Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Before Deep Space Nine aired back in 1993 I felt quite a bit of apprehension. How could they have a Star Trek series without a ship going off exploring? I wasn't going to watch it but being a fan Star Trek and Star Trek:The Next Generation I had to watch it.

I was pleasantly surprised by Deep Space Nine. The stories were fantastic. The writers were very imaginative-they had to be. There was no jetting off in starships from planet to planet. Everything was set on Deep Space Nine which made for more interesting storylines. And storylines continued throughout the season. Deep Space Nine was not like most sci-fi shows where starships leave a planet at the end of the episode and jet off to their next adventure. Instead, all the action came to Deep Space Nine instead.

The characters were good too and not all of them were buddies with each other. Avery Brooks made a good Commander and the talented Nana Visitor did a good job playing Kira. Two other memorable characters were the mysterious Odo and the slimy Quark.

If anyone wants to watch a thought provoking show without seeing starships jetting off from galaxy to galaxy then this is the show for you.

DS9 is more character-focused and has longer story arcs than any Star Trek series before it (and after it until Disco). Unlike Disco, which is sheer melodrama, DS9 manages to simultaneously be fun and challenge viewers with dark and thought-provoking content. It's a difficult balance to achieve, and the writing team deserves kudos.

The interactions between Odo and Quark, Bashir and Garak, and Sisko and Dax are the biggest highlights. Dukat is one of the greatest Star Trek antagonists ever, and is played masterfully by Marc Alaimo. All of the characters feel like real people, including the Bajorans, who are immensely frustrating with their religious doctrine and political pursuits.

Unlike other Trek series, it's hard to think of standout episodes of DS9 (except maybe "The Visitor"), but the series as a whole is very well done.

I will say it started off kinda strange. most star trek series is spent having adventures on a star ship. This series for the most part stays on Deep space nine. Although there is still plenty of adventure. The thing that really makes this show so good is its large cast. It has many reoccurring secondary characters that help the the space station seem like a fascinating place for the show to take place. This story is much darker and more thought provoking than the other series. This series has so many things going for it.

Characters actually grow and change realistically and has reoccurring villains that have real depth and you never know quite what they are going to do. kai Winn and gul dukat both grow and change from series beginning to end and are the best villains ever.

This show has depth. It not all simple good guy and bad guy. There are complex motives behind many of the bad guys. Even the federation does some very bad things when they are in dire situations. People really have to live with the choices they have made. Problems from one episode don't just end with the episode like with TNG or the OS. you have to watch this from episode 1 to the end in order.

This show is still very relevant today. Terrorism, genocide, martial law are all seen in this series.

This is easily the best of all the Star Trek series. The characters are likable, and develop well over time. Of course it helps that many of the characters are warm and funny and very well fleshed out. Quark is a favourite of mine, always funny and well acted. The story itself is great, and really picks up in season 4. Having a plot that develops throughout rather than just stand-alone stories like many of the Next Generation episodes helps it a lot. The Religion v Science aspects are an interesting addition to a science-fiction show. Ideas created in TNG are carried forward and developed, such as the Trills, while in TNG they simply move their personality to a new body in this the idea is taken further and the personalities are merged, making the race much more interesting. One of the great aspects of the show is the relationships between the characters. O'Brian and Julian seem like genuine friends, Odo and Quark and their rivalry, and the on going feud of Sisko and Gul Dukat, the two commanders of the Station. The series created some genuinely good characters. Sisko, the Federation Officer torn between duty and destiny. Garak, the traitor with decidedly dark past, and Gul Dukat, a truly great villain. The series succeeds with a grand plot, paints a wider picture of the Star Trek Universe, and would make for some great feature films.

Disappointed by all those new shows and movies "re-imagining" the Star Trek-universe I put Deep Space Nine on my plate again: and what a relieve it is! Every time I watch one of those "old" Star Trek shows and movies I realize once again how bad (besides the work of the special effects department) the new ones are. DNS got everything I liked and still like about the good old ST-universe: interesting and charming character- and world-building, fine stories with sub- and "ueber"-plots. This is how Star Trek should be, everything else is nothing but bad ideas and bad composed scripts disguised by an overkill of special effects and action. Deep Space Nine - like a good wine grows stronger and tastes better with every decade past by.