Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

"DS9" redirects here. For the titular space station, see [[:Deep Space Nine]].

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
File:DS9logo.JPG Star Trek: Deep Space Nine intertitle
Created by	Rick Berman, Michael Piller
Starring	see below
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	176 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Ira Steven Behr Rick Berman Michael Piller
Running time	approx. 45 min.
Original release
Network	Syndication
Release	January 3, 1993 – June 2, 1999

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (sometimes abbreviated to ST:DS9 or DS9) is a science fiction television program that premiered in 1993, ran for seven seasons, and ended in 1999. Rooted in Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek universe, it was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, at Brandon Tartikoff's request, and produced by Paramount Pictures. The main writers, in addition to Berman and Piller, included showrunner Ira Steven Behr, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Ronald D. Moore, Peter Allan Fields, Joe Menosky, René Echevarria, Richard Manning, and Hans Beimler.

Though a spin-off of Star Trek: The Next Generation, DS9 began while its parent series was still on the air, and there were several crossover episodes between the two shows. In addition, two Next Generation characters, Miles O'Brien and Worf, became regular members of DS9.

However, unlike its predecessor, DS9 often broke the rules laid down by Roddenberry, such as the prohibition against interpersonal conflicts between the main characters. Also, unlike the other Star Trek programs, DS9 took place on a space station instead of a starship. This made continuing story arcs and the appearance of recurring characters much more feasible. The show is noted for its well-developed characters and its original, complex plots. The series also depended on darker themes, less physical exploration of space, and an emphasis (in later seasons) on many aspects of war.

Although DS9's ratings were initially solid, it was never as successful as Star Trek: The Next Generation, with ratings declining in later seasons. A number of reasons were given for this decline, including an increasingly crowded television marketplace (the show Babylon 5 aired about the same time, mining similar themes), cannibalization of viewership between it, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, and viewer fatigue. Nonetheless, it remained the top-rated first-run syndicated drama series throughout most of its run.

Premise

File:Ds9.jpg

Space station Deep Space Nine.

Conceived in 1991, shortly before Gene Roddenberry’s death, DS9 centers on the space station Deep Space 9 (original Cardassian designation Terok Nor), which is under the joint control of the United Federation of Planets and Bajor, a planet recently liberated from a long, brutal Cardassian occupation. According to co-creator Berman, he and Piller had considered setting the new series on a colony planet, but they felt a space station would both appeal more to viewers and save money that would have to be spent for on-location shooting for a "land-based" show. However, they were certain that they did not want the show to be set aboard a starship because Star Trek: The Next Generation was still in production at the time and, in Berman’s words, it "just seemed ridiculous to have two shows—two casts of characters—that were off going where no man has gone before."

In the pilot, the station is moved to the recently discovered Bajoran wormhole, allowing access to the distant, unexplored Gamma Quadrant. The station quickly becomes a center for exploration, interstellar trade, political maneuvering, and eventually open conflict.

DS9 differs from preceding Star Trek series in that it contains more story arcs that span several episodes and even seasons. Its predecessors tend to restore the status quo ante at the end of an episode so that many episodes could be seen out-of-order without compromising its plot. On DS9 however, not only are events in one episode often referenced and built upon in later ones, but sometimes several episodes in a row are cliffhangers. This trend is especially strong near the end of the series’ run, by which point the show was intentionally very much a serial, as the producers felt it enriched the show. This permitted greater character and plot development. A StarTrek.com article about Star Trek's greatest villains described Gul Dukat as "possibly the most complex and fully-developed bad guy in Star Trek history".

Interpersonal conflicts between regular characters had been previously forbidden by Roddenberry in Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation, but feature prominently in DS9. This was at the suggestion of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s writers (many of whom also wrote for DS9) because they felt that the prohibition limited their ability to develop interesting stories. In Piller's words, "people who come from different places—honorable, noble people—will naturally have conflicts".

Several of the characters also have their own personal demons. For instance, Jadzia Dax, a Trill, has seven lifetimes' worth of memories as a result of her joining with the Dax symbiont, including one who was a murderer. Security chief Odo, a Changeling, yearns to find others like him and wonders if he is unique; later, he finds that his own people are the ruthless leaders of the Dominion and is torn between his desire to join them, his sense of morality, and his love for Kira Nerys, Sisko's Bajoran executive officer. Meanwhile, Worf struggles (even more so than on Star Trek: The Next Generation) with conflicting loyalties to the Federation and his own people, the Klingons – as well as life on the station, which he finds is not at all what he expected.

Cast

Main characters

File:STDS9 cast season 5-6.jpg

The cast of DS9 in season six

Featuring the most diverse cast in Star Trek history, DS9 was the first series to include main characters who were not members of Starfleet (besides Wesley Crusher). Kira Nerys is an officer in the Bajoran militia, Odo is a Changeling who worked for the Cardassians during the Occupation of Bajor, while Jake Sisko and Quark are civilians. Though Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) was the producer's first choice as the first officer, Kira Nerys was created because Forbes did not wish to commit to a television show. Among Starfleet characters, Miles O'Brien is the first enlisted (non-commissioned) main character, reprising a supporting role he played on several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

During its seven-year run, DS9 faced two major cast changes. The fourth season added Michael Dorn as Worf, who had recently finished seven years on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The original reason for this was to boost ratings, but he soon became an integral part of the show.

The second change was the abrupt departure of Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax). Feeling that the large cast of DS9 limited her screen time, Farrell did not renew her contract at the end of the sixth season. Because her character was the host of the Dax symbiont, the writers introduced Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer) to provide a new host after Gul Dukat kills Jadzia.

Alexander Siddig (Julian Bashir) appears in the opening credits by a shortened form of his birth name, Siddig el Fadil, for the first three seasons. He appeared as Alexander Siddig after he married co-star Nana Visitor (Kira Nerys), which placed their names together in the alphabetical cast credits, although his stated reason for the name change was that he discovered that nobody watching the show knew how to pronounce "el Fadil". Siddig continued to be credited as Siddig el Fadil when he directed.

Actor	Character	Position	Species
Avery Brooks	Benjamin Sisko	Commanding officer	Human
Nana Visitor	Kira Nerys	Executive officer and Bajorian liaison officer	Bajoran
Rene Auberjonois	Odo	Chief of security	Changeling
Alexander Siddig	Julian Bashir	Chief medical officer	Human
Terry Farrell	Jadzia Dax Seasons 1-6	Science officer	Joined Trill
Nicole de Boer	Ezri Dax Season 7	Counselor	Joined Trill
Michael Dorn	Worf Seasons 4-7	Strategic operations officer	Klingon
Colm Meaney	Miles O'Brien	Chief of operations	Human
Cirroc Lofton	Jake Sisko	Correspondent for the Federation News Service	Human
Armin Shimerman	Quark	Owner of Quark's Bar and chairman of the Promenade Merchants Association	Ferengi

Recurring characters

File:Morn001.jpg

Morn the silent barfly

Main article: List of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine characters

The setting of the show—a space station rather than a starship—fostered a rich assortment of recurring characters. It was not unheard of for "secondary" characters to play as much, or more, of a role in an episode as the regular cast. For example, "The Wire" focused almost entirely on Garak, while "Treachery, Faith, and the Great River" featured an A-story about Weyoun and a B-story about Nog. Perhaps the best example of this willingness to focus on secondary characters remains "It's Only a Paper Moon", which featured Nog and holographic crooner Vic Fontaine carrying the A-story (and most of the dialogue and scenes), and no B-story. Lasting consequences and the presence of familiar faces were among the reasons Berman and Piller chose to set the series aboard a space station.

A prominent character was Gul Dukat, played by Marc Alaimo. The Cardassian was one of Trek's most complex characters, starting out sometimes cooperative, though usually antagonistic, and underwent several transitions before ultimately becoming purely villainous by the show's conclusion. Commander of the station before it was turned over to Federation control, Dukat remained a part of the Cardassian military through the beginning of the Dominion-Cardassian alliance's war with the Federation, until he was driven mad by the death of his half-Bajoran daughter.

Jeffrey Combs (of Re-Animator fame) has stated that he had auditioned for the role of William T. Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but when Jonathan Frakes (who won the part) later directed the DS9 episode "Meridian", he recommended Combs for a part. Combs made his Star Trek and DS9 debut as the Vorta Weyoun. He would go on to appear in thirty-one episodes of DS9, playing four distinct characters—five, if one counts the "mirror universe" version of Brunt. In "The Dogs of War", he also became one of the few Star Trek actors to play two distinct roles (Brunt and Weyoun) in a single episode. He later played a prominent role as Shran on Star Trek: Enterprise.

Morn, a minor character who frequents Quark's bar, is silent but seemingly omnipresent. According to Emmy Award-winning make-up designer Michael Westmore, on the first day of filming the series, the director chose Morn somewhat randomly from among several prosthetic characters to be a barfly at Quark's, and he went on to spend the next seven years there. Westmore and others named Morn as an anagram of the character Norm from Cheers, who also spent seemingly all of his time sitting on his favorite bar stool and drinking. Ironically, although Westmore went to great lengths to ensure that Morn could talk in case the character ever got a line, he remained silent; this became a running joke, with other characters frequently commenting on how extremely talkative he was. So great was the affection for the silent character that a special episode called "Who Mourns for Morn?" was written for him in the sixth season.

Several of the prominent recurring actors are also known for their work on other projects, the most notable being Academy Award winner Louise Fletcher (the Bajoran spiritual leader Kai Winn) and sci-fi veteran Salome Jens (the Female Changeling). Other celebrities seen in guest and recurring roles included Vanessa L. Williams, Wallace Shawn, Lark Voorhies, James Cromwell, Gabrielle Union, Iggy Pop, Steven Berkoff and James Darren. John Colicos reprised his Star Trek: The Original Series role as Kor on several occasions.

Plots

Main article: List of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes

File:Bajoran wormhole.jpg

The Bajoran wormhole

In the first episode, Starfleet Commander Benjamin Sisko takes charge of Deep Space Nine. He and Jadzia Dax stumble upon the first stable wormhole ever found and discover that it is inhabited by beings who are not bound by normal space and time. To the religious people of Bajor, the wormhole aliens are the Prophets and the wormhole itself is the long-prophesied Celestial Temple. Sisko is hailed as the Emissary of the Prophets. This provides the basis for a long-lasting story arc. Sisko initially considers his role as a religious icon with open discomfort and skepticism, referring to the Bajoran Prophets simply as "wormhole aliens" and striving to keep his role as commander of the station distinct from any obligations that the Bajorans try to place on him. Later, he becomes more accepting of his role and, by the end of the series, he appears to openly embrace it.

The station crew early on has to contend with a human resistance group known as the Maquis. Rooted in the events of The Next Generation episode, "Journey's End", in which Native American settlers refuse to leave when their colony world is given to Cardassia as part of a treaty, the Maquis are an example for the show’s exploration of darker themes: Its members are Federation citizens who take up arms against Cardassia in defense of their homes, and some—such as Calvin Hudson, a long-time friend of Sisko's, and Michael Eddington, who defects while serving aboard the station—are former Starfleet officers. The show’s violent departure from traditional Star Trek themes can be seen in episodes such as "For the Cause", in which Eddington tells Sisko, "Everybody should want to be in the Federation. Nobody leaves paradise. In some ways you’re even worse than the Borg. At least they tell you about their plans for assimilation. You assimilate people and they don’t even know it."

The second-season episode, "Rules of Acquisition" introduces the Dominion, a ruthless empire in the Gamma Quadrant. It is led by "the Founders", a race of shapeshifting Changelings—the same race as station security chief Odo. They were once persecuted by non-shapeshifters (whom they call "Solids") and they seek to instill "order" upon those who might otherwise cause them harm—including nearly all Solids. The Founders have created or genetically modified two races to serve them: the Vorta, sly and subversive diplomats, and the Jem’Hadar, their fearless shock troops. These races worship the Founders as gods.

File:Defiant-top.jpg

The USS Defiant (NX-74205)

At the start of DS9’s third season ("The Search"), with the threat of a Dominion attack looming from the other side of the wormhole, Commander Sisko returns from a trip to Starfleet Headquarters on Earth with the USS Defiant, a prototype starship that was originally built to fight the Borg, but was determined to be 'overgunned and overpowered'. It remains stationed at Deep Space Nine until its destruction in season seven, providing not only defense but also an avenue by which plotlines could progress without being limited by the stationary nature of the setting. After the ship is destroyed in a skirmish against the Breen, a new Defiant-class ship is assigned.

The Dominion forms an uneasy alliance with the Cardassians in the fifth-season episodes "In Purgatory's Shadow" and "By Inferno's Light" and goes to war with the other major powers of the Alpha Quadrant. Throughout the series, loyalties and alliances change repeatedly: pacts with the Cardassians are made, broken, and remade; a short war with the Klingons flares up and is settled, and (through Sisko's machinations) the formerly neutral Romulans ally with the Federation.

Another example of one of DS9’s darker plot materials is Section 31, a secret organization that exists within the Federation, dedicated to preserving the Federation way of life at any and all costs. This undemocratic shadow group, introduced in "Inquisition", justifies its unlawful and ethically questionable tactics by claiming that it is essential to the continued existence of the Federation. Section 31 features prominently in several episodes of the Dominion War arc; such darker plot elements, as well as DS9’s relative lack of exposure compared to its predecessor, garnered the show a reputation as the "black sheep" of the Trek family.

Many fans believe that the Dominion War was the height of DS9 and, according to Michael Piller, tend to overlook the first two "pre-Dominion" seasons. However, Piller has indicated that the second season was his favorite.

In DS9, the Ferengi are no longer an enemy of the Federation, but rather an economic power whose political neutrality is, for the most part, respected. Several episodes explore their capitalistic nature, while others delved into the race’s sexist social norms (however it is also revealed that the race had a far more peaceful evolution than humans, with far less war, crime or slavery). The Ferengi are guided in their lives and business transactions by the Rules of Acquisition. During the course of the series, Rom's son Nog is transformed from a juvenile delinquent into the first Ferengi in Starfleet, attaining the rank of lieutenant junior grade in the series finale (and admiral in an alternate timeline).

Reception

Praise

DS9 was well received by critics, with TV Guide describing it as "the best acted, written, produced, and altogether finest" Star Trek series. Despite debuting in the shadow of The Next Generation, DS9 achieved a considerable level of success in its own right. According to a press release through Newswire on April 7 1999, it was the #1 syndicated show in the United States for adults 18-49 and 25-54 throughout its run in the National Television Index. The characters of DS9 were featured on the cover of TV Guide ten times during its run, including several "special issue" editions in which a set of four different-covered versions were printed.

Additionally, the series won a number of awards. It was nominated for Emmy Awards every year of its run, including makeup, cinematography, art direction, special effects, hairstyling, music (direction and composition), and costumes. Of these, it won two for Makeup (for "Captive Pursuit" and "Distant Voices") and one for the Main Title Theme Music (Dennis McCarthy). It was also nominated for two prestigious Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation, for "The Visitor" and "Trials and Tribble-ations", although its competitor show, Babylon 5 managed to win the awards instead.

Some fans of the series call themselves "Niners", after a baseball team which appeared in the seventh-season episode "Take Me Out to the Holosuite".

Critique

Only recently did supporters of DS9 say that the show was allegedly conceived while Gene Roddenberry was still alive but not put into production until after his death. This has led to debate over whether he would have approved of the show, and a contingent of Star Trek fandom felt it took its darker themes too far. In particular, many were annoyed that DS9 somehow hinted that the utopian aspects of Federation society were actually just a show of sorts, a hypocritical disguise hiding the Federation's communist and totalitarian plans for the galaxy. Although writer/producer Ira Steven Behr has acknowledged that some fans feel the show has "gone away from the image of the future as a paradise", he defends the show as moving forward and believes Roddenberry would have understood their motivations and, as a "forward thinker", been pleased with the results.

Additionally, Michael Piller, who spoke very highly of Behr's contributions, believed one of the series' most redeeming qualities was that the repercussions of past episodes remained with the show and characters were forced to "learn that actions have consequences".

Taboos

DS9 is also notable for breaking several cultural taboos during its run. Most prominent among these is the issue of homosexuality. Gay and gay-friendly fans of the franchise had been waiting for a Star Trek television spin-off to address how the utopian society dealt with the issue of sexual orientation, since Gene Roddenberry had promised to tackle the issue in 1987. While Star Trek: The Next Generation would occasionally gingerly address the issue through gender identity, DS9 had two episodes with lesbian kisses.

File:STDS9Ep406.jpg

Jadzia Dax and Lenara Kahn

The first same-sex kiss on a Star Trek television series was shown in the episode "Rejoined". In that episode, Jadzia Dax and another Trill named Lenara Kahn at one point embrace in a passionate kiss. While it was only technically a lesbian kiss – as the two had been married in earlier lives when the Dax symbiont was in a male host and in love with the female host of the Kahn symbiont – none of the other characters expressed any shock at temporary homosexuality. Writer Rene Echevarria made a conscious effort not to glamourize the kiss and make it a ratings booster, wanting it to be romantic rather than sensational. This aired a year and a half before the controversial "out of the closet" shift in the sitcom Ellen, and proved troublesome for some local affiliates. It would be followed up by the seventh-season episode, "The Emperor’s New Cloak", which features the Mirror Universe versions of Kira Nerys and Ezri Dax kissing in a clearly lesbian or bisexual context and the Mirror Universe Leeta exhibiting an unmistakable interest in the Mirror Ezri (and vice versa). Although none of these instances dealt directly with a homosexual character per se, the pre-Ellen same-sex kisses were often compared to the Star Trek: The Original Series episode Plato’s Stepchildren, which featured the first interracial kiss to air on United States network television. (see also LGBT characters in the Star Trek universe).

The season six episode "Profit and Lace" attempted to use transvestism for humorous effect, similar to the film Tootsie. In the midst of a struggle for women's rights on Ferenginar, Quark's mother suffered a heart attack prior to a critical meeting with an influential businessman, whom she hoped to recruit to her cause. As no other Ferengi females were available, Quark underwent a temporary sex change, moonlighting as a female named Lumba. He attempted to impress the man, who flirted and even fell in love with "her", chasing Quark around a room. The episode was intended to be lighthearted—promotional spots depicted Quark's predicament as "a real drag"—but was poorly received by fans and has been heavily criticized.

In addition to sexuality, there were several instances of potentially offensive language during the series' run, unprecedented for the Star Trek franchise (although Star Trek: Enterprise went much further, even using the phrase "you son of a bitch" in its pilot). The episode "Far Beyond the Stars", much of which takes place in 1950s Earth, features a scene in which Cirroc Lofton, as an African-American man, claims that blacks will never get to space except to "shine the shoes" of whites, to whom his character feels blacks "would always be niggers." Although not the first time the word had been used on American television (it was commonly used in dramas in the 1970s as well as the groundbreaking sitcom All in the Family), by the late 1990s, the word had all but vanished in any context in mainstream media. Another occurrence likely went unnoticed among American audiences; in the episode "Time’s Orphan", Irish Chief O’Brien utters the British and Irish swear word "bollocks". In addition to these, the series spawned and used several racial epithets for alien races in the series, namely "spoonhead" and "Cardies" for Cardassians; however, given that the series revolved largely around the Cardassian's occupation of Bajor, this is more a matter of theme and scriptwriting than actual offensive terminology.

Multimedia

Music

On June 30, 1993, between seasons one and two, DS9 followed other series of Star Trek in releasing the original score from its pilot episode, "Emissary", on CD. The title theme was also made available as a CD single, although not in wide circulation. Several episodes received awards for their scores, such as "Our Man Bashir", which received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Score. However, as with other post-Star Trek: The Next Generation series, no further scores were made available on CD, except for the The Best of Star Trek releases.

James Darren’s album of songs performed on DS9

Musically, the series is far better known for one of its most original elements: the character of Vic Fontaine, a self-aware holographic Las Vegas lounge lizard from the 1960s. Introduced in the sixth-season episode "His Way", Vic (played by 60s heart throb James Darren) was very popular with the crew of the station and performed many period songs, most notably Frank Sinatra tunes. Among the songs in Fontaine’s repertoire were "The Best is Yet to Come" (performed in "Badda-Bing, Badda Bang"), "Come Fly with Me", and "You’re Nobody ‘til Somebody Loves You" (both performed in "His Way"). In addition to providing a backdrop for some of the series’ more memorable moments, such as a battle scene in "The Siege of AR-558", where he sang "I'll Be Seeing You", and the series finale "What You Leave Behind", in which "The Way You Look Tonight" played during a series of flashbacks, Darren’s role as Fontaine allowed him to release a new album on August 24, 1999, entitled This One's From the Heart.

VHS and DVD releases

Episodes of DS9 were made available on VHS cassettes, which usually contained two episodes each (two-part episodes were combined on a single cassette). The first of these releases came on November 19, 1996 in the United States, but due to the inherent space-consuming nature of the cassettes, as well as the rise of DVD as the standard for home-video releases, the line was discontinued once all of DS9 had been released on DVD. The VHS covers can still be found on many review websites, which sometimes use them in place of a screen capture. The entire series was released on VHS in the UK starting from August 2, 1993 onwards, with one or two releases per month and with two episodes per cassette. Each video box contained unique artwork and character/plot information.

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DS9 Region 1 packaging

Following the DVD release of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 2002, DS9 was released on DVD beginning in late February 2003. As with other television shows, the DS9 was released in the form of boxed sets containing one season each and released approximately a month apart. On October 26, 2004, a compilation of all seven season sets was also released.

The DVD release of DS9 contains more "special features" than that of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Each season contains a crew dossier that gives a biographical look at one of the main characters, a section where make-up designer Michael Westmore details how the various aliens were created for the show, and numerous behind-the-scenes featurettes. These include original interviews with cast members, writers, and other members of the staff. Unique to the DS9 release are "Section 31" files (also known as easter eggs), which give a brief (between two and five minute) look at something unique about the show. Each season contains between seven and fifteen Section 31 segments. The Region 2 DVDs also came with bonus CD-ROM discs, that allowed the user to build their own 'virtual' DS9 station on their computer with each release.

Books

File:STDS9 Avatar Part 1.jpg

The cover of Avatar, Part I

See also: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine relaunch

Pocket Books has published several dozen books based on DS9 since its premiere in 1993. 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 officially 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 (Betazed had fallen to the Dominion in DS9 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.

Of particular importance among the books published after DS9 concluded, its run is Avatar, a two-part novel published on May 1, 2001, which continued DS9’s legacy by picking 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 Elim Garak, written by Andrew Robinson) 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 (now a part of the Great Link) helped the Changelings rebuild, and Rom presided over the Ferengi Alliance, among other things.

Outside its line of novels, DS9 has been the subject of several comic books and other publications. One comic is a spin-off, detailing Nog’s experiences at Starfleet Academy. Another DS9 comic series became an exceptional example of licensed Star Trek works influencing each other, a major character from WildStorm Comics’ N-Vector, Tiris Jast, appeared in the Avatar, Part I novel.

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. Additionally, several novels have also been released in audio form, narrated by Rene Auberjonois (Odo) and Armin Shimerman (Quark) among others.

Games

Several video games have been released over the years focusing on DS9, although they are relatively few in number compared to Star Trek: The Next Generation. The first was Crossroads of Time, a side-scrolling platform game released for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis in 1995. 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, and it met with mixed reactions. No further games were released outside the PC platform, although DS9’s influence (particularly the presence of the Dominion) is present in many other games.

Other games had similar results. Three DS9-themed games were released for the PC: Harbinger (1996), The Fallen (2000), and Dominion Wars (2001). A little-known 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. DS9’s role-playing book, was one of several which 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 (originally the Star Trek: The Next Generation Customizable Card Game), Deep Space Nine was the titular fifth set released, followed by one entitled "The Dominion" and several other DS9-themed sets. In the second edition, however, DS9 has a much stronger presence. In this version, 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 comprised primarily of DS9-derived material, while the Klingon affiliation also borrows strongly from it.

Other merchandising

File:ST Experience Quarks.jpg

Promotional photo for Quark’s

Along with the rest of the Star Trek franchise, DS9 has been the subject of much merchandizing. 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 colour (red for command, yellow for engineering or security, blue for medical and the sciences) on the shoulders.

DS9 is also well represented at Star Trek: The Experience, an attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton which faithfully recreates both Quark’s Bar & Restaurant and the Promenade. The former serves Star Trek-style food and drinks, and hosts gatherings such as conventions. The latter (called the Shopping Promenade) sells various souvenirs and rarities; among the items for sale are "official" Starfleet uniforms and action figures.

References in popular culture

Film

• In Swingers, Alex Désert's character Charles says he was unsuccessful in winning a main role in Deep Space Nine.

• The USS Defiant appears fighting the Borg under the command of Worf in Star Trek: First Contact. It was established that the Defiant was built specifically for this task in the two-part episode "The Search".

• Deep Space Nine itself is mentioned by Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in Star Trek: Insurrection. Captain Picard, William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham) also refer to the Dominion.

• The Dominion War is mentioned by Data (Brent Spiner). Shinzon (Tom Hardy) is also said to have fought the Jem'Hadar in the war between the Dominion and the Romulan Star Empire.

Literature

• In Douglas Coupland's novel Microserfs, a yo-yo in the shape of the space station is mentioned as a Christmas gift that proved unpopular because Deep Space Nine supposedly hadn't caught on with the characters of the novel yet.

• Characters, races, situations and events from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine have been well represented in Pocket Books' Star Trek range. The character of Admiral William Ross has appeared in many of the novel series, including Star Trek: Titan.

Television

• The Simpsons episode "Deep Space Homer" is a reference to the show's name.

• In the Battlestar Galactica episode "Pegasus", Kara Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) mentions the Martok Valley area of Caprica, a reference to the character.

• An episode of Eek! the Cat was entitled "Eek Space 9". William Shatner and DS9 guest star Kurtwood Smith starred in the episode.

• A space station similar to Deep Space 9 appears in the Futurama episode "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles". Professor Hubert Farnsworth destroys it with the Planet Express Ship's beams. In the audio commentary, David X. Cohen and the other contributors say that it was not intended to be a derisory comment on the series, as they liked the show, especially when Worf was added to the cast.

• In the Family Guy movie Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, a version of Stewie Griffin named "Quark Griffin" with large ears and dark skin is seen talking to a man clearly resembling Odo at a bar. Rene Auberjonois also voiced Odo.

• MADtv had a sketch called Star Trek: Deep Stain Nine, about a laundry ship.

• The The Muppet Show sketch Pigs in Space had a "sequel" called Pigs in Space: Deep Dish Nine.

• In the third episode of Little Britain's first season, Dafydd tells Myfanwy he doesn't like DS9 when trying to avoid talking to a group of gay Star Trek fans.

• The British game show, Space Cadets had an episode called "Quarks vs. Roms", in which both Armin Shimerman and Max Grodénchik starred.

• The first episode of the fifth season of Good Eats is titled "Deep Space Slime". It discusses recipes with gelatin.

References

General references

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Complete Seasons 1-7 (DVD)
• DS9 recurring character appearances at Memory Alpha

See also

• List of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine DVDs
• Deep Space Nine relaunch

External links

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine at StarTrek.com
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on Spike TV
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine at Memory Alpha
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine at TrekCore.com - Includes archive of over 60,000 DVD Screencaps from the show
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine DVDs at DVD Journal
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Scripts