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 Gul Dukat |  Garak & Bashir |  Sisko in the past |  Weyoun & the Jem'Hadar |
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| Avery Brooks | as | Cmdr. / Capt. Benjamin Sisko |
|---|---|---|
| Nana Visitor | as | Maj. / Col. Kira Nerys |
| Colm Meaney | as | CPO Miles O'Brien |
| Siddig El Fadil | as | Lt. / Lt. Cmdr. Julian Bashir |
| Terry Farrell | as | Lt. / Lt. Cmdr. Jadzia Dax |
| Nicole deBoer | as | Ens. / Lt. Ezri Dax |
| Michael Dorn | as | Lt. Cmdr. Worf |
| Cirroc Lofton | as | Jake Sisko |
| Armin Shimerman | as | Quark |
| René Auberjonois | as | Odo |
| Mark Allen Shepard | as | Morn |
|---|---|---|
| Rosalind Chao | as | Keiko O'Brien |
| Hana Hatae | as | Molly O'Brien |
| Brock Peters | as | Joseph Sisko |
| Felecia M. Bell | as | Jennifer Sisko |
| Penny Johnson | as | Kasidy Yates |
| James Darren | as | Vic Fontaine |
| Barry Jenner | as | Adm. William Ross |
| William Sadler | as | Special Director Luther Sloan |
| Kenneth Marshall | as | Lt. Cmdr. Michael Eddington |
| Dennis Madalone | as | Mirror Terran Marauder / general stunts |
| Philip Anglim | as | Vedek Bareil Antos |
| Louise Fletcher | as | Vedek / Kai Winn Adami |
| Duncan Regehr | as | Shakaar Edon |
| William Lucking | as | Furel Ozar |
| Chase Masterson | as | Leeta |
| J.G. Hertzler | as | Gen. Martok |
| Robert O'Reilly | as | Gowron |
| John Colicos | as | Kor |
| Max Grodénchik | as | Rom |
| Aron Eisenberg | as | Nog |
| Andrea Martin / Cecily Adams | as | Ishka |
| Jeffrey Combs | as | Liquidator Brunt / Supervisor Weyoun |
| Wallace Shawn | as | Grand Nagus Zek |
| Tiny Ron Taylor | as | Maihar'du |
| Josh Pais | as | Gaila |
| Marc Alaimo | as | Gul Dukat |
| Casey Biggs | as | Glinn / Gul / Legate Damar |
| John Vickery | as | Gul Rusot |
| Vaughan Armstrong | as | Gul Danar / Gul Seskal |
| Richard Poe | as | Gul Evek |
| Andrew Robinson | as | Elim Garak |
| Paul Dooley | as | Enabran Tain |
| Julianna McCarthy | as | Mila |
| Lawrence Pressman | as | Legate Tekeny Ghemor / Ambassador Krajenski |
| Salome Jens | as | Female-presenting Changeling |
| Christopher Shea | as | Supervisor Keevan |
| Leland Crooke | as | Supervisor Gelnon |
On the Bajoran frontier, near the mouth of the only stable wormhole known to exist, Starfleet takes over administrative duties at an infamous Cardassian mining station.
Even though someone says "Star Trek" and I think "The Next Generation", Deep Space Nine isn't "Star Trek", it's Deep Space Nine. It's in a class by itself. Gene Roddenberry wanted everyone to get along, DS9 has conflict from here 'til Tuesday. Roddenberry wanted everyone to want to join the Federation because we're the good guys, DS9 made a group of humans who wanted to leave the Federation. Roddenberry wanted us to be able to tell who our enemies were, DS9 complicated that a bit. It was one of those "happy accidents" that Bob Ross talks about, introducing the Cardassians in TNG like they did. The entire episode, "The Wounded", set up important character dynamics between Starfleet and the Cardassians, as well as Chief O'Brien's personal experiences on Setlik III. "Ensign Ro" brought it the rest of the way, tying the Cardassians in with the Bajorans. At that point, it was just a matter of creating some new permanent characters.
On a different note; a lot of people ask "what's the queerest ship in the world?" without realising how unfair that is. Deep Space 9 isn't a ship, it's a space station! We've got a canon transgender character from a race full of transgender people, a Cardassian spy who has the hots for our doctor, and NB pansexual aliens like Morn. That's even before we transport over to the Mirror side and meet the universe's most dangerous lesbian. To say nothing of the Alpha Quadrant's favourite Russian Jewish Klingon drama queen in series 4, is it any wonder why so many people on the LGBT+ spectrum love this show?
I've been rewatching this show, front to back, every year since 2011. But, since I have such an impressive video datahoard now, I basically have my own TV station in my computer. So, I created a programming schedule around DS9. I watched the first 2 series concurrently with the last bit of TNG, and series 3 onwards concurrently with Voyager. Quite honestly, though? I prefer DS9 to Voyager. Nothing against Captain Janeway, but Sisko's crew is more interesting.
"Emissary" (Series 1, Episode 1-2)
In order to understand the show, it's always important to have a look at the first episode. However, what's interesting about "Emissary" is how it seems to demonstrate that the Wormhole Aliens are truly, actually, genuinely, the Gods of Bajor. More to the point, it sets up Sisko as, if not the Bajoran messiah, then what would ordinarily be called a "prophet" (were the Bajorans not already referring to the Wormhole Aliens as "the Prophets"). Explicitly installing any character in our main cast as another world's god figure has been explicitly forbidden up to this point, but "Emissary" is not a one-time thing, either. Other episodes throughout the course of the programme reinforce the idea of Sisko as a Moses-like figure. While that alone will probably spoil the final episode for my Jewish readers, Sisko's character really does have more of Moses than Jesus in him.
"Necessary Evil" (Series 2, Episode 8)
Even though Odo's security log gets a bit "film noir" in this episode, it's the first glimpse of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor, perfectly encapsulating the smug superiority of the Cardassians, the general air of despair of the Bajoran slave labourers, and the activities of the Bajoran resistance, intercut of course with the utopic pre-Dominion Federation protectorate era.
"Improbable Cause" & "The Die is Cast" (Series 3, Episodes 20 and 21)
Garak's entire past gets blown wide open in this serial, but it ties up the "Obsidian Order in control of the Orias System" plot thread and demonstrates the extent of Dominion infiltration into Alpha Quadrant politics.
"The Way of the Warrior" (Series 4, Episode 1-2)
That peace treaty with the Klingons we started out TNG with is torn into tiny pieces and cast to the solar winds. On the other side of it, at least we get our favourite Klingon back into the ensemble.
"Trials and Tribble-ations" (Series 5, Episode 6)
With all this talk about the Dominion, let's have a bit of fun for a change and go back in time a bit, shall we? Arne Darvin from Star Trek 213-"The Trouble with Tribbles" escapes his exile on Cardassia Prime and uses the newly-discovered Orb of Time to send the Defiant back to meet the Enterprise at Space Station K-7 near Sherman's Planet, so he can assassinate Captain Kirk. "Okay, but why is Kira pregnant?" See S4E25-"Body Parts".
"Far Beyond the Stars" (Series 6, Episode 13)
In order to help Sisko overcome the loss of a close friend, the Prophets send him back to the mid-1950s and put him into the life of a science-fiction writer named Benny Russell, whereupon he is faced with all the adversity afforded a Black man in midcentury America. Without spoiling too much, Joseph Sisko quotes from the Bible in the final scene: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." Bible scholars who are canny to Star Trek running gags will notice this is from 2nd Timothy 4:7. I can only imagine Ira and Hans scrabbling about in the Bible for an appropriate verse from some 4:7 or another to end the show with. See, before "47" meant Donald Treason, it meant Star Trek.
"Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang" (Series 7, Episode 15)
In our last episode before the 10-episode Dominion War serial, a logic bomb goes off in Vic Fontaine's holosuite programme and nearly the entire senior staff decide to help reset the programme to normal by carrying out an Ocean's Eleven-style heist. Nearly all the characters say that Vic helped them in some way, which is why I suggested this one, since it opens some doors. I like Sisko's objection to the whole concept of Vic's lounge, as it's very cogently rooted in real history: Black people were not welcome to be anything but entertainers or busboys in Las Vegas back in the 1960s. Kasidy manages to convince him by reminding him (and, by extension, the audience) that holosuite programmes are not about historical accuracy, they're about entertainment, without saying "it's not that deep" or any variation thereof.
8 / 10 stars
Just like any show, it has its dull moments, but the pros far outweigh the cons here. It can be a bit confusing for people who aren't familiar with Star Trek, so maybe start with The Next Generation before jumping into the deep end.