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I am currently on season 3 of Star Trek: TOS, and wanted to know if/how watching in this order will affect the story (NO SPOILERS PLEASE!!!):

Star Trek: TOS
Star Trek: TAS
Star Trek movies 1-7
Star Trek: TNG
Star Trek movies 8-10
Star Trek: DS9
Star Trek: VOY
Star Trek: ENT

If there is a problem please say how I should watch instead. Thanks!

Valorum
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4 Answers4

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I suggest you watch Star Trek: TNG before watching the seventh movie (Star Trek: Generations). Generations is far more of a TNG movie than a TOS movie.

To make things more interesting, the first season of Star Trek: DS9 aired the same year as the seventh (last) season of Star Trek: TNG - so there is some overlap there (and crossing over) there to get the new series started. You might want to interleave those if you're really worried about spoilers.

Ghotir
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  • Could you give any more details on the interleaving bit? – Rand al'Thor Jul 09 '16 at 21:46
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    Without spoiling, Generations (movie #7) completes a couple of plot arcs that started in TNG, so I would definitely watch the series first. – John Sensebe Jul 09 '16 at 22:39
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    I would also watch movie 8 between ds9 season 3 and 4, as that's roughly the right order in universe and will avoid a certain event being spoilered. 9 and 10 can be viewed anytime after this. – sequoiad Jul 09 '16 at 23:01
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    Correction since I'm past the edit window, movie 8 can be between DS9 season 5 and 6. Voy can be inter weaved with DS9 from season 4 if you want strict chronological order, but it's not really necessary. – sequoiad Jul 09 '16 at 23:31
  • @Randal'Thor I haven't seen them since they aired - and trying to avoid spoilers - but the interleaving was relatively minor (other than the initial "let's have the Enterprise show up there to kick off the new series!" episode). One specific (and memorable) example, however, is a crew-member from TNG joining DS9. – Ghotir Jul 10 '16 at 01:58
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  • TOS
  • TAS
  • Movie 1 through 6
  • TNG Season 1 - 5
  • TNG s6 & DS9 s1
  • TNG s7 & DS9 s2
  • Voy s1 & DS9 s3
  • Generations
  • Voy s2 & DS9 s4
  • Voy s3 & DS9 s5
  • First Contact
  • Voy s4 & DS9 s6
  • Voy s5, & DS9 s7, & Insurrection
  • The rest of Voyager
  • Nemesis
  • Abrams' Star Trek
  • All of Enterprise

TNG and DS9 seasons that are at the same time need to be interleaved because there is crossovers so it's best to just interleave them. All the other seasons that overlap don't cross over to my recollection so you don't need to worry about it... It is probably best to watch the rest of DS9's seasons straight through due to the serial nature of the show.

A good way to watch Star Trek is along with the podcast Mission Log. They're only on TNG and will take several more years to get through the rest, but I'd definitely recommend it as a way to watch ST thus far http://missionlogpodcast.com

Durakken
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The problem with out-of-order viewing isn't so much spoilers as coherence. By and large, things will make the most sense if viewed in production order (not necessarily the same as broadcast/release order). For example, TOS "The Cage" could be the ideal place to start because it was the very first episode written/produced, even though it was never aired as such (but was cut into the later two-part "The Menagerie"), and only presented in its original form decades later. Likewise, much of what eventually became the Star Trek canon as we know it evolved (in production order) over the first 8 or 10 episodes of the first TOS season. Watching them in broadcast order (as everyone would have back in 1966) might seem a bit confused; sets, costumes (uniforms), Spock's look and demeanor, terminology, etc. all evolved and took until about the 10th episode to crystallize.

TNG had some minor character development over its run (one major cast change approaching the end of the first season), and some stories reference events from earlier episodes, so would make the most sense to watch in order. Also, the very first and very last episodes (both 2-parters) bookend the series, so should be watched in series order.

DS9 had major arcs in its later seasons, and also had bookending first and last episodes.

Voyager can be watched out of order, excepting for the first episode which establishes the show and the last episode which, again serves as a bookend. There are no story arcs, however there are several character arcs which will make more sense when the show is watched in broadcast order, especially a major casting change which occurs in the two-part cliffhanger bridging seasons 3&4.

Enterprise's third season has a major arc, and should be watched in order. Again, the very first and last episodes of the series are bookends. Watching the entire series in order can offer one reward - seeing the familiar Trek technology and other conventions build up a bit at a time.

As for the movies: #3 (Search for Spock) builds its story on the ending of #2 (Wrath of Khan). Although #4 (Voyage Home) tells a stand-alone story, its beginning starts with the state at which #3 ends. This makes movies 2,3, and 4 a sort of loose trilogy.

Anthony X
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  • I seem to recall that “Voyager” featured (1) the maturation of the EMH and the development of the mobile emitter, (2) the evolution of Kes, (3) time paradoxes, and other things that make a lot more sense when watched in the order the writers (et. al.) wanted them to be watched. – Peregrine Rook Jul 10 '16 at 05:50
  • @PeregrineRook good point. Been a while since I've watched the show. – Anthony X Jul 10 '16 at 13:30
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If you're the sort of person who believes that The Magician's Nephew is the first book in "The Chronicles of Narnia," then maybe you should watch "Star Trek: ENT" first, because it is set in an earlier time (before "Star Trek: TOS").

Community
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Peregrine Rook
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  • This stub isn't especially helpful. Perhaps you might either want to flesh it out or convert it into a comment. – Valorum Jul 09 '16 at 22:53
  • Even though that is the "standard" view, it's wrong. Enterprise actually takes place in the 31st century not 22nd, or at least, it is better viewed from that perspective. – Durakken Jul 09 '16 at 22:53
  • @Durakken - Assuming you're referring to the final episode, that fan-theory ship sailed a very long time ago. – Valorum Jul 09 '16 at 22:54
  • That's news to me. Are you being sarcastic? – Ham Sandwich Jul 09 '16 at 22:54
  • @T-1000'sSon - He's talking about the season finale when it cuts back to Riker and Troi watching the episode. – Valorum Jul 09 '16 at 22:56
  • @Valorum No. The last episode doesn't have anything to do with what I said. From the very beginning of Ent, while you are "in" 22nd century, you're actually in a time loop from the 31st where by all the events have been altered so from a chronological PoV Ent can only take place when you get to the 31st century. – Durakken Jul 09 '16 at 22:57
  • @Durakken - Oh Ok then. In that case you're just wrong. – Valorum Jul 09 '16 at 22:57
  • @Valorum No. I'm not. The entire series storyline is based upon this premise. It doesn't tell the story of Archer, as known from TOS, TAS, TNG, DS9, and VOY, because the story wouldn't even had happened in that timeline. – Durakken Jul 09 '16 at 23:02
  • @Durakken - Wacky fan-theories notwithstanding, Enterprise takes place chronologically before TNG, with a few time-travel bits that don't add up to very much of anything in the plotting. – Valorum Jul 09 '16 at 23:18
  • @Valorum the events take place in 22nd century and we are seeing things from the PoV of Archer, but the vast majority of the series only happens due to interference from the 31st century and does not exist in the standard timeline of ST's universe. so no it's not chronologically before those other series, at least not in true chronology ie, taking all events into account. – Durakken Jul 09 '16 at 23:29
  • @Durakken - Yes, that's certainly one way to view it, although I'd still strongly suggest that he not take your advice. Purely apropos of nothing, are you aware that the mystery time-traveler in the smoke was actually supposed to be Archer, messing with his own timeline? – Valorum Jul 09 '16 at 23:33
  • @Valorum At one point that was an idea. To say "it was supposed to be" is just wrong, because there are a lot of ideas people have that they go with for a while, but then think differently on and the idea that was the case at some point no longer is. – Durakken Jul 09 '16 at 23:39