DS9 Forum Welcome Thread: Hello fellow Niners!

[Disillusioned]

Sort of new to these parts, and I have to admit I'm a bit intimidated by the prospect of wading my way into these parts. I have to say that I still think DS9 is the best the franchise had to offer, and it's disappointing that it gets overlooked so much. In my opinion, this series has only gotten better with age, while other shows like TNG have aged very poorly.

Anyway, I didn't see any introduction thread in here, so I hope no one minds that I made my own.

[Anthony Sabre]

Welcome to the DS9 forum. If deep, and sometimes too deep, discussions on DS9 are what you're looking for then you've found them. I agree with you that DS9 is both overlooked and has aged better than the other Trek series. If anything, when I watch DS9 now, the show seems even more relevant than it was during the original airing.

A shame that there's no thought on taking the show further, but I kind of shudder to think what might happen in the hands of incapable writers anyway.

[flemm]

One thing I think DS9 has in common with TOS more so than the other Trek shows is that both TOS and DS9 were ahead of their time. There are episodes of DS9 that feel almost prophetic: the themes of infiltration, resistance, terrorism, religious fanaticism, the sacrifice of ideals in a time of war... the list goes on.

I am personally content with DS9 being the somewhat neglected gem that it is. There is a line from the LotR that I like a lot and that applies here imo (I am paraphrasing Legolas in the novel): "A great deed was the walking of the Paths of the Dead, and great it shall remain, though there be no one left to sing of it."

Sometimes things that are great are just great all by themselves, whatever recognition or lack thereof they may have at a given moment. Naturally there are of course lots of people who recognize that DS9 was great, but on some level it doesn't really matter how many. It was what it was, and I'm personally glad I'm among those that appreciate how great this show was at its best.

[Photon]

Disillusioned wrote:

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Sort of new to these parts, and I have to admit I'm a bit intimidated by the prospect of wading my way into these parts. I have to say that I still think DS9 is the best the franchise had to offer, and it's disappointing that it gets overlooked so much. In my opinion, this series has only gotten better with age, while other shows like TNG have aged very poorly.

Anyway, I didn't see any introduction thread in here, so I hope no one minds that I made my own.

1000 Welcomes. Bookmark this page and come back often. These guys are pretty cool here

[PKTrekGirl]

Welcome to the board, and welcome in particular to this forum.

But if you are concerned about DS9 being under-appreciated, then this board might be just what you are looking for - there are alot of DS9 fans here.

Hope you keep coming back and get posting. We look forward to getting to know you!

[AdmiralGarak]

Always good to have more Niners about. Don't worry about DS9 being overlooked at TrekBBS. In this not-so-little corner of Trek fandom, DS9 is very popular.

[Possum]

I'd also like the opportunity to say hello to everyone here. I've just found this bbs due to the new movie.

I've also liked DS9 the best of the later series. I'd watched til about the mid-sixth season on the original run but then went to college and didn't get it finished except seeing an episode here and there. I generally know how it turned out. I've been rewatching it via Netflix and have just started on the fourth season. For the most part I think DS9 consistently got most things right, excellent ensemble cast, good storylines- I always liked the Bajoran and Cardassian ones and was disappointed (read "outraged" at the time) by the introduction of Worf (and new Klingon storylines). Plus I don't think it had a bad season- the first season was certainly a lot better than the first few years of TNG. I've also always thought DS9 seemed underappreciated. I'm glad to find a place where it isn't.

I'm also glad they didn't try to make a movie of it in retrospect. TNG was never well served by the movies. It seemed like the writers forgot that one of the strengths of TNG was the ensemble cast and tried to force it into the mold of a starring actor or two and forgot everyone else. They would have done the same thing with DS9.

[AdmiralGarak]

Disillusioned wrote:

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Anyway, I didn't see any introduction thread in here, so I hope no one minds that I made my own.

Why not pin this thread as our welcome thread, PKTrekGirl? Some of the other shows have one, so we might as well join in.

[Disillusioned]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone.

flemm wrote:

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One thing I think DS9 has in common with TOS more so than the other Trek shows is that both TOS and DS9 were ahead of their time. There are episodes of DS9 that feel almost prophetic: the themes of infiltration, resistance, terrorism, religious fanaticism, the sacrifice of ideals in a time of war... the list goes on.

I think I'd have to agree with that, as it's something I noticed myself more recently. I was a fairly avid watcher while the show was on, but more recently I've purchased the DVDs thanks to the discount deal Amazon.com had going on. When I first watched, the first couple of seasons always seemed to boring to me, but watching them as an adult has given me a new appreciation for what they were trying to do. Sure, not all of them were good ("Move Along Home" comes to mind here), but I could see that they were already trying to be a deeper show by the themes they were exploring, with the occasional fun episode to balance things out.

I am personally content with DS9 being the somewhat neglected gem that it is. There is a line from the LotR that I like a lot and that applies here imo (I am paraphrasing Legolas in the novel): "A great deed was the walking of the Paths of the Dead, and great it shall remain, though there be no one left to sing of it."

I'd have to disagree here, DS9 deserves better than what it's gotten. It was certainly one of the first shows I can think of that really did multi-episode stories, and the way it addressed actions or inactions taken by the characters was head and shoulders above the rest. There's also the way the show allowed other "minor" characters ti get some development too, and that the leader figure didn't have the same kind of arrogance that say Picard or Janeway had, and didn't have the same sense of entitlement to him Archer had. The kind of quality this show had needs more exposure in my opinion.

Sometimes things that are great are just great all by themselves, whatever recognition or lack thereof they may have at a given moment. Naturally there are of course lots of people who recognize that DS9 was great, but on some level it doesn't really matter how many. It was what it was, and I'm personally glad I'm among those that appreciate how great this show was at its best.

True; I for one don't need anyone to agree with me about a show or movie in order to like it or feel validated, but I do still wish more people would notice the show. Quotes like the one from Entertainment Weekly which say it was "the best show on television no one noticed" really hit home for me.

AdmiralGarak wrote:

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Why not pin this thread as our welcome thread, PKTrekGirl? Some of the other shows have one, so we might as well join in.

A pinned intro thread could never hurt any forum so newbies like me can get used to the idea of posting in a forum before venturing further inside, so to speak.

[robtclements]

Disillusioned wrote:

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There's also the way the show allowed other "minor" characters ti get some development too, and that the leader figure didn't have the same kind of arrogance that say Picard or Janeway had,

Much as i prefer DS9 to the other shows, this isn't necessarily a plus. A good story derives from the characters themselves - memo this to JJ Abrams if you like - & both TOS & TNG derived their best stories from the very different arrogances of Kirk & Picard. The lack of a fatal flaw in Sisko limited the development of that character seriously; & explains why he appears to be missing in the early seasons. Cf this with the way the writers went to town with Kira's xenophobic tendencies during the same period & you'll see what i mean

(The problem with Janeway is not that she's arroagnt; but that the writers didn't have the guts to tell good stories based on that arrogance. That's the secret reason - everyone knows the obvious reason - why the addition of Seven helped the show; but as all the best TNG writers (sans Braga) had jumped Voyager to do DS9, even that buzz wore out more quickly than it should have)

[PKTrekGirl]

Disillusioned wrote:

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A pinned intro thread could never hurt any forum so newbies like me can get used to the idea of posting in a forum before venturing further inside, so to speak.

Well, I can pin it if you guys all think it would be helpful. It's been 8 years since I've been a n00b on this board, so I tend to forget what it's like to be new and intimidated here.

Would you mind, Disillusioned, if I added to your title, perhaps? Like re-title it something like "Welcome Thread: Hello Fellow Niners", or something similar.....

[Disillusioned]

Nope, wouldn't mind at all.

[Thor Damar]

^ Sounds great. I raise my kanar to you all, my fellow Niners!

[NKemp3]

Disillusioned wrote:

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Sort of new to these parts, and I have to admit I'm a bit intimidated by the prospect of wading my way into these parts. I have to say that I still think DS9 is the best the franchise had to offer, and it's disappointing that it gets overlooked so much. In my opinion, this series has only gotten better with age, while other shows like TNG have aged very poorly.

Anyway, I didn't see any introduction thread in here, so I hope no one minds that I made my own.

Welcome!

[PKTrekGirl]

Disillusioned wrote:

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Nope, wouldn't mind at all.

Done.