I've come to appreciate the influence Ezri's presence had on some of the other characters, especially Worf. But I agree, on her own, ho hum. And OMG, Gowron's death was what, 10 or so years in the making? I still remember watching that episode on my crummy, staticy, tiny dorm room television, and almost falling off my loft I was so stoked by it. Fortunately my roommate was not there at the time...
I liked all of the main cast, some more than others - Jadzia was probably the weakest, but I liked her too. I liked Ezri. Some of the supporting cast and villains were even better (Garak, Weyoun and Dukat for example). You have to go some way down the list to find a real weak link. Bareil springs to mind...
DS9 was so well written and so well cast that I can't think of a single character or actor I disliked.
Ohhh, Keiko. The whole O'Brien marriage/family is, in my opinion, the biggest missed opportunity that DS9 left on the table. The entire arrangement was just never quite believable. I so desperately wanted to see Keiko take more of a role, and stick up for her own needs more. Instead, she just came off as rather whiny and like she was settling in life because of her husband. Also, I never felt that Meaney and Chao had much chemistry. I did, however, love her in the Season 2 opening arc, with the political battle over her school, etc. I remember thinking that this was it, they finally found a place for Keiko, where she could really impact the show. And then... nothing. Oh well. I will admit, I never felt that Terry Farrell quite lived up to the promise/potential of her character. But I absolutely loved the idea of Jadzia/Dax, and the Trill as a species. They could have explored the whole concept in better ways. Anyone ever read that Lives of Dax compilation of short stories that was published 15 years ago or so? I enjoyed delving into each of the past hosts more.
She didn't want to commit to the series. She had the opportunity to become part of the main cast. She turned it down so she can spend more time with her family. We really didn't see to much of her in Star Trek The Next Generation for the same reason. So we saw little character development from Keiko O'Brien.
They could have recast her, it's not unprecedented. They really didn't manage her character well at all, IMO; making her into the school matron as the token "marm" really didn't work. I would have loved to see her turned into a psychiatrist The chemistry didn't work was quite glaring with all the intimate and sexual subtext in some of the later episodes; it never felt real to me (were any of the writers married?)
Could it be the actress playing Keiko didn't find Colm Meaney attractive? I think they were the first interracial married couple on a Star Trek series before Voyager. We certainly didn't see Colm and Rosalind in a naked and in bed scene on DS9.
Ishka. Too many of her episodes were Ugh and she made Zek into even more of a cartoon. Other than Magnificent Ferengi I tend to dislike episodes that have Ferengi in it that aren't Quark, Rom or Nog. They tend to bring the Ferengi closer to TNG cartoon villain territory, whereas when it's just Quark with a non-Ferengi character you get more of the 'Ferengi as unflattering reflection of human history' angle.
It's either fascist Odo or yappy-dog Kira from season 1. Oh wait, no: Vic Fontaine. That was so American.
I agree about Ishka.. I did not like that character, i found her annoying.. It was almost impossible to turn an episode with Zek dull, but she managed to make them super ridiculous .. She should have been reduced to one episode... She just never resonated
Quark, without a doubt. I have never liked the Ferengi. They just looked like overdone make-up jobs to me. And Quark is more despicable than most. Once, he sold entry codes or something, so someone could sneak aboard and steal Jadzia's symbiont, Dax. Another time, they had to evacuate the station in a hurry and he sold fake passes so people could leave on earlier shuttles. This is fraud! I suppose Bajor's ridiculously lenient laws are to blame. If it were not a Bajoran station, he'd be in jail. If he pulled this in the Klingon empire or on Romulus, he'd be executed! Why was this idiot allowed to go free every time, just so he could go and break the law again? It got annoying.
My least-favorite character is without a doubt Winn Adami, but I feel that's the way I'm supposed to feel based on how she was written.
Garek. Just so people can spit take and start angrily smash their hands into the keyboard as they point out how stupid I am. Though to be fair I didn't mind Garek, but wasn't super into him. I'd probably go for Ezri. She's an easy target. Only had one season in the show and I thought she was wholly unnecessary. They way the writers handled her also made me dislike Worf and Bashir more in season 7. So if it is least favourite character as in a character I'd like to remove from the show it would be Ezri. On the post above. I also really disliked Winn, but not in a way where I thought she shouldn't be in the show. If anything I think she should have had more time in late season 6 and in season 7.
Worf. He never had a specific role--he was there only to boost ratings. When that failed, he just lingered around. DS9 didn't need a chief of security because they had one--Odo. DS9 didn't need a person to relate or integrate with Klingons because they had one--Jadzia. DS9 didn't need a first officer because Sisko has a great one in Major Kira. He was relegated to some weird situations like being a so-called Captain of the Defiant. It didn't take long for him to fuck up and fire upon a civilian ship and later put on trial for it. He shacked up with Jadzia when it was established he was with Troi; but these are the things that happen to a pointless character when the writers are creatively bankrupt. Even at the end of the series the writer show how meaningless his relationship Jadzia was; his memories was solely with Ezri. Ezri Dax??? Wow. Also in the ep. he was supposedly an Ambassador to the Klingons, but in Star Trek Nemesis it was all forgotten. I can't imagine the writers doing that to any of the other character of Trek, but a lame duck like Worf.
Ezri - I really like her, but in the first episodes when she was still a newbie on DS9 and not yet accustomed to Dax, she was quite annoying. Garak would certainly agree....