UnCONventional

Look, I don’t know if this is a hot take or not, but I’m of the firm opinion that if you plan on watching both TNG and DS9 that you don’t watch one then the other — instead watching them in order as they aired.

Like, the way they fell on the timeline.

There are a couple of reasons for this. The least important one is that it makes sure the minor crossovers line up. This is just a minor thing, but it helps to know who the hell Bashir is when he shows up on TNG.

The other reasons are far more important. First off, it means you’re alternating episodes during the early seasons of DS9. DS9 was still finding its footing early on, while TNG was a well oiled machine telling some of their best stories. It gets you through any of the weaker episodes by knowing you might watch a great episode after.

But also… it preserves the experience Trekkers and Trekkies had in the 1990s. Like we were getting two Star Trek episodes a week. Even today, when we literally have five fucking Star Trek shows on TV it’s not the same. Picard, Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks and Prodigy are all set at different time periods (although Lower Decks and Prodigy are weirdly just a couple years apart). These are shows that will reference each others canon, but never have a major cast member walk on from one show onto the other in the same timeline as their original show.

I love the hell out of all the new Trek, but it isn’t the same.

Like, when we watched DS9 and TNG together there was this idea that these were happening at the same time. They aired the same week, the events from one could influence the other… Like even if it rarely happened it really felt like they could. Worf literally joins the crew after TNG’s run ends.

And when you just watch all of TNG and then watch all of DS9 separately… you lose that and I personally think it’s a very important part of the experience.

So, y’know, something to think about…

(I love VOY but it can be watched on its own, just because the Delta quadrant setting meant it was never affected by DS9 when the two ran concurrently beyond the first VOY episode. Also, if you want an airing list, for 1990s Trek, this list from a long time ago is the easiest to read I’ve found.)