Introduction to Star Trek!

That’s right, welcome to Introduction to Star Trek! Arguably the greatest Sci Fi franchise ever made.

Let me ask you something, do you get annoyed every time people around you start talking about Star Trek vs Star Wars? Do you think maybe it’s because you suddenly realise the people you’re surrounded by are geeks? And worse yet, they look like they’re having fun? And does it really get your goat that you can’t join the party cause you don’t know anything about Star Trek!

My wife would say “yes’. If you’re saying “Yes” and nodding your head now, this right here is for you!

Getting into Star Trek can seem really really daunting for the uninitiated. There’s 3 seasons of the original series, 7 seasons of TNG, 7 seasons of DeepSpace 9, 4 seasons of Enterprise - a woefully underrated show, 2 seasons of the animated series, 6 movies with Kirk and 4 movies with the next gen cast and I’ll throw in season 3 of Picard as it was a decent farewell to the Next Generation Crew.

So where do you get started? As a good Bulgarian Friend of mine likes to say “Listen Now”:

You start with First Contact. For the record, this is how I got the wifey into trek. Now she’s finished 6 seasons of DS9 and 3 seasons of TNG. Just saying….

Soooo… First Contact is time travel done “right” or as “right” as it can be. The Borg are the villains, stakes are high and humanity’s very survival is on the line!

The movie takes the TNG crew back to when Zefram Cochrane tested the first warp capable engine that attracted the attention of the Vulcans that were conveniently passing by the neighborhood, leading to humanity realizing “Shit aliens are real!” and they aren’t alone in the universe. This event would lead to humanity’s first step from the brink of destruction into a time filled with hope and wonder. With deep, strong, positive messaging, good storytelling and many explosions. This is a very easy watch and can be seen as a standalone movie with minimal context needed.

After you finish up with First Contact, you start Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. AKA ‘the one with the whales. You really can’t get into Star Trek without appreciating and marveling at the imagination on display in The Original Series. Before the original series every spaceship was designed as a saucer or disc shaped object. The matter energy transporter that resulted in these most famous words Beam me Up Scotty by Kirk was a first of its kind. It’s safe to say, Star Trek reimagined the way we view spaceships and space travel.

“The One with the Whales” is an underrated Trek movie. It has heart, charm, good ol 80’s sense of humor and fashion. The light humor in this movie is in stark contrast to the previous two Original Series movies which dealt with the death and resurrection of Spock. Star Trek has always had a flair for discussing serious subject matter while carrying an undertone of humor. As Picard would say [sometimes you have to appreciate the absurd: quote line from episode S2 E18] and life is nothing if not absurd. Once again, an easy and fun watch for the uninitiated.

So have I convinced you yet? Nooo? You still haven’t started Season 1 of DS9? Sigh, fine. Star Trek Vi: The Undiscovered Country.

This movie is pretty much a last hurrah for TOS cast and the last time you’ll see them all together on screen. Everybody is older, wiser and dare we say fluffier. We get to see the Enterprise crew go up against the Klingons one last time in a story meant to represent the “falling of the iron curtain” in our universe to that of the Trek Universe, and the implications this would have in the Trek Universe. It’s a final hurrah for the original series crew.

Member when our heroes would get to “age out” with respect and dignity.

Now if any Star trek fans stumble across this 1 view video and think I’m completely wrong because I didn’t mention Wrath of Khan, The Mengarie, The Best of Both Worlds, etc, etc, etc. We can atleast agree that I’m right in not having mentioned Voyager, Discovery, any thing made by Kurtzman and Star Wars

Fact is, entertainment today insists on depressing the audience with negativity, bad lighting and bad writing. With so much tripe on television, now’s as good a time as any to dive into Gene Roddenbery’s vision of the amazing feats mankind would accomplish if we all put our best foot forward together.

Now Ensign, you are ready to begin your voyage: Live Long and Prosper