Risa

But also shows were made for syndication, so most didn't have overarching plotlines and it didn't matter what order you watched them in. There might be one (heavily advertised) event a season that actually affected anything, and it'd be something like two characters getting married rather than something that fundamentally shook up the concept.

Congratulations, you started with the action parody. Now go catch up on the classics.

You'll be tied to the deflector dish

Nah, start from the beginning. When I introduced my partner to star trek, she loved the first TNG seasons, despite recognizing that the latter are better

A few of my very favorite episodes of Star Trek ever are in season 1, though. I wouldn't skip it entirely!

• s01e11 Haven, because I love Lwaxana when she's being mischievous
• s01e13 Datalore, for Spiner in his early glory
• s01e18 Home Soil, for a decent "murder mystery"
• s01e22 Symbiosis, seriously one of the best episodes of the whole show with a lesson on why the Prime Directive is important, plenty of Crusher vs Picard moral discussions, and an attempt at a sympathetic view on drug addiction (though a dated one now)

Even though I think DS9 is objectively better than TNG, I would still recommend TNG to get into it, as the more exploration focus should appeal to a wider audience.

Picard is easily the worst serious ever. And I don't mean it in the sense of "place to start" but in the sense of "worst serious period". Discovery is great tho.

I loved when they got tired of putting the eye candy in those scenes and started throwing in random characters like Porthos.

@glorkon @USSBurritoTruck

Star Trek also assumes a truly post-scarcity society in which capitalism plays, at most, a small part.

One of the problems we face in assessing human potential is that we pretty much only know of humans since the Neolithic, when authority and wealth became increasingly centralized. In the Star Trek universe, while authority remains hierarchical and highly centralized, economic inequality is somewhat diminished. These are different sets of social premises and the outcomes might vary.

What?

You just start at Star Trek The Animated Series

If you like new stuff: Star Trek The Animated Series

If you like animation: Star Trek The Animated Series

If you enjoy older series: Star Trek The Animated Series

If you enjoy really old series: Star Trek The Animated Series

I started with voyager, was that wrong?

I’m going to be the serpent in the grass and say give Babylon 5 a go before DS9. The first season will feel slow because the show is structured like a novel; exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, conclusion. There are small things like newspaper headers that hint towards future developments, and every main character undergoes a major arc. I enjoy DS9, but it’s never felt as cohesive as B5 to me. You may throw your stones now.

It’s such a weird choice to put “ships councilor” on the bridge.

That sounds like a long road

getting from there to here.

Lower decks has soooo many references to the other series I feel like it would be a very confusing place to start.

I think either Strange New Worlds or Lower Decks is a good starting point for someone new to Trek. I think I'd recommend SNW over Lower Decks though just because the number of references in Lower Decks to other Star Trek media is pretty high.