That Bajor doesn't join during the series...

[Trekker09]

So Behr said in the documentary, the one thing he was really proud of was that DS9 ended without Bajor becoming a Federation member. [Proud because Bajor remains independent, neutral, a theocracy?] The writers' imagined season 8 would have Section 31 attempt to destroy the wormhole and prophets…. then “they wouldn’t have religion propping them up and they’d have to join the Federation.” Interesting.
After the “Rapture” in season 5 not sure there was any further reference to the Bajor issue. To me, it wasn’t a big deal that the series ended without that closure-- Sisko didn’t complete his Starfleet mission but he did fulfill his personal destiny. The Bajor question could have been addressed more....though we do see Kira wears a Starfleet uniform at the end.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Ira Steven Behr doesn't give a damn about lore the way we do. I've seen and heard numerous interviews in which he refuses to speculate what happened beyond WYLB. Instead, he consistently affirmed that the story of DS9 evolved organically through the act of storywriting, particularly through the collaboration of the writing staff. He's repeatedly said that if a season ended on a waypoint he imagined at the beginning, then the season failed: that reflects more central planning than good writing.

Thr question of Bajor's admittance is likely in the same vein: a goal imposed from above rather than something achieved in the process of writing. Behr has never cared about what lore will come to life or what characters fans "ship" or Gene's vision. If you don't get that, you will misinterpret his feelings about Bajor's admission. He addresses it briefly in 50YM2, but only in the context of why the series ended with Sisko becoming a Prophet. Let me make this clear: he is talking about storytelling choices, not lore. In the context of the interview, he says that the writers recognized that they had built significant groundwork for Sisko’s spiritual story that it was by far too interesting to not pursue. He says briefly he was proud that Bajor didn't join, but ends his thought with "it was too soon." He doesn't rule it out, but I suspect he's talking about how the story of DS9 unfolds rather than lore. Again, Behr doesn't give a darn about lore.

 

[Oddish]

One of my favorite (non-canonical) story ironies concerned Ro Laren, and her bumpy road to redemption.

When the Maquis were wiped out, the story goes, she was one of the few survivors. The Bajoran militia were happy to have an enemy of the Cardassian regime, and welcomed her aboard. When Bajor joined the Federation, the Bajoran militia was incorporated into Starfleet... putting Ro Laren back in Starfleet uniform for a third time.

 

[Trekker09]

Ira Steven Behr doesn't give a damn about lore the way we do.

If I understand your point, ISB is not attached to any particular mythology or tradition. He just wanted DS9 stories to spin out in compelling and unpredictable ways. So for Sisko to become a “god,” and not carry out the official directive from Captain Picard, was a bold, unexpected and more entertaining finale.

“Bajor joining was the mandate at the beginning. And... 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? ....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.’” -- Ira Steven Behr

 

[Bad Thoughts]

If I understand your point, ISB is not attached to any particular mythology or tradition. He just wanted DS9 stories to spin out in compelling and unpredictable ways. So for Sisko to become a “god,” and not carry out the official directive from Captain Picard, was a bold, unexpected and more entertaining finale.

Unpredictable? I'm not sure what you mean. There were far more stories about the metaphysical Sisko than there were about Bajor internal politics (let alone actual integration), and the subject barely earns passing references after season 3s Shakar. The Emissary angle was still alive and being added to in almost every season. After the fans demanded fewer Bajor episodes in the first season, wasn't the subject effectively dead?

 

[Trekker09]

In the larger scheme of things, the Star Trek universe of that time, it was highly unpredictable that the captain would literally become a celestial being, rescued from death by the prophets/ wormhole aliens, absent indefinitely at the end. And all through the series, there were unexpected twists and turns in the episodes. That’s all I meant.

 

[STEPhon IT]

I'm sure part of it is making it interesting television. People standing around in dress uniforms giving speeches get to be boring pretty quickly. If they'd tried to put Bajor joining the Federation in "What We Leave Behind" there would have been two ceremonies - the surrender and end of war speech cribbed from MacArthur and then the Bajor joining the Federation ceremony. Then there was Sisko's "What We Leave Behind" speech in Quark's.

If I were doing it over, I might have dropped the fire caves bit or moved it a few episodes earlier, done the last battle of the war and surrender in the next to the last episode, and Bajor joining the Federation and the party for the DS9 staff and the disappearance of Sisko in the last episode. Perhaps trying to do a little less in "What We Leave Behind" would give enough time for Sisko to say goodbye to Jake too.

It doesn't have to be written or visualized as boring; in Star Trek's vast history they've never portrayed space travel as it really is, so why would they start now by making a ceremony as sterile?

 

[Pikirk_Janesisko]

This plot was set up and there was no pay-off or a proper conclusion, that's really the point. Bajor wasn't going to enter the Federation? Fine by me, but there was nothing that ended the storyline. Honestly, the whole finale felt rushed like it was racing to get on the finish line. None of the stories had much space to breathe, specially the whole mythology thing with the pah-wraiths.

 

[Tosk]

The Bajor question could have been addressed more....though we do see Kira wears a Starfleet uniform at the end.

Only while on mission. At the very end she's back in her Bajoran uniform.

 

[kkt]

Ira Steven Behr doesn't give a damn about lore the way we do. I've seen and heard numerous interviews in which he refuses to speculate what happened beyond WYLB. Instead, he consistently affirmed that the story of DS9 evolved organically through the act of storywriting, particularly through the collaboration of the writing staff. He's repeatedly said that if a season ended on a waypoint he imagined at the beginning, then the season failed: that reflects more central planning than good writing.

Thr question of Bajor's admittance is likely in the same vein: a goal imposed from above rather than something achieved in the process of writing. Behr has never cared about what lore will come to life or what characters fans "ship" or Gene's vision. If you don't get that, you will misinterpret his feelings about Bajor's admission. He addresses it briefly in 50YM2, but only in the context of why the series ended with Sisko becoming a Prophet. Let me make this clear: he is talking about storytelling choices, not lore. In the context of the interview, he says that the writers recognized that they had built significant groundwork for Sisko’s spiritual story that it was by far too interesting to not pursue. He says briefly he was proud that Bajor didn't join, but ends his thought with "it was too soon." He doesn't rule it out, but I suspect he's talking about how the story of DS9 unfolds rather than lore. Again, Behr doesn't give a darn about lore.

I love the stories ISB wrote, but that does not mean I'm going to give up the fun of trying to imagine alternate plotlines on my own

 

[kkt]

It doesn't have to be written or visualized as boring; in Star Trek's vast history they've never portrayed space travel as it really is, so why would they start now by making a ceremony as sterile?

Sure, they wouldn't have to, but I'm having trouble imaging how to do a "welcome to the Federation" ceremony that would be fun to watch. Real ceremonies have more weight because the people in them have worked hard to achieve that result, it represents the end of a major part of their lives, perhaps the part they'll be most remembered for.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I love the stories ISB wrote, but that does not mean I'm going to give up the fun of trying to imagine alternate plotlines on my own

I wouldn't stop you. However, it's the other running thread where people should be proposing their new endings. This thread seems to be about out of context quotations and hamfisted analysis. And I'm not sure there is any reason to ascribe intentions to Behr that don't reflect his personality.

 

[Trekker09]

Only while on mission. At the very end she's back in her Bajoran uniform.

Yup, you’re right....the maroon catsuit.

 

[Orphalesion]

DS9 is in my top three of all Star Trek shows (DS9, TNG and LD) and I understand that it is in large part to how Behr handled the show but that doesn't mean I like everything about it or agree with all his decisions.

For instant I don't like how much focus the Abomination (Vic) had in the last season, frankly I would have liked it better if that creature had never existed.
I also didn't like that he turned Sisko into the custom-order Christ Child of the Prophets, in danger of sounding a bit douchey, I think that went against the spirit of Trek which is about ordinary people doing extraordinary things not about half-divine Christ Children saving the galaxy.

And while I agree that there was no good point in the narrative of the last couple seasons where they could have put Bajor officially joining the Federation, I think it would have been nice to see, and I don't think Behr has any authority to keep future Star Trek productions from featuring Bajor as a member of the Federation, same with Beta-Canon.

 

[WarpTenLizard]

Doesn't bother me, but I am sad that DS9 never showed the relationship and possible tensions between the Bajorans in Starfleet, and the Bajorans serving in the Bajoran military. (Something I never thought of until someone else online pointed it out, and now I can't un-see it.)

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Doesn't bother me, but I am sad that DS9 never showed the relationship and possible tensions between the Bajorans in Starfleet, and the Bajorans serving in the Bajoran military. (Something I never thought of until someone else online pointed it out, and now I can't un-see it.)

Wasn't Ro Laren the only Bajoran serving in Starfleet?

 

[dupersuper]

Wasn't Ro Laren the only Bajoran serving in Starfleet?

I got the impression there were many refugees and ex-pats that joined up. There was Sito (RIP) for one.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Wasn't Ro Laren the only Bajoran serving in Starfleet?

The first one on screen is always the only one. It's a weak way of making the new species seem rare and exotic.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Oh yeah, I forgot about Sito.

 

[The Wormhole]

I got the impression there were many refugees and ex-pats that joined up. There was Sito (RIP) for one.

And on Voyager Tal Celes claimed to have attended Starfleet Academy during the Occupation, and that there were several other Bajoran cadets at the time. Nowadays there's Shaxs and at least one other Bajoran serving on the Cerritos.