Trekkies!

[Rifleman]

I repeat to all the groupies who jumped on the bandwagon of the following series, after the original was out of production......

...........all the rest are only spin-offs...........

If not for a great leader (TOS), you will never have a single follower !

...............onward, Tiberius !  ;D

[Travis]

Believe me, I love the original, but there are certain things about the others that just inspire me.

Star Trek was Camp.  (Great stories)

The Next Generation was inspirational.  (New beginnings)

Deep Space Nine was a Space Opera.  (Expand the universe)

Voyager launched into new frontiers.  (Pheonix from the ashes)

Enterprise brings us back to home . . .  (We always return)

I started watching Trek when I was 9, and haven't quit yet.  The great thing about it is that it portrays a future in which things get better.

So many futuristic movies and TV series portray the future as worried and even more chaotic than what we know today.  I look at Trek and see Earth as a utopia.  That is the core attraction for me.

[Professor Brensec]

So many great insights, so many opinions. Very good thread.  ;D ;)

I have to say TNG, but I like them all and have seen every episode of every series at least 4 or 5 times, and some 20 times.

I liked Voyager. I watched that as it was produced. The first one that I did, as I didn't get into TNG until after it finished. I was, unfortunately ;D, for a while like Rifle and considered that only 'The Original and Best" will do. ;)

Then I started to hire TNG from Blockbuster and the rest is History. Honestly Rifle, I was around in the '60's and loved the Original, and didn't particualarly like the idea of a "Spinoff', as you say. But take the time to have a look, particularly at TNG, from the beginning, It's worth it.

All the series, as said before, take a little time to settle in. I don't know if it's the characters or us. But there seems to be a need to get used to the new characters and their situation etc. Plus it's no good trying to enjoy something if you're not up on what's going on. If you're lost, of course you're not going to like it.

I have a particular affinity with DS9. I was ill for a few months and couldn't get out much so me and the Mrs spent day after day (about a series a week), seeing DS9, as Blockbuster had the 6 series, and then we followed the 7th as it came out. I really did get very wrapped up in it. I enjoyed it immensely.
But as someone said, for some reason, the good DS9 ones are great, but the bad ones are really bad.

My favorite episodes of all of them would be a couple of the Double-jobs. "Times Arrow" I love, very interesting and features my two favourite subjects, Time travel and Data.
I actually think the first, "Mission at Farpoint" was a good beginning. Also "The Caretaker" another good beginning. The one where the DS9 crew go back to Kirks time and encounter the "Trouble with Tribbles". Very cleverly done.
(I still NEED that explaination about the Klingons! Worf just fobbed it off.)
Also "Yesterdays Enterprise" is probably the best 'single' episode.

I've seen the 1st series of Enterprise, then the Australian Video and DVD agent for Paramount has deemed it not pouplar enough to keep bringing in. So I have to wait for the TV to get around to it. That's usually 18 months after for Star Trek stuff.
I had trouble getting into it in the beginning (partly because of some 'historical' errors) but I was just beginning to get into it , and they stopped at the end of the 1st series.  >:(

Another, short, concise and succinct post by the Prof.  ;)

[Craig.]

what explination bren?? if your on about why the klingons hate tribbles, its because they destroyed many of the klingons planets, they ate all the crops on them and made them uninhabitable. the klingons went to war with them, but despite killing billions, they could never win due to the tribbles reproduction rate

[packercolinl]

Negative votes should be allowed,there's 3 already

[Professor Brensec]

what explination bren?? if your on about why the klingons hate tribbles, its because they destroyed many of the klingons planets, they ate all the crops on them and made them uninhabitable. the klingons went to war with them, but despite killing billions, they could never win due to the tribbles reproduction rate

No. The fact that the Klingons in Kirks time (about 120 years before) don't look anything like Worf etc.

Of course the reason is that the Producers of the Newer series thought they should look meaner and bigger and uglier etc.

Worf is asked the question, I think, by Dax and he avoids it by saying something like 'it's a long story' or 'It's a touchy subject'.

In the episode you actually have Worf from DS9 (as he looks) and the old Klingons (John Colicos etc) who were basically humanoid except for funny moustaches and ears.

No-one, including the real 'buffs' have been able to explain why Klingons changed so much in just 120 years.
And even if there was a good reason for it, you have Kayless, who is cloned in an episode of TNG and he looks like Worf, yet he is from long, long before Kirk's time.  

[Craig.]

it was a disease, it was explained on the official site i believe in an interview and also a few other places i have seen it explained as such. i will try and find out the site for ya

[Craig.]

http://www.myrpgs.net/Star_Trek/Klingon/Fusions.html
theres something. they call it fusion  well i will let ya read it much quicker:)

[denishc]

 Am I the only one to vote for the original Star Trek!?  I guess it must be my age!!!
 To be honest, even though I enjoyed all the series that followed the original, I found them bland, "souless", lacking in emotional drive and far too willing to fall back on warfare to fill out plot lines.  Maybe all that political correctness took the punch out of the series.
 Sure the original had cheesy sets and cheesy special effects but it made up for all that with good story lines (with the exception of "Spock's Brain") that were relevent and current to their time.
 Another aspect was that it dealt with the "human" condition, the fact that humans were individules with emotions, feelings and faults.  And that these things made humans better then machines, computers, organized collectives or superiorly evolved beings.  This is a common thread that can be found in many television programs of that era, from the "Twilight Zone" to the "Outer Limits".
 I hope that "Enterprise" makes it and has a good run.  Its interesting to see how it all started but I fear the writers have already screwed up the time line and are falling back to warfare to drive the series.  What ever happpened to....."seeking out new life, to boldy go where no man has gone before".......?  Oh well, at lease T'Pol is easy on the eyes!!
 

[Travis]

Well, personally, I think DS9 had several good plot lines.  Especially the ones involving the Bajorans. (Sorry, Hawker )  The Bajorans seemed to me to be a very soft version of humans in our current adolesence.  They do have a very evolved sense of religion, but so do many human cultures.  They seem to be like us in that they are just learning what it is to be a unified people.  I guess I just wish we (humans) were a little more like Bajorans, and less like Romulans.

[Professor Brensec]

I'm afraid I can't agree with Denishc's comments about the newer series 'resorting' to war or 'agression' to keep the plots alive.

It's true there are a number of 'run in's' in all the series, and of course the entire 'Dominion War' in DS9, but I really don't think there's any more 'violence' or tendency toward war than in TOS. But we're all entitled to our interpretations.......................

The one thing that makes all the later series seem more advanced and 'less complicated' compared to our time and situation, is:
There is not really any mention of 'religion' etc or the 'Failths' as far as Earth is concerned, at all (there are no Jews, Christians, Moslems etc anymore, it seems). Or at least, it's not a 'noteworthy' issue anymore. Not that I recall anyway.

And even the Bajorans (mentioned) seem to be ALL the same religion. An entire planet of people who believe exactly the same thing. I don't even recall any mention of Bajorans who are 'atheists' and don't believe at all.

John Lennon dreamt of and sang about exactly that seemingly impossible thing.  ;D

[HawkerTempest5]

I think DS9 is the only show to have an actual war. All the shows, including TOS, had conflicts. In fact TOS featured a very tense conflic with the Romulons in its very first season (Ballance of terror, episode 9).
Although I thought the DS9 war was a bit Babylon Five-ish, it made for some very dramatic story lines and brought out the best in several characters.
Going off in another direction slightly, is it just me or has anyone else noticed how easily the Enterprise D got beat up every time it had a bit of a scrap? Every time it had a fight, the alien ship would hit the Enterprise two or three times and its shields would fail, yet when Enterprise fired back all Worf ever said was "Direct hit Captain. The enemy vessel is undamaged."
The show would end with Picard saying, "we are on route to Star Base whatever for repairs." This is the Federation Flag Ship and it's crap at fighting!

[Craig.]

in reality the galaxy class ship is the most powerful ship of all the major races, it has been said that going on specs alone it could easaly take on 3 romulan D-deridex warbirds, while sustaining heavy damage it would still win, it can take on two K'Tinga class warships from the klingons, and two warships from the dominion(sp?) how ever had the writers really written storylines to its specs there wouldnt be much in the way of an hour long episode:) the early galaxy class vessels, were fitted with 11 type 9 phasers and 4 photon torpedo tubes, once they were upgraded the were given new shields, and 12 type 11 phasers, two photon two quantum tubes, or 4 photon or 4 quantum tubes, making it very powerful,
the real ability of the galaxy class was shown in the dominion war where all avaliable vessels were upgraded to battleships from science, some were given two extra torpedo tubes with quick reload for 6 quantum torpedos, and also 14 type 12 phasers,
this variation has been said to be the only starship other than the soverign class, who could take on a borg cube. its only weak point is its manuverability and its warp speed being 9.7, where as soverign is again 9.98 i believe. thus the reason it was made flagship and given to picard under the name enterprise.
sorry that may have been a little boring, i will look out some indepth specs to those who want them:)

[Hagar]

I've been a big fan since the original series was first screened in the UK. Forget exactly how long ago that was but it must have been in the late '70s. I won't vote cos I rarely watch TV these days & lost touch. I haven't seen "Enterprise" or read anything about it. DS9 was my least favourite as it seemed a tad restricted by the fixed location.

I found the whole idea refreshing & imaginative. I remember seeing a complete set of engineering drawings for the origilnal Enterprise with full specs on performance & equipment. The scriptwriters had to adhere strictly to these - also the history of the characters. I'm not sure if this is still the case but feel anything that goes to these lengths deserves to be a success.

PS. In my day, true Star Trek followers were called Trekkers. The word Trekkies was frowned upon. I'm surprised nobody has pointed this out.

[denishc]

 Yes its true that the original Star Trek had story lines that dealt with war and that there was constant friction between The Federation and the Klingon Empire but these conflicts were used mainly to illustrate the futility of war, a very relevant issue in the late 1960's, and not to drive the series.  The following series seemed to be constantly involved in conflict.
 Whether it was battling the Borg or the Cardasians(sp?) or the Dominion War or who's ever space Voyager was violating conflict seemed to be what that episode's story was about.  And now "Enterprise" has gone off to fight some more (I don't want to give too much away for those who haven't seen "Enterprise" yet), with a complement of Marines.  (One complement of Marines to battle a whole world!?  Hummm......they must be U.S. Marines!!!)
 Anyway you can see the direction the series is taking.  What ever happened to exploration, seeking out new planets and new races?  And what about building The Federation?  These are the subject lines that "Enterprise" should be dealing with.