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Star Trek

I watched DS9 a decade or so ago. It was underwhelming. Maybe in the 90s, when all the TV was episodic and mostly crap, any continuous story arc on a scifi show was considered amazing. But in the 2010s it just feels very poorly written. Babylon 5 on the other hand has aged pretty well in my opinion.
Might just not be your cup of tea. I've watched it probably three or four full times through since it was on TV and really enjoy it still. No, it isn't B5. At its best DS9 can fight with B5, but on average, B5 was better episode to episode as it was a full on arc and the plot line just flowed so well from resolution to conflict to resolution to conflict due to that resolution, whereas DS9 was a blending point between monster of the week or character development and major story arc, midway between TNG and B5. Season Seven was a bit awkward with Farrell leaving for Becker and felt like half a season stretched to a full one.
 
I hate to admit this, but I've only ever watched the original Star Trek series (along with the movies). I would really like to watch more, but where do I start? It seems like there are SO MANY SERIES that I don't know where to begin. Does anyone have a list?

Here in Seattle a digital broadcast station H&I(Heroes And Icons)I 6 daysa week broadcasts the entire series show by show. It starts at 8PM local time and ends at 2AM 6 days a week.

I think it streams online.

All the series have been running continuously for years.

A Trekie trivia question

Who was most responsible for the original ST series to actually make it to TV? Not who you might think.

Lucille Ball as head of Desilu studios. Desi Arnez + Lucille Ball Desilu. She took a chance
 
Surprised I didn't mention this before. For anyone who is a fan of the original Star Trek series, the movie Galaxy Quest is required watching!

It is about a group of actors who were on a popular sci-fi series long ago, but became type cast and can't get any real work anymore other than conventions and store openings. They get asked to come to what they think is another job, but is actual aliens. Ones who think the tv series was real, and have built a working replica of the ship, and need their help with some trouble they've run into.
 
Surprised I didn't mention this before. For anyone who is a fan of the original Star Trek series, the movie Galaxy Quest is required watching!

It is about a group of actors who were on a popular sci-fi series long ago, but became type cast and can't get any real work anymore other than conventions and store openings. They get asked to come to what they think is another job, but is actual aliens. Ones who think the tv series was real, and have built a working replica of the ship, and need their help with some trouble they've run into.
By Grabthar's Hammer, you are right!
 
Surprised I didn't mention this before. For anyone who is a fan of the original Star Trek series, the movie Galaxy Quest is required watching!

It is about a group of actors who were on a popular sci-fi series long ago, but became type cast and can't get any real work anymore other than conventions and store openings. They get asked to come to what they think is another job, but is actual aliens. Ones who think the tv series was real, and have built a working replica of the ship, and need their help with some trouble they've run into.
By Grabthar's Hammer, you are right!
Yup. Great movie.
 
I agree with what seems to be the growing consensus. Next Generation, followed by Deep Space 9 for sure. Strange New Worlds is excellent. Picard Season 1 was alright, while season 2 is the only series I didn't finish, and season 3 wasn't bad either.
 
Surprised I didn't mention this before. For anyone who is a fan of the original Star Trek series, the movie Galaxy Quest is required watching!

It is about a group of actors who were on a popular sci-fi series long ago, but became type cast and can't get any real work anymore other than conventions and store openings. They get asked to come to what they think is another job, but is actual aliens. Ones who think the tv series was real, and have built a working replica of the ship, and need their help with some trouble they've run into.
Alan Rickman is genius in this. Loved him since Die Hard.
 
Surprised I didn't mention this before. For anyone who is a fan of the original Star Trek series, the movie Galaxy Quest is required watching!

It is about a group of actors who were on a popular sci-fi series long ago, but became type cast and can't get any real work anymore other than conventions and store openings. They get asked to come to what they think is another job, but is actual aliens. Ones who think the tv series was real, and have built a working replica of the ship, and need their help with some trouble they've run into.
Alan Rickman is genius in this. Loved him since Die Hard.
Alan Rickman was one of the most underrated actors, despite his being very highly regarded. :)

Though to be fair, portraying an aging actor who is sick to death of the whole business, from his coworkers to his fans, and who just wants to sit quietly in a pub without being bothered by anyone, may well have been a role that he didn't need to work very hard at :D
 
Surprised I didn't mention this before. For anyone who is a fan of the original Star Trek series, the movie Galaxy Quest is required watching!

It is about a group of actors who were on a popular sci-fi series long ago, but became type cast and can't get any real work anymore other than conventions and store openings. They get asked to come to what they think is another job, but is actual aliens. Ones who think the tv series was real, and have built a working replica of the ship, and need their help with some trouble they've run into.
Alan Rickman is genius in this. Loved him since Die Hard.
Alan Rickman was one of the most underrated actors, despite his being very highly regarded. :)

Though to be fair, portraying an aging actor who is sick to death of the whole business, from his coworkers to his fans, and who just wants to sit quietly in a pub without being bothered by anyone, may well have been a role that he didn't need to work very hard at :D
Rickman had a savior faire essence on screen. He could act very well without saying a word. You think of Die Hard, and it is how long until he utters a word, but you already know a lot about the guy.
 
The new show is cliche and predictable. I lasted about 10 minutes when I watched it.
 
The one that I can get on free broadcast TV with an antenna. Wouldn't pay to watch any of it.

Never did like the character of Picard. Aloof, snooty, condescending, and arrogant. A pompous ass.

Janeway was always having to deal with crew disobeying orders, mot a god leader. Without 7 of 9 with a skin tight uniform and big tits and a push up bra STV would have tanked.

The original ST and STDS9 had characters with personalities. Kirk and Cisco were strong leaders. The writers for STDS9 did a very good jobs. Many distinct chatterers and multiple htread plots. The Bajoran mythology.

I watched 10 minutes of Strange New Worlds. Wooden characters. Uninteresting captain. Actors going through the motions and special effects.

The original Star Trek had plywood sets and good actors.

One thing I could never figure out is so far into the future why didn't thy have fireproof materials and allowed venting of gases into the air every time something went wrong.

Scifi in general is predicable. Most of the possibilities gave been used over and over.

I think the best overall was STDS9. The worse Voyager. STNG in the middle.

The original series managed to deal with hot social issues on broadcast TV, unheard of at the time. White Kirk kissing black Uhura at he time was highly controversial and risky.

A black woman in a major TV role itself was a big deal at the time. There are a lot of pluses for the orginl series as it evoved.

Ridenbury said his idea of Kirk intially was a 'red blodded American guy roamng the galaxy for a piece of ass', his words in an intervew. As he put it the dynamic bteween Spock, Kirk and Macoy evolved. Chekov was brought in to appeal to young people.

Like Wesley Crusher on STNG.

Rodebury was a writer. I have seen his wrting credits in old TV shows, even the old western Paladin.
 
One thing I could never figure out is so far into the future why didn't thy have fireproof materials and allowed venting of gases into the air every time something went wrong.

Scifi in general is predicable. Most of the possibilities gave been used over and over.
You're missing the entire point.

SciFi isn't about the future; It's about the present, and it's set in the future in order to get away with stuff that would cause trouble if you did it today - like Kirk kissing Uhura.

All of the ST variants explore current issues, in the safe space (pun intended) provided by SciFi.

The stories get told over and over because there are, fundamentally, very few stories people can tell, or want to hear. Whether the setting is the future, the present, or the past, is just colour, though setting stories in the present has some serious risks, as good stories typically highlight the failings of powerful people, institutions, or traditions.

The original series ST stories weren't particularly different from stories told by Shakespeare. Shakespeare himself set many of his stories in fantastical worlds, or in the past, in order to get away with saying stuff the authorities wouldn't tolerate if he were explicit about their relevance to contemporary events.

Star Trek is Horatio Hornblower, only set in the future rather than the past. Men on ships, exploring new horizons and having swashbuckling adventures.

The fundamentals are always the same no matter which genre you prefer; It's up to the viewer to decide whether they find the eighteenth century, or the twenty-first, or the twenty-fifth, more to their taste, but it's the same basic stew whether you prefer to eat it with potatoes, or with rice, or on its own.

Storytelling has always been this way.
 
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