The appeal of Sisko

[Nerys Ghemor]

For the record, I would imagine that Bajorans would have death penalty - whether they had it before the Occupation or not, I imagine that the post-Occupation authorities would establish it, probably for war criminals including collaborators, and it they had already had it, they certainly wouldn't revoke it. But they'll have to revoke it when/if Bajor joins the Federation.

That would certainly add an extra complication--especially if there's any sense the Bajorans rushing the trial to make sure Dukat is executed before any chance of joining the Federation. (An almost Cardassian maneuver--which might not go over too well for Bajor's chances of joining the Federation.)

I could actually see some ties back to "Duet" if a repentant Dukat was no longer trying to save his own life. There'd be all sorts of debate among the people as to whether they're playing into some sort of farce on one side, and whether they should put someone to death who may well actually be sorry for what happened, or on a third side, whether they're just participating in an assisted suicide after Dukat lost his daughter. Now to me, "Duet" DID seem to hint that the Bajorans had the death penalty, since Marritza seemed to think he would be put to death. (Though that could also be because he expects that as a product of being raised in the Cardassian system.)

 

[flemm]

WYLB was a rushed ending, a umm, flawed effort to tie things up nice and neatly.

I still like WYLB a lot. Its flaws mostly have to do with the show being extremely ambitious to the point that it was bursting at the seams and couldn't give all the plot elements the attention they deserved.

What ends up happening is that the Dominion war gets all the attention and the Emissary storyline's conclusion feels like an afterthought. A shortcoming to be sure, but there you have it: it's television, and sometimes creative integrity gets sacrificed on the alter of ratings and budgetary constraints. In reality, it's a borderline miracle that DS9 got away with exploring so many interesting and edgy ideas, given what the studio expected from a Star Trek product (look at Voyager, a show that is the very definition of stale and predictable).

As for Bajor joining the Federation, this would have been a logical conclusion, but on the other hand I don't think we really missed much: the only obstacle was the Dominion war (Bajor had already been approved for membership as of Rapture in season 5), so we can infer that Bajor will soon join the Federation and that the Emissary's work is done in that regard.

Spoiler: Pocket tie-in novels spoilers...

Incidentally, the DS9 relaunch novels do a very credible job of following up on this plot point and bringing Bajor into the Federation.

 

[Mr_Homn]

He started out as boring, progressed to become unlikeable and amoral, and was badly acted throughout. So they Mary Sued him and made him a god.

could not agree more. i am glad there are people who feel the same way

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

One thing I liked a lot about Sisko is that he is different... he is consistently less self-righteous and has more of a big picture moral compass, or a little more "ends do justify the means."

That doesn't mean I think all ST series leads should be that way... just that I strongly believe that each series lead should be different, and eventually Sisko managed to carve that out. Whether it was In the Pale Moonlight, or Sisko essentially giving Worf the go-ahead to shank Gowren, or even his actions in For the Uniform (not a big fan of that episode by the way)... the fact is, his moral compass in terms of helping the Federation has more shades of gray than Picard, and that was compelling.

Avery Brooks did a decent job but not a great job in acting, he's quite hammy at times. I think though when he went to the bald-goatee look he actually got a LOT of mileage from it, and managed to develop "The Look" well. Kind of like B5 actors, he gets by on earnestness.

 

[Ensign Johnson]

I used to hate Sisko mostly because of the way he talks. I think he's done a better job of directing episodes than he has acting in some. Once I got past the voice he did grow on me, @Stone_Cold_Sisko I agree about his more shades of grey approach. I think DS9 in general is more dark than the other star treks.
I like Sisko and Dax's friendship but probably like how he clashes with Kira even more (though I tend to take Kira's side).