DS9 Stories/News: So You Want To Watch Star Trek: DS9? – Season 1

Source: http://directgeek.com/2011/11/so-you-want-to-watch-star-trek-ds9-season-1/

So You Want To Watch Star Trek: DS9? – Season 1

Gabby Nicasio 11/03/2011 5

It’s come to my attention that there are several people in the world, a not-insignificant number of people, a handful of lonely, sad, socially isolated people, who have never seen Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

I’m here to help.

The plan is this: this post will serve as a primer on the series. I’ll then follow up with one post per each of the seven seasons, and these will detail which episodes are essential viewing. Any not listed can, in theory, be skipped. If you’re a jerk who doesn’t care enough.

You may ask what will constitute “essential viewing”. The answer is: my completely biased opinion. This post should also serve as a primer for what my particular biases are. Believe me, it’ll become very, very clear.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a show in which everyone makes horrible decisions, and then tons of people die. It is my favorite show. The series takes place in and around the space station Deep Space Nine. (Hey! That’s the name of the show! ) The station is Cardassian-built, Bajoran-owned, and Federation-run, and if that sounds like a mess, then you’re already following along quite nicely.

This fixed location for the series allows the show to delve immediately and deeply into the local politics of the region. There are three main players in local politics. Guess who they are. Go, on, I’ll wait. Okay here:

The Cardassian Union

Also and more accurately known as the Cardassian Empire. Cardassians are Space Russians. They have crocodilian scales, slicked-back hair, and are given swagger lessons in grade school. At the time when the first season begins, they’ve long been living under a fiercely-enforced military leadership. Their civilian government employs a brutal and crafty intelligence service, the Obsidian Order, who make it their business to know what you ate for dinner three Tuesdays ago. They keep a file on your bowel movements. They have read your fanfiction, and they’re not impressed.

Cardassians are passionate about durable fabrics, pointy architecture, saunas, and oppression. They are the best. They are the absolute best.

At the start of the series, the Cardassians have just pulled out of their 60-year-long occupation of Bajor.

Bajor

A pool filled entirely with Bajoran tears.

Is a lovely planet filled with sad people who look a lot like Ensign Ro.

During the Cardassian occupation, Bajor was strip-mined, its people forced into slave labor, and upwards of 10 million of its citizens were killed.  Which explains the sadness. The Bajoran Resistance used guerrilla warfare tactics to oppose the occupation, and eventually the pressure was too much. The Cardassian civilian government called for a military withdrawal.

Bajorans love earrings, religion, armed rebellion, and shoulder pads.

At the start of the series, Bajor has a wobbly provisional government and a militia that is largely made up of former Resistance members. Because of their tenuous political and agricultural situation, they’ve accepted some help from the Federation.

The United Federation of Planets

If you don’t know who these people are, then I’m not sure what you’re doing here. For the purposes of watching DS9, just think of them as NATO. Think of them as Space NATO.

The Federation is very fond of paperwork, jumpsuits, ignoring its own Prime Directive, and maintaining an enduring, naive sense of smug superiority. But mainly jumpsuits. They just cannot get enough of jumpsuits.

Here is one of Jake Sisko’s least garish jumpsuits.

Characters

In this space I was going to talk about all the main characters, of whom there are many. But then I remembered I was supposed to let my bias run free, so instead this will just be about Garak.

Elim Garak

Dat ass.

Is a tailor. Although word on the Promenade is that he used to be a spy. Or is still a spy. Word in Garak’s shop of tailored fineries is that he used to be a gardener. Then again, maybe he’s a political exile. Or a political refugee. Or an exiled spy. Or an exiled gardener? Maybe he’s with the Fashion Police. Maybe he’s a Romulan Princess. These are all distinct possibilities.

Garak is the only remaining resident Cardassian aboard DS9. He is the best. Cardassians are the best and Garak is the best Cardassian, so he is extra best. This is very important. You should write this down. There is not an un-fabulous scale on Garak’s grayscale body.

Let’s look at him again, shall we?

Oh yeah and there’s a wormhole.

This will cause no trouble whatsoever.

It connects one side of the galaxy to the other. No big deal. You shouldn’t be worried about that old thing at all.

So! To sum up! If you like:

• Genocide
• Russians
• Guerrilla tactics
• NATO
• and interspecies romance

…then you should watch Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. And I, dear reader, will help you along.

In the next post: unmissable episodes from DS9 season 1.

DS9 Stories/News: Captain’s Log – The Best of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Source: http://trek.fm/captains-log/2011/10/14/the-best-of-star-trek-deep-space-nine.html

by Christopher Jones

Asking a fan to name the five best episodes of a Star Trek series is like asking Quark which Rules of Acquisition are the best. There are too many that lead to profit to choose just five. Neverthless, I’m going to set out to name five of the best episodes from DS9.

The Visitor

The only episode of Deep Space Nine to be nominated for the Hugo Award, “The Visitor” is a story that works with or without the Star Trek elements, and that makes it pure science fiction at its best. This account of Jake Sisko’s life following the apparent death of his father tugs on the heartstrings and effectively conveys to the viewer that enormous sense of loss, anguish, and guilt. Feeling responsible for the accident that caused Captain Sisko to lose his life, Jake spends years looking for a way to bring him back. He studies science at the cost of his writing career, his marriage, and his health. In the end he comes to find that only his own death can restore things to the way they were, and he sacrifices himself to save the person he loves most.

Far Beyond the Stars

In 1998, during Black History Month, DS9 aired one of the most creative stories in Star Trek history. Under the stress of the Dominion War, Sisko loses consciousness and finds himself in 1953 New York working as an SF writer named Benny Russell. “Far Beyond the Stars” is the tale of Russell’s struggle as a black writer in the 1950s who must conceal his identity and who fights to publish his story about a future space station and its black commander. More than just another commentary on racism, “Far Beyond the Stars” explores the feeling of insiginificance humanity faces as we learn how vast the universe really is, and delivers one of DS9’s most memorable quotes when the Preacher tells Benny “You are the dreamer—and the dream.” Without a doubt one of Star Trek’s finest moments.

Past Tense

Halfway through DS9’s third season came this two-part episode that was a glimpse of the greatness to come. Like “The City On the Edge of Forever” 28 years earlier, “Past Tense” tackles the issue of homelessness and poverty. But unlike TOS’s foray, “Past Tense” delves into the societal and governmental reaction to the problem, revealing the cold shoulder that most of the “haves” of the world turn on the “have-nots,” and the possible long-term consequences. The story is set in the year 2024—Sisko, Bashir, and Dax having been thrown back in time by a transporter malfunction—and thus says something about the urgency of the problem as it faces American society. Thrown into special “districts” of San Francisco—essentially walled prisons—people whose only crime is not having a job finally reach the breaking point and revolt. Caught in the middle, it is up to Sisko to protect the timeline when a historical figure is killed prematurely. Forgetting all the nonsense about the transporters and the timeline, no viewer can fail to stop, if only for a moment, and think about this injustice of our society. Effective storytelling.

Sacrifice of Angels

What appeared to be the culmination of the Federation-Dominion War proved to simply be one of several turning points in the conflict. Nevertheless, “Sacrifice of Angels” is about as exciting as they come and features special effects of a quality rarely seen on television (in those days). But beyond these fun superficial elements is a story a love, betrayal, and loss. As the long-lived tension between Gul Dukat and his daughter reaches its apex, it appears that a happy resolution is at hand when she admits that she loves him. At that moment we are granted a glimpse into the heart of an evil man, and see a tiny, flickering flame of goodness. But when it becomes clear that the title refers not to the destruction of the Prophets and the wormhole, but to the death of Ziyal at the hands of Dukat’s assistant, Damar, the house of cards comes tumbling down. In the end, one of the most powerful scenes in the Star Trek canon comes when a broken, dejected Dukat morosely returns Sisko’s baseball, saying only “I forgive you.”

Trials and Tribble-ations

In honor of the 30th anniversary of Star Trek, both DS9 and Voyager produced special episodes. And while Voyager’s “Flashback” was great, it was “Trials and Tribble-ations” that had its cake and ate it, too. Marrying the best of the past with the best of the present, DS9 used techniques perfected in Forrest Gump to send Sisko and crew back to Deep Space Station K-7 where they witness firsthand the events of the classic TOS episode “The Trouble With Tribbles.” The original Enterprise never looked so beautiful, and comic moments abound. One of the many highlights is when Worf is questioned about the difference in appearance between current Klingons and those of TOS. His response? “We do not discuss it with outsiders.” If you’ve never seen this one, do yourself a favor and watch it tonight. A fabulous tribute.

Other Favorites

In addition to these five, here are some other episodes that I consider the best of Deep Space Nine:

“A Time to Stand”
“Babel”
“Badda Bing-Badda Bang”
“Call to Arms”
“Crossover”
“Defiant”
“Doctor Bashir, I Presume?”
“Homefront”
“If Wishes Were Horses”
“In the Pale Moonlight”
“Little Green Men”
“Paradise Lost”
“Playing God”
“Rapture”
“Rejoined”
“Shattered Mirror”
“Tears of the Prophets”
“Through the Looking Glass”
“Visionary”
“What You Leave Behind”
“Whispers”

So those are my picks for the best of DS9. Certainly there are many others that I love and that are great examples of Star Trek. Think of this as a starting point. No doubt you’ll disagree with some of my picks, and you may even think I’m a Cardassian vole for leaving your favorite off the list. But that passion and debate is what has allowed Star Trek to endure for 45 years. So feel free to add to the comments* below and let me know which episodes are your favorites and why you love them.