| Re: Which series to start with?
I'm not sure whether to put DS9 or TNG as the best place to start, but definitely it's between those two. You should really not even associate TOS with the later ones, it's so different. TNG, not TOS, is really what kicked off the other three, and Roddenberry described it himself as an opportunity to do what he'd really wanted in the first place but not been able to. (For example, they often used sets and props from Earthbound historical movies/movies for no reason that made any in-universe sense; they were necessary back then to save money, and haven't been returned to in the spinoffs because the shows' makers have never felt that they were "true" Trek.)
Although TNG is the basis for DS9, what DS9 has going for it as a place to start is: it probably doesn't need that basis very much; it doesn't get started nearly as slowly and weakly as TNG (which wasted 2-3 seasons at first and is now mostly remembered and liked for the 4-5 good ones that came after that); and its style and attitude are more gritty and down to Earth and real, less preachy and simplemindedly idealistic. |