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ost_uid0]Hm, this is tough.
I grew up with Next Generation. I connect most to the characters, and there's the staples of episodes that just plain rule. (The Inner Light or The Defector, for example...and I loved Disaster, too.) But in comparison, it's a bit stiff. Plus, I've watched it to death, and when a rerun comes on, it's always 50/50 on whether I can watch it. The later seasons are usually better, because as much as I dislike saying it, too much Roddenberry really spoils a series.
DS9 was always my unloved middle child of Trek. It arrived in a period of my life when I was not too interested in TV in general, and the few episodes I caught never seemed to be that interesting. Now that I'm watching the reruns more, it seems like a damn good series, combining deep plots and good action. (I mean, the retaking of DS9 - dizzamn...) The one thing that irks me about the series a bit is Avery Brooks. He gives Sisko this slightly psychopathic edge that I'm not entirely comfortable with, though I do admit I love it when he does his creepy little smile. Noteably, DS9 is also the only series of which I own a video (the Past Tense two-parter). Why, I'm not entirely sure.
Voyager. Ah, now we're cooking with gas. Objectively, it's got a whole load of stinkers in it's line-up, but I've always loved it to death. Why? Because it has a sense of adventure, a "we against everybody else" feel that jibes with me. It's also got the most colorful crew, and one of the best characters ever (the Doctor). Also, I always felt that it's the series that can poke fun at itself the most - you can't tell me anybody on the set of Macrocosm read the script and thought "Gee, what insightful and deep science-fiction we have here." Also, it's got the largest amount of kick-butt CGI. I don't care what you thought about Endgame, but the first time Voyager activated that ablative armor, my jaw dropped.
Enterprise is here almost entirely on the merits of it's 3rd season. It couldn't stand there without the first two seasons, but they were - well, just not interesting, most of the time. Now, however, we get heart-stoppers like Twilight, and emotional sucker-punches like Similitude and Azati Prime. (Don't tell me you didn't feel anything when the Enterprise gets pounded to near-scrap - that's TV that hurts, folks.) Besides, did any Trek series have a great first season?
TOS is, I fear, right out of the competition. While the dynamic between the big three is always nice to watch, it's too episodic for my taste, and showing it's age. Watching it, I'm almost always catching myself thinking about how far Trek (and TV in general) has come all those years.
My favourites, in order, are therefore:
Voyager (Queen of my heart, so to speak)
Enterprise (clawing it's way upwards)
DS9 (Dominion War? Yes, please!)
TNG (though I love the TNG movies)
TOS (Sorry, folks.)
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