DS9 Stories/News: Designing the Deep Space Nine Space Station (1)

Deep Space Nine concept art

By Nick Ottens on September 12, 2005 5:01 PM on Deep Space Nine

On the creative side, many of the elements Rick Berman and Michael Piller brought to Deep Space Nine had been established in The Next Generation — the use of Ferengi, Cardassians, Bajorans and wormholes provided powerful strands of connection to the familiar universe first established by Gene Roddenberry and since enjoyed by millions of viewers. But this new series demanded many unfamiliar things, ranging from an alien space station filled with ill lit corridors, commerce, even a casino, to exotic new species and religious subtexts. It was a strange new world indeed that Star Trek explored boldly as ever.

On the technical side, Berman and Piller were able to provide the same important connections in the look and feel of the latest series by drawing their key production people from the pool of talented individuals who had worked on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Production designer Herman Zimmerman returned to design the dark and alien sets of the Cardassian space station. Michael Okuda led the art department’s effort to come up with an entirely new system of Cardassian control surfaces and data displays. Director of photography Marvin Rush brought a rich lushness to the new sets. Costume designer Robert Blackman refined Starfleet uniforms once again and ably met the challenge of a never ending stream of new alien races. Michael Westmore faced the same challenges in devising more and stranger alien races for Blackman to clothe. Visual effects that The Next Generation viewers had come to expect would be maintained and surpassed on the new series.

Early Deep Space Nine design

The task of designing the space station Deep Space Nine— which had to be a new, iconic and alien looking image that could be quickly recognized when seen on a small television screen — was a long, involved process that took several different directions before evolving into the final design we now take for granted. It was production designer Herman Zimmerman who was assigned to come up with this fresh and unique look that would be the centerpiece of the new Star Trek.

Early discussions about the look of the station led to a concept that eventually did not work. “It took us a couple of months of going in the wrong direction to find the right direction,” Zimmerman told Star Trek: The Magazine in 1999, “partly because the producers weren’t sure exactly how they wanted to direct us with the visual elements.”

We started out charged with getting a ‘Tower of Babel’ concept of a space station built over a couple thousand years of separate, disparate cultures, so the technology from one part of the station to another would be of various ages and various cultures, not necessarily interfacing one with the other, and there was this sense of confusion because of that.

“The initial take on it was that it was a very old, ancient type of station — maybe not symmetrical in shape,” Rick Sternbach, co-creator of the Deep Space Nine station, explained.

As Berman and Piller continued to refine the concept of Deep Space Nine, we [Sternbach, Zimmerman and Michael Okuda] continued to evolve some of the exterior station drawings. We started with a very large number of sketches and very quick CGI shapes that we could build in our computers.

We could create a lot of shapes, make multiple copies of shapes and kind of put little pieces together and rotate them around and see how they would work. Also we could see if they would provide enough of a strange alien look that would be approved as Deep Space Nine.

DS9 Stories/News: Behind the Scenes on Deep Space Nine

BY NICK OTTENS ON JULY 10, 2007 4:31 PM ON DEEP SPACE NINE

The Next Generation had proved the resilience and appeal of the Star Trek universe — it was not dependent on its famous first crew for its success. The future of Star Trek seemed unlimited. But after five years of production, Paramount executives could see that their own future was more constrained. It made little economic sense to continue most television series for more than five or six seasons. Costs invariably increased, storylines became exhausted and the syndication market would fill with too many episodes chasing too few time slots. From a purely business perspective, The Next Generation ‘s days were numbered. But everyone’s instincts said that Star Trek still had not saturated its market. In Paramount offices, the idea of a third Star Trek series was discussed.

The Next Generation had shown that Star Trek could thrive without its original characters. Could a new series survive without a ship? Rick Berman, who was Gene Roddenberry’s handpicked successor as the person to guide Star Trek after his death and Michael Piller, The Next Generation‘s most influential writer, created Star Trek: Deep Space Nine with exactly that challenge in mind.

Production designer Herman Zimmerman inspects the space station model

For more than twenty-five years, one of Star Trek ‘s strengths had been the detailed future universe through which the two Enterprise s had traveled. Now the franchise’s newest guides decided it was time to venture out into that universe, choose a pocket of it and locate a new series there.

January 1992 marked the launch of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Sadly the announcement of the plans to produce the series came shortly upon the after of Gene Roddenberry in late 1991. The timing led to the speculation that had Roddenberry lived, Deep Space Nine might not have. Suspicions along these lines were raised particularly after description of the new series filtered out. “It’s going to be darker and grittier than The Next Generation,” executive producer Rick Berman had stated in the March 6, 1992 Entertainment Weekly. “These characters won’t be squeaky clean.”

Even though the announcement about Deep Space Nine seemed to come out of nowhere several weeks after Roddenberry’s death, Berman and Michael Piller had actually been discussing ideas for a new series for some time. It was always planned to be a spinoff from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Ideas were discussed with Paramount but it never went beyond the planning stages. When Brandon Tarticoff moved from being head of NBC to behind head of Paramount, he told Berman that he wanted to see another Star Trek series to launch into syndication. Berman and Piller returned to their series notes and worked up a proposal for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Alternative costume design by Robert Blackman

In October 1991, Berman and Piller began developing the new series and they decided to set it in the same time frame as The Next Generation — a decision made consciously to take advantage of the Star Trek universe that had so far been established. Berman and Piller wrote several different versions of the series bible while it was being developed. When they finally showed a later version to Paramount, the studio provided its own input into the project and in fact Brandon Tarticoff, before he left Paramount, suggested that the show might be something like The Rifleman in outer space, although Berman and Piller did not quite feel that this idea particularly fit in with what they were trying to develop. But the studio’s suggestions were weighed and incorporated into the series concept to produce the final result.

Deep Space Nine was a means of escaping the somewhat limiting constraints of Gene Roddenberry’s original Star Trek concept. According to Rick Berman, they “set about creating a situation, an environment, and a group of characters that could have conflict without breaking Gene [Roddenberry]‘s rules. We took out characters and placed them in an unfamiliar environment, one that lacked the state-of-the-art comfort of the Enterprise and where there were people who didn’t want them there.”

These are characters who come through much darker than the Next Generation characters,” reflected Michael Piller, “but I don’t know that I could say this is a dark series.”

It’s still Gene Roddenberry’s vision. It has an optimistic view of mankind in the future. Reason and dialog and communication are still the key weapons in the fight to solve problems. I think the label of darker is probably exaggerated.

Alternative costume design by Robert Blackman

For writing the Deep Space Nine‘s pilot, Piller was influenced slightly by “Encounter at Farpoint”, which had been The Next Generation‘s first episode. Piller took his cue from “Encounter at Farpoint” in delaying the introduction of some key characters until later in the story. Another key plot ingredient reused was the necessity of having the lead character explain or justify humanity to an alien race. Piller managed to give the concept, so many times used on both the original Star Trek and The Next Generation, an interesting spin — Sisko had to communicate with aliens who did not understood humans and their ilk because they did not, themselves, experience time in linear fashion. Sisko would thus be faced with the difficult task of explaining time, human consciousness and the importance of humanity’s past experiences to an utterly uncomprehending alien form of consciousness.

Early Cardassian costume design by Robert Blackman

Piller, however, was dissatisfied with his early versions of the script for “Emissary” and continually involved a somewhat reluctant Rick Berman in constant rehashing of their original story ideas. The basic plot with Sisko explaining humanity to the unseen aliens was too talky, according to Piller and the other aspect of the story, the transition to Federation command of the space station, seemed to be suffering.

In the early concepts of the series, the setting of Deep Space Nine was to have been a dilapidated, seedy space station with technology that lagged somewhat behind that of the Federation. In the course of series development, this notion had been scrapped in favor of a more high tech look. Now, however, Piller was forced to rethink this whole approach — while that station would still be a fairly advanced piece of alien technology, Piller decided that the departing Cardassians would ransack the place, leaving a shambled that Sisko would be faced with rebuilding. Now the new commander’s job would involve convincing the merchants of the Promenade, and other inahbitations of the station, to stay and pull things back together.

“Emissary” would end up costing as much as twelve million dollars to film — two million of which were spent on building the standing sets for the series.

When production began for Deep Space Nine, the Star Trek universe was already well defined. The Bajorans had been introduced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Ensign Ro,” when Ro Laren became a popular character though not a regular cast member. “Ensign Ro” and later “The Wounded” told of the planet Bajor, a world conquered fifty years before by furthless aliens known as the Cardassians. The Nazi like Cardassians stripped the planet of natural resources using Bajorans as slave laborers. After forty years of Bajoran terrorism and the mining out of the planet, the Cardassians left Bajor which immediately sought Federation membership, offering Starfleet to take control of the former Cardassian space station.

The first episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine explored Bajoran culture and religion. Bajor’s religious leader, the Kai, appears in crucial scenes in “Emissary.” Not long after, in “Battle Lines,” her character is written out of the series, leaving Bajor in religious turmoil. The series explores Bajoran culture in “The Storyteller,” “Cardassians” and “Sanctuary,” continuing in season two with “Homecoming,” “The Siege,” “The Circle” and “The Collaborator.” Piller and Berman set Deep Space Nine in the midst of Bajor and its conflict with the Cardassians. Piller, who had headed the script department of The Next Generation, said, “One of the primary goals in making this series is to do something we didn’t have the opportunity to do in The Next Generation.”

Early Cardassian costume design by Robert Blackman

The experienced creative team and established storyline failed to give a strong start to Deep Space Nine. Berman and Piller wanted to break new ground. That began with Commander Benjamin Sisko. “We wanted to create a new kind of Star Trek hero,” said Michael Piller, “a man who is not just the Starfleet officer who has given up family for career, like Picard; not like Kirk, who’s one of the boys on a great adventure. He is a man who had had a family and has lost a wife he loved and must raise a son.

Avery Brooks said his “very human” character avoided the military strictures adorning many Starfleet officers. He said of his character, “So much of the military veneer is not there. He expresses what he feels. He isn’t particularly interested in being here. He’s following orders. He’s worried about raising his son in this environment. This station has been devastated.”

Deep Space Nine was the ultimate distillation of the Star Trek universe. The crew was united under one flag. There was no ship and there was little physical exploration. More importantly, what remained of Star Trek was the firmly established background details of the twenty-fourth century, the ever more complex consistency of future history and technology and the determination of Berman and Piller and their production crew to create an arena for adventure and storytelling that would live up to the name, Star Trek.

Which they did. Deep Space Nine was an instant success, sharing many viewers with The Next Generation, adding new viewers of its own, demonstrating once and for all the deeply appealing richness of what Gene Roddenberry had wrought. It wasn’t the characters. It wasn’t the ship. Star Trek was a state of mind. And millions still wanted to share it.

From Garfield, Judith Reeves-Stevens, The Art of Star Trek (1995) and James Van Hise, Hal Schuster, The Unauthorized Trek: Deep Space Nine The Voyage Continues (1994).

The station played host to a wide variety of alien lifeforms, not all of them quite humanoid. Here a Dan Curry alien concept.

DS9 Stories/News: Far Beyond the Stars Review (1)

Episode Guide/Review by Christopher Jones

Season 6, Episode 13
Stardate Unknown (2374) and September 1953

Episode 136 of 173 Released in Deep Space Nine
Episode 135 of 173 Released in Deep Space Nine
Production Number: 40510-538
Original airdate: February 11, 1998

Directed by Avery Brooks
Story by Marc Scott Zicree
Teleplay by Ira Steven Behr & Hans Beimler

Synopsis

Frustrated by continued losses in the Dominion War, Captain Sisko has doubts about his place in Starfleet. Perhaps brought on by the stress, he blacks out and finds himself in 1953 New York working as an SF writer named Benny Russell. Though his writing is published, he must conceal the fact that he is black. When inspired by a sketch to write a story about a space station, he begins to clearly see the world of Deep Space Nine and pens a story about the station run by a black captain. He populates the story with characters based on his fellow writers at the magazine, who resemble in human form the characters we know and love from DS9. When the magazine refuses to publish the story as long as the captain is black, Russell enters into a struggle of integrity and frustration as he fights for his rights as a person, rights that should be the same for all regardless of skin color. He makes concessions but still finds himself being denied in the end, resulting in a breakdown. He ultimately wakes up in the infirmary, told by Bashir that he was unconcious for only a few minutes.

Social Commentary

Star Trek has always been a voice for commentary on the state of our society. In its original form Gene Roddenberry filled the bridge of his starship with a collection of diverse people—an African American woman, a Russian, an Asian, an alien—all working together at a time when the world was not ready for such a concept. Neverthless, he marched forward. Though the show failed early on, it became a symbol for those who would see a more enlightened future for mankind, and ultimately embedded itself in our culture.

Of the Star Trek shows that have come since, perhaps none have taken as bold a step as Deep Space Nine, which put a black captain at the head of a space station. Not just any space station, mind you, but one that, in the Star Trek universe, is considered one of the most important locales in the galaxy. This came at a time when, though “blacks” had been accepted in such leadership roles in the real world, lead roles on television—or some would say any substantial roles—still were few and far between. Fortunately, Rick Berman and Michael Pillar hold no such prejudices and saw fit to bring us the wonderful Avery Brooks in the role of Captain Benjamin Sisko.

This served to put DS9 in perfect position to speak out about the struggle of blacks over the years to gain the respect and opportunities that all people deserve. In 1998, during Black History Month, DS9 aired what is one of the most creative stories in the franchise’s history. “Far Beyond the Stars” brought us the tale of a black SF writer struggling to make it in 1950s America. Fortunate enough to have his work published, Benny Russell (Avery Brooks) was forced to conceal the fact that he was black in order for his stories to be accepted by the public. His white colleagues had no problems with his skin color, but the general public of the day would have never been so understanding, as dialogue from the episode shows…

Having just been told that the publisher wants to run a photo of the writers in the next issue, the female member, Kay (Nana Visitor), is told that she can sleep late that day. Benny chimes in, too:

“I suppose I’m sleeping late that day, too.”

“It’s not personal, Benny, but as far as our readers are concerned Benny Russell is as white as they are. Let’s just keep it that way,” replies Douglas Pabst (Rene Auberjonois), the magazine’s editor.

“Oh, yes,” cuts in Herbert (Armin Shimerman) sarcastically, “If the world isn’t ready for a woman writer, imagine what would happen if it learned about a negro with a typewriter. Run for the hills! It’s the end of civilization!”

As the story unfolds, Benny begins seeing so clearly a story that he must tell. The story is one of a black man who is captain of a space station—a black man who has not only risen from the disrespect with which those of Benny’s day were treated but has in fact reached the highest point of respect. This world in his mind becomes so real to him that he writes fervently through the night.

When the story is finished, Benny is on a high and takes the piece in to share with his fellow writers and to offer it to Pabst for publication. Everyone praises the work—even Pabst—but Benny is quickly brought back to Earth:

“Douglas, you’re not going to stand there and tell us you don’t like this story,” says Herbert.

“Oh, I like it alright. It’s good. It’s very good. But you know I can’t print it.”

“Why not?” asks Benny.

“Oh, come on Benny! You’re hero’s a negro captain—the head of a space station for Christ’s sake.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“People won’t accept it. It’s not believable.”

“And men from Mars are?” cuts in Herbert.

Once again, it all comes down to skin color (and to imagine that in this case green is easier to swallow than black). How many times in our history has a great idea been discarded because the person who thought it up was not of the right pigmentation? And how many bad ideas were put in its place because the person who thought them up was? In fact, that’s in effect the option given to Benny in “Far Beyond the Stars.” He is told by Pabst that if he wants the story published—and they all admit it is a fantastic story—that he must make the captain white. Otherwise, he is told, he can “put the story in a drawer for the next 50 years, or however long it takes the human race to become color blind.” White captain: good. Black captain: bad.

DS9 Stories/News: USS Defiant – Sisko’s Tough Little Ship (3)

During the planning of the invasion of Cardassia Prime some months later, a new Defiant class starship, the USS Sao Paulo (NCC-75633), is assigned to Deep Space Nine. The Starfleet Chief of Operations grants special dispensation to rename the ship Defiant. Although the USS Sao Paulo commissioning plaque gives a registryof “NCC-75633″, in all exterior shots the new ship has the “NX-74205″ registry. This is because most external shots of the new vessel were reused shots of the old one, and the new CG shots subsequently used the same registry number for consistency.

Ron Moore said in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion that the new ship was intended to be designated “Defiant-A”, but it was prohibitive to redo the CG model for one episode because stock shots from earlier episodes had to be used as well for budgetary reasons. Nevertheless Moore stated that as far as he was concerned, the change did happen.

Courtesy of Wiki

The Sao Paulo dedication plaque used the English spelling, without the tilde, instead of São Paulo

In the DS9 episode Shattered Mirror, a Mirror Universe version of the Defiant is seen, constructed by the Terran Rebellion. A computer readout, barely visible onscreen, gives the ship’s name as the ISS Defiant

Pictures Courtesy of TrekCore.com

The USS Defiant, Moscow, Valiant and São Paulo are selectable on the PC game Star Trek: Legacy in The Next Generation era.

The Defiant class is a playable ship class in the MMORPG Star Trek Online.

The USS Sao Paulo was assigned to DS9 to replace the Defiant after its destruction. Captain Sisko was granted special dispensation by the Chief of Starfleet Operations to rename the Sao Paulo to Defiant. (DS9: “The Dogs of War“)

Courtesy of Memory Alpha.org

Unique Characteristics

Ablative armor

The Maquis attack the Defiant

The Defiant was equipped with an ablative armor coating that was designed to disintegrate under enemy fire at a controlled rate. It dissipated the effects of directed energy weapons, decreasing damage to the main hull of the ship and therefore providing an extra layer of defense. As late as 2372, Starfleet wasn’t informed that the Defiant was equipped in that way. (DS9: “Past Tense, Part I“, “The Way of the Warrior“, “Paradise Lost“, “The Changing Face of Evil“)

Cloaking device

The USS Defiant activating its cloaking device

After the Dominion threat emerged in late-2370, a special amendment made to the Treaty of Algeron allowed the Defiant to be equipped with a Romulan cloaking device. In exchange for providing the cloaking device, the Federation agreed to share all of its Dominion intelligence with the Romulan government.

Additionally, the cloak was only authorized for use in the Gamma Quadrant; although Captain Sisko violated this provision on numerous occasions. Use of the cloaking device was initially supervised by Subcommander T’Rul, although the Romulans later discontinued supervision. (DS9: “The Search, Part I“, “Defiant“, “The Way of the Warrior“)

Because of the amount of power the Defiant used, the cloak did not completely hide the ship from Jem’Hadar sensors during normal operation. (DS9: “The Search, Part I“)

Command Crew

The Defiant’s permanent assignment at Deep Space 9 as a support vessel meant that it had no specific or dedicated crew complement. The vessel was manned by station personnel; its crew complement, as well as their assignments, often varied by mission.

Captain Benjamin Sisko – commanding officer (CO) (2371-2375)
Colonel Kira Nerys – executive officer (XO)/tactical officer (2371-2375)
Lieutenant Commander Worf – executive officer (XO)/tactical officer (2372-2375)
Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax – helmsman/science officer – (2371-2374)
Lieutenant Commander Michael Eddington – security chief (2371-2372)
Lieutenant Julian Bashir – chief medical officer (CMO) (2371-2375)
Lieutenant junior grade Ezri Dax – counselor/communications officer (2375)
Ensign Nog – helmsman (2374-2375)
Senior Chief Petty Officer Miles O’Brien – chief engineer (2371-2375)

Although DS9: “Apocalypse Rising” established that Worf was the first officer of the Defiant while Kira was the first officer of the station, there was some inconsistency in this arrangement. Based on DS9: “Sons of Mogh“, DS9: “By Inferno’s Light“, and DS9: “Tears of the Prophets“, it would appear that Kira retained the first officer’s position when the Defiant was operating outside of Federation space, while Worf took the position during operations inside Federation space, although this was not directly clarified on the show so it remains speculation.

The main reason for the creation of the Defiant was that Ira Steven Behr and the writers felt that the Danube-class runabouts would not be able to protect the space station from the Dominion, and that something with more muscle was necessary.

In the second season finale, “The Jem’Hadar“, the Dominion had shown themselves capable of destroying a Galaxy-class starship (the USS Odyssey) and it was felt that viewers would not accept the idea that the Federation‘s first line of defense against such a powerful enemy was three runabouts. As Behr explains, “We had all these plans for this Dominion, not so much the Dominion War yet, but the Dominion as a three-pronged attack, and what were we going to go after them with? Shuttlecrafts? You know, I mean, with the Galileo or whatever the hell those names were? You know, it just seemed ridiculous. So we needed a ship.“

Ira Steven Behr

Similarly, production designer Herman Zimmerman states, “We needed a ship that would give the writers the opportunity to have more direct conflict.” (USS Defiant, DS9 Season 3 DVD special features)

Ronald D. Moore originally wanted to call the Defiant the USS Valiant, but was unable to, as the USS Voyager also began with a “V”. It was three years before Moore was able to name a ship Valiant. The USS Valiant appears in the sixth season episode “Valiant”.

Rick Berman was originally against the idea of the ship having a cloaking device because one of the tenets of Gene Roddenberry’s universe was that Starfleet “did not believe in sneaking around.” However, Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe were able to convince Berman that the Defiant was a unique ship in a unique situation and, with the added stipulation that the cloak could only be used in the Gamma Quadrant, Berman agreed. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)

DS9 Stories/News: That’s What He Said, Ira Steven Behr (1)

During his time as DS9 writer and executive producer, Ira Steven Behr had been in contact with fans via AOL postings. An archive of these postings has been hosted on a Geocities page, which is about to be closed before the end of the year.

Because of this, Memory Alpha is hosting these postings, which were originally provided as .txt files, as-is. Below is the introductory paragraph of the archive page, followed by links to the individual postings. Please note that the posting pages are protected, and should not be edited.

Star Trek: Continuum Chat With Ira Steven Behr – Sept. 30, 1997

Welcome to STAR TREK CONTINUUM, the site for tonight’s chat with Ira Steven Behr. Ira, on behalf of STAR TREK CONTINUUM, I’d like to welcome you to our chat tonight…

Ira Behr: It’s great to be here!!!

STC: DJData19 asks: Are the rumors of DS9 character being killed during a Dominion attack founded?

Ira Behr: Yes. One of the recurring characters will not survive the retaking of the station. Instead of flowers, please send extra viewers.

STC: Greg_Magnus asks, Were you a fan of Star Trek when you were growing up?

Ira Behr: Yes. I don’t think I missed an episode of the original series. Though, like most fans I was disappointed with season three. I think the show that really won me over was “Charlie X”. When I lived in Malibu, Robert Walker Jr ran a store there and I used to see him on occasion. I used to think “Oh my God, It’s Charlie X”. But I never watch the show in repeats and I didn’t think much about Star Trek in the intervening years.

STC: DJData19 asks, Whenever the show does end, will the final episode try to be all-encompassing like TNG, or a focus on Sisko as the Emissary, like the premiere was? What would you like see happen?

Ira Behr: When the show ends, at the conclusion of year 15, we will try to wrap up as many loose ends as possible. With nine regular characters and about 17 recurring characters, we’ll need about a season to do that. But that’s the plan at least as of now.

STC: DJData asks, as far as the fleshing out of characters, when do you feel the series began to flourish and step out from the shadows of TNG?

Ira Behr: Obviously working on the show is different than watching the show. I never felt we were in the shadows of TNG. I think we’re very different shows. Personally, I don’t think TNG was a character-based show and after seven years and two movies, I think most people would be hard-pressed to really describe some of those characters. I think that we’ve done more with the recurring characters in DS9, as far as making them full-bodied, interesting people than we ever got to do with TNG. But, again, I don’t think that was the emphasis of that particular series.

Ira Steven Behr

STC: ShellieTribble asks, Would you say Hi to everyone in the Starfleet Lounge Chat?

Ira Behr: Hello to everyone in the Starfleet Lounge!

STC: Greg_Magnus asks, Who are your favorite authors?

Ira Behr: I take books very seriously… I collect books, so I have a fairly long list. I recommend any of these authors… reading their books will improve your life and your mind; Beckett, Faulkner, Celine, Cormac, McCarthy… Phillip K. Dick, J.G. Ballard, Time Powers…. Dellilo… L. Shepard… That should get you started.

STC: DJData19 asks, How do you feel Rick Berman has handled the franchise since Roddenberry’s death?

Ira Behr: Between DS9, Voyager and the movies he’s given the fans many different ways to enjoy the franchise. I think Gene would appreciate all that he’s done to keep the franchise alive. In fact, one of the few things that Rick hasn’t been involved with, is my latest book “Legends of the Ferengi” by Pocket Books… co-written by Robert Hewitt Wolfe. Without a doubt, it is the funniest Star Trek book ever written… not that there’s been much competition.

STC: LarryN asks, Ira, the Legends of the Ferengi is great, a new way to use a book to expand show background by a “Creator”. Any of the tales turning up in future episodes? What about another book?

Ira Behr: Little things that are mentioned in the book are bound to pop up on the show. In fact, one already has… the Marauder Mo, Quark’s boyhood toy came directly out of the book. As far as there being another book, it’s a lot of work and I really do prefer to concentrate on DS9.

STC: LarryNHost asks, Ira, as a NY’er, how did you get to be such a big western fan, esp. of the Alamo?

Ira Behr: As a Bronx boy, I sometimes felt I was living in Fort Apache. So being a fan of the Western isn’t as far-fetched as it may sound. As for the Alamo, I’ve always had a fascination for the losing side, a heroic loss is always more interesting than a win in my twisted brain. You can read in anything you like in terms of DS9.

STC: Alan Cooper asks, Many people have questioned the motivations of bringing Worf onto DS9 i.e… it was ONLY to get ratings… etc.. etc… etc… How do you respond to them?

Ira Behr: Obviously, one of the reasons Worf was brought on the show was to increase the ratings. After all, they call it show “business”. But if we did not feel that Worf would’ve brought something to the party, we never would’ve done it. Sometimes business decisions and artistic decisions can ride the same wave.

STC: Mrben2 asks, When will your book “Legends of the Ferengi” be released?

Ira Steven Behr

Ira Behr: The book is already in release. If you cannot find it in your neighborhood, move to another one. If you cannot find it in your state, move to another state. You need this book!!! You will like this book. FIND THIS BOOK!!

STC: Werewindle asks, Many fans that I have chatted with have wondered why Worf’s son, Alexander didn’t show up with him on the station. Are there any plans to include him in the future?

Ira Behr: Yes. You will be seeing Alexander more than once this season. The new actor who is playing him is quite wonderful. Marc Worden is his name. I think he’s going to be very popular. Between him and J.G. Hertzler (who plays Martok) I think it is obvious that there’s still life in those Klingons after all.

STC: Scott S asks, What are the chances of there being a ST:DS9 movie?

Ira Behr: Right now, I don’t think the chances are all that good. Of course, I think it would be wonderful idea. Deep Space Nine in Panavision… what a concept! Maybe if the fans started writing into Paramount demanding that a DS9 feature be made, it would have some effect. Of course, you can take that same energy and buy a few copies of “Legends of the Ferengi”.

Either way I love ya!

Ira Steven Behr

STC: TBone asks, Are Worf and Dax really going to get married?

Ira Behr: Yes. Wait until you see the dress.

I bet you had no idea that Michael Dorn had such beautiful legs.

STC: SiskoKid asks, Will this be the last season of Deep Space Nine?

Ira Behr: I suppose it’s possible. But right now, this being September 30, 1997, I would say there’s a very good chance we’ll do a seventh season. But I would like to say that if we don’t I would not consider that, in any way, a failure. Six seasons for a TV show is pretty amazing and this idea that a seventh season is mandatory seems to me to be somewhat greedy. As I said, I think the chances are very good that we’ll go seven.

STC: Quark asks, Mr. Behr when does the new season of DS9 starts. P.S I love the show?

Ira Behr: The new season starts this week. Check local listings in your area.

As for you loving the show, we love ya right back.

STC: Keinbert asks, What do you think of the Star Trek Experience in Vegas?

Ira Behr: Believe it or not, I go to Las Vegas frequently. It is one of those bizarre cities that speak “America” to me. To think of Vegas and Star Trek in the same breath is enough to make my head explode with righteous joy. Now if only they could get Frank Sinatra Jr. to be the host, that would be Nirvana. Few people know that the true pilot episode of DS9 was the movie “Ocean’s Eleven” and if you watch the DS9 pilot “Emissary” on one TV and “Ocean’s Eleven” on another TV, you’ll be amazed by what you’ll find.

STC: Brian Blackmore (TR1SPY) asks, the Ferengi started out as rather lethal in ST:TNG. Now they are almost used as galactic comic relief. Do you agree with their transformation?

Ira Behr: I think I’m not saying anything out of school by telling you that the idea of lethal Ferenig was kind of a bust. The Ferengi are not the Klingons or the Romulans. They were minor villains at best. I don’t really see them as galactic comic relief. To me, they’re the closest thing to a 20th century hew-mons.

STC: Keinbert asks, How long does it take to write an episode?

Ira Behr: Usually we write the story in one or two days. Then the writing staff meets to break the story down into an outline… this usually takes two or three days. Then we usually write a script in seven to ten days. It’s very intensive. There are times I wish we could relax and take a month but that’s not television. At the same time, as we’re writing the scripts, we’re also producing the series (i.e casting sessions, production meetings, visits to my therapist… etc…). It’s a full life and I’m getting older by the second.

STC: DJ asks, I can’t believe I’m talking with you. Is there any way that you would be able to e-mail my sister so she believes that I talked with you. She is a BIG fan of Deep Space Nine?

Ira Behr: What I love about the internet is this “thread of paranoia” that seems to be a part of it’s life’s blood. I feel your pain… let it rain.

I can only say I am who I say I am.

Though at times when I’m tired, I will look in the mirror and to my horror, sees Hans Beimler

STC: DJData19 asks, How often do you attend conventions? Do you enjoy them? If you are in the Milwaukee area in August, you could hit GenCon, a four day con devoted not just to Sci-Fi bu to gaming as well… Previous guests I have met personally have included Garrett Wang and Walter Koening… whaddya think?

Ira Behr: I have only attended a handful of conventions. The truth is, I don’t think the majority of fans care much about talking to the people behind the scenes.

I mean, this is understandable, though I do think I am as attractive as Terry Farrell

STC: I’d have to agree!

Ira Steven Behr

Ira Behr: I feel part of my duties as an Executive Producer is to promote the show. I really enjoy working on DS9 and I can’t think of much that I wouldn’t do for it. So as Dickens wrote in David Copperfield, “Barkis is willing” but if I was a fan I’d rather see Nana Visitor.

STC: Ramses asks, What exactly does an Executive Producer do?

Ira Behr: Basically, my job is to keep pipeline of scripts active so that the monster TV camera doesn’t eat us while we’re not looking. But, like I said earlier, I also make many of the decisions that go into the day to day production of the series. It’s a job involving detail work, from approving costumes to viewing dailies and giving my comments on the rough cut of each episode.

STC: RobertO asks, Your bio says you turned down a playwright scholarship in NY to go out to LA for films & TV. Was that a big risk for you?

Ira Behr: Actually, it was a scholarship to Brandeis University. I don’t know if it was a risk but it certainly changed my life. For a few years, I kind of drifted around… worked in market research and did many of the things I will tell  my children not to do but I don’t regret the decision. I had a fear of winding up an academic and though I do like the thought of, one day, teaching to have done it from the time I was 25 would not have given me the satisfaction I get playing here at Paramount.

STC: Brian Blackmore (TR1SPY) asks, Between the holodeck, time travel, parallel universes and “sub-conscious dream” episodes, Star Trek writers have a lot of easy outs in terms of plot structure that I believe they abuse sometimes and strain credulity. Any comments or questions on how to write disciplined stories without relying so heavily on these plot devices?

Ira Behr: As I’ve said before, I think DS9 is a character-driven show. I’m not knocking plots… obviously they’re necessary but if we have to go to a holodeck or time travel, etc.. in order to have an arena in which to develop character, I have no problem with with that and in terms of straining credulity, I have one word for you “Beam me up, Scotty”

Ira Steven Behr

STC: Keinbert asks, What do you do to be inspired when you write?

Ira Behr: That’s a great question. So here’s the not-so-great answer. When you’re writing for television, you don’t have time to be inspired. You have to get the work done. Or, to put it another way, what inspires me most of all is fear, loathing and the ever-present sense of failure. The cameras keep rolling, so we have to keep writing or as a very wise man once said “Necessity is the mother of invention”. Seriously though, the other thing that inspires me is reading a good book. I love words, sentences, paragraphs. There are times I wish I could play an instrument or sing or paint but unfortunately I can’t do any of those things. I’m a true idiot-savant.

There is one thing that I’m good at… make that two things… one of them is writing.

STC: Ted Nichols asks, For someone wanting to be obtain the same amount of success as you what would you recommend? YOU ARE GREAT, one of the best Truly, LLAP!

Ira Behr: You have to low what you do. You have to have the guts of a bandit. You have to be prepared for some serious setbacks. You’ve got to keep perspective. You’ve got to care a lot and ultimately you can’t be afraid to not fucking care at all. To quote Bob Dylan “There is no success like failure… and failure is no success at all”. If you can remember that, if you can believe that paradox, you’ll be okay.

STC: Ted Nichols asks, Are you good friends with Michael and Denise Okuda? What all do they do for DS9?

Ira Behr: I think Michael and Denise are two incredibly talented people. They’re also hard core fans and though It’s easy at times to think of the fans as just being a pain, Michael and Denise are a constant reminder to me that fans are cool too. As far as the work they do for the show… ask them. I hear they go to all the conventions.

STC: 1hp asks, Your villains are 3-dimensional. Is this always intentional?

Ira Behr: Absolutely. Gul Dukat, Weyoun, the Female Shape-shifter, Damar… these are all great characters…. and wonderful characters to write for. It’s especially gratifying for me to have been a fan of Jeff Combs (Weyoun) for a number of years and then to be able to hire him to do the show and find out that he’s a great guy as well as a talented actor. It’s this kind of thing that makes all the long hours worthwhile.

The Villains of DS9

STC: Greg_Magnus asks, Gene Roddenberry’s “vision” is a subject much discussed by Trek fans. What is your interpretation of Roddenberry’s vision?

Ira Behr: I think the question has its answer contained within it. I see my job as interpreting Gene’s vision. Gene gave us the 24th Century. He gave us the knowledge that the human race will not only survive also prosper but that’s a  pretty broad vision and what I want to do is take that idea and study it. In other words, in “The Maquis Part II” I had Sisko say that Earth is a paradise but that it’s easy to be a saint in paradise. To me, DS9 isn’t about paradise and the fact that Gene Roddenberry’s human race can exist there and struggle there and try to make that little part of the galaxy a better place is a  positive view of the future but within that positive view, there’s a lot of pain, suffering, disappointment and death. None of those things I find to be in conflict with Gene’s vision. He was a creative man and I think it’s sad that there’s a segment of the audience that seem determined to paint him narrower than he was.

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