Television Programs You Must Watch – Star Trek Deep Space Nine

Before you watch this show, which is the Best Star Trek ever, you need to watch Star Trek, (the Original Series, known as TOS) and Star Trek, The Next Generation, (known as TNG), so that you get the necessary feel for the program.

Both TOS and TNG had a space ship, The Enterprise, flying around, ‘boldly going where no one has gone before…”

In Deep Space Nine, (DS9) there is little flying around boldly going, and a lot of life on the Space Station.

At first it was episodic, meaning if you watched 3, 6, 12 it didn’t matter what order, (unless they were the rare two parter) because there was little carry over.  The two, TOS and TNG were episodic, a hallmark of American programs, where each is a stand alone episode.

The problem with episodic shows, unless they are the police drama kind, in which the cast at the station is deployed on different unrelated crimes, the lack of continuity becomes annoying, if the show lasts long enough.

With DS9, it did begin as episodic, and there were the odd stand alone episodes all through the seven seasons, the Story Arc began to take control, until each week there was a continuation of what happened last week, so the viewer wasn’t the only one who recalled a similar situation.

DS9 went into the personalities of each member of the cast.   They were people, with flaws and favours.

The premise is simple; here is a Space Station which the Federation is to manage.  The personnel is sent, there is other people who live and work there, and this is ‘normal’ daily life for those who reside there.

It is a very mixed cast, racially and of various humanoid species.

The Ferangi suddenly shine, and instead of being sort of stumbling blocks, they have a full culture, which is revealed, and become rather enjoyable.

Worf, who was on the Enterprise, (TNG) is assigned to the Station, and various aspects of Klingon culture are magnified.

There is a shape shifter, Odo, a Cardassian Tailor, a Bajoran officer, and various others who make life interesting.

It is a character driven program, and there is time to explore aspects from more than one view point, instead of flinging some simple statement.

Where the other two, TOS and TNG, have the Crew come and go, in DS9, everyone is here and here, the Space Station, has to work.  Has to take other cultures and viewpoints into consideration.

It’s a very good show.