I am relatively new to Star Trek. I have watched strange New Worlds, the Lower Decks and Discovery and want to watch some of the “older” memed shows from this sub. I could never really get into TOS because it’s just too old. What would you guys recommend to watch first to get really into it?
A lot of people suggest TNG, but I actually recommend the TOS movies. Start at Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, watch the movies in order. You can skip the 5th movie without much loss.
Watching the movies will give you enough knowledge to understand why the original crew was such a big deal, even being referenced in universe later. It also gives you a basic understanding of augments, which do come back as later plot points.
Then watch through in order. TNG, skipping some of the junk episodes. Then DS9, then VOY. If you want to watch the TNG movies, I’d say skip them except for First Contact. First Contact is a bad Trek movie, but it’s watchable and at least puts it’s budget to good use. It introduces you to Picard’s famous memed meltdown and it introduces the borg queen. If you watch it, and are going to watch ENT you need to watch the movie first because there is an ENT episode requiring having seen it to fully appreciate.
I personally like ENT quite a bit, aside from a few of its more egregiously bad or boring episodes, it has plenty of pretty good episodes.
I agree with a few small exceptions. I would not recommend skipping Star Trek V or any of the TNG movies but Nemesis. Star Trek V has many flaws, but it’s a wild ride and it can be fun if you dig the goofy vibe. I actually enjoy the TNG movies. Insurrection feels like a solid 2 part episode and Generations lets you wave goodbye to the old crew one last time.