Replies

TNG was good most of the way through, with the exception of the 1st season. The 1st season had more bad than good, possibly because that was the most liberal of all the seasons (I don't think it's a coincidence).

And yeah, the first couple of season of Voyager were better than the first season or two of DS9. But see the post above for what I think of what Voyager did to the Borg. That's just one example of how Voyager took something good and beat it into the ground.

DS9 started weak, but it got better and kept getting better (Unlike Voyager, which started good, and then turned to utter garbage). By the time it ended, it was positively EPIC! No Star Trek series has ever done something like what DS9 did. I can't speak for anyone else, but personally, I LIKE tv shows with sweeping story arcs (Like 24 and Babylon 5). I also liked their portrayal of war in the 24th century (Towards the end, they even had an Earth city in flames from an attack by the Breen), and the 24th century humans on DS9 were a lot more realistic than the ones on TNG or VOY. In DS9, the world of the Federation wasn't this bright shining utopia. It had its dark side. Like Section 31. In one episode with Sloane, they essentially had the head of the Romulan Intelligence Service (Tal'shiar?) working for them! That's like having the head of the KGB on the CIA payroll during the Cold War. How awesome is that? And of course, there was Sisco tricking the Romulans into the war with the Dominion, with the Federation's approval. DS9 was the closest Star Trek got to showing the Federation operating as a realistic government, rather than some utopian fantasy. You gotta give them points for that, at least. Oh, and for the Defiant. The Federation actually building a full-fledged warship, rather than an exploration ship with guns.

I agree with your DS9 assessment. Because of the relative weakness of the first couple seasons I didn't get INTO Deep Space Nine like I should have. I loved how the Jem Hadar were shown ramming the retreating Galaxy class ship, that's when you knew the Dominion was going to be a major player in the show from then on. ANd such a great enemy, and the surprises were not finished!

Watching some of the Deep Space Nine episodes, I feel like I'm watching many shows that are superior to TNG. Don't get me wrong, few things compare to Darmok, "There are four lights!" and the Borg episodes, but even some of the non-military episodes of DS9 are quite good.

I liked the one where Odo confronts his role in the execution of three innocent Bajorans, and the one where Tony Todd plays Sisko's son as an older man, still trying to bring his father back. Even the episode where Worf joins the Essentialists on Risa was a good one.

This is to say nothing of the Dominion War-heavy episodes that are not only pure action, but showed THREE-DIMENSIONAL characters. I really enjoyed O'Brien, Bashir, Jake, Quark, Odo and Cpt. Sisko in a way that was impossible with the Voyager or current Enterprise cast.

I liked DS9 and OS, watched most of NG and gave up on Voyager. I would really like to enjoy Enterprise but that episode comparing the Vulcan mind meld with gay behavior was really stupid. I really don't like being hit over the head with a hammer to get a point across. Frankly I would rather watch the worst episode of Babylon 5 then most episodes in the Star Trek series.

I just read your post. I actually posted pretty much the same thing in a post later in this thread (I didn't copy from you.) I feel the same way. The Federation was some vague utopian perfect government and society in all the other series. In DS9 Humanity got it's humanity back so to speak. I loved the glimpses into the internal workings of the Federation and was heartened to see that humanity was not perfect! It actually made us 20th century "barbarians" feel closer to the characters and the show in general. All the other series had a way of making us feel small and pathetic and totally primitive- that the beings in Trek were super humans and we were neanderthals in comparison. DS9 made the humans Human for the first time.

I have only caught about 2 episodes of "Enterprise". I can't judge it. What do you think. (And I agree with your assessment of Voyager- I tried to watch it- but stopped- it was sad.)