I think that DS9 was the best Star Trek series in the history of the franchise. The reason I think so was because where TNG dealt with the most optimistic vision of humanity, DS9 dealt with the vision which was most realistic...with the Dominion war and all. It represents a side of human history that we will have hoped to moved beyond, but in all likelehood, we won't. I think it realistic, and inevitable that if we find species from other worlds, at least some are bound to be centered on conquest and power, given evolution's preference for the strongest, most dominant species. With humankind's history of war, bloodshed, and conquest, I also think it to be inevitable that we will have to revise our role as a violent species descending from inherentily violent primates, (which they show similar tendencies *1), and warlike, (which adequately describes a large side of human history *2), if we are to survive. I'm not saying this to be a desired reprisal, but nevertheless, a necessary one. Thus my two favorite episodes of DS9 are "In the Pale Moonlight", where Sisko must condone assasination and bribery in order to bring the Romulans into the war, and "The Siege of AR-558, where starfleet officers risk life and comfort in a brutal conflict in order to hold a communications relay from Dominions troops. *1 - A recent news article describes a group of chimpanzees violently beating a man who held them captive. Also numerous studies have illustrated that chimps carry on what humans would consider as gang warfare. Groups of chimps have sought out and attacked other groups. *2 - WW1, WW2, Crusades, Mongolian conquests, etc...you name it. Warfare has occupied a huge chunk of human history.
the Dominion War was started to lure viewers (as was adding Worf), it was a last ditch effort to get ratings to avoid the indignity that "Entreprise" just endured, being cancelled DS9 had potential, it had the characters that could add depth to the Star Trek universe, it touched many subjects, but it missed the opportunity for more: character development (Sisko, Jake, Odo, Quark, Kira, Bashir, human-alien interactions (name them all), religion (Bajorian beliefs & rituals, tolerance & intolerance) backstory (the Federation's formation, alliances, espionage), it could have been a 'soap opera', becoming the "Deserate Housewives" of Outerspace, or a "Cheers" where everybody knows your name Best Star Trek episode ever: "Little Green Men", totally hilarious & fits right in with a good plot as to what really happened at Roswell & why. so now you know what really happened Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I agree. And unless I'm mistaken, they killed it to run with Voyager which was almost as bad as the last Star Trek series "Enterprise". On a side note a few years ago I called my cat Sisko and when I catch the bastard that stole him I will torture them to death!
I'm not so certain it was the theme of 'war' that made DS9 so good as it was having a continuing story line that spanned many episodes. That kind of continuity and "what will develop next?" aura kept a lot of people tuning in, plus it wasn't so all-pervasive that they couldn't take time out to season the season (as it were) with the occasional unrelated story. Probably what they were attempting with Enterprise, too. One thing about ST:NG that was a bit harsher than DS9 was their portrayal of Ferengis. Rom and co. were relatively cute and lovable on the space station, but when the Enterprise ran across the little buggers, the Ferengi wouldn't hesitate to blast yer butt if they could get profit that way. Edit: "In The Pale Moonlight" was definitely a fine episode.
'Moonlight' was DS9's answer to 'The Usual Suspects'. Utter brilliance, a few other episodes came within contention, but were no threat. However, I was never sure why Vreenak didn't alert his government to Sisko's deception IMMEDIATELY upon leaving the station; according to the voiceover, the news about the shuttle's destruction came two days later. Surely it would occur to someone of Vreenak's seniority, occupation and cunning that Sisko might, just MIGHT have been tempted to have him offed if the forgery was detected, and so report the incident on a high-priority channel to forestall that exact action being taken. Still, Sci-Fi is created for the under 25 demographic, I can't expect too much here. Jaybee.
More DS9 fans, Greetings. There were lots of great episodes. The cool thing about sci-fi is how it portrays reality in a setting that lets you be objective about it. I taped the series and edited commercials out using two VCRs. I watched an episode called HOMEFRONT some time ago. It is about shapeshifters coming to Earth to cause panic. It was made long before 9/11/1, but I was amazed at how it well portrayed what is going on with our PANIC ON TERRORISM. Another cool episode is HOUSE OF QUARK. Quark marries Klingon and saves her house. I think accounting should be MANDATORY in high school. Our economy would work a lot different and better if everyone knew what was going on. How much do Americans loose on depreciation of automobiles every year?
The reason DS9 was the best Star Trek series was ..... it had the fittest women!! Kira Nerys - yum... Jadzia Dax - yum yum YUM! Leeta - hominahominahomina... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I enjoyed DS9 tremendously. I was sorry that the characters all wandered off into the woodwork when the series ended, I had come to care about them. I liked Voyager because at last it had a female in charge. The way she ran her ship and her attitude toward her mission were much different than the male-oriented shows. Capt. Kirk and Capt. Picard were out there looking for adventure. Capt. Janeway was trying to get her family HOME! Is that ever a stark dichotomy between masculine and feminine attitudes. It took me a long time to warm to Enterprise but I've come to like it. I'm really sorry it's ending. You'd think there'd be a plaque in every TV executive's office: "NEVER CANCEL A STAR TREK SERIES!" I haven't been able to get into any of the other Roddenberry shows. Earth:Final Conflict was nicely done, a clever idea, yatta yatta, but for the life of me I could never really understand what the heck was going on. Andromeda is nothing but one endless space war videogame. The first season had some nice subtexts, but they shed them all for larger explosions.
You have it backwards. If you put some hormonal cunt in charge of hiring the pilots, you will stay lost for a VERY long time. As for Enterprise, it deserved to die. Yes, it had a few good episodes, and a fair cast, but the producers and writers shot themselves in the head with the crappy storylines. And what the hell was up with that ridiculous national-anthem opening song?
To stick with the level of argument here: 'DS9' sucked major balls. 'Enterprise' was the most promising Trek show ever.
"hormonal cunt?" - this belongs where no bullshit has gone before. When you're lost in the gamma sector there isn't much alternative to going home. It's funny how the aliens in the gamma sector called it the gamma sector too. Wouldn't they regard it as the ALPHA sector? Who are these stupid lost aliens from the other side of the galaxy putting us in third place? Was there a DS9 episode involving NAZIs? It's curious how they show up all the time in STAR TREKs. Aliens wanting to play NAZIs on Voyager's holodeck! That was absurd. psikeyhackr
I think comparing the original STAR TREK to later versions without saying why is grossly unfair. TOS was breaking new ground, it had no standard to live up to or beat. Plus the change in technology over that time period and the bigger budgets of the later shows give them a grossly unfair advantage in special effects. I agree DS9 is the best of the rest though. psikeyhackr
