Do you prefer Star Trek TV shows to have stand alone episodes or serialized stories?

[The Overlord]

Star Trek has both TV series that mainly featured stand alone episodes (TOS, TNG and Voyager) and Star Trek shows that had a ongoing serialized story (DS9, later Enterprise seasons and Discovery)? Which do you prefer?

I came up with the idea for this thread after reading this article:

https://io9.gizmodo.com/serialized-television-has-become-a-disease-1819660859

 

[1001001]

I like both.

If they're good, they're good.

 

[BillJ]

Stand alone. I always end up getting bored with serialized TV.

 

[Vger23]

I like serialized much better as a first-time-through viewing experience. I like episodic much better for rewatch value.

I LOVED Deep Space Nine...but never seen the series more than once. 24 is one of my favorite shows of all time. But I've never seen a single episode more than once. Same with Lost.

In contrast, I've seen episodes of TOS, TNG, Seinfeld, Twilight Zone, etc. many many many times each.

 

[Qonundrum]

I didn't do DS9 in order and just about got the gist of various episodes, unless seeing an earlier episode where - oops - I misinterpreted something. But those were not too frequent.

Standalone with an underlying arc is possibly the holy grail, but impossible if references from 2 or 3 years back are brought in.

But once someone sees everything in order, then the serialized stuff loses out - they can all be seen standalone effectively. But then you know there's a duff episode in the bunch so THAT is the one where key arc information is going to be plopped, because the episode is otherwise forgettable and 0/10 without it.

Yeah, I suppose I prefer standalone eps... but I'll admit, DS9 had very few clunkers, which is mandatory for even beginning to do a serialized format as they've all got to hold up to some level. IMHO...

 

[Captain pl1ngpl0ng]

I mostly like stand alone(ish), but dont mind a 2 to 3 episode "thing" that covers a deeper story.

 

[1001001]

If I try to think of my top ten all-time favorite Star Trek episodes, I think all of them would be stand alone episodes.

 

[BillJ]

I like the freedom stand alone episodes offer. I'm watching Voyager right now and absolutely bouncing all over the place. Just hitting play on whatever sounds interesting on a given night.

 

[BillJ]

If I try to think of my top ten all-time favorite Star Trek episodes, I think all of them would be stand alone episodes.

I think "In the Pale Moonlight" would be the only episode in my top 10 that is connected to a bigger story in any meaningful way.

 

[F. King Daniel]

We've had many hundreds of standalone episodes. I'm enjoying Trek's current serialized approach.

Standalones tend to be more rewatchable, without having to invest many hours to get the whole plot.

 

[The Overlord]

I like the freedom stand alone episodes offer. I'm watching Voyager right now and absolutely bouncing all over the place. Just hitting play on whatever sounds interesting on a given night.

I actually think Voyager killed my interest in stand alone Star Trek, there are so many mediocre episodes where it felt like nothing mattered, actions had no consequences and they would just hit the reset button the next episode, it felt pointless care about the stakes of an episode. Why should care about any stand alone episode if it never acknowledges the consequences of events that happened in that episode, Voyager hit the reset button so often, it felt like nothing mattered.

 

[StarCruiser]

Either way can work - IF - they are good stories...

Not that CBS cares, of course...

 

[TheCrankyCardassian]

Serialized all the way or, at the very least, a mixture like Discovery is trying to do. Episodic TV is what gave us the magic reset button that plagued TNG and VOY so many times.

 

[diankra]

It depends on the format of the series.
Enterprise arriving at a new planet, fine.
Voyager always having a full stock of shuttles, less so.

 

[Armus]

Star Trek has both TV series that mainly featured stand alone episodes (TOS, TNG and Voyager) and Star Trek shows that had a ongoing serialized story (DS9, later Enterprise seasons and Discovery)? Which do you prefer?

I came up with the idea for this thread after reading this article:

https://io9.gizmodo.com/serialized-television-has-become-a-disease-1819660859

I like episodes that can be rewatched over and over again. If the mood, energy, believability, and the character moments are present then it doesn't matter if the audience knows how the story ends or how it fits into a larger arc. I prefer standalone episodes.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I'm neutral, I just want good stories, good worldbuilding and good characterization.

Star Trek has given me that both episodic and serial.

 

[Velocity]

I like a mix of both. Sometimes the serialized episodes can get tedious and a standalone helps. Especially if the arc is very serious and the standalone is more lighthearted.

 

[Commishsleer]

I think you need a combination of both serialised and episodic.
You have to be able to watch any random episode without getting significantly lost - you should be able to still enjoy the episode without understanding the entire background of the series. I loved nuBSG but if I missed an episode or just the start of an episode it left me scratching my head trying to understand what was happening.

However if every episode is episodic then the characters don't have a chance to grow or change.

 

[Ssosmcin]

I like standalone because then it's actually possible to have a "favorite episode." In a serial, it's a "favorite arc" thing and individual episodes get lost in the overall blend. So, U can tell you my favorite episode of Star Trek is "The Doomsday Machine," but I don't have a favorite episode of Babylon 5. I do, however, love the Earth Force War arc in season 4.

 

[at Quark's]

However if every episode is episodic then the characters don't have a chance to grow or change.

I wouldn't be sure about that. I mean, take TNG for example. Almost every episode was episodic. Yet, Season 7 Picard was distinctly different from Season 1 Picard. Same goes for other characters, Data was a lot less childlike in season 7. Season 7 VOY characters are also quite different from their season 1 counterparts, even though VOY is often accused of being too 'episodic'. Being episodic doesn't per definition preclude a certain background development, IMHO.

I think all in all I prefer episodic, for casual rewatching. Even though the arcs in DS9 were awesome.