Original episode plans

Discussion in 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' started by Roboturner913, Aug 12, 2013.

  1. Roboturner913

    Roboturner913 Commander Red Shirt

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    Been reading a lot of episode summaries on Memory Alpha lately. In a lot of cases the final product is a lot different from the original concept. Especially what we now see as the sub-par episodes. Some of the better ones:


    Rivals - Trombetta himself said it was extremely frustrating developing the story, "because there was this subplot of the racquetball game that they had wanted to put in a number of times and had not been able to, so they put it in this [episode] after I was gone because they felt it made the most sense since this was about games." He goes onto say, "I would have liked to have done more with the quantum-luck thing. I had the idea that if randomness could be managed, then you're in a lot of trouble. Basically, the universe is random; it's a mind boggling thing.

    Armageddon Game - Writer Morgan Gendel's original pitch for this episode involved a Federation team going to an alien civilization and demanding that they destroy their biogenic weaponry. However, the alien race encode the weapon into O'Brien's DNA, meaning that if the Federation want to destroy the weapon, they must kill O'Brien.

    Honor Among Thieves - Philip Kim's original idea for this episode was a comic story involving Jake saving the life of the daughter of the Orion Syndicate's leader, and, due to his actions, Jake is befriended by a number of high-ranking Syndicate members. At first, he loves it, with his new friends able to get him anything he wants whenever he wants. However, Jake and Nog have a small argument on the promenade and the next day, Jake discovers that Nog is in the infirmary after suffering a nasty beating. At this point, Jake realizes he's into something he can't control, and he goes to his father for help. The comic element of the story was to come from the fact that while Jake is trying to extricate himself from the Syndicate, Quark is trying to work his way into it, so he decides to become Jake's new best friend.

    Destiny - The original story idea revolved around Starfleet seeking to relieve Sisko of his post. As David Cohen recalls, "We had enjoyed Deep Space Nine's pilot and the mythic overtones it suggested, as [Commander Sisko] was believed by an alien race to be the 'Emissary' from their gods, as prophesised in their scriptures. It occurred to us that Sisko's bosses couldn't be very comfortable with that. What if they pulled a Heart of Darkness on him and sent someone to extract him from this situation? The perfect chance to do so, we decided, was if there was some specific prophecy, that would, ipso facto, prove he's not the Emissary. We'd raise the stakes by having a pencil-pushing staff officer threaten to transfer him to another command if he doesn't end this 'Emissary' talk."

    Playing God - In writer Jim Trombetta's first draft of the teleplay, the A story was the protouniverse story, with Dax's storyline in secondary position. Michael Piller rewrote the episode to place the Trill storyline as the primary plot. Trombetta felt that this decision robbed the episode of its emotional balance and that the ethical problem of the protouniverse story is no longer felt on an emotional level.

    Second Skin - Robert Hewitt Wolfe's original idea for this episode revolved around O'Brien discovering that he was a deep-cover Cardassian operative who had replaced the 'real' O'Brien twenty years previously and had had O'Brien's real memories implanted into his own mind. This would have meant that the O'Brien we first met in "Encounter at Farpoint" was actually a Cardassian spy.

    The Wire - Robert Hewitt Wolfe's original idea for this episode was to have Kira addicted to battle stimulants ever since her days in the Bajoran Resistance, but that idea was rejected because it would be difficult to do subsequent episodes with Kira without referencing the addiction and it was felt it could tarnish her character too much
     
  2. jimbotron

    jimbotron Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Wow, a much better idea than the aired version. Seems it has a minor Goodfellas vibe too.

    Um, Molly? That doesn't work.
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2013
  3. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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    I think I like the aired version better in most of these cases.

    I think the Honor Among Thieves idea sounds like more of an Analyze This vibe than a Goodfellas vibe and would have made the Orions more like a slapstick version of the mafia instead of a mafia to be frightened of.

    And if O'Brien was actually a Cardassian agent it would have been like the Bashir genetic twist and cheapened everything about his character, adding a gimmick to a gimmick-free character. Also I'm not sure how they would have explained Molly's silverware-free forehead.

    I do like the idea of Kira being an addict, it would have jived well with her past.
     
  4. jimbotron

    jimbotron Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Also, that idea for Honor Among Thieves was already done (with the Cardassian spy idea nixed) in Second Skin.
     
  5. The Emissary

    The Emissary Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I like this one a bit more than Garak, but Andrew Robinson did such a good job in that episode that I'm not sure I'd want to replace that with Kira.
     
  6. Praetor

    Praetor Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The fine line between continuity and fanwank.
    I really like the concept of "Desinty." Too bad that wasn't done that way. "Honor Among Thieves" sounds great too. The rest, meh. O'Brien as a Cardassian is a bit too much. Now, a human O'Brien programmed to spy on the Federation might have worked.
     
  7. jimbotron

    jimbotron Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Too similar to the replicant O'Brien idea already used.
     
  8. Praetor

    Praetor Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The fine line between continuity and fanwank.
    Agreed.
     
  9. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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    There are probably way more examples of this in TNG than DS9. In DS9 when they changed an idea it was usually because somebody thought of something better, like Armageddon Game. Not because somebody thought the future of humanity was to lack all human characteristics.

    Of course for Captain's Holiday they replaced one great idea with another great idea.
     
  10. Tosk

    Tosk Admiral Admiral

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    As mentioned in the DS9 Companion, Molly is the reason the storyline got shifted to Kira.
     
  11. DS9forever

    DS9forever Commodore Commodore

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    I like the story idea of "Treachery, Faith and the Great River".

    Weyoun was to ask the Deep Space 9 crew to help stop a new Dominion race called the Modain, who Weyoun says are to replace the Jem'Hadar. In the end, the Modain would be revealed to be replacing the Vorta. It would make a neat novel.
     
  12. jimbotron

    jimbotron Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    That reminds me of the reimagined BSG. They decided to make one of the characters one of the long-lost Cylons. The problem was, he'd recently had a child. So they awkwardly retconned the child's paternity.
     
  13. Praetor

    Praetor Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I like that a lot.
     
  14. Shatna

    Shatna Grand Lord Admiral Admiral

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    The DS9 Companion also says the original concept for "Valiant" had Kira being rescued by Red Squad, but it was decided that she would just kick everyone's ass and take over, so it was switched to Jake. I'd still like to have seen the original version, just because of those snotty little Red Squadders.

    Also, there were apparently plans to have the fate of Sito Jaxa resolved on DS9, but the show just never got around to it. Shame.
     
  15. DS9forever

    DS9forever Commodore Commodore

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    I think Sito's return was an early story idea for "Hard Time".
     
  16. Tiberius

    Tiberius Commodore Commodore

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    Why? They did it with T'Pol.
     
  17. jimbotron

    jimbotron Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    That's because the Enterprise writers didn't care about continuity as much.
     
  18. Tiberius

    Tiberius Commodore Commodore

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    What the...?

    How does T'Pol getting an addiction violate canon? Geez, why all the hate for Enterprise. Seems like people just like to bash it whenever they can.
     
  19. jimbotron

    jimbotron Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I got it backwards. Enterprise tackled that issue while DS9 chose not to. My mistake.

    I didn't say "violating canon", I said continuity as in ongoing stories within the show. Enterprise didn't try it until season 3, but by then it was too late to hold onto the fanbase. And it's not like Berman ever really embraced long storylines, otherwise Voyager might not have been nicknamed the USS Reset Button.
     
  20. Shatna

    Shatna Grand Lord Admiral Admiral

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    I believe you're right.