Well, since is the last Star Trek series I foresee myself watching for quite a while (and I actually did have a lot to say about DS9) I went all out with one really long review. To anyone with the patience to read it all, I deeply appreciate it.
Oh yeah, and since this is such a long post, please forgive any spelling/grammatical errors.
! And that was Star Trek DS9. How was it? Well, I'd say it was damn good, but not without some noticeable flaws. And, really, I can see why this series hasn't met the same recognition as its predecessors.
! First off, yes, this series does take a while to get going. But, then again, so did TNG, but there a few major differences between the two. 1) TNG did get really good a bit sooner than DS9 2) While TNG stayed mostly episodic and, thus, easier to digest, DS9 tried to present an ongoing story that, again, didn't start to get really interesting until later on. This is true for any series, but for ongoing stories especially, If you want to engage your audience, you have to find your groove sooner rather than later. And 4) TNG was still ongoing at the time, so naturally the people who are going to check out DS9 are the ones who are already watching TNG and, well, when you're comparing Season 6 of TNG to Season 1 of DS9…..yeah, it's a pretty dismal comparison. And of course there various other factors that could have been in effect (for instance, DS9's design was always kind of off-putting), but you get the picture.
! Of course, that's just my theory at any rate.
! Anyway, enough about how (un)successful the show was, how does it stand on its own? Well, as I said, the show does take a while to get going, not becoming truly great until its 4th season. But don't get me wrong, there are some darn fine episodes in the first three seasons, and the overarching even starts to get pretty captivating in Season 3, but if it had stayed at that quality, it probably would've gone down in Star Trek history as a ho-hum nothing special series.
! But then Season 4 comes and it's all gravy baby. Worf makes a very welcome return, the characters become more interesting, the stories much more engaging and heartfelt, and the show an unprecedented turn with straight-up ongoing stories, and by God, they work!
! Unfortunately though, and it breaks my heart to say that, even during DS9's heyday, the story is plagued with some really noticeable issues. I think the biggest problem with DS9, story-wise, is that it's great at setting up really neat ideas, and even does really interesting things with them, but fails to follow through on them; most notably, the Maquis. For a while, this was a pretty interesting idea; Starfleet officers turning against their comrades for an ideal that was pretty understandable. And they even had some pretty big names backing them. But then we never saw Tom Riker again. We never saw Ro again. We never saw Sisko's friend again. Eddington became the face of the Maquis for their last few hoorahs. And then they were all beaten off screen by the Dominion. (and yes, I'm aware the Maquis had some episodes in Voyager, but screw it, I ain't watchin' that).
! This is just one major example, but there are various other plotlines in the series that I feel didn't quite live up to their potential (The Mirror Universe, Gul Dukat, The Changelings infiltrating Earth, etc.). I mean, any of the three major plotlines (The Dominion War, the Bajoran/Cardassian conflict, The Maquis) would've been enough to be its own series. So maybe the problem wasn't so much that they didn't follow through on their storylines, but maybe they just had too many storylines floating around.
! Another thing that bugged me (especially in Season 7) was that, even though the backdrop of a good part of this series is a long and bloody war with the Dominion, the characters and atmosphere of the show, at times, really do seem a little too lax. I think this is mostly due to the show straying away from the Dominion storyline for too many episodes at a time, and because, well, for the most, the DS9 isn't even really directly involved in the fighting. Don't get me wrong, the show often did a great job of conveying the intensity and stakes involved in the war, but at times, the lack of concern was noticeable.
! Well, as per usual reviewing style, I've spent a few good paragraphs pointing out my gripes with the show, so let me follow them up with an apologetic, consolatory paragraph listing my praises of the show.
! If there's one thing DS9 did right, above all else, it was its characters. And no, you wouldn't know by looking at the first two seasons or so, but by the end of the series they had become a cast of characters that you had grown really attached to and were really sad to see go. Easily, these are the most well-developed and explored characters in any Star Trek incarnation I've seen. Not only that, but even the supporting characters are great. Rom, Nog, Garak, Martok, Weyoun, Brunt, hell, even friggin' Vic Fontaine! I mean, how did they make a hologram of a 60's lounge singer interesting?!
! Oh yeah, and apparently Kai Winn was played by the same woman who played Nurse Ratched. I may have thought Kai Winn was an oddly-placed character at times, but her performance was fantastic, and, well, no wonder. The woman's got her acting chops.
! Aside from that, the show had some great visuals, some really top-notch writing at times, and some damn cool space battles. And, really, I can't praise this series enough for taking the risks it did, even if it didn't always pay off. Not just in regards to the story, but also in the dark and complex themes and philosophies it explored, which also unprecedented for a Star Trek series.
! And one other thing I'd like to mention is that, for one reason or another, DS9 was more keen on romance than any other Star Trek series I've seen so far. Not that I'm complaining, in fact, I quite enjoyed, but it is, as Spock would put it, "Fascinating." I mean, we had Sisko with Kasidy, Odo with Kira, Worf with Jadzia, Bashir with Ezri, Rom with Leeta, and God knows how many other romances running around, and most of them were all really well-developed.
! Oh, and poor Worf. His love interests always end up dead or, in Troi's case, end off screen without any explanation.
! Well, I could go on and on about the various aspects of the show, but to sum it all up, and to reiterate, Star Trek DS9 is a very good, but flawed series. I wouldn't call it one of my favorite shows of all time, but I'm really glad I watched it and I can see myself going back to it in a few years.
! And with the completion of DS9, I have watched the entirety of all three of the most acclaimed Star Trek series. So which is the best among the three?
! Honestly, I'm not sure if I could pick a favorite among the three. They all have their pros and cons and they all weigh out about equally. It really just depends on what I'm in the mood for. I'll watch TOS if I'm in the mood for some really refined cheese, TNG if I want something comparatively simple and easy to digest, and DS9 if I want something with a bit more meat to it, even if it's raw in a few places.
! Well, food analogies aside, let's get to the characters.
! Characters:
! And let me preface this by saying that pretty much every character on this list, like the show itself, took a few seasons before they got really interesting.
! Sisko - A fine lead and captain, every bit as worthy of the title as Kirk or Picard (of course, he was only a captain for four of the seven seasons, but no matter). And, just like the show he stars in, he's also the most unconventional captain we've had to date. A widower, a father, and, well….black. But aside from that, he may also be the most burdened captain to date, having to balance his duties as a captain, as a father, and as the Emissary. Oh, and he's definitely the most morally conflicted captain. In the Pale Moonlight is easily the darkest shade of grey any Star Trek lead has come to in terms of morality. In fact, it's so dark, I'm still not totally sure I agree that it was a good move. But, regardless of what I think, Sisko's developments do make him all the more human. Yes, he's a righteous upstanding leader (or at least he tries to be) but he's far from perfect. And when he's not having to deal with inner turmoil of his identity and morality, he's kind, compassionate, commanding when he needs to be, and he has an appreciation for the simple things in life. So, all in all, yes, I like him. I really like him.
! Kira - When I first saw her, Kira kinda irritated me. She seemed like a stuck-up bitch, not unlike Ensign Ro (not a good first impression for the Bajorans). But by the end of the series she had grown into a fine character all her own. That former bitchiness became more of a general sassiness. And she's got quite the colorful back story, what with her being an Occupation survivor and member of the resistance. It's also interesting to see her come to terms with her less than positive disposition towards Cardassians (let's face it, however understandable it may be, this girl's more than a bit racist) and her slow realization that not all of them are so bad. And it's also fascinating that, just like it Odo, she isn't a member of Star Fleet, so she gets certain liberties and exceptions that the other characters don't. But really, while I feel she falls just short of being one of my favorite characters on the show, I still have to admire her endless tenacity in the face of opposition, even if she's a bit overeager at times. Oh, and her hairstyle in Season 7 rocked.
! Odo - Odo is definitely one of my favorite characters on the show. While he's not exactly easy on the eyes to begin with, his sarcastic cynical charm will win you over before you know it. I've mentioned this before, but again, this was just such a bizarre concept that this lonely alien, the only one of his kind as far as he knew, should become a space station security guard. And then he actually found his people and his character became way more interesting. Actually, going back to that, it really was quite a surprise when they revealed Odo's people. At the beginning, I (and I think pretty much everyone else who watched this) assumed that Odo reuniting with his people would be something that would happen towards the end of the series, if it happened at all. But then the writers totally threw us a curveball in the Season 3 opener and, well, kudos to them. Anyway, there was plenty of pathos to be found in Odo's character arcs. His longing to find his people, his trying to come to grips with is identity, his romantic interest in Kira (which I honestly thought would be kinda oogy, but it was actually really sweet when it did happen). And his constant Tom and Jerry routine with Quark was always a joy to watch. Great character.
! Bashir - Man, I could not stand this guy when I first. He just seemed like a stupid, dorky, wet-behind-the-ears kid straight out of grad school, with a naive boy-ish crush on Jadzia. Now I love the guy. Bashir really blossomed into a mature respectable man and I'm not even sure exactly when it happened. And yes, he even keeps some of that childish nature, but by the end it had become endearing. For a while, it did seem that Bashir suffered from Miles O'Brien syndrome (more on that later) in that it seemed like things were just happening to him, rather than him actually doing things, but he steadily became more proactive. And speaking of Miles, Bashir's friendship with him is one of the best bromances that I've seen recently. And, yes, his revelation of being genetically enhanced was interesting and provided for some great new developments, but I think it was just his charm that ultimately won me over. Or, I dunno, maybe it was the context of his genetic enhancement that amplified his charm. In any case, I really liked the guy, I think just enough to call him one of my favorite characters on the show. Oh, and big kudos to Julian for getting some sweet Ezri tail at the end.
! Jadzia - Honestly, I think she might be weakest character of the main cast. Not that she was a bad character per se, but I'm not sure her character was ever fully defined. Okay, so she had the whole back story with her previous incarnation being Sisko's friend/mentor, and that provided for a fairly interesting dynamic between the two, but again, I wanted to know more about who Jadzia was. Well, I suppose she's smart, she's dedicated, she's a bit sassy at times, and she's got a pretty good grip on her host status and all the wisdom and memories that come with it. And yes, she did play off of Worf really damn well. But ultimately her character just seemed to be more focused on the fact that she was a Trill. Look, there's no doubt the Trill are a fascinating the species, but I feel the writers had to get past that and focus more on Jadzia herself. But then I suppose the writers would be remiss not incorporate the memories and experiences of her previous incarnations into her character. I guess Trill are just hard to write. But hey, she's smart, she's funny, she's easy on the eyes. She's a fine character in my book.
! Ezri - I went over her character pretty well in my Season 7 review, and what I said pretty much still stands. As a last minute replacement, she did as great a job as she could. At first, her character seemed a little too obsessed with the quirks of being a Dax host, but, thankfully, that was quickly abandoned for more meaningful development. And, I said it once and I'll say it again, I do think I prefer her to Jadzia. Of course, it's not exactly a fair comparison, since we got six seasons of Jadzia and only one season of Ezri, but I really liked the later and the end of the series left me wanting to see more of her, which is always a good sign for a character.
! Miles - Ah, good ol' Miles. A charming and interesting character from TNG and a charming interesting character in DS9. That being said, and it's kind of a strange thing to say, but Miles always kind of seemed like the odd one out in terms of character development. The thing is, unlike the rest of cast who had fleshed out character arcs and checkered pasts, Miles was always just kind of an everyman who was doing his job. That's not to say he was a bad character, again, he was still very charming and fun to watch, but his character-centric episodes came around, it was less about him doing things and more about things happening to him. Whether it was being put on Cardassian trial, his wife being possessed, or being trapped in a mental prison for 20 years, well…they're all things that may as well have happened to anyone. Not that these episodes were bad, per se, but...I dunno. Would it have been so bad to take just a few risks with his character?
! Worf - Back from TNG and he's as great as he ever was. A stern follower if the Klingon dogma, but with an understated humanity that belies a softer more compassionate side. Really, he hasn't changed a bit and there isn't a whole lot in this series that changes him either, but I do like some of the developments his character took. Him reuniting with Alexander, his joining the house of Martok, and, of course, his relationship with Jadzia. Really, despite his widowed status at the end of the series, his character did take some positive turns throughout the show. And it's satisfying to see our man Worf, more or less, come out on top.
! Quark - So, yeah, Quark singlehandedly redeemed the entire Ferengi race. I mean, what more do I need to say than that? ….....Okay, fine, twist my arm why don'tcha? To put it simply, Quark is awesome. He is completely awesome as a character. But why is he awesome? Well, he's funny, he's smart, he's snarky, he's endlessly avaricious (like any good Ferengi) and he's pretty much the embodiment of the greedy little toad in all of us. And, when it comes right down to it, the old lug does have a conscience (well, when it really counts, anyway). Is there anything negative I can say about him? Well, he was pretty douchey to Nog when he wanted to join to Star Fleet. And I guess he was occasionally kinda douchey to other people at miscellaneous points in the series. But hey, nobody's perfect. As far as comic relief characters go, it doesn't get much better than Quark.
! Jake - Hmm….now that I'm thinking about it, Jake is kind of a tough nut to crack. I don't want to dismiss him as a dull inconsequential character, but at the same time I can't think of too much to say about him (maybe it's because he pretty much absent through most of the last two seasons). Well, he's the son our good captain Sisko, he follows the old Star Trek tradition of not following in his father's footsteps, and his friendship with Nog is just impeccable to watch. And, hey, he had a damn good episode with In The Cards, and an extraordinarily great episode with The Visitor. But I guess it's also true he didn't have any great story arc going on or anything. Yes, he had the whole journalism thing going on, but it didn't really amount too much after season 4. Again, I don't want to dismiss him as dull or even as an accessory of his father, but it's also true there's not too much to say about him. Let's say he was a nice supporting character with a distinct, if not fully fleshed-out, identity all his own.
! Dukat -Oh, Dukat, Dukat, Dukat, Dukat, Dukat, Dukat. You had so much potential. You could have given this series a finale the likes of which had never been seen in Star Trek. And then the writers pissed it all away in Season 7. sigh Okay, to be fair, I actually did like the plan he seemed to have going with Kai Winn and him flawlessly manipulating her. But then his final battle with Sisko lasted all but five minutes and was pretty much an afterthought and blah-dee-blah, big whoop. So, for me, Dukat's character arc culminated and peaked with Waltz, easily one of the best episodes of the series. And, aside from the deliciously evil epic monologue, what made that episode great was how, up until that point, you weren't sure what to make of Dukat. Yes, he had done bad things, but you could sort of sympathize with the position he was in. Also, he wasn't exactly out to get anyone for the first few seasons; he was just a jerk doing his job. And there were even times, particularly with his illegitimate daughter, where he actually did seem to have a conscience. And that's what makes his character all the more human and all the more fascinating as a villain, is that he didn't start out as pure evil (even though he did some pretty nasty things) but you can see how he turned out the way he did. And it makes all the more tragic since he didn't have to turn out the way he did. And then fire gods and suicide cults and yadda yadda.
! Garak - I mentioned in one of my earlier reviews that Garak had started to get on my nerves around the 2nd or 3rd season, but thankfully they backed off from him a bit after that, and I think they found a good balance for his character. So yeah, Garak is great. He's witty, eccentric, and he always seems to know what's up. But he's not exactly infallible either. He was a pleasure to watch (most of the time).
! Nog - Another credit to the Ferengi race. Started off as kind of a brat, but then he became a full-fledged Star Fleet officer. Whodda thunk it? He's funny, eager, surprisingly skilled, and he actually had some pretty profound moments throughout the show. An excellent supporting character.
! Absolute Favorite Episodes:
-Duet
-Necessary Evil
-Past Tense, I & II
-The Way of the Warrior
-The Visitor
-Little Green Men
-Homefront/Paradise Lost
-Trials and Tribble-ations
-The Begotten
-Call to Arms
-The Magnificent Ferengi
-Waltz
-Far Beyond the Stars
-Treachery, Faith, and the Great River
-It's Only a Paper Moon
-What You Leave Behind
Whew. Well, that was really something. Three Star Trek series, all in the span of about a year. Well, at least I can add them to my catalogue of pop culture knowledge.
Anyway, up next for me, and I've actually already started on it, is the remainder of all the Classic Doctor Who episodes I haven't seen yet. Wanna catch them all before the 50th anniversary airs in November. At first I thought this might be a difficult, but I've actually finished the 5th Doctor's first season in about a week (good stuff, btw). At this pace I should be able to manage it. And since Doctor Who is a sci-fi show, I suppose I'll be able to post my reactions here (and I may also post them in the Doctor Who thread. I dunno).