I just love this show so much. Wow.

[spunXtain]

I'm 34 now, and having been a lifelong Trek fan (TNG, TOS), I actually never really watched Deep Space 9 until about 10 years ago. I honestly don't know why. When I was a kid growing up I had ALL of the TNG toys, watched religiously, and played "Star Trek" all the time with my friends. I even remember watching "Emissary" with my dad the night in premiered, looking back now that's an awesome memory that I treasure. But I never watched any more.

But for whatever reason, 10 years ago I decided it was time to give it a watch. Here was all of this Star Trek goodness that was brand new to me. I'd seen all of TNG at least a dozen times. Over the course of a month I went through all of Deep Space 9 and was absolutely blown away. It puts any other Trek show to shame. It's not even close to me. I get so engrossed in the world of Deep Space 9 and don't want to leave. The heroes, the villains, everything is just perfect.

And now I'm about to wrap up my third rewatch of the show. I have about 12 episodes left and am feeling sad that the end is near yet again. For this is a show I can't just watch a single episode, I have to start at the beginning and experience it all.

This time through was maybe the most special to me. In the years since I've last watched DS9, I have now taken a huge interest in baseball. I attended at least one game a week last season, and am currently in school pursuing a career as a baseball scout. And also in my older age, I have gained an appreciation for the works of Sinatra and some of the other classic crooners, to the point of reading several Sinatra biographies and having framed pics of Sinatra in my home office. It seems that this show has even shaped my other interests in life, as well, and I didn't even realize or make the connection. This rewatch has been incredible, and now that I have a newfound appreciation for the baseball references and Vic Fontaine episodes, it means even more to me now, than ever. I could sing along to every song with Vic, and laughed out loud when Kira was trying to figure out the Infield Fly rule. It's like this show was made just especially for me.

I started this rewatch after having been extremely disappointed by Discovery. I gave up on it after the fourth episode, and starting watching Deep Space 9 again the very next day. The difference is just night and day to me. I didn't make this thread to hate on Discovery, though. But rather to take comfort in knowing that DS9 will always be here for me!

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Welcome fellow Niner, you'll like it in here

 

[Takeru]

DS9 is a great show, I rewatched all of it a year ago, but this ...

I started this rewatch after having been extremely disappointed by Discovery. I gave up on it after the fourth episode, ...

... is a bit unfair.

If you just watch the first four episodes of DS9 it's not exactly great either, Emissary (counting as two episodes), Past Prologue and A Man Alone? That doesn't even come close to how great DS9 would eventually become.
Or TNG? Encounter at Farpoint is not very good and right after that we're hit with the double whammy of The Naked Now and Code of Honor!
90s trek fans of all people should know that not every series starts out perfect so I don't understand why so many judge Discovery immediately and drop it. The quality has improved steadily and the mid season finale was incredible in my opinion, it's definitely worth watching.

You say you didn't make this thread to hate on Discovery but you kinda did. If this thread was really about DS9 you wouldn't have mentioned Discovery, there'd be no point.

 

[Tosk]

One of us.

 

[Leviathan]

Clearly a person of great wisdom...touched by the prophets

 

[jaime]

DS9 is a great show, I rewatched all of it a year ago, but this ...


... is a bit unfair.

If you just watch the first four episodes of DS9 it's not exactly great either, Emissary (counting as two episodes), Past Prologue and A Man Alone? That doesn't even come close to how great DS9 would eventually become.
Or TNG? Encounter at Farpoint is not very good and right after that we're hit with the double whammy of The Naked Now and Code of Honor!
90s trek fans of all people should know that not every series starts out perfect so I don't understand why so many judge Discovery immediately and drop it. The quality has improved steadily and the mid season finale was incredible in my opinion, it's definitely worth watching.

You say you didn't make this thread to hate on Discovery but you kinda did. If this thread was really about DS9 you wouldn't have mentioned Discovery, there'd be no point.

DSC has improved a lot, but DS9 in particular had a stronger pilot...they all did, in terms of setting out the store for the show, even ENT, which inconsider the weakest Trek pilot. Also, by the standards of the day, those early episodes really weren’t that bad, whereas by the standards of today, it’s not until after the pilot that DSC picks up.
What you say is fair...the shows always take a while to find their feet, or stumble around a bit...Voyager in particular has a few actually dull episodes in its first season particularly...but DSC didn’t stumble, it came out weak then got better. Ds9 has probably the strongest pilot, and it’s stumbles are tiny in comparison. Part of the strength comes from setting up its characters well and early, something Voyager for all its faults also did. DSC has fewer main characters, but we saw less that half of them in the pilot. Lorca, Stamets...they are prime movers, but don’t show up till episode three, and then we have to build steam again. Ds9 has its pieces in place from Emissary, even Rom is there though he doesn’t have a name yet. Voyager too benefits from a clear concentration on the characters being fleshed out...we might not know who they are, but thanks to Jeri Taylor, the writers and actors pretty much do.
Ds9 clearly had a plan, and you see a bunch of through-lines start in Emissary that keep going. Every second spent on georgiou in the Vulcan Hello is essentially a waste so far, unless we come back to it somehow (and I seriously like georgiou and Michelle Yeoh.) The only possible through lines will be Burnham herself and some of the Klingon stuff...the Saru stuff has already basically been squared away, the war will be over by series two apparently, and anyone else from the first two episodes has been lucky to get a line. It’s a very different show, and no show has done ensemble as well as Ds9 did...maybe at a pinch the first five seasons of Buffy...whereas DSC has a very tight focus as far as protagonists are concerned (a more cynical person would suggest DSC doesn’t even seem to have more than one, at a push, but as I said...it gets better.) which makes it very different.
No show has improved as fast as DSC, but not even ENT was as weak out the gate, storywise.
I actually think Ds9 is a massive influence on DSC, but comparing the pilots...it took 90 mins to do in DSC what Emissary does before we see the opening titles...granted, DS9 has TNG as a springboard, but DSC could have used the knowledge of Trek in pop culture the same way, and in some ways tries to.

 

[Sybok Was Wrong]

I enjoyed reading your passionate post. However, I disagree with your statement that DS9 "puts all the other STAR TREK shows to shame".

I respect that it's your favorite. That's cool. To me, it's my least favorite. I dislike all the actors, minus Shimmerman & Robinson; I dislike the characters, I dislike the sets, I dislike the Ferengi content & the fictional Bajoran religion content. I think this show is nerdy beyond reason.

On the flip side, I think DS9 is the most consistently well written of the lot. I just wonder how much BABYLON 5 influenced the direction. Quite a lot, I'd wager.

Someone gave you flack for comparing DS9 to DISCOVERY. That was unfair. DISCOVERY had me running too-but to watch ENTERPRISE. I much prefer the sensibilities of what Rick Berman put out as STAR TREK.

But no other series could ever put TOS "to shame"- truly one of the all-time greatest shows ever made PERIOD!

 

[Gary7]

I'd never say DS9 puts other Star Trek series to shame... but I think your saying that is likely the "new" enthusiasm in re-discovering DS9. You will come to find that each series has its place. They are ALL special. But of course, everyone has their favoritism. I still love TOS, because it started it all and amazingly aged so well. TNG is so key, because it was the "revival" that set the stage for DS9 and VOY, and it has so many great stories in it.

I'd often dismissed DS9 as too "soap opera" and "dark." Well, it has those qualities... but there's plenty of treasure inside for those patient to see it unfold. The character development is epic. More so than in any other Star Trek series. Avery Brooks is truly a phenomenal actor. If you see his interviews you realize quite how different Sisko is from him. Patrick Stewart? His mannerism are so much like Picard (when he was more youthful). And such colorful characters like Garak and Quark.

There's a lot to love about DS9... and it's always great to see someone genuinely appreciative of the series.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Avery Brooks is truly a phenomenal actor. If you see his interviews you realize quite how different Sisko is from him.

Usually, an actor might lose himself in the part. Conversely, Brooks only link to reality is his acting. The dude is from another planet.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

To me DS9 is second right behind TNG.

When it first aired it was my least favorite, but I came around when I gave it another chance on Spike.

 

[Tosk]

I'd never say DS9 puts other Star Trek series to shame... but I think your saying that is likely the "new" enthusiasm in discovering DS9.

Except that they haven't just discovered DS9. They are finishing their third rewatch in ten years.

 

[kkt]

To me DS9 is second right behind TNG.

When it first aired it was my least favorite, but I came around when I gave it another chance on Spike.

on Spike? Are you thinking of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer?

 

[Gary7]

Except that they haven't just discovered DS9. They are finishing their third rewatch in ten years.

You are Tosk. And you detected my typo. I meant "re-discovery." Thank you.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

on Spike? Are you thinking of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer?

In the mid to late 00s, Spike TV heavily syndicated TNG, DS9 and Voyager.

 

[cwellslovell]

Usually, an actor might lose himself in the part. Conversely, Brooks only link to reality is his acting. The dude is from another planet.

As time passes I'm so appreciative of how idiosyncratic Brooks is. He brought an unabashed and beautiful blackness to Sisko. Rooted in New Orleans, jazz, poetry, baseball... a really cool perspective of 20th century American blackness but in the future. So many of DS9's subtle cultural statements snuck in before our post 9/11 & recession era diviseness wouldve made them constantly criticized.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

And yet I think DS9 became strongest in the post-9/11 world.

 

[Armus]

I've been rewatching the second season of DS9 and I'm reminded about what DS9 did so well. Take the episode Cardassians. It's an episode with a lot of layers and with a human story at its core. The Federation's role on the station allowed Sisko and his officers to be more involved in conflicts between alien cultures. In this episode Sisko is asked to be a mediator. Thus Sisko and the other characters are forced to explore the Cardassians and Bajorans and their shared history in a greater depth. Bashir and Garak looked into the mystery of Rugal's situation and discovered Gul Dukat's role, which added another layer to the story, further painting a picture of the occupation, which hangs like dark cloud over the series. Sisko seems bemused and annoyed at Bashir in this episode, who inspired by Garak takes quite the initiative in investigating the Cardassian orphans. Both Rugal and his father were victims of Gul Dukat; Rugal's father is heartbroken and humiliated for losing his son while Rugal is raised to despise all Cardassians. In the end, after Dukat's role is exposed, Rugal and his father leave the station together, which provides a bittersweet but satisfying conclusion.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

^ Plus the added layer with the O'Brien's looking after Rugal when on the station, forcing the Chief to confront his opinions of the 'bloody Cardies' by putting a face (an innocent one at that) to the species. Keiko's line to him about his ugly language and how she doesn't want to hear it makes me realise why I love her and the dynamic the family aspect brings to the show.

 

[Jetboogieman]

Brooks only link to reality is his acting. The dude is from another planet.

Yeah it was kind of sad to find that out, when I was watching those Captain Documentaries... Yeah the guy is pretty damned out there.

As to the OP.

Yes, DS9 is the bomb and for me, the greatest Trek, especially Seasons 5-7.

Years ago, I was already a Trek fan but had never really indulged in DS9 too much, but this trailer came up on my youtube one day:

And from that day on, I went and watched through all of it and it and realized the work of art it was.

As they point out in the video, it was said to be "The Best Show on TV that no one noticed".

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

If we're sharing fan trailers, here is one I found ages ago and remains my favourite one: