Would you have liked to actually SEE Bajor join the Federation?

[t_smitts]

Novels and "Rapture" aside, considering that Sisko's mission was to actually help bring Bajor into the Federation, would you liked to have actually see Bajor join the Federation at some point?

We've never actually seen a world join on-screen. We've had a couple of potential members in a couple of episodes and movies ("Journey to Babel", "Attached", "Insurrection"), but that's it.

Yes, you could argue that it wasn't a huge priority, with the Dominion War raging in the latter two seasons, but it would've been nice closure on this thing they'd supposedly been working towards from the beginning.

Plus it would've been neat to see Kira, Odo, and all the other members of the Bajoran militia trade in their uniforms for Starfleet ones.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Novels and "Rapture" aside, considering that Sisko's mission was to actually help bring Bajor into the Federation, would you liked to have actually see Bajor join the Federation at some point?

We've never actually seen a world join on-screen. We've had a couple of potential members in a couple of episodes and movies ("Journey to Babel", "Attached", "Insurrection"), but that's it.

Yes, you could argue that it wasn't a huge priority, with the Dominion War raging in the latter two seasons, but it would've been nice closure on this thing they'd supposedly been working towards from the beginning.

Plus it would've been neat to see Kira, Odo, and all the other members of the Bajoran militia trade in their uniforms for Starfleet ones.

With all the references to Bajoran culture and society and DS9's general interest in cultural diversity, it would have been nice to see some sort of grand celebration, either Bajor joining or the Emissary's wedding. However, it would have been out of place if it were to occur during the 9-episode arc. The finale makes celebration and heroism difficult to hold onto.

 

[R. Star]

Nah, I liked the note that DS9 ended on even if there were losses with Sisko. The hope for better things to come, even if nothing will ever be the same. Forcing a quick signing ceremony in there would've just distracted from that.

 

[MacLeod]

Well perhaps one way to show it would be to have Kira in a Starfleet uniform at the end, you could have added one or two lines of dialouge to say Bajor had entered the UFP after deferring it from "rapture"

 

[JirinPanthosa]

It would have been cool to see Bajor join the Federation but it wouldn't have made sense in the time frame of the show. It would have made more sense a few years after the show ended.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Well perhaps one way to show it would be to have Kira in a Starfleet uniform at the end, you could have added one or two lines of dialouge to say Bajor had entered the UFP after deferring it from "rapture"

It's not like she wasn't in an SF uniform up to the last episode, just not as part of a Bajoran representation. (And she proved how great the FC uniform was.)

 

[Paper Moon]

Well perhaps one way to show it would be to have Kira in a Starfleet uniform at the end, you could have added one or two lines of dialouge to say Bajor had entered the UFP after deferring it from "rapture"

That would've been awful, though. Biggest anticlimax in all of Trek, it would've been. (No offense.)

No, if Bajor were actually going to join the Federation, it would've had to have been a huge production. Think the Worf-Dax Wedding, but times 100. (Waaaaayy bigger than what they showed us in Rapture. Bleh.)

If they hadn't diverted to the Klingons during season 4, and had moved the timeline of the war up by one year (so that the invasion began at the end of season 4 and the war ended at the end of season 6), then we could've had a (probably much better) season 7 focused on the aftermath.

(For you BBC/PBS fans, look at series six of Foyle's War, which focused on life in England after the end of the war in Europe, for a model.)

In that case, season 7 could've ended with the entry of Bajor into the Federation with a big celebration, worthy of a series finale. This would bring the show full circle, since it was Sisko's assignment in "Emissary" to bring Bajor into the Federation.

But I actually prefer, overall, the story we got. I think it's thematically consistent that the future of Bajor is left ambiguous. DS9 was big on all that ambiguity stuff.

Indeed, in the novelverse, Bajor enters the Federation about 9 months after the end of the war, whereas in the STO timeline, Bajor doesn't join until 2393! And I've seen fanfics that present plausible futures in which Bajor never joins the Federation. And all of those possibilities are consistent with what DS9 showed.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

If they hadn't diverted to the Klingons during season 4, and had moved the timeline of the war up by one year (so that the invasion began at the end of season 4 and the war ended at the end of season 6), then we could've had a (probably much better) season 7 focused on the aftermath.

(For you BBC/PBS fans, look at series six of Foyle's War, which focused on life in England after the end of the war in Europe, for a model.)

In that case, season 7 could've ended with the entry of Bajor into the Federation with a big celebration, worthy of a series finale. This would bring the show full circle, since it was Sisko's assignment in "Emissary" to bring Bajor into the Federation.

Very cool idea. That would've been the best way to have done Bajor's entry into the Federation. Ending (if he hadn't gone MIA in the Fire Caves) with Sisko now a one-star Admiral and Kira a Captain in Starfleet.

Indeed, in the novelverse, Bajor enters the Federation about 9 months after the end of the war, whereas in the STO timeline, Bajor doesn't join until 2393! And I've seen fanfics that present plausible futures in which Bajor never joins the Federation. And all of those possibilities are consistent with what DS9 showed.

That makes no sense, good thing I don't play STO then . In my own personal continuity, I have it that Bajor became a member of the Federation on January 1st 2377, a little over a year after the war ended and they had played a key role in the aftermath of the war.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

If they hadn't diverted to the Klingons during season 4, and had moved the timeline of the war up by one year (so that the invasion began at the end of season 4 and the war ended at the end of season 6), then we could've had a (probably much better) season 7 focused on the aftermath.

(For you BBC/PBS fans, look at series six of Foyle's War, which focused on life in England after the end of the war in Europe, for a model.)

In that case, season 7 could've ended with the entry of Bajor into the Federation with a big celebration, worthy of a series finale. This would bring the show full circle, since it was Sisko's assignment in "Emissary" to bring Bajor into the Federation.

Very cool idea. That would've been the best way to have done Bajor's entry into the Federation. Ending (if he hadn't gone MIA in the Fire Caves) with Sisko now a one-star Admiral and Kira a Captain in Starfleet.

If I'm not mistaken, the Dominion War ended up filling up whatever time was available. Didn't they originally intend to wrap it up in four episode--Call to Arms and a Season six three-parter--that grew into a six episode arc that didn't even finish off the war? OTOH, not having to deal with Jadzia's death/Ezri's arrival might have given more flexibility with the Emissary narrative in the last season to have Sisko lead the Bajorans back toward admittance in a manner consistent with Rapture.

ETA: It might be that Kira's journey simply ended up standing in for Bajor's journey: she ends up being the example for the Cardassian resistance, she ends up at the final moment of the Founder's surrender, she is left in charge of the station.

 

[TheGoodStuff]

It would have been cool to see Bajor join the Federation but it wouldn't have made sense in the time frame of the show. It would have made more sense a few years after the show ended.

This is exactly how I feel. I would LOVE to see Bajor join and see all the associated rules, regulations, pomp and celebrations surrounding it. However....not in DS9. Not in that timeframe.

I always thought this would be a great addition to the 'next' Trek. A nice focus on Bajor officially joining and continuing to recover from the Occupation and Dominion War.

 

[R. Star]

As I said, I think it's good they didn't show it to us. Whatever they did show would be time crunched, compressed and disappointing. Ending on the note of though things have changed, there's a bright future for the Federation and Bajor was perfect.

 

[Use of Time]

I would have wanted to see it. It was pretty much what they were working towards from the pilot episode on. I don't think it would have been forced. I just think season 7 could have been rearranged a little bit to make room for it at the end.

 

[Jono]

I would have liked to see it, but fitting it in would be a problem without adjusting the last season. In the final episode it would have been nice in the final part where Kira is running about to have her or maybe Quark mention something about the process of membership getting back under way with the war over.

 

[Navaros]

No, I would not have liked to have seen Bajor join the Federation.

I like things the way they stand - with the Bajoran storyline shafted in its incompleteness - because it underscores that the Dominion storyline was a much better use of screen-time, and hints that the Bajoran storyline was a mis-step.

The way to make WYLB better in this regard would not be to show Bajor joining the Federation. Rather, it would be to have Prophet Sisko go back in time and use his mystical powers of temporal manipulation to erase the entire Bajoran storyline out of the series.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

I think it would have been nice if they alluded to it in the finale, as that was already crowded with other things that needed to be tied up. Like maybe Nog mentioning Bajor's entrance as something Sisko would have liked to see along with Nog's promotion to Lt. JG.

 

[dub]

I love Bajor and the storylines surrounding Bajor and I'm thankful they can't be erased because I own the DVDs! But I don't think there was ever a good time for Bajor to join the Federation in this series. Though with the right leadership, I'm sure it would have happened eventually.

But hey, who knows, perhaps in the JJ timeline Bajor will be destroyed like Vulcan, then you can enjoy a universe sans Bajor.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I think we should assume that in the near future after the series Bajor joined the Federation. Remember that they were very close to joining the Federation, and the only reason they didn't is because of Sisko's brain disease prophecy, and the only reason for the brain disease prophecy is that if Bajor had joined the Federation at that point the !!!LOCUSTS!!! would have been a lot meaner in the occupation arc.

Actually, it would have ben cool if in Voyager one of the letters from home talked about Bajor joining the Federation so the Bajoran members of the crew could react. I wonder why they didn't do anything like that.

 

[Melakon]

They probably would have botched it up as badly as ENT: TATV did. It was better to leave the Bajor question open-ended, and it would have been anti-climactic after Sisko's personal struggle.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

But what is there to see? A ceremony?

 

[JirinPanthosa]

But what is there to see? A ceremony?

A ton of old men arguing about the correct interpretation of the words of the Emissary in Rapture.

Stubborn Vedek: The Sisko said that if Bajor ever joined the Federation, it would be destroyed!

Progressive Vedek: That is not true! The Sisko said it was not the right time to join the Federation. He only meant, at that moment we should not have joined, and if we had the Dominion would have destroyed us.

Kira: Hold on, I knew Commander Sisko! He was sure that one day Bajor would join the Federation!

Stubborn Vedek: BUT THIS IS NOT THE TIME!

Progressive Vedek: YES IT IS!

Vedek Assembly: RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!

Sta'kail: Everybody, listen! I learned something today! I don't know what the Sisko meant with every word he said. But when we try to interpret what he meant, all we're really doing is projecting our own biases onto his words! Whether he wanted Bajor to join the Federation now, or later, we all know what he really wanted was what was best for Bajor. So we have to do what we know is best for Bajor, without trying to interpret his words.