i'm starting to dig DS9

[Sakonna]

I actually thought the story and dialogue for the pilot were great. I think it could have been edited better, and I think some of the performances were strange. The chemistry between the cast wasn't there yet, of course, and they were all still trying to figure out who their characters were. I liked the less melodramatic Kira that came later in the series, the less annoying Bashir, and the less wooden Jadzia. But I still love this pilot despite the early growing pains. For Kira, a case could be made for character growth. I suppose for Jadzia it could have been that perhaps the host was still getting used to the symbiont. Bashir was just a mess though. I'm glad they adjusted his personality. And, of course, the benefit of a series that has a lot of serial elements is it's always fun to go back and watch the series again from the beginning!

The character moment from the pilot that's nuts to me is Odo's grand monologue on the Promenade about his tragic and mysterious backstory. I understand you gotta get the exposition in there somehow, and Rene Auberjonois does what he can with it, but it's just such strange behavior from Odo, who was always such a private character.

Bashir, I can retcon it in my head after the genetic enhancement revelations. When we eventually meet the 4 other enhanced characters with the personality disorders, I imagined early Bashir had the same thing going on... his natural impulses are weird and anti-social, and he's still struggling with blending in more.

But I totally agree with you on the pilot -- I see it's flaws, but I just love it. I feel that way about a lot of DS9... anything that's wrong with it is so of a piece with what I love about it, I can't really separate them out. "What You Leave Behind" was similar... I see the pacing problems with Winn/Dukat and all that, but its just easy for me to forgive it.

 

[RAMA]

I liked it right away. Emissary is the best pilot of the franchise and still ranks in my top 10 episodes of the series. DS9 doesn't have the soft spot STNG has for me but it's an excellent show.

RAMA

There will always be a bigger place in my heart for TNG and will never like DS9 as much as i love TNG, but now that i've been watching episodes of Deep Space Nine on TV, i gotta say it's starting to catch my fancy. I remember as a kid though my mom noticed i liked TNG and tried to get me to watch DS9 as well but i was never interested in it. Well actually, the second hour of the finale episode "What You Leave Behind" was on the night i posted this and i must say, "What You Leave Behind" is a stronger final episode than TNG's "All Good Things..."

I still haven't seen all of Deep Space Nine but from what i have seen, the following are my favorite episodes:
"Defiant"
"Rapture"
"The Darkness and the Light"
"Doctor Bashir, I Presume"
"Empok Nor"
"Far Beyond the Stars"
"One Little Ship"
"Valiant"
"Image in the Sand"

I only like "Defiant" because of Riker's appearance in it. I listed the episodes i like in order of release date but "Rapture" would be at the top of the list anyway. Seeing Sisko getting nearly killed when the Holosuite shorted and electrocuted him was dramatic. Even if it was killing him Sisko seemed that determined to see his vision of the lost city of B'Hala. I like it. It was funny how even though Quark was the one who called for help, Odo still arrested him! Also, that all transpired at 3 am, so Sisko was tired, no matter the Holosuite might've shorted on him.

"The Darkness and the Light" was an epic episode, mainly for the epic fight scene when pregnant Kira escapes her confines on the operating table and fights with the Cardassian who was about to kill her but Kira got the phaser and blasted him dead. Nice! Go, Kira! "Doctor Bashir, I Presume" is one of my favorites because of The Doctor from Voyager coming to Deep Space Nine to make a holographic replica of Bashir, much to Bashir's annoyance. But why The Doctor was wearing a yellow uniform when he usually wears blue on Voyager is beyond me. But it's interesting to see him wear the uniform with the gray shoulder. "Empok Nor" is up there because of O'Brien, Nog, and a few others going to a ghost (abandoned) space station that looks just like Deep Space Nine, but the Cardassian they brought with them is possessed and killed a crewmember and was about to kill Nog too.

"Far Beyond the Stars" is a racist episode! But i still like it (i'm Black) because it was so fascinating to see the cast of DS9 portray other characters without the makeup and prosthetic. It's interesting because it's like Sisko entered some kind of parallel reality where the people he knows on DS9 have drastically different personalities but if they're human or look human they look the same. Weyoun was even there! As one of the racist cops who beat up Sisko/Benny. Also, i didn't even recognize Armin Shimerman without all the Ferengi prosthetic. As embarrassed as i am to admit this, I also didn't recognize Terry Ferrel/Jadzia Dax's New York City personality until i looked at the script as i was watching the episode! She's my favorite character on the show! The only makeup Terry Ferrel wears for Dax are those animal spots on her face, and i still didn't know it was her. Ugh.

"One Little Ship" was an epic episode! I didn't see the whole episode but it was fun to watch because a Runabout piloted by O'Brien, Dax, and Bashir, has been shrunken so they can infiltrate a ship Sisko, Nog, Kira, and Worf, were held prisoner on. I kind of laughed seeing Dax had to bump the Runabout into a panel to access a Turbolift. That fight scene that took place once the Runabout got to the bridge was epic! I like it.

"Valiant" was good because of it's good story. Nog and Jake being in grave danger, being ambushed by Jem'hadar ships but just when they're about to be blown to pieces a ship called Valiant, manned by a bunch of kids or teens transports them off that Runabout and onto their own ship. For some reason, "Valiant" feels like it could've been a TNG episode. I dunno. Maybe Wesley Crusher and another junior officer on a shuttle en route back to the Enterprise being ambushed and a ship manned by Sito beams them to safety or something like that? Anyway. It did have a sad ending. That ship's captain died in the midst of a hellacious battle, and their ship was being ripped apart. But at least Nog and Jake, who had a falling out earlier in that episode, became friends again. It took something like that for them to make up? Wow. Sad.

Despite that they had to kill off Jadzia because Terry Ferrel didn't renew her contract to do Season 7 i like "Images in the Sand" because Sisko had quite the adventure in New Orleans at his restaurant. That scene when Sisko got stabbed in the stomach by a Bajoran over an orb? That was suspenseful.

So yeah, Deep Space Nine is a nice Trek series. I just wish Terry Ferrel could've been in Season 7. I like Jadzia more than Ezri. OH! I love how the transporter beam is exactly the same as on TNG!!! Well, Deep Space Nine is a spin-off of The Next Generation. But then again i like how Voyager's transporter beam is completely different.

Well, they are gonna re-run DS9 beginning tomorrow night, but i'm still fairly new to DS9, so are there any particular episodes any DS9 fans want me to keep an eye out for? Any recommendations?