There is now 880 episodes of Star Trek and 13 movies

[payn]

Season 3 Picard really hits you in the feels. just ignore the first 2 seasons and tune in for this one.

I think Strange New Worlds is the best new Trek, its both brings back Nostalgia for TOS but with a fresh energy and a cool style all its own.

And of course I have to give a mention to the Orville as the "best nonTrek Trek". What started out as "Trek with fart jokes" turned into some of the best science fiction episodes I have ever seen.

I don't get the Orville, I found it unwatchable.

 

[AnotherGuy]

Season 3 Picard really hits you in the feels. just ignore the first 2 seasons and tune in for this one.

True. Raffi's character was unnecessary for the entire season - they could have just had Warf showing up on the screen with Ryker + Picard and then having him beamed on board.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Nothing has really captured me like DS9 since, but yeah ST is on a tear.

Same.

DS9 was absolute magic, balancing the utopian vision and ideals of TNG with a much stronger focus on the humanity of its characters and the location-based format together with the strong continuity and early use of arcs on an episodic show just worked incredibly well in the Trek universe - not something I think many people would have predicted.

I think Strange New Worlds is the best new Trek, its both brings back Nostalgia for TOS but with a fresh energy and a cool style all its own.

As someone who was never nostalgic for TOS (I barely saw it before TNG, I think I saw a couple of episodes and thought it was like, worse than Doctor Who so ignored it until TNG - I did watch and enjoy it later, but not until after most/all of TNG), I think SNW is just incredible. It's literally unheard-of for a Trek season to hit it out of the park in S1, but SNW absolutely has. The cast is particularly good - just charismatic actors all round - very much like TOS/DS9 in that regard (TNG's actors took longer to grow on you, and most of Disco, VOY and ENT's never did, imho).

I don't get the Orville, I found it unwatchable.

The first season is pretty close to unwatchable, at least the first few episodes. I only stuck with it because it was the pandemic and I was playing WoW or something at the same time as half-watching on another screen. By the end of S3 it's better than almost any Star Trek. Which is just a bizarre and insane-seeming thing to say. I just wish they didn't keep doing the weird very 20th (not 21st) century pop-culture refs and bad jokes though. They cut them down massively by S3 though.

 

[payn]

Same.

DS9 was absolute magic, balancing the utopian vision and ideals of TNG with a much stronger focus on the humanity of its characters and the location-based format together with the strong continuity and early use of arcs on an episodic show just worked incredibly well in the Trek universe - not something I think many people would have predicted.

Its true. DS9 balanced the secular Fed officer with the religious believer. The Fed security specialist with the provisional investigator. The Fed's ideal united utopia against the harsh entropy of the Alpha quadrant and later the fascism of the Gamma. I like to view all Trek before DS9 as the universe through the Federation's eyes and Ds9 as the Federation through the universe's eyes.

Another important note is how often DS9 explored ideas of race, sex, class without being chastised for it. There are some excellent stories and episodes that we haven't seen quite like since in Trek.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I like to view all Trek before DS9 as the universe through the Federation's eyes and Ds9 as the Federation through the universe's eyes.

Never heard it better put!

Another important note is how often DS9 explored ideas of race, sex, class without being chastised for it. There are some excellent stories and episodes that we haven't seen quite like since in Trek.

Part of it I think was also because, as a space station where all these very different cultures were meeting (rather than a Federation vessel), and where people were just living their lives (rather than serving as officers/crew on a quasi-military mission), there was a strong "All of life is here!" vibe to DS9 which made it easier to explore those sort of diverse stories.

Another part was honestly that they got pretty lucky (?) with the writer's room in that they got a lot of very open-minded and thoughtful/daring writers. Cultural conditions influenced it too, of course - this was before 9/11 and before the culture wars, but I think they just got away with a lot of stuff because they were doing good enough ratings-wise and network oversight was limited. A lot of the O'Brien episodes are particularly weirdly thoughtful about class and crime and the like. And Kira's whole backstory/plotline just wouldn't have been allowed post-9/11 for at least a decade and a bit ("She's a terrorist?! Running the station?!"). I think you could probably get away with Kira again now, but it took a while.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

True. Raffi's character was unnecessary for the entire season - they could have just had Warf showing up on the screen with Ryker + Picard and then having him beamed on board.

Completely disagreed, Raffi had a beautiful plot arc in season 3, that completed the journey towards rebuilding her life begun in Season 1.

I especially thought the final scene with Raffi & Worf together was moving, you could see how much it meant to her what he did for her. It was beautiful.

 

[payn]

Never heard it better put!

Another part was honestly that they got pretty lucky (?) with the writer's room in that they got a lot of very open-minded and thoughtful/daring writers. Cultural conditions influenced it too, of course - this was before 9/11 and before the culture wars, but I think they just got away with a lot of stuff because they were doing good enough ratings-wise and network oversight was limited. A lot of the O'Brien episodes are particularly weirdly thoughtful about class and crime and the like. And Kira's whole backstory/plotline just wouldn't have been allowed post-9/11 for at least a decade and a bit ("She's a terrorist?! Running the station?!"). I think you could probably get away with Kira again now, but it took a while.

On this note, I will admit I was a bit shocked at the storyline in Battlestar Galactica when the humans are under Cylon rule began a terror resistance including suicide bombings. A position that was entirely sympathetic...

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Its true. DS9 balanced the secular Fed officer with the religious believer. The Fed security specialist with the provisional investigator. The Fed's ideal united utopia against the harsh entropy of the Alpha quadrant and later the fascism of the Gamma. I like to view all Trek before DS9 as the universe through the Federation's eyes and Ds9 as the Federation through the universe's eyes.

Another important note is how often DS9 explored ideas of race, sex, class without being chastised for it. There are some excellent stories and episodes that we haven't seen quite like since in Trek.

DS9 was thoughtful and intelligent about it, sublte, not a sledge hammer overly relying on an academic lingo that many working class folks find off putting.

Folks also didn't complain about the massive divisity of Season 3 of Picard, 5 black main characters (3 of which were women and 2 men), a trans character (Esmar They/Them just like the actor) & in a way a second one in the Lol part new Data, an Asian Bajoran, at least bisexual 2 women who end up in charge of the Titan, a broad range of ages, and Troi and Dr. Crusher had some of the best writing they ever got, especially Dr. Crusher who often seemed less interesting IMHO then Dr. Pulaski previously.

Part of that was that Matalas didn't brag about the diversity, it just played it cool and acted like it was normal, so everyone else did too, can't brag about diversity and normalize it at the same time, its one or the other.

 

[payn]

DS9 was thoughtful and intelligent about it, sublte, not a sledge hammer overly relying on an academic lingo that many working class folks find off putting.

Folks also didn't complain about the massive divisity of Season 3 of Picard, 5 black main characters (3 of which were women and 2 men), a trans character (Esmar They/Them just like the actor) & in a way a second one in the Lol part new Data, an Asian Bajoran, at least bisexual 2 women who end up in charge of the Titan, a broad range of ages, and Troi and Dr. Crusher had some of the best writing they ever got, especially Dr. Crusher who often seemed less interesting IMHO then Dr. Pulaski previously.

Part of that was that Matalas didn't brag about the diversity, it just played it cool and acted like it was normal, so everyone else did too, can't brag about diversity and normalize it at the same time, its one or the other.

I have not seen Picard S3 yet, so cant comment on it. I think when it comes to diversity in series there is exploration of theme and representation. Not all shows contain both. I did not mean for my comment to be a competition on the matter. I was referring to the amount of hate aimed at DISCO for its diversity and themes.

 

[Ryujin]

DS9 was thoughtful and intelligent about it, sublte, not a sledge hammer overly relying on an academic lingo that many working class folks find off putting.

Folks also didn't complain about the massive divisity of Season 3 of Picard, 5 black main characters (3 of which were women and 2 men), a trans character (Esmar They/Them just like the actor) & in a way a second one in the Lol part new Data, an Asian Bajoran, at least bisexual 2 women who end up in charge of the Titan, a broad range of ages, and Troi and Dr. Crusher had some of the best writing they ever got, especially Dr. Crusher who often seemed less interesting IMHO then Dr. Pulaski previously.

Part of that was that Matalas didn't brag about the diversity, it just played it cool and acted like it was normal, so everyone else did too, can't brag about diversity and normalize it at the same time, its one or the other.

"Show, Not Tell" always feels to me like the best way to serve up something that some people have difficulty accepting.