DS9 Stories/News: The Best of the Trek BBS DS9 Conversations (1): Deep Space Nine FAQ

Source: http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=28304

Deep Space Nine What We Left Behind, we will always have here.

Deep Space Nine FAQ

1.) Introduction:This FAQ is targeted towards people who haven’t seen the show before. Therefore it only contains a minimum number of spoilers. For example the character descriptions contain the characters’ initial positions but don’t reveal their development throughout the show. Nonetheless there is also information for people who saw all episodes. Because we didn’t want to severely reduce the number of discussions in the forum, we didn’t go into too much detail and cut down the questions to ones that either come up often or that appeal to first time viewers.

Fairly Odd Trek by Frenchie 1941

Fairly Odd Trek by Frenchie 1941

2.) Characters and actors:

Q: Who are the characters and what are their positions?

Main cast:
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko: Commander and later Captain of DS9 and the Defiant
Kira Nerys: Executive Officer, liaison to the Bajoran provisional government
Jadzia Dax: Science Officer, pilot of the Defiant
Miles Edward O’Brien: Chief of Operations
Julian Subatoi Bashir: Chief Medical Officer
Worf: Strategic Operations Officer and First Officer of the Defiant
Jake Sisko: Benjamin Sisko’s son, aspiring writer and journalist
Odo: Chief of Security
Quark: owner of “Quark’s Bar, Grill, Gaming House and Holosuite Arcade”, president of the Promenade Merchant Association

Important recurring characters:
Morn: Quark’s most loyal customer, owner of a shipping business
Rom: Quark’s brother
Nog: Rom’s son
Zek: Grand Nagus (leader) of the Ferengi
Ishka: mother of Quark and Rom, nicknamed Moogie
Brunt: liquidator for the Ferengi Commerce Authority (FCA)
Leeta: dabo girl
Garak: tailor with a questionable background, exiled from Cardassia
Gul Dukat: former commander of the space station, Prefect over Bajor during the Occupation
Damar: Dukat’s adjutant
Martok: Klingon General
Weyoun: Vorta field commander
Gowron: Klingon Chancellor
Winn Adami: a religious leader on Bajor
Bareil Antos: Bajoran monk
Shakaar Edon: leader of the Shakaar resistance cell during the Bajoran Occupation
Vice Admiral William J. Ross: Starfleet field commander along the Cardassian border
Lt.Cmd. Michael Eddington: Starfleet security officer
Joseph Sisko: Benjamin Sisko’s father
Keiko O’Brien: Chief O’Brien’s wife, schoolteacher, botanist
Kasidy Yates: freighter captain
Vic Fontaine: A holographic program of a Las Vegas lounge singer
Q: What is the order of the hosts of the Dax symbiont?
Lela, Tobin, Emony, Audrid, Torias, Joran, Curzon, Jadzia Q: Which actors had multiple roles?
The two most prominent recurring actors on DS9 are Jeffrey Combs and J.G. Hertzler.

Combs is best known as Brunt and Weyoun. He also played Tiron in “Meridian” and Mulkahey in “Far Beyond the Stars”. On the other Star Trek shows he can be seen as Penk in VOY’s “Tsunkatse”, Krem in ENT’s “Acquisition” and Shran – a recurring character on ENT.

J.G. Hertzler’s most prominent role is Martok. Additionally he played the Vulcan Captain of the Saratoga in “Emissary”, Laas in “Chimera” and Roy in “Far Beyond the Stars”. Outside of DS9 he can be seen as a Hirogen in VOY’s “Tsunkatse” and as Kolos in ENT’s “Judgment”.

To see Casey Biggs (Damar) and Robert O’Reilly (Gowron) out of makeup watch “Shadows and Symbols” and “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang”. Biggs plays Dr. Wycoff in the former, and O’Reilly is the one who drinks the poisoned martini in the latter episode.


Q: Which characters were played by multiple actors?
Ziyal was played by Cyia Batten in “Indiscretion” and “Return to Grace”, by “Tracy Middendorf in “For the Cause”, and Melanie Smith in all other episodes. Batten was replaced because the writers wanted an older actress and Middendorf couldn’t handle the makeup.Senator Cretak was played by Megan Cole in “Image in the Sand” and “Shadows and Symbols”, and by Adrienne Barbeau in “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges”. This time the change was necessary because Cole wasn’t available for the third episode.Ishka was played by Andrea Martin in “Family Business”, and by Cecily Adams in “Ferengi Love Songs”, “The Magnificent Ferengi”, “Profit and Lace”, and “The Dogs of War”.

3.) TV, DVDs and books:

Q: Which TNG episodes relate to Deep Space Nine?
Several TNG episodes set up backstory for DS9:

- Benjamin Sisko:
Best of Both Worlds, Parts I & II
- Maquis:
Journey’s End
Preemptive Strike
- Bajorans:
Ensign Ro
- Cardassians:
The Wounded (also O’Brien)
Chain of Command, Part II
- Trill:
The Host (largely contradicted by DS9)
- Klingons/Worf:
Sins of the Father
Reunion
Redemption, Parts I & II
- Crossovers:
Birthright, Part I (Bashir)
Firstborn (Quark)

However watching these episodes isn’t required to understand DS9. All necessary information is repeated.

Q: Is there a difference between the one-part and two-part versions of the pilot and the finale?
Yes. “Emissary”, “The Way of the Warrior” and “What You Leave Behind” were shot as one episode each. For the reruns in syndication they were split into two parts. This made it necessary to cut material to make room for a second credit sequence. The cuts are as follows:Emissary
A last visit by O’Brien to the Enterprise and his farewell to Picard
Cardassians scanning the station and detecting unexpected weapons
The Way of the Warrior
O’Brien and Bashir play around with beans in Quark’s
A holodeck scene with Dax and Kira in swimsuits
What You Leave Behind
The rebels are laughing and joking because they can’t enter Dominion HQ
The farewell between Bashir and Garak
Additionally several scenes around the middle are rearranged to end the two-part version on a cliffhanger

Q: What are the differences between the Region 1 and Region 2 DVD sets?
The R2 sets include several bonus features, which are only available as extra DVDs from BestBuy affiliated shops in R1.
Additionally two episodes are cut in R2. Season 4’s “To the Death” has 6 seconds cut from the neck breaking scene (the actual twisting can’t be seen). In Season 6’s “Sons and Daughters” 25 seconds were cut from the blood sharing scene at the end.
The R2 DVDs also come with a “Virtual Space Station” CD-ROM set; one CD per season. It’s a reference guide to events, characters, episodes and other items.
Other changes like different case designs or booklets are only cosmetic.

DVDs from different regions are incompatible for technical reasons. You need a region-free DVD player that can be switched between PAL and NTSC to watch them

Q: What features can be found on the Best Buy discs?

Season 1:
The Deep Space Nine Scrapbook – A look at the creation and launch of Deep Space Nine. Features archival cast and crew interviews and behind-the scenes-footage.
Season 2:
Quark’s Story – A look at the character Quark and the origin of the Ferengi.
Season 3:
The U.S.S. Defiant – An in-depth look at the “tough little ship” that debuted in Season 3
Season 4:
Bob Blackman’s Designs of the Future – Veteran Costume Designer Bob Blackman discusses the wide range of costumes he created for the series – from Bajorans, Cardassians, and Ferengi to a constant stream of aliens visiting the station. Includes behind-the-scenes footage of rarely seen sketches.
Sketchbook: Jim Martin – Illustrator Jim Martin reveals the meaning and evolution of many of his artistic designs used for DS9. Includes rarely seen drawings of Ferengi props, starships, and alien worlds.
DS9 Chronicles: Short introductions to selected episodes from seasons 1-4, narrated by Deep Space Nine actors
Season 5:
DS9 Sketchbook: John Eaves – A look at original and unused designs created for Season 5 of DS9.
Ferengi Culture – Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr explains how the Ferengi evolved from their debut on The Next Generation through the end of Deep Space Nine.
Season 6:
Inside “One Little Ship” – Visual Effects wizard Gary Hutzel provides an in-depth look at filming and designing the shrunken shuttlepod featured in “One Little Ship”
Ferengi Rules of Acquisition: The Beginning – Armin Shimerman and Ira Steven Behr discuss the cultural impact of the “Rules” on society.
Ferengi Rules of Acquisition: The Sequel – Armin Shimerman and Max Grodenchik explore the Ferengi rules accompanied by clips played back to back in numerical order.
Season 7:
Special Crew Profile: Ezri – A special profile of Nicole deBoer, a new cast member added in the final season.
Morn Speaks! – Mark Allen Shepherd talks about his unique role on the series and reveals dialogue that was written but never made the final cut.
Sketchbook: John Eaves – Illustrator John Eaves covers several designs created for the final season of DS9, including the Breen Ship.

Q: Are there special Asian editions of the DS9 DVD Boxed Sets?

No, those DVDs you see on EBay are pirated versions of the official sets. There are no Paramount liscenced Asian versions of the DVDs.

Q: How is the quality of the Asian DVD sets?

Pretty low quality. They’re grainy, and have a bad tendency to break up, much resembling the errors you get when a disk is dirty. Also, many episodes cut off prematurely.

Q: Do the movies make references to Deep Space Nine?
Yes

First Contact:
The Defiant is featured extensively in the Borg battle
Worf is thus brought to the Enterprise
Riker mocks Worf if he can still fire phasers, referring to his absence from the ship
Insurrection:
Picard wonders about discipline on DS9 when Worf oversleeps
Picard mentions that the diplomatic corps is busy with Dominion negotiations
The Son’a are known as producers of Ketracel White (also mentioned in “Penumbra”)
Ru’afo mentions the Dominion among powers that challenged the Federation
Nemesis:
Remans were used by the Romulans as cannon fodder during the Dominion War
Shinzon commanded a ship during the war

Q: What is the Deep Space Nine Companion?
A book with episodes synopses, interviews with writers and actors, and behind the scenes information. The Companion is a very good source for background information on Deep Space Nine, as well as the writing and production of a weekly television series in general.
It is out of print but still available from Amazon.com either used or new.
The book is not to be confused with the CD-ROM of the same name. The CD contains episode scripts, pictures, and trailers.