Just Some Thoughts On…Why Deep Space Nine Is the Best of The Star Trek Spin-Offs

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9)
• Created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller
• Based on Star Trek by Gene Roddenberry
• January 3, 1993, to June 2, 1999
• Syndication

Main Cast

• Commander/Captain Benjamin Sisko-Avery Brooks
• Jake Sisko-Cirroc Lofton
• Odo-René Auberjonois
• Julian Bashir-Alexander Siddig
• Jadzia Dax-Terry Farrell (Seasons 1 to 6)
• Miles O’Brien-Colm Meaney
• Quark-Armin Shimerman
• Kira Nerys-Nana Visitor
• Worf-Michael Dorn (Season 4 to 7)
• Ezri Dax-Nicole de Boer (Season 7)

Supporting Cast

• Gul Dukat-Marc Alaimo
• Nog-Aron Eisenberg
• Rom-Max Grodénchik
• Elim Garak-Andrew J. Robinson
• Keiko O’Brien-Rosalind Chao
• Grand Nagus Zek-Wallace Shawn (Seasons 1–3, 5–7)
• Vedek/Kai Winn Adami-Louise Fletcher
• Female Changeling-Salome Jens (Seasons 3, 4, 6, 7)
• Chancellor Gowron-Robert O’Reilly (Seasons 3 to 5, 7)
• Leeta-Chase Masterson (Seasons 3–7)
• Kasidy Yates-Penny Johnson Jerald (Seasons 3 to 7)
• Brunt, Weyoun-Jeffrey Combs (Seasons 4 to 7)
• Ishka-Andrea Martin, Cecily Adams (Seasons 3, 5 to 7)
• General Martok-J. G. Hertzler (Seasons 4 to 7)
• Tora Ziyal-Cyia Batten, Tracy Middendorf, Melanie Smith (Seasons 4 to 6)
• Damar-Casey Biggs (Seasons 4 to 7)
• Adm. William Ross-Barry Jenner (Seasons 6 to 7)
• Vic Fontaine-James Darren (Seasons 6 to 7)
• Morn-Mark Allen Shepherd

This is not a review of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Already did that. Rather I am trying to communicate why I feel that DS9 was and still is the best Star Trek spinoff and maybe even one of the best spinoffs of any TV series. It was different from what came before yet still felt as if it fit naturally into the world of Star Trek.

I have believed since the final episode that Deep Space Nine was the finest spinoff of Star Trek and with numerous other spin offs having followed since I still feel it is most certainly the finest of the Star Trek spinoffs to this day. Why? While not always perfect it often tackled timely topics in a balanced fashion and embraced the idea of the original series by looking at the human condition through a science-fiction lens.

The show took on bigotry, PTSD, war, political corruption, terrorism, religion, and so much else. In contrast to TNG or TOS or even TAS, DS9 more overtly tackled its topics than any of the shows before it. It didn’t smack you in the face but the truth of what the story was about was much closer to the surface than before.

It took the Star Trek formula and the Star Trek mythology and used it in new ways that clearly fit with what came before. While the setting was not like TNG, you could see a DS9 character could show up on TNG and still act as they did in their show and not feel out of place. And that was after Bashir (Alexander Siddig) made a cameo on TNG and before Worf (Michael Dorn) joined DS9. Though Sisko (Avery Brooks) essentially told Picard (Patrick Stewart) to f**k off in their first meeting, in his actions he carried himself much like his predecessors.

Though controversial at the time, at least among some of the fans, the series ditched everybody getting along to give added conflict amongst the cast of characters. Yet they were still on each other’s side as before. They might have disagreed during an episode, but they ultimately had each other’s backs. They had a genuine bond with one another.

These were characters you wanted on your side despite their flaws. I am not sure that some or any of the characters to come on the scene with the advent of Discovery and since were on each other’s side or were even likeable. While a character like Garak (Andrew Robinson) was many things, overall he was weirdly charming.

The characters were different than anything that had come before. Yet they fit well into the Star Trek universe. Things were pushed as far as they could go, but not to the point that they were unrecognizable. Sisko had issues with not only his position but also was dealing with a son as a single father. O’Brien (Colm Meaney) had to deal with an unhappy wife while stationed very far from home. Kira had just fought for the freedom of her people and was chafing against what she felt was another conqueror in the form of the Federation coming to take over. Human things that we could understand dealt with consistency by the characters and complexity by the writers.

What Berman and pals did was took the basics of the Star Trek formula and tweaked it and pushed it as far as it could go to be different yet identifiable as Star Trek. The people behind it understood that Star Trek wasn’t campy or goofy or silly. 20 or 30 or 40 years on you can see the age in any show. But if you can only see things through the view of today (whatever today is to you) then you will misinterpret shows. Hallmarks of presentation of the 60s or the 90s will be misinterpreted and you will see camp or humor where none was. This was serious material then and now despite the occasional humor or humorous episode.

War. War storylines were something Gene Roddenberry had declared a no-no but during the later seasons DS9 engaged in the classic Dominion War story which is probably one of the best storylines of any Star Trek series to this day. While DS9 initially forced the characters to adhere to Federation ideals far from the comforts of the Federation, the Dominion War story and others pushed that concept to the limit yet never lost that Star Trek feel. It took a hard look at ideals and the need to hold onto them or risk becoming the very thing you were fighting against.

Deep Space Nine also was the best because it made every effort to stand on its own. Yes, there were Klingons and Romulans and the Federation but those are broad elements of the fictional universe. It worked hard to create its own mythology that was still recognizable as belonging to Star Trek. And those instances where it did acknowledge the other shows were very special. They didn’t serve as a reminder that this was a Star Trek show because you felt it in every episode no matter what. They were a sweet treat for fans. It also allowed a depth of realism since the galaxy is a big place and it is vastly more plausible that not everybody knows everybody and some will never meet or know of others. No so much so today.

You got to see strange new worlds and new civilizations and because of the wormhole the titular space station was next to you went where no one had gone before. You can see the common thread from TOS to this. Unlike shows such as Discovery or the current crop of Strange New Worlds (I give a pass on Season One) or even the first two seasons of Picard. In an effort to be different today they make everybody at each other’s throats over some of the most superficial things. The characters now look barely able to function in everyday life let alone in an organization with a command structure.

The ideals or universe in general are looked down upon or openly mocked like in Lower Decks or the random bit of any of the newer shows. The material is not appreciated today or the ideals which were espoused seen as possible. The people behind DS9 had high ideals and wanted people to live up to them. Not today.

By understanding what Star Trek was and by respecting the material the people behind Star Trek: Deep Space Nine created something unique yet very connected that stands as the best spinoff. The people behind Star Trek today could learn something.