ST: Deep Space Nine Began. I was camped out in front of 19" CRT w/icy cold drink to take in this new Star Trek. Loved Emissary, hated the next shows and quit. Gah, wished I'd had stuck w/it
Honestly I only sporadically watched DS9 the first two seasons. It wasn't until TNG ended that I was actively tuning in every week. But Emissary is still the best pilot of all the Trek series in my opinion.
When DS9 first came out, the first episode I saw was The Circle. Then I saw The Search. Then I saw Way of the Warrior. I watched it semi-consistently then through the end of season six. Never really liked it much during its original run. Then when it aired on Spike I watched the whole thing and loved it. I agree Emissary is the best Star Trek pilot, but there's not exactly a lot of competition in that area.
I didn't get to see it right away, had to wait for the tapes to start showing up. I can honestly say I was smitten from day one. Little did I know though, that it would get better and better. Man, I spent a lot of money on those tapes.
Oh, believe me, if I wasn't living off allowance at the time, I would have bought the entire TNG series, $19.95 two episode VHS at a time.
It was sometime in 1994 or 95, when I first got to watch it. Was hooked early on. Looking forward to meeting both Terry and Nicole, later next month, when they visit australia for a con.
It wads probably 1994 or 95 for me too. I rented the VHS of Emissary out and watched it. Really only like the first Borg battle and the attack on the station at the end. The rest was not of interest to my young mind at the time. I didn't get hooked until years later when I rented out "In the Cards"/"Call to Arms" on VHS on a whim. I now count Emissary as one of my favourite episodes.
It took me a little while to get used to and that first season was kind of rough at times, but DS9 quickly went on to become one of my favorite series in the franchise and I love it to this day. My local ABC affiliate (which carried classic TOS reruns along with the new syndicated series when I was a kid and growing to adulthood) didn't air "Emissary" until a week or so after January 3rd so some of us had to wait a little while longer to see the first episode, but the wait was well worth it. Happy Birthday and Anniversary, DS9. For the record, you were no faaaaaaaaaaaake! Just the real deal.
I watched the first 5 seasons religiously, but then I went to college and didn't have a TV Freshman year, so I had to rely on the few times when the TV in the common area was free. It helped having the dorm advisor and my R.A. be sci-fi fans, which is how I saw "Sacrifice of Angels" before most of the episodes that preceded it during season 6. I remember watching the pilot and enjoying it. Even better my 8th grade science teacher was a fan and I got every single of his Trek themed bonus points on tests correct. Most were TOS questions, but he did have a DS9 one in honor of the pilot. More importantly, after being one of only 2 kids who watched TNG regularly in my elementary school, I was surprised to hear a small number of other kids talking about the pilot.
I was late to Trek as a whole, only got into it in 1996. Started watching in DS9's 5th season. Got to see the end of season 5 through the series finale as it aired each week. It's what brought me into the 24th century - I'd been a TOS purist for my first few months until "Trials and Tribble-ations" convinced me to give DS9 (and then TNG and VGR) a try. Still have the original VHS broadcasts of all those episodes, commercials and all, recorded somewhere... amidst a sea of VHS tapes I need to lose!
Wow, I can't believe it's been 20 years since I first saw DS9. 20 years. I was 9 at the time. I was already a Trekkie, having been into TNG for a few years at that point. So of course I wanted to try out this new Star Trek show. I watched Emissary, and I think I liked it. I liked seeing Picard "passing the torch", and it was cool to see a familiar face (O'Brien) as part of the main cast. I kept watching for pretty much the entire first season, but I stopped watching after The Circle, for some reason. I think I just plain lost interest. I regret this, of course. I still caught episodes here and there. Missed Jadzia's death, but heard about it on the internet before season 7 started. Watched the season 7 premiere, but I didn't watch again until the finale. I've caught some reruns since then, but I don't think I've quite seen all of the ones I missed. Great show, though.
Can't believe it's been 20 years, and DS9 doesn't look it's age at all. Great series and I'm not sure if I'm buying the blu-rays (Already double-dipping on TNG) but this was a great DVD purchase when it came out, 10 years ago.
I found the series (and Trek in general) after I saw ST:FC at the cinema. Season 3 was where I got on board. Good timing, IMO.
20 years is frightening, really, but I have a semi-escape clause because I didn't start watching until 1996. I was only just getting into Trek at the time, but I'd had some exposure to TOS as my Dad used to watch it. BBC were pretty far behind Sky's schedule, but it still became tradition for me, my friend and his family to watch at 6pm, whichever series was on. So, I got into TNG's seventh, DS9's second and VOY's first seasons all around the same time. And before long as was watching anything and everything. I was 12, and still at middle school. Simpler times indeed!
My first episode was Heart of Stone. Like many people, I was preoccupied with TNG and didn't give the show a fair chance until catching it late one night almost by accident. I hadn't intended to watch it, but simply left the tv on to have something playing in the background while I was working on something else...which I can't even remember what it was now. What I do remember though, was being so engrossed by the Odo, Kira, and the Female shapeshifter that I made a point to tune in the following week to watch more. And boy was I not disappointed. By the time I started watching, Season Three was nearing the end of its original run and was showing repeats before heading into the last few episodes of the season. I don't recall if it was the next episode I saw, but shortly there after, I saw The Search...and was properly introduced to the Defiant. Wow. This wasn't the Enterprise-D at all and Sisko wasn't anything like Picard. If anything, he was more like Kirk, kicking ass and taking names. It definitely left an impression. Soon after that came Defiant, Improbable Cause and the Die is Cast. I suppose that it helped a great deal that my introduction to DS9 was based mainly on such strong episodes. Had I started out from the beginning, I'm not sure I would have stuck with it. I enjoyed Emissary quite a great deal when I finally saw it and there are some really good episodes in the first two seasons, but they are certainly few and far between. Well, by the time the Season Three finale came around, I was hooked and I had only seen mainly half the season. I was gearing up for Season Four and the obvious conflict with the Dominion that was sure to come and that's when something changed for me. I had seen and enjoyed the original movies, some of TOS, and much of TNG. All of it though was just something I watched and and enjoyed. They were just movies and TV shows. DS9 was different. DS9 flipped the switch that made me a Star Trek Fan. It wasn't enough to just watch the show any more. I had to know about the Defiant and how things worked on the ship as well as the station. I had to know about these characters and their past, where they had been and where they were going. I needed more information than what the show was giving and for the first time, I began to seek out other sources for that information. DS9 pushed my into bookstores to buy sci-fi magazines so I could get interviews with anyone who worked on the show. And eventually DS9 pushed me online to find other people and what information they had. I had to know as much as possible about this world. I was fanatic...I was a fan. DS9 made me the sci-fi fan I am today and for that, it will always hold a very special place in my heart. Those were good years, some of the best years and while my love and enthusiasm for Trek may wain at times, I will always be a Niner.
DS9 is my second favorite Trek after TOS and has been for quite a few years now. I still like or even love the others in the franchise but none of them quite match the impact that DS9 had on me (TNG comes awfully close, though).