What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

A wonderfully composed documentary. Seeing the cast, crew and management of any production and learning the history of it is always exciting. The Star Trek franchise seems being doing that with each of its series. What sets this apart, is that we the audience can see how a story arc is developed in parallel to hearing the perspectives of everyone originally involved. Knowing the backstories, the efforts expended, and hearing the passion and humor expressed by all who spoke adds to the show's legacy.

We also can see how audience reaction to the show affected the show's arc and life. This show stands the test of time, and pushed boundaries of scifi, just like Babylon 5 did. It is no coincidence that I make this statement. DS9 can and does stand on its own.

I am struggling with two parts; 1.) Seeing the proposed arc for Aron Eisenberg's character Nog and realizing that it became a foreshadow for the man. 2.) Not seeing Melanie Smith who portrayed Ziyal. Her character had an impact on the story arc, and yet the actress was not even seen.

My brother is a Trekkie. His favorite is TNG. He actually missed parts of the DS9 series while it was running and didn't like it enough to get caught up. Me, I just dig SciFi but missed most of the Star Trek series while they ran on air. I've since gotten caught up and I'm pretty much the opposite of the brother: don't much care for TNG but love DS9. We both went to this documentary and enjoyed it, so that should tell you something.

My guess is that people who watch this may revisit DS9 and give it a second chance. You're no longer just coming off TNG and you've matured, so the experience will probably be somewhat different.

Some reviewers complained about the political aspect of this production. Most anything you watch on TV that has any kind of substance is making a statement about our society. And it influences us or at least tries to. There is nothing wrong with that. It's not like they're telling you what party to join or who to vote for. I'm actually amazed that there are Trekkies out there who break down at the slightest hint that a character may have been anything other than straight. Let's be better than that.

Like a lot of Star Trek fans I grew up watching TNG as a kid. It was one of the few shows my entire family watched every Sunday as a family. Finally, in 1993 DS9 came on and it aired right after TNG every Sunday so we watched it.

By the time season 3 rolled around I was in my mid-teens and was more interested in spending time with friends and playing sports in high school, so I did not watch Deep Space Nine again....until it hit Netflix in 2011 for the first time.

The first show of the Star Trek's that went live on Netflix was Deep Space Nine. Wow...just wow. It was obvious to me my young teen self under appreciated those first two seasons and then the rest of the series. It was amazing.

Then in 2016 I watched the entire series again. One episode everyday when I hit the treadmill. The 44 minute episodes were perfect amount of time for my daily workout with my IPAD.

I finally watched the series for the third time because of the Cornavirus pandemic, and powered through the entire series in about three months.

I just finished the series yesterday and watched the Documentary today for the first time. What a bookend.

Ira did an amazing job on this documentary. It did not feel overwhelming but sweet and sincere and enough to make me feel great again about the franchise. Not a huge fan of Ira's politics, but I am the type that still respects other people's beliefs.

Overall, Deep Space Nine is one of the greatest TV shows of all-time and thee best Star Trek series.

This documentary series is a must watch for any fan. Highly recommend. 9/10.

P.S.

My wife and I asked each other of all the Star Trek crews which one would you want to belong to and hang out with. Both of us simultaneously said, "DEEP SPACE NINE".

I am an unapologetic Niner (one of those fans that thinks that DS9 is the best Trek ever). If you love the show, or even if you just sort of liked it, this documentary is for you. I only had one complaint against it. By the time it was over my jaw was killing me. From the opening credits until the close the grin on my face was threatening to split my bcc face apart.

Loved the doco. Well worth the many years since I plonked down some $$ to get it made. My only negative was what they said about Garak. I don't see it and I don't think it's needed. He was perfect the way he was portrayed.