Best DS9 characters

[DS9 Gal AZ]

Rush Limborg wrote:

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^Well, I'd think everyone would've known, ahead of time....

It's the other four that would provide new insights on my part, to some extent.

Yeah, I know. You're such a good sport, man.

I suppose I should do a list:

1.) Kira Nerys - because she's kick-ass and strong, but can also show a softer side. And she really grows throughout the series, perhaps more than anyone else.

2.) Garak - Plain, simple, Garak had me hooked from his very first appearance. His interactions with Bashir were simply fascinating, whether you (like me) saw the slashy undertones or not. The combination of great writing and superb acting by Andrew Robinson breathed a wonderful life into this enigmatic character. Not to mention that Robinson was so invested in Garak that he actually penned a book from Garak's POV which fleshed out our favorite Cardassian even further. "A Stitch in Time" is by far the best Trek lit I've ever read, and I highly reccommend it to any fan of the show or the character.

3.) Weyoun - he defined the Vorta. Jeffrey Combs made the character slimy, yet somehow elegant, and at times, someone we could almost empathize with despite ourselves. He wasn't just some sycophant saying what he thought his superiors wanted to hear - he truly believed in what he was preaching, which made it all the more evident that behind that pleasant smile, there was man who wouldn't hesistate to commit genocide in the name of his gods. Another example of excellent writing and excellent acting coming together to make a character far more compelling than you would have thought.

4.) Dukat - arguably Star Trek's greatest villian, he was so charismatic that despite his awful deeds, to this day there are fans that try to defend his actions. He started out as a complete villian, then he seemed to be working his way to some sort of redemption, and then he was plunged into a deeper darkness and evil than he had been before, ultimately become something like a Satan to Sisko's Christ. "Waltz" remains one of my favorite episodes of all. Marc Alaimo capture's Dukat's descent into complete madness with chilling perfection.

5.) Sisko. When we first meet him, he is a broken man, haunted by his past, almost ready to give up. Slowly, we watch him grow into his role as Emmisary, watch him accept his destiny, watch him find love again, watch him go from commander to captain. He's a soldier, a father, a reluctant religious icon ... and damned fine cook to boot. Don't mess with the Sisko!

6.) And finally ... Jake. Yeah, I know, but honestly, he gets major bonus points for essentially being the anti-Wesley. He sort of fades into the background in later season, but early on he has some episodes in which he really shines. "The Visitor" still breaks my heart a little bit. The relationship between father and son is truly touching, and from what I understand, Avery Brooks and Cirroc Lofton didn't have to do much acting there, because they actually became that close in real life.

So there's my list y'all.

[Xhiandra]

DS9 Gal AZ wrote:

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Not to mention that Robinson was so invested in Garak that he actually penned a book from Garak's POV which fleshed out our favorite Cardassian even further. "A Stitch in Time" is by far the best Trek lit I've ever read, and I highly reccommend it to any fan of the show or the character.

That's a brilliant idea! I've so far stayed away from Trek lit (it all seems to fanfic-like for my tastes), but this is a book I should read some time.


Speaking of Combs, I was suprised to see him in an episode of the 2002 revival of The Twilight Zone (ep 35: "Placebo Effect"), the other day.
Not a show I'd recommend overall, the 2002 version of The Twilight Zone (poor writing, atrocious theme, very uneven acting; I'd struggle to name 5 good episodes in the whole run of 44 - though Forest Whittaker's undeniable gravitas helps anchor the show in memory), but you can check the episode: it's not great (predictable, some groanworthy Deus Ex Machinae), but it's not horrible either.

[teacake]

You should definitely read A Stitch in Time, it is excellent.

[Sadara]

Damar, Damar, and more Damar.

[AdmiralGarak]

Xhiandra wrote:

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That's a brilliant idea! I've so far stayed away from Trek lit (it all seems to fanfic-like for my tastes), but this is a book I should read some time.

As one of the biggest Garak fans on this board, I can't recommend it enough. Fantastic book.

[JRoss]

Garak
Weyoun
Quark
Sisko
Odo

[ineffable]

It's great to see a live post on this subject!! Here's my take with some episode references.

Jadzia Dax -- 300+ year old wisdom she added to plots... Let He Who Is Without Sin...(5x07) Is one of my favorites of hers.

Kira Nerys -- Tough, soft, but what I loved most is how she moved around the scenes. You could tell she was a dancer before DS9. Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night (6x17) is one of my favorites of hers.

Quark -- For obvious reasons. His consistency in character with slight moments of "not Quark" windows deep into his psych (lol). He's my Ferengi definition. The Magnificent Ferengi (6x10) has to be my favorite Quarkisode if not Little Green Men (4x08). Iggy Pop as a Vorta = win! Also, it's great to see Armin Shimerman out of makeup and in a recent Castle episode The Final Frontier (5x06)

Julian Bashir -- Agree with earlier posts, talk about transistion from young douche-bag to compassionate doctor-like getter of the girl (Ezri Dax). Our Man Bashir (4x10) is one of my most rewatched DS9 episodes ever. It's very entertaining. Also, Extreme Measures (7x23)

Benjamin Sisko -- I liked the sometimes frustrated pace of his dialogues. Personally, his and Jake's connection reminded me my connection with my pops. Albeit that connection was a TV version with way less fart jokes (seriously? does anyone fart in space? How is Seth MacFarlane going to revamp the series without introducing fart jokes? I don't know...). Even though he was out of character (yet strangely within), I really enjoyed alternate Sisko in Crossover (2x23)

Honorable Mentions : Garak, SLOAN!, Gul Dukat, Miles O'brien, Vedek Bareil Antos, Weyoun, and those 4 eccentric genetically enhanced humans associated with Dr. Bashir.

[teacake]

ineffable wrote:

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It's great to see a live post on this subject!! Here's my take with some episode references.

Jadzia Dax -- 300+ year old wisdom she added to plots... Let He Who Is Without Sin...(5x07) Is one of my favorites of hers.

Kira Nerys -- Tough, soft, but what I loved most is how she moved around the scenes. You could tell she was a dancer before DS9. Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night (6x17) is one of my favorites of hers.

Quark -- For obvious reasons. His consistency in character with slight moments of "not Quark" windows deep into his psych (lol). He's my Ferengi definition. The Magnificent Ferengi (6x10) has to be my favorite Quarkisode if not Little Green Men (4x08). Iggy Pop as a Vorta = win! Also, it's great to see Armin Shimerman out of makeup and in a recent Castle episode The Final Frontier (5x06)

Julian Bashir -- Agree with earlier posts, talk about transistion from young douche-bag to compassionate doctor-like getter of the girl (Ezri Dax). Our Man Bashir (4x10) is one of my most rewatched DS9 episodes ever. It's very entertaining. Also, Extreme Measures (7x23)

Benjamin Sisko -- I liked the sometimes frustrated pace of his dialogues. Personally, his and Jake's connection reminded me my connection with my pops. Albeit that connection was a TV version with way less fart jokes (seriously? does anyone fart in space? How is Seth MacFarlane going to revamp the series without introducing fart jokes? I don't know...). Even though he was out of character (yet strangely within), I really enjoyed alternate Sisko in Crossover (2x23)

Honorable Mentions : Garak, SLOAN!, Gul Dukat, Miles O'brien, Vedek Bareil Antos, Weyoun, and those 4 eccentric genetically enhanced humans associated with Dr. Bashir.

Basically, everyone.



Oh and Sloan was great!

[Ln X]

Top 5 though in no particular order:

Kira Nerys: Probably the character who evolved the most in DS9, I think she only started really changing after the episode Duet. She starts off as a fighter and a thoroughly unwomanly woman with her hands-on-approach, hatred of the Cardassians and distrust of any non-Bajoran. But how she finds peace with herself is one very rewarding story arc, along with the bumps along the way.

Dukat: Dukat is so amazing because he is the perfect villain, he deludes himself into thinking his actions were correct or necessary (much like today's villains), and he can go from someone who ordered the deaths of a few thousand people to a passionate lover or caring father. Yet always that controlling element is always with him.

Kai Winn: Virtually every scene with Kai Winn makes me want to strangle her as she is so condescending and repugnant. She's sort of like the religious version of Dukat, and just like him she lies through her teeth about certain matters.

Odo: I like Odo's bravery and strong will, many a time life is not easy for him what with being estranged from his people and yet he continues on, I think he is the most resilient character in all of Star Trek.

O'Brien: O'Brien is probably the most believable character of all in DS9, he is always in character and though he doesn't undergo great changes like some of the other main characters did, his consistency is always endearing.

[Melakon]

I think Morn deserves a mention. No other show in the franchise had an episode centered on one of the recurring extras, even including his name in the title.

[ineffable]

Morn.

[Surak of Vulcan]

Is it okay if I say all of them?

[Shambles]

I've seen very little of DS9 beyond Season 2 but even within just those first two seasons I have trouble picking favorite characters because there are so many good ones. Right now I'm thinking:

1. Odo
2. Kira
3. Sisko
4. Quark
5. Jadzia Dax

Have not yet seen any Ezri, very little of Worf outside of TNG. From what I understand, I have a lot of great ground to cover.

[JirinPanthosa]

1. Ben Sisko

Sisko set the character of the entire show. He wasn't scientific, diplomatic like Picard. He was a wartime commander, the 'Renegade' choice in Mass Effect. He could stare down a Klingon, he knew what he thought was right and did anything he had to do to achieve it, and nothing was sacred in the path of achieving that goal. And screw politicians. Seriously, screw them. Without him we don't have nearly as great a show.

2. Quark

The other character who couldn't be replaced and still have the same kind of show. Quark was the critic of the Federation that Gene Roddenberry would have cringed at. He called it on its conceits, and managed to be an opportunistic profiteer while still having a strong moral center when it's important. Quark was the character who made you think, maybe Federation progressiveness isn't all it's cracked up to be.

3. Kira Narys

A terrorist in a Starfleet crew, a paragon of loyalty without being apologetic for killing civilians and other Bajorans because it was the only way to defeat the common enemy. At times feels like she's more made for Battlestar Galactica than Star Trek. Without her the Bajoran wouldn't have felt quite the same.

4. Kai Winn

The perfect villain. The perfectly self interested 'True neutral' political figure who, in the face of Kira's pure spirituality, used spirituality for her own personal gain. But what made her great was her commitment to her character. She didn't think the school was blasphemy, but she was so fully committed to that self-serving angle it was hard not to believe she was.

5. Gul Dukat

Similar to Kai Winn except more violent, he's so perfectly able to sell his current story you almost forget it's all a political smokescreen for his true motives.

Morn definitely deserves a mention for 'Best non speaking character of all time'.

This topic has made me think about just how great the DS9 cast is. It's hard for me to leave Jadzia Dax, Worf, Garak or Odo out of any 'best character' list. Compared to TNG which had five amazing characters in Picard, Riker, Data, Worf and Q and then who else? If I had to name a 'Least favorite main character' in DS9, I'd have to say Bashir or Rom. But they were both characters I like, and so are Martok, Gowron, Eddington, O'Brien, Bareil, Shakaar, Zek. DS9 has by far the deepest cast out of any Trek.

[Worf'sParmach]

Any other Trek show and I could easily choose. Yet it's impossible for me to do for DS9 because the characters are so enmeshed with one another. Each one is great because of their connections to the others. It's like a domino effect of awesomeness.

It always amazed me how well DS9 could develop both a full complement of main characters (well, maybe except for Jadzia) in addition to a whole host of secondary characters while other shows didn't even seem to flesh out their senior staff.