#TBT Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Review

First watched in: 2016

Deep Space Nine is my favorite of the Star Treks. I’ve seen it twice and loved it both times. There’s a feeling of completion and satisfaction at the end, the idea that all roads led to there. Everyone’s story was finished. What is started in the first episode, ends in the last episode. And there’s quite a journey to take, despite being on a space station and therefore not really out exploring new worlds. You grow to love these characters and feel so protective of them as they go out to war over and over again. I cried when I watched the finale. Both times. That doesn’t always happen. So you should totally watch it.

My favorite episode is definitely "Far Beyond the Stars". It takes place in the 1950’s and shows the struggles of writers of a sci-fi magazine, especially the woman who writes under a pen name and the African American man who isn’t allowed to have an African American protagonist. It is a brilliant episode that uses science fiction to portray racial issues of the past that can carry over to today.

The main crew is an interesting assortment, carrying over the characters Worf and O’Brien from TNG, and bringing in new species, like a Trill, a Bajoran, a Ferengi, and a shape-shifter. And they’re all great characters who grow and learn and all those wonderful things, but what intrigues me more about DS9 is how much emphasis is placed on the secondary characters. They have centric episodes and arcs and relationships and backgrounds. From Nog to Garak, there is more to the DS9 crew than those whose names appeared in the opening credits. There’s even a character who doesn’t say a word in the entire series, and he has an episode all about him. A lot of these characters aren’t exactly “good” or “bad”, but sport a few shades of gray that varies from season to season. I love it. The main villain is a delight too, but I’ll let you discover him on your own.

Though the title of “favorite theme” will have to go to Voyager, I still enjoy the DS9 theme song and title sequence, especially the beginning, with the rock slowly moving through empty space until, in the distance, you see the station. Also, in season 7, there is a small scene with music therapy that I adored and listened to several times on my first watch (right after that I began transcribing it and hope to cover it some day). The little hints of music in Star Trek are always fun.

Deep Space Nine is a piece of science fiction that I will continue to watch and recommend for many, many reasons. Give it a watch!

Will I watch again? Yes!