Star Trek Guide for Newbies

Star Trek is a massive phenomenon with hundreds of hours of enjoyment available to be viewed but for those who aren't already trekkies Star Trek can be a difficult thing to get into. There is just too much out there for newbies to jump in head first.

That's where I come in. I'll give you enough of a heads up in regards to the Star Trek universe for you to begin enjoying "the experience."

Five Series

The Star Trek universe consists of five different series: Star Trek (often referred to as the original series), Star Trek the Next Generation, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager, and Star Trek Enterprise. Though they were produced in the order I listed them, where they fit in the time line varies: Enterprise is set the earliest despite being the latest made, then the original series, then Next Generation which overlaps eventually with Deep Space Nine which eventually overlaps with Voyager.

What's the difference?

Enterprise deals with mankind's first ventures into deep space and all the trouble they get into.

The original series is composed of largely independent episodes. While they are all about the adventures of the starship enterprise, nearly all of them can be viewed independently without much being lost in translation. To some degree the same can be said of Next Generation, although a few more episodes reference back to characters and plot items from previous episodes and even occasionally all the way back to the original series.

Deep Space Nine is based around several cultures recovering from and preparing for war. According to my own personal theory, Deep Space Nine is a loose allegory of World War Two. These stories tie closer together then the original series and Next Generation so it is harder to just jump in at a random episode.