Why my friend doesn't like DS9: Sisko.

[Mysterion]

Yeah rewatching Emissary now, I do think Sisko comes on a bit too strong in that scene. But it's still compelling as hell to watch, and their final scene together does a great job smoothing things over.

The only thing that seems weird to me, and a bit jarring, is that after that first meeting Sisko's right back to being his happy go lucky self in the next scene. Lol

I think I might be the only person on the planet that thinks Picard is the asshat in that episode.

Fair enough that perhaps Sisko is a bit unfair in his attitude twoard Picard, but the dismissive manner in which Picard treats Sisko is totally unwarranted, IMO.

Picard comes off as an elitist prick sitting there playing with his matched tea service all the while lecturing Sisko (lost wife and being posted to a floating garbage dump) about having to put up with the hardships of the service.

This is an early indicator of why I came to like DSN much more than I ever liked TNG.

 

[DalekJim]

I like DS9 because the characters are flawed. Sisko isn't some confident paragon like Picard. He starts the series a broken man. Kira was a terrorist, Odo helped out during the occupation, Bashir lied to get in to Starfleet and don't get me started on Garak...

The flaws and different facets are what make these characters so much more interesting than Geordi LaForge, Dr. Crusher or Troi.

 

[indolover]

It's easy for us as an audience to say that Sisko was too harsh (I disagree, but whatever) ...but if a man who had suffered brain trauma and was not himself murdered your family, I'd bet real money you'd have an attitude when meeting him three years later after he was healed. If you say you'd be fine with him, I don't believe you.

Speak for yourself.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

I like DS9 because the characters are flawed. Sisko isn't some confident paragon like Picard. He starts the series a broken man. Kira was a terrorist, Odo helped out during the occupation, Bashir lied to get in to Starfleet and don't get me started on Garak...

The flaws and different facets are what make these characters so much more interesting than Geordi LaForge, Dr. Crusher or Troi.

Agreed. I only started watching the first season recently, but I do like that they are inherently flawed from the get-go.

 

[Use of Time]

Yeah rewatching Emissary now, I do think Sisko comes on a bit too strong in that scene. But it's still compelling as hell to watch, and their final scene together does a great job smoothing things over.

The only thing that seems weird to me, and a bit jarring, is that after that first meeting Sisko's right back to being his happy go lucky self in the next scene. Lol

I think I might be the only person on the planet that thinks Picard is the asshat in that episode.

Fair enough that perhaps Sisko is a bit unfair in his attitude twoard Picard, but the dismissive manner in which Picard treats Sisko is totally unwarranted, IMO.

Picard comes off as an elitist prick sitting there playing with his matched tea service all the while lecturing Sisko (lost wife and being posted to a floating garbage dump) about having to put up with the hardships of the service.

This is an early indicator of why I came to like DSN much more than I ever liked TNG.

Picard wasn't an asshat at all. He was there to give a briefing to the stations new Commander. Sisko started whining about the posting to a superior officer. The response is pretty much what I expect to hear in any line of the military. Maybe an ENS would say something like "its not ideal here" but Sisko has been around long enough to know better. I would have asked Sisko why he even bothered to show up in the first place if that was going to be his attitude.

As for his latent hostility to Picard, I think that it is completely understandable regardless of the circumstances. That face is one he will always associate with the death of his wife. He gets a freebie here and Picard seemed to understand that. Picard didn't seem to appreciate the implication but didn't press the issue with Sisko and let him vent.

I thought Picard handled it the best way he could by keeping the meeting strictly business. Sisko came around in his own time.

 

[Tosk]

It's easy for us as an audience to say that Sisko was too harsh (I disagree, but whatever) ...but if a man who had suffered brain trauma and was not himself murdered your family, I'd bet real money you'd have an attitude when meeting him three years later after he was healed. If you say you'd be fine with him, I don't believe you.

Speak for yourself.

Isn't that what I did?

 

[indolover]

It's easy for us as an audience to say that Sisko was too harsh (I disagree, but whatever) ...but if a man who had suffered brain trauma and was not himself murdered your family, I'd bet real money you'd have an attitude when meeting him three years later after he was healed. If you say you'd be fine with him, I don't believe you.

Speak for yourself.

Isn't that what I did?

Well either that nor narcissistically project your biases onto others.

 

[Silvercrest]

If you haven't guessed by now, the reason he doesn't like Sisko and by extension DS9 is because of how Sisko treated Picard in their first meeting on board the Enterprise in Emissary. I should have thought of that because my friend is very much a part of Team Picard

Let me get this straight. Your friend was extremely attached to someone. That person, Picard, was attacked by Sisko's actions. On a single occasion, years and years ago. Under circumstances which have long since been justified to some extent.

And yet your friend won't let it go after all this time, choosing to continue disliking Sisko regardless.

The irony is appalling.

It is not linear.

 

[Vanyel]

If you haven't guessed by now, the reason he doesn't like Sisko and by extension DS9 is because of how Sisko treated Picard in their first meeting on board the Enterprise in Emissary. I should have thought of that because my friend is very much a part of Team Picard

Let me get this straight. Your friend was extremely attached to someone. That person, Picard, was attacked by Sisko's actions. On a single occasion, years and years ago. Under circumstances which have long since been justified to some extent.

And yet your friend won't let it go after all this time, choosing to continue disliking Sisko regardless.

The irony is appalling.

It is not linear.

True, but if he had left it as "I don't like shows with story arcs." I'd have left him alone. But he added in he didn't like Sisko, so I had to know why.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Sisko went through pain, grief, and anger for three years following Wolf 359 and finally encountered the man whose face was forever etched in his mind as the one responsible for it all. Sure, you can say his anger was misplaced, but when he saw Picard, he didn't see a fellow Starfleet officer, but rather Locutus of Borg. Sisko had to undergo a personal journey (albeit with the help of the Wormhole aliens) to let all of that go and start living again.

So in "Emissary," a still grieving Sisko felt some initial resentment towards Picard--but he got over it by the end of the episode. Hating Sisko because he wasn't from the start a card-carrying member of the Picard Fan Club is lame.

 

[Use of Time]

I place Sisko a few rungs below some of the other Captains. Not because of his character per say but just his overwrought acting was distracting at times. The man could enunciate the shit of his words when he got into one of his speeches.

 

[Silvercrest]

True, but if he had left it as "I don't like shows with story arcs." I'd have left him alone. But he added in he didn't like Sisko, so I had to know why.

I don't know if you're seeing it. Your friend is doing exactly what Sisko did.

 

[Tosk]

Speak for yourself.

Isn't that what I did?

Well either that nor narcissistically project your biases onto others.

All I said is that I wouldn't believe that anyone here would be happy-go-lucky with a man who murdered their family, regardless of his state of mind at the time. How exactly is that narcissistic? What you call bias, I call my opinion based on a theoretical circumstance.

You're saying that if it happened to you, you'd really be totally cool with the guy?

 

[Vanyel]

True, but if he had left it as "I don't like shows with story arcs." I'd have left him alone. But he added in he didn't like Sisko, so I had to know why.

I don't know if you're seeing it. Your friend is doing exactly what Sisko did.

Yes I did get it.

 

[Dream]

Sisko was certainly being a jerk to Picard. But I could see the situation from both sides.

It was a huge risk introducing the new leading actor for their next series that way. The writers had balls.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

If you haven't guessed by now, the reason he doesn't like Sisko and by extension DS9 is because of how Sisko treated Picard in their first meeting on board the Enterprise in Emissary. I should have thought of that because my friend is very much a part of Team Picard

Let me get this straight. Your friend was extremely attached to someone. That person, Picard, was attacked by Sisko's actions. On a single occasion, years and years ago. Under circumstances which have long since been justified to some extent.

And yet your friend won't let it go after all this time, choosing to continue disliking Sisko regardless.

The irony is appalling.

It is not linear.

That's completely hilarious, I hope the OP points it out one day!

 

[Captain McBain]

It's easy for us as an audience to say that Sisko was too harsh (I disagree, but whatever) ...but if a man who had suffered brain trauma and was not himself murdered your family, I'd bet real money you'd have an attitude when meeting him three years later after he was healed. If you say you'd be fine with him, I don't believe you.

I don't agree with the analogy. Someone who has brain trauma and is 'not himself' still knows that murder is wrong; the Borg care not whether murder is wrong and Picard had no control over his actions anyway.

 

[mos6507]

I like DS9 because the characters are flawed. Sisko isn't some confident paragon like Picard. He starts the series a broken man. Kira was a terrorist, Odo helped out during the occupation, Bashir lied to get in to Starfleet and don't get me started on Garak...

The flaws and different facets are what make these characters so much more interesting than Geordi LaForge, Dr. Crusher or Troi.

Flaws are ok, as long as they don't make them unsympathetic. The problem I have with DS9 is that the flaws the characters have make me hard to empathize with them. Bahir's personality was also very grating, and Avery Brooks spoke like a robot. Odo was probably the most likeable character, even though he walked around perpetually annoyed.

 

[Tosk]

It's easy for us as an audience to say that Sisko was too harsh (I disagree, but whatever) ...but if a man who had suffered brain trauma and was not himself murdered your family, I'd bet real money you'd have an attitude when meeting him three years later after he was healed. If you say you'd be fine with him, I don't believe you.

I don't agree with the analogy. Someone who has brain trauma and is 'not himself' still knows that murder is wrong; the Borg care not whether murder is wrong and Picard had no control over his actions anyway.

I made the guy up and I say he didn't know right from wrong.

Anyway, that's not the point of my example...it's not about whether Picard is to blame or not, the point is about Sisko's reaction to him.

 

[DalekJim]

Flaws are ok, as long as they don't make them unsympathetic.

I don't have to feel sympathy for a character to really find them interesting and enjoy watching them. I never felt much empathy for Dukat and he's one of my favourite Trek characters before S7 butchers him.