Customer Reviews

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Season 1

5 star:		(101)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is the only season of this show I have seen. It was quite good and I am planning to purchase additional season-in fact I almost gave it five stars. The season premiere was really excellent, easily shouldering the burden of introducing us to the characters and environment without losing focus on its own story.

The rest of the season was generally good, with a few standout episodes and no particular bloopers. My biggest complaint was that the closest thing to a season theme (tension between the Bajorans and Starfleet) never got the consistant attention it needed. Also the final episode of this brief package (only 19 episodes), although quite good as a stand-alone episode, was completely unable to balance out the overall experience and left everything feeling truncated.

That said, the episodes were engaging and occasionally thought-provoking. Although DS9 lacks the commanding presence of Patrick Stewart and is thus more of an ensemble piece than TNG, the characters were interesting and worked well together. Recommended!

Ben Sisko (Avery Brooks) is commissioned by Starfleet to an old Cardassian space station called Terok Nor which Starfleet has re-named Deep Space Nine to safeguard the planet Bajor. He later discovers a stable wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant and is chosen as the Emissary by a race of aliens known as "The Prophets"

BEST EPISODE: DUET

The DS9 series was a bold step into the unknown. It is true that people did not really travel away from the station , and the neighbors were restless , but it was those uncertanties that did make DS9 a good series. Not every episode ended with happiness and not all problems were solved in 45 minutes like the other series did. There were more background elements that made this series more real and to me more enjoiable to watch. DS9 may not have been the best sci-fi series out there at the time , but it was a lot better that most and in the long run I think that it could turn out to have been the best of all the Star Trak series.

I loved Deep Space Nine. I thought it was an excellent show and I'm gald to see it on DVD.

DS9 had hard and high expectations. It was the first spin off of the Star Trek The Next Generation. When the show premeired it had to compete against TNG for fans and sometimes ratings. A lot of trekkies were skeptic about the whole idea of life on a space station and were scared to see something else besides a crew of the Enterprise. I think thats what made the show so great,it's orignality.

Avery Brooks was awesome as Commander Sisko. Season one developed him very well as we saw a man trying to turn his life around. I thought he was brillant in "Emmisary" and after I saw the pilot I knew this show would last. Commander Sisko is one of the most underrated characters in Star Trek. Avery Brooks played him to absolute perfection. He's a great actor and a great man. You'll love the way they develop his character in season one.

It was good to see Colm Meaney on the show. Give credit to the producers for putting Miles O'Brein on the show. He was always a key character to the show. You always knew the chief was going to get it fixed. He reminded me a lot of Scotty in what they did with him.

Nana Visitor was great as Major Kira. It was cool how they put a Bajoran on the station and how they made it a co-op leadership thing. To this point in Star Trek all we knew about the Bajorans were Ensign Ro and the Maquis. They developed the race well and once again it all starts in season one.

Rene Auberjonois as Odo was one of the coolest characters ever in tv. Star Trek executives made a smart move and made him a shapeshifter. Then they did a really smart move and modeled him after the T-1000 from T2. It was brillant. He was orignal and cool looking. Props to Rene for wearing all that make up. He played the character great.

Armin Shimmerman as Quark was great. Once again DS9 developed a race the Ferengi that not a lot was known about. Quark was the comic relief to the show and Armin hit a home run with the role. Quarks one of the funniest and most loveable characters to ever come out on a sci-fi show.

Terry Farrel as Lt.Dax was awesome. The whole idea of the trill was a cool addition. I love how they developed Dax and Siskos friendship from what it had been. Terry was hot on the show. It was sad what they did with her in the later seasons, but she remains one of my favorite Star Trek characters ever.

Alexander Siddig was great as Bashir. They started Bashir as kind of the hopeless romantic who is out to show what he can be. He wanted to practive frontier medicine. Once again I like how they developed his character. He was a great addition to the show and Star Trek universe.

DS9 was a great show. This is the shows humble beginnings. It had to compete against the highly rated TNG and it easily holds it own. It might be a little darker than some trekkies like it, but me as a casual Star Trek fan love it. I think DS9 was a great show and this is something all Star Trek fans should own. People who don't like Star Trek might like DS9 becaue it's not the Enterprise, but an original and fantastic show setting place in the same time period and the same Star Trek universe.

The first spin-off of TNG launched in a spectacular way. Opening with the Borg battle at Wolf 359 (from TNG's classic two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds"), we are introduced to Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Sisko. He is the Executive Officer on the Saratoga when the attack begins, with Jean-Luc Picard -former captain of the Enterprise and now Locutus of Borg - leading the assault. And quickly, Starfleet discovers they are no match for the Borg. Forced to abandon his damaged ship, Sisko is able to save his 9 year-old son; his wife is tragically killed.

Three years later, we meet Sisko as a Commander about to assume the position of command of a former Cardassian space station Terok Nor -now renamed Deep Space Nine. Starfleet needs Sisko there to help prepare the Bajoran's for entry into the Federation. And a bitter single father soon discovers, his newest mission to aid the Bajor may have been written in the stars centuries before he was born.

DS9's first season, like TNG before it, had many high and low points. The 2-hour opener was a better pilot than TNG, and featured a better theme music. Almost from the start, this spin-off was going to way different from TNG. Where everyone on Enterprise were a happy family and conflict free, DS9 introduced conflict galore. Sisko and his first officer, Bajoran Major, Kira, butted heads from day one. And instead of solving that right away, it would take years for them both to come to an understanding.

Political intrigue and religion would be the series bread and butter over seven years and while it would take most of the first season to introduce these concepts, it still had a handful of stories that introduced you to the characters that populate this show. The first season would also feature a few familiar characters that were first introduced on TNG. The biggest, of course, was Colm Meany's Chief Miles O'Brien. Meany, a part of the Trek franchise since TNG opener, brought Miles over to become Chief of Operations. The Klingon sisters of Lursa and B'Etor -who were involved in several plots to take over their homeworld - visited DS9 in "Past Prologue" and popular character of Q would visit with Vash (TNG's Captain's Holiday" and "Q-Pid") in "Q-Less". "Battle Lines" would kill off the spiritual leader of the Bajoran's, and the late Brian Keith shines in the allegory episode "Progress". Even Majel Barrett's mostly annoying character of Lwaxana Troi would show up in "The Forsaken".

But perhaps, the highlight of season one is "Duet", a tightly plotted tale of culpability. Guest star Harris Yulin shines as a coward who personalized the guilt of an entire race. It was, perhaps, Nana Visitor finest hour as Kira, who realizes for the first time in her life that not all Cardassians need to be punished for their 60 year enslavement of the Bajoran's.

With the season finale, "In the Hands of the Prophets", the series long-overdue conflict between the tolerant Federation and the deeply spiritual Bajorans comes forward in a tale of intrigue, murder and philosophy. With this episode Oscar wining actress Louise Fletcher begins her recurring role of Vedek Winn, and chews the scenery and steals every scene she's in.

Over all, the first season was uneven, much like TNG. Still, with a last two episodes, the series proved it could be different and still be entertaining and keep with in Roddenberry's vision of a peaceful Federation.

But season two would begin to blur the lines...

To be continued.

In my opinion, DS9 was the best and most thought-provoking star trek series. It had a more realistic view of life and the decisions that we make, and showed that the innate idealism of Star Trek was something that could not be taken for granted, nor could it be completely above reproach. Also, this series is more character-driven than the other trek series. In TNG, you would not get to know many of the characters besides how you saw them in action every week doing this or that, but on DS9 you got to know the characters as they interacted with each other more in depth. In my opinion, the characters made the show what it was, for better or worse.

Many othes have described the plot and format for the series in their review so I won't do so here, but I will give my comments on this season. I'm a poor college student so I haven't bought the DVD set; however I did watch all of the seasons on DVD from Netflix. Season one had some hits and misses as the writers tried to get a feel for the show and the characters, but there were some good stories told. The best episode of the season was "Duet" which set the tone for all the premier episodes during its 7-season run; stories that made you think, made you cry, and weren't so cut-and-dry. While it is true that the series hit its stride in season 3 and continued a high arc up through Season 5 until a slight dip in season 6 and leveling off in season 7, you won't fully appreciate what you see in those seasons until you understand where they're coming from in season's 1 and 2. For example, you can see the wonderful friendship between Dr. Bashir and Chief O'Brien, but you'll see it even better when you remember that O'Brien couldn't stand Bashir in season 1. It is so cool to see the "growth" in all the characters over 7 seasons.

But anyways, check it out here on DVD or on Spike TV, show it the love it deserved and see why this was the Best Star Trek Ever.

Something about the darker world of DS9 makes this my favorite Trek series. The development and interactions of the characters in year one (and throughout all seven years) was fantastic. Unlike the crews from the original Star Trek or from TNG, the DS9 crew was not always one big happy Starfleet family, especially in season 1 (and the early years). Commander Sisko ranks up there with Kirk and Picard in terms of his performance as a leader. On an additional character note, I'm glad that the producers saw fit to write in Chief Obrien from TNG and develop his character. The price of these DVDs is a bit hefty, but I'm glad that I can now watch my favorite episodes from crystal clear DVDs as opposed to my often grainy, commercial-filled, overplayed, VCR tapes! Plus the going used prices on Amazon are straining my wallet less as I try to complete my Star Trek collection!

ds9 season 1 is the beginning of in my opinion the best startrek series. No other series was as complex so it was hard to get tired of it because there are so many things going on and things that happen in one season a lot of times come back around in a later season. The non starfleet cast is what set it apart and a great captain. No other series had as many non starfleet charecters that were vital throughout the series. From the ferengis to cardassians to klingons and dominion, you learned more about these races than in any other series. You got to see things from their perspectives at times. And section 31 was very cool. I recommend the entire series on dvd.

This was of course, the most watched of all the Star Trek franchises and the most critically acclaimed as well, winning an Emmy and the respect of many non-trek audiences. While Iï¿m writing this, rumors abound in Paramount and ST circles that Avery Brooks will be the next big-screen Capt. Many say this is some of the best TV ever to be had. If you missed it the first time around, prepare to be astounded . . .

The complete first season includes 20 episodes:

01. Emissary (1): Stardate: 46379.1 3 years after the devastation of WOLF 359, the Borg attack upon the federation, Cmdr. Sisko is attached to DS9 with some great inter-change between a man he hates ï¿ Capt. Jean Luc Picard.

02. Emissary (2): Stardate: 46392.7 On a distant outpost at the edge of the final frontier, an untested crew embarks on an unprecedented journey. A nice wrap to the two-part debut of the Star Trek franchiseï¿s greatest achievement.

03. Past Prologue: Stardate: 46397.3 A reunion with a member of the Bajoran underground forces Kira to choose between her people and her duty as a Federation officer. The fiery Nana Visitor gets another haircut and is rebellious as ever. Magnificent beginnings to her character.

04. A Man Alone: Stardate: 46421.5 Security Chief Odo's character is questioned when he is implicated in the murder of a shady Bajoran. An interesting episode that sees the creation of Keikoï¿s school and a lynching for Odo.

05. Babel: Stardate: 46423.7 A mysterious epidemic sweeps over Deep Space Nine, and Kira must find an antidote. So much for the universal translator. A good story to build upon what we know of Bajor.

06. Captive Pursuit: Stardate: 46477.5 O'Brien and the rest of the officers of Deep Space Nine learn that other beings do not respect life as much as they do. Clearly an homage to the old Star Trek series style of storytelling. This was a brilliant episode.

07. Q-Less: Stardate: 46531.2 Q and Vash introduce themselves to the crew of Deep Space Nine, while the officers struggle to save the station from imminent destruction. What a shame that John DeLancie as Q was treated with such disdain in this series, as he was one of the most interesting characters from the Next Gen series.

08. Dax: Stardate: 46910.1 Curzon Dax, Jadzia's former Trill identity, is accused of murder. A great episode for Rene Auberjonois, a throw back to the Original Series style of writing. Worth while.

09. The Passenger: Stardate: 46570.8 The crew's efforts to thwart a hijack scheme are complicated when a sinister alien criminal hides his consciousness within the brain of someone aboard the station. A good Episode for Sid, some of the first counter-play between his future real-life wife and himself, Nana Visitor.

10. Move Along Home: Stardate: 46612.4 Quark's attempt at deception toward a newly-encountered alien race places the space station's senior officers in a labyrinth of danger. A fascinating episode that finds ï¿The Hawkï¿ singing for his life. Voted most memorable by a lot of ST fans.

11. The Nagus: Stardate: 46657.0 Quark is suddenly named leader of the Ferengi financial empire, and discovers that he's not only popular ï¿ he's now a target for death. Fantastically acted by Armin Shimerman, who helps the series take off by breathing real life into an overlooked race of people from Next Gen.

12. Vortex: Stardate: 46689.6 An alien criminal from the other side of the wormhole tempts Odo by telling the shape-shifter he can put the changeling in contact with others like himself. This is the beginning of the Changeling myth that becomes larger in the story line later. A must see. A great performance from Rene Auberjonois.

13. Battle Lines: Stardate: 46715.2 Sisko, Kira, and Bashir and Kai Opaka are stranded on a war-torn world where it is impossible for the combatants to die. While this is moderately entertaining, it is pivotal for the former plot-lines to come and a must see.

14. The Storyteller: Stardate: 46729.1 Against his will, O'Brien becomes spiritual leader of a Bajoran village and the only one who can save them from a destructive energy force. An interesting episode where Bashir and Oï¿Brian become better friends.

15. Progress: Stardate: 46844.3 A stubborn old Bajoran farmer forces Kira to take a good look at how much she has changed since her alliance with the Federation. Played remarkably by Brian Keith. This is also the famed Yamok Sauce episode where Jake and Nog team up for an acquisition.

16. If Wishes Were Horses: Stardate: 46853.2 When members of the station find their fantasies coming to life, it becomes the prelude to a very real danger which threatens everyone. Sisko realizes the ruse of an elaborate first-contact at the close.

17. The Forsaken: Stardate: 46925.1 While an alien entity wreaks havoc with the station's computer, the irrepressible Lwaxana Troi falls in love with Odo. This is perhaps the best of the Lwaxana Troi episodes from both series.

18. Dramatis Personnae: Stardate: 46922.3 Odo is caught in the middle when an alien influence pits Kira against Sisko in a deadly struggle for control of the station while all of the Humanoids have become infected with a viral history of a dead planet. Good episode, but a bit nerve wracking.

19. Duet: Stardate: Stardate: 46933.4 Kira discovers that a Cardassian visiting the station could actually be a notorious war criminal. An amazing episode that highlights the Cardassian culture and is really brought to life by the acting of Harris Yulin. This is hands down the best episode of Season 1, and itï¿s a real tear-jerker as well.

20. In the Hands of the Prophets: Stardate: 46951.7 An assassination / political manipulation plot thickens between Vedek Winn and Vedek Bariel which builds during season 2. A well crafted episode that centers around the storyline of Bajor and Keiko's school.

* All Stardates can be verified through the Star Trek / DS9 Mission Logs database....

Now we come to the underrated middle child of Trekdom. Premiering in the midst of Next Generations's peak in popularity, Deep Space Nine was instantly overshadowed and ignored. A shame, since this is beyond any doubt the finest Trek series, surpassing Captain Kirk & Co., and presents some of the best science fiction in recent memory.

Prior to DS9, Star Trek was basically about a bunch of interstellar social workers that traveled around solving everyone's problems. Picard was a classy, cerebral philosopher, and Kirk was the sci-fi equivalent of Superman. But from the very first scene of it's very first episode and the majestic but somber opening theme that follows, you know Deep Space Nine will be something different. DS9 is set on a shabby space station (Deep Space 9) in the frontier of Federation territory. It is administrated by a brooding, troubled man (Capt. Sisko) who would rather eat a live toad then be in charge of the station. It is surrounded by warmongering, hostile alien races, one of which starts a devastating interstellar war later in DS9's run. Clearly, this is a much darker show then what came before it.

The first season is pretty solid, though not as spectacular as what comes after it. The two hour pilot episode "Emissary" does a good job of setting the characters and premise up, even though it's second half is basically 45 minutes of Sisko preaching to omnipotent life forms called "Prophets" about how great humanity is.

There are several very powerful episodes scattered throughout the season, all of which deal with the alien characters on the show (Kira in "Progress" and "Battle Lines", Odo in "Vortex", and Dax in... well, "Dax"). The standouts though are obviously "Duet" and "In the Hands of the Prophets", the two final episodes of the season.

"Duet" is a masterpiece, 'nuff said. It consists of a gripping conflict between Kira and a Cardassian war criminal that slaughtered hundreds of her people (the Bajorans). "What you call genocide, I call a day's work." as the Cardassian so memorably puts it. There are few twists involved in this, climaxing with an unprecedented and shocking ending that was unlike anything I had seen on TV before.

"In the Hands of the Prophets" is a terrific and socially relevant episode about the separation of religion and state. It also introduces Vedek/Kai Winn, an evil Bajoran priest played by Nurse Ratchet actress Louise Fletcher, who would become a major reoccurring villain as the show continued. In this episode, she demands O'Brien's wife to stop teaching "heresy" (ie: science) in the station's school. After she doesn't get her way, Whine--excuse me--Winn stirs the Bajoran population on the station into a near-rebellion against the lead characters, during which the school is bombed in an act of religious terrorism. A fine episode in a pretty solid season which, despite a sluggish start (understandable, considering that this was the first year), still churned out a number of gems in the second half.