Did You Ever Notice This About 'Emissary'?

[Michael]

I just finished watching Emissary for the umpteenth time as part of my plan to rewatch all of DS9 again. (Well, I have to do something while waiting for new Lost episodes. ) Really, I can't remember how often I actually saw the pilot episode. However, this time I noticed something I had never seen before and I'm curious if I'm the only one who missed this all these years:

The opening sequence – it's missing the wormhole! At first I thought I just missed it, so I skipped back to take a closer look. I can't tell you how astonished I was when I found out that it just isn't there! That's actually very cool and logical, because it doesn't spoil the discovery of the wormhole, which, of course, will take place later in the episode.

Isn't it amazing how after all these years you can still find things in this series you never noticed before?

Some other unrelated observations:

• It really is a great, great pilot episode. Michael Piller does a wonderful job of introducing all the characters and story threads. It's nice how all of the characters got a little scene that lets them shine. I was amazed how much we get to know about everyone, even in such a short time. It's a shame, though, that it took the producers almost another year to finally grasp the possibilies of DS9's premise.
• I love the special effects of the inside of the wormhole! I loved them as a child and I still love them today. I think they hold up pretty well, even after all these years. I always thought they are quite imaginative.
• I love the dialog and Avery Brooks' fabulous acting in the scene where the wormhole aliens bring him back to the day Jennifer died on the Saratoga: "I ... exist here. I don't know if you can understand. I see her like this every time I close my eyes ... in the darkness in the blink of an eye, she's there ... like this ..." Heart-breakingly brilliant!
• One thing I wondered: What if they hadn't found the wormhole? What if it really just was the desolate place on the border of known space? Would Sisko seriously have considered going back to Earth (as he told Picard)? Would it not have been nice if they'd have discovered the wormhole a little later in the series? What would these first episodes have dealt with then? Maybe they would have had more focus on the Bajorans and their upcoming civil war ...

However, in conclusion: I (still) love this show!

 

[nx1701g]

I'm afraid that I noticed it (but not on my first viewing). I saw the first season in syndication and it had the wormhole shot in it. When I bought the DVDs I noticed it then.

 

[KeptinChris]

Noticed that they added the wormhole in the next episode.

I remember catching a second viewing of Emissary on the Cleveland channel. During one of the breaks they had a news update and the anchor said something like and now back to DS9 and the wormhole. I wonder if any first time viewers watching were pissed.

 

[Sykonee]

The thing that's odd about the No-Wormhole credits of Emissary is that the station is still floating by itself in space, not in orbit of Bajor. The only reason it left the orbit of Bajor was because of the wormhole. Wouldn't an audience think it strange the credits would have the station on its own?

Granted, it probably wouldn't be very cost effective to create a totally different title sequence just for the pilot, showing DS9 in orbit of Bajor.

 

[od0_ital]

I noticed when I got the DVDs.

I'm afraid that I missed the original airin' of the pilot way back when...

 

[nx1701g]

The thing that's odd about the No-Wormhole credits of Emissary is that the station is still floating by itself in space, not in orbit of Bajor. The only reason it left the orbit of Bajor was because of the wormhole. Wouldn't an audience think it strange the credits would have the station on its own?

Granted, it probably wouldn't be very cost effective to create a totally different title sequence just for the pilot, showing DS9 in orbit of Bajor.

I don't think that the average person would have realized.

 

[Michael]

I'm afraid that I noticed it

Noticed that they added the wormhole in the next episode.

I noticed when I got the DVDs.

Looks like I really am the only one who didn't notice it until now.

The Memory Alpha entry for Emissary confirms that the opening sequence of the syndicated version of the pilot does indeed have the wormhole in it. So, no wonder I didn't notice it before getting the DVDs.

One thing I find curious about this, though: Did initial promotional material for Deep Space Nine (like trailers or publicity photos etc.) really omit the wormhole aspect of the series? I find that a bit hard to believe. Wouldn't that make the alternate opening sequence for Emissary rather superfluous?

 

[AdmiralGarak]

The thing that's odd about the No-Wormhole credits of Emissary is that the station is still floating by itself in space, not in orbit of Bajor. The only reason it left the orbit of Bajor was because of the wormhole. Wouldn't an audience think it strange the credits would have the station on its own?

Bajor was there... on the other side of the station where we couldn't see it.

To be fair, we had only just seen the station for one brief shot before the credits. It probably slipped by 99.9% of fans until later viewings that the planet wasn't there. Who the hell cared about it? We were finally getting to see lottsa cool shots of the space station!

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I noticed it the second time I started watching the show, when it was first screened on the BBC in the mid-90s. (The first time was when they showed the US episodes at my Star Trek club, although I could have sworn the wormhole was there in the original broadcast....)

I also noticed the nod to "Emissary" with the line about thoron fields and duranium shadows in "The Way of the Warrior". Only thing is, four years later, it really did turn out to be "no illusion".

 

[Anwar]

Heh, nice throwback there. I knew something about that exchange in Way of the Warrior sounded familiar.

 

[Michael]

I also noticed the nod to "Emissary" with the line about thoron fields and duranium shadows in "The Way of the Warrior". Only thing is, four years later, it really did turn out to be "no illusion".

Ha, that's nice, I never noticed that.

 

[Timo]

...Because the thoron field illusion thing was cut from the later showings of "Emissary", now wasn't it? Along with the O'Brien goodbye scene on the E-D, and other nice stuff.

DS9 got so many things right in the pilot. From comments in the DS9 Companion, it would appear this was because they took story arcs, character arcs and elements they had planned in advance for the first season or for the show in general, and crammed them all in the first two hours... Squeezing out all the stuff that didn't work.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[MyCylon]

I might have read about the change in the opening titles before I saw the actual episodes. In any case, I've known for some time now - I'm just not sure that it was due to my own keen awareness .

Btw. I absolutely love this episode. I think it's actually one of DS9's best episodes (one of those I'd grade 10 out of 10).
What I adore about it most of all is how it uses the sci-fi concept of non-linear beings as a means of contemplating our own nature and existence. And, actually, it wasn't until a few years ago that I really fully understood what Sisko's experience means.
Essentially, I I realized how the mind can become stuck in a moment of time and never really move on from there. Everything that happens in the here and now still revolves around that moment.
"Emissary" has a very powerful story, I think, and manages to introduce all the characters while being very entertaining, I think. That's quite a feat and really what a pilot should ideally be like. It just doesn't happen very often.

 

[jamestyler]

I'd never noticed that... but I have that ep on age old VHS... I may have to put it on to see it.

I still love the pilot. It's strange watching Sisko with hair at times.

 

[od0_ital]

... One thing I find curious about this, though: Did initial promotional material for Deep Space Nine (like trailers or publicity photos etc.) really omit the wormhole aspect of the series? I find that a bit hard to believe. Wouldn't that make the alternate opening sequence for Emissary rather superfluous?

I remember back when DS9 was bein' promoted by TV Guide & Newsweek and other media, there was mention of the wormhole and how the station would be a galactic outpost and some other stuff.

But, my guess is that even though the producers and studio promotions were okay with talkin' about the wormhole, they didn't want to blow their load in the openin' credits of the premiere episode, almost a full hour before the wormhole is seen onscreen in the episode.

 

[Trek Survivor]

It really is a great, great pilot episode. Michael Piller does a wonderful job of introducing all the characters and story threads.

You mean "Michael Piller AND RICK BERMAN" don't you? Come on, people - if you lot are going to blame Berman for everything that went wrong in the world over the last 20 years, you should at least give him his dues too...

Piller AND Berman gave us the very best Trek pilot with this episode. Even now it is still fantastic.

And I'm worried that it makes me nerdy, but I noticed the difference in the opening credits (no wormhole) during my first viewing of DS9 on good old CIC VHS releases back in late '93.

 

[Vykan12]

It's also worth noting that the defiant appears in the intro of seasons 3 onward, along with some extra ship activity, and of course the new track. Kudos to the showmakers for being so thorough in the show's production.

I really should revisit the pilot someday. The only time I saw it, I found it to be confusing and off-putting, particularly the Kai and the orb's involvement in the story. It would probably make much more sense to me now that I've watched up to season 7.

 

[MyCylon]

^
I'd definitely recommend giving it another try if you've only seen it once. Personally, I've found it becomes more powerful over time.

 

[Hober Mallow]

The Memory Alpha entry for Emissary confirms that the opening sequence of the syndicated version of the pilot does indeed have the wormhole in it. So, no wonder I didn't notice it before getting the DVDs.

Close. The original two-hour version that premiered the week of January 4, 1993 did not include the wormhole in the credits. Michael Piller explained on QVC a few weeks prior to the pilot's airing that the wormhole wasn't going to be in the first opening credits because the discovery of the wormhole was going to be an important part of the pilot episode.

One thing I find curious about this, though: Did initial promotional material for Deep Space Nine (like trailers or publicity photos etc.) really omit the wormhole aspect of the series? I find that a bit hard to believe. Wouldn't that make the alternate opening sequence for Emissary rather superfluous?

No, everyone who followed the series development knew about the wormhole.

 

[Nebusj]

One thing I find curious about this, though: Did initial promotional material for Deep Space Nine (like trailers or publicity photos etc.) really omit the wormhole aspect of the series? I find that a bit hard to believe. Wouldn't that make the alternate opening sequence for Emissary rather superfluous?

No, everyone who followed the series development knew about the wormhole.

I'm fairly sure that it was mentioned in commercials building up the show, as well, although I don't remember exactly. I don't believe the wormhole came as a surprise to me when I saw the episode the first time.