Yes. Sisko mentioned it as such in "Shadowplay".
If we're dumb enough to hand that kind of power over to Al's, maybe we're too dumb to survive anyway.
Re-Watching DS9
- Thread starter Lord Garth
- Start date
I got curious, so I looked up exactly when Ira Steven Behr became Showrunner. According to Memory Alpha, he become co-showrunner at the beginning of the third season (presumably with "The Search") and sole showrunner starting with "The Die Is Cast".
So far, the transition on DS9 seems more seamless than with TNG when it went from Gene Roddenberry to Maurice Hurley and then from Maurice Hurley to Micheal Piller. Or Disco, where I can immediately spot the shift from Gretchen Berg and Aaraon Harberts to Michelle Paradise.
So far, the transition on DS9 seems more seamless than with TNG when it went from Gene Roddenberry to Maurice Hurley and then from Maurice Hurley to Micheal Piller. Or Disco, where I can immediately spot the shift from Gretchen Berg and Aaraon Harberts to Michelle Paradise.
You sound like you're in what I consider prime DS9 territory. Did ISB step away later, not officially, but semi-officially?
I feel as though I like "Civil Defense" more than I 'should', but I don't care. I find episodes where the ship or station's computer turns against Our Heroes very entertaining as long as there's some plausibility for it, and O'Brien's been kvetching about the DS9 computer since Day One, so one can argue it was only a matter of time until something like this would happen. It's typical of Dukat that he'd create a counterinsurgency program, and typical (and hilarious) of Cardassian society that Dukat's commanding officer wouldn't just let him weasel his way off the station during an insurgency.
I have to say though, if I'd been in Ops for this, I think I might develop a phobia of replicators.
I have to say though, if I'd been in Ops for this, I think I might develop a phobia of replicators.
Ira Steven Behr sticks with DS9 up to the end. He fought with and defied Rick Berman tooth-and-nail. No way would the Dominion War or the heavier serialization in Seasons 6 and 7 have happened without him standing up to Rick.
Gotcha - I thought he pulled back near the end. If he had, "it would explain a great many things." BTW your writeups are excellent.
I think part of the reason why the transition was so seamless was because Behr was basically Piller's right hand for much of season 2. Piller, at that time, was also busy creating VOY with Jeri Taylor (who was showrunner of TNG season 7). Given how split her focus was and she didn't have as strong a right hand on TNG as Piller did with Behr (while Moore and Braga both were the best writers, they were still relatively new producers, while Behr already had about a decade of producing experience BEFORE coming to DS9), I'm not surprised at how seamless that DS9 transition was. It's also the ONLY real showrunner change in DS9, which is another reason why I think the series flows the best out if all the shows.
There's something to be said about stability at the top.
It helped that Berman was focused on running Voyager into the ground. DS9 mostly escaped his... influence.
Between Season 3 and 4, in honor of Sisko shaving his head, I'll be watching an episode of this:
Spenser for Hire!
My father used to watch this show in the '80s. I would've been in bed. When "Emissary" premiered, the first thing he said about Avery Brooks was, "I've seen him before... "
After Sisko shaved his head, I found out about Spenser for Hire because of people talking about it (either in magazines, through the Internet when I first got online, or both, I can't remember), and USA or TBS was still playing reruns of Spenser for Hire, so I managed to catch an episode. Only one I ever saw.
But I'll see where I can watch it online and then find an episode where Hawk has a major focus. It'll be fun.
Spenser for Hire!
My father used to watch this show in the '80s. I would've been in bed. When "Emissary" premiered, the first thing he said about Avery Brooks was, "I've seen him before... "
After Sisko shaved his head, I found out about Spenser for Hire because of people talking about it (either in magazines, through the Internet when I first got online, or both, I can't remember), and USA or TBS was still playing reruns of Spenser for Hire, so I managed to catch an episode. Only one I ever saw.
But I'll see where I can watch it online and then find an episode where Hawk has a major focus. It'll be fun.
Last edited:
You did know that Avery Brooks starred in his own spin-off, right? A Man Called Hawk?
I need to space these out!You did know that Avery Brooks starred in his own spin-off, right? A Man Called Hawk?
Looks like Tubi and Amazon Prime both have Spenser for Hire, but neither currently have A Man Called Hawk available for streaming. And, yeah, I get the feeling I'm not going to be a big enough fan of this to order the DVDs, this is just something to kill my curiosity...
... so Spenser for Hire it is. Have to go with what's readily available!
... so Spenser for Hire it is. Have to go with what's readily available!
Just searched Kanopy for you. No for Hawk.
There are full of episodes available at the above link, but whatever floats your boat.
Behr is always tacitly the showrunner, IMO. He has more ability to develop stories in both short and long term. I think that it is relevant that not only was he the only writer producer to last the full seven years, he was promised that the show would become his. Piller obviously placed a lot of confidence in Behr, but whereas Piller had ideas,it was Behr who realized them. I think that the depth and nuance of Behr's style is apparent, which is one reason why I always recommend DS9 fans watch the first season of Outlander.
Nope. I do appreciate the link, but I looked at them. They're episodes of a show called Hawk not a A Man Called Hawk. It's a show from the '60s starring Bert Reynolds.
Last edited:
It will be. Avery Brooks steals the show as Hawk. It's very obvious why the producers of DS9 felt the need to create some distance between him and Sisko, at least until the latter was well established.
"Meridian"
"What?! You're not alternating between DS9 and B5?" I didn't feel like it. I have enough of a buffer that it'll work itself out, so I'm not worried.
Most of this episode I forgot, but as I was watching it snapped right back to me. I forgot this was the first appearance of Jeffrey Combs to the series. I recognize that voice anywhere. And that face; no matter how much alien makeup they put on him. Here he plays a character called Tiron. More on that later.
The A-Plot: The Defiant is back to exploring the Gamma Quadrant. They're not going to let the Dominion stop them. In-universe, if I were an Admiral in Starfleet Command, I would've been against this, but Starfleet's going to do what Starfleet does. Just a very minor nitpick. I like that we still get to see exploration of the Gamma Quadrant, because otherwise we wouldn't have episodes like this.
The planet Meridian phases in and out of this plane of existence and won't be back for 60 years. Jadzia falls in love with a man, Deral, and decides to stay with him. I know this is a "follow your heart" type of situation, but I have a hard time believing Jadzia would throw everything away just to be with a man she just met. She tells Sisko she thought it through, but I don't think she really did. I enjoy the chemistry between Jadzia and Deral, and I think they make a good couple, but it's something I think she should've seen as something that wasn't meant to be.
In the end, it turns out it wasn't something that was meant to be. I didn't remember Jadzia deciding to stay on Meridian. So, then I was taken by surprise. Then I was thinking, "How are they going to make it so she can't stay with them?" Then the episode answered the question for me and she wasn't able to phase with them. Good thing O'Brien got her out of there in time.
The B-Plot: I do like the A-Plot, but this is one time I really like the B-Plot better. I love how Kira and Odo figure out how to get back at Quark, after he tries to create a holographic version of Kira for Tiron to have his way with in the holosuite. Tiron goes in, he sees what looks like Kira's body, but the face is hidden, then the reveal: it's Quark!!!!
I definitely remembered that scene! That was priceless! So was Tiron's reaction, and Kira and Odo's delight.
Summing Up: The B-Story is a 10. For a comedy subplot, it doesn't get any better than this! The A-Story is probably a 7. We see more of the A-Story than the B-Story, so I'll round down and give this episode an 8.
"What?! You're not alternating between DS9 and B5?" I didn't feel like it. I have enough of a buffer that it'll work itself out, so I'm not worried.
Most of this episode I forgot, but as I was watching it snapped right back to me. I forgot this was the first appearance of Jeffrey Combs to the series. I recognize that voice anywhere. And that face; no matter how much alien makeup they put on him. Here he plays a character called Tiron. More on that later.
The A-Plot: The Defiant is back to exploring the Gamma Quadrant. They're not going to let the Dominion stop them. In-universe, if I were an Admiral in Starfleet Command, I would've been against this, but Starfleet's going to do what Starfleet does. Just a very minor nitpick. I like that we still get to see exploration of the Gamma Quadrant, because otherwise we wouldn't have episodes like this.
The planet Meridian phases in and out of this plane of existence and won't be back for 60 years. Jadzia falls in love with a man, Deral, and decides to stay with him. I know this is a "follow your heart" type of situation, but I have a hard time believing Jadzia would throw everything away just to be with a man she just met. She tells Sisko she thought it through, but I don't think she really did. I enjoy the chemistry between Jadzia and Deral, and I think they make a good couple, but it's something I think she should've seen as something that wasn't meant to be.
In the end, it turns out it wasn't something that was meant to be. I didn't remember Jadzia deciding to stay on Meridian. So, then I was taken by surprise. Then I was thinking, "How are they going to make it so she can't stay with them?" Then the episode answered the question for me and she wasn't able to phase with them. Good thing O'Brien got her out of there in time.
The B-Plot: I do like the A-Plot, but this is one time I really like the B-Plot better. I love how Kira and Odo figure out how to get back at Quark, after he tries to create a holographic version of Kira for Tiron to have his way with in the holosuite. Tiron goes in, he sees what looks like Kira's body, but the face is hidden, then the reveal: it's Quark!!!!
I definitely remembered that scene! That was priceless! So was Tiron's reaction, and Kira and Odo's delight.
Summing Up: The B-Story is a 10. For a comedy subplot, it doesn't get any better than this! The A-Story is probably a 7. We see more of the A-Story than the B-Story, so I'll round down and give this episode an 8.
Last edited:
The DS9 Relevant Parts of Star Trek: Generations
I'll be doing this for all the TNG Movies for when they were released relative to where DS9 was at. There's always some type of DS9 angle. Obviously the Starfleet Communicators designed for Generations first appeared in "The Search". That's the easy stuff to point out. There's also the DS9 Uniforms on some of the TNG Cast. I thought the properly tailored DS9 Uniforms for Picard and Data looked good on the Big Screen. The DS9 Uniforms worn by Riker and Geordi didn't work, since they were hand-me-downs. That's also easy to point out.
The real thing I want to look at is the Klingon Angle. In TNG, it was Gowron vs. Duras for control of the Klingon Empire. There was a power struggle, and it didn't die with Duras, it continued with Lursa and B'Etor. The Duras Sisters had two strikes against them already: They didn't have Y chromosomes, so the Klingon patriarchy wouldn't follow them, and they were in league with the Romulans. If they overthrew Gowron, I think the Klingons would've overlooked Lursa and B'Etor's gender and would've yeilded to them. But there would probably be a deep divide over whether or not most Klingons would be okay with an alliance with the Romulans.
By killing off the Duras Sisters, it simplifies things for the Klingon Empire as they become a more prominent part of DS9. Gowron is the leader, there are no more serious challenges, and the Duras Sisters aren't trying to wrest control of the Empire from him.
The conflict for the Klingons will no longer be from within the Empire but from without as they shift their focus on how to deal with the Dominion. Setting up "The Way of the Warrior" the following year.
The Enterprise-D's Destruction. I have two thoughts about this, related to DS9. First, obviously it sets up Worf being free to join DS9 in the fourth season. But also: I thought it was silly to have "Defiant" air immediately after Generations where Tom Riker, posing as Will, said he was on leave from the Enterprise. I think it would've been better to have aired this episode immediately before. The week before instead of the week after. The airdate for "Defiant" was November 21st, 1994 while Generations was released into theaters on November 18th.
That way, you wouldn't have the people who haven't figured out stardates be confused and wonder, "Wasn't the Enterprise just destroyed?"
I'll be doing this for all the TNG Movies for when they were released relative to where DS9 was at. There's always some type of DS9 angle. Obviously the Starfleet Communicators designed for Generations first appeared in "The Search". That's the easy stuff to point out. There's also the DS9 Uniforms on some of the TNG Cast. I thought the properly tailored DS9 Uniforms for Picard and Data looked good on the Big Screen. The DS9 Uniforms worn by Riker and Geordi didn't work, since they were hand-me-downs. That's also easy to point out.
The real thing I want to look at is the Klingon Angle. In TNG, it was Gowron vs. Duras for control of the Klingon Empire. There was a power struggle, and it didn't die with Duras, it continued with Lursa and B'Etor. The Duras Sisters had two strikes against them already: They didn't have Y chromosomes, so the Klingon patriarchy wouldn't follow them, and they were in league with the Romulans. If they overthrew Gowron, I think the Klingons would've overlooked Lursa and B'Etor's gender and would've yeilded to them. But there would probably be a deep divide over whether or not most Klingons would be okay with an alliance with the Romulans.
By killing off the Duras Sisters, it simplifies things for the Klingon Empire as they become a more prominent part of DS9. Gowron is the leader, there are no more serious challenges, and the Duras Sisters aren't trying to wrest control of the Empire from him.
The conflict for the Klingons will no longer be from within the Empire but from without as they shift their focus on how to deal with the Dominion. Setting up "The Way of the Warrior" the following year.
The Enterprise-D's Destruction. I have two thoughts about this, related to DS9. First, obviously it sets up Worf being free to join DS9 in the fourth season. But also: I thought it was silly to have "Defiant" air immediately after Generations where Tom Riker, posing as Will, said he was on leave from the Enterprise. I think it would've been better to have aired this episode immediately before. The week before instead of the week after. The airdate for "Defiant" was November 21st, 1994 while Generations was released into theaters on November 18th.
That way, you wouldn't have the people who haven't figured out stardates be confused and wonder, "Wasn't the Enterprise just destroyed?"
Last edited:
Similar threads
