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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.
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.
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
>"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.
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip...
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.
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.
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
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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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.
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