DS9, The Greatest of All Treks

[Prax]

Or when O'Brien watched himself (his clone, that is)die, or when O'Brien kept travelling a few hours into the future and watched himself die like 4 or 5 more times. Or when O'Brien almost died during "The Harvesters" fiasco, or when he lost his daughter in a nearby cave during a picnic on Bajor that happened to have a time portal in it, then found his daughter ten years older, a feral child, that the Federation was going to take away from him.

O'Brien has my sympathies. He carries a real burden, that man...poor Miles.

 

[fireproof78]

O'Brian was the Harry Kim of DS9. Poor man.

As for DS9, if I want longer story arcs, it's probably my go to series. It doesn't come as close to TOS in terms of personal endearment, but off all the series out there it comes...pretty close.

 

[Refuge]

Probably my least favorite of the franchise, not that it might not be someone else's favorite but it just didn't take enough chances. The story arcs were so labored and the aliens of the week were always the same aliens. Sisko as a captain lacked tactical expertise and was often too emotional. I mean why couldn't they have shown us the maintenance of the station more, it is entirely unrealistic seeing a well running station. I have to wonder if they couldn't have moved the station and had more conflict between the family of characters?? Why not have more secondary characters given more primary focus??

I think what would have made it better is if Odo had been more mercurial. Sisko had been more like Garak and Garak had been more like Quark. THAT would have lifted it to a really stellar series and shown its potential. This show was may be if I were to list it say 1. Voy and 2. TOS AND 3. TNG and 4. ENT and 5. DS 9 but I did like some of the episodes just there were few and far between. I guess tolerate is a better word but I didn't hate them I just think they could have done better. So I wouldn't say it was the greatest but I hope that's okay I just wish it could have been better.

 

[Refuge]

It's probably my favorite series too, but there are good episodes from all of the series.

Probably the most pretentious of the franchise and it didn't live up to its potential. It didn't seem to move, you know what I mean? It was like it was stuck in a rut of politics and the story. It didn't boldly go any where. Like I don't want to be negative as there are good episodes in all the franchise but I think it's healthy to debate how DS9 failed and how it missed out on such a great premise. I mean it was a station, you can't get more exploratory than that when it comes to the human condition and.. the human condition.

I wish it had been on a star ship and that might have made it what it had the potential to be. If it had been on a star ship with Odo as the Captain and Sisko in security with Worf cooking in the kitchen, oh wow! Think of the development.

 

[DonIago]

In other words, you would have liked it more if it had been a completely different show. Got it.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

It didn't boldly go any where.

Has this critique not gone stale by now? Is it not nothing more than a an priori excuse not to examine the series as it is? Should it not make the judgements of the person who deploys this critique suspect?

 

[Refuge]

Oh don't get me wrong all Trek is good and I don't hate DS9 it is one of my five favorites of the five I watched. I just felt it had these arcs that stopped it from exploring other avenues. You know what I mean? If they had perhaps removed the Cardassian Bajoran components of the show then it would have allowed for the other components to shine. Perhaps had a Captain that wasn't even human! Has that been done before? But apart from those few minor alterations it was on track and it had some really good architectural nuances.

 

[DonIago]

What other components?
At the time DS9 received some press for being the first Trek series to feature an African-American captain, not to mention one who was raising a son solo.
Bajor was always going to be a major component of DS9.
What you're saying sounds to me like "I like TNG, I just wish they hadn't had warp drive".

 

[Refuge]

I agree that it is silly to imagine TNG with an Enterprise that has no warp drive. That would be like picking apart every aspect of a show just because you can. I say left you say right. You lose any credibility when you become a contrarian.

Sisko lacked the chemistry I like in a leader. I just didn't warm to him and DS9 took itself too seriously. It became downright depressing and spiritually witchy in the end. The prophets nonsense did my head in. Yet it must have created enough sense of family for people to care.

 

[somebuddyX]

Enterprise has better fight scenes and space battle action and looks great in HD. Voyager has better unique concept and batshit crazy storylines. TNG has better one and done dramatic stories. TOS has amazing classic stories and characters. DS9 takes full advantage of it's series long arc and long list of characters to tell some pretty great stories.

 

[Refuge]

DS 9 takes advantage of its entire long arc to achieve what though. A prophet?

 

[fireproof78]

TOS is the greatest of Treks.

That said, DS9 had an interesting weave of political, spiritual and personal challenges that I found quite interesting. I didn't care for most of the cast until much later on, but I at least was intrigued by their story and setting.

 

[unimatrix7]

I adore DS9.

But, the idea that DS9 is an 'underdog' seems to me to be an odd fiction. One doesn't need to spend much time in this forum, or in GenTrek, to see that DS9 is generally considered 'the best' - with the point usually being made to highlight that Voyager and Enterprise are abominations.

I find that attitude tiresome.

I also object to the endless circle-jerking around DS9's 'arcs.' 'Arc' this, 'arc' that. Blah, blah. You'd almost think the writers didn't get bored of Bajor after a few seasons, or the Klingons after one. You'd also think the Dominion war actually happened between the 'lost the station' and 'final chapter' periods. Season 6 in particular is a wonderful demonstration of how DS9 at its core was really only a few baby steps away from its Trek sister series'.

After we got the station back, we had a wedding episode, two Ferengi episodes, a Mourn episode, something about genetically enhanced misfits, three Anomalies of the Week, those idiots on the Valiant, Holodeck Singing Scenes, whatever that thing with O'Brien & the Space Mafia was and so on. We also got, of course, the amazing In The Pale Moonlight - but my point is that DS9 was still entirely episodic, with only occasional deviations from the pattern.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

DS9 is the best of all Trek, we all know it!

Niner and proud

 

[VulcanMindBlown]

DS9 grew on people and it did get better over time....!!!!

 

[Salinga]

How about ... no.

 

[USS Firefly]

How about ... no.

Then you are wrong
In my opinion DS9 is the best Star Trek show

 

[Refuge]

How about ... no.

I'm with you.

 

[Prax]

DS9 is easily one of my top 5 favorite Star Trek series!

 

[kkt]

How about ... no.

Way to persuasively argue your case.