Fifty years ago today, on 8 September 1966, Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek appeared on television for the first time – and forever changed the world. There’s an endless string of articles all over the web, but as one of those Deep Space Nine fanatics the rest of the Trek world rather not talk about, this great article by Annalee Newitz really struck a cord with me.
Without this stubborn nugget of hope at its core, DS9 would be more like the 2000s version of Battlestar Galactica – a story about space mysticism and war that’s laced with a fatalism about humanity. Ron Moore was an executive producer on DS9 and the creator of BSG, so the overlap makes sense. But on DS9, we are immersed in a world where our faith in the basic decency of intelligent beings can remain unshaken. Whether solid or liquid, most of the creatures who live on the space station always do the right thing. And most importantly, the good guys prevail not just because they are good, but because they are able to put their ideals to practical use. More than TNG and Voyager, DS9 helps us understand how humans got from the Bell Riots to social democracy in space. Our heroes do it by resisting imperialism and inequality and by allying themselves with other people who do. That’s why the Federation has struck a deal with the Bajorans rather than the Cardassians.
“Do you think they’ll be able to save us?” The best scene in all of Star Trek (this one‘s a close second).
Thank you, Mr. Roddenberry.
I love that scene!
Really, anything with Garak is fantastic.
Agreed. The older I get, the more I really like all of his scenes. He brings a weirdly dark and cynical view to the show, but keeps on going anyways because that’s the kind of person he is.
Bashir: What I want to know is, out of all the stories you told me which ones were true and which ones weren’t?
Garak: My dear doctor… they’re all true.
Bashir: Even the lies?
Garak: Especially the lies.
I love me some poorly-edited Star Trek videos.
“Shut up, Wesley!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afhMMcAHlKw
and…
“It’s a FAAAKE!! No, it’s REAL!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lHgbbM9pu4
And, anything from Gazoraa
https://www.youtube.com/user/gazorra
such as, this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf9oD_xl8mI
‘Stark Trek’?
‘Ironic Man 45’
It says “Stak Trek” now.
The problem with DS9 is that the show is fundamentally almost identical to the ABC drama called Hotel staring James Brolin.
You have a facility stuck in one place and the entire plot and intricacies are driven by the odd characters who wander in and out of every episode.
This is great if you love dramas about that. But if you subscribe to the original Trek ideals of “wagon train to the stars” and interesting stories happening because familiar people go to unfamiliar places, then being stuck in a building is just… ridiculous. The opposite.
And perhaps that is why people like DS9? I have never understood it.
It was certainly why I liked it. Back in the day, I lost interest in DS9 when they got to the Dominion War arc.
These days, that tendency usually manifests as a tendency to react with “God dammit! Yet another interesting story ruined by someone who introduced a villain or a war because they didn’t realize they already had an interesting person vs. self/society/etc. conflict building.”
Edited 2016-09-09 08:17 UTC
“…God dammit! Yet another interesting story ruined by someone who introduced a villain or a war..”
And events start immediately to look a lot more stupid than normal. Agree.
Hotel ? I don’t know that. But I’ve seen The Love Boat a few times. I guess that is similar in a way. 😉
DS9 is my favourite star trek series, I always thought I was alone in that idea.
Quark is an absolute best character in any series, no gets humanity better.
Rest of the cast is also excellent, Dr. Bashir is fantastic, it is a role he was born to do.
Great series
While I love Star Trek, DS9 isn’t very special to me. Babylon V is my all-time favorite. The characters development, specially Londo and G’Kar (the best), was so deep that I have never seen something similar in a sci-fi series. The actors were amazing.
Not surprising. I’ve heard there was a bit of ill will as a result of DS9 being announced at a suspicious interval after Paramount rejected the pitch for Babylon 5.
(I can’t personally judge it, though, since we didn’t have cable when I was a kid and, now, I’ve been boycotting the MPAA for so long that I seem to have lost patience with TV for moving so much more slowly than my reading speed.)
Not to mention my personal B5 caracters Susan Ivanova ( misress of one liners) and Delenn ( the bes ambasador aver what was rhe gray cuncil thinkng kicking her out?)
After Jerry Doyle died a few weeks ago, I decided to rewatch B5, especially as my wife hasn’t seen it before. We’ve just reach the Series 3 midpoint, and it’s absolutely amazing writing, with a depth of plot that even DS9 couldn’t touch. And you’re right, the characters are simply so well written and acted. I love the interplay between Londo and G’Kar, and all the comedic moments are genuinely funny. Plus I’m recognising a whole host of actors and references that I didn’t see last time. I really appreciate watching it the second time round.
There is a thing that makes Babylon V different: Straczynski had it planned from beginning to end (well, he had to fuse the last 2 seasons in 1 because it was going to be cancelled and Michael O’Hare left due to a illnes). So the different plotlines were very well interwoven and superposed.
I know, that’s what I love about it. Obviously there were a few hitches (and I think we’d all love to know what it could have been if the series 4/5 cancel reinstate thing hadn’t happened), but it worked out all right in the end.
But it’s not just the plot, B5 has a different feel to Star Trek. I’m not sure I could say exactly what it was, but it feels like a richer universe, with far more diversity, more interconnection, more fallibility, and more like actual science fiction than mystery of the week.
Long live and prosperity to Gene Roddenberry’s Legacy. Waiting for a new generation of screen writers with the same strong stances on Universal Principles.
I have been thinking a bit about what I would like to see in a new Star Trek after it was announced there is going to be a new series…
I would like to see each new season or even segments of a season follow a different group of people in a different place or time. There are lots of untold stories in the Star Trek universe that could be explored in this format that could not easily be explored in a full series.
Edited 2016-09-10 09:32 UTC
I always thought a series on the Enterprise B (The ship featured at the beginning of Generations) would have been awesome.
The visual style of the ship, both inside and outside, is wonderful (I think it’s the best looking incarnation of the Enterprise), and not only that, in the expanded universe, Sulu’s daughter, Demora (Who was at the helm in the movie) eventually becomes captain, and the actress who played her is about the right age now.
That sure is a lovely ship
http://www.foundation3d.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7516…
I really enjoyed the Enterprise series – it also had the worst theme song in the history of television.
Not the worst in the history of television, but certainly the worst of any series on broadcast television at the time…
What was worse? I have to hear this!
Every 80’s sitcom intro theme?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdFhmRdBtno