Is DS9 family-friendly?

[Bad Thoughts]

I did my only real rewatch of DS9--season 1 to season 7, start to finish--in 2013. I had seen the episodes many times, but hadn't really watched the series after I gave up my VCR and all the tapes when I moved across country. My son, who was (and still is) an avid Star Wars fan, liked Star Trek, but felt it paled in comparison. I wanted to prove to him that Star Trek could do many of the things that Star Wars did, within the confines of broadcast television--the battles, the myths--but remain philosophically relevant.

So we streamed ten or so episodes every week. He tuned out when some episodes came up, and of course, he loved those with lots of spaceships and shooting. However, I never really considered how some episodes might be too mature for him at seven years old. I was disappointed that episodes like Rapture didn't resonate with him, probably because religion is not a big deal in our home. On the other hand, Siege of AR-558 has been a constant focal point for discussion about the reality and the representation of violence. I never thought about whether it would be too much for him. He's ten now, and he likes DS9 more than the other Trek series. Admittedly, he still likes Star Wars more.

A thread in the TOS subforum made me wonder about how appropriate for children might be for kids according to other people. Perhaps I am more permissive, or too willing to take cues from my son rather than screen things ahead of time.

 

[DS9forever]

I know here in the UK DS9 is badly cut when Scifi air it to remove "violence".

 

[benjaminh]

I've been watching the various Trek shows with my kids starting when they were about 6 or 7. Compared to the other stuff out there, it's fairly family friendly.

 

[BillJ]

You may bore them to death, but it won't warp their minds.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

Family friendly, of course, but there will be a lot that is boring to him simply because there are themes and drama that isn't exactly "exciting".

But there isn't anything in any of the treks, really, that isn't inappropriate for most age groups I would think.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

DS9 is pretty safe in its themes. The violence is very 'TV safe' in the same way superhero movies are. It's sometimes critical of mainstream morality and some parents might have a problem with that. Most reasonable ones would not.

 

[Photon]

Break it down:
1) Very little cursing...Miles prolly has the worst potty mouth
2) No nudity, but close...Lita comes to mind (alot)
3) No blatant sex, def. implied though
4) Violence yes, but nothing with alot of gore. They disappear pretty quick after phaser blast.
5) A balanced view of religion, both good and bad
6) Protagonist that were mostly good role models, save for Garak.

 

[benjaminh]

My son has been watching Star Trek since he was about 5. He's now 20, a National Merit Scholar, and also a really nice guy: polite, thoughtful, a hard-worker, and smarter than I am. (He also would never mention being a National Merit Scholar, but as his Dad maybe I can??). I don't know if watching Trek all those years influenced any of that, but my guess is that it was small plus factor. He's still a Star Trek fan today.

 

[Kor]

So is the question about objectionable content that could possibly be psychologically harmful to children, such as too much violence? Or is it about social, political, etc. themes that would go over their heads and bore them? These are two different things, and I don't think the latter would preclude something from being family-friendly.

Kor

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Personally, I'm not sure what would be objectionable or problematic. Like I wrote above, the thought came as a reaction to a post in another thread. I doubt anyone would say a child would be harmed by watching DS9, but it doesn't provide the moral clarity of TNG or (to a lesser extent) Voyager. And admittedly, the violence is less pew-pew (which probably is considered cleaner) and more stabbing and bone crushing. If I am not mistaken, a Jem'hadar breaks the back of a Cardassian: not entirely sterile, is it?

 

[DS9forever]

Worf snaps Weyoun's neck in an episode.

 

[Kilana2]

Worf snaps Weyoun's neck in an episode.

Not very family friendly. Luckily Vorta don't have families as they are cloned.

 

[RandyS]

My son has been watching Star Trek since he was about 5. He's now 20, a National Merit Scholar, and also a really nice guy: polite, thoughtful, a hard-worker, and smarter than I am. (He also would never mention being a National Merit Scholar, but as his Dad maybe I can??). I don't know if watching Trek all those years influenced any of that, but my guess is that it was small plus factor. He's still a Star Trek fan today.

You raised him right.

Now to the question, I don' know if DS9 is a family friendly show or not. What I do know is that it beats anything on TV today (hardly a family friendly enviroment), and even if I hadn't been 23 years old in 1993, my mom would have had no problem letting me watch it (her being a Star Trek fan since 1966), so, all I can say is, "maybe".

 

[benjaminh]

Worf snaps Weyoun's neck in an episode.

And it was awesome!+++
(Although also shocking and kinda sick....)

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Just my personal opinion but I think shows without moral clarity are better for a child. It encourages critical thinking and skepticism. And, children learn when they're being preached at early and filter it out. More children of my generation internalized moral messages from The Simpsons than from overtly preachy sitcoms and cartoons.

It can be ironic that the shows parents thought were corrupting their children are really the ones that were teaching them good morals.

 

[Kemaiku]

Why not? it's as sanitised as the rest of it.

 

[Vandervecken]

If kids are to be protected from seeing all violent death portrayed in media, then DS9 and so many other programs fail the family-friendly test. But that wouldn't be my criterion.

The MU eps with mirror Kira and her over-the-top sexual voraciousness (which I enjoy watching) would be, I would say, "family unfriendly."

6) Protagonist that were mostly good role models, save for Garak.

I guess. Garak lives in the real world and has zero illusions. That might be family unfriendly, but I wouldn't call what he protrays "bad." Now, Dukat...

 

[Griffeytrek]

For 10? I don't see any issues with DS9. At best you might get some serious questions regarding war.

 

[Leviathan]

Depends on the family.

Is it a family of Jem'Hadar? Then probably no...