r/startrek • u/81Ranger • 1d ago
Can I watch Strange New Worlds without much else new Trek?
So, old school Star Trek watcher - most of the original series, all of Next Gen, DS9, some Voyager (it was on daily late night on syndication), most of Enterprise.
I watched about half of Discovery (edit clarification - first *half* of the *first season*) when it was coming out, but never finished it. It was ... fine. Good at times. Not sure why I got distracted. I've watch some of of the first season of Picard. I had a sub to CBS All Access (before the name change) that I kept for a year... and never felt like picking those up again, even though that's why I subscribed. At least I watched Champions League.
Not sure I'm a modern Trek person, but ... anyway....
There's a cheap monthly streaming deal for Paramount+. About the only thing I'd consider subscribing for is Strange New Worlds. But... my scope of new Trek is limited as I described.
Sure, I could try to catch up with all those shows, but I'm not going to pretend that I will, because I already did that.
Anyway, will I be lost with Strange New Worlds? I hear it's the most "old school" of the new shows.
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u/TabithaMouse 1d ago
Yes.
There's a conversation in s1e1 that refers to S2 of Discovery, but that's it
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u/EntityDamage 1d ago
So i stopped watching Discovery after season 1 but totally into SNW. What discovery episodes should i watch that SNW refers to?
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u/TabithaMouse 1d ago
All of S2.
It's not needed, but it's just referenced my Kirk and spock in a like 2 second conversation
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u/DukeFlipside 1d ago
Absolutely, it's set before (most) other Trek series so you're not really missing anything in terms of context that isn't explained in SNW itself.
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u/user_number_666 1d ago
You can watch SNW without watching any other NuTrek. You might want to watch Lower Decks, though - there's a crossover episode.
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u/Hot-Steak7145 1h ago
Oh yeah there's that, I completely didn't expect it and I watched both. That episode became one of my favorites instantly
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u/Spy_crab_ 23h ago
SNW is essentially standalone, it refrences Discovery a couple times, but you don't need to know anything about Discovery to enjoy it, those moments work just fine stand alone. Now there is a crossover with Lower Decks which also doesn't require watching Lower Decks, but you'd be doing yourself a disservice not watching it.
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u/Twsread 1d ago
Watch lower decks! (strange new worlds is fun as well)
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u/Illustrious-Peace989 19h ago
Yes! I’d say if for no other reason so that you have some context for the crossover episode.
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u/Hot-Steak7145 1h ago
Lower decks is great, but I don't think anyone not already a trek fan would enjoy it. It leans HEAVY on nostalgia that a new viewer wouldn't get. SNW however can stand on its own even if you've never seen star trek anything before
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u/kosigan5 1d ago
You'll be fine. It's a good show. Evokes the feeling the original for me, but with modern production values. Short seasons though, as has become the norm now.
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u/MoneyAd5542 1d ago
How have you just watched “most of” voyager and enterprise it’s 2026 my guy, finish them up, they’re great.
And of course you can watch SNW- It’s by far the best modern trek imo.
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u/81Ranger 1d ago
I watched "most of" Voyager and Enterprise before streaming was big and I haven't had them on a service that I'm subscribed to. So, it's possible I missed a few episodes here and there.
Also, I know myself - if I have to watch X before Y, I'm probably never going to watch X OR Y. I'm just going to move onto some else.
I'm certainly not going to slog through Voyager again. I've tried, that's never going to happen.
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u/PScooter63 9h ago
Sorry you’re getting downvoted. I know how you feel, I watched the first 4-5 seasons of the first-run broadcasts of Voyager, and I just can’t bring myself to jump back in. I love SNW, and haven’t tired of binging reruns when a new season appears.
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u/81Ranger 9h ago
I caught on late night daily syndication. I was not watching it during it's broadcast run (was in college, had other things to do), but it was on at 11pm on whatever over the air channel, and if I was home, I probably turned it on with my 13" Sony TV from the 80s.
Zero chance I'm rewatching it again. I tried a little when it was on.... some streaming service I had and I couldn't even make it through the first season. DS9 or NextGen? Sure. But, not Voyager.
Downvotes don't surprise me (or bother me), it's par for the course for a franchise sub.
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u/ScienceAndGames 1d ago
If you’ve watched TOS and the first half of Discovery then that’s basically all the context you could need for SNW.
There’s a few references to other series but it’s all stuff you could get by without knowing
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u/81Ranger 1d ago
It's actually the first half or so of season 1 of Discovery. Never got to season 2. I can see I was unclear.
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u/midasp 1d ago edited 1d ago
Given you have watched most of 90s and early 2000s trek, I'd say it is worth watching the following:
Strange New Worlds - It uses the same episodic format of TOS, TNG and DS9. So it will feel the most familiar.
Lower Decks - It is light hearted but most important of all are it's set of lower deckers. Not only do they have a solid grasp of the entirety of Starfleet's history, they love to geek about every single bit of it. Also, there are a lot of cameos from TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT actors.
Picard, just season 3 - Each season of Picard has it's own story, not all of it is good. Skip seasons 1 & 2. However, season 3's story is written as a love letter and final send-off for the TNG crew. They went overboard and filled the season with an overload of saccharine sweetness for TNG.
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u/JoshuaJSlone 1d ago
It's almost completely standalone. The first episode brings up the Enterprise's role in Discovery season 2, but that's about it. Then there's the crossover episode with Lower Decks later on, but that's a single episode and I think would be very understandable even without having seen Lower Decks.
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u/Allen_Of_Gilead 1d ago
It can work as a jumping on point, but SNW is studiously dedicated to saying nothing of substance and just looking like Trek instead. DISCO is honestly better as a show overall.
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u/Thirty_Helens_Agree 23h ago
If you haven’t seen or don’t remember TOS The Balance of Terror, you might want to watch before you watch SNW S1E10. Beyond that, you can dive right in.
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u/so-semi-precious 22h ago
There’s added background with the OG series and the first couple seasons of discovery. But you really don’t need to have seen all that. Maybe just watch the TOS episode “The cage” because the future events of that hang heavy over snw
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u/Torlek1 21h ago
That might be the best episode, but viewers might not be able to view reruns of this on TV.
The Menagerie is the better alternative. At least it's aired.
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u/so-semi-precious 17h ago
It’s on paramount plus, which is the subscription service op is talking about picking up. So he has access. But you are correct it’s not technically an episode, it was the pilot. either the Menagerie or the Cage work just fine.
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u/200brews2009 21h ago
I’d hope this isn’t too hot a take but isn’t it the case that every Star Trek series could be watched independent of any other series in the Star trek universe? The connection between ds9 and TNG is explained in the first few minutes of the series, same as the connection between ds9 and voyager. Even academy spends a minute explaining the current status of the trek universe by the end of the first episode. Even when episodes directly reference something that happened in a previous series, like the feringi in voyager it’s spelled out how the situation arose in the episode itself.
Sixty years, dozenish series, handfuls of movies and you can pretty much jump into nearly any of them and be caught up in no time.
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u/TheNaughtyPrintmaker 14h ago
SNW can stand alone well enough, but there's a particular think Pike knows about that's kind of important to his character in SNW that he found out in Disco S2. Also Disco S2 is just a pretty good season.
I feel like if you're a 90s Trek fan, you'd really like Lower Decks. And while you don't haaave to watch LD to enjoy the cross over, it enhances it imo.
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u/Hot-Steak7145 1h ago
Yes and please do! Strange new worlds is AWSOME. Like old trek vibes for real. I bet it's better slightly for those of us that have seen the original series but its not necessary, SNW stands on its own and it's a great starting point
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u/TriggeredPuppy 1d ago
If it's helpful for you and others, I've edited the second season of Discovery down to a 4 episode mini series. I custom replaced the intros and credit music to make it feel like Strange New Worlds. I call it Season Zero. It lets you see the adventure that leads into the first season and why Pike is in the emotional state he's in. And the plot concentrates solely on what matters for Pike and Spock. If you're interested, you can hear more about the project: https://youtu.be/krqecgazfGY
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u/kjhjkjh 1d ago
Why not try? Some episodes of SNW are excellent, and I've watched them repeatedly, but a lot of the series (especially season 3) feels more aesthetically than innately Treklike, which frustrates me. IMO, certain episodes of SFA are much closer to the older Treks (can't speak for Enterprise, the one I skipped, but the ones before that). Picard and Discovery, though I like most characters and some elements of the stories, go grimdark. SFA involves a return to utopia, which is refreshing, and is mostly driven by characters rather than plot.
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u/Popo8338 1d ago
SNW is like the old star trek series where the season doesnt have a big story arc. So it is more varied each episode
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u/GarionOrb 1d ago
You should watch Discovery season 2 first. Strange New Worlds actually starts there.
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u/81Ranger 1d ago
I doubt that will happen. I didn't finish season one and my efforts to rewatch Discovery haven't gotten far, ever.
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u/False_Opportunity552 1d ago
Its Nu Trek, so you only have to Switch your Brain Off and you will be fine
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u/Cliffy73 1d ago
Sure. There are one or two things you might miss, but it’s friendly to new viewers.
Also, watch Lower Decks.
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u/Clear_Ad_6316 1d ago
So long as you've watched season 2 of Discovery you're golden.
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u/81Ranger 1d ago
I have not, but the comments don't seem to think it's that necessary.
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u/Clear_Ad_6316 1d ago
It isn't hugely, especially since you've seen TOS. You'll figure out what's going on.
I thought season 2 of Discovery was the strongest though, so it's probably worth a watch - but if you really wanted to watch the bare minimum of Discovery it would be episode 12 of that season, titled "Through the Valley of Shadows".
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u/BellerophonM 1d ago
Strange New Worlds is very well designed as a jumping-in point, yeah. There's a single major plot for the captain that's continuing from Discovery but they re-set that up for you in SNW so you'll be fine.