“Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms.” – Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek.
So, I finally finished watching the three 90’s Star Trek shows: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. It was a long journey, considering there were 21 seasons to watch, (7 seasons for each show,) adding to a whopping 526 episodes. Just looking at that number makes me sigh… Well, never mind that, I loved every minute.
The only Star Trek show I had watched before was The Original Series. But last year I decided to finally start watching The Next Generation. It seemed like a fun thing to do. Little did I know I was getting into something that would become quite significant to me on a personal level.
I fell completely in love with the intellectualness (and geekines) of it all, the atmosphere, and the tone. With each season the show got progressively better and better. The episodes got more creative and their themes broader. It was a lovely thing to discover.
I normally watched 1 or 2 episodes each night, before sleeping, and a lot of the times I found myself, throughout the next day, mentally going through the episodes of the night before. Some of those episodes were so creative and original that I felt deeply affected on an intellectual and emotional level. (I’m looking at you “The Inner Light” and “Darmok.”)
By far, one of the aspects I love the most about Star Trek shows, is that they have this sort of relaxing atmosphere. They not only move at a kind of slow pace, but the thing that always gets me is the background sounds. Each episode, for almost all of its running time, has these subtle starship, space, and synth sounds in the background, making the whole thing very atmospheric and soothing, perfect for watching at night. Add over that the characters calmly articulating all their technobabble stuff, the different starships appearing on screen, the futuristic sets and gadgets, computer sounds, and interspersed takes of the universe. It creates a great mood.
One of the things that always gets me about Star Trek is that, as a show about exploring the universe, it has by default the premise of having endless possibilities. Any weird kind of situation or civilization the protagonists encounter is totally valid, and the writers know this, and sometimes come up with some mind blowing stuff. Almost mind expanding stuff. Just think about it: a show about “the whole possibilities of the universe.” Sometimes it gets pretty intense.
So after finishing watching The Next Generation, I was kinda sad, as I thought no other Star Trek show was ever going to be as awesome as it was. Oh, boy, was I glad I was ever so wrong.
I think there’s pretty much a consensus among fans that Deep Space Nine is the greatest Star Trek show, and I wholeheartedly agree.
DS9 is not about about a starship exploring the universe, (as the 2 previous shows had been,) but about a space station, with a permanent location. Just by that you know it’ll be different. But it’s not just that. What makes it great is that it got a lot of things right.
For starters, the characters. DS9 has a big ensemble of characters, and I can say with confidence that I fully like them all. That’s not something I can say about the other shows. (*ehem* Deanna Troi, Wesley Crusher, Neelix…) I found myself liking even the secondary and recurring characters on DS9 a lot.
Then of course, the show was way darker and grittier. A lot of the episodes even had this sort of depressive ending. It’s nice because, as in the real world, not everything always turns out right. It was also about war, and it got pretty harsh sometimes.
Another thing that was cool and different is that DS9 had a lot of continuity between episodes. Sure, nowadays it’s something very common for a show, but not back then, especially on Star Trek, where the norm was to have weekly episodic adventures.
Star Trek is a science-military show, with all their technology, missions, and the military ranks of the characters, but at its core it also has this big humanitarian thing going on, with a message about union and peaceful cooperation between all the different species across the universe. I think this was never more apparent than on DS9. There’s many different species living and going through the space station, and you get to see a lot of the struggles of their daily lives while they try to live together and cooperate. For me, that is one of DS9’s coolest things.
Really, DS9 is the best Trek.
Anyway, after DS9 came Voyager, the show about a starship stranded on a far away location of the universe, trying to get home. I knew before I started watching it that a lot of people don’t like it that much. It is for sure the weakest out of these 3 shows, but I don’t think it deserves all the hate it gets. I personally like it a lot too.
I can definitely see the things people complain about, like for example, not developing the characters enough, missed opportunities for a show with a premise like that to explore, some continuity errors, making the all mighty Borg look as dangerous as puppies, returning to an episodic nature, overusing the Holodeck and the time travel gimmicks, and the fact that Captain Janeway was insane, (yes she was, but I still love her lol.)
The show also had a lighter tone, like it didn’t take itself that seriously. I think that is a good thing, actually. Life is grim and serious enough. And even if I said I loved DS9’s darker tone (I do,) it was also nice to see something more cheerful for a change.
Voyager also had some of my all time favorite characters: Seven of Nine, and the Doctor, whose actor is one of the highlights on acting on any Trek. I also liked Tuvok a lot, even if he was kind of unidimensional. (Really, the other shows could have featured more Vulcans.) Captain Janeway was cool too, even if, as I stated, she was insane, with all her reckless and impulsive decisions.
Speaking of favorite characters, I think my all time favorite is probably commander Data, from TNG. And for sure, Captain Picard is up there too. DS9’s Captain Sisko was very cool also, and of course, who doesn’t love the infinitely beautiful Jadzia Dax? Even if to be honest, her actress wasn’t the best at acting.
All in all, I think the 3 shows are great Star Trek shows, each one delivering its own particular take on the franchise.
It’s an awesome time to be be a Star Trek fan. Not only the newest show, Discovery, is still running, but there’s a new show in the making that’s bringing back the one and only Captain Picard. I’m eager to watch it already.
If you’ve never watched Star Trek before, and decide to take the plunge, I hope you discover more than just some great entertainment, but something deep and meaningful, as I did. As for now, Live long and prosper.
