New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017 • Hacker News Board

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#61

Post by ant6n » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 5:19 PM UTC

danso wrote: post #43

I was a big Trekkie when I was younger...but I'm surprised at how poorly the show has held up when rewatching on Netflix. I think what spoiled me was the revamped Battlestar Galactica. It's not the dated special effects that bother me, it's the way the utopia of Star Trek's future and technology began to provide way too many plot crutches. By the end of TNG, it seemed like every crisis resolution involved reversing t…

I feel with Netflix making watching episodes in order and re-watching shows much easier, DS9 is holding up pretty well. If you ignore some of the techno-bs and make a leap of faith on the religion stuff, the dialogue (while theatrical) is tight, the acting (besides the doctor) is pretty good, there's some suspense between the characters. The story evolves. Rewatching I especially like Quark, Garak, Odo - the characters that are not human and their different perspectives.

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#62

Post by aidenn0 » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 5:20 PM UTC

ramblerman wrote: post #31

alexbecker wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As long as they don't turn Star Trek into an action franchise Oh god, that would be tragic.

Well that's pretty much what the last movie was. That being said I thought it was quite good when you didn't think of it as 'star trek'

Yeah the two new movies were essentially action movies that captured the feel of the TOS characters.

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#63

Post by unixhero » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 5:21 PM UTC

jbob2000 wrote: post #29

I'm skeptical. TV shows in general have taken a turn for the worse lately, with the best series not even really airing on cable. Here's to hoping it's not just another cobbled-together excuse for showing you an ad every 10 minutes.

They have most definitely not. There's just a higher signal to noise ratio.

You have * Fargo * Boardwalk Empire * Mr Robot * Suits * True Detective

These are stellar shows with high production qualities.

There's generally no ads on web streaming during the show.

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#64

Post by csixty4 » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 5:21 PM UTC

maxerickson wrote: post #32

lghh wrote: post #10

I have always been interested in watching Star Trek, having watched some of Deep Space Nine with my dad and thinking it was okay when I was really young in addition to enjoying the new movies. I figure now is a good time seeing as this is coming out in a little over a year. Any suggestions as to what order I should watch it in or if I should avoid any of the series?

If you start with the first season of TNG and don't like it, perhaps check out a different season before giving up on it. They maybe hadn't quite found their footing yet.

A lot first season scripts were recycled TOS scripts or ideas for the abandoned "Star Trek Phase II" show. The later seasons' writing was geared more for the TNG characters & actors, which helped them feel more natural.

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#65

Post by bgilroy26 » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 5:21 PM UTC

lghh wrote: post #10

I have always been interested in watching Star Trek, having watched some of Deep Space Nine with my dad and thinking it was okay when I was really young in addition to enjoying the new movies. I figure now is a good time seeing as this is coming out in a little over a year. Any suggestions as to what order I should watch it in or if I should avoid any of the series?

For all of Star Trek, this is one discussion on the topic:

https://www.reddit.com/r/startrek/wiki/where_should_i_start

For DS9 in particular, this link was helpful for me:

https://www.reddit.com/r/DeepSpaceNine/comments/1fkijc/ive_m...

There are 3 episode lists in there and a user named Algernon_Asimov has a "Hmph!" comment with a link to detailed episode lists for TNG + DS9

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#66

Post by cwyers » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 5:21 PM UTC

drunken-serval wrote: post #5

thehodge wrote: post #2

Hopefully this will be a look forward beyond Voyager rather than going back again..

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with going for an alternate timeline and a modern take on starship design. As long as they don't turn Star Trek into an action franchise, I'm okay with it.

I've seen this said a lot, and I mean... the original Star Trek was a TV series in the late 60s, so in terms of what the effects were capable of on a TV budget and what standards and practices would allow, I think they were as action-oriented as they could be. The original run of Star Trek is filled with as many fistfights, space battles and fights to the death with the Vulcan Lirpa as the budget would allow. Trek was about much more than JUST action (Conscience Of The King is one of my favorite examples of this), but they did a lot of it.

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#67

Post by snerbles » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 5:23 PM UTC

oqnet wrote: post #22

lghh wrote: post #10

I have always been interested in watching Star Trek, having watched some of Deep Space Nine with my dad and thinking it was okay when I was really young in addition to enjoying the new movies. I figure now is a good time seeing as this is coming out in a little over a year. Any suggestions as to what order I should watch it in or if I should avoid any of the series?

DS9 needs to watched in sequential order, TOS doesn't, TNG to a certain extent should be watched in order, but doesn't have to be. Some major arch's rely on character points or what has happened with say the borg. Voyager and Enterprise aren't as sequential as DS9 but should be watched in order. There are a significant number of episodes in each you can drop from your watching order, but I couldn't tell you which one…

For the original series movies...

The Motion Picture (#1) is basically an elongated TOS episode. Doesn't really influence any of the other films. Some enjoy it, some find it dull.

The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home (#2-4) form a trilogy and must be watched in order.

The Final Frontier (#5)...I loved it when I was nine. Skippable otherwise.

The Undiscovered Country (#6) should be watched after #2 through #4. It and The Wrath of Khan are typically tied for the favorite Trek film.

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#68

Post by gknoy » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 5:23 PM UTC

aidenn0 wrote: post #57

lghh wrote: post #10

I have always been interested in watching Star Trek, having watched some of Deep Space Nine with my dad and thinking it was okay when I was really young in addition to enjoying the new movies. I figure now is a good time seeing as this is coming out in a little over a year. Any suggestions as to what order I should watch it in or if I should avoid any of the series?

The original series is probably worth watching all of, just because there aren't that many episodes, and a few of them are real gems; it also sets the stage for some other things that are worth watching. Read a summary of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (actually if you can, read a summary of a summary, the pacing of the movie is so ponderous). The even numbered movies are the best, but it's probably worth watching the…

There are lists of episodes that hit the "classic" ones, but the original series was remarkably suitable to binge-watching on Netflix, partly because there were few seasons. Many of the episodes are retellings of classic tales, some are downright lame or campy. However, the main characters' development is good. There are some interesting discussions of ethics and philosophy in there, as well.

There are certainly episodes that suck, but the better ones are things that you will find have informed our pop culture lexicon, and are referenced in many other things. Watch it for the characters, more than the individual shows, IMO.

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#69

Post by oldmanjay » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 5:25 PM UTC

yc1010 wrote: post #42

oldmanjay wrote: post #24

They'd better just blow out the stops, go like 4000 years in the future and start imagining some out there stuff. I don't need people in makeup and masks fondling iPads and acting all utopian cause Roddenberry said so.

They had the PADDs on star trek more than decades before tablets where released, yet another example of star trek being ahead of its time as for your "Utopian" comment, in the last few decades we have entered the era of plenty, the main problem encountered by startups we see here in HN is not that they are not innovative its that their products/services get drowned out in a sea of plenty Given a few hundred years and…

I'll grant them 15 years ahead of the iPad, but the show was supposed to be hundreds of years advanced.

My utopian thoughts aren't really around the economics. Star trek humans are all pure of motive and work to do the right thing in all circumstances, modulo plot-necessitated black hats. I'd prefer a bit more humanity there. Humans are far more complex than the black-and-white morality plays star trek tends to be.

If they make a show that has "wrath of Khan" level pathos to the characters, I'm in. If it's action schlock or morality plays, the star trek brand isn't enough to attract me, particularly if the technology alternates between "stupidly unreal" and banal.

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#70

Post by JoshTriplett » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 5:25 PM UTC

lghh wrote: post #10

I have always been interested in watching Star Trek, having watched some of Deep Space Nine with my dad and thinking it was okay when I was really young in addition to enjoying the new movies. I figure now is a good time seeing as this is coming out in a little over a year. Any suggestions as to what order I should watch it in or if I should avoid any of the series?

You can start almost anywhere; all of the continuities are self-contained. I personally find The Original Series hit-or-miss, but there are a few must-watch episodes; worth seeing, but don't let the quality of the "average" episode put you off from the franchise. Next Generation starts out rough but gets quite good later on; worth watching all the way through. DS9 is exceptional, particularly for marathon watching; it has more story arcs with continuity, and more long-term character development. Voyager is a bit more "anomaly of the week", but it has some particularly good episodes, and it's worth watching all the way through as well. Enterprise is...Enterprise; personally I skipped most of it.

For movies: see the Original Series movies Star Trek II, IV, and VI (watching the series first not required), see Generations once (watch some of TNG first), see First Contact (watch most of TNG first), see Insurrection (surprisingly good), skip Nemesis entirely.

If you have to pick one series to start with, I'd say either DS9 (as a marathon) or TNG. Note that you'll get a very different flavor from both; TNG presents a lovely idyllic future with occasional hiccups, while DS9 presents a darker and grittier 24th century, for better or worse.