Does DS9 ever get you depressed due to how LITERALLY dark it is?

[Navaros]

After several years of watching DS9, how literally dark it is is starting to make me feel in kind of a depressed mood when I watch it or even when I think about watching it.

I don't mean the stories like ITPM etc., I mean that there is literally hardly any light in the show (other than when they go to a planet like Bajor or Earth from time to time).

For some reason I never used to notice this, nor have these feelings in the first 5-7 years when I watched DS9; I guess I was too distracted by the fantastic acting and compelling stories to notice the depressing lack of light in the show. But now that I know all the stories and scenes in the show like the back of my hand, the literal darkness jumps out at me much more noticeably.

I have read comments from the showmakers where they said DS9 was deliberately designed to be a dark and sinister kind of place, but it is not until recently that how well they implemented that concept started to click with my soul.

The literal darkness of it is actually making me feel discouraged from rewatching it more. I find it fascinating how DS9 stirs these new emotions in me after all these years.

Have you all ever felt in a despressed mood because of watching DS9 due to how literally dark it is?

 

[PSGarak]

No, I haven't, but I do get that feeling watching some movies sometimes when the lighting is deliberately blue-shifted and such. It also makes sense that the space station wasn't particularly well lit, as it was designed by Cardassians, who are averse to bright light. However, Garak mentioned that the place was too bright for him, so imagine what the lighting was like pre-takeover by Bajor and Starfleet. I do find it interesting that it didn't affect you that way at first, but now it does.

 

[Jono]

Never made me depressed.

As for the darkness of the show I also noticed that a few years ago when I started watching the series again that the show seemed darker then I remembered and I attribute that to the fact that previous I was watching the show on a non-flat TV and that with these newer better flat TVs and monitors with superior colour and contrast was why the lighting on the show seemed dimmer now.

 

[Sykonee]

I noticed it was dark, and that may have initially put me off in the early years. After all, why should I watch something that seemed so gloomy when I had the cheerier-looking TNG inviting me in. Over time, though, I kind of warmed to the darker look, as that tone seemed to become far more common in sci-fi as the 90s carried on. I wonder if the success of The X-Files had a lot to do with it?

When DS9 and VOY were both on the air, I found I much preferred DS9's look. The darker tone just seemed more... real.

Depressed? Not really, no.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Odd...I actually find the aesthetic of DS9 very appealing and soothing. If you were talking only about architecture, I would be a hell of a lot more comfortable living on a Cardassian station or ship, than a Starfleet one--which is almost overwhelming in its brightness.

 

[PSGarak]

Odd...I actually find the aesthetic of DS9 very appealing and soothing. If you were talking only about architecture, I would be a hell of a lot more comfortable living on a Cardassian station or ship, than a Starfleet one--which is almost overwhelming in its brightness.

I love the architecture of DS9. I find it much more aesthetically pleasing than anything on the Starfleet ships or even things we've seen in movies involving Earth headquarters. Give me curves and symmetry over straight lines and odd angles any day of the week.

 

[happydave]

I can't say I've really noticed. I watched most of DS9 on either my tv or my laptop. My TV is slowly dying and the screen itself is quite dark and my laptop I adjust the darkness depending on my environment, so a lot of times the actual darkness of a show is more affected by how I'm watching it rather than the show's lightness itself.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

DS9 had light and shade and bright colours and basically looked fantastic. I found it much more visually appealing than the general beigeness of TNG.

 

[DiSiLLUSiON]

If a simple TV show makes someone depressed, they should really see a shrink.

That being said, I didn't think DS9 was that dark in terms of feel; most things turned out pretty well after all was said and done. It wasn't that dark in terms of lighting, either; you could still clearly see everything; it was, however, much more varied then the seemingly drab lighting on TNG.

 

[john titor]

If a simple TV show makes someone depressed, they should really see a shrink.

That being said, I didn't think DS9 was that dark in terms of feel; most things turned out pretty well after all was said and done. It wasn't that dark in terms of lighting, either; you could still clearly see everything; it was, however, much more varied then the seemingly drab lighting on TNG.

lol are you an expert on that?

A friend and me both agreed that Quake was depressing to play after a time because it was so brown and dark. This conclusion was reached at independently. You might also be interested to know that during the making of the film Cube the red coloured panels made everyone on set more aggressive!

 

[roliver]

Have you all ever felt in a despressed mood because of watching DS9 due to how literally dark it is?

Nope, but I did notice after rewatching all seven seasons just recently that while DS9 was certainly visually dark, the station had absolutely no dirt or grime. It was spotless. Not a speck of dust or a spot of grime to be seen anywhere.

 

[DiSiLLUSiON]

A friend and me both agreed that Quake was depressing to play after a time because it was so brown and dark. This conclusion was reached at independently. You might also be interested to know that during the making of the film Cube the red coloured panels made everyone on set more aggressive!

Both of your examples have nothing to do with watching a TV show. Besides, there is nothing depressing about playing Quake, no. It looks dull with all the browns, that I agree with.

 

[john titor]

A friend and me both agreed that Quake was depressing to play after a time because it was so brown and dark. This conclusion was reached at independently. You might also be interested to know that during the making of the film Cube the red coloured panels made everyone on set more aggressive!

Both of your examples have nothing to do with watching a TV show. Besides, there is nothing depressing about playing Quake, no. It looks dull with all the browns, that I agree with.

of course they do! Look a little bit deeper. Colour influences mood.

 

[DiSiLLUSiON]

of course they do! Look a little bit deeper. Colour influences mood.

Yes, it does. But a TV show is still a TV show and a game is still a game; you immerse yourself in them, until you turn the screen off. Then any immersion is gone, or at least, that's how it supposed to work. Those who do get highly influenced are probably better off not watching TV or playing games. It's the same way with books; if a character is killed off, you are hardly crying about it when you close the book.

The downside is that it's also easy to "turn off" the news; people stop caring about horrible things in the world once the screen turns black.

 

[john titor]

ah in that case I agree. With regards to characters, in certain cases its normal to feel sad if they've been killed off or if the series has come to an end, only in rare instances though.

 

[Crimea River]

The darkness never really bothered me. Then again, I'm usually in my room with the lights off. I've loved the change of setting from the usual Federation starship, to the retrofitted Cardassian starbase.

At first I thought you were talking about the darkness of the themes (then I read the "LITERALLY" lol). I've heard it mentioned that it's not just literally dark. But I'm only halfway through the second season; I haven't really encountered those themes...though I'm looking forward to them. I like stuff like that.

 

[Marie1]

Nope. But it seems to make getting good pics harder... seems kinda grainy to me which can be annoying.

 

[Captrek]

Garak mentioned that the place was too bright for him, so imagine what the lighting was like pre-takeover by Bajor and Starfleet.

No need to imagine. Terok Nor is seen in Necessary Evil, and yes, it is darker than DS9.

 

[DevilEyes]

I never thought DS9 looked literally dark.

Especially not after you've watched BSG.

 

[SoM]

Have you all ever felt in a despressed mood because of watching DS9 due to how literally dark it is?

Nope, but I did notice after rewatching all seven seasons just recently that while DS9 was certainly visually dark, the station had absolutely no dirt or grime. It was spotless. Not a speck of dust or a spot of grime to be seen anywhere.

Why the hell WOULDN'T they keep it clean? The lighting would be hard to change, but keeping the place spotless wouldn't be.