why EMISSARY works

[RobertScorpio]

My wife, who never watched TREK until I married her, actually asked if we could watch DS9 again from the start..we haven't seen Emissary in nearly five years, so we did today..and thus we have embarked on our mission to see DS9 again..

I love EMISSARY. It is well written. I especially like the arc that Sisko is on in this pilot. I know that Brooks has his nay-sayers, but I thought then, and still think now, that he nails it here. From the brooding man we meet at the start, to the man who seems to have found his way at the end, he really goes on a journey of 'self' in this episode.

He is trying to convey how we live our lives, day by day, but they can see that he hasn't gone on past the day Jennifer died. Using basball to explain our existance was brilliant, but also, later on, shows us why Sisko is no longer playing the game..

Seeing this again, I wish some how OPAKA could have come back at the end. Not sure why she didn't, but it would have had that 'full circle' feel to it, as would have having Picard in WHAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND as well..

Emissary....A very good Pilot, perhaps the best of the modern treks. The rest of season one was hit or miss, but this pilot really got them started...And its hard to believe it's already, what, 16 years old...yikes...

Rob
Scorpio

 

[Augustus]

16 years??? wow. I also enjoyed this episode. And I think Sisko's scenes with the Prophets are very well written. The only thing I thought was missing in this episode is the fact that he is the Emissary. I mean they just kind of gloss over that for a few years. Maybe I missed it, but it seems like they did...

 

[Marie1]

Well, I suspect that they gloss over it for a few seasons due to his focus on conflict and starfleet- coupled with his lack of understanding of the Bajoran religion, and he wasn't exactly willing to step up for the position of Em. either.

Even then, listen to his lecture to the Prophets at the season... 6 finale when the minefield comes down. In a way, he still was thinking more like a captain than a liaison- he just wanted to get things done and save lives.

 

[Damask]

Well, I suspect that they gloss over it for a few seasons due to his focus on conflict and starfleet- coupled with his lack of understanding of the Bajoran religion, and he wasn't exactly willing to step up for the position of Em. either.

Indeed. It's not until S3 Destiny that "The Sisko" really starts happening. Though there are nice mentions throughout the early seasons. Bareil mentioning that the some Vedeks fear him as the Emissary for example.

 

[RobertScorpio]

16 years??? wow. I also enjoyed this episode. And I think Sisko's scenes with the Prophets are very well written. The only thing I thought was missing in this episode is the fact that he is the Emissary. I mean they just kind of gloss over that for a few years. Maybe I missed it, but it seems like they did...

I think they did the pilot and didn't realize what they had with Sisko. You're right, they kind of gloss over it for the next few years. Perhaps it was for the reasons mentioned above. But I think it may have been done because the writers didn't know, for sometime, how to deal with a religious Icon in a Star Trek setting. And certainly they probably thought that Trek fans wouldn't but it...but the lack of any real 'Emissary' centric episodes until much later was a mistake...but it turned out good in the end...

Rob
scorpio

 

[jgdst]

16 years??? wow. I also enjoyed this episode. And I think Sisko's scenes with the Prophets are very well written. The only thing I thought was missing in this episode is the fact that he is the Emissary. I mean they just kind of gloss over that for a few years. Maybe I missed it, but it seems like they did...

I think they did the pilot and didn't realize what they had with Sisko. You're right, they kind of gloss over it for the next few years. Perhaps it was for the reasons mentioned above. But I think it may have been done because the writers didn't know, for sometime, how to deal with a religious Icon in a Star Trek setting. And certainly they probably thought that Trek fans wouldn't but it...but the lack of any real 'Emissary' centric episodes until much later was a mistake...but it turned out good in the end...

Rob
scorpio

I think that's probably pretty accurate. According to various sources, the religious, political and Bajor-heavy episodes weren't giving massive returns in terms of ratings - which seems odd now seeing as though, in my opnion anyway, that's what made the show what it is - an extra layer of depth.

Then again, Emissary was, I'll argue, the biggest pilot of any of the series. It had the start of The Sisko relationship with the Prophets, the discovery of the wormhole itself, which opened vast potential for the Gamma Quadrant. It introduced the idea of a people damaged by occupation, and set us on a path to explore not just Bajoran and Cardassian culture in-depth, but also how the Federation reacts once it steps into the breach. This is before we even get a glimpse into Ferengi, Trill and even Klingon customs and traditions.

You've also got the unique idea of Starfleet and the Bajoran Militia working side by side, which is seen as a source of antagonism early on, plus also a more focused view on civilians through Jake, Quark, Nog, and later on Garak and Keiko.

If there's one single reason why Emissary works, it's because it had a lot of stories to follow, and being set on a station allowed us to re-visit them week after week instead of flying off into the distance, never to return, at the end of every episode.

Definitely a moment of brilliance when they conceived the pilot

 

[MyCylon]

Emissary, to this very day, is one of my favorite DS9 episodes. I think it's easily the best Trek pilot but also one of DS9's top episodes.

I think DS9 hit the ground running with Emissary but didn't manage to take it from there since S1 was indeed pretty hit or miss until the final two episodes.

Emissary really manages to do all the setup you need (concept, setting, characters...), manages to tell an IMHO excellent story that really makes use of the science fiction setting AND manages to be entertaining and relevant at the same time.

The most amazing thing for me, personally, was to realize a few years after I'd seen the episode for the first time that I actually found myself in a similar situation as Sisko. No, I didn't lose somebody, but I realized I had gotten into a situation where I really wasn't moving forward but remained stuck in the past.
It wasn't until then that I fully understood what Emissary was all about. Understanding that was very powerful.

 

[Silvercrest]

16 years??? wow. I also enjoyed this episode. And I think Sisko's scenes with the Prophets are very well written. The only thing I thought was missing in this episode is the fact that he is the Emissary. I mean they just kind of gloss over that for a few years. Maybe I missed it, but it seems like they did...

I think they did the pilot and didn't realize what they had with Sisko. You're right, they kind of gloss over it for the next few years. Perhaps it was for the reasons mentioned above. But I think it may have been done because the writers didn't know, for sometime, how to deal with a religious Icon in a Star Trek setting. And certainly they probably thought that Trek fans wouldn't but it...but the lack of any real 'Emissary' centric episodes until much later was a mistake...but it turned out good in the end...

Rob
scorpio

I haven't watched this in a while, but it seemed to me that the original concept for the Emissary changed after the pilot. In that episode, they talked about Sisko as if he was the Bajorans' emissary to the Prophets. In other words, the Bajoran ambassador. An important role, certainly, but not one where the Bajorans will hang on his every word. And not one that you can make a lot of episodes about. "When you go back into the wormhole, can you give them a message for us?"

In later episodes, they appear to have tweaked the concept, so that now he's the Prophets' emissary to the Bajorans-- the Prophets' ambassador. Suddenly, instead of being the representative of a group of people, he's written as being the representative of the gods. And that makes the people hang on his every word, etc.

I don't think this was character evolution. It appears he wasn't initially intended to be a religious icon, but it only took some minor rewriting to turn him into one, and then they pretended it had been that way all along.

Can anyone take a look at the episode, and tell me if I'm wrong?

 

[MMCL]

I haven't watched this in a while, but it seemed to me that the original concept for the Emissary changed after the pilot. In that episode, they talked about Sisko as if he was the Bajorans' emissary to the Prophets. In other words, the Bajoran ambassador. An important role, certainly, but not one where the Bajorans will hang on his every word. And not one that you can make a lot of episodes about. "When you go back into the wormhole, can you give them a message for us?"

In later episodes, they appear to have tweaked the concept, so that now he's the Prophets' emissary to the Bajorans-- the Prophets' ambassador. Suddenly, instead of being the representative of a group of people, he's written as being the representative of the gods. And that makes the people hang on his every word, etc.

Opaka: I can't unite my people until I know the prophets have been warned. You will find the temple. Not for Bajor, not for the Federation, but for your own pagh. It is quite simply, Commander. The journey you have always been destined to take.

Sounds like she thought he was a messenger...

 

[UnknownSample]

It never did occur to me that there was anything different about his role as Emissary or how they used it dramatically early on vs. later.

I had not seen Emissary since it first aired, then got hold if it recently, and was amazed at the very different feel of it, compared to every other episode. It has the feel of a film. Emotions are hightened. After this we return to the Next Gen "flatness" for awhile, but there was none of that in this premiere.

 

[Kords21]

I was a fairly big into Trek in that time period, TNG was "must watch" tv and I would spend hours talking about the episode with my buddies. When Emissary came on, I was instantly hooked with DS9. Something about it just resonated with me and it was "Cant Miss" tv. None of the other series ever made me feel that way. I'm trying to get amped up for the new movie, but it's just not the same.

I think DS9 just got better as a series as it progressed. Can't really say that for Voy and ENT only got better towards the end due to change in showrunners.

Emissary works both within the show and on the viewers.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I haven't watched this in a while, but it seemed to me that the original concept for the Emissary changed after the pilot. In that episode, they talked about Sisko as if he was the Bajorans' emissary to the Prophets. In other words, the Bajoran ambassador. An important role, certainly, but not one where the Bajorans will hang on his every word. And not one that you can make a lot of episodes about. "When you go back into the wormhole, can you give them a message for us?"

In later episodes, they appear to have tweaked the concept, so that now he's the Prophets' emissary to the Bajorans-- the Prophets' ambassador. Suddenly, instead of being the representative of a group of people, he's written as being the representative of the gods. And that makes the people hang on his every word, etc.

Opaka: I can't unite my people until I know the prophets have been warned. You will find the temple. Not for Bajor, not for the Federation, but for your own pagh. It is quite simply, Commander. The journey you have always been destined to take.

Sounds like she thought he was a messenger...

Seems like the journey had two parts--and therefore both functions of the Emissary can appropriately be reconciled with what he became.

First he had to be the ambassador TO the Prophets, to bring them the awareness of Bajor (heck, it's even possible he brought them their very first awareness, considering they didn't know time at all). And then he had to be the one to bring their will and influence back TO Bajor, once that was done. And then finally he returned to them.

 

[EEE]

Emmissary turned me off of DS9 for 14 years. I was still looking for TOS at the time. It took a second chance to realize I had found the most TOS-like Trek. Not so much in the "To Boldly Go" arena I was searching for, but in the underlying ground-breaking framework and premise (Wagon Train to the Stars vs The Rifleman in Space).

 

[Enterprise1981]

I was never into much first and second seasons of DS9. But every time I watch "Emissary," I see an excellent opening to a number of different storylines covered throughout the series from Bajor after the occupation, to the opening of new opportunities for exploration and commerce in the Gamma Quadrant, to Odo searching for clues to his origins. What I don't get is that the wormhole aliens did not seem to want anything to do with "corporeal lifeforms." Did they not figure out immediately that he was "The Sisko"?

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I think maybe he introduced them to the entire concept. If time means nothing to them, then his influence at that moment could've affected future AND past.

 

[Sheliak]

Seeing this again, I wish some how OPAKA could have come back at the end. Not sure why she didn't

Because she died when the runabout crashed.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Seeing this again, I wish some how OPAKA could have come back at the end. Not sure why she didn't

Because she died when the runabout crashed.

Yeah, well Spock died, Kirk died on TOS, heck we're talking scifi here...death really isn't a constant...And no one seems to stay dead on Heroes either

Rob

 

[kissthestar]

16 years??? wow. I also enjoyed this episode. And I think Sisko's scenes with the Prophets are very well written. The only thing I thought was missing in this episode is the fact that he is the Emissary. I mean they just kind of gloss over that for a few years. Maybe I missed it, but it seems like they did...

I think they did the pilot and didn't realize what they had with Sisko. You're right, they kind of gloss over it for the next few years. Perhaps it was for the reasons mentioned above. But I think it may have been done because the writers didn't know, for sometime, how to deal with a religious Icon in a Star Trek setting. And certainly they probably thought that Trek fans wouldn't but it...but the lack of any real 'Emissary' centric episodes until much later was a mistake...but it turned out good in the end...

Rob
scorpio

I haven't watched this in a while, but it seemed to me that the original concept for the Emissary changed after the pilot. In that episode, they talked about Sisko as if he was the Bajorans' emissary to the Prophets. In other words, the Bajoran ambassador. An important role, certainly, but not one where the Bajorans will hang on his every word. And not one that you can make a lot of episodes about. "When you go back into the wormhole, can you give them a message for us?"

In later episodes, they appear to have tweaked the concept, so that now he's the Prophets' emissary to the Bajorans-- the Prophets' ambassador. Suddenly, instead of being the representative of a group of people, he's written as being the representative of the gods. And that makes the people hang on his every word, etc.

I don't think this was character evolution. It appears he wasn't initially intended to be a religious icon, but it only took some minor rewriting to turn him into one, and then they pretended it had been that way all along.

Can anyone take a look at the episode, and tell me if I'm wrong?

Sisko was a kind of spiritual wormhole, or conduit, and so was rep of both the people and the gods.

 

[Red Ranger]

Emissary is indeed an excellent pilot. I especially liked how Sisko used the game of baseball to explain linear existence. And the revelation that he had not been living in a linear way, as brought home to him by the Wormhole Beings, was the bucket of cold water he needed in his face to snap out of his understandable funk.

As for not accepting the role of Emissary, Sisko is a secular man, it seems to me. He's also a Starfleet officer, and the idea of stepping into the shoes of another world's relgious figure made him uncomfortable, as revealed in later eps. However, as a pragmatic man, he saw the use of playing the role, even accepting the Prophets as semi-divine beings of a kind.

I think the reason the first season was so hit or miss is because as a decidely different ST show, the writers and showrunners were struggling to figure out which way to go with the series. IMHO, the emphasis on the Gamma Quadrant, then the Dominion, is what made DSN a great show.

Red Ranger

 

[jgdst]

Seeing this again, I wish some how OPAKA could have come back at the end. Not sure why she didn't

Because she died when the runabout crashed.

Yeah, well Spock died, Kirk died on TOS, heck we're talking scifi here...death really isn't a constant...And no one seems to stay dead on Heroes either

Rob

Lol good point. I'm going to be contraversial now and say DS9 has more grounding in reality than Heroes, hence why the majority of dead people stay dead.

What Opaka really needed was some of them new fangled Borg nanoprobe thingies... They're always good for reanimating people. Though, apparently they're only reserved the more annoying (and conveniently, full-time cast) members of the crew