Star Trek Deep Space Nine - The Complete First Season DVD

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was an ambitious series and attempt to take the Star Trek universe into new directions. Even Paramount Studios was taking by surprise at how quickly the show reached new audiences and brought back some old time SCI-FI fans. Among the many elements explored in this series were: in-depth plots and sub-plots of the various races of the Star Trek universe. It was Deep Space Nine that explained the race of the Trill in which the character Jadzia Dax played by "Terry Farrell" was fully explored. Deep Space Nine focused on the race called the Ferengi which led to one of the most popular elements of the show: The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition.

By far the most popular race explored in the series was the Klingons. It was in this series that viewers learn the culture and traditions of this warrior race. So popular are the Klingons that even today organizations around world in over 14 countries meet regularly to celebrate and re-act the scenes and traditions of this race.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine also took a different direction in terms of the mechanics of the stories and plots. For the first time, the series took on the concept of a continual plot and story themes from one episode to the next, which was never really done in previous Star Trek television shows. Deep Space Nine also was the first series to have the entire cast of characters to learn the nature of each other during the course of the series. In many previous Star Trek shows, the characters were all assigned to a particular star ship, which lead to a common theme in which all could work from. Deep Space Nine did not have such a common theme and the characters had to deal with the situation as each developed.

I could go on but the best thing for you to do is buy the DVD and take a look for yourself. The first season started slow but as the each season progressed, you find yourself drawn into a story with rich in-depth development of plots and sub-plots that will leave you waiting for the next episode. This series is a welcome addition to the Star Trek DVD releases. If you like SCI-FI with rich stories and character development, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine will fit the bill. Whether you are a trekker or a SCI-FI fan you will enjoy Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. :-)

The first season, as with any Trek series, is a bit iffy. There are good shows and bad shows, the characters are still being explored both by the writers and the actors, the massive guest cast that made DS9 such a thick, rich series is mostly not in place yet (although some of them are introduced this season). So go into it keeping this in mind. There are the usual exaggherated "personality" stories as well.

But there are a couple of reasons to get this set. First of all, you get to see the ground work that is laid for later seasons, both in terms of character development and story development. Plus, there are some cool guest appearances, like Q, Lurhsa and B'etor, and Vash.

Second, even though the stories are uneven, the series begins and ends with three of the strongest episodes of the series.

"The Emissary" does a great job of introducing the viewer not only to the characters and personalities that make up the station's crew, but also introduces the strange, mystic-driven Bajoran culture, the plight of the Bajoran people in the wake of the Cardassian occupation, and the prejudices that exist between the two.

Then, the final two episodes are absolutely indispensible. "Duet" is incredibly gripping, and possibly the best script Nana Visitor was given (she still names it as her favourite episode from the series). Kira has to confront her prejudices face to face, literally, and finds that they even in the midst of racial hatred, there is room for compassion. Then, "In the Hands of the Prophets" is a very real and strong tale of religious tolerance, and the lengths that people will go to to defend their beliefs. It's sort of a science vs. religion, "Creatism vs. Evolution" type of conflict. Very startling.

Basically, while season one isn't the strongest DS9 ever offered, it does show very clearly the sort of values and style of storytelling that grew into what became, for me, some of the best television happening at the time. Wait'll Seasons 6 and 7 come out: That is Trek at it's absolute best.

If you passed on the Deep Space phenomenon at the time, you were'nt alone. Many who had interest in TNG didn't really take to DS9 at first, myself included. I started watching it again in the second season and it slowly grab held of me. There are a few bad episodes ("Melora" for one), but overall these are the most fascinating, imaginative stories ever collected into a series of any kind. It's a saga no doubt, a soap opera of sci-fiction, but Deep Space went so much further. With great special effects and audio, the production value alone was entertaining. But the episodes were extremely dark at times too, with the greatest characters, a healthy budget and fantastic writing. This combination led "Kira" in an interview to state that she believes this will be one of the most time enduring Television shows ever created. I really agree. If your on the fence about whether to invest yourself in the series, maybe wait for the second or third season (it generally becomes a sleeker show over time). My favorite episode of all time "In the Pale Moonlight", I believe is in the fourth season. An episode where the absolute moral boundary of war is questioned and Sisko and Garek do all this crazy stuff to assure security for the federation. A Narly episode. Garek actually kills a Romulan Senator by sabotaging his craft and Sisko actually trades biogenic weapons material for information. All to draw the Romulans into the war, I was stunned. There's another episode where Garek actually kills several Star Fleet Officers on Empok Nor in reaction to a violent drug meant for Cardassians. As I said, this is a pretty dark show at times. Don't miss it, treat yourself to good, exciting, well thought out sci-fi for a change. ENJOY TREK FANS! - Thanks Paramount... it only took a decade.