My Thoughts on Star Trek Deep Space Nine

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[@QrazyQuarian]

Whenever Q showed up on the Enterprise, Picard shouted about ethics the whole time and could never get rid of him. When he came to DS9 Sisko punched him in the face and he never showed up again.

[@kevaninthe4135]

"Thanks Sisko." Captain Janeway.

[@piotrd.4850]

DS9 really underused Q's character - and that's saying something. Q didn't intervene because... well... there were no his level stakes involved.

[@zalamael]

@@piotrd.4850 Gyverguy got it right. Q was antagonistic, he enjoyed winding Picard up. Picard tolerated it, due to his belief in the Prime Directive and his standing orders (seeking out new life and learning from and understanding it). Sisko was a good leader to his team, but he wasn't an explorer like Picard, and he lacked the same kind of patience. He saw that Q was hostile, and was playing games, so he had little time for his games. If it came to an all out war, Sisko is the man you want at the helm. Picard would do his best to prevent it, rather than win it. Sisko was more realistic in his approach, he viewed war as inevitable, and then focused his decisions around winning, rather than being reasonable and doing his utmost to prevent it (as Picard would have).

[@aaronhumphrey2009]

@@piotrd.4850 maybe, but what about the" wormhole Gods " worshipped by the Bajorrans ? Surely such a presumptuous title and dynamic would've piqued his interest in them. Q- "I'll see if you're Worthy of playing on my universe's front lawn. Otherwise, I'll have to pass my Holy Judgement opon you all- and then )) Snap (( you'll be all gone.." PS- John D is awesome as Q.. definitely in my top tier of secondary reoccurring characters.

[@brianwalendy3735]

@@zalamael Well said

[@Brenelael]

Elim Garak is the single best secondary character in any Science Fiction show ever... period. He had more depth than most main characters in other shows including other Star Trek shows. The only other character that comes close is Gul Dukat... another DS9 character. This was a great show.

[@ogs_Boga1900]

londo mollari

[@BirdOPrey5]

You'd shoot a man in the back? Well, it's the safest way, isn't it? Of course, what else could it be? That you should never tell the same lie twice.

[@captainl-ron4068]

Just....Garak. Plain, simple Garak.

[@brainsmasher6617]

Richard Crockett Garak and Gul Dukat, but reversed.

[@Brenelael]

Brain smasher - I put them on almost equal footing but Garak gets the nod only because he was on a lot more episodes than Gul Dukat. I also think because he got a lot more screen time his character was a lot more developed than Dukat. Dukat made great jumps in development between appearances whereas Garak we got to see develop slowly over time.

[@eddstarr2185]

The first sign of DS9's excellence - Jake Sisko did not become the new Wesley Crusher. Thank You!

[@blackenedchrome]

Edd Starr Didn't they though when you think,about it? They had a chance to let Jake be different and follow in his father's footsteps which would've been interesting to see. Instaed they chose to repeat the Wesley theme by having him avoid becoming a Starfleet officer once again repeating the whole theme.

[@mistamichal]

Ummmm.... Wesley DID become a starfleet officer, following in his father's footsteps......

[@blackenedchrome]

mistamichal He became an officer off screen in between the series and Nemesis. In the actual series it was continually implied by plot design he was meant for something more whuchwas concluded and confirmed before the end of the series when hr left with the travelor. The actual series over the course of 7 seasons with the plot and writing never built for him to go into Starfleet. He did it because he was gifted and felt obligated to his parents and Picard and ultimately regretted it. Having a series where the son character actually wanted to go into Starfleet by his own motivation and gradually build,to that over the series is entirely different.

[@eddstarr2185]

Wow - both Jake and Wesley were raised by single parents and both boys grew quite a rebellious streak!

[@orcman8296]

Why are you even talking about Wesley Crusher? There was a reason he was written out of TNG. The character was too much even for the happy feel of TNG. He had to go. In my alternate universe Wesley is assimilated by the Borg and never heard from again.

[@Taospark]

The best part about Quark's monologue in "Siege of AR-558" is that in a later scene, he realizes that truth about innate savagery also applies to him when Quark has to backshoot a Jem'Hadar soldier and in that scene - there are no words. It's all in Shimerman's eyes.

[@BlazingOwnager]

Yep, coming right after his OTHER great "We would have found another way, we would have negotiated a peace.." speech made it work perfectly too. Quark got two stand-out monologues that episode.

[@ScottKnowlesKnight]

Quark was pretty much my favorite and watching his evolution in the series was the best part, you rarely got that in the other series as they tended to remain pretty static.

[@MyBrainGlows]

Quark was always there to hold a mirror on mankind. quiet some time actually he had memorable quotes about men

[@stevencoardvenice]

​​@@MyBrainGlows He has 2 different speeches on how evil humans are. One is to sisko in the finale of season 2, and then the episode where Nog gets shot in the final season

[@hydrogenone6866]

"On Earth there is no poverty, no crime, no war. You look out the window at Starfleet Headquarters and you see paradise. Well, it's easy to be a saint in paradise. But the Maquis do not live in paradise. Out there, in the Demilitarized Zone, all problems have not been solved yet. There are no saints, just people; angry, scared, determined people who are going to do whatever it takes to survive, whether it meets with the Federation approval or not." - Commander Benjamin Sisko

[@justsayin9180]

Hydrogen One And that Federation president came off to me as a grandma. A jab at TNG maybe?

[@needparalegal]

Maquis was very unrealistic. There were hundreds of sparsely populated planets they could have lived on that were not near the Cardasians (space Nazis). To be realistic they should have made the Marquis Mormons whos book told them they had to live there.

[@danamcknight4049]

@@needparalegal Maquis is extremely realistic.... It's the problem with forced "relocation" at it's core. If you've built your home from scratch on a hostile planet for a generation and carved out a home--- you're not really willing to give that up very easily.

[@markhoffart622]

After that magnificent speech, just after Sisko had been admonished by a Starfleet admiral based on earth, paradise in his speech, I wonder why he wasn't more forgiving of the Maquis. I understand his for the uniform sentament with his friend, and eddington really snookered him , but still...

[@garym6315]

At the time I liked DS9, but also hated how it was crapping all over Gene's vision so soon after his death, like they couldn't wait til he was gone. But now as an adult I fully appreciate how the show covers the same themes and ideals but presents them in a different way. Instead of saying "that's all in our past and we are better people now," it asks questions about it. What would happen if those ideals are tested and pushed to the limit?

[@Frocobo]

Here's me thinking the show was about self-sealing stem bolts.

[@CaesarBest]

Nooo, it was obviously about yamok sauce

[@chrissonofpear3657]

Hasperat?

[@CaesarBest]

Wait, I changed my mind, I think it was about ODN relays all along.

[@zoppie]

You're all wrong. It taught us the insidiousness of root beer!

[@hyzenthlay7151]

It taught us just how many different ways we could whip and torture O'Brien

[@laurenjcoates]

DS9 has SO much more depth than any other Star Trek show. By far my favorite series

[@johnellis3383]

I passed on DS9 for years because I though "How can you have Star Trek without a ship or exploration?" and boy was I wrong! I grew up watching TNG and have great memories of that series but DS9 is the better show by far. I would say that the first season could be considered a little slow but man when it gets going this series is AMAZING!

[@djb1317]

Yeh I'll always like TNG the most but DS9 is the better show, it outshines the Stat Trek brand in the same way Wrath of Khan transcends the franchise

[@psychocuda]

Even background characters who never get a single line of dialogue get an in-depth episode about their lives "Who Mourns for Morn?"

[@2bituser569]

Ds9 should have had its own movie.

[@berserkshirtbear1271]

It could if Paramount gave a s*** about DS9

[@justsayin9180]

They wrapped it all up in the final episodes, and left little, if anything, to make a movie plot. DS9 stands alone

[@chrissonofpear3657]

They had books, from the Millennium Trilogy, released during the show's run, to the post series relaunch books. Some mixed bags there, but very good ones too.

[@LillyDarkfire2]

Not To toot a video games horn But. STO-Star track online Has Been developing a session of DS9 story's + most of, thee original cast voicing there respective charterers. That should give foregrounds, to make a movie some how.

[@thepayne7862]

There was like 4 DS9 games 3 on PC one on Super Nintendo. Sounds like I need to log into STO.

[@cbyrne9703]

DS9's main advantage was that the network basically left it alone to do its own thing. Unlike Voyager which as the flagship show of the Paramount Network ended up being seriously constrained by 'suits'. This allowed the producers and writers on DS9 to have a lot more freedom in how the show was structured and how the stories were told. The result is that while all the Trek shows (minus Discovery) can and are fun overall none of them have managed to push the boundaries or manage to remain as consistently good over time as DS9 has when you look at series overall rather than individual episodes. Enterprises fourth season came close, and it would most likely have passed DS9 in many aspects had they decided to make a fifth season. DS9 however remains the one Trek series that really hasn't aged. Spruce up some of the effects shots, redo some of the battles and there is no reason this series wouldn't work just as well today as it did back in the 90's.

[@CJR-wv8kc]

c Byrne in fact dare I say it was way ahead of its time. The way it was wrote and done is a lot more in tune with audiences of today which is why it's stood the test of time it was never much in that time anyway.

[@justsayin9180]

Many great quotes to, that would never have been allowed in the other treks. Lots of trekkies call DS9 the anti Roddenberry show.

[@cbyrne9703]

I think the real lesson that should be learnt is that network 'suits' should basically hire producers who know what they are doing, then more or less leave them alone unless they are going a bit too far. It's a lesson Paramount, CBS, Lucasfilm and DC seem as of late to be incapable of understanding.

[@CJR-wv8kc]

c Byrne yeah it is a mistake they make often, I see it as far back as enterprise, where all the behind the scenes documentaries show huge network interference from people who did not understand the show yet enforced certain ideas into the show because its what the network thought would make a great star trek show but not necessarily what the fans thought would make a great show.

[@cbyrne9703]

They did the same with Voyager, which should and was intended to be Treks take on Battlestar Galactica. And was forced to be TNG light. Not, I'll add, that Voyager was actually a bad series overall. What is depressing is that both Enterprise and Voyager have more than a few episodes that show what the writers were really capable of doing when left alone.

[@needparalegal]

DS9 was by far the best Star Trek series.

[@vincentadultman8527]

I rewatch episodes of TNG and VOY, but I rewatch chunks of DS9 all the time. Probably my favorite Sci-Fi show of all time.

[@jonathansoko1085]

Back in the 90s, no one made that claim. Today people act like it is tho, i tend to agree i just find it funny that for 20 years people ignored it and now scream its praise. Where were yall back then when i had to go to war with people over it?

[@needparalegal]

@@jonathansoko1085 I appreciate it more now than I did then. I cannot even watch 99% of todays TV due to plot holes and bad writing. I didn't watch TV in the 90s, I was busy racking up student debt in a rigged system.

[@chonconnor6144]

@@jonathansoko1085 TNG cast a long shadow, as someone who watched most of TNG and all of DS9 in the original run, DS9 was a challenging series and required a knowledge of Trek and appreciation of complex writing. The show was promoted poorly and the first season was under more scrunity as TNG was huge at the time. It got really good from season 2-5 and even better but the serialized format always made me feel like I was missing something during the Dominion war. It also had an awful ending, I really wish the series had a more satisfying finale.

[@jonathansoko1085]

@@chonconnor6144 TNG casts a "long shadow" if you are the type of person that runs on nostalgia alone. Theres alot of people like you, you remember how you felt and your life when you first watched it, so anything else you deem not as good because of your personal feelings. We both know im right

[@CoinOpTV]

been rewatching DS9 - such a good show ... shame we never got a remastered blu-ray version :(

[@Cardah]

yeah they never made their money back on the tng remaster so they didn’t bother with ds9

[@garym6315]

I'm sure one day it will come. Not because they want a bluray release like TNG, but because they'll be trying to sell their streaming channel with murky 90s versions of DS9 and Voyager. Eventually it will be an embarrassment for them and they'll have to remaster them.

[@StreetPreacherr]

Agreed! I wasn't the biggest fan of DS9 when it came out, probably mostly because it WASN''T TNG. However after recently re-watching the entire DS9 series, I really appreciated the 'darker' themes explored!

[@SumDumGy]

We can 100% blame the studio for that one. They didn’t get it through their heads in time that they had been way overcharging for Star Trek on physical media for years, especially in comparison to every other network’s TV series. Charging more than double everyone else’s prices meant they were selling only to the most obsessive or the fan base. I wanted to buy it all but refused to be ripped off for it.

[@rowlandbuck2703]

@@garym6315 DS9 looks well enough on modern TVs. I was trying to read the promenade directly last night. It’s not English but the letters are crystal clear on a big enough tv. Also, weyoun was holding an empty container with no baseball card in that episode. I really don’t think the series needs a remaster. Be kinda clunky with all the stock footage scenes reused over and over in battles.

[@TokyoTraveller]

In The Pale Moonlight was so good. DS9 is by far my favorite too "I lied. I cheated...I'm an accessory to murder...Because I can live with it...I can live with it! ...Computer, delete that entire personal log" If this was in HD, I would buy it. "Brag all you want, but don't get between me, and the blood wine!"

[@ciaranfahy7179]

Actually I liked the bit where Cisco punched Que. Why? It is literally a way to yell at the audience "THIS IS NOT TNG".

[@williamoneswhannell1060]

Picard never hit me

[@Dhips.]

@@williamoneswhannell1060 I'm not Picard

[@PaulSmith-nb6md]

Cisco be like "I am Q on this station"

[@teristhesis7806]

“Pale Moonlight” is best Star Trek episode of all time. Garak was amazing and the testing of Sisko’s morality was intriguing.

[@orcman8296]

Picard would never have done what Sisko had to do. Picard was too caught up in Starfleet regulations. And so if Picard had been in charge at DS9 the Romulans would never have joined the Federation and the Klingons in the war against the Dominion. And Picard would never have even talked to someone like Garak.

[@seanfergus6192]

You are correct.

[@Mneros]

@@orcman8296 True, but I think if Picard was the commander of DS9 the war would have never happened, as Picard is a master Diplomat and would have found a way to find common ground to satisfy both parties. So no war = no need to trick Romulus in to war.

[@nudgenudgewinkwink3212]

Brilliant episode.

[@talentlessartist7929]

@@Mneros not really. Picard isn't magical. If it was that wasy thy would have just asked him to talk.

[@deadknight1402]

Deep Space Nine is by far my favourite Star Trek series. All it took was In the Pale Moonlight to convince me of that. My favourite characters were Elim Garak, Odo, and Quark, and Benjamin Sisko is my favourite Star Trek captain.

[@SAPProd]

Oh don’t mind us, go right ahead and make an hour(s) long video describing DS9 to the unbelievers.

[@juresaiyan]

SAPProd Yes!

[@zangthrirstarker634]

Great idea, Mr. Sack!

[@BlazingOwnager]

Every time a new Trek show tries to show how cool it is with diversity and strong female leads it makes me actually sad because DS9 had both a really diverse cast full of great female characters and it never once smelled it's own farts over the fact. Kira's one of my favorite characters in the franchise and a complete badass and not once had to go into a speech about how she could be tough because she was a woman or anything. When race does come up as an issue, it's extremely well done too: Far Beyond the Stars is just great. I did get a laugh that Sisko had a problem with historical revisionism in video games in the holodeck heist episode, too, lol.

[@c20995]

You're right. DS9 was written like a well...a story. It had a consistent arc, plot, character development, with real motivations, consequences, and not always a happy ending. It was... as the Dr. Bashir said in the first episode... "I came to experience real frontier life."

[@orcman8296]

I read somewhere that the Dr. Bashir character was originally intended to be sort of an adult version of Wesley Crusher. Brilliant but naive. But the writers realized that such a character had no place on this show and fleshed him out a bit to make him more edgy. I'm glad they did. He was really annoying at first.

[@edfur8196]

This show is a masterpiece, the depth of the characters, the story arcs, the intertwining of multiple plots and the cameos of characters from times past were all very well done. Favourite episodes were in the pale moonlight and once more unto the breach.

[@LeftHandedGuitarist]

My favourite TV show of all time. I think it's difficult to go into DS9 cold, it's very much a sequel/companion to TNG and assumes knowledge of the universe established there. It also picks up some storylines from that show.

[@lelissamev323]

glaven

[@stephenmurray2851]

LeftHandedGuitarist Agreed. Best sci-fi series ever.

[@geetee2392]

LeftHandedGuitarist I agree. Without TNG I wouldn't have gotten into DS9. Definitely a companion series. Beyond Spock I wasn't much into 70's Star Trek.

[@necroticossuary]

Gee Tee That's obvious. Star Trek came out in the 60s.

[@markfogarty7418]

Dean Croney Garrick for me was the best character...best program ever

[@tbotwest]

Dukat is one my favorite ST characters of all time.

[@aaronhumphrey2009]

Agreed, when you finally see him die, fatally betrayed by Kai Winn , it's both satisfying and visceral to see a deluded , murderous tyrant get his due by the hand of another deluded, power-hungry tyrant.. Poetry. Top ten death scenes of all time.

[@delboy5258]

Mine as well, brilliantly written. There are such nuances to the character. Completely believable villain.

[@chonconnor6144]

Agreed, honourble mention to Demar as well.

[@dickmarx1298]

So many characters were fleshed out so well over the seasons. Damar was done really well. Who can forget his rallying speech to the Cardassians?

[@porterwake3898]

Damar was awesome, but then his death was like, ok he's gone, moving on now.

[@hitmanRazo]

He is not on the top 5 of most developed characters for me. But alas such an interesting character and that speech is legendary

[@markiegreen5214]

I LIKED DEEP SPACE 9, WHEN IT FIRST STARTED...ONCE SISKO SHAVED HIS HEAD...THE SHOW TOOK OFF

[@anthragestormrider2493]

Am rewatching this now. Quite interesting to see how much Rom's character changed from the first episodes to later in the serious, including even the voice. A stark difference.

[@Harrison11106]

Gene Roddenberry (hope I spelled it right) probably wouldn't have liked the series all that much; hell Majel Roddenberry (Genes Widow) had said, more then once, that Gene would have despised the Dominion war arc. You forgot the character Morn/Mourn, a background character seen mainly in the 1st few seasons, but showed up in later ones once or twice. The joke/conceit with that character was that you never heard him say one word throughout the series entire run, but off camera the characters would say that he'd "never shut up", or just as you'd see him FINALLY talk, it would switch to another scene/set of characters doing something else. It was a great bit, & the show did it successfully for the entire run.

[@Mneros]

Majel's thoughts on the war Arc is puzzling. I know Gene didn't want war in his creation, and only focus on Humanities potential for good. However we are not in a paradise golden age at the moment. The best way i see us getting there is to explore the aggressive nature within us, so we can better learn from these events. brushing humanities blood thrust under the rug and just stating that the future is perfect is not the best approach. The show is about the Human condition, and id say war falls high on the list.

[@paul1979uk2000]

@@Mneros The problem is that Star Trek was always about showing humans in a brighter future, DS9 didn't really do that, it more or less showed humans of today but in a future setting which isn't realistic at all because technological advancement changes how people think so much of what we do today we couldn't with that level of tech as it would likely wipe out the human race, in fact I suspect the human race would never get to the stage of Star Trek with today way of thinking and that is the main flaw of DS9. It was good entertainment but it went too far from what Star Trek was all about and Star Trek did start to go into decline around that time and the irony is, today we really could do with a Star Trek that paints a bright future like TOS and TNG did with all the things that are going on today as people are losing hope.

[@Melusi47]

I loved this

[@paul1979uk2000]

@@DazedSpy2 If you say so but it's easy to see how the depiction of humans in DS9 was more in line with humans of the time when it was made and all because it's more relatable to us, it's much easier to sell something that is more relatable to the audience that they are selling something to them something that is far in the future that is so different from us. Don't get me wrong, I liked DS9 but it was around then where Star Trek started to go downhill and hasn't recovered from it since, it basically became too action focused which isn't what Star Trek was all about and the moment it went like that, it was no different from other sci-fi shows with a lot of things blowing up and special effects, it's the same mistakes they do with the new Star Treks today. In any case, it's highly unlikely that Star Trek will recover because it's lost its vision the moment Gene died, other took over and pushed it to be more action focused and it went downhill ever since.

[@seandoran8375]

And that Morn was an anagram of "Norm" from Cheers. So good...

[@TheBurleybrawler]

Any DS9 fan's should back the "What we left behind" Documentary It will have HD DS9 scenes and it the best way to vote for the possibility of full DS9 blurays (besides buying other Trek blurays of course)

[@BirdOPrey5]

It was my first (and only) crowdfunding type product I ever purchased- I can't wait for it to be complete and arrive on DVD or digital download. I really wish I was physically able to have purchased some of those perks where you had dinner with the cast, I totally would have spent $1000 on that.

[@BirdOPrey5]

That would be amazing, I had heard much of it was lost. But I think the increase in CGI would make upgrading to HD much more expensive and time consuming than TNG. Imagine all those space battles.

[@BirdOPrey5]

Well I'd buy HD DS9 in a minute but that is dated 2013. Afraid if it hasn't happened by now...

[@nicholasdickens2801]

Nexus I can’t wait to get a copy.

[@forgefathereli8354]

haha after their debocle with Star Trek: discovery I would never hand paramount another dollar unless my life were being threatened if i didn't.

[@kenjett2434]

DS9 truely was Star Trek's finest series for every reason given. If only we could get that quality of writing back.

[@RobertSmith-ch9jj]

Right on! Not sure I've ever been invested in another show the way I was with DS9.

[@kenjett2434]

Robert Smith i was invested in every series of Trek stil am. With exception of the abomination STD. It would take drastic changes to make me want to invest the time and money to watch it.

[@riftvallance2087]

Sadly I think you will never see writing even half that good on television ever again.

[@eurovicious]

Amen brother

[@kenjett2434]

Rift Vallance sadly you are probably right

[@mikevasquez1103]

I always found the show to be very engaging. Deep Space Nine once actually the first Star Trek series I watched on TV. Benjamin Sisko was also the most well-rounded commanding officer in all of Star Trek. #SISKO4LIFE!😎

[@retroplay5559]

DS9 was an absolutely amazing series.

[@priasethecow]

I was very late to the DS9 party (just watched it for the first time this year despite being a massive trek fan) and have to say there is a lot more to it than I thought when it was first released. Love it immensely and made recuperation from a serious accident pass quickly,

[@wastelanddv8062]

As a combat veteran this has become my favorite series and you mentioned my two favorite episodes. The siege of AR 558 and in the pale moon light.

[@airmaildolphin7013]

For me, DS9 was the height of Star Trek. The writing was superb and the characters likable. Voyager seemed more cardboard and Enterprise was just going through the motions. Both Voyager and Enterprise seemed to represent a down sliding in the quality of Star Trek to me. Anything after Enterprise (the Reboot and Discovery) doesn't even count as BEING Star Trek. By that point, it had become unrecognizable to me.

[@eurovicious]

I basically feel the same. DS9 is my fave, then TNG. I prefer Voyager to Enterprise, and both to either the new movies or STD. Nothing after 2005 is Star Trek to me. Even when Berman/Braga-era Trek became largely disposable and was at its absolute low point (Voyager S6-7 to ENT S1-2), it at least still had an idea of what Star Trek is (and isn't) and largely got the tone right.

[@paul1979uk2000]

Oh I don't know, as much as I like DS9 and it's the second best Trek behind TNG for me, I always felt that DS9 was trying to show humans of today with the same kind of problems humans have now and with the same kind of reaction that humans would do. I always felt that wasn't realistic for a future setting, I also felt it got darker and could be what led to what Star Trek is like now. But don't get me wrong, DS9 was great but Star Trek was always about a bright future for the human race and DS9 changed that, also viewing figures started to go downhill around that time. Anyway, the reason why I think many like DS9 is because it's a lot more relatable to today humans but there is the problem already, Star Trek was always about showing a much more enlighten human race not today humans and that for me was it's major flaw, not to mention all the religion talk, I mean really, the future and religion doesn't mix lol. In any case, both TNG and DS9 ware the best of Star Trek but it all went downhill mid to late 90's and it's been in the dumps every since.

[@scinnyc]

@@paul1979uk2000 I disagree completely. I personally liked both Voyager and Enterprise. They weren't perfect but they were intriguing shows. Enterprise could've been better but it was canceled just as it was really starting to shine. DS9 was different from other Star Trek series because most of these characters had far more traumatic life experiences than other Trek characters. Borg massacre survivors, Cardassian Occupation survivors, ex-Obsidian Order members, being the only known member of your species, the experiences of several different lifetimes, etc. These characters didn't act as "evolved" as in other Trek series because their "bright futures" weren't paradise. The religious aspect was actually really genius because it reflects on how battered people cling to religion as a sign of hope to overcome their struggles. Bajorans weren't as advanced as Humans so they still clung to somewhat outdated religious beliefs. But then again, just because people live in the 24th century doesn't mean that they'll disregard their religion. Look at the Klingons for example. They were just as, if not more religious than the Bajorans

[@BlazingOwnager]

DS9 doesn't get enough props for it's production design. It often looks and feels way, way more cinematic than the other Trek shows. When you try to watch Voyager (I have given up on that several times) it's like this flat, cheap crap. Everything on DS9 looks like it's got large scope and is so much more alive, plus the Cardassian station allows for cool lighting and visually interesting rooms. The Promenade feels both sizable and always alive, for example.

[@davidlacoste]

I am rewatching ENT right now, and even the first season is way better than anything STD did.

[@MrEdcrowley100]

Your daily reminder, Dukat did nothing wrong.

[@tacticaldroidtx22]

Edward Crowley Neither did Arcturus Mengsk.

[@snake56]

Gul Darhe'el was /ourguy/

[@The_Unseen2106]

Certainly the best antagonist in all Star Trek

[@paintedblue1791]

How come MORN got all the Best Lines?

[@TheAtkey]

Han Lockhart Agreed, the problem with Dukat is he should have died in season 6 or at least gone to prison and never seen again. I love the multi part series finally except when we get to the Dukat Kia Winn plot that makes me cringe.

[@darrenrenna]

DS9 was seriously underrated, I liked the more ruthless Realpolitik direction the show took from the beautifully idealistic Next Generation, they are a great compliment to each other.

[@Dularr]

"In the Pale Moonlight" probably one of the best episodes of all Sci Fi.

[@piotrd.4850]

From ST? "Measure of Man" and "Inner Light". From other - "In the Beginning".

[@jon-michaelharris5840]

This really was an incredible series. I loved Babylon 5 as well.

[@ghostinthemachine8243]

Do you not believe that both shows have eerily similar story arcs?

[@somelittlellama4186]

DS9 started airing in my country when I just started college so I only could watch a few episodes. Then I finished the first season online a few months ago. I'm somehow glad I'm now an adult before watching it whole: it's going to be a quite different experience than have watched it 15 years ago.

[@sdhubbard]

I agree. There are some things in the show you have to be an adult to appreciate.

[@applepie231]

Definitely, Liberty. My absolute FAVORITE moment in the entire show has to be at the end of It's Only a Paper Moon where Nog lives in the holosuite with Vic after losing his leg. He has this conversation at the end and it breaks my heart. Nog, "Don't you get it? I can't go out there!" Vic, "Why not?" Nog, "Because I'm scared, alright! I'm scared. When the war began...I wasn't happy or anything. But I was eager. I wanted to prove myself. I wanted to see if I had what it took to be a soldier. I saw a lot of combat. I saw a lot of people get hurt; I saw a lot of people die....but I didn't think anything was going to happen to me. Then suddenly Doctor Bashir is telling me he has to cut my leg off. I couldn't believe it....I still can't believe it. If I can get shot, if I can lose my leg then anything could happen to me Vic. I could die tomorrow! I don't know if I'm ready to face that. If I stay here then at least I know what the future is going to be like." Vic, "If you stay here, you'll die. Not all at once, but little by little. Eventually you'll become as hollow as I am." Nog, "You don't seem hollow to me." Vic, "Compared to you I'm as hollow as a snare drum." I'm a huge history buff, and especially things like WW1/2. This is a story I've heard time and time again and seeing it portrayed so well in Star Trek with such an innocent likable character destroyed me. It's the only time I actually teared up aside from The Visitor. I fucking love DS9.

[@Changeling9au]

@@applepie231 Yes - that is a brilliant scene

[@sfkeepay]

Here here, and thank you for mentioning specific episodes, like “Duet”, “Far Beyond the Stars” and “”Pale Moonlight” to name a few. I also really appreciated the relationship between Captain Sisko and his son Jake, the complex nature of Sisko and Kira's friendship, and the interactions between Garak and Odo, as well as Garak and Bashir. There was so much to like about DS9, so much meat on those bones.

[@gmajor1273]

Brilliant commentary on DS9. It is my favorite Star Trek too. It was the best. I am enjoying watching the reruns.

[@gmajor1273]

Great video man. Totally agree with you. DS9 was the best Star trek series ever.

[@Oversight85]

The funny thing this Andrew Robinson and Marc Alaimo are such amazing actors I could honestly see them switching roles. Their characters are so similar in backstory, but with just a few small forks in their roads that produced such radically different outcomes. Amazing, amazing writing and acting.

[@austinfrazier7325]

Edit: I wrote this before watching. Lifelong Trek fan and I’m sad to say I bought into the DS9 bashing when the show was airing. I watched a few episodes in season 1 but that was it. I always heard rumblings of how it was over the years. Took me 20 years but finally in 2014 I binge watched the entire series over about a 3 month span. Wow. I was absolutely blown away. Yes first season is a little slow and even some of second but it picks up quickly. And when the Dominion stuff starts “shut up and take my money”. That 3 months was such an emotional journey. I love TNG but was never impacted nor where as close as DS9. The arc of the Gul Ducot character alone is worth the watch. I actually felt sorry for him in the end. Just so many things right with the series. This is the “adult” series of Trek. The story telling is phenomenal. No weak main characters and each of them seem to get their proper storylines. The episode where Sisko looks at the camera the whole time while explaining why he killed the Romulan to get them into the war. I’m rambling now but holy shit was that a morally complex exercise. Same with Eddington. Trek has never been that real or gritty before and never will again.

[@shaundaly1134]

Deep Space 9 is the best Trek ever made. Yeah, I said that, deal with it.

[@delboy5258]

I completely agree with that. It is not my favorite series. But as objective as I can be, I believe it is the best written show of the franchise.

[@theknightsofawesomeness2701]

The thing is everybody now loves ds9 so your statement isn't controversial.

[@john24109]

the knights of awesomeness couldn’t have put it better myself. I think everyone can “deal” with his statement

[@evertonporter7887]

Hear hear!

[@lloydtshare]

Im with ya

[@cinemike8207]

DS9 has the best writing of any Star Trek series for sure. This video pretty much captures all of the main reasons why. Great stuff!

[@Drinkabeerandplayagameofficial]

Agree completely. When DS9 first aired I checked out in the middle of season one for most of the reasons you described. I eventually started watching it in syndication and fell in love with it. The Dominion War was easily the most ambitious thing a Star Trek series ever did.

[@TheLinc78]

It’s crazy that this video came across my feed today because I’m rewatching DS9 at the moment. I’ve said for years that DS9 is the best Star Trek series. So many amazing characters.

[@ricknineg]

DS9 and the story plot was so well written and flawlessly executed. If the cast would have been TNG on DS9...it would have been the greatest SCI show of all time. DS9 as it stood was a giant among giants.

[@RoninCatholic]

Pertsonally I never got past the fact that I didn't like its tone or the characters compared to the other Star Treks. I prefer TNG, TOS, Enterprise, and Voyager to it but unlike DS9 purists tend towards me I actually respect the opinion of people who like this version of Star Trek.

[@blainesavini3403]

I never really liked TNG cast. They always seemed too derivative of the Kirk Crew with Will Robinson.

[@orcman8296]

Picard and his crew were, in my opinion, very naive. Sitting aboard their luxury liner of a starship they actually looked down on other races that didn't embrace Federation values. The series got a little more edgy with the addition of the Borg and the Cardassians, but it never really moved beyond the happy shiny people holding hands feel of the show.

[@DOHC2L]

rick nineg everything you said is the opposite of reality. DS9 was terrible in all those aspects.

[@LostieTrekieTechie]

I loved the multicultural setting, and the longer story arcs

[@yeldarb141983]

I can't remember the title, but I think my favorite episode is probably the one where one of dukat's subordinates pretends to be him to stand trial for his crimes during the war... the episode had a lot of heart, even if it was a bit blunt in places, and it helped flesh out Kira's character arc by making her question her hatred of the Cardassians

[@romanlegion4282]

DS9 is the best sci-fi show and Star Trek series period.

[@Kalenz1234]

I always said DS9 is the best Star Trek show (and "In the pale moonlight" the best Star Trek episode) But you explained it in this video much better than I ever could.

[@TeutonicKnight92]

DS9 TNG TOS ENT VOY STD “In the Pale Moonlight” is my favorite episode of Trek

[@2bituser569]

TeutonicKnight92 No one wants an STD... haha. I would put tas oncthere before ds9.

[@briansneary7535]

Ent and STD are horrible

[@justanotherlikeyou]

TeutonicKnight92 Put B5 at the top of your list and it'll be closer to reality😊

[@TeutonicKnight92]

justanotherlikeyou Definitely one of my favorite SF shows

[@berserkshirtbear1271]

Personally I'd put TOS before TNG, but other than that

[@CJR-wv8kc]

I loved ds9 and I loved enterprise, why?, probably be cause both series are full of imperfect characters and to me it made them more relatable than tng or voyager where characters were pretty much perfect and lived in utopia.

[@HoldenNY22]

I think the Characters in Voyager could be flawed also. Belana was Flawed. Tom Paris was defintely flawed. The Doctor,not even a living Being was flawed. Both Kess and later Seven of Nine were both Flawed.

[@piotrd.4850]

@@HoldenNY22 Janeway and Chakotay had their issues too.

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

@@HoldenNY22voyager’s characters, there were so many and the writers abandoned them so quick

[@JessHull]

ITS A FAKKKKKKEEEE!!!!!

[@ssjwes]

No!... it's REEAL!

[@michaeldriggers7681]

@@ssjwes are you not familiar with that episode? If you were, you would know that the data rod is indeed a FAAAAAKE!

[@TheDangerousNate]

Don't you understand?! IT'S REEEAAL!

[@SpaceMonke99]

It’s settled. DS9 gave us the best declaration of something’s validity and fraudulence.

[@stevenharris7614]

Garak is one sneaky bastard

[@BrutusMcCrunch]

I am near tears with this PERFECT analysis of what remains, imo, the single best television serial of all time. I was a Trekkie until 1995 when this show swallowed me whole. My close friend, John, begged me to give it a chance which I finally did, under protest of what I considered an unnecessary addition to the Trek Canon. It stunned me how deep it was. It's the closest thing I found to a life Bible to date.

[@918Mitchell]

"In the pale moonlight" is the episode that hooked me on DS9.

[@pavlenikic9712]

The visitor as well for me

[@JazzRadioFfm]

@@pavlenikic9712 Just thinking about the visitor makes me cry like a baby. Also: Sisko knowing what his son was capable of doing for him until the end of his life, surely strengthened their bond even more. Just such a great series.

[@pavlenikic9712]

@@JazzRadioFfm i agree. now i have to rewatch ds9 again, you reminded me of it :P

[@vincentadultman8527]

6 and a half seasons in? Welcome to the party pal.

[@krzlwzl]

I liked other Star Strek Spin Offs as well, TNG is great, but DS9 for me is one of the best SciFi Shows ever - not only in the Stra Trek Universe.

[@hmrhuang]

My favorite ST series! The development of many primary AND secondary characters on the show was amazing! Indeed, in many ways, the supporting cast outshone the main cast. E.g., Martok, Garak, Rom, Nog, Weyoun, Dumar, Dukat, etc. -- they all had great stories and I think the writers did an excellent job with exploring the facets of those memorable characters!

[@kennoth3297]

DS9 is amazing. I often wrestle between it and TNG as my favorite Trek show. I feel that DS9 is superior in most ways, but it doesn't have that Patrick Stewart tour de force that TNG has, and in my mind that slightly tilts the favor. Still, DS9 was groundbreaking television for its time, and its influence in later shows is evident. Also, probably the biggest character transformation in the series is Damar. Really amazing that he went from Gul Dukat's yesman to being a revolutionary hero.

[@Mukibi25]

Thanks for this. You’re right Deep Space 9, is the best Star Trek series.

[@dtown-fi5xs]

Too bad DS9 will probably never get the Hi-Def treatment TNG did.

[@TheBurleybrawler]

True, just a few HD scenes remade in the coming doco. I'm still hoping for the rest though.

[@berserkshirtbear1271]

Yeah but they're just excuses not because they can't do it because they won't

[@dtown-fi5xs]

Just like TNG, all the special effects were done in 480. So, Paramount would need to re-do them like they did with TNG. DS9 had more complex effects especially with the Dominion Battles. Apparently, the sales of the TNG Blu-Ray's weren't good enough to justify the cost. Sad.

[@paul1979uk2000]

@@dtown-fi5xs The other problem is that DS9 had a lot more action then TOS and TNG and that would likely make it a lot more expensive to remaster, I suspect it will happen at some point but I doubt it will any time soon. now if TOS and TNG remaster was a great sales success for them, DS9 likely would of got remasters now but as it is, I doubt they think it's worth doing as it's likely going to be a lot more expensive to do DS9 compared to TOS and TNG combined.

[@D6save]

Fabulous, Thank you. One of my favourite shows and you’ve pushed my nostalgia button As a slightly lonely nerd, the friendship between Bashir and O’Brien was a big part of the show for me It actually affected me , when I read years later, that the actors didn’t get along

[@Seastallion]

Agree 💯%‼️ DS9 is my favorite Star Trek show by far. I was glad you mentioned "The Visitor", as that episode effected me as strongly as any TV episode has, particularly when I first saw it. I suppose it was because I could relate to it in a certain way that was (and still is) meaningful to me. It resonates powerfully with me, I think because my own Father was rarely ever around even though I strongly desired a stronger relationship with him. I could empathize with Jake Sisko in that episode in a way I've rarely found since. It still brings a tear to my eye and chokes me up, even now to some extent after I've seen it several times. My own Father isn't a bad person, but he has been negligent and absent as a parent, and that loss still resonates to this day. I could understand Jake's choice to give his younger self the Father he'd lost, even at the sacrifice of his own life. He had hope for his younger self to have a better and more fulfilling life with his Father's presence and guidance. Something I can easily imagine potentially being true in my own life if such a choice would ever be presented. The characters may have been fictional, but they were thoroughly relatable.

[@saraspangler890]

I didn’t watch it at first and now am in the 7th season on Netflix. This is a wonderful Trek show!

[@rowlandbuck2703]

It’s not easy to get into lol. But it’s great once you do.

[@wizbud4259]

Sisko is the baddest mo-fo in all of Star Trek. The guy poisoned an entire planet just to catch one fallen Starfleet officer !! #SiskoismyCaptain

[@PaiSAMSEN]

That's actually one of the reason why he's my least favorite captain. Launching a chemical weapon on a civilian target just to capture one man....I don't even know how it's possible that he survive the court marshal at all?

[@2bituser569]

Dr Galactose his crew should have been court martialed too. Chemical attacks are illegal and they can’t say just following orders.

[@wizbud4259]

Dr Galactose Sisko got off because of the tit for tat rule. Maquis poisons planet A, making it inhabitable for the Cardassians. Sisko returns the balance of power by making a Maquis planet inhabitable for humans. Status quo maintained for the most part.

[@PaiSAMSEN]

You mean "uninhabitable", right? Even then......does that justified the use of chemical weapon? on a CIVILIAN target? Did anyone take into account how unpredictable the chemical weapons are, and how the event, with only small change, like wind change, or the colonist are a little too far away from evacuation transport, or simply the number of the transport aren't enough to carry enough people, or the weapon were a little bit more effective than they think it would be due to terrain, can easily turn into a massacre? I'm sorry, but as someone whose profession make me know too well what could even the most basic form of NCB weapon can cause, there's no way to justified it, even less so against a civilian.

[@wizbud4259]

Daniel Bennett Article 14, Section 31; General Order 24; Special Order 66715. Sisko was fully within Federation Law.

[@destinycaptain247]

Great job. I often feel like no one remembers this series. Even Paramount wanted to "forget" it when they started promoting Enterprise. They had a commercial referencing Kirk, Picard, and Janeway - but not Sisko. It was weird. A few days later they had to recut that promo to add him.

[@seanbrown453]

Deep Space 9 did provide 2 of the best ever episodes in Trek namely Duet and In the Pale Moonlight.

[@Tyler_Lalonde-]

have you been watching razorfist the depths of DS9?

[@slicktrick9640]

Best trek best sci-fi show out there by a long shot.

[@steffenritter7497]

Dave, my wife and I have watched this show six times, now, and we are now on our seventh play-through (thanks to Me--2 TV). The show is powerful, dark, gritty and I was glad to see "O"Brien" and "Worf" develop their characters from the somewhat wooden people they were on TNG. I was quite happy that there was no "ship's counselor" who had the power to relieve a captain of command if she "sensed" something that bothered her. It goes without saying that two people who started out with TOS are going to love Star Trek. With the exception of several episodes of TNG, my reaction to that show was "Eh". I can only stomach seasons 1-3 of Voyager, but I liked Enterprise. I have never, and will never watch DIscovery. But Deep Space Nine? The best show in the series, in my opinion. By the way, all Curzon Dax has to do is smile to make my day brighter!

[@brettcooper3893]

Just recently rewatched all of DS9. I have to say it had some of the most powerful episodes. "In The Pale Moonlight" gives me chills, just thinking about it, plus this episode made Deep Space Nine the only Star Trek series to come close to breaking the Fourth Wall. Sheer genius. Btw, I tweeted a link to this video at Nana Visitor. She's quite engaged on Twitter and I'm sure she'll see it and would want to watch this.

[@Kesyabasturd]

The greatest Star Trek series of all time, my personal favourite and it had my favourite Star Trek. Love ya Next Gen, but I'm with Sisko.

[@thebeststooge]

I loved DS9 but at the time I kept asking myself what it would have been like if they went to the stars and not just hang around waiting for the stars to come to them.

[@thebeststooge]

I agree Anewlevel but I think if they had been like TOS, TNG before them where they went to the stars I do not believe we would have seen as many lives unfold before our eyes either. I was a HUGE Babylon 5 viewer until I missed 6 months of episodes and could not figure out what was going on (this was, of course, before we had ways to catch up thanks to the internet) BUT DS9 was in that vein so I naturally loved it. Shit was happening outside of our window and occasionally the shit, everyday life, would end up on the promenade deck so we could see what normal life was like for them. It was a space opera but not nearly as grandiose as B5 it was still one. At least on DS9 if I missed 15 episodes I could quickly pickup where I left off unlike B5 before it.

[@orcman8296]

That's why they eventually got the Defiant.

[@thebeststooge]

It helped but not quite the same thing.

[@BeardFaceSuper]

I recently re-watched this series. It's so good. I'm a die-hard TNG fan. I know a lot of episodes aren't that good, but the characters and the way the interact are so likable. However, on my most recent viewing I have to say DS9 is definitely a close second.

[@williamjameslehy1341]

I don't agree with you on much, but you're 100% spot-on here. I think DS9 was not only the best Trek, but one of the greatest television dramas of the 20th Century.

[@Rdeboer]

Shame we probably won't see an HD release of DS9, but I suppose we were lucky to get TNG remastered when you consider the process involved.

[@craigs71]

Garak (spelling?) was a very (best in my opinion) interesting character and played very well by Andrew Robinson (who I remember from the Dirty Harry film). As many others have asked, B5 next please.

[@orcman8296]

I remember when I first saw Garak I thought to myself "where have I seen this actor before?" Drove me nuts for awhile. But one night my girlfriend at the time rented Dirty Harry from Blockbuster video. When I saw Andrew Robinson I literally shouted "That's where I know him from!!!!!" Lol

[@craigs71]

He was also in Hellraiser.

[@kevaninthe4135]

Garak (you spelled it correctly) was just incredible.

[@ladykilgore2337]

Thank you so much for this review! DS9 is my favorite Star Trek of them all, and I've seen ALL of them, excluding Discovery, which I don't consider actual Star Trek. The deep layered complex characters, the heavy gritty themes, the arcing expansive story lines, and the phenomenal acting all cement this as the pinnacle of Star Trek potential realized. I loved it when I first saw it in my late teens but now that I'm (MUCH) older, it's only gotten better with time. I love that the villains were actual believable people, both complex and tragic. No one felt like an archetype or a cut-out. I genuinely cared about these people and felt the emotions that came with their ups and downs. My biggest complaint with the show was that the ending felt very rushed for all of the build-up, mainly the resolution of the Sisko/Dukat, Pah Wraith/Prophets story line. It really could have been served better with a bit more time and oomph spent on that particular climax. Still, the series delivered on everything else so well that I count that as a nit-pick. I still love this show deeply. It might be not just my favorite Trek show, but my favorite sci-fi show of all time.

[@bobitussinX]

THANK YOU for recognizing 'In The Pale Moonlight' as the great episode it was! It has been my favorite scifi episode of all time since I first saw it yet you are the only one who has ever given it recognition. Usually the idiot masses vote for the one where Picard spends a lifetime playing the piccolo...

[@SirSilica]

You should, if you haven't already, check out RazorFist's Depths of Deep Space Nine videos.

[@honestly_present]

SirSilica do you mean rageaholic's depths of ds9?

[@SirSilica]

Yeah. He goes by both names.

[@berserkshirtbear1271]

Absolutely should

[@patrickfrost9405]

Although it is a good examination, his style is more... brusque than most can appreciate, I think. But, yes, I do think it is worth trying it out.

[@applepie231]

Sfdebris on sfdebris.com as well. He's done HUNDREDS of Star Trek episodes. Including other videos on other series like Doctor Who and Stargate! He's a fantastic producer and I look forward to *most* of his videos. He does some anime I don't care about. He's got an amazing joke about how Worf calls his dick and balls honor and courage. Then plays a montage saying shit like: Gowron, 'Your family will lose it's seat on the high council, your lands seized, you will have nothing!" Worf, "Except my honor." I believe that's in his Way of the Warrior video.

[@MayanMountainInc]

Wow what a great review! I'm watching DS9 right now with my Dad. :) You are right, it has so much more depth to the characters than TNG, which I grew up watching.

[@kruaxiilferengi]

I'm a (rare, in Italy) fanatic of this series ! And your clip is Amazing. Thanks a lot Mr. Cullen

[@DeaPeaJay]

Great analysis. The character developments and writing on DS9 truly separate it from the other series and make it my number 1 favorite out of all 5.

[@dksamaritan5200]

ah Kira Nerys, My fav character. What I'd do to be Odo :)

[@tyoungjjr]

Excellent assessment! In there defining others they stayed true to the essence of Star Trek. The producers and writers are the unsung heroes!

[@evertonporter7887]

The DS9 crew may not have boldly gone where other crews had already gone before, but it was Star Trek at its heart!

[@Rhino-hn3jd]

Ducat was such a great character and his search for the crew of DS9's approval was always a highlight of the show

[@observantwatcher6511]

I was raised a Trekkie on the original series. DS9 is by far my favorite of any of the Treks. Just a couple quick comments about your observations. I appreciate that you made special mention of Marc Alaimo's Gul Dukat and his incredible character arc, though I'm a little surprised you didn't say more about Garak (my personal favorite character). The series was brilliantly paced especially in the later seasons where the story got gritty, and this becomes more obvious when you binge-watch the series in order now--you can't help but notice that after just about every serious or wrenching war-themed episode, there's almost always a Ferengi episode for comic relief. I do have to say, while the supporting cast like Quark are very well fleshed out, some of what the plot did with the Ferengi was absurdly contrived, the character of Rom most of all. I can get behind his kid having the wherewithal to become the first of his race in Starfleet, and the fact that his father was a pathetic loser had a lot to do with that, but to quote Odo from the first season, "Rom's an idiot." Odo's not the kind to just make that statement off-the-cuff. Making Rom into an engineering genius, giving him a hot wife, and ultimately making him the head of the Ferengi business empire just made no sense, but then, neither did anything else that happened to the Ferengi in general. Finally, Far Beyond the Stars was pointless and stupid SJW nonsense. But at least they got it concentrated in one episode.

[@LC-sv4ux]

DS9 was far-and-above the best of all the Star Trek shows. And I love TNG.

[@V14Patriot]

Thanks for the great video. You've inspired me to do another rewatch of the series... Except for *shudder* "Move Along Home"

[@juresaiyan]

V14Patriot Move Along Home is a better episode then the whole first season of DIS combined

[@Anthony-jo7up]

Alamarein! Move Along Home is bad but mostly because it's boring and hard to take seriously. However, I can think of at least 3 episodes where I'd literally rather sit in an empty white room for 5 hours than watch them. *COUGH COUGH* Profit and Lace.

[@DanielSan1776]

“In the Pale Moonlight” is one of the best Star Trek episodes One of my favorite TV episodes of any series ever

[@rowlandbuck2703]

I used to think so but it got boring over time for me. I think Favor the Bold is much better now.

[@floouk]

Great critique Dave. DS9 is criminally underrated. it's my favourite show over all of them.

[@oldkid8811]

Weyoun is reincarnated as an Andorian in ENT. lol

[@Zorant0Zero]

This video has made me want to re-watch DS9 again. And I think I will.

[@vctr7524]

RIP ODO RIP NOG DS9 is ultimately still my favorite Star Trek show 🖖

[@AlfonsLC]

Somewhere in Pennsylvania there is a guy driving the Lorry listening to your review of Star Trek Deep Space 9. And I’m so happy to hear someone say this as well. It is the best sci-fi show with some of the best characters ever written. And you perfectly summed it up. But let us not forget a theme that is very relevant today inside the show. When the founders infiltrate earth. And they have to choose between liberty and security. And the struggle of that decision. When the founder reveals that there is only two there and look at the chaos they can cause. Sums up the entire problem of sacrificing liberty. The founders who rule with hatred and paranoia over their despised subjects is also a parody of soemthing we have today.

[@SpencerioQ]

I always say that DS9 got amazing once Sisko went bald.

[@blackenedchrome]

This is probably my favorite sci fi show of all time and I seriously doubt we'll see anything like it for a while to come, especially from current day writers. However, there were a few plotlines I felt should've been different. Jake Sisko not joining Starfleet was too much of a recurring theme of the prodigal son deciding not to follow in his father's footsteps, aka the Wesley Crusher story. I liked Jake's character and I think making him a journalist was kind of silly and a big waste of an opportunity in the show to see more of Starfleet academy and delve into adventures with him and nog from more of a Starfleet angle. I wasn't fond of how the writers were building a relationship gradually between Bashir and Jadzia and then suddenly had her get with Worf. As great of a character as Worf was, the chemistry between Jadzia and Bashir clicked really well and I think they should've continued along that line. Also by having Worf pair up with Jadzia it ruined the opportunity to bring the Grelka character (whom he originally liked and was already established on the show with Quark prior) to the show as a more frequent character. Personally I think she was a great character and would've made a great addition as a secondary character in the later episodes. It seemed like the writers made these changes for change-sake and to be edgy more than overall uniqueness and quality for a finished package to a terrific show. I'm mostly indifferent to Nog joining Starfleet however I will say it was a bit unlikely that he'd be driven to do so growing up in Ferrengi culture. Worf joined starfleet, yes, but Worf wasn't raised in Klingon space among his own people either. While I didn't mind Nog being in Starfleet I just felt there was much more they could've done with him remaining outside Starfleet since he wasn't really set in a box with that path defaulted in front of him like Jake. Not having Terry Farrell for the last season was probably the biggest issue. The show could've also probably easily done another 1 or 2 seasons. Just my thoughts.

[@jsprite123]

Totally agreed that the chemistry between Jadzia and Bashir clicked really well. I doubt very much Jadzia would have gone for Worf in real life (OK, "virtual" real life), it just felt so forced by the writers. The depth of characters such as Dukat, Garak, Quark hasn't been duplicated or even surpassed in other sci-fi shows.

[@orcman8296]

Just for the sake of debate I will counter dome of your arguments. 1) Weslty Crusher did eventually join Starfleet. 2) I think that Jadzia would never have gotten with Bashir. She was a young woman in appearance only. Her Dax symbiant considered Bashir to be somewhat childish and silly. The Ezri character eventually got with Bashir but only as an after thought in the final season. 3) The Grelka character showed absolutely no interest in Worf at all. And her companion explained as much to Worf. 4) When Nog joined Starfleet he did it specifically BECAUSE he didn't want to end up his father, a Ferrengi. 5) After the Dominion war the writers really had nowhere else to go. I suppose they could have explored the Sisko characters evolution with the wormhole aliens but then it would have been a different show.

[@blackenedchrome]

Well I'm always up for a good debate with a good fellow Trekker. Here's my rebuttle. 1.) There's no argument that with the overall franchise Wesley did return to Starfleet. However, it was not part of the series nor was it in Gene Roddenberry's plan for the series, before he passed away, to have Wesley become a Starfleet officer. From the time of the "Where No On has Gone Before" episode way way in season 1 on TNG Gene and the other writers started Wesley on that plot line to where he would learn valuable lessons in life from his friends in Starfleet but ultimately was a special gifted person with his own path who would go his own way. The entire series built up slowly to the point where he would eventually reunite with the traveler and become his apprentice. It was very well concluded as such and that plot line was finished. Gene even said in interviews, if I'm not mistaken, that it would've been boring to have him simply become an officer like his father and follow the same path. So as far as the series goes, Wesley went his own way. Throwing him into a deleted scene of a movie, randomly, 8 years later, with no explanation why he's now suddenly in Starfleet again is hardly a contradiction to how he was written over the course of the whole series. 2.) Bashir and Jadzia had very much in common and much chemistry with each other despite her finding him a little behind her in terms of maturity. The writers had intended them to gradually grow on each other over the course of the series. Plus, let's not forget Jadzia and many of her previous hosts were hardly mature or conservative people. Jazia was constantly socializing, partying, and going on dates with strange people throughout the show. Hell, she still partied like crazy, minus the dating strange men, after she was with Worf. It constantly drove him crazy in several episodes with her. She felt connected to klingon culture and had many friends of various alien races whom she connected with on a social if not somewhat cultural level. While she was a very professional and disciplined person in her career, she was definitely not a conservative and mature person in her social life. She valued her friendship with Bashir and saw something more with him but realized it needed time to develop, whereas he lacking the experience of 7 lifetimes wanted to jump right tin headfirst. The only reason Ron Moore and Ira Steven Behr didn't continue that line was because they brought Worf into season 4 to help boost up ratings when things started to heat up with the dominion war story. In fact if you go back to watch the episode "The Visitor" where it shows Jake grown up, it shows Bashir and Jadzia as married. 3.) It's never implied whether or not Grelka liked Worf since she never really had a chance to interact with him in terms of dialogue. However in the scene where he tries to honor and impress her he does in fact greatly catch her eye when she looks at him. The only reason it wasn't pursued was because, as her house advisor informed Worf, his own house wasn't yet redeemed at that point in the show, nor was he part of the house of Martok yet. A great opportunity was missed to have her as a supporting character on the show during the war and gradually have more interactions with Worf, even if was on a platonic level for a while. Worf have repeated failed relationships with non klingon women. He also strived more and more to reunite with his people while maintaining his loyalty to the Federation as much as he tried to maintain living fully among humans. It would've been a very nice conclusion for him right before he became the ambassador to Qo' Nos. There was much to work with there that was just wasted. 4.) I'm not saying the show didn't give a reason for why Nog joined Starfleet; I'm saying the reasoning for it was just silly and made no sense. Nog was a Ferrengi, through and through, who grew up immersed fully in Ferrengi culture. He continually had arguments and debates with Jake over why human values and customs made no seese to him and why Ferrengi values where much more rational. Then suddenly he has an epiphany and decides to join Starfleet out of nowhere because he doens't want to end up like Rom. As a Ferrengi he would've done his best to out do and achieve more than his father in terms of business and success, not join human culture and run from it. I could see Rom becoming an engineer if he felt he wa sa complete failure as a Ferrengi business man but Nog was just coming up in the world and had a great mind for business and strategy. It's far more likely he would've achieved far more in business than the rest of his family and become very wealthy. But again I'm mostly indifferent to that plot line. 5) They wrapped the show up after 7 season because they wanted to follow the 7 season model of TNG and didn't want to have to deal with contract renewals of the actors. But there was a ton they could've wrote about. There was the post fallout from the war with the major powers of the alpha quadrant, the rebuilding of the cardassian union, the effects of Bajor joining the Federation, the remains of the dominion and where they go from there(Jem'hedar and vorta), Odo and the changelings, further exploration and contact in the Gamma Quadrant etc,; plus of course Sisko and the prophets, and maybe even more of Dukat in some form or another. There was plenty of material to go of and definitely a well established and strong fan base at that point.

[@Touay.]

I have recently started rewatching ds9 and it holds up really well. Great series.

[@semuhphor]

OK .. you probably won't read this, but I REALLY enjoy your reviews. You look beyond the surface (when applicable) and express a clear, intelligent, thoughtful review of things you like, and a scathing indictment of those you done. I appreciate your reviews, Mr. Cullen. Thank you.