Remember Me… goddamn I forgot how much I love that episode!

Not sure if I even know what’s underrated or not, considering I’m not really active in any star trek communities these days, but I’ll just base these on how often I hear about them and if I’ve ever really had must discussion with them in the past.

TOS: I’ve always really loved the episode “The Conscience of the King” and I never hear anyone talking about it, really. I thought it was a decent mystery and, albeit maybe its because I was young when I first saw it, I didn’t really see the plot twist of who the killer was coming. I thought the acting from Shatner, Arnold Moss (Kudos), Bruce Hyde (Riley), and Barbara Anderson (Lenore) was very good. It pretty seriously tackled some dark shit as well. Massively ballsy move on Star Trek’s part to show a pretty nuanced look at the psychology of a dictator a mere 20 years after the end of WWII. I also think it’s so interesting to give Kirk that piece of backstory and I find it a shame that it was pretty much retconned by never being mentioned again (at least, never that I can recall)

TNG: The season 3 episode “The Survivors” is a favorite of mine that, again, I don’t hear talked about much. It’s very scifi, the idea that an omnipotent, Q-like being could fall for a mortal and what would happen if that mortal was killed and someone with that much power for revenge was given the reason to take it. I like that, in the end, Picard takes pity on him.

I also always really liked the episode “The Bonding.” As someone who not too long ago went through a period of grief, that episode does an excellent job exploring a lot of those feelings and how people with similar trauma can trauma bond. It also proves that Worf is actually the most shittiest person to have as a family member, considering he fights the entire episode to get Jeremy to be his brother and then we never see Jeremy again.

DS9: I always liked “A Man Alone.” There’s a lot of small gems in the earlier seasons that I feel get overlooked because the earlier seasons of most Star Trek shows are pretty rocky. But I think if I had to choose one, I’d say that one. It’s been a while since I did a DS9 rewatch, so I’m not gonna talk in depth… but yeah. I like that one. And never hear about it.

VOY: I can’t remember the name of it, but that one episode where Janeway “dies.” I know that episode tends to be a hit with people who ship Janeway and Chakotay, but even outside of that I always enjoyed that episode. Again, a very scifi plot. The edition of Janeway’s “Dad” showing up is pretty fun too.

Also, always loved the episode “The Raven.” However, I very well may be biased as Seven is one of my all-time favorite Trek characters and any episode that dives into her backstory is going to be a hit with me. That episode makes me weep though. Little Annika deserved better. Literally fuck her parents.

Oh! I wasn’t gonna list three for Voyager, but here we are. They keep popping into my brain. The episode (again, cannot remember the name) where they find Icheb’s family I always really enjoy when it comes along during my rewatches.

Enterprise and onward I’m less familiar with so I don’t feel I can really comment on them lol.

Removed by mod

I’m 27 and I run with the same metric! Lmao. I tried watching Star Trek: Beyond three times because people kept saying it was the better JJ film and all three times I fell asleep about a quarter of the way in so I just gave up.

RIP Matt-79, you would have hated Star Trek: Discovery lmao

I’m glad you mentioned here that a major issue for the last couple of season was writing and specifically of the companions. A lot of people blame the issues with the newer seasons on “wokeness” or the fact that there was a female doctor which I never agreed with. Jodie Whittaker is a fine actress, Ive seen her in more than one thing and she’s been phenomenal, so I’ll always defend her even if her run was not my favorite.

It was very much so the writing that was at issue and I think the writing hit the companions the hardest in my opinion. And that did not start with Chibnall. Clara got rebooted every single season she was in into a totally new character. To the point that I thought it was going to be part of her plotline but it didn’t end up that way. And then the companions in Thirteen’s run were just… not memorable. At least for me. I could not tell you a single character trait for any of them.

But, I am very pleased so far with what we’ve gotten from Fifteen’s run though. I enjoy Ruby Sunday quite a bit. She reminds me of Rose in Series One which isn’t a bad think and I enjoy that there’s a mystery surrounding her. I think having a singular companion is better than an entire “Tardis team” as much as I did love the Pond family, the true companion was always Amy, Rory and River were always a bit secondary. I think RTD is aware that the companion writing has been pretty lacking which is why he really is giving Ruby her time to shine. It’s refreshing. I’m glad he’s back.

My best suggestion is to just start with the 2005 reboot. Start with the Ninth Doctor. It was designed to be a starting place for new fans. And once you get into the show, it gets far less daunting. It’s highly bingable. It’s got that early 2000s flair of individual stories per episode, but with an overarching story just about every season that will pay off if you’re paying attention enough to pick up on the details. Nine’s run is short, but sweet. Then you move on to Ten, who I’m sure most people know as the fan favorite. His run is phenomenal and, although my favorite Doctor is Twelve and my favorite era is the Pond era (which is part of Eleven’s run) I have to say that Ten’s run is probably the best written.

If you’re interested in going back to watch the classic stuff, watching “NuWho” will get you prepped for it so don’t feel like you have to watch that first. Also, be aware that with Classic Who, you very much so can pick and choose what you want to watch. I’m not personally a huge fan of the First and Second Doctor’s eras, but I adore Three, Four, and Five so I have seen far more of their stories than I have the other Classic doctors.

It’s really up to you and your preferences, but that’s my best suggestion. I mean, anytime there’s a showrunner swap, the show kind of tends to get a minor reboot, so any of those times would be a decent one to jump in. But If you skip Nine and Ten and go straight to Eleven, you miss a lot of good storytelling. Same if you skip Eleven and Twelve and go straight for Thirteen. It’s worth watching it all. And then if you’re hungry for more, going back and checking out the classics.