DS9: Season 1

I have made a start on watching Deep Space 9 from the beginning. Unlike TNG I was fairly confident that I would remember all the episodes. I was older when they were first screened and my parents bought the videos almost right from the start. Also I watched them fanatically having a teen crush on one Dr Julian Bashir. So I was more than a little surprised when there were one or two episodes I only vaguely remembered and yet the rest were very familiar. The main episode I couldn't remember was "Vortex" which is the first hint that there are more changelings in the Gamma Quadrant. It also hints that the changelings keep to themselves after being mistrusted by non shape shifting beings. A hint of things to come maybe.

Favourite episodes in the include "Progress" and "Duet" both of which I found very sad especially Duet. A Cardassian pretends to be the once leader of a Bajoran labour camp in order to receive the punishment he believes is deserved. Surprisingly both those episodes were mainly about Kira and she wasn't one of my favourite characters. Normally (especially at that age) I would have looked up to strong female characters. However, I found her to be just too much. Her character did mellow with time as characters usually do and I didn't mind her so much.

This series seemed to end very abruptly. I got to the last episode and was surprised that there was no more. This series was made during TNG season 6 (which might explain TNG's poorer story lines during that season) which was filled with two part episodes. This one had none and didn't even end on a cliffhanger. Something that changes later on though. The last episode is linked to a bigger story line though (the whole Winn/Boriel story) and maybe that was what they wanted. To end it with something a little more open. I have tried to find out if there was any other reason but have came up with nothing.

The one thing the other series of Star Trek has been notorious for is the carry on of the crew. While watching the extras on TNG it was always mentioned that when the whole senior crew got together to film it was a nightmare because there was always some practical joke or other. It sounded like everyone had fun and they always involved their guest stars . DS9 was notorious for being serious and this was mentioned on the extras here. Actress Nana Visitor put it down to the fact that most of them were stage actors originally (although a lot of TNG actors also came from the stage. Patric Stewart being the most famous and the most famous for his practical jokes). From what I have heard actor Avery Brooks wouldn't allow any carry on and the rest of the actors seemed to revere him. Sounded to me a little like Brooks took himself way too seriously. I think it is surprising because there was so much more chance for comic value within the stories themselves. You have the Quark/Odo duo and later the O'Brian/Bashir duo. I guess when you see them being funny on screen you expect the same off.

The one thing this series has over the others is that they have to have more aliens which was also talked about during the extras. They had to have lots of Cardassians, Bajorans and Ferengi as well as a sprinkling of others in the background to make it look like it really is a space station. I did enjoy hearing about their ideas for the station itself. Originally they had wanted to create a large sprawling station which had been built apon again and again over the years. They wanted it to be a station that was centuries old and had changed hands many times. That possibly no one really knew who built it in the first place. I think they were limited though by the size of the set which is why they gave up on that idea. Also due to limitations the promenade only had one level during the first season. They did things to make it look as though there was another level but it didn't actually make an official appearance until later in the show.