Behind the Scenes of DS9

Discussion in 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' started by Komack, Feb 22, 2014.

  1. Komack

    Komack Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2009
    As I watch more DS9 episodes for the first time, I'm getting more and more interested in hearing behind the scenes stories of the show's production, the different personalities of the actors, etc. Any one have any good stories?
     
  2. Hober Mallow

    Hober Mallow Commodore Commodore

    The DS9 Companion is about as in-depth as you can get.
     
  3. Relayer1

    Relayer1 Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2011
    Location:
    The Black Country, England
    First hand from a member of the Voyager cast -

    Voyager had a fairly upbeat atmosphere on set - cast 'hung out' off screen and enjoyed each others company. The cast member in question decided to visit the DS9 set on the neighbouring lot but found the staff and cast to be rather unwelcoming, keeping themselves to themselves and very little in the way of on set bonhomie. In fact he found them a thoroughly miserable bunch.

    On the way back over to the Voyager lot, he met someone from the DS9 production team he knew looking agitated. When he asked what was up, he was told that someone on the DS9 crew had died in an accident on the way to work. When the Voyager cast member commented that it was no wonder the DS9 set was so miserable, he was told 'Oh, they don't know - I just was on the way to tell them !'.
     
  4. Bad Thoughts

    Bad Thoughts Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2013
    Location:
    Bad Thoughts
    Agreed, though many of it's insights have been culled by the Memory Alpha wiki and two podcasts, The Gamma Quadrant and the Orb. You can get a lot by checking those out.
     
  5. Tosk

    Tosk Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2001
    Location:
    On the run.
    What's to be lost by naming them?
     
  6. Relayer1

    Relayer1 Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2011
    Location:
    The Black Country, England
    I don't know - these guys see each other on the convention circuit regularly, and as it was just a private chat between the two of us rather than 'in public', I'd rather not cause any awkwardness, so I'll err on the side of caution.

    If anyone else has heard the same repeated in front of an audience, I'll confirm.
     
  7. Bad Thoughts

    Bad Thoughts Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2013
    Location:
    Bad Thoughts
    If true, my money is on McNeill. He would be the one to be both familiar with the studio and have the impetus to see what goes on behind the scenes.
     
  8. { Emilia }

    { Emilia } Cute but deadly Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 17, 2011
    Location:
    Kauaʻi
    Garrett Wang told a very different story in a long podcast I listened to a while ago. He said the Voyager set wasn't that great. Specially Mulgrew was really a pain when Jeri Ryan showed up.

    My point being: Take these stories with a grain of salt.
     
  9. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2001
    Location:
    Great Britain
    There is nothing wrong with either way, there just different that's all.
     
  10. bbailey861

    bbailey861 Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2009
    Location:
    Kingston, ON Canada
    I also recommend listening to some of Chase Masterson's old podcasts from thefandom.com. She interviewed several members of the DS9 cast as well as others - and quite frankly, did a very good job at it. I was sorry to see it go. You can access them here:

    http://www.chaseclub.com/thefandom.html
     
  11. LOKAI of CHERON

    LOKAI of CHERON Commodore Commodore

    Thanks very much for the link, bbailey861. I've never come across those interviews before, but the Denise Crosby one was excellent. I definitely be listening to most of the others. :techman:
     
  12. bbailey861

    bbailey861 Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2009
    Location:
    Kingston, ON Canada
    I listened to them when they were originally broadcast and haven't listened since. I remember them fondly - but not the details. It's time I go back.
     
  13. Trek Survivor

    Trek Survivor Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2009
    Location:
    UK
    DS9 cast members such as Michael Dorn, Armin Shimmerman and Nana Visitor have all commented in the past that the DS9 set WAS a much more subdued, 'serious' place. They took the work seriously, and tended not to have fun and hijinx akin to the TNG cast. They were also not all "best mates" like the TNG cast (Armin talks specifically about Avery Brooks being quite distant from most of the others on a personal level) but were always cordial to each other.

    Now, that is not to say there was something "wrong" with the DS9 set - it's just a different way of working. As many of them came from theatre backgrounds, it's easy to understand this. In fact, you could argue they had the right approach! (Marina Sirtis often gleefully talks about an early TNG director who refused to come back on the show because the cast were so silly; now, she says it as a good thing, but from the other perspective, maybe the director felt they were unprofessional and ruining whatever he was trying to achieve).

    As for not being best mates, well, I work with lots of people, and I wouldn't hang out with most of them - I don't have anything against them, but there's no law that says people you work with must also be close friends. That's not to say some strong relationships didn't develop amongst the ensemble - Brooks/Lofton, Siddig/Robinson, Siddig/Visitor (obiously).

    Dave Rossi, who worked behind the scenes, has also gone on record (in the UK Star Trek Monthly magazine back in 2006) stating that the behind the scenes atmosphere on the show circa season 2-3 was very low. They felt overshadowed by TNG and VOY and many of the cast were fed up.

    I rather suspect most of the behind the scenes of TV series are a mixture of good, bad and ugly!!
     
  14. dub

    dub Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2012
    Location:
    Location? What is this?
    Some of them did hang out together after work. This is from an interview with Alexander Siddig:

    :beer:
     
  15. mlk

    mlk Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    May 14, 2013
    I ve read from an interview with Alexander Siddig that he was a pain in the ass to most people the first couple of seasons of DS9. Even going so far as not showing up at the season photo of season 3 I think because he didn't get his way in an episode.
     
  16. Hober Mallow

    Hober Mallow Commodore Commodore

    My impression of the moods on the respective sets of each Trek series, gleaned from entirely second-hand sources, is that the TNG set was a family atmosphere, the DS9 set a subdued professional atmosphere, and the VOY set one of almost outright hostility.
     
  17. Drusilla

    Drusilla Ensign Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2014
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Beltran made it sound like the Voyager cast loathed one another. I can't imagine DS9 could be worse, given the great chemistry they had on screen.

    Edit: And I recognize part of this may stem from the fact that Beltran is more wooden than Pinocchio and probably felt sorry for himse, what with being the crappiest actor on set.
     
  18. Hober Mallow

    Hober Mallow Commodore Commodore

    It wasn't only Beltran who painted that picture.
     
  19. dub

    dub Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2012
    Location:
    Location? What is this?
    Regarding the mood on the set...starting at 14:50

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z62cb2F-1DE[/yt]
     
  20. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2001
    Location:
    Sac, Ca
    Yeah that always seemed like an unfair characterization of the DS9 set to me. Just because the TNG set was so supremely silly, and people were constantly joking and clowning around, doesn't mean everyone else was doing something wrong. It's likely the DS9 cast simply took their jobs a bit more seriously, is all.

    And it's not like there isn't plenty of behind the scenes footage of the DS9 cast (Brooks included) laughing and joking around with each other as well.