I've been slowly moving through "Star Trek" (The Original Series) with my 11-year-old daughter (my wife in tow, rolling her eyes at the appropriate moments), in order to most properly inculcate her with geek cred … and, if nothing else, helping her recognize the source of so many of my day-to-day phrases and references.
But we're steadily moving through the third season, and I need to look to the future. What should I start forcing coercing requiring setting the stage for her to be watching next? Options that have been raised:
1. The "Star Trek" movies … at least through #4. [won't last long]
2. "Star Trek: The Next Generation" [a bit lengthy, and with plenty of duds]
3. "Babylon 5"
4. "Farscape"
5. The James Bond movies.
Other suggestions, or comments on the above? #ddtb
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Star Trek: The Original Series – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[edit] Creation and development. In 1964, Gene Roddenberry, a longtime fan of science fiction, drafted a proposal for a science-fiction television series that he called Star Trek. This was to be set o…
As long as she sees The Gamesters of Triskelion:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gamesters_of_Triskelion then she will have TOS perfectly understood.
How about something lighter afterwards…Galaxy Quest!
I'd say at 11, I'd move on to the Star Trek movies. However, don't forget some awesome sci fi series like Quantum Leap!
Hey! I was going to say Quantum Leap! I’m watching the (incomplete) series by streaming it on Netflix. It’s as much fun as it was two decades ago. (I was glad Scott Bakula said “Oh, boy” during his appearances on Chuck. I would have been very disappointed if he hadn’t.) And if she likes QL, try Magnum, P.I.!
Oh, The Muppet Show, fer shure! Wokka wokka wokka!
@Avo – Hmmm … The Muppet Show.
Actually, I’ve gone back and watched some Magnum. It doesn’t hold up well, I find — the humor tends to grate more than it used to. I seem to recall my favorite episodes were the serious ones, but they were few and far between.
1.Definitely the Star Trek movies, but only the even numbered ones
2.Star Trek: Deep Space Nine…just sayin'
3. The Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. You can find the whole series for pretty cheap.
4. Personally, I was never a fan of B-5 or Farscape, but if you think they'll enhance the geek-growth, you could do worse.
5. Maybe go old school with some Speed Racer and explain to her that it's how anime should be….
6. James Bond, for sure.
7. Do not, under any circumstances, let her watch "Big Bang Theory"….it's extremely detrimental to nerds/geeks of any stripe. Avoid at all costs!!
How does she like Star Trek so far? Please don't leave out Star Trek Voyager (lady commander). I think Star Trek Generations is wonderful also, but then you would have to be a TRUE Trekkie to think so. She absolutely must see Wrath of Khan! Babylon 5 is kind of slow and serious for a child. James Bond…NO. Wait till she's older and can truly appreciate the objectification of women. 🙂
When she's old enough — maybe now — she certainly must watch the Big Bang Theory! Wonderful lessons in there about getting along with difficult people.
Forbidden Planet if not already covered. Some selected Twilight Zone episodes maybe. Among the Star Trek movies certainly ii, iii, iv, vi, and First Contact. I am enjoying B5 right now. At all costs keep her away from sparkly vampires, else all is lost.
+Anthony Russo, as GoT is a 2nd season ep, she's seen it. And, yes, after season 2, we watched Galaxy Quest — which was, as always, a greatly fun movie.
+Mark Means, I would expect to skip 1; 3 ties into 2 so closely, I'd hate to miss it. 4 is the last one I remember being much pleased with.
I prefer DS9 to pretty much all the other ST franchises, but not necessarily for reasons that she'd appreciate (I very much enjoyed the first few seasons' political/religious battles on Bajor).
I have great fondness for D&D — but also acknowledge that it was actually a pretty dorky cartoon that I loved almost solely because of the subject, not the content.
Also a lot of fondness for Speed Racer, but it's almost too crude to burden her with at this point.
I've never watched BBT, for unknown reasons — generally speaking, most folks I know seem to think well of it.
+Victoria Hudgins, she's enjoying/tolerating ST:TOS — she makes a lot of noise about disliking it, pro forma, but usually gets wrapped up in any given episode. The cheesier the better.
I had mixed feelings about Voyager — I liked Janeway, but found their willingness to really grapple with (a) the mixed crew (Feds and Maquis) and (b) being completely out of touch with the Federation (and their supply chain) and yet somehow avoiding entropy / wear and tear on the ship to be an annoyance. One of my least favorite of the ST franchise.
B5 can be slow and serious — but I think there are characters in it (Ivanova, Londo, Vir, Delenn) she would enjoy, as well as enjoying the overall arc.
The James Bond objectification of women is certainly something to consider, though I expect to do a lot of MST3K commentary with the flicks.
Farscape has one of the most inspiring female character arcs in all of television (not just Sci-fi). The first six or so episodes are uneven but persevere and you will be greatly rewarded.
+James D., I only caught QL in reruns. My wife loves Scott Bakula (and so is also in favor of watching ST:Enterprise). I found it interesting, but not enthralling. But, as a series of history lessons and the like, it might be an intriguing thing for my daughter.
+Matt Stevens, I think she'd enjoy a lot of the characters in Farscape … and, again, the continuing storyline elements are something I think she'd dig. And I'm a (cough) huge fan of Aeryn Sun. Indeed, the more I think about it, the more I'm inclined that direction.
Behold the power of Muppets! 😛
Indeed!
Farscape! Farscape! Farscape!
It's got puppets and little droids. Great female characters. Intelligent storylines. A cool leading man. And great geek cred. Besides, if you don't want her to cuss, then she can start saying Dren and Frell.
+Matt Stevens Added you to my Geek circle for your Farscape comments.
+Dave Hill All right thinking redblooded males are fans of Aeryn Sun (and Vala Mal Doran). Plus, she and Xan are decent role models for a young woman – not perfect, but there's plenty of room for discussion.
+George Wiman, we've seen FP already, of course. She enjoyed.
Hmmmm … Twilight Zone … yeah, but she's a bit sensitive to evening entertainment that's too close to her bed time, and some of the better ones I would pick out would likely be a bit dark. Still … yeah … that idea has some merit.
(I was more of an Outer Limits guy growing up, but those tend to be even darker and lengthier.)
I am pleased to say that she has no interest in sparkly vampires. Though in that vein (so to speak), I can see pulling in Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a year or two …
I'd do Farscape before B5, but that's obviously a personal preference. 🙂
Around the table with Mary and Stan last night, "Quantum Leap" got a lot of recommendations, along with the (better eps of) "ST:TNG".
I dunno … still kinda thinking "Farscape" at this point.
Or maybe "The Vicar of Dibley."
Is there any particular reason that Firefly hasn't entered this conversation?
As a huge QL fan, I can second (or third, or whatever) those recommendations.
Also for a bit of fun cyberpunk, Max Headroom.
Oooh. See, I have MH on disc, but haven't gotten around to rewatching it yet.
Maybe some lighter fare. The Addams Family? The Dick van Dyke Show?
@Avo – Maybe. Comedy’s not quite the same, though those are both fine shows.