Please sell me on DS9.

[kes7]

So, I grew up on TNG, got really into VOY when it aired on Spike a few years ago, and enjoyed all the TOS movies and most of the episodes. However, I never got into DS9 or ENT. I'd like to start watching one of those series now and don't know which one to pick. So you all are the DS9 fans, please tell me why I will love it. I already posted a similar thread in the ENT forum. Thanks in advance.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Do you like well-written, compelling characters; complex plot arcs with depth and surprise; clever dialogue; and kick-ass action? That's DS9.

 

[Lindley]

The advantage DS9 had over the other series was the fact that it wasn't flying off somewhere new every week. Since it was by definition stationary (ha ha), they were able to tell stories with more scope, and develop the locals (Cardies and Bajorans mainly, with Klingon and Romulan involvement increasing later in the show) to a much greater degree than previous series.

Of course, it took them a while to (a) figure that out and (b) wiggle out from under Berman's thumb enough to act on it.

More importantly, even at its worst it's better than a good deal of Enterprise.

 

[mattyhugh]

Wow, everyone hear speaks eloquently. Oh and what they said.

 

[arasam22]

okay, so i was a big fan of TNG for a long time. huuuge picard fan, and just loved the show in general. didn't exactly grow up on it, but i watched it every week on scifi for a couple of years.

and then i started watching DS9 randomly one day. i was so hooked i couldn't stop watching until a month and a half later when i'd finished the whole series (minus approx. 40 episodes) and now, against all of my best efforts, it is my favorite trek show. i feel like i am betraying TNG in some way, but honestly, the stories and characters are just so much better on DS9. i loved picard, data, and occaisionaly riker and geordi on TNG, but i love ALL of the characters on DS9.

something that's cool about DS9 being on a space station is that you have a lot of recurring characters... and actually these "minor" characters are some of my favs; like garak and gul dukat... they really add depth to the show.

idk. give it a try...

 

[kes7]

Do you like well-written, compelling characters; complex plot arcs with depth and surprise; clever dialogue; and kick-ass action? That's DS9.

I DO quite like those things.

Thanks everyone, food for thought ...

 

[Navaros]

DS9 is the only Trek show with character development and series-wide story development, period. So it's the best Trek show by far on those grounds alone. Ira Behr made a comment that even the secondary characters of DS9 have far more development than the primary characters of any other Trek show, and that is 100% true.

Furthermore, with 2 exceptions, all the characters on DS9 serve a useful function to the plot, and have non-generic, non-interchangeable dialogues; which cannot be said for most of the other talking-head cardboard cut-out characters on the other modern Trek shows.

DS9 is the only modern Trek show that has conflict (TOS had this too), and you cannot have drama without conflict (yet the other modern Trek shows try to anyhow), so DS9 is a much better show than TNG, VOY and ENT for those reasons too.

Additionally, DS9 has tons of master actors, and far more compelling stories and characters than any of the other modern Trek shows.

There are reasons why ENT was cancelled after only 4 seasons and DS9 lasted for a full 7, and these things I've mentioned in this post contain alot of those reasons.

 

[robtclements]

It's a little difficult to sell you on DS9 because once the show finds its mature voice (essentially from the second half of season two onwards), it becomes something very different to everything else in trek. You could end up appreciating what DS9 is doing - even admire it - & still not like the show

Essentially, DS9 is a character-driven drama in a science fiction setting - not exactly ER in space; but a lot closer to that than VOY ever aimed for. With a well-balanced ensemble cast & built around the core group of writers who created the best years of TNG, it features strong, often classically-constructed story telling that's not afraid of low comedy or adult intimacy. It's incredibly well-made but totally atypical of the light entertainment that general passes for TV SF; & the use of extended narrative arcs means that the show demands an audience commitment anathema to sound-grab mentality. You can get DS9 quickly; but really knowing it requires work

Does that sound interesting? If so, you're in for one hell of a ride, a ride that leads all the way to the circle that's restricted for the hardcore Niners. You can't just watch DS9. It's our Ring cycle; & you will either book your vacations around trips to the Bajoran festspielhaus or wonder what on earth these people are on about. Why should you do it?, then. Because - in the words of our Emissary (Explorers, series 3): It'll be fun

 

[-Brett-]

Voyager fans don't generally like DS9. That's how it is. They're very different kinds of shows. I won't go into details, because that'd probably just start an argument, I'll just leave it at that.

Voyager fans don't generally seem to like Enterprise either, which I find odd since the two shows are almost indistinguishable.

So if you like Voyagers "style", go with Enterprise. If you want something different from Voyager, DS9.

 

[Possum]

It does take DS9 about two seasons to get into the story arcs. The first season is most like TNG in that the stories aren't really connected. The first season is a lot about introducing the characters, Bajor, and Cardassians. People will say the first season was the weakest but I found a lot to like in it.

The second season doesn't feel like it is setting you up the first time you watch it but it is. Then it hits it stride in the third.

My favorite things about DS9- early on it gets its ensemble cast feeling like they really belong together which TNG didn't do until the last few seasons. You feel like the characters on the station are hanging out together when you aren't watching the show. I liked the Bajoran religious storylines myself and the Bajoran/Cardassian ones too. DS9 was able to figure out how to use Jake and Nog effectively. This show could also do good Sisko father and son episodes. I liked that the women on the show weren't there just for eye candy like on VOY and ENT. DS9 was also good at doing lighthearted shows that fit into the series more like TOS was able to do. They didn't feel like aberrations.

Give DS9 a try- there is a reason it was on 7 years (and really it needed an eighth season but...).

 

[Too Much Fun]

Voyager fans don't generally like DS9. That's how it is. They're very different kinds of shows. I won't go into details, because that'd probably just start an argument, I'll just leave it at that.

Voyager fans don't generally seem to like Enterprise either, which I find odd since the two shows are almost indistinguishable.

So if you like Voyagers "style", go with Enterprise.

Yeah, that's why I wasn't sure what to say when the original post mentioned liking Voyager. There was a temptation to just sing the praises of DS9 and talk about all the things that make it great like so many here already have, but I thought maybe it would be pointless to someone who likes Voyager and tried to get into DS9, but couldn't.

I am proof of Brett's statement. I absolutely loathe Voyager and love Deep Space Nine (well, post-season 1, at least). You never know, though. It's entirely possible that the person who started this thread can like Voyager and Deep Space Nine, but it's hard to predict.

I say give it a shot, although it may be wiser to start with one of the more beloved episodes from seasons 3-5 (the peak period, in my opinion) to get a taste of the show, rather than try to watch from the beginning.

I was really turned off by season 1 and was on the fence about watching the whole series until midway into season 2. I didn't get really hooked until season 3, but I'm so glad I did. Closing in on the end of the seventh season, it's been a wonderful journey and I could never have imagined it would be so fun and emotionally involving after those first two seasons.

 

[intrinsical]

Over the past decade, I have seen many of the younger Trek fans comment that they did not enjoy or appreciate DS9 stories until they grew older. So maybe if you feel you are somewhat mature person or you are in your mid-twenties or older, DS9 would probably be a better show.

PS: I'm an engineer, and not exactly an eloquent person. In no way am I saying ENT fans are young and immature.

 

[Kirk1980]

I'm older now and....well, I'm not a big fan.

I didn't really like Sisko as a commanding officer. The story arcs were terminally dull as they stretched out so long with tons of padding episodes in the interim.

Vic Fontaine struck me as an indulgence of the writers and really got on my nerves after about ten minutes with him.

I barely liked any of the characters and I found the universe they inhabited disturbingly close to our own. A bunch of shadow organizations in the UFP/Starfleet? If I wanted something like that, I'd watch something besides Star Trek. Hey, more 'real' appeals to some people but it doesn't to me at all. I watch Trek to escape the bullshit we currently live in, not to indulge in it.

 

[TheGodBen]

I can only explain to you why I love DS9 and that has already been covered in this thread by other people. If you want us to explain why you might like DS9 then maybe you should explain what it was you liked about TNG and Voyager so that we could tailor answers towards what you might like and dislike in DS9.

I grew up on TNG myself and I still love that show to this day, but there came a point during DS9's fourth or fifth season where I had to admit that I loved DS9 more. I watched most of DS9 and Voyager when they first aired on TV and what I consider to be the great achievements of DS9 served to high-light the problems I had with Voyager, that's why DS9 is my favourite of the five Trek series and Voyager is my least favourite. If you really love Voyager then you might not appreciate DS9 because the two shows are almost on the opposite ends of the spectrum from one another.

However, I have seen a few Voyager fans who had never seen DS9 give it a try and some of them loved it so much that it surpassed their love for Voyager.

 

[kes7]

I should clarify that I stuck with Voyager hoping for the payoff. There was so much awesome raw material there, some great acting, and some really interesting characters with potential for both personal and relational development. Since I was watching them two-per-day on Spike (I had a baby who would only nap ON me, so I sat in front of the TV every afternoon for months), I didn't have to make a seven-year commitment, so I didn't give up out of frustration. I think I would have if I'd watched it in its original run. The payoff never came, it was just a giant tease. There were some awesome episodes, which I rewatch now and again, and a lot of not-so-good episodes. The overall arc was pretty weak (which is just shameful considering it was the best idea for a Trek show ever).

So, when I say I got into VOY, I mean I really enjoyed the characters and that when the storylines were good, they were really good. I think that show approached the ethical themes in Star Trek in a more interesting way than I had seen up to that point, and I like Borg, so there was plenty of that (too much of a good thing, by the end). But it sounds like everything I was hoping VOY would be, DS9 is, and it sounds like ENT is a slightly improved VOY, with good characters and a little more cohesive arc. I think I'll give DS9 a try first, and then I'll probably get to ENT after that.

Thanks for the sales pitch!

 

[kes7]

Over the past decade, I have seen many of the younger Trek fans comment that they did not enjoy or appreciate DS9 stories until they grew older. So maybe if you feel you are somewhat mature person or you are in your mid-twenties or older, DS9 would probably be a better show.

PS: I'm an engineer, and not exactly an eloquent person. In no way am I saying ENT fans are young and immature.

I'm wondering if this will be the case. I was a preteen when TNG was on. I'm nearly 30 now and my tastes have changed a lot.

 

[Lindley]

and it sounds like ENT is a slightly improved VOY, with good characters and a little more cohesive arc.

A decent description of seasons 3 and 4 of ENT. Its first two years are mostly meandering nonsense without any real direction.

If you like stories with real payoff, I'd also suggest giving Babylon 5 a try at some point. It's got a lot of the same merits as DS9 style-wise, without the "Trek traditions" holding it back in any way.

 

[Photon]

So, I grew up on TNG, got really into VOY when it aired on Spike a few years ago, and enjoyed all the TOS movies and most of the episodes. However, I never got into DS9 or ENT. I'd like to start watching one of those series now and don't know which one to pick. So you all are the DS9 fans, please tell me why I will love it. I already posted a similar thread in the ENT forum. Thanks in advance.

If you like alien-of-the-week or space sickness of the week you might not like DS9. If you like magic reset buttons and magically appearing photon torpedoes, then you might not like DS9.

If you like seeing: war (portrayed in glory and in its horror), bad/good sides of religion (not just the bad), episodes where there's a dearth of Treknobabble, phaser fights, then you might like DS9

If you want a good starting place (if you have the DVD's) start at TheJem'Hadar and go on from there.

You get to see a Galaxy class blown to smithereens by a race of ppl who just as smug and arrogant as the Feds.

Go from there and good luck

 

[Disillusioned]

So, I grew up on TNG, got really into VOY when it aired on Spike a few years ago, and enjoyed all the TOS movies and most of the episodes. However, I never got into DS9 or ENT. I'd like to start watching one of those series now and don't know which one to pick. So you all are the DS9 fans, please tell me why I will love it. I already posted a similar thread in the ENT forum. Thanks in advance.

Watch this.

 

[flemm]

I was a big fan of TNG during my high school years. DS9 was on when I was in college mostly, and I didn't really watch any tv then, so I never watched more than a handful of episodes.

It was only fairly recently that I sat down and watched DS9 from beginning to end. Man, was I surprised.

All I can say is: it's a special ride. You really owe it to yourself to set aside some time for it

For me what sets DS9 apart is that it is struggling for creative freedom within the confines of the Trek episodic formula, like a poet struggling for freedom within the confines of the sonnet form. Sometimes the best creative efforts result from an imposed constraint of some kind, and I think that DS9 is an example of that.