Season 1

[EnriqueH]

I'm really enjoying Season 1 so far.

(As I mentioned in the Emissary thread, I*loved* the pilot.)

And I enjoyed the first few episodes too, "Past Prologue", "A Man Alone", and I really enjoyed Captive Pursuit.

I just finished Dax, and I thought that's the weakest so far. It was a cool topic about the Trills, but I thought the courtroom setting was kinda repetitive. Especially after several courtroom shows in TNG.

The courtroom Star Trek episode is kinda turning cliche by this point in the franchise. Does every race use a gavel?

 

[dub]

I'm with you. There is another court seen later in DS9 (at least one other), and it's like...come on? Do all alien cultures have judges, lawyers? A courtroom? An audience in the courtroom? Yes, I agree. I tend to think..."really?"

 

[bbjeg]

The Ferengi episodes in the first two seasons got me hooked on DS9, before it really took off.

 

[EnriqueH]

I'm with you. There is another court seen later in DS9 (at least one other), and it's like...come on? Do all alien cultures have judges, lawyers? A courtroom? An audience in the courtroom? Yes, I agree. I tend to think..."really?"

I could kinda suspend my disbelief on Star Trek VI, especially since you could tell they were trying to do something different with the format.

And I could buy it on TNG, because we only saw it a couple of times, but by DS9 the concept is getting old.

Very old.

 

[Orphalesion]

I started re-watching DS9 in December (first re-watch in over ten years). I found it definitely much stronger and more enjoyable than the first seasons of the other Star Trek shows.

I did not care for the Vash episode, as a religious person I found the season finale a bit cringe-worthy and "Dax" just made me want to smack Jadzia.

However aside from that there were many very excellent episodes. Duet of course is a marvellous episode, my favorite in the first season. Emissary is tied with Caretaker for the most interesting pilot to me. Then there's Past-Prologue, A Man Alone, Captive Pursuit, The Passanger, The Nagus, Battle Lines, Progress, The Forsaken and I even like the weirdness of "Move Along Home"

Beyond that DS9 really stood out from TNG and Voy for being so exotic and alien. I love jut watching the extras in the Promenade. It's marvelous.

As for "samey court scenes" well there's a very different kind of court in a later season involving Miles O'Brien and the Cardassians.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I liked Dax but I wish it ended with a verdict rather than an out.

 

[dub]

I could kinda suspend my disbelief on Star Trek VI, especially since you could tell they were trying to do something different with the format..

Yeah, and then imagine my horror when they recreated the same courtroom, same verdict, same punishment in an episode of Enterprise, then gave Archer pretty much the same clothes at the Hoth (LOL) prison. That episode is almost as bad as TATV. But not quite.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I'm with you. There is another court seen later in DS9 (at least one other), and it's like...come on? Do all alien cultures have judges, lawyers? A courtroom? An audience in the courtroom? Yes, I agree. I tend to think..."really?"

What's even funnier is that these courtrooms are all parodied after American courtrooms. It's quite obvious when you're from another country.

 

[RoJoHen]

The last time I rewatched DS9, I couldn't help thinking how bizarre the show was. It's amazing to me that it was even allowed to be made given how drastically different the concept is from previous Star Trek incarnations.

 

[dub]

Bizarre in a good way, of course.

 

[borgboy]

I thought DS9 handled the religious issues pretty fairly.
Yes, Winn is hypocritical and evil, but Kira is a lead character who is sincerely devout and a good person. I'd argue that Kira is the best depiction of a religious character ever done. That her religion is fictional doesn't take away from how well her character is developed and how well done the religious story arcs are. Sisko makes a point to Jake about respecting the beliefs of others even if you don't agree with them. The finale was the best episode of season 1 in my opinion.
The show continues to get better and better as it goes on EnriqueH, so if you're enjoying it now, you've got a lot to look forward to.
The story of DS9 continues in the really excellent novel series, if you have any interest in reading Trek novels at all I recommend them, but only after you watch the entire tv series.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

That her religion is fictional doesn't take away from how well her character is developed and how well done the religious story arcs are.

I'm not sure what you mean by fictional. Within the Star Trek universe, the existence of the Prophets is partially provable. The Bajorans ascribe to them power over their lives, which isn't without a measure of truth.

I suspect that you call them ficitonal because they are not like the all-powerful creator gods like those at the center of Christian worship or Neo-Platonic thought.

 

[Tosk]

Or because they were created for a TV show.

 

[borgboy]

Or because they were created for a TV show.

This.
I just meant that although Kira is a religious person, her religion is not real in the real world like Christianity for example.

 

[Sybok Was Wrong]

The last time I rewatched DS9, I couldn't help thinking how bizarre the show was. It's amazing to me that it was even allowed to be made given how drastically different the concept is from previous Star Trek incarnations.

Agreed! DS9 was a show that could only be spun off from a successful series, from frustrated writers & producers. It relied on loyalty to the Star Trek Brand Name.

It lasted 7 years, and its very existence makes it a successful endeavor, but it only could have been made in that moment in time. You couldn't have green-lighted it before the early 90's, and certainly casting Avery Brooks as your lead today wouldn't fly.

 

[borgboy]

Would it really be so unlikely that we could get Avery Brooks as a lead today? There's still room for improvement, but I think our media is at least just as likely to have a black male lead in an ensemble cast sci fi show now as then.

Of course, Enterprise and the JJ movies haven't been all that diverse compared to DS9. The minority characters were largely in the background as glorified extras.
Voyager had a female captain, engineer and whatever Seven did - at least two of the most important characters on the show were women, and they had three racial minority actors in the lead cast.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I thought DS9 handled the religious issues pretty fairly.
Yes, Winn is hypocritical and evil, but Kira is a lead character who is sincerely devout and a good person. I'd argue that Kira is the best depiction of a religious character ever done. That her religion is fictional doesn't take away from how well her character is developed and how well done the religious story arcs are. Sisko makes a point to Jake about respecting the beliefs of others even if you don't agree with them. The finale was the best episode of season 1 in my opinion.
The show continues to get better and better as it goes on EnriqueH, so if you're enjoying it now, you've got a lot to look forward to.
The story of DS9 continues in the really excellent novel series, if you have any interest in reading Trek novels at all I recommend them, but only after you watch the entire tv series.

I think they have a ridiculous way of clapping their hands. One that must hurt your articulations in the long run. Plus I wonder if Dukat didn't have a point when he said that the occupation helped Bajor in some ways. At least it got them to drop their stupid caste system, the revival of which almost cost Kira her position on DS9.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Would it really be so unlikely that we could get Avery Brooks as a lead today? There's still room for improvement, but I think our media is at least just as likely to have a black male lead in an ensemble cast sci fi show now as then.

From the various "Captains" videos that Shatner did, I get the feeling that Brooks is content not acting ... at least not for TV or screen. From what I can tell, it's hard to get him to leave New Jersey, even for conventions. The promotions for "Captains" probably can be credited for getting him out as much as he is.

As for the ethnicity of the lead of the series, I can think of a few actors, non-Americans, who would not only be strong, but also would shake up the franchise. I wish they would throw mad money at Idris Elba, but I think I would prefer Sofia Helin, giving us a female European lead.

Of course, Enterprise and the JJ movies haven't been all that diverse compared to DS9. The minority characters were largely in the background as glorified extras.
Voyager had a female captain, engineer and whatever Seven did - at least two of the most important characters on the show were women, and they had three racial minority actors in the lead cast.

I suspect Ryan was cast to be the replacement Ops officer. Indeed, she seemed to take over jobs that ought to belong to Harry Kim.

 

[borgboy]

I thought DS9 handled the religious issues pretty fairly.
Yes, Winn is hypocritical and evil, but Kira is a lead character who is sincerely devout and a good person. I'd argue that Kira is the best depiction of a religious character ever done. That her religion is fictional doesn't take away from how well her character is developed and how well done the religious story arcs are. Sisko makes a point to Jake about respecting the beliefs of others even if you don't agree with them. The finale was the best episode of season 1 in my opinion.
The show continues to get better and better as it goes on EnriqueH, so if you're enjoying it now, you've got a lot to look forward to.
The story of DS9 continues in the really excellent novel series, if you have any interest in reading Trek novels at all I recommend them, but only after you watch the entire tv series.

I think they have a ridiculous way of clapping their hands. One that must hurt your articulations in the long run. Plus I wonder if Dukat didn't have a point when he said that the occupation helped Bajor in some ways. At least it got them to drop their stupid caste system, the revival of which almost cost Kira her position on DS9.

I don't understand the comments about clapping and articulations.

I always did think the caste system shows that Bajor had their own internal problems before the Cardassians came. Leaving it behind was one good thing that came from the occupation, although I think the Bajorans would've rejected it in the long run. It is questionable how long it would've taken them, and I suspect it wouldn't have happened as soon as it did. The occupation did push the Bajorans to grow and improve themselves quicker than they might have done without the Cardassians. I don't know that the lives that were lost and damaged were worth that growth though.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I don't understand the comments about clapping and articulations.

Well, if you observe how the Bajoran express collective approval of a speech or a performance of some kind, you'll see that instead of clapping their hands palm against palm, they hit the palm of their left hand with the back of the knuckles of their right hand. I believe that kind of thing must hurt the articulations of their right hand and is kind of silly to boot.