It helps understand who some of the characters are but you can do without.
Heck, here's an analogy.
VP1 & VP2 are like Star Trek.
VP2 is the one they go back on Earth to get whales.
VP1 is Revenge of Khan.
The movie on Earth about getting whales didn't have crap to do with the other Star Trek movies, but if you watched them, you knew who was who better.