Star Trek - Deep Space Nine - Series 1 - Complete (DVD)

...third and often most overlooked Star Trek series, 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' (DS9) was essentially a spin-off of the popular 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' and first aired during its sister show's sixth year in 1993. The first series to be produced without the oversight of Gene Roddenberry, DS9 was intentionally designed to be a very different counterpart to the other series, which was most evident in its setting on a relatively static space ...
...in contrast to the other Star Trek series, the early seasons present something of a disappointment, at least for viewers fond of the series' later tendencies under the supervision of the great Ira Stephen Behr. The Deep Space Nine concept introduced effectively in the feature-length pilot episode 'Emissary,' that of Starfleet arriving to oversee the redevelopment of the planet Bajor following its long-awaited victory over the oppressive Cardassians, ... more

The third and often most overlooked Star Trek series, 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' (DS9) was essentially a spin-off of the popular 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' and first aired during its sister show's sixth year in 1993. The first series to be produced without the oversight of Gene Roddenberry, DS9 was intentionally designed to be a very different counterpart to the other series, which was most evident in its setting on a relatively static space station rather than a mobile starship and its increasing reliance on complex plot arcs and character development as opposed to anomaly-of-the-week episodes. The series was devised and created by Roddenberry's hand-picked successor Rick Berman and the late Michael Piller, the latter often credited with introducing a more "human" character-based approach to storytelling in his earlier tenure on The Next Generation as opposed to the earlier seasons that focused more on technology. This is particularly evident in the concept of DS9, which introduces a strong ensemble of officers and civilians alike, many of whom are disreputable or untrustworthy in stark contrast to The Next Generation's clean-cut Starfleet. DS9 is often billed as 'the darker Trek,' a statement grounded in both its fondness for uncomfortable or controversial themes, and the sinister alien architecture of the alien space station itself.

For all the praise I tend to heap on DS9, particularly in contrast to the other Star Trek series, the early seasons present something of a disappointment, at least for viewers fond of the series' later tendencies under the supervision of the great Ira Stephen Behr. The Deep Space Nine concept introduced effectively in the feature-length pilot episode 'Emissary,' that of Starfleet arriving to oversee the redevelopment of the planet Bajor following its long-awaited victory over the oppressive Cardassians, strongly hints toward a more serialised direction for this new series, yet the first season in particular favours unconnected stand-alone episodes that often demonstrate very little of what this series is capable of achieving. As well as the usual recycled plots based on anomalies and malfunctions (the station breaks down more than the Enterprise holodeck), many of the opportunities to explore the resident alien cultures are wasted in favour of bland humanoid-aliens-of-the-week distractions that really could have taken place in any series, with any crew, as the staff writers attempt to find their feet and break away from the singular style of what was previously considered 'Trek.' The benefit of running concurrently with The Next Generation at least means that the writers know vaguely what they're doing, even if this leads to a less distinctive series at the beginning, and however shaky the first season of DS9 may be, it's light years beyond the embarrassing early years of that other show.

There are, fortunately, a fair few notable episodes scattered amongst the mediocrity here in this slightly shorter season (debuting as it did one-third of the way through the American TV year), some of which are still considered among the best that the show ever produced, although the hit count is lower than for all the later seasons. 'Emissary' is an excellent introduction, which does the perfect job of introducing the hulking, mysterious space station through the eyes of the Starfleet officers audiences have grown accustomed to over the years, before moving in to meet the semi-hospitable locals. There's some great tension evident between the crew members at this early stage, particularly between Starfleet's Commander Sisko and his First Officer Major Kira, a Bajoran ex-terrorist who initially considers the Federation's presence a danger, so soon after the Cardassian withdrawal. An additional plot thread explodes out of nowhere as Sisko and his science officer Dax discover a stable wormhole to the other side of the galaxy that both opens up the station as a major interstellar port, and helps to fulfil a Bajoran prophecy in the franchise's first real exploration of religion, something Roddenberry always objected to during his lifetime.

Other stand-out episodes that touch on the series' larger themes include 'Duet,' an excellently written character piece between Major Kira and a Cardassian war criminal that sees her make peace with her violent past and start to move on, and the thoughtful finale 'In the Hands of the Prophets' that exposes the corrupt and fragile nature of the Bajoran Provisional Government, while also addressing relevant issues of religious tolerance illustrated through Bajoran parents' complaints over Keiko O'Brien's scientific approach towards teaching about the wormhole, which to them is a Celestial Temple for their gods. Earlier Bajoran stories such as 'Progress' and 'The Storyteller' don't really hit the marks correctly, which is forgivable at this early stage, and it's commendable that the series also starts to focus extensively on resident species such as the Ferengi and Cardassians with a depth that was previously offered only to Klingon culture. One of this season's few outright blunders is the episode 'Q-Less,' which brings the popular Next Generation trickster Q to the station for the usual shenanigans, but only serves to prove how incompatible these two series' ideologies are. Other crossovers are treated with more consideration and integrate more successfully, notably Captain Picard's brief cameos in the pilot episode and later appearances by Lwaxana Troi and the Klingon Duras sisters, as well as some cool but gratuitous fan-pleasing use of the Borg in flashbacks, but the weaker episodes on the whole tend to suffer from the transference of a ship-bound premise to the DS9 format, which restricts its potential and stretches credibility.

The series defines itself straight away as a slightly chaotic and fairly dismal situation, explored through the plights of officers whose families have to endure the new living conditions after being used to the five-star luxury of brightly lit space hotels such as the U.S.S. Enteprise, and special credit needs to be given to the sets. The station interiors are truly amazing, apparently the largest permanent sets in Hollywood during the series' run, from the bustling two-level Promenade and its various establishments, particularly Quark's bar (which feels a lot more authentic and lively than the Enterprise's Ten Forward ever did), to the eerily lit corridors and rolling cog-like airlocks (I always loved those!) Many of the non-Starfleet inhabitants are also seedy and nefarious, Quark himself clearly being a criminal as well as a bartender and effective holo-brothel owner (that's right, DS9 admitted what everybody's really using those holosuites for), and even if the Starfleet regulars are a little disappointingly moral in comparison, they at least get drunk and make mistakes. As a fan, it's also interesting to see the officers actually doing some work in these early seasons, before the series seemed to abandon this notion as an inconvenience.

Avery Brooks' black captain has always been another major talking point of the show as the franchise moved into the politically correct nineties, additionally granting Commander Sisko the role of male single parent (what a forward-looking series), and his relationship with his teenage son Jake is one of the highlights of the early years. Cirroc Lofton plays the young Sisko with the appropriate mixture of cheeky enthusiasm and bored loneliness, and his complete lack of interest in becoming a Starfleet officer or boy genius entirely avoids the earlier series' Wesley Crusher syndrome. Brooks takes to the role well, evolving into a more hard-edged and militaristic commander in later years as the show goes that way, but it's particularly nice to see him arriving in the pilot episode as an unwelcome and threatening stranger, before suddenly being revered as the reluctant religious icon of Bajoran prophecies when he discovers the wormhole. Nana Visitor essentially takes over the existing role of The Next Generation's Ro Laren character, as Michelle Forbes wasn't interested in becoming a regular on the new series, and she's given some great sexy-feisty scenes and shouting in the character's key episodes. The only other female lead is Lieutenant Jadzia Dax played by the towering and tantalising Terry Farrell, though her character is noticeably stilted in this first year as a more stoic, Spock-like figure than the outgoing party animal she suddenly becomes in season two onward. Although a little dull for the most part as the necessary explainer of weird goings-on, the character is given some nice exposition and some touching scenes in her titular episode 'Dax.'

The remainder of the human/Starfleet cast consists of the inspired pairing of Doctor Julian Bashir and Chief Miles O'Brien, the latter transferring from many thankless years as the Enterprise's transporter chief to unleash Colm Meaney's full potential in realising Starfleet's everyman, as well as one of my all-time favourite characters in the franchise. O'Brien's endless task of maintaining and fixing the unreliable station is enjoyable to watch, although his friendship with Bashir wouldn't develop for some time yet, Siddig El Fadil's character largely being an annoying starry-eyed optimist in these early shows. The other double act is, of course, Odo and Quark, who effectively play the roles of cop and petty criminal in a number of entertaining B-plots and will clearly never get along, although the same probably isn't true of Rene Auberjonois ('M*A*S*H') and Armin Shimerman ('Buffy'), the talented and patient actors who spend hours in make-up to bring the series' most recognisable faces to life. The station's harbour-like nature leads to a reliable, regular guest cast forming over time, but in this first season their appearances and roles are extremely limited.

Produced concurrently with the last two years of The Next Generation, and then its immediate successor 'Star Trek: Voyager,' Deep Space Nine was always kept a little in the shadows during its original run, something quite fitting to its reclusive and dark nature but ultimately damaging for its viewing figures, which were nevertheless always quite high, particularly in these early years before the worst excesses of Voyager made viewers bored of the franchise. It's my hope that the future will rediscover this brilliant and unique series, particularly once the repetitive Voyager and 'Enterprise' have faded from public consciousness, as it's always been a favourite of mine. This year, in a move both generous and greedy at the same time, Paramount have re-released all of the earlier DS9 DVD season box-sets in a more streamlined and cheaper form, which must be a bummer for those who shelled out £70 or more to buy the original bulky cases released in 2003. Despite less stunning artwork, the interior of each set is exactly the same, featuring four episodes per DVD and an acceptable, if fairly limited selection of special features on the final disc, mainly focused on the creation of the show through interviews with the cast and crew. It's nice that these sets have been made more affordable for fans, and although season one is the weakest of the lot, it still includes a couple of great memorable shows as well as the invaluable pilot to make every DS9 collection complete.

It would get a lot better after this, but like the tedious opening titles it takes its frelling time. 

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