Every Star Trek Series Ranked Worst To Best

7. Discovery

Star Trek Discovery Opening
CBS

Discovery is a show that is improving rapidly. The very shaky first season was succeeded by the wonderful second season. It is by no means the only Star Trek entry to have a rough first year, which seems to have become almost a tradition in the franchise (with one notable exception). The effects are stunning in the show and it benefits from the shorter seasons, allowing for a punchier story delivery and suiting the action well.

However, while this issue has largely been rectified by the end of the second season, Discovery was rather hollow at times. Characters that should have been given more time to breathe were instead fired at the screen with the confidence that the audience would love them regardless. With Saru, this worked in the first season. With Burnham, it did not. In fact, it was very late in the day before Burnham truly became a sympathetic character.

That being said, the show's bold choice to rocket the crew into the far future may end up being one of the best decisions that has been made in the franchise to date. This is not simply to quell the fears of the purists who worry slavishly about canon. This opens up the arena for a level of storytelling not seen since Kirk's first five year mission.

Discovery has truly sailed into the unknown and should the gamble pay off, a future version of this list may well see it shoot ahead in the rankings.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"