The Star Trek Legacy...(take the poll!)
 

I can't believe this has not been a poll yet!

Personally, I love Star Trek. I was a closet Trekkie for most of my life (I am 32 and have NO idea what the diff is between a trekkie/trekker) and only recently walked out into the sunlight (Silence=Death!). I remember when my brother and I visited my dad on the weekends we would watch Star Trek on Channel 43 before coming home to Mom.


Which is your favorite Star Trek incarnation? Take the poll, damnit!

ROCKET MAN (interpreted by William Shatner)

The choice is obvious ;)

Hmm, interesting - since I was the first one to vote for my choice! :scratch2:

I have to go with The Next Generation, partly because I was born after TOS and was an adolescent when The Next Generation started. I think that in many ways the motion pictures that the original crew did during the 80s set the stage and tone for what would become The Next Generation. For example it was in The Search For Spock that we get our first look at what the Klingons will look like in The Next Generation. This second series was also very much stamped with Rodenberry's optimism for the future, since we see all kinds of technological progress that has been made since TOS. And likewise, all kinds of technological progress had been made in the field of television and cinema to allow the creators of the show to raise the bar considerably in their quest to present some compelling science fiction.

Agreed. ST:TNG simply rocked compared to all the other incarnations. I wish they'd rerun TNG in syndication. Make it so!
Last I recall, a "trekkie" was a name given with a slightly demeaning, look-down-your-nose-at-someone name. "Trekker" is considered more dignified.
Lt. Tom

I grew up with the original and even have a signed letter and pic from Leonard Nimoy mailed to me from Desilu Studios! But let's face it, The Next Generation had better writing and production values. It was my favorite by far.

It IS in syndication. Check Spike TV every day! They play 2 or 3 eps a day.

Dignified?! hmmm...it must be a Geek vs. Nerd thing!!

TNG for sure. It is one of the those shows that go with the question, "If you were stranded on a desert island...". It was the high water mark for the franchise. The last few seasons of Deep Space Nine also raised the bar and are very good.

You can actually catch TNG six times a day. Three episodes on Spike in the afternoon, two episodes on G4 in the evening and one more episode on G4 at midnight (central time).....it's a great time if you are a TNG fan.

The Next Generation is my choice as well. My wife and I like to watch
at least one episode a day on G4.

I agree that the production quality was much better on TNG, but I grew up with the origninal series and I liked the characters and the relationships that developed. My second favorite is Enterprise. It started out slow but after the first season the writing improved and the character developement did also. The thing I liked about TNG was not the effects so much as the introduction of the Borg. The 2 parter where Picard gets assimilated is a classic!

Never really followed any of the "followups". For me it was Jim, Spock, Bones and Scotty, and always will be.
I just find them much more interesting characters; the others never really floated my boat.

Rats. I keep thinking of maybe overnight instead of informercials, or, heaven forbid, in the evening instead of the usual ET/Insider/Seifeld/Jeopardy/Raymond 7 to 8pm rubbish on an over the air channel. I'm cable-free:cry:
Tom

Gotta say I love the original series most. Was a big TNG fan, and I think it still came closest of all the new shows to Roddernberrys idea of Star Trek, but there is something special about the original one.
Oh, and I wouldn't be a real trekkie if I did not point out that we saw the new Klingons first in ST:The Motion Picture, not Search for Spock. :)

Oh, and you are not a true trekkie, unless you check out the New Voyages:

http://www.newvoyages.com/

These are a bunch of trekkies who are actually producing season 4 of the original series. They are actually getting support from many of the original cast and crew, including DC Fontana, Walter (Chekov) Koenig, George (Sulu) Takei, etc. They even have a professional CGI guy doing the space shots for them, with MUCH higher quality than the original. The acting uniformly sucks, but they are fun to watch. Two episodes are done and more are on the way.

Hey, was the Klingon forehead-evolution ever explained?!?!?!!

I remember in one episode where they went back to the Trouble With Tribbles episode, Worf was asked about it and kinda said that was something that they did not discuss.

So, I'm the only fan of DS9? :D

I loved the original, but after "TNG" you'd go back & watch one, & it was incredible how "cheap 'n' nasty" a lot of 'em looked..And seems like a lot of the women on the original had a "trashy" look about 'em..."TNG" was very wooden & stilted at first when it came out, I thought...Took awhile to warm up to Picard...but after I did, I thought he was at least as good as Kirk...Better, in some ways...The original was very much a '60s show, w/everything that entails, just as "TNG" was an '80s show...Hell, I liked 'em both.-Sandy G.

Yeah, I had never even thought about it until that exchange. I wonder if any AK Star Trek nerds know the answer...perhaps it was discussed in a novelization?

I caught an Enterprise rerun (couldn't be bothered to catch very many episodes of it when it was running) that explained it. According to that series, Klingons always looked like TNG Klingons. However, the K military or whatever performed an experiment in genetic engineering using some of the data that created the group of engineered humans (Khan and cronies) that resulted in a deadly virus that dissolved the cranial ridges, etc and made the infected Klingons look like TOS Klingons. The doctor saved the day figuring out how to prevent the virus from being deadly, but only after millions had been infected and turned into TOS Klingons -- with the genes that would turn their children thus as well. Kind of nice that they fixed that little mystery.

Now, while TNG was a very nice re-envisioning of the Star Trek universe, there are only a few gems of episodes and a whole lot of -- again, stilted acting and rehashed stories. Watching the reruns on Spike TV is highly repetitious, most every episode is just a slight modification on the one before, it seems. Now, DS9 was the superior show (imo) towards the end. There was actual, in depth character development, and story lines that extended over a whole season and even across seasons. It was darker than the others, but I think it managed to improve the franchise. That is, ignoring the last couple of TNG movies that were rather disappointing (did we really need The Wrath of Khan remade with Picard? I don't think so.)

- JP

Exactly. And thats that with that.

The original is when I got hooked. TNG is a close second for me.

"Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra"

I completely agree. DS9 had twice the number of plotlines during any given episode. TNG was more of a "watch one episode" at a time show. With DS9, there were many episodes that you could find yourself lost in without seeing the ones which immediately preceeded it.

However, I still have to go with TNG for overall level of kickassification. Kickassification is a difficult thing to quantify, so don't ask me for the formula. Sorta like wpc's, but it takes bodysuits and deformed alien foreheads into consideration.

FUCK YEAH! Tanagra! That chubby alien dude was awesome! I think that episode was actually an allegory for the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Darmok and Jalad! Dude, you kill me. :thmbsp:

Darmok-His arms unfolded.... Darmok & Jalad at the Ocean...That was one of the most clever TV shows I ever saw...-Sandy G.

Most TNG fans I knew back then hated that episode. Here's more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darmok_(TNG_episode)

Don't forget to scroll down to the quotes section. Gotta love it.

The Jean-Luc Picard Song !!!

The Worf Song !!!

The Frame of Mind Song !!! (from that schizo Reicher episode)

I liked them all 'equaly'..the stage was set in a vision of the universe of the future and they all had certain reference points to go by.

They all had...

Star Fleet.....

Vulcans....

Basicly the same adversaries..ie..klingons, romulans, borg, the dominion..breen....but from different points of view in the universe...

Ship design...

Uniforms......there were different incarnations..but basicly the same...

And at times charactors from one series showed up in another.......and also in different places in time..



I recently got to see the last 5 episodes of Enterprise and they knew it all was coming to an end and tried to tie up a bunch of links and ideas that were never explained...especially the two part episode... 'In a Mirror, Darkly'..where Captain Archer, in the alternate universe, found the USS Defiant, Which was lost in the TOS epiosode 'The Tholian Web'.. and the final episode, which was done from the perspective of Riker when trying to come to terms with his conflict with himself during the Pegesus situation

Voyager made it back home with the help of Reg Barkley...and at the same time busted up the Borg situation pretty good.. (Captain Janeway was a Hottie!...but I like older women)

So to me it was all one big show...

Too bad it came to an end...

I enoyed Voyager the best because some of the characters interested me:Tom Paris-who was the substitute Tom Cruise/Han Solo,his love interest,engineer Torres,Seven of Nine(what a hottie,and I loved her cat fights with Torres),and the Vulcan,cant remember his name,but he was arrogant,even for a Vulcan.
Jimmy

I’m assuming you’re talking WUAB.
If so like their commercial said at the time.
“Channel 43 plays favorites” You could tune in
Superhost and catch a Godzilla flick while you’re at it.

Well,
I have to say, I own the Origional Series, TNG and the first 3 seasons of DS9. I love it all. But, I love science-fiction in general, because I also own the first 4 seasons of Babylon 5. Also own some Dr. Who, some MST3K, and a crap load of movies. And don't get me started on the books.
Anyway, love star trek. All of it.

I'm with you. Deep space 9 had the best plots and the most developed characters and by far the most and coolest aliens on the crew. Quark is one of the strongest characters the show ever had. What other Star Trek character could sneer: “you don’t have the lobes to do it”.

DS9 had political intrigue, like an occupied planet, two different alien hotties. (Kira would kick your ass and Jadzia would invite you to count her spots.) None of the other series had a resident shape shifter. There was more going on in a single episode of DS9 than any five episodes of the original or Enterprise. Besides it’s the only series that many of the scenes take place in a bar.

There, I’ve said it.

- Pete

No I like DS9, but then again I like all the Trek incarnations.

I would have to say that TOS is the best as it was the first. It was very daring for the time as it broached a lot of hot topics, but disguised them as allegories. The episode 'Arena' where Kirk fights the Gorn was predicting the Israeli settlement issue before Israeli had set up its first in the West Bank. Well not exactly, but you get my point.

It also predicted desktop computers, cell phones, cd rom, and stealth technology.

And I always love how the past saw the future. Whether its TOS, vintage Flash Gordon, or Art Deco, it was the way the people of the time thought the future was going to be. All predictions saw themselves as cutting edge, yet seem so innocent, if not archaic now. TOS was predicting the future yet looks so 1960s now with the velour shirts, surf riffs, and Checkov's mod haircut.

And those green babes were hot.

Anybody see "How William Shatner Changed the World" the other night? Think it was on Discovery, & it went into how much of the stuff they had on "TOS" has actually come to pass. And Shatner was the host, in his usual humble, modest, "aw shucks" style...I never know if Shatner is REALLY that impressed w/himself, or is he pulling our leg...-Sandy G.

I voted for next generation because i just love the increased complexity over the original Star Trek. Altough they are both awsome! I watched a bit od Deep Space 9 and loved the battles with the Dominion, and well the new Enterprise is just pure crap. No two ways about it in my opinion.

-Flo

Ok, as a serious treckie who has see envery episode of Start Treck ever (but never been to any convention, I am proud to say), I need to chime in here.

I partially agree with many of you: TNG was proabaly the best overall. However, you must sutract Seasons one an two from that, which were rather lame, in my opinion. That Leaves Seasons 3-6 as the best, and 1 & 2 (especially 1) as the worst.

A friend of mine called DS9 "Deep S**t Nine", and while I would not go that far, I really hated stupid soap-opera nature of the show. DS9 annoyed me by constantly focasing on the Cardasians, and Bjorans, who were both kind of lame, and annoying aliens IMO.

Voyager was proabaly the closest to the Original series. With the exception of Season 1, in which they constantly encounterd this one stupid alien, it was really quite good. And that show had one of the best Star Trek characters ever (second only to Spock IMO) Seven of Nine! :yes:

Enterprise was pretty good too, but I think that the name, and the stupid theme music killed it. They were trying to break away from the shackels of the Treck world a little too hard I think. But they still did pretty good job of it. It's too bad that it died a premature death. :tears:

Original all the way!

I remember watching the final Superhost episode! 43 could make a fiar killing by releasing a DVD of Superhost outtakes!

Still talkin' WUAB: "The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, watch the fun, it's here everyone! baseball with the Tribe...lookin' good, on Channel 43!"

I agree, however, I think that TNG was made to be sort of a pick-it-up-anytime series where DS9 was not. Just like TOS, TNG was written so you could go 6 years between episodes and still be in the loop. DS9 needed that thick plotline to keep viewers coming back week after week. I like a lot of the TNG stuff...although Season 1 is very tough for me to watch nowadays.

And Dr. Bashir was awesome in Syriana!!

For me TNG was/is teh besto. Picard's confrontations and assimilation by the borg were the stuff of legends. I grew up watching TNG with my parents, which puts me in a bit of an awkward spot with most peers my age (20). Most people my age have no recollection of Picard, the Borg, etc. I always get strange looks when I quote random TNG sayings :smoke: . I must say, however, that my favorite character in TNG was the Q. The cat and mouse games between Picard and Q were some of the highlights to the series in my oh so humble opinion.