-fi and not action schlock and you’re good. Just be braced for goofy early-90s make-up, action, sets and special effects. The writing and acting is what really makes it timeless.
As a kind of counter-argument against watching it, Star Trek (disregarding the lurid garbage that is the modern stuff) is a setting which has a positive and hopeful view of humanity in the future; it’s a post-scarcity humanity which has conquered starvation, homelessness, greed, racism, no longer wars with itself, has no use for money, and values personal and societal growth and exploration above all else. So, for me, it’s actually pretty depressing to watch at times, seeing a portrayal of what humanity could be and comparing it to the roaring trash-fire that our society is today.