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

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".

A treat for anyone of us who grew up with the show and surely for those who are just discovering it. Revisit the cast in this emotional ride down memory lane, including nuances which were possibly missed. An emotional sit down with our favorite characters, paced by a bonus writer's gathering, who actually put together an impressive episode 1 of an imaginary season 8. They sure don't make them like they used to.

I just watched this on my 65" TV and besides that its a nice documentary that gets a bit boring in the later 30 minutes I just wondered where they got all those HD quality scenes of DS9 from!

I mean my DSP is just DVD quality and I know theres people rendering that to HD quality since 2019. But this documentary was done in 2018 - and ALL the "old" scenes from DSP shown are perfect 1080 HD on my 65" TV.

So guys, when they could do that in 2018 why didnt they do it to the whole series already?

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.

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.