Here’s The Ultimate Guide To Watching Star Trek
There's a lot of 'Star Trek' TV shows out there, and with the new 'Star Trek: Picard' joining their ranks, it's worth watching them in the best way.
So you want to watch Star Trek: Picard (of course you do!) but you are a wandering drifter, a mere space nomad searching for guidance in the form of, say, Whoopi Goldberg in a deeply impractical hat gently tending to your emotional wounds.
Whoopi awaits you on the Enterprise, and here’s your definitive guide to where you want to be beamed aboard.
Let’s begin with what is so wonderful about the Star Trek universe: It is philosophical, boldly political, sincere, and self-aware in its unabashed absurdity.
Beneath the ridiculous retro-futurist jumpsuits and bumpy prosthetics are a wealth of engaging, complex characters you’ll quickly adore — human, android, alien or otherwise. Its dramatic space capers, complete with poorly-explained and questionable science, set a backdrop for the heart of the show — healthy relationships, conflict resolution, and ever-relevant themes of progress, equality and most of all, hope.
Here’s the basics.
FAQ:
Do I need to watch the Star Trek series in order? Absolutely not, find your preferred vibe and dive in. There’s a Star Trek series for everyone.
Will I enjoy Star Trek? If you’ve got two eyes and a heart.
Can Lt. Commander Data fuck? This question is answered in The Next Generation S1E03, ‘The Naked Now’. And the answer is yes, he is fully functional.
Star Trek: The Original Series (1966 – 1969)
In a sentence: A crude, glittery and deeply enjoyable vision of the future.
Your Captain: James T. Kirk (William Shatner)
Gene Roddenberry’s original Star Trek, in all its campy glory, left an incredible pop culture legacy despite a mere 3 season run.
This is your introduction to the voyages of the Starship Enterprise and its crew, and you have probably heard of its 5-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations, and to boldly go where no man has gone before. Described by Roddenberry as a Space Western, imagine Star Trek as an exploration of new frontiers but if it were directed and costumed by John Waters.
It’s the year 2266 and everyone looks strangely like a handsome 1960s hunk or an Austin Powers babe. Despite its shortcomings in being a product of its (definitely problematic) time, Star Trek took an adventurously ludicrous concept and injected it with a sincere vision of a utopian future.
It’s by no means necessary as your first series to watch, but it’s essential as an understanding of Star Trek’s key themes and its early dream of a future free of poverty, disease, bigotry and suffering.
Available on Netflix Australia.
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987 – 1994)
In a sentence: Profoundly absurd, relentlessly hopeful and weirdly horny.
Your Captain: Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart)
I said there is a Star Trek series for everyone, and The Next Generation is absolutely the Star Trek for me. If, like me, nothing hits your heartstrings more than a sentient machine coming to terms with their own existence and emotion, Data is your guy. Belligerent and rude with a heart of gold? Worf has your back. A loving empath with terrible taste in men? Meet Deanna Troi.
TNG has charm in abundance, an engaging (and overwhelmingly attractive) cast that has evident chemistry, and thought-provoking storylines that push philosophical boundaries and tackle a wide range of social issues. They are also, very frequently, absurd beyond belief.
From Sherlock Holmes mysteries come alive on the holodeck, to time travel, to a sentient pile of black goo who just loves to murder, there is certainly never a dull moment. It’s very silly, but it is very, very good.
Available on Netflix Australia.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993 – 1999)
In a sentence: How you like your coffee — powerful, dark, complex, and just a little bitter.
Your Captain: Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks)
If you like your television a little darker and your storylines more linear and complex, DS9 takes Star Trek’s lighthearted nature and paints it with a little more drama and moral uncertainty. The series is set in a formerly Cardassian (species of huge jerks) space station instead of a ship, a stationary base guarding the opening of a stable wormhole.
Deep Space Nine leaves some of the absurdity behind, with a serialised plotline and more emotional complexity — and wonderfully formidable women/xenomorphs. The series takes a deeper dive into war, terrorism and planetary occupation, and the life and leadership challenges of its formidable captain, Sisko.
Available on Netflix Australia.
Star Trek: Voyager (1995 – 2001)
In a sentence: The future is female.
Your captain: Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew)
You have almost certainly seen the incredible Jeri Ryan in *that* skintight suit, but Voyager, and Seven of Nine, have so much more to offer. If you need more reason to watch than the stellar Kate Mulgrew in the captain’s chair of the USS Voyager, the series has an abundance of complex female leads who really drive the ship, figuratively and literally.
Unfortunately, Voyager’s narrative drive often falls short, with some rough patches in quality throughout its 7 seasons. It is not without its triumphs (I recommend heading straight to seasons 4-6) and there are some powerful episodes, but it’s probably for the uneasy Trek beginner.
Available on Netflix Australia.
Star Trek: Enterprise (2001 – 2005)
In a sentence: You don’t have to, really.
Your captain: Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula)
The first series chronologically, Enterprise takes the series back to a time before Kirk and Spock, and puts the cast in some really dull navy blue suits.
The premise takes on the early years of Starfleet, but does so in a fairly aimless manner, disappointing a large part of the Trek fanbase in the process. It’s not completely terrible or irredeemable, but it looks at the Star Trek universe through a modern lens and misses a lot of what makes it great.
Do not start here, and do not come for me if you’re an Enterprise superfan (do they exist?)
Available on Netflix Australia.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017 – Present)
In a sentence: A stellar cast and, hopefully, the start of something great.
Your Captain: Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs), Christopher Pike (Anson Mount)
Released to almost as much fanbase hostility as a Star Wars film (just kidding, not even close), Discovery is set 10 years before the original series and is not at all bashful in its political nature. It deviates from Trek canon and is not yet widely available to stream, two undeniably punishable crimes.
But with an incredibly talented and diverse cast at its helm, Discovery takes a few episodes to find its feet but once it does, it is really good. Oh, and have you seen Anson Mount? Discovery is a solid addition to the franchise that continues getting better, and is absolutely worth a watch.
Available on Netflix Australia.
Star Trek: Picard (2020 – Present)
Looks good!
Available on Amazon Prime Video
Lucy Valentine is a freelance writer, political satirist, podcast co-host and all-round Melbourne stereotype. She is extremely online and tweeting at @LucyXIV