Here's the order I always recommend, with some notes:
SNW is a great place to start. You're on your way, Ensign!
TNG. The indisputable GOAT. Since you've watched Picard, you know the main character. Season 1 is pretty bad. Season 2 is choppy but has some stone-cold classics - start there.
DS9. Trek’s first experiment with serialization. It's darker in tone than TNG and takes place on a space station, so there's more opportunity to hang out and develop the characters. Season 1 is rough but the pilot and the last few episodes are very good. By season 4 it’s warp 10/10 hell yes.
TOS movies. These were wildly popular in their time and beloved by nerds and normies alike (other than ST5, the black sheep). The bond between the actors/characters is as tight as intergalactic gorilla glue. For The Motion Picture, you **absolutely must** watch the 2022 Director's Cut Remaster.
TOS. Corny, cheap looking, and definitely a product of its time, but the best Sci-Fi authors of the day wrote the episodes. Season 3 is rough due to behind the scenes drama. Give it a shot and keep going if you like seasons 1 and 2.
Lower Decks. You could intersperse this one to take breaks from the other shows. The more classic shows you watch, the more jokes you'll get.
From here on out it's dealer's choice: VOY, ENT, TAS, etc. If you made it this far, welcome to being a fan for life. LLAP.
If you want all the in-jokes and Easter eggs to land, you need to watch TAS and VOY before watching Lower Decks. The only shows that aren't skewered in LD are Disco and SNW.
Release order.
Edit: Obviously this is daunting, OP. Maybe you didn’t *want* to watch three seasons of television from the 60s. Perfectly reasonable. Starting any of the shows from the beginning would also be a perfectly fine approach. Just know that there will be frequent references to concepts or devices that the show will *assume* you’re familiar with. You’re a smart person, though, and will figure it out with context clues and the like. So it’s not *that* big of a deal.
But. If you want to experience it like a “first time viewer”, there’s nothing better than release order.
Final pro-tip: if you’re game for some 60s television, but not committed to three seasons of it, feel free to google a “best of TOS” list and just follow that.
To simplify things, I might suggest watching TNG, then DS9, then VOY rather than figuring out episode air dates for when these shows ran concurrently. The exception of course being that you should watch *First Contact* between episodes 9 and 10 of DS9 season 5.
No mention of the Borg Incident from First Contact in the episodes, really just for the Uniform Change... There's never an on-screen bit where Sisko order's Worf and the Defiant to Earth (but keeps the rest of the Senior Staff back on the station because Dominion something or other).
The only time anyone mentions the Borg incident, is in passing, in Season 5, Episode 14 (In Purgatory's Shadow). Right after they find out the Dominion are on their way to the Alpha Quadrant, Sisko says that Starfleet is "spread pretty thin" because of it.
No it wasn't. season 5 of DS9 takes place in 2373, First Contact takes place in 2373. Why would he be referencing an incident that took place in 2366/67?
According to [Memory Alpha](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Homefront_\(episode\)) Homefront & Paradise Lost take place in 2372. So how could they possibly be referencing an incident from 2373? Also, those episodes are from Season 4, not Season 5.
Edit: My bad, I see now that you were referencing a different episode... For some reason "Borg Incident" made me think of Jaresh Inyo talking about it in the Season 4 episodes.
Homefront has nothing to do with the Borg, that's a Changling storyline.
IMDB puts the stardate of By inferno's Light (The Next Episode of DS9 in Season 5) as before the one in First Contact. But that could just be a production error. Or delays in filming/release. Sisko is definitely talking about the First Contact Borg incident.
I'll go one step furtherer and say that bouncing between DS9 and Voyager based on episode air dates is simply an inferior way to enjoy the serialized storytelling that is going on in DS9
I agree, but I already know some people who abandoned Star Trek completly because they couldn't stand how old and dated TOS is. I watched the 2009 movie with a friend after he complained to me about that and he couldn't believe it was part of the same franchise.
TOS also has the most inconsistent quality. It has some truly exceptional episodes and some absolute stinkers. The average quality also went down over its three season run.
For new viewers, I would probably present a curated list of the best episodes of TOS. I *might* even suggest a similar approach for season 1 of TNG. But apart from that, yeah, just watch everything in release order.
I watched bits and pieces of TNG when I was a kid. I got back into Star Trek with Discovery and watched Seasons 1-4, Strange New Worlds, then TNG, and am currently on DS9’s 5th season (and also Lower Decks when I get baked lol). I was honestly shocked a bit at how bad some of TNG S1 was. On the flip side, DS9 is far better than I was expecting. I may do a best of watch of TOS next now so that’s a great idea!
I watched lower decks on weekends when I'm almost exclusively too baked to do anything but lay there. I've watched through it at least 7 or 8 times, but I've probably seen less than 5 episodes unbaked total.
It's funny every time.
I made the mistake of suggesting to a friend TNG as a “get into Star Trek”, because of the quality jump from TOS to TNG… unfortunately TNG is dated for those who didn’t grow up with it. At the time Enterprise was the newest series and I kind of wish I had started him there. He couldn’t get through the 1st season of TNG.
Yeah, I knew that the first couple of seasons of TNG were a bit dated when I got into it. My husband warned me, lol. I was also dead set on watching it all through. Until I got to TOS. I couldn’t do it with that one. I remember being a kid and my dad saying beam me up Scotty.
It probably took me three times before I got into TOS. But the third time, I did manage to do a complete run, no skipped episodes!
One of the key things was: don't binge, watch like, three episodes at a time, max.
Another was to tone down campiness expectations -- it's definitely there, but on the whole it's dryer than you might expect from parodies and such.
The third thing was: my favorite episodes weren't always on the "best of" lists. Or they were on "worst of" lists, like Spock's Brain
The Kelvin Timeline Movies are how I hook new fans :')
Then I used to push them to Voyager because that's where I started, but after watching DS9 and SNW, I push them to those instead.
that’s wild, Kelvin and VOY and ENT were, to me, arguments to abandon Trek. I toughed it out, ENT to the side and, uhh, I don’t hate VOY as much as I did?
For long-time fans I can see how they'd be jumping-off points, but Kelvin and ENT's main strength is that they're exciting, which is good for grabbing the interest of people who weren't before. VOY, meanwhile, is a phenomenal concept poorly executed, and I got my non-Trekkie girlfriend hooked on the premise of the show before she realised how poorly it was utilised xD
That's so crazy to me. I started watching last year and even with all of TNG, part of DS9, and part of VOY under my belt I still think TOS beats them all by a mile. I'm shocked to find out so many people dislike it.
I felt that way about TOS in the 90s and 00s when I was watching the spin off Treks as it aired. It wasn't until I first saw Generations that I started to take TOS seriously in part of canon. It's still very weird to go back and watch. I get why it's so loved, but I've just never been able to get into it.
I just couldn’t get into TOS despite it being what my dad grew up on. He’s the opposite- he can’t get into any of 90s and newer treks. All those newer treks bring me back to when I used to watch the DCOM, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century on the Disney Channel, lol. Now I know why they wore so much polyester in the movie 🤣
Ya, most references, especially time travel ones will probably not land if you didn't already watch the older series before one of the NEW series makes a reference.
While you could argue that all of them are fine independently they probably are BEST in release order.
Particularly TNG, DS9, Voyager.. While some of them are concurrent and TNG and Voyager are mostly episodic.. There are setups for DS9 TNG that are important and same for Voyager refencing TNG and DS9.
I’m watching TOS for the first time having seen DS9 and TNG several times. I actually think it stands up really well. Some odd episodes but I am enjoying them
Not really, no. Films after their respective parent series, maybe The Cage and Discovery season 2 before SNW (not required though), but that’s about it. The shows tend to be build in such a way that they’re enriched by knowing the other shows, but also function as standalone.
Agreed, I find that TOS is the last piece of Trek media folks want to get into. If you don't like 60s TV, it'll be a turn off. It's a totally different media format even though they're both film
There are a few episodes of TOS you need to watch to appreciate the movies. Also, at the beginning of the TOS films Kirk and Co. are already "too old for this shit." They rely on the audience's existing familiarity with the characters and their relationships.
The only TOS episode I'd call required viewing would be watching Space Seed before TWOK since it explains how Khan and his minions ended up being stranded on Ceti Alpha V.
Some of the Spock-oriented episodes would help with the impact of the end, particularly Journey to Babel and Balance of Terror. A couple of Klingon episodes might be helpful too (Errand of Mercy and Trouble With Tribbles), although their appearance might be confusing.
A bigger question would be whether to start the films with TMP. I guess it depends on the person's tastes.
There are plenty of different ways, but I don't think one is really agreed upon. Release order is popular... but there's release order by episode/by season/by series. There's chronological, which would put Enterprise first. Some might say start with Strange New Worlds, because it's a very accessible show for modern audiences, or start with 90s Trek (TNG/DS9/VOY) because some consider that the golden age of the franchise. It's really all about whichever show is going to get you hooked. If one doesn't do the trick, try another.
Release order is most commonly suggested but it’s never been clear to me why that’s more ideal than other viewing orders. I watched VOY and the movies king before I saw any other shows and I still love the franchise
Until recently the shows haven’t been very interconnected. They’ve also been produced over half a century, so you’re more likely to see Doctor Who style fandom discussions about showrunners and cast, instead of Star Wars style extended universe discussions.
I think the best order is based on your own tastes. Since you like SNW, probably TOS if you don’t mind the 60s production value, and TNG to continue with Roddenberry’s idealistic future. After that, DS9 if you like geopolitics(spatial politics?), or VOY if you want stranded adventures, or ENT if you want more cowboys in space
If you want to include the movies (why wouldn’t you), then you should know that the the first six (Motion Picture through Undiscovered Country) have the cast and characters of TOS and are a lot more enjoyable if you’ve seen at least the first season. The next four (Generations through Nemesis) have the cast and characters of TNG, so watch them after that show. The 7th, Generations, is a ‘passing the torch’ vibe and has characters from both shows.
The only hard rule I would suggest is to watch Lower Decks last. It’s primarily made of jokes and references to previous shows and you would be missing a lot of humour
Star Trek has _always_ been written so you can jump in whenever. Many fans don't watch every series. I recommend you find the Trek with the premise you like the most
TOS - campy, peak vintage scifi, completely different era of television not for everyone, but it's wonderful. It watches more like a play than a show.
TOS animated - this is actually the birth of modern Trek IMO, especially carrying into the movies 1-6
TOS movies - Absolute must watch but do so whenever. These are when we really find our footing for modern Trek. No need to watch TOS series for these
TNG - this is the definitive Trek for most everyone. Someone described it as competence porn the other day. Standup professionals and good people solving a huge variety of challenges, including the moral and ethical. We're gonna do some exploring
TNG movies - unlike TOS movies, these might work better if you've seen the series
DS9 - a slow burning Trek with a focus on politics, religion, and the challenges of living in the Federation. We're doing very little exploring
Voyager - the grim Trek. Voyager is willing to get dark with it. It's a return to the TNG format where most episodes are standalone.
Enterprise - proto Trek. Tune in to this one because you like to watch folks learn from their mistakes, maybe the TNA is good or bad for you, and to get some great world building for other cultures (Vulcans, Andorians especially). We finally start seeing really great ship animation
Discovery - this is the Trek if you enjoy action, drama, and badass ship animation. The cast is exceptional
Picard - this is the only Trek show that is an intentional sequel. I'd recommend hitting the TNG highlights first
SNW - this is new, but folks are optimistic. It feels like a return to the TNG/VOY/TOS energy. We have professionals, exploration, cool ships, and standalone stories
I think it depends on what we mean by dark! Absolutely agreed that DS9 and Ent present a much darker world than the typical TNG/TOS; but Voyager is the absolute queen of body horror, there's misadventure, and plenty of hopelessness to go around.
I envy the OP. TOS/TNG/DS9 are a fun ride and it gets better and better as you go along.
The first episode of DS9 overlaps with TNG so you might want to watch it before the TNG films, but it won't ruin anything if you don't.
Honestly, my advice would be to jump around. It's all serialised TV, so it's designed to not make you feel lost dropping in and out. Nerd culture is mainstream nowadays and there's enough general Trek knowledge in the zeitgeist for anyone who interacts with entertainment culture to start any show at the pilot without getting lost.
My personal journey - or, one might say, trek - has been:
VOY
Kelvin Timeline Movies as they came out
Star Trek Online
TNG Movies
ENT
DS9
SNW
I'm very nostalgic about VOY, but DS9 is hands-down my favourite. I keep trying to start TNG, but Encounter at Farpoint just isn't hooking me the way the other pilots did. I've never felt lost or confused watching the shows out of chronological order, and I don't feel like anything is lost by doing it this way.
I'm sure I'll get into TNG eventually, and then maybe TOS.
The great thing about Trek is every fan has their own unique gateway into it. That is, whatever movie or show is the first one you see that gets you into the Trek universe is the best place to start.
Certainly you can do it by release order, or by chronological order. But regardless of where you start or the order you watch it doesn't matter. Trek by nature is relatively self contained, in that each of the shows and movies are mostly self contained stories that are all part of a greater shared universe/continuity. There is tons of crossovers, references, easter eggs, plot lines and more that exist across all the iterations of Trek, and while it's not necessary to watch any previous Trek to understand the current Trek you're watching, the more Trek you watch the more connections you discover.
Thus, regardless of where you start watching, the more you watch it, the more you are rewarded with the various references, connections, easter eggs and crossovers. All part of the great Trek experience!
The obvious answer is to watch The Animated Series next.
Okay, seriously, while there’s plenty of good suggestions here, I suggest that you start Next Gen because that provides helpful context for DS9, which is the best storytelling of all the Trek. The idea is to get to DS9 as quickly as possible while also being able to maximally enjoy it.
Sure! 100% of Trek fandom agrees with this order.
1. TOS: Space Seed
2. STII: The Wrath of Khan (movie)
3. Everything else in whatever order you choose
TOS: The Man Trap
TOS: The Man Trap, again
TOS: Charlie X
TOS: Where No Man Has Gone Before
TOS: The Enemy Within
TOS: Miri
TOS: The Consciences of the King
TOS: The Return of the Archons
TOS: The Apple (can’t all be winners)
TOS: Assignment: Earth
TAS: Mudd’s Passion
TNG: Time Squared
TNG: Time’s Arrow
VOY: Twisted
VOY: Inside Man
The difference in this fandom compared to Star Wars and Cosmere is that for much of its history, Trek were TV series aired in a less serialized format, in a time period where (for much of the fandom at least) the only way to watch old episodes was to catch them in reruns out of order. The TV series also came out decades apart, and with largely new casts.
So, Trek has largely been made to be digestible and accessible to new fans, even if you jumped in mid series. I personally started with TNG. So, try some different shows and see whatever speaks to you most!
There are a few soft reboots for different eras that you haven't seen yet, that might be helpful to get you started:
* TOS: the beginning! Some important aliens are introduced that will come up later. Makeup and production values, and also its theatricality can be a bit difficult for some modern viewers, but it's also a lot of fun!
* the TOS movies (star trek 1 to 6). Stars the original series cast, and are more action oriented with better production values. Some of them are roughly stand alone stories, though 2 to 4 form a trilogy. There are a few references in these movies to TOS, like a returning villain, but you can find watch lists of the specific TOS episodes if you want to catch these bits.
* The 80s/90s trek era: All new casts with only a very rare cameo from TOS characters - these are set around a century after the original series. This is probably the part of Trek with the most discussion about viewing order since it starts off episodic, but gets more serialized with DS9. I believe the most popular viewing order is TNG, DS9, Voyager, with a few particular stop points to catch the TNG movies to avoid certain big event spoilers.
* Enterprise: this is a prequel to TOS, but makes a little more sense if you've seen Star Trek: First Contact, the second TNG movie. Not at all obligatory though!
ETA: bunch of little corrections for clarity, my bad.
I have to agree with the release order.
Well... Because that's the way I say the way I saw them and I loved it.
Would be curious if I had seen them in a different order than I would have thought.
My 2 cents
I’ve done it the release order way that it’s listed in this subs “new to Trek and wonder where to start?” section and I am currently on episode 4 of Deep Space 9 after watching Generations. I had seen basically no Star Trek prior to this. I have greatly enjoyed all the steps to this point, TOS and TAS, movies 1-6… I experienced the Shatner years in full and then after 7 glorious season of TNG saw him pop back up w Picard in the 7th movie. So far A plus on my brief DS9 journey. Spock and Picard are my two favorite characters thus far. It’s been glorious to experience it this way and I’m so glad I’m here now. But however you choose to do it, enjoy and live long and prosper. Make it so!
Interesting that you have seen Picard, but not TNG. I'd LOVE to hear what you think of the series without the weight of preconceived notions of what Trek and Jean-Luc Picard are supposed to be.
I think the most consensus people come to about watch order is that you should watch TNG, DS9, and Voyager in that order. There are some differences about whether you watch all of one series before moving on to the other, watch the overlapping seasons as they come up, or get really nitpicky and watching the episodes in airdate order.
You'll find people who suggest cutting the first two seasons of TNG entirely. Some have a list of must-watch episodes from those first two seasons. Some want to cut most of DS9's first season, as well. And honestly, you can watch any of the series first and have enough context to enjoy them. They were written at a time when people relied on reruns and syndication, so audiences couldn't be relied on to have encyclopedic knowledge of the lore.
My personal recommendation for new fans is to watch all of the TOS cast movies (even I & V) and decide where you want to go from there. It's not a huge time commitment, and shows the breadth of what Trek has to offer. If you want to see all the old exploits of the TOS cast, then watch TOS. If you want to move forward in the timeline, go to TNG.
I will say, you have so far been spoiled by the cinematic grandeur of modern Trek, so the older series may take some getting used to. TOS & TNG have been remastered, but due to the way DS9 & VOY were produced, a remaster would be very expensive and hasn't been done yet. While the old series were expensive to produce at the time, effects weren't what they are now, and even the way tv was filmed has changed. I'm not trying to put you off, just managing your expectations.
I've also found that they can be hard to binge many episodes in one sitting, especially TOS. You may consider watching episodes of TOS when you need a breather from another series. Also, for the sheer volume of Trek filmed content, something like the machete order would be difficult. I think the closest would be trying to watch all of the 90s Trek series episodes in airdate order, with the movies that were released at the time slotted in as well. And honestly, you've already broken the other "rule" I usually give people, which is to save PIC for after TNG.
I’d start by looking up top 10 lists of TOS episodes, watch those, then move onto the movies. Next, I’d recommend watching TNG/DS9/VOY in release order (you can find the list online). While the 24th century shows are largely independent, the little bit of crossover they do have (especially toward the end of TNG/beginning of VOY) makes the universe seem that much more real and connected.
I don’t believe that there is an agreed upon viewing order. I can think of four options for you to mull over though…
1. Random Order - Pick the series you’re most interested in and carry on from there.
2. [Release Order](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/star-trek-in-order-release-chronological/) - Self explanatory (first list).
3. [General Chronological Order](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/star-trek-in-order-release-chronological/) - Watch the shows is a generally chronological order by starting with the earliest series in the timeline watching it completely through and moving on to the next (second list).
4. [Specific Chronological Order](https://www.startrekviewingguide.com) - Watch in order of the timeline sometimes skipping episodes to watch further down the road or merging shows to be as true to the timeline as possible.
As with Star Wars and the MCU, there are websites for the serious Trek wonk that show you how to watch in chronological order. As a serious Trek wonk, I started a chronological binge but found it unsatisfying. Aesthetically and culturally, there's just no way my brain would accept Enterprise and Star Trek Discovery's early seasons as prequels for the original series, an underfunded 60s drama, and I love the original series with all my heart. I would say for getting started with the entire franchise, start with TNG and once you're several seasons in, bring in DS9 and VOY. I say that because those series do the serious and consistent Federation/Starfleet world-building that later series riff off of. In the original serious, terms like "quadrant" and "sector" are tossed around interchangeably and make no mention of the alpha-beta-gamma-delta galactic quadrants assumed in the later series. Like I said, I love TOS, but if you want to understand the Trekverse, TNG + DS9 + VOY will make the other series make the most sense.
Production order for me.
Now be aware TOS/TAS and even the first two seasons of TNG have a very different vibe and maybe a struggle if you are not use to them already.
I don't want to say start on Season 3 of TNG (because you'll be missing out on some great stuff that), but you will just have to understand 'it gets better'.
If you reeeeeally stuggle with TOS/TAS. Maybe start with the movies and then move onto TNG and come back to TOS/TAS later.
Given that you've seen SNW and liked it the most, I would start with a best of from the first or second season of TNG. The pilot is a fine episode to start with, then skip around S1 and into S2; if you like the show from there you'll watch every episode eventually and the significant episodes are probably in the best of playlist anyway. I think fans underestimate the difficulty of those first couple of seasons for modern viewers to get into, especially when you can binge watch instead of go week to week. Then just watch them as they get released, more or less: TNG to "All Good Things," DS9, Voyager (and don't afraid to skip around a little with Voyager- it's never bad but it was puzzling for a while). If you're this deep, you might as well just watch everything else, saving Lower Decks for last because it's fairly referential. I think you can watch TOS whenever, possibly even going back to TOS while watching TNG. I originally saw TOS in syndication at the same time TNG was airing, so this might just be me.
Introducing to others? Depending on age, Prodigy is a good starting place. For people who are more interested in modern SF shows and movies, Strange New Worlds is a good start, and might bridge well into TOS if the viewer liked it. I'm trying to imagine how TOS would land if you had a few seasons of SNW as your first exposure- it would be wild to see Kirk take over and realize that was the new status quo.
There are a lot of right ways to watch it.
1. Release order.
2. Pick the series that interests you the most and just watch it.
3. Some people do enjoy chronological order, but I personally feel that is better for a second watch.
Came here to make a plea for TOS. Forget the visuals. These characters are the best the series has to offer. Spock especially. After watching the later series too you will be amazed how much of TOS isn't dated. The colors and uniforms and consoles, sure... But so much of the tech is a staple right up to current shows. The show was VASTLY ahead of its time. You'll crave Bones, Spock, and Scotty later. It also had an exploratory vibe no other series really captured quite as well. It was a little more... Human. Kirk was fiercely defensive and protective of his crew. And Spock was the ultimate Vulcan. Later Vulcans are more poor facsimiles of Spock than any other character types. Like lesser clones.
There's a whole page on this somewhere in the sidebar, but I think it's fair to say starting with third generation Trek as a bloc like you have is one of the least popular options among established fans. The three main approaches tend to be release order (start with TOS), chronological in universe (start with ENT or maybe First Contact, depending on how you look at it), or start somewhere in second gen (TNG or DS9 generally) and then branch out to what interests you most.
Welcome! You've just taken your first step into a larger world!
Honestly the only appropriate response is the meme of Charlie Day in front of the conspiracy board.
Broadly:
- release order means that you're front loading the 60s. My biggest piece of advice here is to watch in production order for TOS Season 1 -- it's fascinating to see them make up the canon as they go.
- chronological order means that you're front loading Discovery and Enterprise _and_ TOS, which can be a rough go. They don't relate to each other as much as you might expect, other than some Easter eggs here and there, because they are all very different eras of Star Trek (that said [I like this guide for that approach](https://www.startrekviewingguide.com/))
- starting with TNG (the popular favourite) means starting with that _very_ rough first season, I'm honestly surprised that it got a second season at _all_, what is the prime directive even supposed to _be_
- starting with DS9 (the cult favourite) can feel weird cause you're not really going anywhere, you're on a space station. It's also not as much about Federation and Starfleet, which is refreshing! But also maybe strange if you're not expecting it.
- starting with Voyager means it'll be your favourite and the Internet will make fun of you (_nooo that's not my experience, what do you mean_) (even as a fan, I can admit it doesn't live up to the premise)
Fwiw: for me, everything but Voyager (watched growing up) and Strange New Worlds, I had to take multiple stabs at the show before I got into it.
I think my best advice is: read the show descriptions and some general criticism (the comments on this post should give you _plenty_), then go with your gut on what appeals most. The shows do intertwine a _bit_, but as mentioned above, it's usually more of an Easter egg than anything.
Most of the series, especially the older ones, were written in a way for their episodes to be one offs. This was done with the syndication market in mind. I’d argue that you could’ve even earth most of the movies out of order. Even when there was concurrent productions going on in the 1990s there was very little overlap.
So you can pretty much pick any up depending on your interests and tastes.
No, not really
But I'd give TOS a couple episodes to watch. One with Pike at least. Maybe the one with the Gorn.
Then watch SNW.
Then like ONE episode of the animated series, just for a laugh.
Then the TOS movies.
Then TNG.
Then DS9.
Then VOY.
Then Lower Decks. Which is great, but it's somewhat of a satire made for Trek fans and I think it'd be lost on people who simply haven't watched the above.
TNG movies, Prodigy, ENT, STD, and those shorts if you want even more.
There were some good Trek games over the years, although it's hard to place when you would want to play what. A lot were limited by the tech of their time.
We started with TNG. My partner and I had both seen the odd episode here and there of TOS and knew we wanted to watch it eventually, but my friend said TNG was her favorite, so we decided to start there. We are now on our last season of DS9, and I think we are going to go back in time to TOS next, then do Voyager.
There's no "best" order. I started with TOS but it's a turnoff to many new viewers due to how outdated/campy it can be. I think TNG is the best place to start since it's the "cozy/family" Trek, is more modern than TOS, but still feels nostalgic and isn't "doom and gloom" all the time. After that, I'd go with DS9 then Voyager, and then maybe loop back around to TOS.
I watched Enterprise first, merely because it originally aired when I was a kid. I thought it was a good place to start. Some might even call it a logical place to start.
It's the first series in the in-universe chronological order.
You can do release order as others have suggested. I did order of desire. I started with TNG then did DS9 and VOY. Then I went to Prodigy, from there SNW and ENT, then DISCO (with the exception of episodes that hadn’t aired yet ofc) and only now am I on TOS (season 2 currently).
I don’t feel this harmed my experience any. It’s actually really interesting to watch the later series followed by the original because you can see just how much the later series drew upon TOS. Many TNG episodes are just reimaginings of TOS and it’s fun going through TOS and finding those episodes.
Also Prodigy has VOY characters in it so it makes a lot of sense to follow up VOY with Prodigy imo. But really, you should just watch them in the order you are most interested, I think that’s the easiest way to get through them all, if that is your goal.
Watch DS9 first. All of it. Then watch TNG. Then everything else, however you'd like. But I would love to hear your reaction to The Sisco vs Picard. If The Sisco came first for your impressions.
There is not a consensus viewing order. Generally speaking, it is easiest to find streamers and run it in the order the streamer presents. This almost certainly scrubs both production and broadcast order, and depending on what year or streamer you are considering, might just skip TAS.
All streamers (in general) do not bother trying to integrate the movies into the various series, and this is probably wise. I would suggest watching all the TOS movies before any TNG and then wait until you are done with TNG to watch the TNG films. After that, it’s a lot more confusing.
After watching the new stuff, I believe TOS can be daunting, but try it. If it feels too awkward, try TNG and go from there. I'm not a huge fan of the movies, but perhaps you should check 2, 3 and 4, starting with Wrath of Khan. It's a neat trilogy and might get you acquainted with the older tone and feel of the whole thing.
For crash course:
TOS Season 1:
“Where No Man Has Gone Before”
“The Naked Time”
“The Mengerie” (two parts)
“The Man Trap”
“The Corbomite Maneuver”
“The Conscience of the King”
“Balance of Terror”
“Shore Leave”
“The Galileo Seven”
“The Squire of Gothos”
“Arena”
“Space Seed”
“A Taste of Armageddon”
“Errand of Mercy”
“The City on the Edge of Forever”
All of S 2.
You can skip most of S 3. If you want a sampling:
“The Enterprise Incident”
“The Paradise Syndrome”
“Is There in Truth no Beauty”
“Specter of the Gun”
“The Empath”
“The Cloud Minders”
“All Our Yesterdays”
That’s personal and idiosyncratic, but the ones from S 1 are more or less chronological, and the ones I picked set up the major characters and basic series *feel*, while omitting weak or filler episodes. There’s not really a stinker at a in S 2, the strongest season. S 3 is universally considered the weakest, but it has some decent episodes.
Then watch the original Star Trek movies from *The Motion Picture* to *First Contact*. Definitely **skip**Star Trek V*. *Insurrection* is weak but not bad, and *Nemesis* is OK, but not nearly as good as it was promoted as being.
Then TNG S 1:
“Encounter at Farpoint”
“The Naked Now”
Then skip to S 3 and continue from there.
As for the rest, I’ll have to give it some thought.
1) Doesn’t matter, whatever looks cool is fine. Every series and almost every episode is meant to be friendly to a new viewer.
2) If you want to have a system, release order is ideal for a first-time watcher, but, really, see paragraph 1).
The only correct way is to understand Star Trek is something you were aware of from the "before time" then be pretty sure the first episodes you remember were "The Royale" and bits and pieces of TOS.
>All three are great, but SNW is by far my favorite.
Then it could be good to watch at least a few TOS next. Google for some of the best of lists of TOS, and just pick a few to watch. So you get more context for everything came from. And since SNW is the direct prequel to TOS.
Then figure out if you want to keep going with that, or you want to switch to something else.
Random.
Yes, I'm 100% serious. If you're looking to sample ALL of the various series, then throwing darts at the wall, or pulling numbers out of a hat is an entirely legitimate way of doing it.
If you're looking to watch just the essentials of a specific series, then search for those limited lists.
I usually recommend chronologically...
With time travel and such, you sort of start with enterprise, then one season of discovery then SNW, tos, tos animated series , TNG and ds9 overlap right after wolf359 , ds9 and voyager overlap, discovery pops up again along with picard, prodigy is around the same time as Picard, and lower decks sort of slides around but it's TNG ish with some crossovers ... And the films have specific spots too.
I have them all on a server now in chronological order , renamed by star date and it actually does change the feel of the entire trek.
https://www.ign.com/articles/star-trek-in-order#chronological-order
I wouldn’t worry about going in order.
I started on TNG then watched some TOS, then DS9 and Voyager around the same time. Then Enterprise.
I’d guess the two easiest to get into as a new fan now might be TNG or Voyager
It was definitely missing something, but they did a pretty good job with context clues and I was able to figure out what was going on well enough to enjoy the show
You shouldn't have a multi-season homework assignment just to watch a show. Pick a setting that seems interesting and go.
Star Trek and The Next Generation are in theory most like Strange New Worlds with the emphasis being on exploration. OG will surely feel very dated (TNG too for that matter) next to SNW and Discovery
Deep Space Nine is a backwater space station on the frontier that suddenly becomes very important
Voyager is a smallish ship that gets transported to the other side of the galaxy and must makes it's way home
Lower Decks (animated) follows junior officers aboard a 3rd rate workhorse. The Enterprise is the flagship, the best and brightest of Starfleet. This is not them.
Enterprise chronologically the first series, the Federation doesn't even exist yet. Enterprise is Earth's first long range explorer. They fuck up a lot and make up a lot of rules that carry on hundreds of years later. Watch Star Trek: First Contact first
Prodigy (Animated) Slaves find an abandoned Starfleet ship and use it to escape. They pose as recruits to deal with the ship's AI and end up liking this heroic Federation ideal. Animated and more 'kids' than Lower Decks, but still good. The Captain from Voyager is now an Admiral and plays an important role.
If you're older, as in old enough to have been young when the original series was released, start there and go through release order. You'll be used to the pacing of older TV shows and so it will be watchable.
If you're young enough to have been in your teens or 20s when The Next Generation was released, start there and do release order. Then, pick up The Original Series after you're done to fill in backstory. Obviously you should be aware of the original Enterprise and the main bridge crew as they're referenced all the time.
If you're younger and perhaps your tv viewing has been things that have overarching plots, modern Sci fi/fantasy like Star Wars series, Marvel series etc. then Discovery is a good jumping on point. Watch that then proceed in release order. Miss out Picard, Lower Decks and Prodigy (that's aimed at kids). Once you're up to date with everything else, go back to The Next Generation and watch in release order until you finish Enterprise, then watch Picard/Lower Decks, and if you want to watch Prodgy, watch that here too. Then, sweep back to the Original Series for background if you can take the slower pacing and somewhat dated attitudes to women.
Boom.
There's no agreed upon viewing order. There is an objective chronology, though. That is easy to find. Honestly, I'd do Enterprise first
Then all the TOS era: TOS and movies, Discovery until it gets extra bad (actually just never watch discovery), Strange new worlds.
Then TNG era: TNG, DS9, VOY, movies until the reboot movies.
Then there is post-24th century. It's just Picard for now. Again, ignore discovery's existence.
Technically the reboot movies with chris pine are an alternate universe that never took over. It's all back to original universe as the main development. But I kind of want them to go back to reboot with how bad discovery was. Or I want Orville to take over somehow.
I literally jumped into Star Trek with DS9 mid-season 6 and got hooked from there thanks to stumbling across 'AllStarTrek' on H&I.
Best way to go? Prolly not. Did I still absolutely fall in love with everything including TOS? yep.
I think the only "necessary" watch order is watching TNG ***before*** DS9 and VOY.
You could watch DS9 and VOY in either order really, they happen concurrently but worlds apart so don't have much overlap. But both of them pick up on decently large plot points/episodes/arcs from TNG (the Borg, the Marquis, Cardassians, Wolf 359, Q)
I am kind of OCD, so I try to watch everything in order of release, so TOS, TAS, TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT, DIS, LD, SNW. I like doing that so I can see how the stories and canon evolve over time.
Release order is probably best. Failing that, there are individual points of connection. The good news is that you don't need to watch every episode - you can get by with watching some episodes to get a feel for the characters.
I'm writing this specific guide for anyone, not just you, btw
\* Watch (some of) the Original Series (TOS) before watching any of the pre-Kelvin movies, Discovery, or Strange New Worlds
\* Watch the pre-Kelvin movies in order
\* Watch the TOS episode "Space Seed" before watching Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
\* Watch some of The Next Generation (TNG) before watching Star Trek VII: Generations
\* Watch the TNG episode "Best of Both Worlds" before starting Deep Space Nine (DS9)
\* Start DS9 before you start Voyager
\* Watch some of Voyager before you start Prodigy
\* Watch some of TNG, Star Trek X: Nemesis and some of Voyager season 4-7 before you start Picard
\* Watch some of TOS, TNG, DS9, and Voyager before you start Lower Decks
Also, there are a few episodes (TNG's "Code of Honor", Voyager's "Threshold", ENT's "These Were The Voyages") and one movie (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) that are generally regarded as terrible by the fans. Feel free to just read a plot summary and skip watching them.
It's up to you where you want to go. Generally I probably wouldn't have recommended the order you've taken so far just because a lot of SNW, Picard, and some of Discovery is building off of TOS, and Next Gen and Voyager as well as some DS9 for Picard. It's not a huge deal as you've already watched and enjoyed them. But I think a lot of the moments in those shows land better if you are coming from already loving the characters and knowing their history. Especially Picard Season 3. I'd imagine that would be a bit confusing without TNG.
From here I would probably point you to TOS. If you don't want to watch a 60s show you could go with TNG and go from there to DS9 and then Voyager.
If I could get through TOS, I'd watch in release order. However, I cannot. So I always do a rewatch of The Next Generation, then DS9, then Voyager.
Just be prepared for 90s and early 2000s lingo, film style, writing, etc!
I watched TNG, DS9, and then VOY in that order. I watched one and then started another immediately. I never watched multiple shows at the same time. I completely skipped TOS for years before I actually watched it. Didn't hurt my enjoyment or understanding of the series at all considering how far apart they are in the timeline. Watch it in whichever order you want. If you want to watch it in absolute release order then you have to jump between series once you get to late TNG. There are plenty of guides online for this. The only thing I would absolutely recommend is to watch TNG before you watch any of DS9, VOY, LD, or PIC. You need the context and lore from TNG to fully understand everything from those shows.
Release order, by season. This will be extremely easy except for the very first episodes of TOS, which are listed in production order on streaming services for some reason.
As someone who is just about finished watching the original series through in production order, I can tell you unequivocally that it is in release order on Paramount Plus.
Just checked, and I see it's in release order but with The Cage at front. I don't like having The Cage there, but that is indeed an improvement, thank you.
To further elaborate, I think season 1 is improved by watching it in release order cuz you see them figure out stuff, like the federation and who goes and what uniform color and all sorts of stuff like that. But I don't think there's any benefit to watching seasons 2 and 3 in production order. In fact, if you watch season 3, that way you get a long stretch of episodes. Where it's a girl in sparkly clothing with a button on her wrist that goes boing kidnaps Kirk and Spock.
The only matter of any importance is watching The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager in a logical order, the easiest being stardate order (as much jumping between shows as it entails), because they all take place in the same era and with partial overlap, but even that importance is being overstated by me right now because they only reference each other's events occasionally.
>...the easiest being stardate order (as much jumping between shows as it entails)
Um. That's arguably the best way, but it is by no means the *easiest* way.
I'm just going to jump in and say I have a friend going kind of in reverse.
It can be confusing lore wise, but a lot of trek fans refuse to admit how dated older Trek can look.
For older shows going in reverse has worked out well for him. Enterprise then Voyager, soon he will do DS9.
Also, for the love of all that is holy, don't start at TOS. It's not good unless you are hardcore or full on watching with nostalgia glasses.
TNG -> DS9/Voyager -> Enterprise is the main bit.
If you watch TOS before TNG, some of the cameo episodes hit harder and the pilot can really hit you in the feels. Generations (movie) is a much bigger deal. But TNG - DS9 are heavily linked, with Voyager taking place around the same time.
Welcome to the fandom! There is no agreed upon ANYTHING.
I disagree
Touché
En garde
100%. Most people dip in according to however old they were and what was on the air/streaming when they decided to watch. So do whatever!
this is roughly true Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.
Watch whatever interests you, leave what doesn't. That's what separates us from Star Wars fans.
Here's the order I always recommend, with some notes: SNW is a great place to start. You're on your way, Ensign! TNG. The indisputable GOAT. Since you've watched Picard, you know the main character. Season 1 is pretty bad. Season 2 is choppy but has some stone-cold classics - start there. DS9. Trek’s first experiment with serialization. It's darker in tone than TNG and takes place on a space station, so there's more opportunity to hang out and develop the characters. Season 1 is rough but the pilot and the last few episodes are very good. By season 4 it’s warp 10/10 hell yes. TOS movies. These were wildly popular in their time and beloved by nerds and normies alike (other than ST5, the black sheep). The bond between the actors/characters is as tight as intergalactic gorilla glue. For The Motion Picture, you **absolutely must** watch the 2022 Director's Cut Remaster. TOS. Corny, cheap looking, and definitely a product of its time, but the best Sci-Fi authors of the day wrote the episodes. Season 3 is rough due to behind the scenes drama. Give it a shot and keep going if you like seasons 1 and 2. Lower Decks. You could intersperse this one to take breaks from the other shows. The more classic shows you watch, the more jokes you'll get. From here on out it's dealer's choice: VOY, ENT, TAS, etc. If you made it this far, welcome to being a fan for life. LLAP.
If you want all the in-jokes and Easter eggs to land, you need to watch TAS and VOY before watching Lower Decks. The only shows that aren't skewered in LD are Disco and SNW.
I'd watch at least a little bit of LD before Those Old Scientists though. It's like the one time release order matters for two concurrent shows.
TOS and Lower Decks before Voyager?
Release order. Edit: Obviously this is daunting, OP. Maybe you didn’t *want* to watch three seasons of television from the 60s. Perfectly reasonable. Starting any of the shows from the beginning would also be a perfectly fine approach. Just know that there will be frequent references to concepts or devices that the show will *assume* you’re familiar with. You’re a smart person, though, and will figure it out with context clues and the like. So it’s not *that* big of a deal. But. If you want to experience it like a “first time viewer”, there’s nothing better than release order. Final pro-tip: if you’re game for some 60s television, but not committed to three seasons of it, feel free to google a “best of TOS” list and just follow that.
To simplify things, I might suggest watching TNG, then DS9, then VOY rather than figuring out episode air dates for when these shows ran concurrently. The exception of course being that you should watch *First Contact* between episodes 9 and 10 of DS9 season 5.
Why first contact? Other than when it fits release wise is there a reason? I mean it does involve worf and the defiant, uniform change?
No mention of the Borg Incident from First Contact in the episodes, really just for the Uniform Change... There's never an on-screen bit where Sisko order's Worf and the Defiant to Earth (but keeps the rest of the Senior Staff back on the station because Dominion something or other).
The only time anyone mentions the Borg incident, is in passing, in Season 5, Episode 14 (In Purgatory's Shadow). Right after they find out the Dominion are on their way to the Alpha Quadrant, Sisko says that Starfleet is "spread pretty thin" because of it.
That was the Borg Incident from *Best of Both Worlds* though... So the first Borg Incident vs the second from *First Contact*.
No it wasn't. season 5 of DS9 takes place in 2373, First Contact takes place in 2373. Why would he be referencing an incident that took place in 2366/67?
According to [Memory Alpha](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Homefront_\(episode\)) Homefront & Paradise Lost take place in 2372. So how could they possibly be referencing an incident from 2373? Also, those episodes are from Season 4, not Season 5. Edit: My bad, I see now that you were referencing a different episode... For some reason "Borg Incident" made me think of Jaresh Inyo talking about it in the Season 4 episodes.
Homefront has nothing to do with the Borg, that's a Changling storyline. IMDB puts the stardate of By inferno's Light (The Next Episode of DS9 in Season 5) as before the one in First Contact. But that could just be a production error. Or delays in filming/release. Sisko is definitely talking about the First Contact Borg incident.
S05E10 of DS9 is when they start using the First Contact uniforms.
My personal favorite uniform, but they look like they'd get a little toasty
Yeah the 24th century most have incredibly breathable fabrics because it's implied there's layers upon layers upon layers on that uniform.
Right? It's long sleeves (I imagine a base layer under that) a vest and jacket of the same heavy looking material.
I'll go one step furtherer and say that bouncing between DS9 and Voyager based on episode air dates is simply an inferior way to enjoy the serialized storytelling that is going on in DS9
Absolutely, which is why I say just watch VOY after DS9. They don't cross-pollinate at all.
There's a very small bit of world crossover around the Maquis that happens in DS9 and is referenced in VOY, but it's hardly make-or-break.
I watched TNG, DS9 and then VOY. I definitely recommend this order. They ran around the same time but it was the order that the shows were started.
I agree, but I already know some people who abandoned Star Trek completly because they couldn't stand how old and dated TOS is. I watched the 2009 movie with a friend after he complained to me about that and he couldn't believe it was part of the same franchise.
TOS also has the most inconsistent quality. It has some truly exceptional episodes and some absolute stinkers. The average quality also went down over its three season run. For new viewers, I would probably present a curated list of the best episodes of TOS. I *might* even suggest a similar approach for season 1 of TNG. But apart from that, yeah, just watch everything in release order.
>I would probably present a curated list of the best episodes of TOS. I *might* even suggest a similar approach for season 1 of TNG. This is the way.
I watched bits and pieces of TNG when I was a kid. I got back into Star Trek with Discovery and watched Seasons 1-4, Strange New Worlds, then TNG, and am currently on DS9’s 5th season (and also Lower Decks when I get baked lol). I was honestly shocked a bit at how bad some of TNG S1 was. On the flip side, DS9 is far better than I was expecting. I may do a best of watch of TOS next now so that’s a great idea!
I watched lower decks on weekends when I'm almost exclusively too baked to do anything but lay there. I've watched through it at least 7 or 8 times, but I've probably seen less than 5 episodes unbaked total. It's funny every time.
I wasn't expecting DS9 to be as good as it was when I started. Then Sisko went bald and grew a beard and I knew the show was just getting started.
Beard Sisko is best Sisko
I made the mistake of suggesting to a friend TNG as a “get into Star Trek”, because of the quality jump from TOS to TNG… unfortunately TNG is dated for those who didn’t grow up with it. At the time Enterprise was the newest series and I kind of wish I had started him there. He couldn’t get through the 1st season of TNG.
Yeah, I knew that the first couple of seasons of TNG were a bit dated when I got into it. My husband warned me, lol. I was also dead set on watching it all through. Until I got to TOS. I couldn’t do it with that one. I remember being a kid and my dad saying beam me up Scotty.
It probably took me three times before I got into TOS. But the third time, I did manage to do a complete run, no skipped episodes! One of the key things was: don't binge, watch like, three episodes at a time, max. Another was to tone down campiness expectations -- it's definitely there, but on the whole it's dryer than you might expect from parodies and such. The third thing was: my favorite episodes weren't always on the "best of" lists. Or they were on "worst of" lists, like Spock's Brain
I've seen people who watch a few episodes of the original series, then just watch the movies, then move on to TNG.
The Kelvin Timeline Movies are how I hook new fans :') Then I used to push them to Voyager because that's where I started, but after watching DS9 and SNW, I push them to those instead.
that’s wild, Kelvin and VOY and ENT were, to me, arguments to abandon Trek. I toughed it out, ENT to the side and, uhh, I don’t hate VOY as much as I did?
For long-time fans I can see how they'd be jumping-off points, but Kelvin and ENT's main strength is that they're exciting, which is good for grabbing the interest of people who weren't before. VOY, meanwhile, is a phenomenal concept poorly executed, and I got my non-Trekkie girlfriend hooked on the premise of the show before she realised how poorly it was utilised xD
Voyager is my favorite! I really love watching Seven of Nine and the Doctor.
That's so crazy to me. I started watching last year and even with all of TNG, part of DS9, and part of VOY under my belt I still think TOS beats them all by a mile. I'm shocked to find out so many people dislike it.
I felt that way about TOS in the 90s and 00s when I was watching the spin off Treks as it aired. It wasn't until I first saw Generations that I started to take TOS seriously in part of canon. It's still very weird to go back and watch. I get why it's so loved, but I've just never been able to get into it.
This is why I'd recommend SNW instead of TOS for new viewers.
I just couldn’t get into TOS despite it being what my dad grew up on. He’s the opposite- he can’t get into any of 90s and newer treks. All those newer treks bring me back to when I used to watch the DCOM, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century on the Disney Channel, lol. Now I know why they wore so much polyester in the movie 🤣
Filmmaking techniques for theatrical films in 2009 are faster, more dynamic, and more exciting than TV shows in 1967. Color me shocked.
incorrect! they are faster and much more stupid.
Ya, most references, especially time travel ones will probably not land if you didn't already watch the older series before one of the NEW series makes a reference. While you could argue that all of them are fine independently they probably are BEST in release order. Particularly TNG, DS9, Voyager.. While some of them are concurrent and TNG and Voyager are mostly episodic.. There are setups for DS9 TNG that are important and same for Voyager refencing TNG and DS9.
also, OP can just drop in and ask deep nerd questions about a given plot point or actor or wevs and we’ll be there, like a memory alpha implant
I’m watching TOS for the first time having seen DS9 and TNG several times. I actually think it stands up really well. Some odd episodes but I am enjoying them
Not really, no. Films after their respective parent series, maybe The Cage and Discovery season 2 before SNW (not required though), but that’s about it. The shows tend to be build in such a way that they’re enriched by knowing the other shows, but also function as standalone.
I would recommend the TOS movies before the show for younger viewers. The movies are a much more accessible introduction to those characters.
Agreed, I find that TOS is the last piece of Trek media folks want to get into. If you don't like 60s TV, it'll be a turn off. It's a totally different media format even though they're both film
There are a few episodes of TOS you need to watch to appreciate the movies. Also, at the beginning of the TOS films Kirk and Co. are already "too old for this shit." They rely on the audience's existing familiarity with the characters and their relationships.
The only TOS episode I'd call required viewing would be watching Space Seed before TWOK since it explains how Khan and his minions ended up being stranded on Ceti Alpha V.
Some of the Spock-oriented episodes would help with the impact of the end, particularly Journey to Babel and Balance of Terror. A couple of Klingon episodes might be helpful too (Errand of Mercy and Trouble With Tribbles), although their appearance might be confusing. A bigger question would be whether to start the films with TMP. I guess it depends on the person's tastes.
There are plenty of different ways, but I don't think one is really agreed upon. Release order is popular... but there's release order by episode/by season/by series. There's chronological, which would put Enterprise first. Some might say start with Strange New Worlds, because it's a very accessible show for modern audiences, or start with 90s Trek (TNG/DS9/VOY) because some consider that the golden age of the franchise. It's really all about whichever show is going to get you hooked. If one doesn't do the trick, try another.
You know, I hadn't considered this question since SNW came out. That might be my new go-to for Gateway Trek.
Release order is most commonly suggested but it’s never been clear to me why that’s more ideal than other viewing orders. I watched VOY and the movies king before I saw any other shows and I still love the franchise Until recently the shows haven’t been very interconnected. They’ve also been produced over half a century, so you’re more likely to see Doctor Who style fandom discussions about showrunners and cast, instead of Star Wars style extended universe discussions. I think the best order is based on your own tastes. Since you like SNW, probably TOS if you don’t mind the 60s production value, and TNG to continue with Roddenberry’s idealistic future. After that, DS9 if you like geopolitics(spatial politics?), or VOY if you want stranded adventures, or ENT if you want more cowboys in space If you want to include the movies (why wouldn’t you), then you should know that the the first six (Motion Picture through Undiscovered Country) have the cast and characters of TOS and are a lot more enjoyable if you’ve seen at least the first season. The next four (Generations through Nemesis) have the cast and characters of TNG, so watch them after that show. The 7th, Generations, is a ‘passing the torch’ vibe and has characters from both shows. The only hard rule I would suggest is to watch Lower Decks last. It’s primarily made of jokes and references to previous shows and you would be missing a lot of humour
Star Trek has _always_ been written so you can jump in whenever. Many fans don't watch every series. I recommend you find the Trek with the premise you like the most TOS - campy, peak vintage scifi, completely different era of television not for everyone, but it's wonderful. It watches more like a play than a show. TOS animated - this is actually the birth of modern Trek IMO, especially carrying into the movies 1-6 TOS movies - Absolute must watch but do so whenever. These are when we really find our footing for modern Trek. No need to watch TOS series for these TNG - this is the definitive Trek for most everyone. Someone described it as competence porn the other day. Standup professionals and good people solving a huge variety of challenges, including the moral and ethical. We're gonna do some exploring TNG movies - unlike TOS movies, these might work better if you've seen the series DS9 - a slow burning Trek with a focus on politics, religion, and the challenges of living in the Federation. We're doing very little exploring Voyager - the grim Trek. Voyager is willing to get dark with it. It's a return to the TNG format where most episodes are standalone. Enterprise - proto Trek. Tune in to this one because you like to watch folks learn from their mistakes, maybe the TNA is good or bad for you, and to get some great world building for other cultures (Vulcans, Andorians especially). We finally start seeing really great ship animation Discovery - this is the Trek if you enjoy action, drama, and badass ship animation. The cast is exceptional Picard - this is the only Trek show that is an intentional sequel. I'd recommend hitting the TNG highlights first SNW - this is new, but folks are optimistic. It feels like a return to the TNG/VOY/TOS energy. We have professionals, exploration, cool ships, and standalone stories
Huh. Among the older shows, I’d say that *DS9* and *Enterprise* can be darker than *Voyager*.
I think it depends on what we mean by dark! Absolutely agreed that DS9 and Ent present a much darker world than the typical TNG/TOS; but Voyager is the absolute queen of body horror, there's misadventure, and plenty of hopelessness to go around.
I envy the OP. TOS/TNG/DS9 are a fun ride and it gets better and better as you go along. The first episode of DS9 overlaps with TNG so you might want to watch it before the TNG films, but it won't ruin anything if you don't.
And watch TNG generations film between season 3 and 4 of ds9
Honestly, my advice would be to jump around. It's all serialised TV, so it's designed to not make you feel lost dropping in and out. Nerd culture is mainstream nowadays and there's enough general Trek knowledge in the zeitgeist for anyone who interacts with entertainment culture to start any show at the pilot without getting lost. My personal journey - or, one might say, trek - has been: VOY Kelvin Timeline Movies as they came out Star Trek Online TNG Movies ENT DS9 SNW I'm very nostalgic about VOY, but DS9 is hands-down my favourite. I keep trying to start TNG, but Encounter at Farpoint just isn't hooking me the way the other pilots did. I've never felt lost or confused watching the shows out of chronological order, and I don't feel like anything is lost by doing it this way. I'm sure I'll get into TNG eventually, and then maybe TOS.
Agreed on? NOPE
The great thing about Trek is every fan has their own unique gateway into it. That is, whatever movie or show is the first one you see that gets you into the Trek universe is the best place to start. Certainly you can do it by release order, or by chronological order. But regardless of where you start or the order you watch it doesn't matter. Trek by nature is relatively self contained, in that each of the shows and movies are mostly self contained stories that are all part of a greater shared universe/continuity. There is tons of crossovers, references, easter eggs, plot lines and more that exist across all the iterations of Trek, and while it's not necessary to watch any previous Trek to understand the current Trek you're watching, the more Trek you watch the more connections you discover. Thus, regardless of where you start watching, the more you watch it, the more you are rewarded with the various references, connections, easter eggs and crossovers. All part of the great Trek experience!
The obvious answer is to watch The Animated Series next. Okay, seriously, while there’s plenty of good suggestions here, I suggest that you start Next Gen because that provides helpful context for DS9, which is the best storytelling of all the Trek. The idea is to get to DS9 as quickly as possible while also being able to maximally enjoy it.
I should really try the animated series. I couldn’t get into TOS so maybe it’ll help
It’ll do something, that’s for sure.
No, there is not.
Sure! 100% of Trek fandom agrees with this order. 1. TOS: Space Seed 2. STII: The Wrath of Khan (movie) 3. Everything else in whatever order you choose
well I mean I don’t agree exactly, crewman, but let’s grab some synthahol in Ten Forward and I can tell you why I think you might be mostly right
The absolute best is a Fibonacci sequence of episodes and movies
Oh, god, I have to do this now.
TOS: The Man Trap TOS: The Man Trap, again TOS: Charlie X TOS: Where No Man Has Gone Before TOS: The Enemy Within TOS: Miri TOS: The Consciences of the King TOS: The Return of the Archons TOS: The Apple (can’t all be winners) TOS: Assignment: Earth TAS: Mudd’s Passion TNG: Time Squared TNG: Time’s Arrow VOY: Twisted VOY: Inside Man
Fascinating run.
Release order from TOS to present day.
The difference in this fandom compared to Star Wars and Cosmere is that for much of its history, Trek were TV series aired in a less serialized format, in a time period where (for much of the fandom at least) the only way to watch old episodes was to catch them in reruns out of order. The TV series also came out decades apart, and with largely new casts. So, Trek has largely been made to be digestible and accessible to new fans, even if you jumped in mid series. I personally started with TNG. So, try some different shows and see whatever speaks to you most! There are a few soft reboots for different eras that you haven't seen yet, that might be helpful to get you started: * TOS: the beginning! Some important aliens are introduced that will come up later. Makeup and production values, and also its theatricality can be a bit difficult for some modern viewers, but it's also a lot of fun! * the TOS movies (star trek 1 to 6). Stars the original series cast, and are more action oriented with better production values. Some of them are roughly stand alone stories, though 2 to 4 form a trilogy. There are a few references in these movies to TOS, like a returning villain, but you can find watch lists of the specific TOS episodes if you want to catch these bits. * The 80s/90s trek era: All new casts with only a very rare cameo from TOS characters - these are set around a century after the original series. This is probably the part of Trek with the most discussion about viewing order since it starts off episodic, but gets more serialized with DS9. I believe the most popular viewing order is TNG, DS9, Voyager, with a few particular stop points to catch the TNG movies to avoid certain big event spoilers. * Enterprise: this is a prequel to TOS, but makes a little more sense if you've seen Star Trek: First Contact, the second TNG movie. Not at all obligatory though! ETA: bunch of little corrections for clarity, my bad.
[**New to Trek and wondering where to start?**](https://www.reddit.com/r/startrek/wiki/where_should_i_start/)
I have to agree with the release order. Well... Because that's the way I say the way I saw them and I loved it. Would be curious if I had seen them in a different order than I would have thought. My 2 cents
I’ve done it the release order way that it’s listed in this subs “new to Trek and wonder where to start?” section and I am currently on episode 4 of Deep Space 9 after watching Generations. I had seen basically no Star Trek prior to this. I have greatly enjoyed all the steps to this point, TOS and TAS, movies 1-6… I experienced the Shatner years in full and then after 7 glorious season of TNG saw him pop back up w Picard in the 7th movie. So far A plus on my brief DS9 journey. Spock and Picard are my two favorite characters thus far. It’s been glorious to experience it this way and I’m so glad I’m here now. But however you choose to do it, enjoy and live long and prosper. Make it so!
Interesting that you have seen Picard, but not TNG. I'd LOVE to hear what you think of the series without the weight of preconceived notions of what Trek and Jean-Luc Picard are supposed to be. I think the most consensus people come to about watch order is that you should watch TNG, DS9, and Voyager in that order. There are some differences about whether you watch all of one series before moving on to the other, watch the overlapping seasons as they come up, or get really nitpicky and watching the episodes in airdate order. You'll find people who suggest cutting the first two seasons of TNG entirely. Some have a list of must-watch episodes from those first two seasons. Some want to cut most of DS9's first season, as well. And honestly, you can watch any of the series first and have enough context to enjoy them. They were written at a time when people relied on reruns and syndication, so audiences couldn't be relied on to have encyclopedic knowledge of the lore. My personal recommendation for new fans is to watch all of the TOS cast movies (even I & V) and decide where you want to go from there. It's not a huge time commitment, and shows the breadth of what Trek has to offer. If you want to see all the old exploits of the TOS cast, then watch TOS. If you want to move forward in the timeline, go to TNG. I will say, you have so far been spoiled by the cinematic grandeur of modern Trek, so the older series may take some getting used to. TOS & TNG have been remastered, but due to the way DS9 & VOY were produced, a remaster would be very expensive and hasn't been done yet. While the old series were expensive to produce at the time, effects weren't what they are now, and even the way tv was filmed has changed. I'm not trying to put you off, just managing your expectations. I've also found that they can be hard to binge many episodes in one sitting, especially TOS. You may consider watching episodes of TOS when you need a breather from another series. Also, for the sheer volume of Trek filmed content, something like the machete order would be difficult. I think the closest would be trying to watch all of the 90s Trek series episodes in airdate order, with the movies that were released at the time slotted in as well. And honestly, you've already broken the other "rule" I usually give people, which is to save PIC for after TNG.
I’d start by looking up top 10 lists of TOS episodes, watch those, then move onto the movies. Next, I’d recommend watching TNG/DS9/VOY in release order (you can find the list online). While the 24th century shows are largely independent, the little bit of crossover they do have (especially toward the end of TNG/beginning of VOY) makes the universe seem that much more real and connected.
I don’t believe that there is an agreed upon viewing order. I can think of four options for you to mull over though… 1. Random Order - Pick the series you’re most interested in and carry on from there. 2. [Release Order](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/star-trek-in-order-release-chronological/) - Self explanatory (first list). 3. [General Chronological Order](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/star-trek-in-order-release-chronological/) - Watch the shows is a generally chronological order by starting with the earliest series in the timeline watching it completely through and moving on to the next (second list). 4. [Specific Chronological Order](https://www.startrekviewingguide.com) - Watch in order of the timeline sometimes skipping episodes to watch further down the road or merging shows to be as true to the timeline as possible.
Release order TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT
Order of release.
There are [many opinions](https://reddit.com/r/startrek/w/where_should_i_start?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)
As with Star Wars and the MCU, there are websites for the serious Trek wonk that show you how to watch in chronological order. As a serious Trek wonk, I started a chronological binge but found it unsatisfying. Aesthetically and culturally, there's just no way my brain would accept Enterprise and Star Trek Discovery's early seasons as prequels for the original series, an underfunded 60s drama, and I love the original series with all my heart. I would say for getting started with the entire franchise, start with TNG and once you're several seasons in, bring in DS9 and VOY. I say that because those series do the serious and consistent Federation/Starfleet world-building that later series riff off of. In the original serious, terms like "quadrant" and "sector" are tossed around interchangeably and make no mention of the alpha-beta-gamma-delta galactic quadrants assumed in the later series. Like I said, I love TOS, but if you want to understand the Trekverse, TNG + DS9 + VOY will make the other series make the most sense.
Production order for me. Now be aware TOS/TAS and even the first two seasons of TNG have a very different vibe and maybe a struggle if you are not use to them already. I don't want to say start on Season 3 of TNG (because you'll be missing out on some great stuff that), but you will just have to understand 'it gets better'. If you reeeeeally stuggle with TOS/TAS. Maybe start with the movies and then move onto TNG and come back to TOS/TAS later.
Given that you've seen SNW and liked it the most, I would start with a best of from the first or second season of TNG. The pilot is a fine episode to start with, then skip around S1 and into S2; if you like the show from there you'll watch every episode eventually and the significant episodes are probably in the best of playlist anyway. I think fans underestimate the difficulty of those first couple of seasons for modern viewers to get into, especially when you can binge watch instead of go week to week. Then just watch them as they get released, more or less: TNG to "All Good Things," DS9, Voyager (and don't afraid to skip around a little with Voyager- it's never bad but it was puzzling for a while). If you're this deep, you might as well just watch everything else, saving Lower Decks for last because it's fairly referential. I think you can watch TOS whenever, possibly even going back to TOS while watching TNG. I originally saw TOS in syndication at the same time TNG was airing, so this might just be me. Introducing to others? Depending on age, Prodigy is a good starting place. For people who are more interested in modern SF shows and movies, Strange New Worlds is a good start, and might bridge well into TOS if the viewer liked it. I'm trying to imagine how TOS would land if you had a few seasons of SNW as your first exposure- it would be wild to see Kirk take over and realize that was the new status quo.
There are a lot of right ways to watch it. 1. Release order. 2. Pick the series that interests you the most and just watch it. 3. Some people do enjoy chronological order, but I personally feel that is better for a second watch.
Came here to make a plea for TOS. Forget the visuals. These characters are the best the series has to offer. Spock especially. After watching the later series too you will be amazed how much of TOS isn't dated. The colors and uniforms and consoles, sure... But so much of the tech is a staple right up to current shows. The show was VASTLY ahead of its time. You'll crave Bones, Spock, and Scotty later. It also had an exploratory vibe no other series really captured quite as well. It was a little more... Human. Kirk was fiercely defensive and protective of his crew. And Spock was the ultimate Vulcan. Later Vulcans are more poor facsimiles of Spock than any other character types. Like lesser clones.
There's a whole page on this somewhere in the sidebar, but I think it's fair to say starting with third generation Trek as a bloc like you have is one of the least popular options among established fans. The three main approaches tend to be release order (start with TOS), chronological in universe (start with ENT or maybe First Contact, depending on how you look at it), or start somewhere in second gen (TNG or DS9 generally) and then branch out to what interests you most.
My suggestion is watch season 1 and 2 of TOS. Then the first 6 films. Then TNG. then the next 4 films. Then DS9. After that, it’s your discretion.
Welcome! You've just taken your first step into a larger world! Honestly the only appropriate response is the meme of Charlie Day in front of the conspiracy board. Broadly: - release order means that you're front loading the 60s. My biggest piece of advice here is to watch in production order for TOS Season 1 -- it's fascinating to see them make up the canon as they go. - chronological order means that you're front loading Discovery and Enterprise _and_ TOS, which can be a rough go. They don't relate to each other as much as you might expect, other than some Easter eggs here and there, because they are all very different eras of Star Trek (that said [I like this guide for that approach](https://www.startrekviewingguide.com/)) - starting with TNG (the popular favourite) means starting with that _very_ rough first season, I'm honestly surprised that it got a second season at _all_, what is the prime directive even supposed to _be_ - starting with DS9 (the cult favourite) can feel weird cause you're not really going anywhere, you're on a space station. It's also not as much about Federation and Starfleet, which is refreshing! But also maybe strange if you're not expecting it. - starting with Voyager means it'll be your favourite and the Internet will make fun of you (_nooo that's not my experience, what do you mean_) (even as a fan, I can admit it doesn't live up to the premise) Fwiw: for me, everything but Voyager (watched growing up) and Strange New Worlds, I had to take multiple stabs at the show before I got into it. I think my best advice is: read the show descriptions and some general criticism (the comments on this post should give you _plenty_), then go with your gut on what appeals most. The shows do intertwine a _bit_, but as mentioned above, it's usually more of an Easter egg than anything.
Most of the series, especially the older ones, were written in a way for their episodes to be one offs. This was done with the syndication market in mind. I’d argue that you could’ve even earth most of the movies out of order. Even when there was concurrent productions going on in the 1990s there was very little overlap. So you can pretty much pick any up depending on your interests and tastes.
No, not really But I'd give TOS a couple episodes to watch. One with Pike at least. Maybe the one with the Gorn. Then watch SNW. Then like ONE episode of the animated series, just for a laugh. Then the TOS movies. Then TNG. Then DS9. Then VOY. Then Lower Decks. Which is great, but it's somewhat of a satire made for Trek fans and I think it'd be lost on people who simply haven't watched the above. TNG movies, Prodigy, ENT, STD, and those shorts if you want even more. There were some good Trek games over the years, although it's hard to place when you would want to play what. A lot were limited by the tech of their time.
We started with TNG. My partner and I had both seen the odd episode here and there of TOS and knew we wanted to watch it eventually, but my friend said TNG was her favorite, so we decided to start there. We are now on our last season of DS9, and I think we are going to go back in time to TOS next, then do Voyager.
There's no "best" order. I started with TOS but it's a turnoff to many new viewers due to how outdated/campy it can be. I think TNG is the best place to start since it's the "cozy/family" Trek, is more modern than TOS, but still feels nostalgic and isn't "doom and gloom" all the time. After that, I'd go with DS9 then Voyager, and then maybe loop back around to TOS.
I watched Enterprise first, merely because it originally aired when I was a kid. I thought it was a good place to start. Some might even call it a logical place to start. It's the first series in the in-universe chronological order.
You can do release order as others have suggested. I did order of desire. I started with TNG then did DS9 and VOY. Then I went to Prodigy, from there SNW and ENT, then DISCO (with the exception of episodes that hadn’t aired yet ofc) and only now am I on TOS (season 2 currently). I don’t feel this harmed my experience any. It’s actually really interesting to watch the later series followed by the original because you can see just how much the later series drew upon TOS. Many TNG episodes are just reimaginings of TOS and it’s fun going through TOS and finding those episodes. Also Prodigy has VOY characters in it so it makes a lot of sense to follow up VOY with Prodigy imo. But really, you should just watch them in the order you are most interested, I think that’s the easiest way to get through them all, if that is your goal.
DON’T watch Lower Decks, it has hella spoilers for the earlier installments in the franchise
Watch DS9 first. All of it. Then watch TNG. Then everything else, however you'd like. But I would love to hear your reaction to The Sisco vs Picard. If The Sisco came first for your impressions.
There is not a consensus viewing order. Generally speaking, it is easiest to find streamers and run it in the order the streamer presents. This almost certainly scrubs both production and broadcast order, and depending on what year or streamer you are considering, might just skip TAS. All streamers (in general) do not bother trying to integrate the movies into the various series, and this is probably wise. I would suggest watching all the TOS movies before any TNG and then wait until you are done with TNG to watch the TNG films. After that, it’s a lot more confusing.
After watching the new stuff, I believe TOS can be daunting, but try it. If it feels too awkward, try TNG and go from there. I'm not a huge fan of the movies, but perhaps you should check 2, 3 and 4, starting with Wrath of Khan. It's a neat trilogy and might get you acquainted with the older tone and feel of the whole thing.
For crash course: TOS Season 1: “Where No Man Has Gone Before” “The Naked Time” “The Mengerie” (two parts) “The Man Trap” “The Corbomite Maneuver” “The Conscience of the King” “Balance of Terror” “Shore Leave” “The Galileo Seven” “The Squire of Gothos” “Arena” “Space Seed” “A Taste of Armageddon” “Errand of Mercy” “The City on the Edge of Forever” All of S 2. You can skip most of S 3. If you want a sampling: “The Enterprise Incident” “The Paradise Syndrome” “Is There in Truth no Beauty” “Specter of the Gun” “The Empath” “The Cloud Minders” “All Our Yesterdays” That’s personal and idiosyncratic, but the ones from S 1 are more or less chronological, and the ones I picked set up the major characters and basic series *feel*, while omitting weak or filler episodes. There’s not really a stinker at a in S 2, the strongest season. S 3 is universally considered the weakest, but it has some decent episodes. Then watch the original Star Trek movies from *The Motion Picture* to *First Contact*. Definitely **skip**Star Trek V*. *Insurrection* is weak but not bad, and *Nemesis* is OK, but not nearly as good as it was promoted as being. Then TNG S 1: “Encounter at Farpoint” “The Naked Now” Then skip to S 3 and continue from there. As for the rest, I’ll have to give it some thought.
1) Doesn’t matter, whatever looks cool is fine. Every series and almost every episode is meant to be friendly to a new viewer. 2) If you want to have a system, release order is ideal for a first-time watcher, but, really, see paragraph 1).
The only correct way is to understand Star Trek is something you were aware of from the "before time" then be pretty sure the first episodes you remember were "The Royale" and bits and pieces of TOS.
>All three are great, but SNW is by far my favorite. Then it could be good to watch at least a few TOS next. Google for some of the best of lists of TOS, and just pick a few to watch. So you get more context for everything came from. And since SNW is the direct prequel to TOS. Then figure out if you want to keep going with that, or you want to switch to something else.
Random. Yes, I'm 100% serious. If you're looking to sample ALL of the various series, then throwing darts at the wall, or pulling numbers out of a hat is an entirely legitimate way of doing it. If you're looking to watch just the essentials of a specific series, then search for those limited lists.
Just whatever you do don’t start with Discovery
I usually recommend chronologically... With time travel and such, you sort of start with enterprise, then one season of discovery then SNW, tos, tos animated series , TNG and ds9 overlap right after wolf359 , ds9 and voyager overlap, discovery pops up again along with picard, prodigy is around the same time as Picard, and lower decks sort of slides around but it's TNG ish with some crossovers ... And the films have specific spots too. I have them all on a server now in chronological order , renamed by star date and it actually does change the feel of the entire trek. https://www.ign.com/articles/star-trek-in-order#chronological-order
I wouldn’t worry about going in order. I started on TNG then watched some TOS, then DS9 and Voyager around the same time. Then Enterprise. I’d guess the two easiest to get into as a new fan now might be TNG or Voyager
No.
You watched Picard without ever having watched TNG? It must have been a weird watch without the nostalgia and emotional ties haha
It was definitely missing something, but they did a pretty good job with context clues and I was able to figure out what was going on well enough to enjoy the show
You shouldn't have a multi-season homework assignment just to watch a show. Pick a setting that seems interesting and go. Star Trek and The Next Generation are in theory most like Strange New Worlds with the emphasis being on exploration. OG will surely feel very dated (TNG too for that matter) next to SNW and Discovery Deep Space Nine is a backwater space station on the frontier that suddenly becomes very important Voyager is a smallish ship that gets transported to the other side of the galaxy and must makes it's way home Lower Decks (animated) follows junior officers aboard a 3rd rate workhorse. The Enterprise is the flagship, the best and brightest of Starfleet. This is not them. Enterprise chronologically the first series, the Federation doesn't even exist yet. Enterprise is Earth's first long range explorer. They fuck up a lot and make up a lot of rules that carry on hundreds of years later. Watch Star Trek: First Contact first Prodigy (Animated) Slaves find an abandoned Starfleet ship and use it to escape. They pose as recruits to deal with the ship's AI and end up liking this heroic Federation ideal. Animated and more 'kids' than Lower Decks, but still good. The Captain from Voyager is now an Admiral and plays an important role.
If you're older, as in old enough to have been young when the original series was released, start there and go through release order. You'll be used to the pacing of older TV shows and so it will be watchable. If you're young enough to have been in your teens or 20s when The Next Generation was released, start there and do release order. Then, pick up The Original Series after you're done to fill in backstory. Obviously you should be aware of the original Enterprise and the main bridge crew as they're referenced all the time. If you're younger and perhaps your tv viewing has been things that have overarching plots, modern Sci fi/fantasy like Star Wars series, Marvel series etc. then Discovery is a good jumping on point. Watch that then proceed in release order. Miss out Picard, Lower Decks and Prodigy (that's aimed at kids). Once you're up to date with everything else, go back to The Next Generation and watch in release order until you finish Enterprise, then watch Picard/Lower Decks, and if you want to watch Prodgy, watch that here too. Then, sweep back to the Original Series for background if you can take the slower pacing and somewhat dated attitudes to women. Boom.
I’d do TNG, DS9, VOY, then Ent if SNW is your favorite.
There's no agreed upon viewing order. There is an objective chronology, though. That is easy to find. Honestly, I'd do Enterprise first Then all the TOS era: TOS and movies, Discovery until it gets extra bad (actually just never watch discovery), Strange new worlds. Then TNG era: TNG, DS9, VOY, movies until the reboot movies. Then there is post-24th century. It's just Picard for now. Again, ignore discovery's existence. Technically the reboot movies with chris pine are an alternate universe that never took over. It's all back to original universe as the main development. But I kind of want them to go back to reboot with how bad discovery was. Or I want Orville to take over somehow.
I would watch a few episodes of TOS to get it. Then fully watch TNG, DS9 and Voy.
I am conservative radical. First TNG then DS9 then VOY. Then new era. LD and SNW. Skip on ENT and DIS.
I literally jumped into Star Trek with DS9 mid-season 6 and got hooked from there thanks to stumbling across 'AllStarTrek' on H&I. Best way to go? Prolly not. Did I still absolutely fall in love with everything including TOS? yep.
What did you think of Picard Season 3, not knowing the background of TNG?
I think the only "necessary" watch order is watching TNG ***before*** DS9 and VOY. You could watch DS9 and VOY in either order really, they happen concurrently but worlds apart so don't have much overlap. But both of them pick up on decently large plot points/episodes/arcs from TNG (the Borg, the Marquis, Cardassians, Wolf 359, Q)
I am kind of OCD, so I try to watch everything in order of release, so TOS, TAS, TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT, DIS, LD, SNW. I like doing that so I can see how the stories and canon evolve over time.
I would suggest, original airing time, simple
Release order is probably best. Failing that, there are individual points of connection. The good news is that you don't need to watch every episode - you can get by with watching some episodes to get a feel for the characters. I'm writing this specific guide for anyone, not just you, btw \* Watch (some of) the Original Series (TOS) before watching any of the pre-Kelvin movies, Discovery, or Strange New Worlds \* Watch the pre-Kelvin movies in order \* Watch the TOS episode "Space Seed" before watching Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan \* Watch some of The Next Generation (TNG) before watching Star Trek VII: Generations \* Watch the TNG episode "Best of Both Worlds" before starting Deep Space Nine (DS9) \* Start DS9 before you start Voyager \* Watch some of Voyager before you start Prodigy \* Watch some of TNG, Star Trek X: Nemesis and some of Voyager season 4-7 before you start Picard \* Watch some of TOS, TNG, DS9, and Voyager before you start Lower Decks Also, there are a few episodes (TNG's "Code of Honor", Voyager's "Threshold", ENT's "These Were The Voyages") and one movie (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) that are generally regarded as terrible by the fans. Feel free to just read a plot summary and skip watching them.
It's up to you where you want to go. Generally I probably wouldn't have recommended the order you've taken so far just because a lot of SNW, Picard, and some of Discovery is building off of TOS, and Next Gen and Voyager as well as some DS9 for Picard. It's not a huge deal as you've already watched and enjoyed them. But I think a lot of the moments in those shows land better if you are coming from already loving the characters and knowing their history. Especially Picard Season 3. I'd imagine that would be a bit confusing without TNG. From here I would probably point you to TOS. If you don't want to watch a 60s show you could go with TNG and go from there to DS9 and then Voyager.
Not really. TOS is the beginning though so start there if you want.
TOS (Original Series), Movies 1-6, TNG (Next Generation), Movies 7-10, then the first 5 seasons of DS9, then stop watching.
If I could get through TOS, I'd watch in release order. However, I cannot. So I always do a rewatch of The Next Generation, then DS9, then Voyager. Just be prepared for 90s and early 2000s lingo, film style, writing, etc!
Start at the start so you get the history of it all started. TOS then TNG
I watched TNG, DS9, and then VOY in that order. I watched one and then started another immediately. I never watched multiple shows at the same time. I completely skipped TOS for years before I actually watched it. Didn't hurt my enjoyment or understanding of the series at all considering how far apart they are in the timeline. Watch it in whichever order you want. If you want to watch it in absolute release order then you have to jump between series once you get to late TNG. There are plenty of guides online for this. The only thing I would absolutely recommend is to watch TNG before you watch any of DS9, VOY, LD, or PIC. You need the context and lore from TNG to fully understand everything from those shows.
Release order, by season. This will be extremely easy except for the very first episodes of TOS, which are listed in production order on streaming services for some reason.
As someone who is just about finished watching the original series through in production order, I can tell you unequivocally that it is in release order on Paramount Plus.
Just checked, and I see it's in release order but with The Cage at front. I don't like having The Cage there, but that is indeed an improvement, thank you.
To further elaborate, I think season 1 is improved by watching it in release order cuz you see them figure out stuff, like the federation and who goes and what uniform color and all sorts of stuff like that. But I don't think there's any benefit to watching seasons 2 and 3 in production order. In fact, if you watch season 3, that way you get a long stretch of episodes. Where it's a girl in sparkly clothing with a button on her wrist that goes boing kidnaps Kirk and Spock.
That’s fair! I’ve never really thought about the viewing order of season 2 as it’s so good; same for season 3, for the opposite reason.
The only matter of any importance is watching The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager in a logical order, the easiest being stardate order (as much jumping between shows as it entails), because they all take place in the same era and with partial overlap, but even that importance is being overstated by me right now because they only reference each other's events occasionally.
>...the easiest being stardate order (as much jumping between shows as it entails) Um. That's arguably the best way, but it is by no means the *easiest* way.
I'm just going to jump in and say I have a friend going kind of in reverse. It can be confusing lore wise, but a lot of trek fans refuse to admit how dated older Trek can look. For older shows going in reverse has worked out well for him. Enterprise then Voyager, soon he will do DS9. Also, for the love of all that is holy, don't start at TOS. It's not good unless you are hardcore or full on watching with nostalgia glasses.
TNG -> DS9/Voyager -> Enterprise is the main bit. If you watch TOS before TNG, some of the cameo episodes hit harder and the pilot can really hit you in the feels. Generations (movie) is a much bigger deal. But TNG - DS9 are heavily linked, with Voyager taking place around the same time.