Source: http://virgin1.virginmedia.com/shows/we-love-star-trek/deep-space-nine-facts.php
1) Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was a spin-off of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and began while the latter was still on television. There were several crossover episodes between the two shows, and two of the Next Generation characters, the Irish Chief of Operations Miles O’Brien and the Klingon Worf, became regular members of the Deep Space Nine cast.
2) Bond Girl ex-model Famke Janssen was originally offered the role of Jadzia Dax. The character was planned as an alien from a low-gravity world, forced to use a wheelchair and fly around her quarters, but the concept was eventually scrapped. However, the idea was eventually recycled and used for the character of Elaysian Melora Pazlar.
3) After production of Deep Space Nine ended, the show’s sets were dismantled and the bridge of the Defiant was put into storage. But the famed command centre wasn’t destined to gather cobwebs – it was re-dressed and re-used as both the bridge of an alien cargo ship and a Klingon battlecruiser on Star Trek: Voyager and the bridge of the ECS Fortunate on Star Trek: Enterprise.
4) Deep Space Nine stars Alexander Siddig and Nana Visitor got married for real in 1997, after season four of the show aired. Some time later, the sub-plot detailing Kira carrying the O’Briens’ baby was scripted to explain away Visitor’s pregnancy, and in one episode, a pregnant Kira screams at Dr. Bashir, “This is all your fault!” – an in-joke about the fact that Visitor and Siddig were expecting a child in real life!
5) All of the ranks used in Star Trek are rooted in authenticity – they’re based upon actual military ranks. Starfleet ranks are the same as the one used in the US Navy, and Bajoran ranks follow those of the US Army, Air Force, and Marines. But in the world of the Cardassians, things are a little more historically-inclined – their ranks are based on those of the ancient Roman Empire.
6) The character that finally evolved into Vic Fontaine was originally written for Frank Sinatra Jr., but despite being a fan of the show, the singer and conductor turned it down after declaring that he was only interested in appearing as an alien. In a weird name coincidence, his dad, ol’ blue eyes himself, was rumoured to be the inspiration behind the fictional character Johnny Fontane in Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather.
7) The man behind Dr Julian Bashir, Alexander Siddig, is the nephew of British cinema legend Malcolm McDowell. The Clockwork Orange star expressed an interest in appearing on the Deep Space Nine, but only if Siddig went behind the camera and directed. It never happened – but the respected film actor did manage to squeeze in an appearance as Dr. Tolian Soran in the 1994 flick Star Trek Generations.
8) Sharp-eared Niners may have noticed a smattering of classic comedy in the season four episode Homefront. When Bashir and O’Brien talk to Quark dressed as WWII RAF pilots, most of O’Brien’s jargon originates from the Monty Python sketch RAF Banter. It’s not the only time Python’s influenced the DS9 script, either – in the episode The Dogs of War, Zek uses the phrase “the shoals of bankruptcy” – which is taken from the Monty Python song Accountancy Shanty, found in the Python film The Meaning of Life.
9) A spot of Sisko-related trivia now: His middle name is Lafayette, and the actor behind the Captain, Avery Brooks is the only actor to appear in all 175 episodes of the series. Incidentally, Wolf 359, the battle site between the Borg and the Federation where Sisko lost his wife, is a real star that is 7.5 light-years from Earth,
10) The drinking vessels used in DS9 aren’t quite what they seem. The square glasses used in Quark’s bar are actually upside-down candle holders, and the tankards used for Klingon blood wine are actually measuring cups, normally used for baking. One more drink-related fact – one of the characters who frequents Quark’s bar is called “Morn”, which is an anagram of “Norm”, named after the Cheers regular who also had a reserved seat at the bar of his favorite establishment…
