Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

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.

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 won't say much about "Deep Space Nine" other than that it is the most well written, off-beat, and truly suspenseful of the Star Trek series. It is the series for everyone else... those who don't enjoy happy Star Trek (ie- "Next Generation), weird Star Trek (ie- "The Original"), or dumb Star Trek (ie- "Voyager").

It has a much darker tone, with a story-line that, if anyone watched from the beginning of the story arc to what is on currently, could understand and enjoy. It doesn't have the traditional "We are the Champions and can solve any problem in an hour". It features low-life, people making mistakes in judgement, conflicts over spirituality, and a much more human and less superficial look at one of pop culture's little universes. It features war-torn individuals and petty conflicts over land. Problems with culture-clash, government conspiracy and corruption, etc... This list could go on and on.

The main thing that makes "Deep Space Nine" different is that it is a Star Trek series for folks who don't want a lot of technobabble (not that there isn't any) Star Trek, where problems just go away or perfect people on a perfect ship that always win. It makes it more interesting for the watcher, almost like reading a novel. Most people, especially non-Trek fans, who had watched the series from its conception or joined when the story arc began about 4 years ago will know what I mean when I say this is an untraditional type of Star Trek. And those who haven't, try it. It's definitely a move away from the stereotype most folks have about the Star Trek series (though of the other Star Treks, I can't say the same.)