Both me and my gf started with entire lower decks, then snw and now ive started tng (from start, currently in s2 snd enjoying more than i thought based on all the recs to go straight to s3).. That has been a great entry for us at lesst
this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2025
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r/startrek: The Next Generation
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New to Star Trek and wondering where to start?
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I think SNW is a good start for someone enterily new to Star Trek. However, I would advise against starting with Lower Decks. Maybe it's just not my cup of tea in general and the only reason I did enjoy LD quite a lot is due to tightly knitted references (i.e. Giant Spock's skeleton, prank calling Armus, and so on). It's basically like how someone here recommended TNG before DS9 because it sets the stage. It's also why I'd recommend skipping SNW's S2E7 (Those old scientists) until you are familiar with LD in general.
May I ask about your favourites of TNG S2? There are some strong standalone episodes. :)
Without getting all the references we at least found lower decks to stand very well on its own. Will rewatch once ive seen all of the tng-era shows as i think you obviously get more out of it if you also get the references, but my point was just that its not a prerequisite to enjoy it.
Im only about 4 episodes into s02 of tng so far. I was just expecting s01 and s02 to really suck based on discussions and recommendations to skip straight to s03. But ive had a good time so far and now i am really looking forward to s03 if it is so much better.
TNG S1 is... odd, to say the least. There are a few single episodes I do like, though. S2 starts off stronger compared to S1 (which is not that difficult) and starting with S3, TNG really takes off. Enjoy the ride!
Of course one can start with LD, but as I said before, it only worked for me because of all the references since the characters, the story and the style of comedy just don't do it for me personally.
TNG and DS9 are the only two series that I really know well enough to make these recommendations for.
I would highly recommend watching TNG before DS9, even if she likes DS9 better. TNG and DS9 work best as companion shows, with TNG building up a lot of DS9 plot-lines in its latter seasons. I would also highly recommend against starting with any episodes involving Q or the Borg, or any of the series "highlights". Let those plots build, and you don't want to spoil some of the best episodes in a sampler. My go-to TNG introduction picks are:
-Cause and Effect
-Darmok
-Measure of a Man
DS9 can be harder to pick introductory episodes for. Its more serialized nature means that a lot of later episodes have a lot of spoilers. I would highly recommend against picking any episodes that highly involve the Dominion or the Dominion War, let that plot build itself up. That does however, leave us with a lot fewer options. My DS9 introduction picks are:
-Duet
-Past Tense
-Bar Association
Great picks and I fully agree with the TNG before DS9 recommendation which I will share with my friend soon. Thank you.
In no particular order, two-parters count as one episode.
TOS:
- Balance of Terror
- The Trouble with Tribbles
- The Doomsday Machine
TAS:
- The Infinite Vulcan
- The Slaver Weapon
- The Lorelai Signal
TNG:
- Measure of a Man
- The Inner Light
- Cause & Effect
DS9:
- Pale Moonlight
- Past Tense
- Far Beyond the Stars
VGR:
- The Killing Game
- Latent Image
- Scorpion
ENT:
- Regeneration
- A Night in Sickbay
- A Mirror Darkly
Those are the only series I’ve seen in their entirety, so I’ll leave it at that.
Did you mean “Yesteryear” for TAS? “Spock Amok” is an SNW episode.
No, I actually meant The Infinite Vulcan. Not sure how I got those titles mixed up. Thanks for pointing that out.
Ah, that was my second guess.
As an ENT fan, excellent choices 👌
For Voyager, where is Year of Hell??
I’m with you on all the others, but Year of Hell is probably my favorite episode of all the Treks.
I understand.
There are so many episodes to choose from, it’s almost cruel to make a Trekkie pick just three. There are, like, ten more episodes I could have picked for TNG alone.
Year of Hell is amazing, especially since it was a prophecy from earlier in the series. But I think Killing Game and Scorpion make better two-parters because they had a lasting effect on the ship and the show. Killing Game was huge in scale and necessary to address the power balance with the Hirogen. And Scorpion gave us Seven. Year of Hell, for all it did, fell victim to the big red reset button. And to pour salt on the wound, no one even remembered what happened.
DS9 Pale Moonlight: is my second favorite startrek episode. This is like the deepest exploration into a starfleet captain and how easy it is to lose yourself to corruption and operate outside of your government even when you're working towards the same goal.
VOY The Thaw: an unironic cathartic watch. I'm ready invested in the characters and I get to see A1 star trek grade acting actually brings me back to that episode.
That list is amazing! There are a lot of episodes I hold dear. Also thanks for adding TAS.
"Data's Day" is actually a pretty great one to get someone into TNG, it's fun, but most importantly, Data is essentially walking around introducing all of the main characters to the audience.
I typically recommend starting with TNG in general (I used to say because it was "modern" 😭) as it naturally leads into DS9 and VOY. That said if your friend doesn't typically watch older shows but is open to them, then just starting with SNW or ENT is an excellent intro to the rest of Trek.
Data is essentially walking around introducing all of the main characters to the audience.
Sounds a lot like DS9's In the Cards (525).
My friend is absolutely open to older shows. I somehow forgot about "Data's Day". I don't know how that one slipped past me, but it's truly great for beginners of Star Trek. I appreciate it!
Happy to help! I would love it if you report back, we used to get 100 "How do I get a friend into Trek" posts/day on /r/StarTrek but very few follow ups on if it stuck!
Oh, absolutely. It might take a while, but I'll let you all know which 3 episodes each made it to the final round and how project Trekkie Assimilation went on. ^^
TOS: Balance of Terror, The Doomsday Machine, City on the Edge of Forever
TNG: The Measure of a Man, Yesterday's Enterprise, Deja Q
DS9: Progress, Duet, Trials and Tribbleations
VOY: Body and Soul, Year of Hell, Tuvix
Trials and Tribblestions isn't a good newbie episode because without context from the original series it doesn't make any sense.
“City on the edge of forever” is amazing in so many ways.
Thanks, Body and Soul is so goofy, I love it! ^^
When Jeri Ryan eats cheesecake for the 'first time' it gives me the giggles for the rest of the day.
TNG: Drumhead, I, Borg, and Chain of command (or if you don't want a two parter, take your pick of Q who, Measure of a Man, or Yesterday's Enterprise)
DS9: In the Pale Moonlight, Inquisition, and It's Only a Paper Moon.
VOY: Living Witness, Tuvix, and Year of Hell (or again, if you don't want a two parter, go for Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy)
TOS: The Devil in the Dark, The City on the Edge of Forever, and Mirror Mirror.
ENT: Similitude, Regeneration, and In a Mirror Darkly (don't really have a good non-two parter to suggest over In a Mirror, Enterprise doesn't have a lot of great standalone episodes IMO)
Movies: if you want to use these as examples, The Wrath of Khan for TOS and First Contact for TNG.
And I don't really have a list for LD, PIC, DIS, SNW, or PRO.
Edit: for VOY, I might actually put Author, Author over Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy.
Those are pretty great. Thank you. Also nice you included the movies. And you picked 2 of my 3 favourite TOS episodes! :D
Out of curiosity, which of your three TOS episodes did I miss?
That would be Balance of Terror. Easily in my top 3 episodes of the entire franchise.
That is an excellent episode. It would probably have been my fourth pick. That or Arena, the Gorn don't get enough love and while the episode is cheesy (more so then the rest of TOS), it's a classic. But I had to go with Mirror, Mirror. The mirror universe episodes in any trek are some of my favorites.
Specifically for a new viewer who wants 3 shows that would be different and enjoyable:
TNG:
The Inner Light, Cause and Effect, Lower Decks
DS9:
Duet, The Visitor, Trials and Tribbleations
- The Inner Light
- The Visitor
Welcome to Star Trek! We cry here.
I love those suggestions. And yes, I think they are very suitable for someone new to the franchise. Thank you.