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I am watching DS9 for the first time (some observations)

Just checking in. I've left off partway into "Second Sight". I'm going to try to go forward in the next couple of days.
 
I always get the title mixed up with the, much-superior, Second Skin from S3. It was a disappointment when it actually played on my rewatch. ;)
 
Hurry up, I'm almost through season 3! ;)It's more uneven then season 2 but there are some real classics in it, like "Second Skin", "Past Tense" and "Through The Looking Glass". Watching the early seasons I was surprised to see much ballsier Major Kira is. She looks so much better in her original uniform. Nana Visitor is a somewhat slight woman and those shoulder pads bulked her up. I find Dax and Bashir so much more likable too. And Jake.

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Hurry up, I'm almost through season 3! ;)It's more uneven then season 2 but there are some real classics in it, like "Second Skin", "Past Tense" and "Through The Looking Glass". Watching the early seasons I was surprised to see much ballsier Major Kira is. She looks so much better in her original uniform. Nana Visitor is a somewhat slight woman and those shoulder pads bulked her up. I find Dax and Bashir so much more likable too. And Jake.

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DS9 did a great job with the female characters. Granted, there aren’t many of them, but both Kira and Dax are strong, unique, with their feminine sides, Dax bein more playful and Kira being more mournful. Even with Leeta, they did well, different than Kira and Dax, uneducated bu smart enough to find happiness.
 
As for the couple of others, I did like Ezri though not as much as Jadzia. I didn’t like Cassidy.
 
I’m on my first ever watch...started in late May and am now 10 episodes away from finishing the series. Excellent writing for the most part. The characters really grew on me. I particularly thought it really hit its stride in seasons 5 and 6.

Soon I’ll be on to Voyager for the first time ever...yeah, I know..it seems like it’s a pretty massive drop off from TNG and DS9 from what I’ve gathered here, but it’s the very last series I have yet to see, so can’t stop now. Got to make it through it before Picard comes out :)
 
I've jumped back to the first season. Very alien feel to Bajor and the station, the "frontier feel" was emphasized much stronger in the first season. Well done. The episodes aren't classics but they are fun to rewatch. Sisko was a little more stiff but he had authority, Kira started out as a strong character with a lot of fire, Bashir and Jadzia were so young and innocent, Quark was more shadowy, and Odo was Mr. Law and Order with an attitude.

"I decide who has the rights and who doesn't on this station!"
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I began DS9 watching it for the first time in late May. Now it’s almost late August and I’ve finally finished watching the entire series for the first time.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. The first season or two it took me awhile for the characters to really grow on me. I think the show really hit its stride around Season 4.

I especially liked Seasons 5 and 6. I feel they ended the series well, too. Glad I watched it.

Now, on to Voyager...
 
And I step back into this thread for the first time in two months.

I keep meaning to get back to DS9, but life keeps getting in the way. I have still left off at "Second Sight"; what I saw of it didn't really hold me, so I've been contemplating whether to finish it for completion's sake, or move on to the next episode.
 
Okay, I finally finished watching "Second Sight". Unfortunately, I don't have much to say about it.

Other than exploring a potential romance for Sisko, it wasn't a particularly interesting episode. I noticed it wasn't really holding my attention. The story felt like it could've been adapted to TNG or even TOS without much consequence, and I've remarked before that DS9 is at its' best when it tells stories that are unique to its' premise.

I didn't want to skip it, but I can't see myself revisiting it any time soon. Didn't hate it, but didn't enjoy it either.
 
Just finished watching "Sanctuary". After "Second Skin", we get a return to form of DS9 exploring more of Bajor and life in the Gamma Quadrant.

At first, I didn't really get the point of the Skrreean language confusing the translator until I realized that it's what allowed Kira to begin building her rapport with Haneek. We get some nice character development for Kira as she bonds with, and ultimately hurts and is hurt by her interaction with Haneek.

It seems like we're meant to see a parallel between the Skrreea and the Bajorans: two peaceful agrarian peoples dispossessed and exploited by foreign powers trying to put their lives back together, including a spiritual tie to the wormhole, however broadly the Skrreea interpret their texts. The key difference is that the Skrreea trust the Bajorans but that trust is not reciprocated. This ties in with the issues raised the the opening trilogy of Season 2, and the struggles the Bajorans face in learning from the misdeeds of the Cardassians. The Bajoran Provisional Government couldn't see past potential disaster and it cost them a potential ally.

EDIT: I neglected to add when I first posted this, but we also get our second reference to the Dominion, along with the earliest implication that they may not be safe.
 
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I'm waiting for someone to make a comment on the Skrreean's appearance, since someone always comes along to bring that up as though it's somehow relevant.

I agree that the situation was not handled as well as it might have been by either side.
 
I agree that the situation was not handled as well as it might have been by either side.
The Bajorans and the Skreeans? Or the producers and the writers, because honestly, the concept driving the episode was too big to be a bottle show.
 
I meant the former. I'm okay with the latter; are you suggesting it should have been a two-parter or such?
 
I'm waiting for someone to make a comment on the Skrreean's appearance, since someone always comes along to bring that up as though it's somehow relevant.

I agree that the situation was not handled as well as it might have been by either side.
I wish they had been able to do better aliens.
Maybe people would be less sympathetic if the Skreeans looked like spiders, or gigantic lobsters, or two headed lizards.
Or what if they wanted to farm plants that were only edible to them and could kill Bajorans?
I love Trek but sometimes I wish they had been able to do more.
 
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