I'm not going to bother giving a point-by-point response since everyone else seems to have done that quite marvelously. However, after reading this whole thread, I believe I can sum the OP's problem with DS9 into 2 acronyms and an abbreviation:
DS9 wasn't TOS
Most, if not all of his replys, consisted of a comparision to TOS. And you know what, he's exactly right. DS9 isn't TOS. Sure, it may have captured TOS's spirit, but it's an entirely different entity. jimbtnp2, if you're waiting for a Trek series to be TOS, I have bad news for you: it simply won't happen. Perspectives were different in the '60s. Story telling was different in the '60s. TOS was in its own class, and you will never find another show, particularly another show like the TOS. Comparing any new shows to TOS and demanding that they abide by the "guidelines" and "standards" set by it will just lead you to the disapointment of "Another lousy Trek movie" or "Another unfaithful series". The TOS you knew ain't coming back.
Personally, I love DS9. I thought it was thought provoking, very interesting, and I've always been a fan of arcs or serialization. It gives the writers the ability to do bigger things- tell bigger, more fleshed out stories. The reset button doesn't get hit at the end of each episode, whatever changes effect them that episode will effect them in the future. DS9 did well in the modern day what TOS did well in the '60s.
HEAR HEAR!
It was the serialisation that I thought
made DS9, and helped Enterprise pick up (for instance, Trip became more human in series 3 - reacting long term to his sister's death, compared to the "whoops, it'll be better by next week" characterisation we were all used to at the end of season 2's Cogenitor), though I will be the first to say they didn't always get it right. And I believe it was the lack of this method of storytelling that hurt Voyager. They didn't
always use the reset button, but how many times did Seven of Nine's nanoprobes save the day?
If they were to have made DS9 now, TV land is different again. How many shows actually stick to the standalone episode format nowadays? Thanks to shows like 24, Lost, Heroes and an entire plethora of serialised shows, we're more into shows now where you're vested in actual long-term character development and an overarching story that has a beginning, a middle, an end, and a whole load of mystery and intrigue in between.
True, I do like a good standalone episode or an episode dedicated to character development, but that era of TV is, by and large, gone nowadays. In that respect, DS9 (and Babylon 5), were pretty much ahead of their time.
As for the other complaints, I never had anything against the music, and although the Ferengi were used as the comic relief to break the otherwise dark themes of the show (sometimes to their detriment, I feel), there are some scenes that just excel purely because of the Ferengi perspective (Quark's speeches regarding humanity in The Jem'Hadar, Little Green Men and The Siege of AR-558 jump instantly to mind).
I apologise if this went way off topic
Having recently finished watching all 7 seasons of DS9, I'm still feeling quite passionate about it
QFTFT!
