Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

The main setting of Deep Space Nine is a space station near the planet Bajor, built by the imperialistic Cardassians during their long, brutal occupation of Bajor. After liberating themselves through a guerrilla war, the Bajorans invite the United Federation of Planets to jointly administer the station. The station is renamed Deep Space Nine, and a Starfleet crew is assigned to manage it, led by Commander Benjamin Sisko.

Shortly after his arrival, Sisko discovers a stable wormhole in Bajoran space between the Alpha Quadrant and the unexplored Gamma Quadrant, and the station is moved near the wormhole's entrance. The wormhole is the home of powerful, non-corporeal aliens whom the Bajorans worship as "the Prophets". Sisko is revered by the Bajorans as the Prophets' "Emissary"; although he is initially uncomfortable with being a religious figure, he gradually grows to accept his role.

Deep Space Nine and Bajor quickly become a center for exploration, interstellar trade, political maneuvering, and finally open conflict. Threats come not only from Cardassians, Klingons and Romulans from the Alpha Quadrant, but later from the Dominion, a powerful empire in the Gamma Quadrant ruled by a race of shapeshifters. The starship USS Defiant is assigned to help protect the station. When the Dominion and the Cardassians take up arms against the Federation and its allies starting in the fifth season, Deep Space Nine becomes a key Federation base in the Dominion War.

According to co-creator Berman, he and Piller considered setting the new series on a colony planet, but they felt a space station would appeal more to viewers, and would save the money required for a land-based show's on-location shooting. They did not want the show set aboard a starship because Star Trek: The Next Generation was still in production, and in Berman's words, it "seemed ridiculous to have two shows—two casts of characters—that were off going where no man has gone before."[3]

While its predecessors tended to restore the status quo ante at the end of each episode, allowing out-of-order viewing, DS9 contains story arcs that span episodes and seasons. One installment often builds upon earlier ones, with several cliffhanger endings. Michael Piller considered this one of the series' best qualities, allowing repercussions of past episodes to influence future events and forcing characters to "learn that actions have consequences."[3] This trend was especially noticeable toward the series finale, by which time the show was intentionally scripted as a serial.[3][4]

Unlike Star Trek: The Next Generation, interpersonal conflicts were prominently featured in DS9. This was at the suggestion of Star Trek: The Next Generation's writers, many of whom also wrote for DS9, who felt that Roddenberry's prohibition of conflicts within the crew restricted their ability to write compelling dramatic stories. In Piller's words, "People who come from different places—honorable, noble people—will naturally have conflicts".[3]

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ran for seven seasons, from 1993 to 1999. The first season started half-way through the typical broadcast season running from fall to spring and had fewer episodes than typical Star Trek runs. Starting with Season 4, a major addition to the cast was Worf adding in another carryover from Star Trek:The Next Generation. When that show ended its run, another spin-off Star Trek: Voyager was also started after the end of that series on United Paramount Network rather than the syndicated network. Meanwhile, the cast of that show shifted to feature films, which led to Worf being the only main Deep Space Nine character to reach the 'big screen'.

Major plotlines focus on several key Star Trek cultures, especially interactions between the Bajorans, Cardassians, Ferengi, Klingons, and the Federation. Many of these cultures are represented by major characters in the main or recurring cast.

Major arcs revolve around Bajor's recovery from Cardassian occupation; the Maquis, a rebellious Federation splinter group; and the Dominion, a hostile imperial power from the other side of the galaxy. The war between the Dominion and the Federation spans several later seasons of the show.

The series was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller at the request of Brandon Tartikoff, and was produced by Paramount Television. As overall head of Star Trek production, Berman served as executive producer for the series's entire run. Piller initially served as second executive producer and showrunner, but left the series in 1995 to manage Star Trek: Voyager. Writer Ira Steven Behr was promoted by Berman to replace Piller as showrunner and held that role for the remainder of the series. In addition to Berman, Piller, and Behr, key writers included Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Ronald D. Moore, Peter Allan Fields, Bradley Thompson, David Weddle, Hans Beimler and René Echevarria.

DS9 was the first television series in the Star Trek franchise to use computer-generated imagery (CGI) for exterior space shots. Although a few other television series, like Babylon 5, were using CGI exclusively to avoid the high expense of model photography, the Star Trek franchise had continued to use primarily physical models for exterior space shots because producers felt models provided more realism.

The USS Defiant was the first full-fledged starship in the Star Trek franchise to have a CGI model used in regular production. It was first built and animated by VisionArt, which was responsible for the morphing of Odo. The CGI Defiant was featured heavily in the season 4 episode "Starship Down", where it battled a CGI Jem'Hadar ship in a CGI gas giant's atmosphere.[10]

However DS9 also continued using models where needed, such as the season 4 premiere and the alternate-universe episode "Shattered Mirror".[11][12] "During the battle sequences between the Federation and Klingon fleets, the effects department used Playmates toys, Ertl model kits and Hallmark Bird-of-Prey Christmas ornaments in the background in an effort to keep production costs down."

The series started using Foundation Imaging and Digital Muse in 1997 (Seasons 6 and 7) for its effects as part of the ongoing storyline of the Dominion occupation of the station. However, the Deep Space Nine station itself remained a physical model throughout the series' seven-year run except for the final scene of the series. In October 2006, the physical model of the station was sold for $132,000 in an auction at Christie's auction house in New York City.

The opening sequence was likewise modified in the fourth season, most notably by the introduction of CGI inserts of construction work being performed on the station's exterior by suited maintenance crews, and more docking and launching activity by ships, along with subtle colored wisps of nebulae added to the background starfield. Accordingly, the solo trumpet (preceded by a solo French horn) featured prominently in the main theme by Dennis McCarthy to accentuate the lonely isolation of the outpost was augmented by a chorus of brass as the station attained a more bustling atmosphere following the presence of the wormhole.

The digital effects were done at television resolution and thus the series cannot be re-released in HD format without re-doing the special effects.[13]

Overall 176 episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would be produced.[14] The show debuted in January 1993 with the double-episode "The Emissary", half-way through the 6th season of The Next Generation. This marked the first time that two Star Trek franchise series were airing concurrently, a situation which would continue until DS9 ended in 1999, except for the fall of 1994, when Next Generation ended and DS9 was alone on the air. But in the next year, Star Trek: Voyager aired on the then-new UPN network, so that once again two shows from the franchise aired.

One of the most acclaimed episodes of DS9 is "In the Pale Moonlight", episode 19 of season 6, in which Sisko wrestles with compromising his ethics to win the Dominion War.[14] Other noted episodes include "The Visitor", in which an elderly Jake Sisko tries desperately to undo the loss of his father; and "Far Beyond the Stars", in which Sisko has a vision of himself as a writer coping with racism in 20th-century New York.[14]

Overall, with 176 episodes with an average run-time of 43 minutes each, Geek.com calculated that there was 126 hours of viewing time for the series.[15]

Although DS9's ratings remained solid, it was never as successful as the syndicated Star Trek: The Next Generation, with approximately 6% versus 11% of US households watching during sweeps months. However, it continued to perform better than its franchise sibling Star Trek: Voyager, which averaged around 5% according to the Nielsen ratings. One factor was the increasingly crowded syndicated marketplace, which provided viewers with a number of alternative television series to follow. Another factor was the minimal promotion for DS9, as Paramount focused its efforts on its flagship network series Star Trek: Voyager. From 1995 onwards, most of the independent stations joined new networks (UPN and The WB), and these primetime shows gradually pushed syndicated programming into less favorable time slots as the US television market expanded from four networks (in 1987 when TNG premiered) to six.

Babylon 5, another science fiction series with a similar premise, set on a space station, aired around the same period as Deep Space 9. Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski indicated that Paramount Television was aware of his concept as early as 1989,[31] when he attempted to sell the show to the studio, and provided them with the series bible, pilot script, artwork, lengthy character background histories, and plot synopses for 22 "or so planned episodes taken from the overall course of the planned series".[32][33]

Paramount declined to produce Babylon 5, but later announced Deep Space Nine was in development, two months after Warner Bros. announced its plans for Babylon 5. Straczynski stated that, even though he was confident that Deep Space Nine producer/creators Rick Berman and Michael Piller had not seen this material, he suspected that Paramount executives used his bible and scripts to steer development of Deep Space Nine.[34][35][36] He and Warner did not file suit against Paramount, largely because Straczynski did not see it as a productive option, with negative repercussions for both TV series. In 1993 he responded to a Deep Space Nine fan who saw the lack of legal action as proof that Straczynski's allegation was unfounded, "If there is any (to use your term) winking and nudging going on, it's on the level of 'Okay, YOU (Paramount) know what happened, and *I* know what happened, but let's try to be grownup about it for now,' though I must say that the shapechanging thing nearly tipped me back over the edge again. If there are no more major similarities that crop up in the next few weeks or months, with luck we can continue that way."[36]

Deep Space Nine is contemporaneous with both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, with the last two seasons of The Next Generation set in the same years as the first two of Deep Space Nine, and the last five seasons of Deep Space Nine with the first five of Voyager. There are crossover characters and plot connections between the series. For example, the characters of Worf and Miles O'Brien originated on The Next Generation before becoming main characters on Deep Space Nine, and the Maquis plotline introduced on Deep Space Nine is part of the premise of Voyager, on which Federation and Maquis crews must merge on a single starship. In addition, in the Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations", produced as part of a 30th-anniversary celebration of the Star Trek franchise, Deep Space Nine characters travel back in time to participate in the events of the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles".

On June 30, 1993, between seasons one and two, DS9 followed the example of other Star Trek series in releasing the original score from its pilot episode on CD. The title theme was also made available as a CD single. Music from several other episodes is included on The Best of Star Trek releases.[37][38]

Originally created in the hope that Frank Sinatra Jr. would take the role,[39] the character Vic Fontaine (instead played by 1960s heart throb James Darren) was introduced in the sixth-season episode "His Way". The character was a self-aware holographic Las Vegas lounge singer and night club owner from the early 1960s. Vic was popular with the station's crew and performed many period songs by, among others, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. Darren's role allowed him to release This One's from the Heart on August 24, 1999, featuring songs that Vic sang in the show and other period pieces.

On February 12, 2013, La La Land Records released a limited edition, four-disc soundtrack collection entitled the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Collection. The discs contain various cues from episodes scored by Dennis McCarthy, Jay Chattaway, David Bell, Paul Baillargeon, John Debney, Richard Bellis and Gregory Smith. Only 3000 copies of the collection were printed.[40][41]

Episodes of DS9 were made available on VHS cassettes. The series was released on VHS in the United Kingdom starting August 2, 1993. Each video cassette contained two episodes and unique artwork and character/plot information. The first VHS release in the United States came on November 19, 1996.

Beginning in 1996, DS9 began releases on LaserDisc. Picture and sound quality in this format was significantly better than that of VHS cassettes; however, the Laserdisc format was discontinued in 1997. Only 30 discs, or the first 60 episodes, were released, comprising the first, second and part of the third season before Pioneer halted its production of Star Trek laserdiscs in October 1999. DS9 LaserDiscs were also produced for the Japanese and European markets. In Japan, the first five seasons were released in a series of ten boxed sets (two per season) before they were canceled around the same time as the US releases.[42] In Europe, a select few DS9 episodes were released on PAL laserdisc: "Emissary", also included in the boxed set Star Trek: The Pilots; "The Way of the Warrior", parts 1 and 2; and "Trials and Tribble-ations" from DS9, "The Trouble with Tribbles" from Star Trek: The Original Series, and "More Tribbles, More Troubles" from Star Trek: The Animated Series.

Following the DVD release of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 2002, DS9 was released on DVD beginning in February 2003. DS9 was released in boxed sets of one season each, which were released approximately one month apart. Each season contains several "special features", including a biographical look at a main character, information from make-up designer Michael Westmore on how various aliens were created, and interviews with cast members and crew members.

The sets also include "Section 31" easter eggs that give a brief look at other aspects of the series. The Region 2 and 4 DVDs also come with bonus CD-ROM discs that allow users to build a "virtual" DS9 on their computer with each release (this software can no longer be installed as the on-line registration is no longer available). On October 26, 2004, a boxed set of all seven season sets was also released.

In 2017, Ira Steven Behr announced he had reconvened much of the former cast and crew of Deep Space Nine for a documentary film entitled What We Left Behind. It had a very positive response and surpassed its fundraising goals, and this success led to ground-breaking conversions of Deep Space Nine footage into higher definition although it caused some delays. A screening version was released in late 2018 in Hollywood, New York, and at the Destination Star Trek convention in the U.K.[43][44][45]

By February 2017, the documentary was partially finished, according to Behr, with an Indiegogo fundraising page set up to crowdsource the rest of the money needed to complete it. In addition to interviews with cast and crew, the documentary will explore Deep Space Nine's legacy; Behr also reconvened the series' old writers' room to develop a script for the first episode of an imagined eighth season, which will be featured in the film.[46] In 2017, a tentative release date was set for 2018.[47] In the summer of 2018, the makers scheduled special release events starting in October 2018.[44] A version was able to be screened at these special release events at Paramount in Hollywood and some other locations, but a decision was made to delay the media release to increase the amount of high-definition conversions.[43][45]

In 2017, a fundraiser for the documentary surpassed its target of nearly $150,000 within a day of going live.[48] It went on to raise over $500,000 by March 2017, almost four times the amount requested.[49] When it concluded it had raised over $631,000 from thousands of donations.[50]

Development of What We Left Behind took extra time due in part to the large amount of material for editing and technical challenges.[51] This includes crafting special effects footage and working with CBS to make high definition scans.[51] The makers also expanded the amount of footage that is being remastered, and innovated with a 16:9 scan of the original DS9 film.[44]

In August 2018, it was announced the documentary would have original music scored by Star Trek veterans Dennis McCarthy (256 Star Trek episodes scored) and Kevin Kiner (10 Star Trek episodes scored).[44] The documentary's producer is Kai de Mello-Folsom, in consultation with others from the original creative team including Star Trek franchise legends such as Michael Okuda, Jonathan West, and Doug Drexler.[52]

It premiered in late 2018 at the following locations:[43]

• Los Angeles, October 12
• New York City, October 14
• Birmingham, UK, October 20, during the Destination Star Trek convention[43]

The strong community support and overall response, as well as the creative team's access to resources to create the high-definition sequences led to a delay to increase the sequences filmed in higher-definition for the documentary.[45] Although the screening version was complete and could have been released as-is, a creative decision was made to undertake converting more sequences into high definition.[45] One teaser showed concept art of a Star Trek spacecraft, which appears in the documentary in an animated sequence.[53] The spacecraft design was by John Eaves, who designed many spacecraft in the franchise's television shows and theatrical films.[53]

On May 13, 2019 there was a limited theatrical release.[54] It played at about 800 theaters and grossed over $380,000.[55] The film reviewed various aspects of the series from a perspective of twenty years later, explored a plot for a notional 8th season, and included many clips re-scanned from original footage in high definition.[54]

On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 5 critics.[56]

Pocket Books has published several dozen books based on DS9. Some of these were novelizations of memorable episodes, such as "Emissary", "The Search" and "What You Leave Behind", which were usually published a few days after the episode aired in the United States. Several novels were part of "crossover" series between the Star Trek franchises, while others were part of other franchises but dealt with events laid out in DS9. For example, The Battle of Betazed tells of how Deanna Troi attempted to resist the Dominion occupation of her world (mentioned in the episode "In the Pale Moonlight"). Most focus on the station and its crew, with a notable exception being Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe's Legends of the Ferengi.

The "Millennium" series by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, published by Pocket Books beginning in 2000, consists of The Fall of Terok Nor (book 1), The War of the Prophets (book 2), and Inferno (book 3). The series lays out an alternate ending to DS9 (the novels were actually written before the series concluded) in which a second wormhole is created by the actions of a number of shady characters, destroying the station. In the space-time distortion that occurs, most of the crew are transported 25 years into the future—a future in which the Federation and its allies are virtually crushed and a fanatical sect of Bajorans who worships the Pah-wraiths have ascended to power and plan to destroy the universe to bring about a higher state of existence. Inferno ends the series as an unexpected mode of time travel is discovered after the end of the universe, allowing the DS9 crew to alter past events.

Avatar, a two-part novel published on May 1, 2001, picked up where the series left off. It began season 8 of DS9, into which A Stitch in Time (a biographical look at the life of Garak, written by Andrew Robinson himself) was incorporated retroactively. The events of "What You Leave Behind", DS9's series finale, caused some radical changes to occur in Season 8. As Benjamin Sisko had entered the Celestial Temple, Colonel Kira was given command of the station while a new commander named Elias Vaughn took over her position, Garak became the leader of post-war Cardassia, Odo helped the Changelings rebuild, and Rom presided over the Ferengi Alliance.

Other publications, such as the Deep Space Nine Technical Manual and Deep Space Nine Companion, are common to most of the Trek series. The DS9 Companion contains detailed episode guides and interviews with actors, writers, directors and other staff members.

DS9 series influences were included in role-playing game reference books from Last Unicorn Games and Decipher, Inc. Additionally, several novels have also been released in audio form, narrated by René Auberjonois and Armin Shimerman among others.

Several video games focusing on DS9 have been released. The first was Crossroads of Time, a 1995 side-scrolling game released for the Super NES and Genesis. The game takes place around the time of the series premiere, borrowing some stories from early episodes such as "Past Prologue" and creating others. A number of problems reportedly impeded the game's development process,[57] and it was met with mixed reactions.

Three DS9-themed games were released for the PC: Harbinger in 1996, The Fallen in 2000, and Dominion Wars in 2001. A board game was released as part of the now-defunct "component board game" series, which included an intercompatible board game for Star Trek: The Next Generation.[58] DS9's role-playing book was one of several that failed to be released into wide circulation when Decipher, then publisher of the Star Trek role-playing game, discontinued its line.

The series features prominently in the Star Trek Customizable Card Game, particularly its second edition. In the game's first edition, Deep Space Nine is the titular fifth set, followed by one entitled "The Dominion" and several other DS9-themed sets. In the second edition, there are two types of cards for the United Federation of Planets, which may be placed at Earth or Deep Space Nine. The Ferengi, Dominion, Cardassian, Bajoran, and Maquis affiliations are primarily DS9-derived material, while the Klingon affiliation also borrows strongly from it.[59]

The PC game Star Trek Online features Deep Space Nine as a trading hub. The lower ring (The Promenade) contains vendors, and the upper ring offers views of surrounding space. In addition, the expansion “Victory is Life” is focused around DS9 and the Gamma Quadrant.

Along with the rest of the Star Trek franchise, DS9 has been the subject of much merchandising. Action figures, keychains, models, and other items have been released. The station itself, which is highly recognizable and iconic of the series, is the subject of many of these items. Paramount also sells Starfleet uniforms; among the styles is the so-called "DS9-style" uniform, which is primarily black with a division color (red for command, yellow for engineering or security, blue/green for medical and the sciences) on the shoulders and a grayish-purple undershirt is seen underneath the uniform.

DS9 was represented at Star Trek: The Experience, an attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton that recreated both Quark's Bar & Restaurant and the Promenade. The former served Star Trek-style food and drinks, and hosted gatherings such as conventions. The latter (called the Shopping Promenade) sold various souvenirs; among the items for sale were "official" Starfleet uniforms and action figures. The attraction closed in September 2008.

In 2019, a new Star Trek: Deep Space Nine themed video game gambling machine was announced, with a tie-in promotion to the Las Vegas Star Trek convention.[60] The maker's noted "Star Trek commands one of the world's most passionate fan bases, and we're thrilled to reveal the new Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Red Alert game."[60] In the product, gambler-gamers defend the newly freed people of Bajor and the eponymous space station from Gamma Quadrant threats using a virtual Runabout and Defiant, some of the famous spacecraft from the hit TV show.[60]

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• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine at IMDb
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• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine at StarTrek.com

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
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• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine at CBS.com
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