star trek - Will I be able to follow the story if I skip The Next Generation & watch Deep Space 9 directly?

Star Trek: Enterprise is the last TV series, but I've watched it first because it shows initial story (2100s). I've just finished watching season 4 of Star Trek: Enterprise.
For 2200s, I've watched all Kirk movies, but not the original series of 70s.
As per Star Trek timeline, next comes Star Trek: The Next Generation. But, unfortunately, its not available to me at this time. Next one is Star Trek: Deep Space 9. Is it OK to watch Star Trek: Deep Space 9 after skipping Star Trek: The Next Generation?

Answer

Two things to consider:

• Seasons 6 and 7 of The Next Generation overlap with the first two seasons of Deep Space Nine


• The Next Generation was mostly an "Adventure of the Week" show, although with gradual character development. Deep Space Nine was very much on a mythic story arc, with a number of major arcs leading through - especially once you get past season 1.

Apart from a couple of crossovers (a two-parter TNG episode is set on DS9 - and the Picard/Borg link in the pilot) - and the appearance of races and characters from the earlier TNG into DS9, I don't think that you'd have any problems following the story and development in DS9.

This becomes quite obvious with races like the Ferengi (introduced as [comically inept] pirate raiders in TNG, becoming amoral traders and merchants in DS9), Cardassians, and Trill (these two were simply underdeveloped on the introduction, and DS9 forced the writers to consider more detailed histories and cultures for the two races) - who are very different in the first appearances in TNG when compared to their representation in DS9 and the latter seasons of TNG.

That said - there is one particular awesome late TNG episode that includes the Cardassians - the two-parter Chain of Command. For me, it helped cement the Cardassians as a race and completely supplements their development in DS9.