Product Description Provides all nineteen episodes of the first season of the popular Star trek television program about a Federation space station guarding a wormhole that leads to the other side of the galaxy. Genre: Television Rating: NR Release Date: 25-FEB-2003 Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com Of all the spinoff TV incarnations of Star Trek, Deep Space Nine had the hardest job persuading an audience to watch. By all accounts, Gene Roddenberry had concerns about the idea before his death in 1991. It took two more years to develop, and when it finally aired in 1993 reasons for that concern were evident right away. The show was dark (literally), characters argued a lot, no one went anywhere, and the neighboring natives were hardly ever friendly. Yet for all that the show went against the grain of the Great Bird's original vision of the future, it undeniably caught the mood of the time, incorporating a complex political backdrop that mirrored our own.
In the casting, there was a clear intent to differentiate the show from its predecessors. Genre stalwarts Tony Todd and James Earl Jones were considered for Commander Sisko before Avery Brooks. The one letdown at the time was that Michelle Forbes did not carry Ensign Ro across from The Next Generation, but when the explosive Nana Visitor defiantly slapped her hand on a console in the pilot episode, viewers knew they were in for a different crew dynamic. In fact, the two-part pilot show ("The Emissary") is largely responsible for DS9's early success. Mysterious, spiritual, claustrophobic, funny, and feisty, it remains the most attention-grabbing series opener (apart from the original series') the franchise has had. The first year may have relied on a few too many familiar faces--like Picard, Q, and Lwaxana Troi--but these were more than outweighed by refreshingly detailed explorations of cultures old and new (Trill, Bajoran, Cardassian, Ferengi). As it turned out, Deep Space Nine was the boldest venture into Roddenberry's galaxy that had been (or ever would be) seen. --Paul Tonks
Star Trek junky since thr 60'sMarch 9, 2010 Maria T. Maulorico(Bel Air, MD, US) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When I was a kid back in the 60's my dad made us leave a neighbors dinner so that we could watch the first episode of "Star Trek". Since then I have been a "treky" (sp) & have watched it & every incarnation since the beginning. I haven't gotten into the newer Star Trek where it starts with a brand new James T. Kirk because it feels more like their just trying to ruin what I grew up with. Deep Space 9, Voyager & TNG are all spin-offs of the original & that makes them, in my book - it makes them that much better because the story lines & new graphics & special effects make them that much better. DS9 is a wonderful spin-off of Star Trek & being that it revolves around a space station rather than the constant going here & there in the universe makes it special in it's own way. I give the DS9 series a 10 thumbs up!!!
Maria Maulorico, daughter of Alfred Maulorico the first & best Star Trek junky I ever knew.
A problematic beginningJanuary 25, 2010 Christopher Culver 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This DVD makes for an uncomfortable review to write. I fondly remember the launch of STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE 9 in early 1993 which seemed to re-envigorate the Star Trek franchise and offer some new storytelling possibilities. Seeing these early episodes again nearly two decades later, the start of this series is so rocky as to be nearly unwatchable. While the long dramatic arc of later years was pretty decent, this first season is awkward to say the least. Basically, the writers had several aspects to focus on: Gamma Quadrant, Bajoran politics and continuity with the pre-existing Star Trek canon. But instead of a cohesive presentation of these, we jump from one to another with each episode, and we're often still in Gene Rodenberry's Star Trek vibe where everyone is so jolly and peaceful. Once one starts noticing little cracks in the facade, the whole thing seems even more lame: the meaningless technobabble, the chronological problems, the unrealistic aliens, the distances that change wildly depending on storytelling needs, etc.
The only saving grace is some of the acting. It's amazing how the presence of Rene René Auberjonois and Armin Shimerman can overcome the mediocre writing, as does Harris Yulin's masterful guest appearance as a soldier tormented by memories of the atrocities his side committed. The stories can be exceedingly stupid, but they're acted out so well that it does sometimes make for compelling television.
Because of my own disappointment, I'd really suggest that you purchase this DVD set only if you have seen these episodes recently and definitely know you want them. Don't just go by 17 year-old memories.
Star Trek Deep Space Nine Season 1December 8, 2009 Chris Fox This series doesn't really get good until Wharf(sp?) arrives. It gets even better when war breaks out in the later seasons.
This isn't that great a show...November 12, 2009 Mike Sobocinski(Lansing, MI) The product quality itself is very good - complete episodes, extras, cool packaging (although a bit weird). Although the disc holders were very frustrating for a long time, I finally did eventually figure out how the discs are supposed to be removed. (It isn't at all obvious!) Normal removal attempts used to result in lots of bending and stressful efforts. Eventually I found that the secret is: while holding down the center tab, and after prying up one edge of the disc with one hand, with your other hand, run a finger along the perimeter of the rest of the disc, pulling it up a bit as you go. The discs tend to pop out neatly once this ritual is performed, but until I figured that out, the darn things often seemed near impossible to remove without bending the disc or breaking the tabs (as so many other reviewers have reported).
Anyway, happy though I am with the product, its the show itself that is problematic. It's decent enough compared with the average tv show, but is so much weaker than all previous Star Trek shows that the bulk of my review must dwell on that inferiority. First, the claim that the series was an attempt to pre-empt the forthcoming (at the time) "Babylon 5" seems to have a lot of merit. I was at a Trek convention (East Lansing, 1992, guests Majel Barrett Roddenberry and John DeLancie) when this show was announced, with the claim that it would satisfy fans who wanted a "darker" mood with more tension and conflict between crew members. My friend and I looked at each other in confusion - who the heck asked for that? It turns out that that was apparently part of the original Babylon 5 pitch to Paramount. Well, sorry dudes, but neither series had a strong 1st season. Deep Space 9's first 20 episodes were more consistent in quality than B5, but both were far inferior to Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Dealing only with DS9 problems:
#1 Ferengi!! I have never personally met anyone who was a fan of Ferengi characters or Ferengi episodes. Some of the treatment they receive is simply childish. Thus, there were many times when DS9 felt like a children's show. Sorry again, people, but the intended commentary about capitalism through Ferengi culture is pretty shallow. Yet, a Ferengi character is apparently used through all 7 season's cast lineups. A clear strike against the show if ever there was one. (I'm now watching season 2 and one Ferengi episode truly feels like watching Fraggle Rock, with Moppet voices that simply can't be taken seriously; even while other actors are actually doing a very good job at their roles, the overall tone simply feels childish.)
#2 Limited scenario - In season one, the characters rarely went very far; the series tended to lack the sense of exploration and unknowns that Star Trek had always tried to revel in. The season did a good job of doing what it could, but DS9 felt much smaller than B5, as a station, and many first season episodes really didn't offer Commander Sisko a chance to do very much at all in a command role. From what I recall, this problem would be fixed later on. According to the Star Trek Next Gen Companion book, the producer thought it would be ridiculous to have two shows with ships exploring the galaxy at the same time. I have no clue what would be so ridiculous about that!! And eventually, it happened anyway. Rather, it seems to make sense that they actually *were* trying to make their own Babylon 5 rip-off, instead of just a Trek spin-off. I don't think they should have cared, or bothered. Deep Space Nine, season one, makes for generally tolerable but unexceptional viewing. I therefore disagree with the numerous positive reviews posted on this site. And I'm coming from the background of having watched every episode and movie of Star Trek up to the point of DS9's initial broadcast. Next Gen Season 6 was so much better than DS9 season 1 on every count. (Only a handful of episodes from first season were even comparable.)
#3 Dr. Bashir's character in this season often feels simply out of place and not really adding to the claimed "darkness" or "grittiness" or "drama" or "crew conflict" but simply inappropriately goofy.
#4 Uninspired scripts and scenario - The first season had only two episodes that are truly worthy contributions to Star Trek, and they were the final two episodes of the season! Very good quality, but everything before that was either mediocre, decent, or, at best, pretty good. The feature-length pilot episode was fairly well regarded according to IMDB reviews, but was in my book probably the least-compelling two-parter up to that time. They thought they were being really clever with all the visions that Sisko had, I'm sure, but really I felt that instead of impressing in any way, it simply interfered with the tone of the pilot, making it feel more disjointed and less effective at building a true sense of climax. Also, their notion to make things different from Trek was misguided. The show really doesn't feel gritty or dark at all, and the "crew tension" really adds very little to the show, while it *does* detract from the authority and image of Commander Sisko, who feels far smaller and more passive than any of the other Star Trek Captains. When given a chance by the writers, he's fine. But they spent a lot more time on other characters who didn't deserve so much attention.
#5 No standout non-human character - Let's face it, Spock and vulcan philosophy was critical for the success of Star Trek. And Data and his android explorations (plus Picard's philosophy) were vital to the success of Next Gen. Next Gen also had some really strong acting talent!! DS9, by contrast, doesn't have any standout character, nor any particular venue for Trek philosophizing. And the cast's talent in DS9 isn't so readily apparent in DS9 as it was in the first season of Next Gen. Is there an "I Hate Nog" group for DS9 like there (undeservedly) was for Wesley Crusher in Next Gen? The Ferengi certainly deserved it more, but probably no one really cared, because other Star Trek could be turned to, instead. The real heir to Next Gen was Star Trek: Voyager. DS9 simply ran simultaneously and was an obvious spin-off rather than a true sequel. And in its original airings it was not well-served by its ongoing story aspects - endless references to Cardassians and The Dominion and such. On DVD, such continuity is at least not a problem anymore, and while I actively disliked the first season of DS9 when originally aired with commercials (and the inevitable episodes that were missed sometimes in their original broadcast), I must admit that the series isn't *that bad* - none of the episodes are outright totally bad (as a few B5 episodes were in its first season) but there were definitely a number that were only fair, with significant problems that kept them from being very effective. Thus, overall, on average, the first season is middle-of-the-road fare; the vast majority of it not particularly memorable, and with only two standout episodes at its very end (and one earlier one, Captive Pursuit, that I would say was pretty good, along with another handful not too far behind, but each episode generally feels like a gamble between "pretty good" or "decent" or "mediocre" - with nothing outstanding until the very end (and the start of season two was no better in quality - the show didn't sustain what it had built up to by the end of season 1; not sure about later seasons yet).
A fine beginning to an exceptionally fine seriesNovember 6, 2009 Robert Moore(Chicago, IL USA) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A lot of people point out that Season One of STAR TREK DEEP SPACE 9 suffered from growing pains and that is certainly true. DS9 was, in my opinion, the best of all the STAR TREK series, and it while the storylines that drove the series and made it such an enormously enjoyable series were not there in the early seasons, it wasn't like the show was mud in the early seasons. In fact, while the show got incredibly good in later seasons, it was still, even in its first couple of seasons, absolutely first rate.
One of the ironies for me is that if I were to do a list of my all time favorite STAR TREK characters, few from DS9 would make the list. Odo is perhaps my favorite, but as a rule I find the cast to be more than the some of the parts. For instance, I think it is a better ensemble cast than VOYAGER, but I like The Doctor and Seven more than anyone on DS9. But this cast really fits together well in telling stories and even in Season One, before the big story arcs get under way, they feel like a great team.
DS9 is famously the darkest ST series, with more ongoing storylines than any other ST series. In a way, having the series set in a particular location helps lead to this. The original series, THE NEXT GENERATION, and VOYAGER were all focused on spaceships always in motion and always encountering new species and planets and phenomena. But DS9 would have gotten old quick with nothing but a visitor-of-the-week fomat. And given the initial premise of the Federation on DS9 acting as a buffer between the Bajorans and the Cardassians. With the later addition of the Maquis and the meeting of the Dominion, the show had a degree of political and narrative complexity utterly lacking in the other series. In many ways, DS9 is more reminiscent of BABYLON 5 than THE NEXT GENERATION. It is interesting, by the way, that those two shows, that resemble each other in many ways, ran almost concurrently.
What is most delightful in rewatching this is how well it has stood up over time. Part of it is that its aesthetic and tone anticipated what has become more pervasive in TV SF. This was true even before Ronald D. Moore moved over to DS9 from TNG at the start of Season Three. Moore, of course, was the creator of the reimagined BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. I've just finished rewatching Seasons One and Two and have begun Season Three. I don't want to say that Moore was the only reason the show got so good in Season Three, but he was clearly one of the reasons. But my point here is that even in Seasons One and Two, before it got completely into gear, it was a very good and enjoyable series.
Star Trek, Original Series, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise and related marks are trademarks of Paramount Pictures Corporation. This site is not in anyway affiliated with Paramount Pictures and no copyright infringement is intended by this site. Star Trek Gift Shop understands and recognises the right of Paramount Pictures to enforce ownership of these trademarks, and does not dispute this.
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.
Site Designed and Powered by Magical Animation Studio
