I have seen all of Next Generation and most of Voyager and Enterprise. I tried to watch some DS9 in the past, but the few episodes I saw, I had no idea what was going on. So I promised myself I wouldnt watch it until I could see the whole thing in order. I just started season 2, and Im not as into it as I was the other series. Im hoping like Next Generation, it gets better in later seasons(looking forward to seeing Worf again!) One problem I have so far is that none of the characters has really caught my interest. Seems theres too much Jake. I really dont care for Dr Bashir. Dax seems a little too aloof. Its nice to see Chief O'Brien again, though his wife is still kind of annoying. I do kind of like Odo and the Ferengi, but not so much together. A lot of the back and forth between Odo and Quark seems a little over the top. I thought it was funny when the devil showed up for Dax.(anyone seen Brimstone?) I noticed one minor mistake...in the episode with Lwaxana, Odo reports they are stuck in lift 4. A few minutes later, in a log entry, Sisko reports that Odo and Lwaxana are still stuck in lift 7.
Odo and Quark are almost like Spock and McCoy. I think they're hilarious. Rene and Armin are great buddies IRL, so the chemistry they have shows onscreen. Just wait until the Dominion War arc hits. Epic battles await The thing with DS9 is the characters kinda had to grow on me. Well, outside of Odo. When I saw his head turn into jello to let that mace thing go through it, I was like O____O. He's also a character I can really identify with--the outsider who doesn't belong and who just has to muddle through with people who don't fully "get" him. (So many times, I wanted to shake him and say "I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL, ODO!!!") The thing that made DS9 for me was the relationships. As the series goes on you get under their skin a bit and see more of who they are, and they become less like cardboard cutouts and more like people as you get familiar with them. A great fun thing to do is to go back to earlier episodes after seeing something in a specific character's life come to fruition. It's like seeing with new eyes to me, because "Oh, so THAT'S why Worf was so pissy!" or "Oh, now I know why O'Brien did that!" The character development in this series is incredible in my opinion. Nobody is the same person they were at the beginning by the time the series concludes. Trust me on that
If you stick with it you will not be disappointed. DS9 has the best character arcs of any of the shows and they do a great job of growing each one of them over the seasons. It also has the most consistent story thread of any of the shows and benefits from being serialized my more than any other Trek
I plan to watch it through the end. Its currently my least favorite Trek show, but I have heard it gets better. Worf needs to hurry up and join the show!
If you'd like a little motivation I do a podcast called The Orb and you can find the link in my signature. We have been talking about all the characters and their arcs so you may enjoy it. I am really interested to see what you think as you go on.
While I cannot guarantee it'll make the series better in the short run, why not make this a 'First Timer's Watch Thread' and let us know what you think of it as you go through. Doesn't have to be episode-by-episode or anything, but you'll find all us Niners have a way of easing First Watchers through the rougher earlier seasons without being too spoilerish about it.
Most fans agree that the show improves as it goes on, and that season 1 is the weakest season. Things really start to pick up in late season 2, although there's still a couple of good episodes early in the season. You certainly wont be saying that once you're finished the show. Jake's role steadily decreases each season. I don't think he's a bad character, some of the best episodes of the show actually focus on him, he just doesn't have much to do as the series develops. You're actually supposed to kinda dislike Dr Bashir early on. He's overeager and obnoxious, which is why the other characters barely tolerate him (especially O'Brien), but he matures over time. It's actually quite satisfying when rewatching to see how much the character grew over the course of the show. It actually took a long time for the writers to figure out Jadzia's character. Early on she was supposed to be older and wiser than everyone (or aloof, as you put it) but that didn't really work out and they go in a different direction with her later in season 2. It's a pity you don't like that stuff, the Odo/Quark banter is usually well received, I actually think their relationship is one of the redeeming qualities of season 1.
By the time you finish watching season seven, you'll ask yourself "how could I have ignored something this great????"
Sounds like fun! Thank you! Because I saw a couple of episodes on TV and they made little sense. I promised myself I would only watch it when I had the opportunity to see the whole thing in order.
When I started watching DS9, I thought that most of the characters were boring, and that it was one of the worse Star Trek series (not as bad as ENT, but not anywhere near as good as the others). By the end, it was one of my favorite TV series of all time.
I’ve given this a lot of thought and came to one conclusion. DS9 is not only my favorite Trek series but I think it is my favorite television series of all time. No show has affected me the way this show has. The fact that I unapologetically wept during the series finale reminds me that this show was the best possible show I could have been addicted to during my teenage years. I would give anything to see DS9 again for the first time. It’s such a rich, multilayered tapestry and character growth, action, and everything Star Trek should have been. Instead of a fluffy 1980’s politically correct group of explorers aboard an intergalactic cruise ship with a therapist at the left hand of the captain, DS9 starts off with a bang, the unseen massacre at Wolf 359. From the opening moments of the series, we know that this Trek is going to be unlike what came before. A dark gritty unapologetic glimpse into what the Trek universe is really like, not the idealistic paradise that Rodenberry envisioned. With DS9, you’ve got an ensemble cast at the highest level of the business. And you know what makes it work? They broke Roddenberry Rule #1: There should be no conflict among the crew. From the very first meeting between Sisko and Kira we know that this is not going to be an easy assignment, or a cordial relationship, and that hostility will stick around
I've said that now and then about numerous shows. Buffy, Angel, Farscape, B5, etc. Fortunately, quite by chance DS9 was one of the earlier SF television shows I didn't ignore.
I can definitely see how a newbie would have difficulty with the first couple seasons. The characters are a bit dull, the writing and dialogue aren't as sharp as they would be later on, and the emphasis on Bajor and their culture takes some getting used to. But jump ahead to something like the Improbable Cause/Die Is Cast two-parter, and you'll just be amazed at how good the writing is-- especially compared to the generic writing in VOY and ENT. There's a richness to the dialogue in DS9 that you just don't see in any other Trek, and it's easily my favorite part of the show.
I actually found DS9 more enjoyable than Voyager. I found the characters more interesting on DS9, not to mention I was a big TNG fan, so seeing a few TNG characters show up on DS9 helped too. I also think there were more starship "battle scenes" on DS9 than on Voyager. I was always a big fan of that too.
Season 1 of DS9 was easily it's weakest one much like TNG. It took them some time to find their own unique niche with the space station show vs the ship one, and it didn't help that they brought just about every extra from TNG over at some point in season 1. Season 2 isn't going to do anything breathtaking(until the end of it anyways), but the episode quality is drastically better. Season 2 will introduce the Maquis to the Trek universe(ironic that DS9 ended up using them more, when they were supposed to be just setting the backstory for Voyager), plus one of the huge villains of all Trekdom. By the time season 3 rolls around you should be hooked though as that's where DS9 starts to become great.
Sorry I havent posted in a while...and Ive been slow on my watchthrough. I did rather enjoy Rules of Acquisition and Necessary Evil. I did see some of the twists coming though.