Battle of the Treks, which is the best?

[FizbansTalking_Hat]

Which is the best Trek in your opinion?

[FizbansTalking_Hat]

Feel free to post your reasons why your trek is better than others. Cheers.

[aTOMiC]

I"ll base my opinion on something rather obvious. Which Star Trek series can I watch over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and.....whew this is tiring....over and over and over again without becoming disinterested? TOS. Don't get me wrong I love the rest of the Treks but for some goofy reason I can watch a TOS marathon with the same enthusiasm even though I've seen them all dozens and dozens of times. Go figure.

Who says we don't need a Star Trek forum?

[FizbansTalking_Hat]

Oddly enough its the one series in which I've only see 4 or 5 episodes, so I'm slowly seeing them and they're enjoyable, maybe not as cool as teh others with updated graphics and etc, but the Original Series had one thing I think the other treks sometimes lacked. A great storyline. The original stories that I've seen have always been brilliantly done, explaining religion, techonology, society, money, racism, etc.. Lots to learn and I feel that the others just kind of stole that, and hell thats after only seeing just a few of the episodes. Anyways.

My personal favorite is Deep Space 9, the reason being the number of Xenotypes that were introduced. Got to love Quark. The characters I found were more interesting then TNG or VYG, anyways, to each their own. Cheers.

[aTOMiC]

Fiz, DS9 was one of the best Star Trek / sci fi shows ever produced. I hold DS9's Dominion war up as on of the most spectacular capital ship battles ever attempted on any screen. DS9 was rarely light hearted and the holographic lounge singer/ counselor drove me nuts but all in all it was a tremendous program.

[A Gunslinger]

I am voting for the orginal for a number of reasons, though next gen is a close second and DS9 very close behind.

The orignal was great from a production standpoint (real sci-fi authors, set design...doncha love those primary colors?, etc.), but nothing beats the triumvre of Kirk as the fulcrum between the brain (spock) an the heart (mc coy).

My favorite episodes?

Where No Man Has Gone Before (crew member goes all "dark phoenix" on the Enterprise..some great one-liners too)

Man Trap

Mirror Mirror

[aTOMiC]

I am voting for the orginal for a number of reasons, though next gen is a close second and DS9 very close behind.

The orignal was great from a production standpoint (real sci-fi authors, set design...doncha love those primary colors?, etc.), but nothing beats the triumvre of Kirk as the fulcrum between the brain (spock) an the heart (mc coy).

My favorite episodes?

Where No Man Has Gone Before (crew member goes all "dark phoenix" on the Enterprise..some great one-liners too)

Man Trap

Mirror Mirror

All great episodes, AG. Mine is......

City on the Edge of Forever "Lets get the hell out of here." Man!

[___]

I like the original series best because they were less polished and 'sterile' than the newer ones. I can't honestly say that there would even be this debate if any other ST series was the original one. Still, my favorite single episode had Q in it.

[A Gunslinger]

I am voting for the orginal for a number of reasons, though next gen is a close second and DS9 very close behind.

The orignal was great from a production standpoint (real sci-fi authors, set design...doncha love those primary colors?, etc.), but nothing beats the triumvre of Kirk as the fulcrum between the brain (spock) an the heart (mc coy).

My favorite episodes?

Where No Man Has Gone Before (crew member goes all "dark phoenix" on the Enterprise..some great one-liners too)

Man Trap

Mirror Mirror

All great episodes, AG. Mine is......

City on the Edge of Forever "Lets get the hell out of here." Man!

Yes that is a great bit of acting too! He delivers the line without going over the top on the pain he felt. More of a resigned emptiness than grief.

Another great one?

patterns of Force Spock tells kirk he makes a "most convincing nazi". HAW!

[aTOMiC]

Yes that is a great bit of acting too! He delivers the line without going over the top on the pain he felt. More of a resigned emptiness than grief.

Another great one?

patterns of Force Spock tells kirk he makes a "most convincing nazi". HAW!

Great quote, AG.
Until recently my favorite episode was
The Doomsday Machine

Watching Commodore Decker meltdown is priceless.
Decker: "I had to beam the crew down to the third planet."
Kirk: "There is no third planet."
Decker: "Don't you think I know that? There was but not anymore!"
I always thought it was cool that Kirk and Scotty managed to get the Constellation working again after it was trashed.

[A Gunslinger]

Yes that is a great bit of acting too! He delivers the line without going over the top on the pain he felt. More of a resigned emptiness than grief.

Another great one?

patterns of Force Spock tells kirk he makes a "most convincing nazi". HAW!

Great quote, AG.
Until recently my favorite episode was
The Doomsday Machine

Watching Commodore Decker meltdown is priceless.
Decker: "I had to beam the crew down to the third planet."
Kirk: "There is no third planet."
Decker: "Don't you think I know that? There was but not anymore!"
I always thought it was cool that Kirk and Scotty managed to get the Constellation working again after it was trashed.

That is a GREAT exchange! Spock also is perfect in that episode...the very acme of logic. "I shall relieve you of command on that basis.": classic. It was well-known to the fan (and Bones) that Decker had been driven past deseration, directly madness by guilt ..."they begged me!"... but Spock HAD to satisfy regulation. yeah!

[variol son]

Well, how could I choose anything other than TNG? I remember being distraught after Blake's 7 finished here in NZ, and I remember a year or so later watching the first episode of TNG on a Friday night, and I remember watching the final episode many years later at my grandparents house. I grew up with TNG. Picard and Riker and Data and Worf and La Forge and Troi and Dr Crusher were my weekly companions for most of my late childhood/early adolesence. My mother even used to punish me by banning me from watching it!

I must agree though that the Dominion War in DS9 was brilliant. It revived a terrible show, and recaptured my non-existant interest.

Sum sui generis
Vs

[Fist and Faith]

I also LOVED when the Klingons attacked DS9!!

But I'll give a tie to TOS and TNG. TOS has a higher % of episodes that I love. But, since TNG has so many more episodes, it comes close anyway. Plus it has the advantage of looking so much better. But there's nothing like the interplay of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy!!

[dlbpharmd]

I personally am very tired of TOS. When I was a kid there was nothing like it, but IMHO the more recent series (with the exception of Enterprise) are much better. DS9 is my favorite, then TNG. Voyager started out really really bad (I've recently re-watched the first two seasons on DVD and they suck.)

My favorite TOS episode is Balance of Terror.

[matrixman]

It's close between TOS and TNG, but my choice is TOS, because, like TOM C said, it's a show I can watch over and over and still get a kick out of. It was also a mainstay of my TV viewing as a child, so I'm loyal to it out of a sense of nostalgia.

I didn't keep pace with the other Trek shows through the years, though I have now seen a fair number of TNG episodes through syndication. When it gets on a roll, I think TNG does surpass TOS.

Some totally biased, stoopid observations:

Kirk vs. Picard: I don't think one is better than the other. But for me personally, it would be cool to serve on a starship commanded by James T. Kirk. (As long as I'm not a crewmember who gets killed off as soon as the nasty aliens show up.)

Riker: I admit that at times I was irritated by Riker's presence, but having a second-in-command beside Picard does create an interesting tension in the hierarchy. Almost makes me wish they hadn't killed the role of Number One in TOS, but I wonder how long Bill Shatner would have tolerated some hanger-on stealing his lines?

Data vs. Spock: I love 'em both. As far as I'm concerned, every actor who has played a Vulcan since Leonard Nimoy looks like a clueless pretender next to him (with the exception of Mark Lenard as Sarek). So Spock is Mr. Cool, but even he seems erratic and unstable next to Commander Data. At least Data doesn't succumb to any silly "pon farr" Vulcan mating madness. Suggestion to Mr. Data: less whining about trying to be human, more kicking of Borg butt.

McCoy vs. Crusher: I'd like Dr. Crusher's services, please. She can treat my injuries any day of the week. I honestly never much cared for Dr. McCoy. He just complained about those damned Vulcans all the time.

Scotty vs. Geordi: Sorry, but I cannot take Mr. Scott seriously as a starship engineer. That guy is like a walking caricature. Mr. Laforge, on the other hand, always astounds me with his technical knowledge of the Enterprise. I don't know whether to be impressed or annoyed whenever Laforge starts speaking in jargon: "Captain, with Data's help, I'm going to use a tachyon eggbeater doohickey in conjunction with a reverse phase guacamole oscillator to prevent the warp core from exploding!" Okay, Geordi, whatever you say. At least you sound good saying it. Sometimes I feel like I need the Enterprise technical manual beside me when I'm watching TNG.

Worf: He's good. A Klingon serving on a Starfleet vessel? Sounds good to me. I'm all for peace and reconciliation in the galaxy. It's an optimistic future for sure, when two bitter adversaries like the Federation and the Klingon Empire can lay down their arms against each other.

Troi: She is maybe the single reason why I would NOT want to serve on Picard's Enterprise. I don't want some empath discussing my deepest thoughts and emotions with the rest of the crew. Get...away...from...me...

Tasha Yar: fabulous gal, good Starfleet officer...stupid death (maybe that was the point). A kind of physically assertive female character that would never have been allowed on TOS.

TNG also has Q as the ace up its sleeve. TOS never had such a fun and interesting recurring character. Harry Mudd doesn't cut it. And TOS's Q equivalents, the Organians and Trelane, didn't stick around. Phooey.

I really can't be bothered to watch Deep Space Nine and Voyager and Enterprise. Debating their relative merits is something I leave for hardcore Trekkers.

[Fist and Faith]

I honestly never much cared for Dr. McCoy. He just complained about those damned Vulcans all the time.

Yeah, he did a good bit of that. But his real role was the outward expression of one half - the insanely emotional, completely human half - of Kirk's psyche, with Spock as the logical half. Kirk was the combination, making the correct decisions by weighing the two against each other.

McCoy had an AWESOME moment in the book Spock's World. When I get the chance, I'll type it all out for those who haven't read it. It was actually a bit out of character for him, imo, but still great.

[Dragonlily]

My choice of ST shows will always be Next Generation, because I like and believe in the idealism they represent. The crew members do a good job of acting on their ideals, giving role models to our culture which no longer seems to believe that living by your ideals is possible.

... until the episode Journey's End, almost the end of the series, when the Federation government suddenly starts playing politics with its citizens' lives. From then on, imo, the Star Trek world goes steadily downhill.

[dlbpharmd]

The Kirk-Spock-McCoy relationship was never better than in the 5th movie, Final Frontier. The rest of the movie may be crap, but those 3 fill up the screen.

I liked MM's comment about serving on Kirk's Enterprise - just don't wear a red shirt and you'll be fine!

[Fist and Faith]

The Kirk-Spock-McCoy relationship was never better than in the 5th movie, Final Frontier. The rest of the movie may be crap, but those 3 fill up the screen.

Yes, that movie had a few moments. Didn't make the pure logic-seeking Sarek look good though, with his "So human?" line. But McCoy's story was brutal. Argh! And good for Kirk, not folding in, realizing we need our pain.

I liked MM's comment about serving on Kirk's Enterprise - just don't wear a red shirt and you'll be fine!

Can't you just see new crews of people coming on board for their tour of duty? All sitting in a group as somebody passes out their new uniforms. Everybody muttering under their breath, "Please don't give me a red shirt! Please don't give me a red shirt! Please don't give me a red shirt!"

[aTOMiC]

Whew!

You know I tried far more than I should have to look for some redeeming moments in Star Trek V but there simply are none. I own all the films and I've punished myself with "The Final Frontier" dozens of times hoping that I might find some way to forgive it but I simply can't
The Kirk, Spock and McCoy relationship explored in ST V is admittedly the most attractive part of the film but even it is cartoonized. The campfire sing along is the most nauseating moment in all of Trek history. Oh wait the aging Uhura's fan dance. Oh wait Scotty braining himself on the bulkhead. Oh wait the Rocket boots. Oh wait the Rocket boots. Oh wait the freaking Rocket boots. Don't get me started.