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Best DS9 sets

NKemp3

Commodore
Commodore
The DS9 sets are amazing

It may have been awhille since I first asked this question. I was watching "In the Hands of the Prophets" and there was one beautifully shot scene in which Sisko entered the Bajoran temple on the promenade to meet Winn for the first time. The set for the interior of the temple was stunning. That reminded me of how I still think DS9's sets are better than any sets in the history of sci fi TV. And I think those sets will hold up to scrutiny for decades to come. But what are the very best ones? Here are my selections in numerical order. These are the sets which I wish I had a chance to stroll through or take a seat in before they were demolished.

1)The Promenade. Best. Set. Ever. For any show.

Its a shame they had to tear that thing down when the show concluded. With its multiple levels it allowed for many great camera angles but most of all it was unique for TV and helped make it seem as if those actors people were actually on a large station.

2)The wardroom. Yeah, it was actually the set for crew quarters without the furniture, but boy did it look impressive with that long table used for senior officer discussions. Never did a scene ever look boring in that room.

3)The Bajoran Temple. Wish we could have seen more of it. Put i some candles, throw some purple colored fabrics around and you have a room that is meant to be filmed. DS9 looks so different from the other Trek shows because of the Cardassian architecture and because of the spaces with the Bajoran touches added to them.

4)Sisko's office. The way it is elevated above Ops really sells it and makes it stand out. The two sliding see-through doors are a nice touch as well. (Damn, I hate to sound like an interior decorator). Sisko's desk, which I assume was Dukat's desk as well, looks perfect for a person of power. Like most of DS9 the office is a bit dark which creates a certain mood. The window and monitors are nicely placed. Plus there is a couch to the side where Sisko can sit and have a more intimate discussion with friends and family. Of course the baseball adds class.

5)Crew quarters on the Defiant. The total opposite of what you saw on the ships of TNG and VOY. Small, closed-in. Like a submarine. Its like I'm watching Das Boot. Well, maybe not. Love the bunk beds.

Any that I'm missing? What are your favorites?
 
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Re: The DS9 sets are amazing

The interior of the Bajoran lightship replica.
The bridge of the Groumall, and also the Cardassian command centre in 'Defiant'.
 
Re: The DS9 sets are amazing

... and also the Cardassian command centre in 'Defiant'.
Agreed. I loved that, too. It somehow looked believable and felt impressive. It's also strange when you look at what they finally come up with as the Dominion HQ on Cardassia in the later seasons! This set was much too small. It always had the claustrophobic feel of a telephone booth.
 
Re: The DS9 sets are amazing

Kind of surprised nobody mentioned my favourite, which is easily Quark's Bar. That set is just huge and it looks great.

... and also the Cardassian command centre in 'Defiant'.
Agreed. I loved that, too. It somehow looked believable and felt impressive. It's also strange when you look at what they finally come up with as the Dominion HQ on Cardassia in the later seasons! This set was much too small. It always had the claustrophobic feel of a telephone booth.
Yes, it's a great set. I guess the Dominion HQ had to be small with all of the additional sets they needed in later seasons...
 
Re: The DS9 sets are amazing

Kind of surprised nobody mentioned my favourite, which is easily Quark's Bar. That set is just huge and it looks great.
Ah, but the Promenade WAS mentioned. Quark's Bar was part of a much more massive set, after all. The Promenade really was a brilliant set, and they did a great job of making it feel very expansive.

I've always loved Ops, as well, even if it did take me years to decipher the layout.
 
Re: The DS9 sets are amazing

The standing sets and the way they use shadow and color are by far the best television sets I've ever seen. They may be better than a lot of movie sets out thre.

I also like Internment Camp 327 (from In Purgatory's Shadow and its sequel), and the outdoor prison in The Homeoming.
 
Re: The DS9 sets are amazing

The standing sets and the way they use shadow and color are by far the best television sets I've ever seen. They may be better than a lot of movie sets out thre.

I also like Internment Camp 327 (from In Purgatory's Shadow and its sequel), and the outdoor prison in The Homeoming.

Yes. The color is astounding on this show. It always stood out to me but you appreciate it even more on DVD. The use of mood and lighting and shadows also helps sets this series apart. With these qualities and the alien architecture this set will hold up visually for a long time. Is there any coincidence that VOY and ENT followed suit as much as they could in terms of lighting rather than repeat TNG's overlit lounge approach?

Anyway if we are including sets that made just one or two appearances....

Jake Sisko's home in "The Visitor"
The light ship Sisko and Jake travel in during "The Explorers"
Krim's office in "The Circle"
Hippocrates Noah's lair in "Our Man Bashir"
 
Re: The DS9 sets are amazing

Great thread, and I totally agree with your choices. DS9 had by far the best set designing of any of the Berman era trek shows. Maybe because it wasn't starfleet bland designing.

Robert
 
was there some sort of ore-processing room that Jake got trapped in..? or am i totally making that up?!
 
was there some sort of ore-processing room that Jake got trapped in..? or am i totally making that up?!
Yeah, that was in "Civil Defense". Jake, O'Brien and Captain Sisko were trapped in one of the station's ore processing units. IIRC, the set was a re-dress of the ususal cargo bay, though.
 
Re: The DS9 sets are amazing

I only started liking the Promenade set during/after season three (I think) when it got upgraded a bit. More color, decorations and more of a feeling of exactly what it was supposed to be.

If you ever want to get a feel of what it must have been like to actually be on the Promenade. Go on a cruise ship, preferably a larger one where you go to the shopping area and there is a multilevel atrium with people milling about, shops galore and some windows peeking out to the ocean. Takes a bit of imagination, but not much...
 
In truth, I can't think of a 'regular' set on DS9 I didn't like. By far the Promenade/Quarks/Replomat is the best set in Trek...but I agree - the Bajoran temple was really cool as were the crew quarters and Sisko's office.

I even liked some of those small research rooms we saw in the first seasons - the rooms where Dax would do research and where Sisko worked on the monolith in Rapture. Even those rooms were cool for workrooms.
 
You know which one I liked also, Odo's office. The wanted posters/pictures on the wall , the fact that the cells were not right there as in other TREK episodes but behind a wall o down a hallway. seemed very "real world" to me.

Also, not a set per se, but the rolling airlock doors. Again, very "real life" to me vs. just a couple of doors that would slide apart.
 
I like Defiant's engine room, in part because it had a few visual elements which were reminiscent of the TOS Enterprise's engine room.

I liked the Promenade quite a bit, too, although I wish they'd occasionally redressed the single "arc" that existed on the soundstage in order to represent other segments of the ring-shaped facility. (Then again, maybe they did. I don't remember. D'oh!)
 
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The one thing that always annoyed me was the door to the security office. But I loved the circular windows in the crew quarters- nicely recessed so you could sit on the frame and gaze into space. And how cool were the replicators?
 
Re: The DS9 sets are amazing

I only started liking the Promenade set during/after season three (I think) when it got upgraded a bit. More color, decorations and more of a feeling of exactly what it was supposed to be.

Agreed. Seeing the sketches of potential Promenades in "The Making of ST: DS9" kinda spoiled me, because I loved some of the proposed looks.

promenadeconcept.jpg


promenadeconcept2.jpg
 
Re: The DS9 sets are amazing

^LOL. I remember seeing that and thinking it wa going to be like Mos Eisley from Star Wars but in space...thanks for the quick trip down memory lane.
 
Re: The DS9 sets are amazing

i know its been said, but the Promenade is just awe inspiring to me.
 
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