# Lounge > Entertainment World >  >  Trekkies, Come Forward!

## distancing

Just curious to see how many Star Trek fans are on here, and maybe get some discussion going.  :Nerd: 

What's your favorite series? Characters? How do you feel about the reboot, and are you looking forward to _Into Darkness_?

Eh, guess I'll post my own answers to those... My favorite series is _Deep Space 9_. Although some people argue [for some reason] that DS9 is "too dark", or a departure from the "spirit of Star Trek", I really liked the growing complexity of the plot and characters, and the fact that more often than not, the developments of an episode had future consequences (though, of course, there were still a bunch of "reset button" episodes). Characters: Garak, Odo, Weyoun, Spock, McCoy, Kira, Sisko, Picard, Geordi, Ensign Ro, the Doctor/EMH... I should probably stop there.

As someone who was raised by _TOS_ Trekkies, it feels slightly odd seeing the series/characters transition from the sometimes-serious/thought-provoking-but-inescapably-campy 60s show to a kind of straightforward action/sci-fi franchise. Also a bit weird to think that, within the "nuTrek" continuity, _Enterprise_ is the only series still canon. I think it's been handled well so far, though, and I'm looking forward to the new movie.  :: 

Sorry for the rambly post.

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## Sagan

I would order my fav series. 

1. DS9
2. TNG
3. VOY

Didn't care too much for the new movie, or the Enterprise series. Just didn't have the Star trek feel to them. Enterprise drove me crazy with the whole temporal war thing.

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## JesusChild

Whats that amazing TOS episode where Spock smells that flower that brings out all his human emotions and he can't control them and he fights with himself crying uncontrollably and smashing walls to get himself under control like Altered States? All I remember is that Leonard Nimoy's acting in that was incredible, I think Its This Side of Paradise where Spock falls in love and Kirk tricks him into coming back by insulting him to get him upset. 

My Favorite Series is Deep Space 9 overall but I still have a love for the original.

Favorite Character: The one and only James Tiberius Kirk, followed by Major Kira and Dr Pholox from Enterprise 

I know this is going to sound weird but what took me away from the reboot is when Kirk says she took away everything but my bones, that line was horrible that's not the origin for Kirks nickname for Mccoy its short for Sawbones, I don't hate it it's just not my cup of tea, I wasn't into the reboot so I don't really have any expectations for into Darkness.

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## L

My boyfriend loves this kind of thing - I not so much

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## distancing

I'd rank mine:
1. DS9
2. TNG
3. TOS (VOY is arguably a better series, but I have an ingrained fondness for TOS)

I really couldn't get into Enterprise, either, though I've been meaning to go back and give it another chance. Don't really feel like I can fairly evaluate the series, having only seen maybe a dozen episodes. 

With the reboot, Abrams seems to be going out of his way to emphasize that it's _not_ "classic" Star Trek (I mean... blowing up Vulcan?!), so I've been trying to treat it sort of as its own... thing. But it does have a strange feel to it. I'm not so sure the first movie was successful in establishing its own identity _beyond_ "Hey, this isn't TOS", but I'm still holding out hope for the franchise. Part of me also really wants to see a new tv series.

Anyway, have a picture of Garak dressed in an homage to Carl Sagan.  ::D:

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## Sagan

^^ Awesome  ::): 

Yeah I feel the same about the reboot. Just too odd for me. The redesigned enterprise, and the whole screwing with the timeline.

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## distancing

> Whats that amazing TOS episode where Spock smells that flower that brings out all his human emotions and he can't control them and he fights with himself crying uncontrollably and smashing walls to get himself under control like Altered States? All I remember is that Leonard Nimoy's acting in that was incredible, I think Its This Side of Paradise where Spock falls in love and Kirk tricks him into coming back by insulting him to get him upset.



Yup, it was "This Side of Paradise". That was a great episode (heh, Altered States... I can just imagine devolved Spock). Also loved Nimoy's acting in "Amok Time"...
_- Live long and prosper, Spock.
- I shall do neither. I have killed my captain and my friend._





> I know this is going to sound weird but what took me away from the reboot is when Kirk says she took away everything but my bones, that line was horrible that's not the origin for Kirks nickname for Mccoy its short for Sawbones, I don't hate it it's just not my cup of tea, I wasn't into the reboot so I don't really have any expectations for into Darkness.



Yeah, I definitely see where you're coming from. It seemed to have this odd  inner tension of distancing itself from the original series, yet retaining all sorts of random aspects of it. (Why keep the nickname "Bones" at all if you're going to change the meaning?)

Also, yay Kira! And Phlox seemed pretty cool as well. He's one of the Enterprise characters I remember best.

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## Chantellabella

I've been a Star Trek fan since the original series was on TV. That was big stuff then. 

My favorites?

The new version with the young Spock, Kirk, McCoy
TNG
The original series

I couldn't get into the later series for some reason. 

I love to go to conventions. I've eaten lunch with Klingons. I think I've seen in person every one of the Star Trek original and TNG staff except Patrick Stewart. The best part of the conventions is the costumes everybody wears.

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## Meadowlark

I'm a bit of a Trekkie.  I grew up watching TNG and all of the Star Trek movies because of Trekkies in my family.  TNG is probably my favorite series.  For whatever reason I couldn't get into the later shows, and I especially detested Enterprise (I think maybe the terrible theme song ruined it for me, lol).  As for my favorite characters, I'd have to say they are Data (and Spot), Spock, Bones, and Dr. Crusher (I remember thinking she was so cool when I was little... I even dressed up like her once for Halloween).  And yes, I liked the recent reboot and am looking forward to Into Darkness.  Also, I can't drink a cup of Earl Grey without thinking of Captain Picard lol.

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## shyVr6

I've watched all the series, but I guess TNG would be my favorite since it's what I watched the most. It also helps that I thought Patrick Stewart was great on the show. After that, it would probably be the original series and then Voyager.

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## Dane

Showing my age a bit here, but my favorite is TOS.  When I was a kid in the 80s I would fight my brother for control of the tv.  I wanted to watch TOS (or at that time, simply "Star Trek") reruns, and he wanted to watch The A Team.  The good old days!

My brother and sister and I became avid TNG fans in the 90s (my second favorite series).  When that series ended I slowly drifted away from the franchise.  I saw quite a few episodes of DS9 and Voyager but never watched Enterprise at all.  The little bit I saw of it seemed to have a different tone from the series based on TNG and it didn't appeal to me.

The theatrical releases starring the original cast didn't appeal to me either.  It seemed like they were just parading the characters on the big screen for novelty value or for laughs; especially in the one with the whale where Spock loses his memory; (the third one, I think it was?)  

When I saw the trailer for the TNG movie and it looked like they were doing the same thing with Data (ha, ha, ha! he has emotions!) I didn't bother to see it.  

I haven't seen the reboot yet but I wouldn't mind renting it sometime.

Sorry that turned into a bit of a rant.

As far as characters, the Kirk-Spock-McCoy chemistry carries TOS.  My favorites from TNG are Data, Picard, and Worf. Captain Janeway was cool and I had a bit of a crush on Kess.

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## Chantellabella

I often wondered something though. On TNG, whenever there was an emergency, the crew walked rather than ran. I always yelled at the TV saying, "seriously??? Would you really be walking if the ship was about to self destruct?" I realize the set wasn't all that big, but they could have gotten just a little more panicked. I think that's why I really like the new set of movies. They have the flavor of drama and action like the original series, but no corny effects (aka Kirk vs the Gorn fight).

I thought it was genius that young Spock shot young Kirk out into space. Wouldn't you want that option when somebody pissed you off?

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## Dane

One more thing I have to mention, combining Star Trek with SA, is that the minor TNG character Barclay? painfully reminded me of myself at the time that I first saw that episode.  My SA was at it's peak in those years.

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## Chantellabella

I can see him as having that. Didn't he end up being some type of god though when an alien attached to him. Or was he assimilated by the Borg? I just remember him getting powerful.

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## kc1895

I wasn't old enough to be a trekkie until high school, where I only saw Voyager and realized I missed out on so much!  I also had a crush on 7 of 9 played by Jeri Ryan.  She was the eye candy for geeks in that series.

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## cavemanslaststand

Finally admitting I'm a closet trekkie.  The truth sets you freeee.

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## Knuff

Wow, what a good question that is hard for me to answer. I'm a Trekkie myself and love TOS, TNG, and DS9 (which I am currently watching a marathon of with my husband). VOY I used to turn on only to watch Neelix because I liked his character (there was also a Q episode I remember liking as a kid too) and ENT.... I just hated the puke out of ENT.

My favorite characters would be: Spock, McCoy, Odo, Kira, Quark, Garak, O'Brien, Picard, Finnegan (he's in the episode Shore Leave from TOS and that's all you ever see of him! Why couldn't he have been in the new movie, seriously) Trelane (another TOS 1 episode character from The Squire of Gothos, possibly the first Q to be seen) and Data. I also have some special pairings I like.  :;): 

I'm gonna say, I liked the rebooted movie as well. I was pregnant when I went to see it in theaters the day it came out and I have never once felt so much love pour out from the audience than when Nimoy popped onto the screen. The theater erupted in a wave of applause and cheers. That is my favorite moment when I think of going to the movies. For those who couldn't get into the idea, before I went, I stuck the idea in my head that this is just someone's 'version' of what happened, or that it's an alternate timeline, so I still personally can accept it as part of the Trek universe. The next movie I'm not sure of yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll go see it.

In any case, I guess I'll go with TNG as my favorite because it was what really got me into Star Trek in the first place.  :Tongue:

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## Chantellabella

I hear you about Leonard Nimoy. He is definitely an icon who represents something more than a character. He's pretty much what Star Trek, the future, and a whole new world is all about. I have to admit, I applauded also.  ::$:

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## Knuff

> I hear you about Leonard Nimoy. He is definitely an icon who represents something more than a character. He's pretty much what Star Trek, the future, and a whole new world is all about. I have to admit, I applauded also.



Exactly, he's a great person all around x3

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## tal

TNG
Voyager
TOS / DS9 / Enterprise

My first Star Trek experience was TNG. I'm not old enough to remember the TOS era so I've never really taken much interest in anything prior to TNG. I'd have to say its my favourite...lots of interesting characters, plenty of fighting, a big Galaxy Class ship etc.

Voyager and Enterprise were both good ideas, but many of the characters let them down. I think with Voyager that fact you had a ship exploring unknown space was its strength...there was so much scope for creativity and you had an over-arching storyline right from the first episode. It made me want to keep watching it.

DS9 did develop a good storyline in the later series but I was never a big fan early on. I think the fact that Babylon 5 came on TV not long after DS9 started meant you had something to compare it with and IMO B5 was leagues better.

The movies are great though. I think Star Trek works well in the movie format, much like Star Wars does. Although the series allowed a lot of stories to be written and ideas to be generated I always found the serialised weekly episodes a bit dissapointing compared to the much more epic movies.

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## distancing

> I'm a Trekkie myself and love TOS, TNG, and DS9 (which I am currently watching a marathon of with my husband).



*high-five* I wanna do another DS9 marathon sometime. Or possibly a TNG one, since I never really got around to watching the huge chunks I've missed. Gotta ask, which pairings do you like?  :Nerd:  I'm one of those shameless Garak/Bashir shippers. Also various McSpirk iterations and Odo/Kira. And Weyoun/anyone.





> One more thing I have to mention, combining Star Trek with SA, is that the minor TNG character Barclay? painfully reminded me of myself at the time that I first saw that episode. My SA was at it's peak in those years.



Thanks for mentioning Barclay! I don't remember seeing any episodes with him until fairly recently, but his character resonated deeply with me. "'Just shy.' Sounds like nothing serious, doesn't it? You can't _know_."





> Voyager and Enterprise were both good ideas, but many of the characters let them down. I think with Voyager that fact you had a ship exploring unknown space was its strength...there was so much scope for creativity and you had an over-arching storyline right from the first episode. It made me want to keep watching it.
> 
> DS9 did develop a good storyline in the later series but I was never a big fan early on. I think the fact that Babylon 5 came on TV not long after DS9 started meant you had something to compare it with and IMO B5 was leagues better.



DS9 did start off really rough, which was why I gave up on it pretty early on when I was a kid... unfortunately, that was just before it started getting great. I still haven't seen a whole lot of B5, but can understand why some people prefer it to DS9. Allegedly, Paramount stole J. Michael Straczynski's idea (he pitched it to them, and they turned him down) and managed to get their show on the air first. And I get the impression that there was a lot more leeway with creating a more "serial"/cohesive show with B5. They gave the DS9 writing team a lot of room, too, but some of the show's producers were never particularly comfortable with that format.

Agree about the wasted potential with Voyager and ENT (although apparently, Enterprise was just starting to gel around the time the series was cancelled). The thing that kept putting me off of Voyager is that they DID start out with a really grandiose storyline (stranded in the Delta Quadrant) which pretty much *demanded* plot and character development... but then it's like they stubbornly avoided both and went back to the "reset button" formula of TNG. Still had some good characters and episodes, though.

And as everyone else is saying, Leonard Nimoy is an amazing, amazing person.  ::):

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## Knuff

> *high-five* I wanna do another DS9 marathon sometime. Or possibly a TNG one, since I never really got around to watching the huge chunks I've missed. Gotta ask, which pairings do you like?  I'm one of those shameless Garak/Bashir shippers. Also various McSpirk iterations and Odo/Kira. And Weyoun/anyone.



Oh man, I LOVE doing Star Trek marathons in general, even if they take such a long time to get through, it's just fun. I need to do a TNG one at some point too, I know I haven't seen it all. Have to be pretty committed to watch all 7 seasons! Hmm, pairings. Well I actually am into most of the ones you mentioned, Odo/Kira, Garak/Bashir, anything involving McCoy/Kirk/Spock with each other; I haven't REALLY seen Weyoun yet so he's not in my list yet.  :XD:  With other pairs, let's see... Data/Yar, O'Brien/Bashir, Odo/Lwaxana, Spock/Chapel, Dukat/Kira... <wracks brain> Pretty much what I've got. x3

Oh, actually I'm not sure if anybody's mentioned Walter Koenig, but when I was younger I would look at Chekov and have no opinion of Koenig's acting ability. UNTIL I saw him as the bad guy in Babylon 5. And holy crap, you would not think based on TOS that he could act but in Babylon 5 all I could do was stare in shock because I KNEW who he was, but his acting just had nothing to do with what I'd expected from him. I give props to that man.

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## tal

> Allegedly, Paramount stole J. Michael Straczynski's idea (he pitched it  to them, and they turned him down) and managed to get their show on the  air first.



Yes this is true from what I've read, but I  think as the two shows got past their first series they diverged a bit  and JMS became less unhappy about his idea having been 'stolen'  (probably a little unfair to say they stole it since DS9 does have a lot  of original ideas in its basic storyline). Ultimately they did end up  being quite different shows, but perhaps it was a good thing they  rejected JMS otherwise B5 could have ended up being half as good as it  was.

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## Sagan

The Temporal cold war. I never understand why this was introduced in the beginning of the series and made a sub plot throughout the series. Then the ending. A holodeck in the TNG universe. Ahh soo many confusing things going on with ENT. I think ENT would have mad a good series with better writing.

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