The Best Trek Ever?

[rickandrews]

First off, I must say I love all things Trek. I'm a fan of all the incarnations of the series. I do have more love for some than others. (Voyager being my least favorite). I thought by season 4, Enterprise was JUST hitting it's stride, plus I am a huge fan of Scott Bacula.

With that being said, I wanted to get your thoughts on DS9.

My opinion, it is sort of the 'black sheep in the family' in some circles. I completely disagree with this. I think that as you look at DS9, as a whole, it had the best laid out plan for any of the series. Yes, it was a bit darker than the other shows. Yes, it had heavy religious overtones. Yes, the space station was stationary, so new life and civilations came to them more than them going to seek out. But, it had the most compelling episodes, the best ending of the any of the series and some of the finest contemporary actors.

DS9, to me, is like a 7 year greek play, which had a strong beginning, middle and end.

Do you agree or disagree? I would love to know.

[Lrrr]

DS9 is also my favorite of the Treks, with ENT being my least favorite. I hear people complain that the show is only in one setting or "everything takes place on the space station", which clearly is not the case. DS9 told a larger variety of stories than any of the other shows, and there was always something going on someplace other than the station. DS9 also did a great job of planting seeds that would sprout in later seasons. That's one thing I love about the writing on the show. There were very good at letting a plot thread simmer for a while before developing it more thoroughly in later seasons. It's like reading a giant, epic novel that you are anxious to see wrapped up but bummed to see it end.

I also appreciated the fact that some episodes would go on without a Starfleet officer/Fed citizen or even a human as the main characters in certain plots.

I read somewhere on this forum where someone described DS9 as Trek's "Alpha Quadrant Showcase". This describes it nicely.

[Shanndee]

I agree with both of you about the merits of DS9. I will add that what made the series really stand out for me was the quality (and quantity) of recurring guest stars. There is something really exciting about seeing the character of a recurring "guest" star develop and grow into something that drives the story in an unexpected direction.

[TheLobes]

I think DS9 had great characters, more importantly though, it had great character dynamics. Its like the great relationship of Bones-Kirk-Spock, but for the whole cast, plus recurring characters. There was so much variation in the interactions, and I think thats where DS9 is the superior trek. Other characters, particularly Picard, were just as interesting, but there was never much going on between the characters in other series, so they felt kind of isolated. On DS9, every character relates to every other character in such a fun and unique way. Everyone seems so realistic, and it gave the stories a lot of depth and substance.

I dont think its fair to say that DS9 is the best though. Its dialogue was never as good as TNG or TOS, and while it had some great shows, it still experienced some crushing lows. The whole Dominion War/Prophets thing ended so poorly that I find it sort of makes preceding episodes worse. Im also disappointed that it became the type of show where every female character needed to become someones girlfriend. Ezri and Bashir? Garak and Ziyal? Odo and Kira???

I sort of just view TOS/TNG/DS9 as equally good at what they were trying to do; its difficult to compare things which are so fundamentally different. VOY and ENT started backtracking, instead of seeking their own styles, and screwed up on all possible levels.

[Shanndee]

I see what you're saying, but for me personally, I have to say "Best Trek Ever" due to the fact that all of the characters had such fantastic development and story arcs. Some characters grew so much you would hardly recognize them if you compared them as portrayed in season one vs. season seven. I guess for me the characters themselves trumped a few dodgy story decisions!

[Nero's Shadow]

I'm just rewatching DS9 always loved it on season 5 at the moment IMO it had some of the best characters of any series I also think the guest stars and sub characters were also the best in any series just to name a few rom garek martok Damar.

The first two seasons were very dark and gritty stories some episode were not the best but they still stand out now, my only wish is that they should of had more crossover characters on the station or visiting DS9 allways thought that the whole of the next gen crew should at least had a two part story I'd would have loved to seen them putting there heads together against the dominion and the founders !!!

[Kirkman1987]

I hold TOS/TNG/DS9 in roughly the same high regard. I really can't choose, and each has a lot to offer. I tend to collectively consider this grouping my favorite show ever.

I will say that when I watch DS9, I feel immersed in the Star Trek universe in a way the other shows don't compare to. The serial storytelling and richly drawn supporting characters really make you feel like you are there. because of the way the story is told, the events have more weight. You really feel in DS9 that this fictional universe could be a real place.

[Mage]

Kirkman1987 wrote:

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I hold TOS/TNG/DS9 in roughly the same high regard. I really can't choose, and each has a lot to offer. I tend to collectively consider this grouping my favorite show ever.

I will say that when I watch DS9, I feel immersed in the Star Trek universe in a way the other shows don't compare to. The serial storytelling and richly drawn supporting characters really make you feel like you are there. because of the way the story is told, the events have more weight. You really feel in DS9 that this fictional universe could be a real place.

Well, that saves me from a making a statement in this topic, since it's basicly the same as mine. I love TOS/TNG/DS9, but I'll always be a Niner first and a Trekkie later.