Poll of the Month: NuYear, NuTrek!

[Genkos Adea]

written by Christopher Caldwell

Alright, Trekkies, let's boldly go where many polls have gone before... but with a new twist! We're diving into the expanding universe of "new" Star Trek. For the purposes of this discussion, let's define "new" as the shows launched since 2017, beginning with Star Trek: Discovery.

We've seen a starship crew discover the far future, animated antics on the lower decks, the return of one of the most beloved Captains in Star Trek History, a ragtag crew of young misfits and even a return to classic episodic storytelling on the ship that launched it all!

Love them or hate them, each series offers a unique flavour and explores different aspects of the Star Trek universe. So, in your opinion which one takes the top spot? Make sure to cast your vote and, most importantly, share your reasoning in the comments! What is it that makes your chosen show the best? Is it the characters, the ships, the storylines, the connection to Trek lore, or something else entirely? Let the debate begin!

Edited January 17 by Genkos Adea

[Nolen Hobart]

With the caveat that I have not yet watched anything beyond the first episode of Prodigy, I have to say that Strange New Worlds, for me, is everything that was great about the Trek I grew up with, while also expertly balancing (1) modern storytelling trends, (2) taking itself seriously but not too seriously, and (3) the fact that it is building upon a franchise and a "canon" that is almost 60 years old. I am not down on any of the others (I enjoyed Discovery and Picard and I know many others did not!) but I simply cannot get enough of Captain Pike's Enterprise. Even the musical episode. Especially the musical episode.

[+ Christopher Caldwell]

1 hour ago, Nolen Hobart said:

With the caveat that I have not yet watched anything beyond the first episode of Prodigy

That is a HUGE caveat 😁

I'm not the biggest Voyager fan and obviously there are strong ties from Voyager to Prodigy, but I honestly think season 2 of Prodigy is the best season long story arc Star Trek has ever done. I really hope you get to give it a watch some time!

Edited January 17 by Christopher Caldwell

[Jalana]

I haven't seen SNW yet (stupid extra subscription to see it), but I will never be able to pick just one. I enjoyed all of the ones I watched.

[+ Christopher Caldwell]

1 hour ago, Jalana said:

I haven't seen SNW yet (stupid extra subscription to see it), but I will never be able to pick just one. I enjoyed all of the ones I watched.

That's fair enough, was there anything that especially stood out that you enjoyed about any of the shows even if you couldn't pick a favourite out of them?

[Doz Finch]

Keeping it simple — Strange New Worlds! But I did love Season 3 of Picard & I've seen bits of Prod that I've found really charming (and I love the nods to Janeway and VOY)

[+ Alix Harford]

Okay- I've got a bit of an odd reasoning here. I voted for Prodigy, though I haven't watched much of it yet, because my youngest son absolutely loves watching it with me. For me, the experience of sharing Trek with my kids, just as my father shared it with me, is what Trek is all about. Personally though, I immensely enjoyed Strange New Worlds. It was everything good about Star Trek, the characters was fantastic, the story lines were so deep and still fun. The only complaint I had about SNW was the musical episode. UGH! No musicals in Star Trek, please and thank you! 

[Samuel Woolheater]

I voted for Strange New Worlds for a couple of reasons.  Briefly I list them here but I could ramble and ramble on and on about these and more.  But these I think are the strongest, most compelling.

I remember reading review of The Original Series.  And that it wasn't until TOS went into syndication that it really started to gain traction.  That's how I first saw Star Trek - in syndication.  And I think that SNW has that same kind of appeal.  Exploration, meeting the new and the strange.  Equity and Equality.  It wasn't until Season 2, Ep 2 "Ad Astra, per Aspera" that we got back to a courtroom drama about individual rights.  And I knew right then that this was going to be a great series.  I liked everything before this episode too.  The strong characters and the pace and the storytelling, camera work and editing.  The cast is great.  But that episode was, for me, the high water mark.  And I've loved every minute of it since.  

[Avander Promontory]

This is a hard one. While I appreciate Discovery kicking off this renaissance, it's not my favorite. But between Picard (esp season 3), Lower Decks, and Strange New Worlds, it's hard to pick a favorite. And Prodigy was great, if a little different.

I also appreciate the mosaic of their shared universe (the Mars attack coming up in Prodigy, LD characters in SNW, VOY characters in PIC and LD and Prodigy, etc.).

[+ Vitor S. Silveira]

 

On 1/18/2025 at 1:03 PM, Alix Harford said:

The only complaint I had about SNW was the musical episode. UGH! No musicals in Star Trek, please and thank you! 

Sorry Doc but your wrong, Strange New Worlds is perfect and the best Trek show since DS9.

 

 

At least to me 😉

[+ Sevantha]

This is an incredibly difficult choice with a toss up between LD, Prodigy and SNW for me. I ultimately chose Prodigy due to like LDs, it has a small cast that really lets you connect with, where I feel with SNW they still have a few episodes to dedicate to some core cast before you reach the familiarity with them that Prodigy gives. Prodigy's story, interconnecting with other new trek and old trek was fantastic and outside the LD/SNW slightly hamfisted cross over, made it really stand out for me. 

it started as Star Trek's version of GotG for me in feel but really evolved into it's own wonderful addition to Trek. Now thats not to slight SNW or LDs either because I think both are dang near parallel, LDs especially with the small cast tightness that i think SNW needs to hone in on just a little bit more at times. 

[+ Christopher Caldwell]

On 1/18/2025 at 1:03 PM, Alix Harford said:

The only complaint I had about SNW was the musical episode. UGH! No musicals in Star Trek, please and thank you! 

I'm not a fan of musicals and I wasn't particularly looking forward to a musical Star Trek episode but I absolutely loved it. Several of the songs are still in my head and they are welcome to stay.