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

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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

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.

DS9 Stories/News: Deep Space Nine: Star Trek’s Darkest Chapter

Source: http://gregory-breen.suite101.com/deep-space-nine-star-treks-darkest-chapter-a263985

Jul 30, 2010, Gregory Breen

In 1993, Star Trek opened a chapter of political intrigue, action, drama and war for Gene Roddenberry’s extended universe.

Bajor

Gene Roddenberry created a whole universe with his simple idea of “a wagon train to the stars” back in 1964. Following his death in 1995, Rick Berman took over running that universe and kept it expanding. Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) was a success and they wanted to keep the shows coming. Using some storylines first hinted at TNG, producers Berman and Michael Piller created Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9). Set in the same time period as TNG, DS9 would be a darker, more violent and politically muddy place. The first thing to change was the setting. Now on a space station instead of a starship, the characters were not all honest, dignified, and honorable Starfleet officers. The station was positioned at the edge of a stable wormhole that led to the mysterious Gamma Quadrant, and the wormhole was also the living place of non-corporeal beings believed to be gods by the Bajoran people.

The Wormhole

For 50 years, the Cardassian Union occupied the planet Bajor. Now the Bajor Resistance drove Cardassians from their planet, and the new provisional government petitioned the Federation for membership. To help smooth the transition Starfleet took control of the space station Terok Nor, renaming it Deep Space Nine.

Filling out the Deep Space Nine Crew

Taking command is Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) a widowed father who simply wants to take care of his son. He was a reluctant commander, biding his time. The crew was made up of both Starfleet personal and people from the new Bajorian militia. The first officer of the station is Major Kira Neyrs (Nana Visitor) a former member of the Bajorian resistance. She is a great character with a troubled background and a refreshingly cynical view of Starfleet—something never before seen in a Star Trek main character.

DS9 Crew

The science officer is Lieutenant (later Lt. Commander) Jadzia Dax, a Trill. The Trill race first appeared in a TNG episode, “The Host.” They are a joined race of host (humanoid) and simbiant (slug.) Dax has the memories of all previous hosts, including Curzon, a former friend and mentor to Commander Sisko. Doctor Julian Bashir, played by Alexander Siddig, is an excited young man on the station for the same reason we are watching; it’s cool! Colm Meany moved from TNG to DS9, as Chief Miles O’Brien. On the Enterprise he was transporter chief, now he is Chief of Operations, basically the chief engineer of the station. Rene Auberjonois played security chief Odo, a shapeshifter from an unknown race who once worked for the Cardassians. He keeps order on the station like an old style sheriff in a western town. Armin Shimerman’s Quark fills out the cast. He is the owner of the station’s bar, a Ferengi businessman who enjoys running “extra-legal” activities to build on his substantial fortune. The rivalry between Odo and Quark became one of the true joys of the show as it progressed over several seasons.

Sisko with his son, Jake

Deep Space Nine: Seasons One and Two

Deep Space Nine began in January 1993 while The Next Generation was still on the air. They did a couple of crossover episodes. For instance, the Maguis, a terrorist group made up of Federation citizens at war with Cardassia began as a result of events in the TNG episode, Journey’s End. The Maquis then became a firm part of the DS9 universe.

Seasons one and two focus on the aftermath of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor and how both cultures dealt with it. It also delved into the pasts of its characters with the episode “Necessary Evil” showing the murky beginnings to Odo and Kira’s complicated relationship in dark flashbacks. In several episodes, people exploring the Gamma Quadrant mention the mysterious Dominion. In the final episode of season two they appear as a military force that rules most of the other side of the wormhole.

The Dominion are Introduced

The Dominion War

In season three, the threat of war was heightened as the Dominion continued to threaten the Federation and its allies. Also introduced was the USS Defiant, a heavily armed starship assigned for defense. This allowed the crew to leave the station and gave the writers the chance to produce more classic exploration-style episodes. In season four Michael Dorn came aboard the station as Lt. Commander Worf, the Strategic operations officer. It seemed like a cynical move to bring in an established character from TNG, but Worf fit the style and form of the show better here then he ever did on the Enterprise.

Throughout season five, the political landscape of the Star Trek universe changed with the Federation warring with the Klingons, and then Cardassia becoming a part of the Dominion. Even as this wider political climate changed, the show still did wonderful single story episodes. The original series crossover episode Trails and Tribble-ations is a great example. Deep Space Nine also made excellent use of the Star Trek mirror universe from the original episode “Mirror Mirror.” Various members of the DS9 crew visited the universe and we saw the results of our Spock’s conversations with the barbaric Mirror Kirk.

Garak

Deep Space Nine’s ace up its sleeve was its long list of brilliant recurring characters. Andrew Robison’s Garak was possibly the best Star Trek character ever. He was a Cardassian exiled from home for some unknown crime. He used to work for Cardassian intelligence and now made a living as a tailor. His grey view on the universe and suspicious friendship with Bashir led to convincing dialogue and engaging storylines.

The show also did great work with cliffhanger episodes, moving away from the classic 45-minute story and leaving episodes with unresolved endings—even finishing sequels to stories seasons later.

DS9 was a darker show and the drama was better executed. While it never found the mainstream acclaim of TNG or the original series, it was still cleverly put together and remains a classic chapter in the now debunked original Star Trek universe.

Seasons 1-7 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available on DVD

Read more at Suite101: Deep Space Nine: Star Trek’s Darkest Chapter | Suite101.com http://gregory-breen.suite101.com/deep-space-nine-star-treks-darkest-chapter-a263985#ixzz1pV9U0yqp

DS9 Stories/News: Deep Space Nine “Facts”

Producers noted virtually no negative reaction to the romantic pairing and eventual wedding between Worf and Dax, which was essentially interracial. Producers cited that on the generally open minded nature of the Star Trek fan base.

As was the case with all other Star Trek programs, the series depicted a number of mixed race romances, notably married couples O’Brien and Keiko, and Rom and Leeta.

Aron Eisenberg was approaching his mid 20s when cast as Nog, who began on the series in his pre to early teens. In addition, Eisenberg was only 17 years younger than Max Grodénchik who played Nog’s father Rom.

The name Deep Space Nine originated from an early working title, and predated the decision to set the series on a space station. Producers intended on coming up with a new title after the show was fully developed, but stayed with the Deep Space Nine name feeling it had an intriguing quality to it.

Fans of the series were referred to as “Niners”.

O’Brien and later Worf were the only two regulars on a Star Trek series to be carried over from another.

Terry Farrell was the only regular Star Trek actor or actress not to return in any way after their character was killed off.

This is the only “Star Trek” TV series not to have any human female as part of the main cast.

Worf and Jadzia Dax were the first pair of regular Star Trek characters to be married to each other. Tom Paris and B’Lanna Torrez eventually got married on Star Trek: Voyager, and later Riker married Troi in _”Star Trek: Nemesis” (2002)_. O’Brien was only a recurring character at the time of his marriage on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and his wife Keiko was not a regular character on either TNG or DS9.

O’Brien was the first regular Star Trek character to be established as being married from the start of a Trek series. (He had gotten married on the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Data’s Day as a recurring character on the show). In addition, Sisko was the first Star Trek Captain to be permanently married when he wed Kassidy Yates.

Despite being credited as a regular, Cirroc Lofton appeared in only 85 of the show’s 173 episodes. Morn, the most frequent recurring character, appeared in 92 episodes.

In the episode “By Inferno’s Light”, several of the main characters are imprisoned in a Dominion POW camp. One of the characters, Elim Garak, must overcome his fear of claustrophobia to try and get them out. This has a lot of comparison with Charles Bronson‘s character in The Great Escape.

Although all Star Trek series dealt with complex social issues, Deep Space Nine had darker undertones and seriously dealt with genocide, terrorism, bigotry, racism, shell shock and the consequences of war much more than other Star Trek series.

According to numerous episodes, time on the Deep Space Nine space station is based on the length of a standard Bajoran day, which is 26 hours.

The appearance of the Trill symbiont is different from when it initially appeared on the episode The Host. In that episode, the symbiont’s appearance was made to resemble a caterpillar with the head of an octopus. According to Make-Up Supervisor Michael Westmore, the symbiont was re-made for this series to be more “stream-lined” to make it easier to handle. Also, the appearance of the Trill hosts had changed as well. In “The Host”, the Trill people had semi-ridged foreheads and no body spots, but in this series, they have normal foreheads, and body spots. In “The Host,” the Trill was also terrified of being transported, insinuating that it would damage the symbiont, but neither Jadzia nor Ezri ever mentioned concerns with being transported.

Executive Producer/Co-Creator Michael Piller said that when coming up for an idea for the series concept of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, there were initially three ideas toted around: Another starship adventure, a space station concept, and a remote frontier colony. The frontier colony idea was briefly considered, with the idea that since Star Trek was compared to Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. in outer space, the new series would be compared to Gunsmoke, but on a remote planet. The frontier colony idea was eventually dropped since it would’ve required a lot of on-location shooting, and the space station idea was ultimately developed instead.

The primary design of Deep Space Nine is based off a gyroscope, but with the top and bottom parts removed. Some of the earlier designs of DS9 by Herman F. Zimmerman had complete hoops, also like a gyroscope.

Benjamin Sisko is the only Captain in a Star Trek series that didn’t start out as a Captain at the beginning of the series. From Seasons 1-3, Sisko held the rank of Commander. It wasn’t until the Season 3 finale, The Adversary, where he was finally promoted to Captain.

Carl Weathers auditioned for the role of Captain Benjamin Sisko.

The character Elim Garak is a former spy who works as a tailor on the station. In many of ‘John Le Carré”s spy novels a tailor is one of the main characters (and is often also acting as a spy). “The Tailor of Panama” and “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” are two examples.

The role of Jadzia Dax was initially offered to Famke Janssen, whose character makeup from The Perfect Mate inspired the change in Trill character makeup from a forehead prosthetic. Both she and Michelle Forbes (see above) turned down the roles in order to remain available to appear in feature films.

The name of the alien race “Ferengi” is derived from the Persian word for “foreigner”, which is Farangi.

The character ‘Benjamin Sisko’ was ranked #50 in TV Guide’s list of the “50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time” (20 June 2004 issue).

Wolf 359, mentioned as 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.

Malcolm McDowell once said he’d like to appear on DS9, but only if his nephew – Alexander Siddig (who plays DS9′s Dr. Bashir) – would direct the episode. Unfortunately, this never panned out, mostly due to scheduling conflicts.

The Bajoran monetary system uses the Lita as currency. The Lita is actually the name of the currency of Lithuania.

The tankards used for Klingon bloodwine are actually measuring cups used in baking.

In a scene where Bashir and O’Brien come out of the holo-suite and talk to Quark dressed as WWII RAF pilots, most of O’Brien’s jargon comes from a Monty Python sketch, RAF Banter.

Armin Shimerman was a regular on both this series and Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the same time.

Although we only rarely see it, there is an ATM in Quark’s bar. It dispenses the various types of currency used by major races visiting the station: Federation credits, Bajoran litas, Cardassian leks, and Ferengi latinum.

The square glasses used in Quark’s bar are actually candle holders turned upside down.

According to an April 2003 interview, Avery Brooks was initially required by contract to appear with hair in order to prevent confusion with his Spenser: For Hire character, Hawk. In later seasons, as Sisko became established, Brooks was allowed to shave his head and re-grow his beard.

In one episode, while Kira is still pregnant the O’Briens’ baby, she screams at Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig) “This is all your fault!” This is an in-joke referring to the fact that actress Nana Visitor and Siddig were expecting a child in real-life.

The uniforms initially worn on DS9 were designed to look different from those worn on its parent show, Star Trek: The Next Generation Beginning with the movie Star Trek: Generations, however, these new uniforms were adopted by the TNG crew and Starfleet as a whole. From the mid-5th season of DS9 and Star Trek: First Contact another type of uniforms were issued by Starfleet, while Star Trek: Voyager (having no way of knowing about the change) retained the earlier version, distinguishing the two series from each other again. It is also worth mentioning that the DS9-style uniforms are very similar to the ones worn by Starfleet cadets in TNG, most notably in The First Duty.

The guy who is often in Quark’s bar is named “Morn”, which is an anagram for “Norm” from Cheers, who was often in the bar. Like Norm, Morn always sat in the same seat at the bar.

Reportedly, Gene Roddenberry was made aware of plans for DS9 not long before his death in 1991, making this the last Star Trek TV series that he was connected with.

Martin Sheen was considered for the role of Sloan, the Section 31 operative.

Both Armin Shimerman (Quark) and Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat) have appeared as one of the first actors to portray members of their respected species, and both appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Shimerman played the the Ferengi officer Letek on the TNG episode “The Last Outpost” (#1.04), while Alaimo played the Cardassian officer Gul Macet on the TNG episode “The Wounded” (#4.17).

The subplot of Kira carrying the O’Briens’ baby was to explain away Nana Visitor‘s pregnancy.

Stars Alexander Siddig and Nana Visitor were married in real life in 1997 (after the show’s fourth season).

In the episode “Man Alone,” the planet Alderaan is listed as a recent place visited by a murder victim. Alderaan is the planet destroyed by the Death Star in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.

In the episode Trials and Tribble-ations, Crew from Deep Space Nine are hijacked into the episode Trouble with Tribbles from Star Trek. The set of the original Enterprise was re-created for this episode in detail except for the orange grating often seen in engineering areas. Apparently, the company that made it had discontinued its production.

The spots on Jadzia Dax were not stenciled. Instead, they were drawn on personally by Michael Westmore each day, a process which took over an hour.