Gentle SPECTRUMS discussion

Here at last, since we love conversing about it, is a place to rave about Star Trek: its beloved actors, iconic characters, and enthralling range of television shows and films. I dub "Star Trek - New" the range of shows and films starting with the remake films starring Chris Pine and onward.

There are so many options of new life surging into this fan world, there is plenty of space (see what I did there) to divide it into old and new categories! I love Chris Pine and crew, love "Star Trek Discovery", and was unprepared to be so blown away by "Star Trek Picard". I intend to blog about this wealth of new adventures to accompany visually.

Thankfully, the futuristic, new territory of "Star Trek Discovery" season 3 was filmed long ago. I don't know why premiering it delayed so long. I only understood that they wanted the newest show, "Star Trek Picard", to air with some time in between them.

Presently Netflix only has the movie "Star Trek Into Darkness" which is not the first of the newer films. I'm hoping they add the first one soon! They do have the show "Star Trek Discovery" though, with two seasons available -- though I am unsure if I should venture into that one yet. The shows they list are:
- Star Trek (1968) three seasons
- Star Trek The Next Generation (1993) seven seasons
- Star Trek Voyager (2000) seven seasons
- Star Trek Enterprise (2004) our seasons
- Star Trek Deep Space Nine (1999) seven seasons
- Star Trek The Animated Series (1973) two seasons

From these options would the 1968 show be the best place to start, or one of the newer ones? Perhaps the most daunting thing about Star Trek is knowing where to begin!

Kerri, this "new" category is for you too but the "old" has the detailing for you to see. I itemized a simple way to dig into the series, via the original films. See you in the other topic, where I name them. :)

Oh yes, I see that now! I hope to have access to these newer films soon so I can finally watch them! :)

When I started this thread, "Discovery" must have been into its 3rd season and "Picard" had only started. I immediately relished "Picard" for continuing the stories of beloved "Voyager" and "The Next Generation" characters. At first, I warmed up to "Discovery" with curiousity and appreciation for being new, almost entirely unconnected to anything familiar. I fell in love with the cast as I acquainted them and each season got better and more emotional.

The history of the starship Enterprise NCC 1701 is that it was captained by Jonathan Archer (the show "Enterprise"), Christopher Pike (early appearances on "The Original Series"), and James Tiberius Kirk. The new show is the story of another ship, Discovery, flying at the time of Captain Christopher Pike. The twist: this ship is a beta test of extra advanced technology, the "spore drive", that goes into "black alert" and can space jump instantly, without the need to travel there at warp speed. You need to connect it to a living organism and two people so do it.

Those new to Star Trek need to know Spock originally flew with Christopher Pike and apparently, so did Uhura and James Kirk when they were younger cadets. The secret twist is that Spock grew-up with an adopted human Sister, "Michael Burnam", who was orphaned and Spock's parents raised. So she is human but has Vulcan training and customs. She is the heroine of "Discovery". We don't know about Spock's Sister because Discovery flew 900 years into the future a couple of seasons ago, to save organic life from a corrupt Star Fleet network. They kept it top secret.

Just as "Picard" closed its AWESOME latest season last night, in our time period on Earth, a new Star Trek series premiered! I didn't know about "Strange New Lands" and wondered how I would like it. Wow, it continues with Christopher Pike and Spock in Enterprise's time period, who are reeling from having to let Discovery go far into the future! It is fantastic and I think most people would love it! But there are so many connections to other series, new fans have catching-up to do.

Never fear, there are short-cuts. You must watch "The Next Generation" and "Voyager". Then, watch the 10 films. The first 6 are from the original cast and the most recent 4 of "The Next Generation" cast".

Here, choose what interests you best. You could fill in the television gaps and peruse "The Original Series" and "Deep Space 9", which have small connections to the new series and "Enterprise", which has none. Or you could watch the two key series, ten films, and dive right into "Discovery", "Picard", or both.

You would get little out of "Strange New Worlds", without seeing the first 6 films of "The Original Series" and the first 2 seasons of "Discovery". The connections are rewarding; the heart, creativity, storytelling, and action are fantastic.