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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!!!!!
If you want to keep your girlfriend, forget about Star Trek.
Please not Deep Space 9!
But I am pretty sure that showing them the episode "Spock's Brain" would be the worst way.
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"
People either know all about Star Trek or they don't. If they don't, it's because they don't want to. You'll only annoy them by trying to "introduce" them.
Sometimes I'm glad that I'm old. Sheesh, "Introduce" somebody to Star Trek. What a weird concept.
As someone who introduced my ex to Trek a few years back, and who's still in largely into it despite not being together anymore, I took the simple approach of "show the good, skip the crap".
More specifically, this is what I did:
- Saw Star Trek 2009. Explained beforehand, very briefly, that it was a "darker and edgier reboot" of the original series that for canon purposes took place in an alternate universe. Answer any questions she has ("Why is Spock bleeding green? What is a Romulan? What is Warp?")
- Showed her DS9 and TNG, especially First Contact, since that's one of my favourites, along with Generations.
- Watched some Voyager, some Enterprise, etc. A bit of everything.
And that was it. Again... show the good stuff, skip the crap stuff ("Threshold"? What is that? I am not aware of any episode with that title). It's a show with a huge body of content; there are some gems in there, but there are some poo nuggets too.
Check out my sci-fi book "Lacuna" at http://goo.gl/MVxX8
The Next Generation Q episodes are the most demented fun. From Picard waking up in bed after a sexual encounter only to be greeted by Q to my favorite exchange in the final "All Good Things" episode:
Elderly Picard: Q, where's the anomaly?
Elderly Q raises horn to ear: Where's your mommy? Why, I don't know.
Also Voyager is the worst piece of star trek fiction to choose from, so it can only get better from that. Unless your friends are autistic there is no reason at all to watch Voyager. Star Trek 5 is a better use of their time, hell. Enterprise season 1-3 is better than Voyager.
Perhaps go with the films? I was never a big Star Trek fan. I preferred Babylon 5. I loved the original films though. In fact, I really have liked every feature film I've seen. Maybe that can be an entry way into the TV series.
Don't bother "introducing" anything to them, just simply pop in one of the newer movies (the reboot would probably be the best place to start) or start watching one of the newer series. If they are interested they'll join you and get "hooked". If you force it on them you are pretty much hosed and will never get them to watch any of them again.
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.
Worked for me. Although, to tell the truth, Valerie watched some Star Trek with me before Stanley came along.
Bruce Perens.
OK it's camp, but it is my favorite. The "french-fried brains" look on McCoy's face after using the Teacher helmet: Priceless.
Save "The Wrath of Khan" for later or last, as it's the best of the "T.O.S." movies ("First Contact" is the best of the "TNG" movies.) Start with "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (star Sally Kellerman shows the early influence). Then merely show the best, while including story-important episodes such as "The Trouble with Tribbles," "A Private Little War," etc. to show the evolution of the Federation's relationship with the Klingons. Then "Balance of Terror," "The Enterprise Incident," etc. for the Romulans.
Cranky educator.
What does your girlfriend like to watch? Start with the episodes/movies that are closest to that. For some people, "Star Trek: First Contact" is the best intro. For others, it's the JJ Abrams reboot, for others it's DS9, etc. "Star Trek: Insurrection" is often referred to as "Star Trek: Date Movie" for good reason; that might be a starting place.
- W. Blaine Dowler
http://www.bureau42.com
How did you manage to even get a girl in your basement?
Start with Star Trek IV, it's very accessible.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
>"I have a few friends, plus my girlfriend"
Oh, c'mon... I stopped believing you right there.
Holy fuckballs, do not start with Voyager. That is terrible advice.
The Voyager characters were bland as fuck, the stories were retarded (outside of a few exceptions, Year of Hell comes to mind) and as a committed Star Trek junkie even I had a hard damn time pushing through many of them. I mean, I've read a lot of the novels and some of the comics and enjoyed most of them more than Voyager, and there is a lot of craptacular novels, believe me.
...and nothing else. She will either adapt or leave you.
The one where Vader hacks off his son's hand with a laser sword.
Don't foist too much of the geeky stuff on them, have fun with it ... drinking games!
Every time McCoy says "dammit", everybody drink. Every time Spock says "fascinating", drink. Every time Kirk gets his shirt off, drink. Every time an un-named red-shirt gets killed, drink. Every time Uhura says "scanning all frequencies", drink.
Of course, if you're watching next gen, any time Wesley saves the day, they mention tachyons or other particles with magic properties, or Deanna Troi wears the cheerleader outfit, or Warf drinks prune juice ... drink.
But, in the end, maybe just let sleeping dogs lie ... your friends may never really appreciate your beloved Trek, and in the end may decide it's not something they like. It isn't everybody's cup of tea.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
The first rule of introducing Star Trek to people who have never seen it is: Do not introduce Star Trek to people who have never seen it.
The second rule of introducing Star Trek to people who have never seen it is: Do not introduce Star Trek to people who have never seen it.
Good choice. I think a good episode that really captures the overall "feel" of The Next Generation (and Star Trek as a whole) is The Measure of a Man . Patrick Stewart has gone on record as saying that his performance in that episode is one of the favorites of his entire career, which is saying a lot coming from such an accomplished Shakespearean actor as himself. One of my personal favorites.
Also, The Inner Light . Another amazingly powerful episode that is a must see for Star Trek fans and non-fans alike.
Really, most episodes from season 3-onwards of TNG were good. For a lighter choice, try Data's Day . Data's expression while he's slow-dancing with the holographic partner is priceless.
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip...
I tried this with my wife with Dr. Who, going to the old first and it was an epic fail. But now that she has seen the new stuff she has become more interested in the old. The new movie is nice and neat and tidy and stands on its own. If they like it they have all the rest of the universe to get excited about. At worst they sent through an action movie in soace and shouldn' hate you for subjecting them to Sci Fi.
TNG could have been okay had they picked a captain that wasn't Scott Bakula. He has all the range of the kid picked to play a rock in the 3rd grade class play.
Sure, his one style worked well playing a reluctant hero just out to do the right thing in Quantum Leap, but it did not make for a good "leader of leaders" blazing a trail in the final frontier. (The writers didn't help, for sure. It's like they were writing for Bakula. Worst. Captain. Ever.)
The sexy (you can tell because her lips looked like balloons) emotion-loving Vulcan didn't help either.
I never made it through the first season. It just sucked too hard. I remember saying "Archer, fuck, you're investing way too much time in this guys birthday. Go do captain stuff!"
Required reading for internet skeptics
as a committed Star Trek junkie even I had a hard damn time pushing through many of them. I mean, I've read a lot of the novels and some of the comics
I think you left out the part where you give the advice on what to start with.
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
With the deepest respect, I suspect you had trouble pushing through Voyager because you were a "committed Star Trek junkie". The question is about how to get non-Trekkers interested in Trek. I still think that Voyager is probably going to do it better than any other series.
My (admittedly non-scientific) experience is that non-Trekkers tend to like Voyager in a way that Trekkers don't.
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I did in other comments, no need to keep repeating myself.
I don't want to get caught up defending throw-away remarks, but I'd like to point out two things:
1. It was far better than most things on US TV in 1987. But compared to later seasons, it sucked like a gravitational anomaly.
2. The problem was almost entirely budgetary.
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My thoughts exactly. If your girlfriend can't stand Star Trek, and you're a costume-wearing Trekkie, then you're in for a world of grief. She doesn't have to be Uhura, but she should like the franchise enough to watch the series without looking like she wants to be doing something else without you. If you're not really a Star Trek fan, forget it. Watch Twilight or Lincoln Vampire Hunter with her.
The Carbon Creek episode was good.
Oh, a quick meta-comment. Of the 500+ comments I've made here in the last 13 odd years, this one is, to my knowledge, the first to get more than one "-1, Troll". For some reason, I find this hilarious.
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Not only were the characters terrible, the actors hated them too. There are filmed interviews with them just laughing and ripping on the characters and the awful plots-- Kate Mulgrew even wrote Janeway off as fundamentally insane because her motivations veered like a desert driver stuck in a snowstorm.
Screen "Forbidden Planet" for them and nonchalantly mention that it's often cited as having "inspired" much of ST's look and style.
If your friends have the remotest interest that will certainly reel them in.
And don't forget 'City on the Edge of Forever,' a Hugo award winner. And a GF winner I believe.
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
Chairs with straps and eye-lid spreaders like in A Clockwork Orange.
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
You're on crack. Enterprise isn't better than anything, everyone knows this.
"16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
Agreed, The Inner Light is one of my favorites as well.
I also nominate Darmok and the "There are four lights" episodes.
DRM 'manages access' in the same way that a prison 'manages freedom'
(1) tie them up
(2) lots of beer
(3) eyelid clips
We live, as we dream -- alone....
My guide to the six Star Trek series is below. If you've ever wanted to watch a few episodes of a series and stop there, pick some from the relevant "best of show" list. They're all independent episodes that require essentially no back story (though caring about the characters always helps), unless otherwise noted. The NxM numbers indicate season and episode.
The Original Series (TOS): quality varied wildly. Season 2 was the best; season 3 was largely weird.
* Best of show: 1x28 The City on the Edge of Forever; 2x05 Amok Time; 2x10 Mirror Mirror; 1x08 Balance of Terror.
* Worst of show: 3x06 Spock's Brain.
The Animated Series (TAS): terrible for adults; decent for kids (or maybe nostalgia if you saw it as a kid). One real season.
* Best of show: 1x02 Yesteryear.
* Worst of show: 1x05 More Tribbles, More Troubles.
* Most surreal moment in all of Star Trek: Midway through 1x04 The Lorelei Signal, Scotty sings Welsh ballads while the Enterprise slowly orbits. The scene drags on for 37 seconds.
The Next Generation (TNG): season 1 is terrible. 2 and 3 are hit-and-miss. 4-7 are quite good, with 6 and 7 being almost universally good.
* Best of show: 5x25 The Inner Light; 2x16 Q Who?; 3x26 The Best of Both Worlds; 6x15 Tapestry; 3x15 Yesterday's Enterprise. The series finale, 7x25 All Good Things..., is also quite good and has no "spoilers".
* Worst of show: 2x22 Shades of Grey (clip show); 2x12 The Royale; Wesley's part in 1x03 The Naked Now (also Wesley's most annoying part period).
Deep Space 9 (DS9): season 1 is terrible with the notable exception of Duet. 2 is a marked improvement (for instance, Siddig learns to act). 3 and 4 are sometimes hit-and-miss. Seasons 5-7 are excellent if you like space opera.
* Best of show: 1x19 Duet; 5x06 Trials and Tribble-ations (excellent if you've seen the TOS episode!); 4x03 The Visitor; 4x08 Little Green Men--these are each essentially independent episodes. 6x19 In The Pale Moonlight, 6x06 Sacrifice of Angels, and the series finale 7x25 What You Leave Behind are all excellent as well, but they're part of the Dominion War story arc and should really be watched starting from, say, 4x26 Broken Link.
* Worst of show: 5x07 Let He Who Is Without Sin....
Voyager (VOY): seasons 1 and 2 are terrible. Again it slowly amps up until 6 and 7 are pretty universally good. Lots of good 2-parters. Fun fact: Captain
Start with the best episode of "Star Trek TNG: Episode 125 - "The Inner Light" (Star Trek: The Next Generation). Then show Original Star Trek: Episode 28: "The City on the Edge of Forever" Those two are timeless classics, great stories, scripts, acting/directing. After Rodenberry passed away, so did his control of the vision, and the idiots left in charge reduced the franchise to something trying to be a relevant commentary of inane political nonsense of the times. They ran out of ideas and started screwing around with time travel, and that was completely lame.
I tried to introduce myself to star trek, and deep space 9 was recommended online as the best series.
It completely turned me off star trek.
Star Trek can be skittish around strangers and if you approach it from the wrong side or too qucikly.
If Star Trek begins to smoke, move away quickly and cover head.
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--"Code Complete" Microsoft Press
Your friends will enjoy the moves a lot more after they absorb the chemistry; McCoy + Spock don't really hit their stride until the end of the first season. Anyway, while people with no background in StarTrek certainly can enjoy the movies, people with some background in StarTrek will enjoy the movies at least twice as much. (I say it is worth the wait; you asked for how to best introduce your friends to Star Trek... so realizing there is no need to rush anything will help you do a better job with that introduction).
TOS stories are (mostly) all well done. And the concepts are ground breaking when you consider they were presented in 1968. Some of the social points are astonishing; equality, moral dilemmas, and so on - especially(!) when you compare them to other shows that were airing in the late 60's early 70's. (Myself, I like using TOS as a mirror to get a glimpse of that generation's culture.)
So... maybe show them 3 TOS episodes then leave it at that; more than that will risk burning them out. If they like TOS they'll follow up on their own, or come back for more "home video nights." (And if you can do it, go with the re-mastered TOS; they really do look nicely done).
Maybe for a later "video night" in a do a few TNG episodes. Or they may be grooving on working through TOS. *shrug* Either way, at that point, they will ask for more or just politely nod and focus on other things.
Lastly, and this could be the most important part, show some restraint in pacing and tempo with what you play for your friends. And express interest in what your audience likes and is passionate about; you might find something new that you like, and you will almost certainly learn more about your friends.
Enterprise is better than Nemesis. But I understand if you blocked that movie out.
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You have a 5 digid UID and *THAT* was your *FIRST* troll?
That's not hilarious... that's just sad.
It suggests to me that either you are a pathological conformist, virtually incapable of holding a controversial viewpoint for yourself, or else you have shown almost unimaginable restraint against divulging too much of your own opinions.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Pick something that is Picard-heavy, could be sth. Borg-related.
If you could find an episode that also features a heavy amount of Guinan and Data, you should be at a good starting point. Patrick Steward, Brent Spiner and obviously Whoopie Goldberg are the best that ever happened to Trek. Ever. Seriously. I love Nimoy, but Steward and especially Spiner took it to a level that fits Goldberg.
A Q episode might easily do the trick.
Also, the Sherlock Data/Moriarty episodes are brilliant, but some of the humor might be to complex and tied to the characters to fully enjoy.
I'd then pick one nice episode of every series but Voyager (there was not one nice episode to pick) and show how the series changed over time, and that there are lot of different 'versions'. A lot of brilliant episodes have already been mentioned here. Pick Way of the Warrior for DS9. It has everything, brilliant humor, acting, suprise, action, and loads and loads of Klingons. Plus five thousand photon torpedoes armed and ready to launch. Goose bumbs here. "He said: it's a good day to day". Oh my good was it great to watch that for the first time. I hated DS9 until that point. What a turnaround!
Enterprise: the episode in which they unveal the Vulcans using the monestary to spy on the Andorians. Self-explaining, deep for showing how twisted the Vulcans really are. Plus T'Pal. Uh I actually forgot about those nice "we have to go through desinfection again" fanservice scenes...
TOS: Horta, obviously. There are better episodes, but this one nails the 'Trek against dilemma' sheme. After that show "mind meld" (the documentary) which fills in the background of Shatners father dying during shooting it.
As for movies, IV is the most funny and brilliant, while The Unknown Country is by far the best Trek movie EVER EVER made, as it perfectly chimes into the tune of the universe. II of course... KAAAAAAAHN' - but VI is even better. Avoid uneven numbers, they suck. That's law.
For the Earth is Harlan, and I Have Touched the Sky.
Spock Trek is real Trek. If you don't introduce with 66 series, I'm not sure this is an "introduction" at all.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
The Rebooted Star Trek 2 will also involve the Khan character - so I assume this will rework Space Seed in some way rather than Wrath of Khan.
Professor Karmadillo Songs of Science
I'd start with TNG, don't cherry pick episodes because if you do that then they maybe disappointed with the rest. Start at the beginning. I'd say start with the 66 series as well, but for some that can be too big of a leap. With TNG there are recognizable actors, special effects by the end of the series are relatively good even by today's standards.
If they enjoy it, go back and watch the 66 series and continue with DSN/Voyager/Enterprise