Deep Space Nine Runthrough

Justin Credible Darts · 25-04-2020 12:59am

https://whatculture.com/tv/10-reasons-deep-space-nine-is-secretly-the-best-star-trek

Josey Wales · 26-04-2020 1:08pm

Justin Credible Darts wrote: »

https://whatculture.com/tv/10-reasons-deep-space-nine-is-secretly-the-best-star-trek

10 reasons why DS9 is secretly the best Star Trek? Pretty sure that headline is wrong. There's nothing secret about that.

IvySlayer · 28-04-2020 8:07am

My child, you are reading this in Kai Winns voice

Rawr · 28-04-2020 8:46am

IvySlayer wrote: »

My child, you are reading this in Kai Winns voice

(Squeezes the corner of IvySlayer's post)
Your P'ah is strong....

pixelburp · 28-04-2020 8:50am

Josey Wales wrote: »
10 reasons why DS9 is secretly the best Star Trek? Pretty sure that headline is wrong. There's nothing secret about that.

It kinda was the hipsters choice for a long while; at least until Netflix / Amazon made it easier for folks to jump onboard and see what the fuss was about. It has definitely got a bit of a renaissance in the last 10 years. Not a "secret" anymore but for a while the forgotten Trek all the same.

And Kai Winn & Gul Dukat? Trek's best antagonists by a country mile. I honestly don't even think there's a contest here.

Justin Credible Darts · 28-04-2020 2:37pm

ds9 was one of the first shows in any tv series to do arc, use cgi, etc it was years ahead of most shows in format , design etc

Rawr · 28-04-2020 2:50pm

pixelburp wrote: »

And Kai Winn & Gul Dukat? Trek's best antagonists by a country mile. I honestly don't even think there's a contest here.

I'll echo you on that, but also raise you Weyoun.
There's was something very addictive about this villain with a constant "nice guy" routine...especially when you know it's all a front for his plans to kill & subjugate people in the name of his Founders.

DS9 was great with bad guys all round

(Also: Liquidator Brunt F.C.A. another great bad guy, same actor, same show!)

odyssey06 · 28-04-2020 3:08pm

Justin Credible Darts wrote: »

ds9 was one of the first shows in any tv series to do arc, use cgi, etc it was years ahead of most shows in format , design etc

I wonder though if DS9 would have gone down the arc route if it had not been for Babylon 5.

pixelburp · 28-04-2020 3:10pm

odyssey06 wrote: »

I wonder though if DS9 would have gone down the arc route if it had not been for Babylon 5.

Wasn't there some suggestion one was an intentional clone of the other? I could swear I read a story that J Michael Straczynski pitched Paramount for a Trek show set on a space station; they turned it down, Straczynski went to make Babylon 5 off the skeleton of the Trek story, then Paramount turned around and produced a Trek Space Station series anyway. This could be utter horsesh*t and acknowledge it's probably myth...

odyssey06 · 28-04-2020 3:15pm

pixelburp wrote: »

Wasn't there some suggestion one was an intentional clone of the other? I could swear I read a story that J Michael Straczynski pitched Paramount for a Trek show set on a space station; they turned it down, Straczynski went to make Babylon 5 off the skeleton of the Trek story, then Paramount turned around and produced a Trek Space Station series anyway. This could be utter horsesh*t and acknowledge it's probably myth...

There's a bit of background on that angle here... some of the similarities are probably just parallel development but taken together the evidence is circumstansial:
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Babylon_5

As a fan of both series, in a small but lynchpin role - Robert Foxworth jumping series from Babylon 5 General Hague to DS9 Admiral Leyton did leave a bit of a sour taste.

Justin Credible Darts · 28-04-2020 4:04pm

odyssey06 wrote: »

I wonder though if DS9 would have gone down the arc route if it had not been for Babylon 5.

I think its fair to say ds9 did get its original premise from B5, however Ira Behr, was ahead of the curve and knew tv was changing.
Episodic tv was not a thing then in the sense of continuation as shows like TNG were land on a planet, tell a story, same again next week, there was hardly continuation to a big background story.

With ds9 that was not the case, and soon almost all tv shows would be copying ds9 in arcs.
As for B5, they did not have the publicity machine trek had, even if ds9 was the red headed step child of the franchise

youcancallmeal · 02-06-2020 2:59pm

Just finished a rewatch I started a couple of months ago. First thing that strikes me is how well it has aged for a 25 year old TV show. Story wise it was mostly good as I remember but like my first time watching all those years ago I am still indifferent at best to most Bajoran story lines. The Ferengi story lines I enjoyed a lot more this time, I maybe didn't appreciate the light-heartedness it brings when I was younger. I do wish they explored the founders at bit more, their motivation is barely touched on and mostly explained away by their contempt for 'solids'. One particular scene that really struck me as poorly conceived is in the episode 'Paradise Lost' when a changeling disguised as O'Brien comes to Sisko and tells him there is 4 changelings on earth and they are causing so much panic. For me it just affirmed them as generic bad guys. In a series that had such depth in writing I guess I expected more. Overall still my favourite Star Trek series, the likes of which we'll never see again if Discovery and Picard are anything to go by.

Justin Credible Darts · 02-06-2020 8:42pm

When you say you wished they would have explored the founders more is sort of unfair as there was only so much they could do in the time they had. , when you can look back on the show and look at all the alien races they did explore very well

As it was you only have to look at the depth they added to the klingons from TNG
The depth they went in to with the cardassians was unlike anything the other shows did with a relatively new species.
Same could be said for the bajorans.
They totally changed the perception of the ferengi's from what they were in TNG.
The Jem Hadar, Vorta and others were given some good episodes as well with strong characters.

I totally agree of all the shows, especially its age, it holds up the best.

seamus · 03-06-2020 9:49am

About midway through season 7 now. Really glad I went back and filled in all the gaps in 3, 4 & 5. I've even come to like the Ferengi, where originally I found their clownish side-show really irritating.

The continuity from episode to episode is brilliant, not something you saw much of in TNG. I watched the episode last night where Nog does his Ferengi trading thing, and at the end we've found out that he traded Martok's shipment of blood wine for a better vintage (2309).

At the start of the episode then Kor arrives on the station, Worf gives him a drink and Kor says, "Ah, 2309, a great year".

That's a tiny, tiny detail. If I was watching it week-to-week as originally broadcast, I would have missed that. But many of the more obsessive fans wouldn't have, and no doubt the writers knew that.

Rawr · 03-06-2020 12:06pm

seamus wrote: »

....and at the end we've found out that he traded Martok's shipment of blood wine for a better vintage (2309).

Better?!!

That's a 2309...there is no finer vintage

Stark · 03-06-2020 12:17pm

seamus wrote: »

About midway through season 7 now. Really glad I went back and filled in all the gaps in 3, 4 & 5. I've even come to like the Ferengi, where originally I found their clownish side-show really irritating.

Yeah they grew on me quite a bit over the seasons. "The Magnificent Ferengi" is one of my favourite episodes.

03-06-2020 1:47pm

Stark wrote: »

Yeah they grew on me quite a bit over the seasons. "The Magnificent Ferengi" is one of my favourite episodes.

That the one with Iggy Pop?
He was outstanding as a Vorta

Stark · 03-06-2020 1:48pm

Yeah that was the one.

04-07-2020 6:53pm

Just finished watching What We Left Behind
What a great documentary but damn it's sad seeing Aron Eisenberg and René Auberjonois on screen, particularly with René's final words to the screen.

Optimus Prime · 04-07-2020 7:04pm

I watched that recently too and really enjoyed it. I started a run through after it. It’s like putting on a warm blanket watching it again. I must have watched them all about ten times at this stage, but will all the ****e going on I just find it relaxing watching them. You don’t have to follow a major multi season story (even though there is that as well) you can enjoy each episode on its own. Sometimes I think that’s missing from tv shows these days.

04-07-2020 7:11pm

Optimus Prime wrote: »

I watched that recently too and really enjoyed it. I started a run through after it. It’s like putting on a warm blanket watching it again. I must have watched them all about ten times at this stage, but will all the ****e going on I just find it relaxing watching them. You don’t have to follow a major multi season story (even though there is that as well) you can enjoy each episode on its own. Sometimes I think that’s missing from tv shows these days.

Yeah DS9 was serialised but most episodes had a self contained element and would stand on their own too.

Often, missing one episode, was not a story killer and you could catch up (I know, having missed a few in 1998/9 due to leaving cert study)

Justin Credible Darts · 04-07-2020 7:16pm

Optimus Prime wrote: »

I watched that recently too and really enjoyed it. I started a run through after it. It’s like putting on a warm blanket watching it again. I must have watched them all about ten times at this stage, but will all the ****e going on I just find it relaxing watching them. You don’t have to follow a major multi season story (even though there is that as well) you can enjoy each episode on its own. Sometimes I think that’s missing from tv shows these days.

Almost ever 2 years I do a re run of the entire show, usually in a binge watch over a fortnight.
And every 4 or 5 years have done rerun of voyager and enterprise.
For some reason tng and original series, i have never done entirely, but will select a random episode, maybe because they were so stand alone episodes for the most part

AllForIt · 24-08-2020 12:29am

Watched an incredibly good 2 part-er I hadn't seen this one, recommended from here

6. “Improbable Cause” and “The Die Is Cast” Season 3, Episode 20 & 21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=50&v=cl66ilQCCNs&feature=emb_logo

"Have you heard the story about the boy who cried wolf....moral of the story is...you should never tell the same lie, twice'. Brilliant.

Garak, Andrew Robinson, is utterly brilliant as always. Any episode that featured Garak and Odo were always the best episodes. Brilliant actors both of them.

Pains me they don't make stuff this good anymore.

Smegging hell · 25-08-2020 10:32am

AllForIt wrote: »

Watched an incredibly good 2 part-er I hadn't seen this one, recommended from here

6. “Improbable Cause” and “The Die Is Cast” Season 3, Episode 20 & 21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=50&v=cl66ilQCCNs&feature=emb_logo

"Have you heard the story about the boy who cried wolf....moral of the story is...you should never tell the same lie, twice'. Brilliant.

Garak, Andrew Robinson, is utterly brilliant as always. Any episode that featured Garak and Odo were always the best episodes. Brilliant actors both of them.

Pains me they don't make stuff this good anymore.

I watched it the other night, Andrew Robinson is fantastic.

murpho999 · 25-08-2020 12:10pm

I started a rerun of TNG at beginning of lockdown. Loved it and put me in the mood for more.

Started DS9 which I just missed when originally broadcast and I am enjoying it.

Watched "Duet" last night and found it unreal, so much so that I watched the last 20 minutes again this morning. Powerful stuff and great acting.

Looking forward to the rest of the seasons over the next few weeks.

I also watched ST Discovery inbetween and it was poor and just disrespected almost everything the TOS, TNG & DS9 created and Discovery's characters apart from Pike are poor.

Also, it's a pity DS9 & Voyager have not been upgraded to HD.

Justin Credible Darts · 25-08-2020 9:40pm

murpho999 wrote: »

Watched "Duet" last night and found it unreal, so much so that I watched the last 20 minutes again this morning. Powerful stuff and great acting..

loved that episode, but I had seen the movie "man in the glass booth" only months before I kept drawing parallels as Duet was based on that.

Definitely the best episode of season one

AllForIt · 26-08-2020 10:14pm

Smegging hell wrote: »

I watched it the other night, Andrew Robinson is fantastic.

Yes. He is something else. The character Garak was so likeable. I'll never get tired of him saying "The things you can learn from hemming dresses", with that devilish smirk on his face.

Evade · 26-08-2020 10:18pm

His "my dear doctor" is great too.

seamus · 26-08-2020 10:33pm

murpho999 wrote: »

Also, it's a pity DS9 & Voyager have not been upgraded to HD.

And unfortunately is never likely to happen. TNG was shot with a lot of practical effects and miniatures, making it relatively straightforward to take the original film negatives and rescan them into HD.

DS9 and Voyager used a lot more CGI, for exterior shots especially. This can be upscaled but it just doesn't transfer as well, they would have to be completely re-rendered in HD from the original code to get the same effect. And apparently the original code is gone, so in essence you'd have to redo every shot.

There have been some attempts to use machine learning though to upscale the original CGI shots, and the results are good if you do a google.

At some point in the future it may become feasible to do a HD remaster at a reasonable cost and they'll go with it, but not in the foreseeable future.

Justin Credible Darts · 26-08-2020 10:45pm

a grainy copy of DS9 is still far supreme to any hd, bluray etc version of discovery

Deep Space Nine Runthrough

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