Berman et. al decided to shoehorn Worf into the show in an attempt to boost ratings. That forced the writers, at the last minute, to shoehorn the Klingon war into show so that Worf/Klingons would have something to do on the show. That forced the Dominion story to get mostly shelved until Season 5.
Dominion War
- Thread starter garoo1980
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Berman et. al decided to shoehorn Worf into the show in an attempt to boost ratings. That forced the writers, at the last minute, to shoehorn the Klingon war into show so that Worf/Klingons would have something to do on the show. That forced the Dominion story to get mostly shelved until Season 5.
The Klingon War is very easy to understand: Some suits at Paramount got worried that DS9's ratings kept falling so they said to Berman and Behr "Hey guys, Star Trek fans love Klingons, why don't you bring back the Klingons instead of that boring Dominion/Bajor stuff".
Yeah sure, but from an in-universe point of view it makes sense that the threat of changeling infiltrators would shake up the existing alpha quadrant powers and that the Klingons would be the ones to over-react. The whole point of sending the infiltrators would be to sow chaos prior to a direct invasion, so some sort of upheaval in the alpha quadrant makes more sense than immediate open war with the Dominion in light of the previous season's ending.
I didn't have any of the "backstage" info when I first watched it , and I didn't find any of it confusing
Also Hippocratic Oath, Starship Down and Homefront/Paradise Lost are all early to mid-season 4 episodes that pick up on the Dominion storyline.
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Exactly. It was a great idea, it's just a pity that the war/conflict/whatever was featured in so few episodes. Though it did give us Pirate Dukat and provide some motivation for theThe Klingon War is very easy to understand: Some suits at Paramount got worried that DS9's ratings kept falling so they said to Berman and Behr "Hey guys, Star Trek fans love Klingons, why don't you bring back the Klingons instead of that boring Dominion/Bajor stuff".
Yeah sure, but from an in-universe point of view it makes sense that the threat of changeling infiltrators would shake up the existing alpha quadrant powers and that the Klingons would be the ones to over-react. The whole point of sending the infiltrators would be to sow chaos prior to a direct invasion, so some sort of upheaval in the alpha quadrant makes more sense than immediate open war with the Dominion in light of the previous season's ending.
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turnaround in season 5.i think in honesty it only got good from season 3, when the Founders were discovered.
Seasons 1 and 2, whilst having good episodes, were largely poor IMO.
The Founders engineered a war between the Federation, Cardassia and the Klingons so the Alpha Quadrant would be less of a threat to them.
the war was only a short one, and started and practically ended in the season five premiere. OK, there was the Way of the Warrior attack in season 4, but no war was declared as such. in season 4, both parties had a Cold War, but not a hot war.
Some people seem to think everything before the war was pointless.
Personally, I like seasons 4 and 5 the best. Four in particular. This was such a huge leap from season 4 in every aspect, with nice surprises and engaging, varied stories and settings.
5, although it wasn't as consistently awesome, managed to push the envelope even more on some episodes.
I stll like 6 and 7, but I'd rate2 almost as high as 7. DS9 in peacetime was pretty interesting too.
Personally, I like seasons 4 and 5 the best. Four in particular. This was such a huge leap from season 4 in every aspect, with nice surprises and engaging, varied stories and settings.
5, although it wasn't as consistently awesome, managed to push the envelope even more on some episodes.
I stll like 6 and 7, but I'd rate2 almost as high as 7. DS9 in peacetime was pretty interesting too.
I like I how I started this whole thread with such a simple question! This forum is fun
That's what's great about DS9. There are so many facets to it that they can spark huge debates about all sorts of minutiae.
If DS9 were not such a deep show, such things would not be possible.
I'm not gonna describe season 3 as worthless by any means, but if one stopped prior to Way of the Warrior, they missed out on one of the best Trek episodes of all time, and the best two hours period that ever focused on Worf.
Although it'd behoove one to go back and watch Improbable Cause/The Die Is Cast two-parter, which 1) explains why the Cardassian government is falling apart and 2)is perhaps even better than Way of the Warrior, more cleverly and tightly written at least.
Although it'd behoove one to go back and watch Improbable Cause/The Die Is Cast two-parter, which 1) explains why the Cardassian government is falling apart and 2)is perhaps even better than Way of the Warrior, more cleverly and tightly written at least.
I appreciate the sentiment, but I think a few of those episodes are safe to skip. Let He Who is Without Sin, for example.
I got to skip it because the DVD player wouldn't play that episode.
Smart DVD player.
Agreed. There's no mystery as to why the later seasons are more popular: they are epic and awesome in ways that the early seasons do not achieve. It is also true that seasons 1 and 2 have more worthless or borderline worthless episodes than the later seasons (especially season 1).
That said, the 5-episode arc that bridges seasons 1 and 2 (Duet, In the Hands of the Prophets, The Homecoming, The Circle, The Siege) is still one of my favorite parts of the show. There is also a lot of great character material in the first two seasons, including many of the best interactions among the main cast. These can be so good that they save otherwise mediocre episodes quite frequently. Quark in particular really shines in these early seasons as a source of hilarity and as a foil for Odo, Kira and Sisko.
Seasons 1 and 2 also lay the foundation for what is to come, not only as far as relationships and characters are concerned, but thematically as well. Episodes like The Maquis two-parter and Paradise are essential for establishing the show's subversive and morally ambiguous take on Trek's advanced society. The Bajoran political situation largely recedes into the background in later seasons, but the same issues are dealt with on a galactic scale: occupation, resistance, terrorism, religious fanaticism versus religious faith, political opportunism, shifting alliances, etc.
A lot of the substance of what makes DS9 great is there from the beginning, though the show hasn't yet figured out how to shed the TNG formula entirely, or how to present the substantive issues in a way that is flashy and palatable to the average viewer.
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S
Stone_Cold_Sisko
Guest
If you care about the Klingon part of the story, just start from S4.
If you kind of want to get directly to the actual Dominion War, I'd jump to "By Inferno's Light" "In Purgatory's Shadow" 2-parter in mid-S5 and go from there.
If you don't mind a little build-up, I say just start with S5 and watch from there. S5 and 6 are very good.
If you kind of want to get directly to the actual Dominion War, I'd jump to "By Inferno's Light" "In Purgatory's Shadow" 2-parter in mid-S5 and go from there.
If you don't mind a little build-up, I say just start with S5 and watch from there. S5 and 6 are very good.
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