Which Star Trek TV series is your favorite?

[nelms]

Larry's Star Trek auction thread got me thinking about all the different Star Trek TV series over the years. I was wondering what all the Star Trek fans out there would vote as their favorite one. Now, my guess is the vast majority will vote for the original series.

For me personally, my favorite is The Next Generation. I know that is blasphemy for real Trekkies and I would be hung high in the rafters of a Star Trek convention, but I just find TNG has richer characters and more interesting and complicated story lines. I'm sure some of that has to do with TNG being created 25 years after the original series. Here's my rankings:

1. TNG

2. Original

3. Voyager

4. Deep Space Nine

5. Animated Series

6. Enterprise

Yes, I rated the Star Trek cartoon above Enterprise. That was a pathetic attempt and they should be ashamed. Scott Bakula as a Star Trek captain? :doh: The only thing that series had going for it was smoking hot T'Pol.

[skinfan2k]

they all suck -

[nelms]

they all suck -

Thanks for that well thought out contribution.

[jrockster21]

OMFG -- I agree with nelms. Somebody shoot me.**

**that's just an expression, you trigger-happy looney bin.

[swaroopm]

OMFG -- I agree with nelms. Somebody shoot me.**

**that's just an expression, you trigger-happy looney bin.

Ditto. It's amazing how I can agree 100% with nelms on some subjects (love for the Redskins, "TNG" being the best Star Trek series) and disagree with him 100% on others (see other threads...). Well, credit to nelms for being right at least some of the time. Yeah, I thought the sophistication of the characters and story lines made the "TNG" series stand out from all the others. I think it was a good show even if you didn't get into the whole sci-fi thing (though obviously it's much better if you do appreciate the whole sci-fi thing). The original series was okay, of course, but I can't (and don't) even watch the other ones because they just seem like cheap versions of "TNG." Giving a series the same "Star Trek" name doesn't necessarily make it anywhere near as good as the original two series.

[CurseReversed]

Not only is STTNG the best star trek but it might just be the best show ever. I love watching it now at age 25 as much as i did when i was a youngster. Its so funny the looks I get when I tell friends that my favorite show ever is sttng, but I dont care I always bring it up even when its unsolicited. Personally I dont think people think about space enough, its big and bad and waiting for us. I only wish I could be alive when we do begin to actually explore the final frontier.

[Baculus]

I admit, I enjoy anything that is pretty much Star Trek related, right down to the ST mugs and figurines that are lurking about my computer area. (Oh man, did I let some geekiness let slip?) If I have to rate my favorite ST shows by order, I guess It'd go like this:

1. TNG

2. Original

3. Deep Space Nine

4. Enterprise

5. Voyager

6. Animated

It was tough choosing between TNG and TOS. Both are good, and though TNG was on-air for much longer then TOS, the TOS made up for it with classic sci-fi ideas and episodes. But TNG, with its longevity, character development, storylines, action, drama, humor, etc., it just had to be #1 for me.

It took me a while, but by the third season, I very much enjoyed DSN. O'Brien and Worf are two of my favorite ST characters, and it had some neat storylines and conflicts.

I was actually really starting to enjoy Enterprise before it was yanked in its fourth season. The last few episodes of the show were quite good, and I really liked the "alternative history" episode that they had near the end of the last season.

I never cared for Janeway in Voyager, so, though I was fond of many of the crew, her character and poor command decisions drove me nuts.

I actually do not remember too mcuh of the animated series since I probably last saw them in the 70's or so. But they weren't too bad, from what I can remember.

Nelms and I may not always agree about politics, but he has good taste in T.V. :-)

[Rumrunner6900]

Big fan of TNG. Got fond memories of watching that while my old man was grilling up some good food and then watching it while eating that good food!

[Baculus]

Not only is STTNG the best star trek but it might just be the best show ever. I love watching it now at age 25 as much as i did when i was a youngster. Its so funny the looks I get when I tell friends that my favorite show ever is sttng, but I dont care I always bring it up even when its unsolicited. Personally I dont think people think about space enough, its big and bad and waiting for us. I only wish I could be alive when we do begin to actually explore the final frontier.

I sometimes curse our primitive technological development. Yes, I do believe that we have made great advancements and I am not trying to knock any of our developments in science and technology. After all, the integrated circuitry on the computer that I am using is really quite marvelous. But after reading sci-fi for decades and watching shows such as ST, Babylon 5, and more recently, Stargate, I want us to be out there. *I* want to be out there, but it is frustrating that the best we can do, for a manned mission, is to reach our nearest orbiting satellite: the moon. That was a great mission...but I want FTL drive.

I want warp drive!

[CurseReversed]

Hopefully we will be around for the discovery of life on another planet. Whether it be in the form of long distance imagery from some of the sick new telescopes planned to be put in orbit in the next few decades, Or some small bacteria found underneath the ice on europa. Most likely these new telescopes being planned are going to be the closest we come to major space exploration in our lifetime.

[Larry]

I'm a TOS fan. The characters, granted, were often caracatures, but they were larger than life. They dealt with issues that were larger than life. (How many other shows have a star who's fought "God", twice? (And won both times.))

I'd put TNG second. I thought the characters were more rounded. And Picard definatly was not Kirk.

There were a lot of things I wish they'd done differently.

Kirk did a lot of seat-of-the-pants stunts. I really wanted to see a story line where Kirk was wrong.

In ST6 (the glasnost movie), the big plot hook was that someone on Enterprise was trying to kill the Klingon ambasador, in an attempt to start a war. Guess what: it was the new character who was brought in just for this one movie.

I wanted it to be Chekov. I wanted a big confrontation, with Kirk beaming over to the Klingon ship to try to stop the second attempt, and facing Chekov over a ticking bomb. I wanted Checkov to be surprised that Kirk isn't "in on it". I wanted Kirk to try to explain the importance of following the chain of command, even when you, personally, disagree with the orders.

(In fact, I wanted Kirk to come to the realization that, based on his previous career, even if Checkov is caught red-handed, even if he confesses, the Klingons will all assume that Kirk was behind it, anyway, and that the cowardly Kirk is simply sacrificing a subordinate. I wanted Kirk to realise that the only way there can be peace is if the Klingons think they've got justice, so Kirk confesses to a "crime" that was actually committed by his subordinate.)

I did think Enterprise actually had some nice characters. I was glad they had Reed, because I really thought Trek needed at least one character that wasn't popular. And I liked the role of Sato (even though the concept of a character who can translate non-human languages based on hearing 10 words was about as believable as Green Lantern's magic death-ray ring not being able to hit people wearing yellow clothes), because I liked the idea of an explorer who was nervous.

(And I liked the intrepid explorers returning from an alien planet, going to the sauna, getting nekid, and rubbing jello all over each other.)

I really liked their "explanation" for the cheese-grater-less Klingons.

[MSJHWT]

Apparently I'm the only one...but DS9 was definetly my favorite, with TNG being a close second, followed by TOS and Voyager vying for a third.

DS9 just captivated me, espically the two seasons of Dominion Wars.

[Rdskn4Lyf21]

I would have to say my top 3 are:

1. The Next Generation

2. Enterprise

3. Deep Space Nine

I enjoy em all though and its great that Spike TV and the Sci-Fi channel still play them daily....

[Riggo-toni]

While none of the others had characters as awesome as the original, its plots have become rather dated. I actually agree with Nelms order as well (as long as you leave out the awful 1st season of TNG), though I think I might put Enterprise above the cartoon series.

What really bums me out is there was talk about a show with Sulu as the Captain, inspired by the flashback episode of Voyager. That would've been great, but nooooo, they had to do Enterprise. :doh:

[Ghost of]

Apparently I'm the only one...but DS9 was definetly my favorite, with TNG being a close second, followed by TOS and Voyager vying for a third.

DS9 just captivated me, espically the two seasons of Dominion Wars.

Who didn't love the Dominion Wars? And not just that, but there were some excellent shows with other plots as well, later during the show's run. One I'm thinking of is when Jake as an older man comes back in time to save his father's life.

[nelms]

I must say I am a bit surprised that TNG is currently holding a 2 to 1 lead over the original series. I know there a lot of Star Trek "purists" out there that would disagree.

[nelms]

I sometimes curse our primitive technological development. Yes, I do believe that we have made great advancements and I am not trying to knock any of our developments in science and technology. After all, the integrated circuitry on the computer that I am using is really quite marvelous. But after reading sci-fi for decades and watching shows such as ST, Babylon 5, and more recently, Stargate, I want us to be out there. *I* want to be out there, but it is frustrating that the best we can do, for a manned mission, is to reach our nearest orbiting satellite: the moon. That was a great mission...but I want FTL drive.

I want warp drive!

Couldn't agree more. I always tell people that I was born 500 years too early. If you look at the technological advances that we have made in just the past 50 years, it's going to be absolutely amazing how far we're going to advance in the next 50 years. Technology builds upon itself, so I have no doubt whatsoever that we will one day visit other worlds that have intelligent life. It won't be in my lifetime, but I don't think it'll be as long as some think.

[DjTj]

I must say I am a bit surprised that TNG is currently holding a 2 to 1 lead over the original series. I know there a lot of Star Trek "purists" out there that would disagree.

It may have to do with age ... I grew up with TNG and the original series always felt a little bit dated to me. I think I would rank them:

1. TNG

2. DS9

3. The Original Series

4. Voyager

5. Enterprise

6. There was a cartoon?

...as far as the progress of technology, I feel like we're going to get cloaking devices, phasers, replicators, and even transporters before we get warp drive. That kind of stuff is a matter of engineering, but we're missing some basic science before we get to warp drive. We'll need a really smart physicist to figure out this whole space-time thing for us sometime in the next few decades. In the meantime, maybe the Space Shuttle will just bump into some helpful Vulcans, or we can wait for V'ger to return...

[aszumilo]

I'd have to say the Original was the best. Kirk got to sleep with hot alien women. I don't recall any other captains doing that.

Second would be TNG, but, only the episodes without that punk Wesley. He freaking annoyed me to no end.

[Bang]

Big Trek fan here.

TNG is very good, but in terms of action and excitement, it lagged behind the first series. Sometimes it was overly cerebral when a nice punch would do.

My favorite is the original, for one reason.

I think William Shatner is the greatest actor this world has ever seen.

OK, so maybe not, but he is DAMNED entertaining. The first series was fast, smart, and exciting and on top of all of that, you got to watch him totally ham it up.

Lately I've made the delightful discovery that the G4 network replays the old shows every night at 11, and TNG at 8.On the weekends they run the original series all afternoon.

I thought Deep Space nine was rather boring, and I didn't really care for Voyager either.. something about Janeway's voice gets right under my skin.

However, i would say that my all time favorite Trek character (other than Kirk) is Commander Worf.

~Bang

[DeanCollins]

Well, credit to nelms for being right at least some of the time. .

they say "a broken clock is right at least twice a day" :laugh:

of course I grew up watching the original series and voted accordingly, but watching the show today (especially the fight scenes) makes me laugh.

I rode in an elevator with Shatner in the Sheraton Washington Hotel, scared the crap out of me, I walked in and he and his wife (the one that died:paranoid: ) were fighting

[Burgold]

I'd have to say the Original was the best. Kirk got to sleep with hot alien women. I don't recall any other captains doing that.

Second would be TNG, but, only the episodes without that punk Wesley. He freaking annoyed me to no end.

I think Janeway slept with a lot of hot alien women. It was just done with a bit more subtly.

[nelms]

I think William Shatner is the greatest actor this world has ever seen.

OK, so maybe not, but he is DAMNED entertaining.

I would classify Shatner as one of the most "unique" actors of our time, in the mold of Christopher Walken. The Kirk character itself is definitely one of the greatest television and movie characters ever created.

, i would say that my all time favorite Trek character (other than Kirk) is Commander Worf.

One of my favorite characters outside of the main cast is Q. As an actor, you couldn't ask for a better character to play.

[Larry]

However, i would say that my all time favorite Trek character (other than Kirk) is Commander Worf.

~Bang

My favorite Worf scene is from the TNG episode The Dauphin.

Wesley is in love, and he's going to various officers to ask for romantic advice. One scene opens with Worf, screaming at the ceiling of the bridge.

Wesley dooks dubious: I should scream at her?

Worf: No. Men do not roar. Women roar. (looks wistfull, distant) And they claw at you. And they hurl heavy objects.

Wesley (still dubious): What does the man do?

Worf (Still gazing into space, wistfully): They read love poetry. (Shakes his head, comes back to "reality") They duck a lot.

Wesley, still dubious: I don't think that would work for me.

Worf (looks dismissive): Then go to her. Beg, like a human.

[mhd24]

1) TNG

2) DS9 (A close second)

3) Enterprise

4) Voyager

5) Original

TNG was the best because of the great conraderie and chemistry amongst the crew. There are just great episodes that provide a message as well.

My favorites:

1) Measure of a Man (When Data goes on trial to determine if he is a senient entity or property of starfleet. The first great episode of the series)

2) Cause and Effect (The episode where the enterprise is caught in a time loop where they are destroyed every 2 hours)

3) Yesterday's enterprise (An alternate reality where Tasha Yar lives)

4) Sins of the Father (GREAT episode where Warf defends his honor)

5) Clues (The enterprise must find out why Data is lying)

DS9:

1) In the Pale moonlight (Arguably the best episode of any star trek. Incredible acting chops displayed here and relevant to today's times. Sisko must decide to act immorally to help the war effort)

2) Favor the Bold/Sacrifice of Angels (Great 2 parter on the dominion war)

3) Dr. Bashir I presume? (Insight into Bashir's past)

4) Little Green Men: Fun episode on how Roswell really happened.

The one great Voyager episode was Timeless.

Enterprise really picked up in season 4. Shame UP9 didn't pick it up. With the change in producers, the writing and storytelling was on par with any of the other series.