What specific subject would have wished DS9 fleshed out (more)?

[Photon]

DS9 covered war (both good and bad)
Race and prejudice
Religion (very even-handed)
what else?

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I'm not sure what your topic is here, Photon. Do you want us to list other social issues that DS9 took on? Or do you want us to discuss any topic, both social issue or otherwise, that we wish DS9 had devoted more time to?

Please clarify what you want here.

Thanks.

 

[T'Girl]

Might have given the founders more depth, some descent in the ranks other that Odo.

 

[Photon]

I'm not sure what your topic is here, Photon. Do you want us to list other social issues that DS9 took on? Or do you want us to discuss any topic, both social issue or otherwise, that we wish DS9 had devoted more time to?

Please clarify what you want here.

Thanks.

both social issues and just what would be DS9 universe specific, ie.....how the Founders fooled the
Romulans, Klingons, and Feds or

social ills perhaps our society wrestles with....

 

[Navaros]

I would like DS9 to have shown:

- The Federation facing the repercussions of, and admitting to, being evil bastards who commit genocide

- Sisko facing the repercussions of ITPM

- Sisko facing the repercussions for banging Mirror Dax whilst pretending to be her husband

- Sisko facing the repercussions of poisoning the Maquis planets

- Odo facing the repercussions of abandoning everything that he stands for for no reason in order to be complacent in the genocide by withholding the cure (an in-character Odo would always do what is just, no matter what, end of story)

- Odo facing the repercussions of being a traitorous schizo and banging the female Founder

- O'Brien facing the repercussions of Hard Time

- Quark's Cardassian lover coming back to marry him

- Tosk coming back to visit O'Brien

- Pel coming back to marry Quark (if his Cardassian lover doesn't)

- A good explanation for why Quark stays on the station as a nobody bartender who always struggles for money when he could be rich and happy running any of hundreds of other businesses instead

- Displays of the nitty-gritty of Weyoun wooing alien races to join the Dominion

- Damar facing the repercussions of murdering Ziyal

- Garak facing the repercussions of losing his lover

- The insurgency on Ferenginar that overthrows the Grand Nagus Rom due to his insane policies

- A good explanation for why the Jem'Hadar stop teleporting onto the station at will for no reason

- A good explanation for why the Founders stop infiltrating earth for no reason

- A good explanation for how Odo's combadge morphs with him

- A good explanation for why Founder blood screenings didn't work

- A reason why the audience is supposed to care about the woes of Bajorans

 

[Bones2]

The wonderfulness, unjust lack of appreciation for, and misunderstanding of Dukat.

 

[DonIago]

Would have been nice to see DS9 more directly tackle the issue of gay rights, though they did a better job than the other series.

One of the obvious ones is Bajor actually joining the Federation, but I don't know how they could have ultimately handled that without a serious restructuring of the final season...and I tend to like the end of the final season well enough as-is. Plus we have the books for that.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Don't agree with all of your list, but I would have liked to see the following on your list, where I think the chance of getting caught and exposed publicly (or where they WERE caught) was so high that there should've been repercussions:

- Sisko facing the repercussions of poisoning the Maquis planets

- Odo facing the repercussions of being a traitorous schizo and banging the female Founder

- O'Brien facing the repercussions of Hard Time

- Damar facing the repercussions of murdering Ziyal

 

[PorthosShadow]

I would have liked more Jem'Hadar episodes where they aren't acting like mindless soldiers. There were a few episodes that explored the independence of The Jem'Hadar but not enough in my opinon. I think the same goes for The Vorta as well, I don't think the series really ever got into them.

 

[TerokNor]

Well of course also things about Damar, Ziyals murder, more about the relationships towards Garak and Kira and Dukat, his past, psychology, family, the time on the Groumall, on the Bird of Prey etc.

TerokNor

 

[DonIago]

I'm not really sure what repercussions we could have expected to see for Damar regarding Ziyal's murder. His guilt is brought up in a later episode, but it's not as though the Dominion or the Cardassians were going to prosecute him for his actions. The only people who might have taken issue with it were Dukat (brought up later) and possibly the folks on DS9, who never really interacted with him after this point. And to throw Ziyal's murder in Damar's face when the Federation needed the Cardassian resistance would have been counter-productive.

 

[tau136]

The philosophy of war, the ethical underpinnings of a civilisation. The Federation had a very clear ethos; every step along the way to winning the war took them away from that. This should lead to an identity crisis on a Galactic scale.

 

[DevilEyes]

- A reason why the audience is supposed to care about the woes of Bajorans

That has been fleshed out more than enough right from the start of the show in great detail. If you don't get it, it's your damn problem, not the show's. I don't know how to help you. Maybe you should try living as a slave, going hungry, being abused and have people you love die or get taken away from you? Just a suggestion. But I kinda get the feeling you won't be in the mood...

As to what could have been fleshed out more... I'd like to have seen more of the Great Link and Founders other than the 'Female Founder'; more about the Dominion in general, other than the 3 races the shoe focused on.

It also would have been interesting to see more of how people on Bajor felt about the treaty with the Dominion. I'm pretty sure that not everyone felt like Vedek Yassim. I imagine there must have been a lot of disagreements, and that some people were staunchly against the treaty while others argued that it's the right thing because Bajor has suffered enough and wouldn't have any kind of protection otherwise. Isolationists would argue that it's a good thing because Bajor needs to stay out of all that conflict. Some wouldn't really understand what's the deal with the Dominion, but would be convinced that they should be fought against because Cardies are in it. And so on. And then it would have been interesting to see the reactions to the Founders' genocide on Cardassia... and to the disappearance of the Emissary and the kai.

And of course, the same thing that I always wish was more fleshed out on any Trek - Earth society. DS9 did more with that than the other shows, but I'd still wish to find out more of what life really is down there.

Most other things people have mentioned fall in the category of storylines that weren't followed upon ("Hard Time", Odo's betrayal during the Dominion occupation)... which I do agree with.

Well of course also things about Damar, Ziyals murder, more about the relationships towards Garak and Kira and Dukat, his past, psychology, family, the time on the Groumall, on the Bird of Prey etc.

TerokNor

Although we learned quite a lot about Dukat's family and background compared to most recurring characters (or even some of the main ones), I'd like to learn more about what actually happened with his father and how that affected his family, their standing, his life and career (and psychology)... I've said it before: with the dead father and the disowning-her-own-son mother, the wife and many kids on Cardassia and the Bajoran mistresses and half-Bajoran illegitimate child, there's enough material there for him to star in a The Sopranos-like show.

 

[Photon]

- A reason why the audience is supposed to care about the woes of Bajorans

That has been fleshed out more than enough right from the start of the show in great detail. If you don't get it, it's your damn problem, not the show's. I don't know how to help you. Maybe you should try living as a slave, going hungry, being abused and have people you love die or get taken away from you? Just a suggestion. But I kinda get the feeling you won't be in the mood...

As to what could have been fleshed out more... I'd like to have seen more of the Great Link and Founders other than the 'Female Founder'; more about the Dominion in general, other than the 3 races the shoe focused on.

It also would have been interesting to see more of how people on Bajor felt about the treaty with the Dominion. I'm pretty sure that not everyone felt like Vedek Yassim. I imagine there must have been a lot of disagreements, and that some people were staunchly against the treaty while others argued that it's the right thing because Bajor has suffered enough and wouldn't have any kind of protection otherwise. Isolationists would argue that it's a good thing because Bajor needs to stay out of all that conflict. Some wouldn't really understand what's the deal with the Dominion, but would be convinced that they should be fought against because Cardies are in it. And so on. And then it would have been interesting to see the reactions to the Founders' genocide on Cardassia... and to the disappearance of the Emissary and the kai.

And of course, the same thing that I always wish was more fleshed out on any Trek - Earth society. DS9 did more with that than the other shows, but I'd still wish to find out more of what life really is down there.

Most other things people have mentioned fall in the category of storylines that weren't followed upon ("Hard Time", Odo's betrayal during the Dominion occupation)... which I do agree with.

Well of course also things about Damar, Ziyals murder, more about the relationships towards Garak and Kira and Dukat, his past, psychology, family, the time on the Groumall, on the Bird of Prey etc.

TerokNor

Although we learned quite a lot about Dukat's family and background compared to most recurring characters (or even some of the main ones), I'd like to learn more about what actually happened with his father and how that affected his family, their standing, his life and career (and psychology)... I've said it before: with the dead father and the disowning-her-own-son mother, the wife and many kids on Cardassia and the Bajoran mistresses and half-Bajoran illegitimate child, there's enough material there for him to star in a The Sopranos-like show.

+1 Devil Eyes
Win

 

[DonIago]

I was rather disappointed that the Terok Nor trilogy, while providing a lot more insight into Dukat (shudder) didn't really provide additional information regarding the Dukat-Garak enmity.

 

[Gul Re'jal]

I was rather disappointed that the Terok Nor trilogy, while providing a lot more insight into Dukat (shudder) didn't really provide additional information regarding the Dukat-Garak enmity.

A Stitch in Time did.


I would like to see discovering and repercussions of Sisko being involved in murdering senator Vreenak.

 

[DevilEyes]

I was rather disappointed that the Terok Nor trilogy, while providing a lot more insight into Dukat (shudder) didn't really provide additional information regarding the Dukat-Garak enmity.

A Stitch in Time did.

Garak's version of the events. Since the book is written 100% from his POV (the very definition of "unreliable narrator"), the truthfulness of it any events described an open question.

Or maybe it's all true... especially the lies.

I would like to see discovering and repercussions of Sisko being involved in murdering senator Vreenak.

There's another DS9 book, Hollow Men, that apparently deals with that. I haven't read it yet so I don't know if it's good. It was written by Una McCormack, who also wrote The Never-Ending Sacrifice, a book I really enjoyed. (She is a major Garak fan, BTW.)

 

[indolover]

I would have liked to see the following:

- How did Changeling society work? There appeared to be no leaders, and the Female Changeling was just a representative first chosen to greet Odo in The Search, and then to command Cardassia since she presumably had most contact with Alpha Quadrant species. But does this mean that Changelings are some ultra-collectivist society? is there no real concept of the individual in their society? this should have been explored more.

- The real reason why Garak was exiled. And also the real reason why Garak and Dukat were enemies.

- Bring back First Omet'iklan, and have he and Sisko as enemies during the Dominion War.

- More nuances and complexity in the Ferengi. Have a sect of Ferengi who despise profit, and thus are outcasts in Ferengi society. We see that Klingons talk a game of honour, but aren't always honourable (Duras, K'empec, Gowron, Kozak in the House of Quark, etc).

 

[Gul Re'jal]

Garak's version of the events. Since the book is written 100% from his POV (the very definition of "unreliable narrator"), the truthfulness of it any events described an open question.

Or maybe it's all true... especially the lies.

"Truth is just an excuse for lack of imagination"

I would like to see discovering and repercussions of Sisko being involved in murdering senator Vreenak.

There's another DS9 book, Hollow Men, that apparently deals with that. I haven't read it yet so I don't know if it's good. It was written by Una McCormack, who also wrote The Never-Ending Sacrifice, a book I really enjoyed. (She is a major Garak fan, BTW.)

Is it? I must add it to my wish list then. I enjoyed The Never-Ending Sacrifice too. However "Worlds of DS9: Cardassia" was a little disappointing.

 

[DS9 Gal AZ]

-Why was Garak really exiled? (Not counting what was in the books)
-Explanation of Garak-Dukat emnity why was Dukat's father put on trial and what did Garak have to do with it? (again not counting the books)
-More explanation of Changeling societal structure. The way the Female Founder described them to Odo once, they sounded like liquefied Borg...
-More Vorta/Jem'Hadar going rogue/starting to question the Founders/Dominion.
-More Vorta period heh I liked them. Clone Weyoun again!
-More exploration of gay character/gay rights. The only homosexuality was in the Mirror Universe (where everything was "wrong," which doesn't send a good messag) and in that one ep with Dax, "Rejoined."
-Sisko coming back to his wife and children.