The Official Star Trek Thread

[Fuzzybigfoot]

Here's how I rank ALL the Star Trek Movies:



Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home

Loved the whales, I guess.  Maybe a biased pick due to the fact that it was the first Star Trek movie I ever watched.

Star Trek 8: First Contact

Great space battle, and I liked the scene where Picard mows down the Borg with a Tommy gun.

Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Kahn

Words cannot describe the pain.  It's the film's greatest strength and weakness.  

Star Trek (11th film, JJ abrams)

Good action flick.  I thought the new cast was pretty good.

Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country

I liked how Sulu was a captain in command of his own ship.  The final battle was alright too.  The film also brought some much needed depth to the relationship between the Klingons and the Federation.

Star Trek 12: Into Darkness

Another decent action movie.  Loved Benedict Cumberbatch and that guy who was in Robo Cop.

Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock

Not enough space battle.

Star Trek 1: The Motion picture

Pretty boring, although I can't recall any scenes I particularly disliked.

Star Trek 7: Generations

Data was pretty Jar Jar Binks-esque in the fact that he was annoying and not funny. The only reason this one isn't in the sh*t pile is due to the significance of Kirk's death, I guess.

Star Trek 9: Insurrection

Plot was lame.  The romance between Riker and Troi was awkward and didn't fit in with the plot of the film.

Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier

Almost as comically amusing as Superman 3.

Star Trek 10: Nemesis

Ewwwww!




Green=good, orange=meh, and red= .  

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

Nemesis was not worse than the Final Frontier.

[Fuzzybigfoot]

Nemesis was not worse than the Final Frontier.

Although I disagree with your opinion, I respect it.


On another note, what movie did you think was the best? 

[Antonio the Sixth]

On the other hand, can we please stop throwing a Ferengi in every other episode? They are so f**king annoying, who thought it was a good idea to have these clowns as recurring antagonists in a supposedly serious show?

Because they were originally supposed to me the main alien antagonists of TNG and it took the writing team time to realize they weren't up to the job. It's why we got the Borg and the Cardassians as replacements.

By Season 3 it's already pretty clear they're not supposed to be the "main antagonists". The episodes they appear in are almost always the most lighthearted. Which would be fine if there weren't 5-10 of those scattered among the 26.

"The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1" is great, though I think even better when viewed in the context of the time it was aired.  In 1990, Star Trek had never had a season cliffhanger before.  For that matter, season cliffhangers like that weren't as common on television in general as they would become later in the decade, so it was a bit of a shock to me when there were two minutes left in the hour with no resolution in sight…leading up to "Mr. Worf….fire".

Yes, that definitely was one of the best moments in the series. Really added depth to Riker's character.

[Antonio the Sixth]

On another note, what movie did you think was the best? 

First Contact is the first Star Trek thing I ever watched, and, even upon rewatching it and trying to remove the nostalgia filter, it's still my favorite film by far. Wrath of Khan was excellent too, though I admit I originally missed some of its depths (watching it as a kid, it's hard to get past those ear slug monstrosities ). I also really liked The Undiscovered Country for its (somewhat heavy-handed but still pertinent) political commentary.

I have yet to see The Voyage Home (I'll admit that the weird premise is a bit of a turnoff for me...). I've also seen Generations, which I think is fine overall, though a bit slow and surprisingly lighthearted for being the episode when Kirk dies. No interest in seeing 1, 3 and certainly not 5. I'll probably get around to watching Insurrection and Nemesis once I'm done with the show.

[Mr. Morden]

For those who are interested in the behind the scenes stories, you might be interested in the William Shatner-directed ~1 hour doc "Chaos on the Bridge", which examines the rather turbulent behind the scenes shenanigans of TNG's first two seasons.  You can buy or rent it via Vimeo.  It might help you understand why there was basically 100% turnover in writing staff between Seasons 1 and 3. 

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4UAInrMiT4

[Marokai Backbeat]

Antonio if you're willing to give the Ferengi more of a shot, DS9 does a really great job with them. To the point of their society being significantly reformed by the end of it and the Ferengi characters of the cast are amazing standouts. (Slightly spoilery but whatever. It's how they get there that matters.)

[Fuzzybigfoot]

On another note, what movie did you think was the best? 

First Contact is the first Star Trek thing I ever watched, and, even upon rewatching it and trying to remove the nostalgia filter, it's still my favorite film by far. Wrath of Khan was excellent too, though I admit I originally missed some of its depths (watching it as a kid, it's hard to get past those ear slug monstrosities ). I also really liked The Undiscovered Country for its (somewhat heavy-handed but still pertinent) political commentary.

I too watched Wrath of Kahn when I was young.  The ear creatures are arguably the most terrifying things in Star Trek other than the Borg. 

I have yet to see The Voyage Home (I'll admit that the weird premise is a bit of a turnoff for me...). I've also seen Generations, which I think is fine overall, though a bit slow and surprisingly lighthearted for being the episode when Kirk dies. No interest in seeing 1, 3 and certainly not 5. I'll probably get around to watching Insurrection and Nemesis once I'm done with the show.

RIP TONY

[Fuzzybigfoot]

Antonio if you're willing to give the Ferengi more of a shot, DS9 does a really great job with them. To the point of their society being significantly reformed by the end of it and the Ferengi characters of the cast are amazing standouts. (Slightly spoilery but whatever. It's how they get there that matters.)

I think they could have done a little better.  Remember Moogie?   

[Mr. Morden]

Quark is a great character, but nearly every DS9 episode that uses Ferengi culture as the focal point of the plot is terrible (IMHO).

[Antonio the Sixth]

I too watched Wrath of Kahn when I was young.  The ear creatures are arguably the most terrifying things in Star Trek other than the Borg.

Yup. It is pretty weird that the few Star Trek stuff I saw in my childhood (First Contact, Wrath of Khan, and also the fairly creepy Voyager pilot) are some of the darkest in the franchise.

Antonio if you're willing to give the Ferengi more of a shot, DS9 does a really great job with them. To the point of their society being significantly reformed by the end of it and the Ferengi characters of the cast are amazing standouts. (Slightly spoilery but whatever. It's how they get there that matters.)

No problem. I'm looking forward to watching DS9 as well, though it probably won't be very soon.

[Fuzzybigfoot]

Does anyone here collect starship models?  I have since I was 12.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Does anyone here collect starship models?  I have since I was 12.

I did when I was 12.

[DemPGH]

The show definitely grows up in the 3rd season and becomes more focused, realistic, etc. "The Enemy" was maybe the first show to illustrate that, yep, there are still problems. I love "Who Watches the Watchers?" and Picard's speech to the woman about superstition and progress was WOW.

I just watched recently "A Matter of Perspective." Very strong, well written, clever episode. "Allegiance" was also very good, I recall.

Yeah, the Ferengi were transitioned over to comedy relief/intergalactic bunglers. DS9 took it to an extreme, but that's DS9. The whole thing was just a big extreme.

"Sins of the Father" is a downer, yeah, but that's only the start of a very good and very interesting arc. On that issue (don't mean to spoil), there be better days ahead for Worf definitely!

[Antonio the Sixth]

Yeah, those episodes you mention were all excellent. Glad to see Worf will have a chance to get his (and hopefully his father's) honor back eventually - but please don't say more about that.

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

Nemesis was not worse than the Final Frontier.

Although I disagree with your opinion, I respect it.


On another note, what movie did you think was the best?  

I'm curious as to why you think that. Sybok and Shinzon were both very contrived but at least we had some good pathos with Data and B4.

Also my personal favorite is First Contact, followed by the Voyage Home. I was just rewatching the Picard rage scene and Alfre Woodard had amazing chemistry with Patrick Stewart. Although, I do think it should've just been Beverly doing her role instead.

[Fuzzybigfoot]

Nemesis was not worse than the Final Frontier.

Although I disagree with your opinion, I respect it.


On another note, what movie did you think was the best?  

I'm curious as to why you think that. Sybok and Shinzon were both very contrived but at least we had some good pathos with Data and B4.

The sex scene where clone Picard tried to telepathically rape Troi was just wrong on so many levels.  Talk about being scarred for life!  

Also my personal favorite is First Contact, followed by the Voyage Home. I was just rewatching the Picard rage scene and Alfre Woodard had amazing chemistry with Patrick Stewart. Although, I do think it should've just been Beverly doing her role instead.

Good choices!

[politicallefty]

Yeah, those episodes you mention were all excellent. Glad to see Worf will have a chance to get his (and hopefully his father's) honor back eventually - but please don't say more about that.

I don't want to give anything away, but I have a feeling you're really going to like Season 4's Reunion. Now that you're into Season 4, the show does seem to be far more serious and it gets better as a result. And now that you've seen TBBW, for me the final scene stuck out so much. It's the final part of Part II where they play some pretty somber music while Picard sets his tea down and stares out at Earth. To me, that's one of the more subtle, yet most powerful scenes in the show. I've always thought that ending brings an otherwise happy ending into real context of what really just happened.

[Silent Hunter]

I'm currently working my way through TOS; the reviews are on my blog.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Just saw The Voyage Home. It was entertaining, but not nearly as engaging as the other movies I saw. The plot was contrived and never properly explained, and despite the supposedly high stakes, there is little to no actual tension. Most of the movie is spent making fun of the Enterprise Crew (and especially Spock)'s culture shock living in the 80s, or setting up gags related to the way they get around to getting the stuff they need without looking like madmen or criminals. Fortunately, these parts are often pretty funny. Still, I have to give it a meh.

[politicallefty]

Personally, I've only seen three Star Trek moves (the TNG movies except Generations). I've always figured that it's be better to see the TOS movies after actually watching TOS. I haven't reached that point yet.

Fwiw, I think it's worth mentioning where I'm at in watching Star Trek. Obviously, as I've already mentioned, I've seen all of TNG and three of the four TNG movies. Despite what I said a few months ago, I went from TNG to Voyager. I've watched about 100 episodes of VOY at this point. I do agree with many that the writing isn't quite up to TNG levels in the early seasons. I actually really like Captain Janeway and I think Kate Mulgrew is a great actress in the role. However, the flaw in the writing I see is that they really weren't sure where they wanted to take her in the early seasons (which at first seemed to be a female Picard). Once you get into late Season 3 and into Season 4, I think the writing gets much better. From what I've watched, episodes like Scorpion and Year of Hell really stand out as some of the best. I think it's fair to say that Voyager has its flaws, but I really think it is quite underrated. (And I think, to a certain extent, a lot has to do with the type of Star Trek episodes you like as a person.)

[Marokai Backbeat]

Mulgrew is a phenomenal actress, but her characterization is pretty all over the place for a long time. I remember her talking a lot about this in recent years; the producers of the show kept her performance under an incredibly close eye and she was basically constantly fighting with the writers over how Janeway was portrayed. Notice how her hair styles constantly change? She used to be infuriated by how often the producers kept altering her appearance. By Season 4 they were finally letting her have more control and the writing for most of the characters in general was a lot more even.

Voyager is a lot weaker than, say, DS9, but it's still pretty good. It gets a lot of sh**t for having to put up with so much executive meddling, but I think Voyager has more great episodes than TNG does.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Not surprisingly, MeTV showed the TOS episode that Yvonne Craig guest starred in tonight, "Whom Gods Destroy".

[Antonio the Sixth]

Personally, I've only seen three Star Trek moves (the TNG movies except Generations). I've always figured that it's be better to see the TOS movies after actually watching TOS. I haven't reached that point yet.

I don't plan on watching TOS, tbh. I might try out one or two episodes some days, but it just strikes me as too "old" and corny to take seriously. Even with TNG, the corniness is just barely tame enough to be enjoyable and not distract me from the substance of the episode.

As for TOS movies, I've now seen all the "good" ones (2, 4 and 6). They're pretty good overall, with Wrath of Khan definitely having the most well-conceived plot and some really memorable scenes ("KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" aside ). I also enjoyed The Undiscovered Country, a nice parallel to the events that were occurring at the same time in real-life.

[Silent Hunter]

I don't plan on watching TOS, tbh. I might try out one or two episodes some days, but it just strikes me as too "old" and corny to take seriously.

Trust me, it isn't that corny. It still holds up very well I've found.