Getting Started with Star Trek

You can easily watch any of the shows in any order, although there are quite a few callbacks that might miss. It's generally accepted that the first two seasons of every series (except TOS) are terrible, so it's worth keeping that in mind. If you haven't seen the JJ Abrams films, they're probably a good place to start. There may be some small references you might miss, but I personally think they're more enjoyable if you don't have any knowledge of the Trek universe. Otherwise, I'd recommend starting off with either TOS, the second film, or TNG. DS9, VOY and ENT are all heavily reliant on refences to previous series and films, but these are mostly minor bits of fanservice which aren't usually required to understand the plot.

I've written some stuff about each series here. If this all seems overwhelming, then I'd say just start with TOS and work your way through each series/film from there.

The Original Series

This is a good place to start if you don't mind the poor production values and campyness. There are quite a few bad episodes, particularly in the third season, but the first and second are generally entertaining.
Some highlights:

• "Space Seed" - Provides the backstory to Wrath of Khan.
• "Balance of Terror" - First appearance of the Romulans.
• "Errand of Mercy" - First appearance of the Klingons.
• "City on the Edge of Forever" - Isn't really referenced in future episodes or series, but it's still a very good time-travel story.
• "Amok Time" and "Jouney to Babel" - Both episodes provide some good backstory for Vulcans and Spock.
• "Mirror, Mirror" - First appearance of the Mirror Universe.
• "The Trouble with Tribbles" - A great episode which is revisited brilliantly by DS9.

For the TOS movies, I'd say skip the first and fifth. Two, three and four form a nice trilogy, and six is a great sendoff which leads nicely into TNG. The first film is very, very, very slow, although I personally enjoyed it. The fifth is...well...probably best skipped unless you feel like MSTing with some friends.

The Next Generation

TNG is a good place to start if you don't want to watch TOS. Although the series has a few multi-episode plotlines, you can pick almost any episode at random and watch it without knowing any of the backstory. Seasons one and two are pretty bad compared to the rest, so I'd recommend watching one or two later episodes first (Darmok or The Inner Light are good choices) just so you can get a good idea of what the show is like at its best.

For season one, I would advise that you only watch three episodes: Encounter at Farpoint, Datalore and Skin of Evil. They have the same level of quality as the rest of season one, but they're important for continuity reasons. If you decide to watch the rest of the season, just remember that it gets much, MUCH better later on.

With season two, avoid Shades of Grey. Otherwise this season is mostly okay. Some important episodes for future storylines include: Q Who, A Matter of Honor and The Emissary

From season three onwards the show becomes much, much better. There are quite a few divided opinions on some episodes, but generally it's agreed that 3-6 have the best episodes. Season seven was weaker, but is still of higher quality than season one.

The films all take place after the series is finished. Generations has some very noticables flaws, but has a major event which affects the later films. If you decide to watch DS9, I recommend seeing this film before you reach Season 4. The rest of the films can easily be watched at any time afterwards, although there are some minor references to DS9 and VOY. If you feel like doing things chronologically, watch First Contact during DS9 season five, Insurrection after finishing DS9 and Nemesis after finishing Voyager. Just be aware that Insurrection and Nemesis aren't as well regarded as most of the other films.

Deep Space Nine

DS9 is less popular than TNG and TOS, but there are quite a few people who prefer it. If you like shows with a multi-episode plotlines and a greater sense of continuity (like Babylon 5 or Battlestar Galactica) then you'll probably enjoy DS9. Like TNG it has a slow start, but unfortunately there are quite a few earlier episodes which are refenced later on. At the very least you can probably skip Q-Less and Move Along Home.

As DS9 first aired alongside TNG seasons 6-7, there are few minor plotlines which are refenced in both shows. You can easily watch DS9 after finishing TNG, but you may want to consider using this guide to watch them in order. It's not essential, but it can be entertaining.

Voyager

VOY is much less well-regarded than the previous two seasons. There are quite a few decent episodes, but the overall quality is lacking when compared to the other series. It does have its fans though, so try it out. Just be aware that, like DS9 and TNG, the first two seasons are not as good as the rest of the show. In particular avoid Threshold, an episode hated even by the guy who wrote it. If you do decide to watch it, I'd say save it for after DS9. It started airing during DS9's third season, but there aren't really any shared plotlines, aside from a brief cameo from Quark in the first episode.

Enterprise

ENT is just as polarizing as VOY, but I personally have a soft spot for it. Again, the first two seasons are full of bad episodes, but seasons three and four were showing a lot of improvement. Like VOY, I'd recommend you keep an open mind and watch it anyway.

Marriage

There's a tremendous responsibility in joining yourself to someone in marriage. You inherit their debts, their neuroses, their family, their love, their pain, their joy...their entire personhood becomes entwined into yours. You each give up a bit of your own identity, so that the two of you can craft a new one.

The first year is trying for most newlyweds. Personal space is a thing of the past. Hobbies that you could spend hours and dollars on are superseded by the need to furnish a life together. You can't check out emotionally. You have to actually talk about things. You have to consider your spouse's side. You have to be an adult.

But...there's an incomparable joy in losing yourself in love. You have a purpose beyond self-satisfaction. You might have children together, greatly diminishing yourself in one way, but adding to yourself in many others. Life is more vibrant, more chaotic, more tiresome, and more rewarding.

It's not for everyone. It's risky, giving a piece of your heart away. But if you choose your lover and best friend wisely, and commit to it with all your heart, it is the greatest adventure you'll ever take.

Failure and Success:a Primer

The terms failure and success are extremely binary and give the world a black and white perspective. There's only success, or its opposite - failure, right? Maybe, but maybe not.
Think about taking an exam. Come test day you're excited because you studied hard and you're ready to try your hardest to get that A you've been dreaming of. Let's explore the idea of you failing. Should you be upset that you failed? Maybe, but you gave it your all. You failed in arguably the best way possible.

Let's take the example of you failing, again. This time you didn't study, and you did even worse than in the case above. You're going to be upset that you failed, but let's be honest, we both know that you were unprepared. You didn't challenge yourself and you didn't aim to be your best. Even if you had passed the exam, you still failed yourself.

Let's look at that example now; you passed, but you got lucky and didn't study. Sure you can give yourself an imaginary pat on the back or brag to your friends, "I got an A and I didn't even open the book!" but when it comes time to apply that knowledge, you'll be sorry that you didn't study. If there's a cumulative final, then you're going to have to spend extra nights completely relearning that material because you might not be so lucky next time.

This last example is obviously the favorite. You passed and you worked damn hard to do it. You're proud, you're happy, you did it! All of those hours cramming made it so worthwhile and now you've got this rockin' GPA along with the material (somewhat) fresh in your memory. Come finals time you'll be able to knock it out of the park.

Now, in these examples, this is the most common ranking list:

1. Tried your hardest, passed.
2. Didn't try, passed.
3. Tried your hardest, failed.
4. Didn't try, failed.

But that's because the "didn't try" option can still theoretically yield passing results in that example. Let's take another example, asking somone out. The listing changes to:

1. Asked him/her out (tried), got number
2. Asked him/her out (tried), got rejected
3. Didn't ask him/her out (didn't try), live with regret

In the test example, trying leaves you with either with the best outcome, or the 3rd best.

In the asking out example, trying leaves you with either the best or 2nd best outcome.

In almost any example, not trying is going to leave you with possibly the worst outcome.

Therefore you shouldn't focus on succeeding or failing, but trying. You should always aim to do your best possible and outdo your former self. If you're constantly outdoing yourself then eventually you won't even have to worry about failing, you'll only have to worry about not being better than who you once were.