STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE Turns 20 Today!

STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE Turns 20 Today!

Posted by: Mel on January 3, 2013 in Feature Story, News 4 Comments

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

On January 3, 1993, a very different take on Gene Roddenberry’s vision arrived on TV screens. Set on a space station instead of a starship,  the people of Starfleet were surrounded by “locals”, struggling to aid a region torn by conflict, and on the front lines of exploration of the Gamma quadrant thanks to the nearby wormhole.

When I first encountered DS9 in 1994, it was too strange for my taste. All those aliens with the weird features? The darkness of the location and the storylines? No “boldly going”? I went back to just watching TNG for a while, but then I tried DS9 again a few months later, and it started to make sense. Eventually it became my favorite Star Trek series, and still is. Of all the series, I think it remains the most relevant, the most topical even decades later. And of course, it brought a certain brilliant actor to my attention!

What are your memories of your first encounter with Deep Space Nine? Do you still rewatch episodes?

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  • pothos

    I started watching during season 2 so in the Uk that would be around 1995. The BBC used to be wonderful at broadcasting the best of Sci Fi during the evenings on BBC2. I recall thinking that DS9 was very well acted and written and to think it all started 20 years ago today is rather shocking.

  • http://profiles.google.com/historyphdguy Robert Karma

    I loved DS9 even though it was a departure from TOS & TNG. They did a good job in exploring these characters through some messy ethical situations especially how the Federation dealt with being at war with the Dominion. “Home Front” & “Paradise Lost” should be required viewing for our politicians on how easy it is to surrender to paranoia and subvert our civil liberties in the name of imagined security. Mr. Siddig evolved more than the other main characters during those 7 years. He came to the station as a brilliant but young & inexperienced doctor out having an adventure in frontier medicine. His relationship with Miles O’Brien was the best on the series up there with Odo and Quark. Dr. Bashir allowed us to examine the bioethical issue of genetic engineering and why it was illegal in the Trek universe. I still enjoy revisiting these episodes because they are darned entertaining and they stand up extremely well over time. I would love to see a reunion special on the telly to show us just where our beloved characters wound up after experiencing so much trauma!

  • http://twitter.com/AstraStarr AstraStarr

    I love all Star Trek, but DS9 has a special place in my heart. I will never forget watching the pilot and hearing the theme song for the first time- my face inches from the tv screen. It moved me to tears. So beautiful. Bashir was my favorite character- teenage crush :) But to answer the question- yes… I watch every episode at least once a year. With Netflix it makes it so easy to just throw it on in the background and go through the series. STO- TNG- DS9- VOY, and repeat. Be well in the new year!