Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/14455918

As ST: DS9 airs its pilot episode, PM airs this 50 minute documentary as a way to spark excitement about the new show. It includes interviews from the cast and contains sneak peaks into the show's first season.

In the documentary, Farrell (Jadzia Dax) takes the viewer on a tour around the Deep Space 9 sets. The feature also has interviews with the cast, producers, writers and other production staff members and takes a look at the making of "Emissary".

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To my knowledge this was only aired on TV once in 1993, then was released on VHS shortly after in the US and UK, and has never been re-issued on any newer DVD releases.

It just so happens that it was also released in Japan on Laserdisc, and I happened to find it while looking through my collection of discs. To watch this in the best possible quality, I have digitzed, restored, and upscaled this rare find to for viewing on modern devices.

Enjoy! (and download it before it disappears)

Note: The audio is in English but there are Japanese subtitles in the picture.

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If Kai Winn had taken Kira's advice in "Till Death do Us Part" -- if she had stepped down as Kai, and given up her power -- do you think The Prophets would have forgiven her? Would have taken her to their heart? Or was she just too far gone by that point?

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And also, given Kira was The Chosen of The Prophets to represent them during The Reckoning, is it possible that The Prophets did in fact speak to The Kai directly by sending Kira to her to tell her to step down, and that Winn failed to see it because she was blinded by the desire for power?

While the entire episode is suitably entertaining, the high point is most definitely Rom's musings on the nature of the "alternate" universe.

Max Grodenchik plays "slightly confused" just perfectly and adds much needed comedy to the episode.

If episodes like "Hard Time" and "In the Pale Moonlight" and so on showcase Deep Space Nine at its best, then there is one moment in "In Purgatory's Shadow" that encapsulates the worst parts of the entire series.

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We learn that Julian has been a prisoner of The Dominion for several months, and that has been replaced by a Founder back on DS9.

And suddenly -- back on DS9 -- we see Alexander Siddig looking EVIL (tm).

He's never looked evil before. But from that point on he looks EVIL (tm) in everything he does. As if we -- the audience -- need reminding that he is a BAD GUY (tm). As if we aren't smart enough to realise that he is a bad guy just because we've been told once. We have to be constantly reminded.

It is truly appalling writing and acting -- just really, really bad. Especially when compared to things like the "Molly" scene in Hard Time and the whole of "Moonlight"

These two episodes share a common thread, and I can't help wonder if "For The Uniform" was a beta test (for want of a better phrase) for "In The Pale Moonlight", or if "Moonlight" was planned all along.

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But the point is "Moonlight" is praised for Sisko doing a lot of "un Starfleet like things" to achieve his ends, but when you look at it, he'd already crossed that line in "Uniform", although maybe not quite to the same degree.

I am not saying "Moonlight" isn't a very good episode -- it is one of the best and is justly considered so. But I tend to think that "Uniform" is generally underrated.

It is rare that I say this, but "Hard Time" is an episode that outstrips all but one of the episodes of Babylon 5.

As a series B5 is far superior in writing and content, but this single episode of DS9 just blows every other episode of B5 away (the finale excepted)

Miles is forced to live 20 years of prison in half an hour -- it is burned into his memory -- and he comes back to DS9 suffering from PTSD and is a changed man. He is angry, and he goes through a very tough adjustment.

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It builds up, getting worse and worse, until a truly heartbreaking scene where he nearly hits his daughter just because she wants some attention.

You can see the pain -- the horror -- on his face when he realises what he has done, and he walks out because he knows he is a danger to Molly and to Keiko.

He then goes to a docking bay, and picks up a phaser, with the intention of blowing his head off.

Colm Meany excels himself -- it is the high point of his role (odd as it sounds) -- and given that it is a stand alone episode, outside of any plot or story line, it is just amazing.

I haven't seen any other episode of any other series -- British or American or anything else -- that has matched this. And given it is Star Trek? When you compare and contrast it to TNG and Voyager, it is beyond belief.

I cannot praise it enough. And this, and Pale Moonlight, are what make DS9 the best of the Star Trek shows, for me at least.

It isn't just me who thinks the whole way the show approaches Ferengi ears is weird, right?

They have women stroking them in public, which gives the Ferengi pleasure.

They have women and men grabbing them in public, which causes them pain.

At one point Ishka (Quark's mother) grabs both her sons' ears as some kind of discipline.

So are ears sexual organs? Or just pleasure organs? Or just very sensitive organs?

Or some kind of combination of all three?

I know this seems unlikely, but did they write this episode just to give Avery Brooks an excuse to kiss every woman on the show?

Because he does seem to kiss a lot of the women on the show in this episode :)

When did Dukat become evil?

During "The Maquis, Part 1 & Part 2" he seemed genuinely interested in making the treaty between The Federation and The Cardassians work.

And yet by Series 4, Series 5 he seemed genuinely determined wipe out The Federation, and to reconquer Bajor. And the less said about his time with The Pah-Wraiths the better.

So was he just faking it during "The Maquis"? Or did something cause him to flip a switch (so to speak)?

A woman creates an "ideal community" by staging an unethical experiment on a group of people which results in the death of seventeen of the people involved.

But at the end of this experiment -- ten years later -- the people involved decide they want to keep the experiment going because they are happy with how it turned out, and think the woman is actually their saviour.

What kind of message does this send to the audience? Or are we supposed to make up our own mind as to whether she is the hero, villain or just an average person of the piece?

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708574/?ref_=ttep_ep15

(You may have guessed I am rewatcing the show, so random questions occur to me as I do).

Why don't we get to see

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Verad (from IP)

during Facets? Was it just an oversight, or is there a minimum joining period required for someone to show up during a Zhian'tara ritual?

Given they go out of their way to mention the events if

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Equilibrium

, it made me curious.

Does it worry anyone else that someone from a spaceship can beam directly to the operations centre on DS9?

I accept it is an exploding ship, so it is an emergency, but the operations centre is the heart of DS9 and should be a secure section. Also shouldn't emergency beam-ins be directed to somewhere like the infirmary?

DS9 is my second favourite sci-fi series, and my favourite of the "original five" Star Trek series (TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY & ENT).

And the main reason for that was the political side of the show, as opposed to the...... Star Trek side. It was like after Gene Roddenberry's death, the show grew up and was allowed to expand beyond its original remit, which made it more than it could be. Then when Voyager came along it shrank back into its shell and became a children's show again.

Dukat and Winn between them defined the show for me, with Sisko playing off them -- the three of them (and Kira) were the backbone of the best episodes, and without them then the show would have been wildly different and a great deal worse.

It's why I've watched it eight or nine times all the way through (Netflix!!) while TNG and Voyager have rated 2 or 3 (I think)

https://startrek.website

Full Episode Download

I don't have much to add but am looking forward to watching this grow

For Cardassia!!!

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