Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: How To Introduce Someone To Star Trek?
First time accepted submitter red$hirt writes "I have a few friends, plus my girlfriend, who I would like to introduce to Star Trek. They do have a general interest to watch it, but I'm not sure what's the best way to start. There are so many series and movies and I would like to pick an order that keeps them interested. My first idea is to start off with a few good TNG episodes, and then let them watch First Contact. What does Slashdot think? I'm sure some of you have introduced others to Star Trek before. How did you do it, and how successful were you? Which particular episodes would you recommend watching for someone who is completely new to all this?"
KHAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!
But I am pretty sure that showing them the episode "Spock's Brain" would be the worst way.
Start with Voyager. Seriously. Apart from the odd Q or Barclay episode, it doesn't require nearly as much pre-existing knowledge as any of the other next-gen series apart from the first season of TNG. And the first season of TNG mostly sucked.
Alternatively, you could always start with J.J. Abrams.
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Just a plug for Scalzi's new book, "Redshirts" - it's only indirectly about Star Trek, but well worth the read if you want to get into Trek....
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
Get them to watch The Next Generation episode "The Inner Light." This was by far one of the best hours of television in history. Then maybe "City on the Edge of Forever" from the original series. If those don't hook them, don't bother trying any further, it's a hopeless cause.
If she asks, "What is Warp?" Just say, "It lets the ship go faster than light."
That's way too technical; the correct answer is: "That's how the ship goes from one planet to another"
Not everybody likes the same thing.
If you insist upon Star Trek, I'd start with TNG because Gene Roddenberry purposely made each episode a stand-alone story. According to his wife Majel he thought continuing stories alienated the viewers (because they would be lost).
I'd start with some of season 1's better episodes (because they establish character backgrounds), skip the writer's strike-damaged season 2, and then continue onward from there.
Or you could just start with season 3 which I thought was the best of all of them. Almost every episode is a winner.
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
A lot of people watch shows with continuing story lines now: Lost, True Blood, Breaking Bad, The Wire I think have proven this point. I recently started going through Deep Space 9 for again on Netflix, and it's incredible! I think it's now my favorite of the modern TV Treks. A broad story arc with several different conflicts, very interesting characters and extremely interesting villains -- someone could probably write a doctoral dissertation on Gul Dukat or Garak. It also features complicated political problems and intrigues, and occasionally Starfleet officers do evil things, without being possessed by a lizard alien. It's exactly the kind of show Roddenberry would never have allowed to be made.
There are also amazing gems like Little Green Men and Trials and Tribblations.
My issue with starting someone on TNG is that season three is great, but it gets soap-opera'y by season 7, with evil twin brothers, love triangles, and all the actors are so chummy it feels like a community theater show. Also several of the later episodes fall into particle-of-the-week-ism and repeat premises from earlier in the series.
Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
There are a few gems in the second season like Elementary, Dear Data and Measure of a Man.