Did anybody watch TOS for the first time AFTER Strange New Worlds?

I’ve been watching the Next Generation for a while but on my dad’s recommendation I started SNW and I love it. I’m getting through it really quickly and thought about jumping straight to TOS after.

Is it going to be really jarring or do the two sync quite nicely? Do the characters feel a bit flat after all the exploration they get in SNW?

porthos ,
@porthos@startrek.website avatar

No but I did watch the TOS episode Balance Of Terror after watching the associated SNW episode and I HIGHLY recommend it, it is great fun to watch one right after the other.

Taleya ,

Just remember the truth of Futurama:

“79 Episodes, about 30 good ones”

someguy3 , (edited )

That would be an interesting way to do it. I think you have to do it, just to report on it for the rest of us.

Just be aware that tv shows in the 60s were not big budget affairs, and tos has campiness.

hotwarioinyourarea OP ,

That’s okay, I love Twilight Zone so I don’t think it’ll be too bad.

xyguy ,

I watched TNG first and going back to the 60s was… something. Luckily I am a huge fan of Twilight Zone and season 1 of TOS is like Twilight Zone in space.

Spock vs Bones is also a great dynamic in any TV show. There’s some garbage episodes though. But that’s the case for the first few seasons of all the Star Trek.

Might be best to find a “Greatest Hits” list and jump around to see if you like it first. The best episodes (Balance of Terror, the Doomsday Machine) of TOS are as good as the best in any series in my opinion.

MahnaMahna ,

That’s a good call, with a caveat.

I started watching TOS after seeing the 2009 movie and was quite, er, taken aback with the change in pace lol. I was still able to handle old Trek because I watch a lot of older TV, but I’ve tried to show certain classic episodes to my husband and the pacing frustrates him even when he’s otherwise really enjoying the story.

xyguy ,

The pacing is pretty bad on a lot of episodes. Especially how long they like to just hold on a shot of the crew waiting for something to happen. Sometimes seems like hours and hours of this.

https://startrek.website/pictrs/image/5b03fe98-a1de-46b3-b2bb-62ecc90061d7.jpeg

Bebo ,

I became a fan of star trek when I started watching star trek TNG couple of years ago. That is when I tried watching TOS. Couldn’t watch beyond the first episode. I, too love SNW.

someguy3 ,

It does get better, but never gets out of the campiness.

NemoWuMing ,

Just accept that it will be very dated, and if you can look past that, and if you can be 10 years old again, you could love it.

hellweaver666 ,
@hellweaver666@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

I consider myself a Trekkie but I have never watched TOS (except for the movies). I have it all downloaded but I just can’t bring myself to watch it.

hotwarioinyourarea OP ,

Why’s that and how did watching the movies but not having seen the original series effect them?

1simpletailer ,
@1simpletailer@startrek.website avatar

Not the guy you’re responding to, but I also watched the movies before watching TOS. Well I actually did try watching TOS first, but “The Cage” turned me off to it for awhile. Anyway I honestly recommend this approach to anyone who is struggling to get into TOS. The movies stand on their own pretty much, even WoK gives you all the information you need to enjoy the movie. It’s a good way to get into the characters in a more accessible format.

Misconduct ,

I watched them all as a kid with my mom and we watched all the movies in theaters. Other than the movies I’ve never had the urge to go back and watch except for the very occasional nostalgia for a specific scene in an episode. I’ll always have love in my heart for TOS but it is very much a product of its time and I can’t blame anyone for struggling to get into it now. Best recommendation is to watch it with an old school trek fan because their reactions and excitement can amp up the experience a lot. Gotta be a fan that doesn’t take it too seriously because you also need the freedom to laugh at how silly some of it is when it’s not trying to be

PutangInaMo ,

I’ve been binging DS9 after finishing Picard, which I watched because SNW absolutely blew my mind how good it was.

hotwarioinyourarea OP ,

How did you find Picard? I haven’t heard many good things about it.

Eeyore_Syndrome ,
@Eeyore_Syndrome@sh.itjust.works avatar

Could probably watch S3 and skip 1 and 2 and be just fine.

citruslumps ,

Season 3 is great.

PutangInaMo ,

I enjoyed it, but I’m not a “trekkie” so I don’t have much to go on. The story shifts pretty drastically, but it’s all worth watching.

geekzapoppin ,

I’ve never heard anyone call the OG Enterprise crew “flat.” It’s definitely a 60s show, but it’s great. Just have fun with it.

hotwarioinyourarea OP ,

Okay cool! I’m definitely going to dive in either way but I wasn’t sure if characters like T’Pring or Nurse Chapel become really different or suddenly there’s big differences in their personalities etc

StillPaisleyCat ,
@StillPaisleyCat@startrek.website avatar

Be ready for mid 20th attitudes, special effects and theatrics style production…and camp.

At nearly 60 years old, TOS is actually more bearable for me again than it was watching it in the 1990s - 30 years in it seemed cringey.

But what it does have is wild and trippy Star Trek energy, the kind of vibe SNW is recapturing for modern audiences. Lower Decks too.

TNG was going for a more professional cerebral vibe, and less fun. It was a nice contrast to TOS, but it’s nice to have something new with that vibe. Voyager really leaned into the weird in its journey across the Delta Quadrant, but played it straight more often than not.

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