"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993) TV series 1993-1999

Creators:

Rick Berman
Michael Piller

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Release Date:

4 January 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Orbiting the liberated planet of Bajor, a Federation space station guards the opening of a stable wormhole to the far side of the Galaxy.

Plot Keywords:

Wormhole | Klingon | Changeling | Emissary | Prophet

Awards:

Won 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 9 wins & 42 nominations

Cast

Avery Brooks	...	Captain Sisko / ... (173 episodes, 1993-1999)
Rene Auberjonois	...	Odo / ... (173 episodes, 1993-1999)
Cirroc Lofton	...	Jake Sisko / ... (173 episodes, 1993-1999)
Alexander Siddig	...	Doctor Bashir / ... (173 episodes, 1993-1999)
Colm Meaney	...	Chief O'Brien / ... (173 episodes, 1993-1999)
Armin Shimerman	...	Quark / ... (173 episodes, 1993-1999)
Nana Visitor	...	Major Kira / ... (173 episodes, 1993-1999)
Terry Farrell	...	Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax / ... (148 episodes, 1993-1998)
Michael Dorn	...	Lt. Commander Worf / ... (102 episodes, 1995-1999)
Mark Allen Shepherd	...	Morn / ... (91 episodes, 1993-1999)

Also Known As:

DS9 (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
Deep Space Nine (USA) (short title)
Star Trek: DS9 (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

45 min (176 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Klingon

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M (DVD rating - season 5) | Australia:PG (DVD rating - seasons 1, 2, 3 &4) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant - 6100 Woodley Avenue, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Television

Trivia:

Carl Weathers auditioned for the role of Captain Benjamin Sisko.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In various episodes throughout the show's 6th and 7th seasons, there are several mentions of "good years" for blood wine, with vintages given in Earth years. Why would the Klingons measure the vintages of blood wine in Earth years, instead of Kronos years or Stardates?

Quotes:

Odo: You're still disgusting!
Quark: Wouldn't have it any other way!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Good Eats: Deep Space Slime (#5.1)" (2001)

The Jewel in the Crown

DS 9 is simply the best of the Star Trek series, and, I suspect, will eventually emerge from its black sheep status and be remembered as the most mature and compelling SF series of the 20th century.

So what makes it so good? The whole overarching concept about Bajor, the wormhole aliens, Cisco's origins and destiny, the tension between different races and characters, and (perhaps most of all) the _continuity_ once the Dominion War begins (in many ways the last four seasons are more like one collossal 75-hour movie than a series of discreet episodes).

If there is a fault to DS9 it is probably that it took some time to hit its straps. The early seasons were not up to the quality of seasons 4-7, but when Worf arrives, The Defiant arrives, Cisco shaves his head, and The Dominion set their sites on the Alpha Quadrant, you have yourselves a hands down classic for the final 4 seasons.

Character development and personal relationships are handled far more satisfyingly and richly here than in any other ST series. There is nothing elsewhere in the ST franchise to compare with the Odo/Kira relationship (or even the Odo/Quark, Bashir/O'brien relationships if it comes to that). There are no dud major characters (even if Avery Brooks is given to occaisional fits of extreme over-acting) - and nestled in amongst the Dominion War story arc somewhere is that one little jewel of an episode where the entire cast are working for a SF pulp magazine in the late 40's - an absolute pearler that I could watch over and again.

I became far more emotionally attached to the characters of DS9 than any other Start Trek series. I recently re-watched the whole thing on video, and was genuinely sad to see it end, all over again.

Damn, I miss that show. They could have run it forever as far as I'm concerned. The really sad thing is, it was such a perfectly self-contained story that there is almost no prospect of any DS9 movies - which is doubly tragic, if the Next Generation movies are going to finish with Nemesis.

Or maybe not. Let's face it; Star Trek has failed on the big screen more often than it has scored. Where it really belongs is on the small screen, and DS 9 is the pinnacle of its achievement in that media, in my opinion.