Is there a post in the thread or somewhere that is a guide to Star Trek watching for first-timers? I watched TOS a few years back, might give it another go-around. Upon hearing that the time war is a major plot point in ENT, I don't really want to continue it. I've seen bits of Voyager, and bits of TNG, but I stopped with Wesley doing the simulations.
The original
Star Trek is a beast unto itself. It's weird, it's inconsistent, and it is never, ever boring. It doesn’t resemble any other
Star Trek, even the films with the original cast.
TNG fares better, though Geordi and Beverly are unfortunately dead weight, which means the writers leaned heavily on Picard and Data, often in plots that didn’t suit either of them. The occasional original series cameos (McCoy, Spock, Scotty) actually work better than they have any right to. Which is more than I can say for a lot of the regular cast.
And if you want to understand certain storylines in
DS9 and
Voyager, yes, you’ll have to slog through all of
TNG, including the Maquis arc. It starts as a metaphor about land acknowledgments and ends as a generic subplot about rebellious space punks. This is also where the
Washington Generals Romulans emerge from hibernation after losing to Kirk, only to continue losing to everyone else.
And then there are kids. Not just Wesley, but an entire fleet of them, Yes, the Enterprise-D has a daycare. Kid-centric episodes are worth skipping, especially the one where the crew literally turns into children.
DS9 spends a couple of seasons cleaning up
TNG’s detritus and pretending to care about the Maquis before Worf shows up in season four and characters improve. It's a noticeable pivot. That said, feel free to skip every Mirror Universe episode after the first one. They’re shameless filler, dumb slash fics with bad wigs.
Voyager is
TNG, again. The same problems, amplified. Too many forgettable characters. Too many sentimental kids. Too many Maquis. A shocking number of
TNG characters show up, despite the whole “we’re lost on the other side of the galaxy” thing. Janeway and the EMH end up doing Picard and Data karaoke most of the time. Some episodes work but they’re islands in a sea of aggressively okay television. If you’re a completionist, go for it. If not, you’re not missing much.