Hi there. A friend of mine wants to get into Star Trek (finally, yay). She asked me which series would be a good start since she loves binge watching. I honestly couldn’t say. My favourites are VOY, ENT S1/S2 & SNW, but I’m a big fan of all series and watched them so many times back to back (with the exception of DIS & PIC - only once and never again). So, instead I thought we could watch the top 3 episodes of each series and then she can pick one to start watching the entire thing. Let me hear your top 3 episodes of one or several series. Just keep in mind she doesn’t know any of the lore yet. I’m really looking forward to see your takes.
I think SNW is a good start for someone enterily new to Star Trek. However, I would advise against starting with Lower Decks. Maybe it’s just not my cup of tea in general and the only reason I did enjoy LD quite a lot is due to tightly knitted references (i.e. Giant Spock’s skeleton, prank calling Armus, and so on). It’s basically like how someone here recommended TNG before DS9 because it sets the stage. It’s also why I’d recommend skipping SNW’s S2E7 (Those old scientists) until you are familiar with LD in general.
May I ask about your favourites of TNG S2? There are some strong standalone episodes. :)