dave@poprr.com
These aren’t necessarily the 25 best Star Trek episodes (although some definitely qualify), but they demonstrate the depth and breadth of what the iconic franchise has to offer. And, most importantly, they should play well for complete novices.
A quick overview of Star Trek’s 50-year journey through space
Dreamed up by writer and former Air Force pilot Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek began life as a humanistic science fiction TV show on September 8, 1966. Though The Original Series, as it was later dubbed, was canceled after only three seasons, it would turn out to have unprecedented cultural influence.
Thanks to Star Trek’s success in syndication during the 1970s, the original cast reunited for six feature films. The success of that film franchise then inspired four spinoff TV shows in the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s. The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise each focus on a new captain and his or her loyal crew. Four movies starring The Next Generation cast round out the Star Trek canon.
Except for the recent Pine/Quinto films, which establish an alternate timeline, all of this Star Trek material is set in the same universe. That means the more you watch, the more you’ll come to understand Star Trek. But each of the TV shows and movies are (mostly) designed to function independently as well. So each one can serve as a potential entry point to the larger franchise.