I thought this was an important and intriguing episode. It shows that DS9 is possibly just going on inside the head of Sisko the writer. It's not surprising that a mentally ill person would write themselves as a demi-god type character into their own story. This explains the Emissary storyline well I think. Did the writers ever give any comment as to this part of the story line?
Shadows and Symbols (spoilers)
- Thread starter neptune13
- Start date
Don't you mean "Far Beyond the Stars"?
No, it has to be the proper episode. Sisko wrote the whole DS9 story on a wall if I'm not mistaken.
The story with Benny Russell continues in the litverse, by the way.
Sarah Sisko mentioned "You even ignored a false vision sent to you by the Pagh'Wraiths". I assumed that was what she meant.
I never bought what they were trying to sell with the Benny Russell episodes. If DS9 is all a fiction inside his head then so are all the other Star Trek shows. Benny may have been crazy but he wasn't insane enough to think Voyager's "Threshold" episode made any damn sense. Not to mention being so far off his rocker that he thought Joe Piscopo was funny.
^Benny Russell would not necessarily be the inventor of Star Trek: Gene Roddenberry, the real-world creator of Star Trek, is not the origin of all ideas of Star Trek. Each person involved in the franchise brought in numerous influences and interests in the creation of Star Trek. We can simply imagine that Benny Russell is another writer or producer who appended his pre-existing ideas in the creation of some aspect of the franchise's narratives.
ETA: I would not be surprised if some cynical B5 fan decided that Benny represented Michael Straczynski.
ETA: I would not be surprised if some cynical B5 fan decided that Benny represented Michael Straczynski.
Right, the first part of the story, DS9, he was working on to be published in Far Beyond the Stars. He had a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized when they refused to publish it. Then in Shadows and Symbols he is continuing the story on the walls of his cell. He is given the opportunity to stop once and for all by painting over his writing or to continue writing and remain ill. So to me, that is really the final clue. The rest of DS9 is really Benny after he slipped into complete psychosis writing on his wall in a mental hospital. I think it was a really cool concept.
@JirinPanthosa - the false vision she was referring to was the one in which the Pah-Wraiths come to Sisko as the prophets.
@ Terok Nor - I thought about that too but I agree with Bad Thoughts on this one. I decided to look at this just as the DS9 universe. I don't see any other explanation for the Benny storyline.
It still doesn't work for me. What about Worf, O'Brien, Picard, Tom Riker, Gowron, Q, Dr. Zimmerman, the original Enterpise crew, Lwaxana Troi, Kang, Kor, Koloth, the Duras Sisters, Kurn, Keiko, Molly, Admiral Nechayev and all the other characters who crossed over from one series to another? TNG's episode "Firstborn" directly referenced DS9's "Past Prologue" for instance.
The novelization mentions that Benny created the Borg for Incredible Tales.
http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Borg_(Incredible_Tales))
http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Borg_(Incredible_Tales))
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