This list of best entry points for newcomers to Star Trek could prove to be more than confusing

Star Trek is a massive franchise at this point, extending fifty-eight years and including 930 episodes and forty-eight seasons of television and thirteen movies (which will increase to fourteen when Section 31 debuts). So to tell a newcomer to Trek where to begin is fairly difficult. Many people would say start with The Original Series and work your way through, but Whatculture has a different take and has provided a combination list of episodes and movies to watch for anyone new to Trek.

While I agree with several of the titles included on Sean Ferrick's list, there are those that are a bit baffling—Star Trek 2009 being one of them. This movie is set in a different timeline and presents a different view of both up and coming Captain Kirk [Chris Pine] and Mr. Spock [Zachary Quinto]. Also included in the list is The Original Series' "Balance of Terror," which would introduce new viewers to the original Captain Kirk [William Shatner] and Mr. Spock {Leonard Nimoy] set in the original timeline. woudln't it be confusing for newcomers to watch two different versions of the same characters? Even tried and true Trek fans had an issue with the roles being recast.

Also included in this list is Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Yesterday's Enterprise." Again, an excellent piece of television, but there we have Lt. Tasha Yar who was dead, but, in this episode, she's back from the dead. New viewers to Star Trek wouldn't know anything about parallel universes or alternate timelines. So wouldn't it be difficult for them to know what's happening, what's supposed to be happening, and who those people are?

Again, I know it's difficult to prepare a list or an introductory course for those just beginning to watch Star Trek, but without the basics of Starfleet and the Federation, it wouldn't be easy for a viewer to understand what's happening and why. I can't imagine having started watching Trek in any way other than from the beginning. But now, it would be possible for someone to start with Star Trek: Enterprise before going to Star Trek: The Original Series then Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and then they are on their way to knowing enough about the ins and outs of Starfleet and the Federation to really get what Star Trek is about. And I say this as someone who was asked about the best way to start Star Trek not too long ago. So far, the new viewer hasn't been disappointed. Okay, well, maybe with "The Way to Eden," but that's understandable.