So what's happening with the DS9 line of novels?

[DS9forever]

Read an interesting comment by Ira Steven Behr recently; he was talking about whether or not Bajor could or should have joined the Federation at the end of the series:

It was the mandate at the beginning. And as we went through years of doing the show and the multitude of episodes, it was like, ‘Why does Bajor have to join the Federation?’ Why is that the be-all end-all? Why is that the success story? Isn't it more interesting if what happens isn't said? They come to us. We come to them. And our captain becomes a god. And when someone told me that in one of the novels Bajor did become a member of the Federation, I thought, ‘Man, they don't understand Deep Space Nine at all".

https://uk.ign.com/articles/2019/05/10/what-star-trek-deep-space-nine-left-behind?page=2

 

[David cgc]

That's definitely what set DS9 apart from other Trek shows, and other TV in general; finding ever-stupider and more far-fetched reasons to keep chasing their tails indefinitely to preserve an unsustainable status quo.

 

[JD]

Read an interesting comment by Ira Steven Behr recently; he was talking about whether or not Bajor could or should have joined the Federation at the end of the series:

It was the mandate at the beginning. And as we went through years of doing the show and the multitude of episodes, it was like, ‘Why does Bajor have to join the Federation?’ Why is that the be-all end-all? Why is that the success story? Isn't it more interesting if what happens isn't said? They come to us. We come to them. And our captain becomes a god. And when someone told me that in one of the novels Bajor did become a member of the Federation, I thought, ‘Man, they don't understand Deep Space Nine at all".

https://uk.ign.com/articles/2019/05/10/what-star-trek-deep-space-nine-left-behind?page=2

I guess I don't either then, because that was one of my favorite parts of the DS9 Relaunch.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

Yeah, bare minimum, that Bajor joining the Federation, a mission statement for Starfleet being there, and that it wasn’t even mentioned in the final episodes has always felt off to me. Like, Sisko tells Bajor not to join prior to the Dominion War to keep Bajor safe, it leaves them free to sign a non-aggression pact with the Dominion, but when the war ends, that freed them up to be able to resume the overtures to join the Federation, which, Kai Winn aside, always seemed what the Bajoran government had been aiming for.

Like if that’s “not understanding DS9,” I suppose I’m guilty of it too, but narratively speaking, it’s something that was established, built up, brought nearly to a conclusion, and then put on hold, without ever being addressed again by the show.

It also just seems to run counter to this undercurrent theme of interconnectedness from the show, at least that I’d found from it, to say that ultimately, Bajor chooses to stand alone.

 

[Voth commando1]

I’m not sure what Behr means. Bajor joining the federation was the set up of DS9-before the prophets and the dominion and all the rest.

I’m guessing he means that DS9 wasn’t supposed to be about the glories of federation expansionism and progress-but then again that was the set up.

 

[Christopher]

I’m not sure what Behr means. Bajor joining the federation was the set up of DS9-before the prophets and the dominion and all the rest.

I’m guessing he means that DS9 wasn’t supposed to be about the glories of federation expansionism and progress-but then again that was the set up.

But that setup was under Michael Piller, before Behr replaced him as showrunner. Behr was saying that the show had evolved into something very different than it was originally planned to be -- which is not unusual for long-running shows. TOS was originally a show about an Earth ship, no Federation in sight. TNG was supposed to be about a ship probing uncharted reaches years away from any home port, but ended up being largely about the politics of the Federation and its neighbors. Plans evolve with experience, and with staff changes.

 

[Damian]

I guess I don't either then, because that was one of my favorite parts of the DS9 Relaunch.

Yeah, it made perfect sense for me. Eventually Bajor would have joined the Federation. I can understand maybe it not happening during the Dominion War or right after in the last episode. But it made sense that eventually it was going to happen. Even in the novels it wasn't immediate.

I thought the progression in the DS9 novels was handled well. It felt natural to me.

I liked what Behr did with the show during his time. But maybe he should read the novels and how they handled it before criticizing them. He might feel differently if he had the whole story. I know sometimes if I'm told something I might not like the idea at first, but sometimes after reading or seeing it for myself I find I feel differently.

 

[Jarvisimo]

One thing I've found interesting about what Behr is saying and doing surrounding the documentary is that he hasn't watched the show since it finished; what he writes and thinks now isn't based on what he did per se, but how he thinks back. I was curious what that meant for the animated bit of the doc too/; something that would be informed by their other shows since (Bsg, outlander, etc) and their own nostalgia, rather than something naturally contiguous with their show's ending in 1999. Which is fine, but as we know, no text is fixed, or subject to one meaning.

It could also be an understandable sense of ownership from Behr, that really was so much his baby, but it's clear Bajor didn't interest him sooo much

And I must say the Bajor Worlds of DS9 book is one of my favourite bits of the relaunch, that beautiful travelogue of this world we never quite spent enough time with, and that brilliant conversation between the First Minister and her disgraced former husband. That was DS9 through and through.

 

[DS9forever]

Alvaro Zinos-Amaro on Tor.com is undertaking a DS9 reread; just Avatar so far.

https://www.tor.com/tag/star-trek-deep-space-nine-reread/