I always found the original series too campy (I don't like camp). The Next Generation was an improvement but I still couldn't get into it (for me the whole Q story was ludicrous), even though I absolutely adore Patrick Stewart and his Jean-Luc Picard is one of my favorite captains.
I've tried watching Deep Space Nice because I've been told it's the best Trek series, but that also rubbed me the wrong way, and had to stop it after a few episodes. I've started watching Voyager, and I think I might stick with it. For now.
I watched the entirety of Enterprise, though, and liked it, so maybe I just have more affinity for more modern takes on the show.
Anyway, I think Discovery is the best so far primarily because it feels so modern and fresh. A real upgrade as far as I'm concerned.The idea of making the main character not be the captain of the ship is brilliant as well. I always found the fact that the most important person on the ship is always going on missions, whether mundane reconnaissance or more dangerous ones, absurd.
Even if these ships are not expressly military vessels, they certainly most closely resemble one. The personnel is similarly organized, with a captain and his subordinates, who must respect a direct order. Now, there's no way that the captain of a Navy ship, for instance, would go on a mission off the ship; he would send a team of sailors with different levels of expertise depending on the mission. The captain would stay safely on board, where he'd follow along and make decisions as needed. But because Michael Burnham (the lovely Sonequa Martin-Green) is not the captain it makes sense that she'd go on all kinds of missions, because that's her job.
Why did they give a female character a male name is a question I've been asking myself with no valid answer. If anyone has a theory, please let me know in the comments.
The other thing that makes this Trek better, I found, was the underlying backstory that arced throughout the season and was perfectly resolved by the end, with a few standalone episodes here and there. Ordinarily, each previous incarnation of Trek shows almost always featured a story-A and a story-B. The latter was very minor and used primarily as filler while the action on story-A progressed.
That's the standard construct of any procedural drama on TV, but I always found that a single episode was not usually enough to fully flesh out a story-A, making it feel rushed and cheap. Sometimes a story-A would continue on to the next episode, but never really more than two. The main thread linking all the episodes of season one of Discovery is a welcome change to the format because I think it allows the audience to engage more fully with the show.
Anyway, if you're a Trek fan, don't miss it. If not, why not give it a try? You won't be disappointed.
Grade - Season 1: 9
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