Deep Space 9 was so good because the writing was on point. In lesser hands, the entire Dominion War arc or the arc of the characters could have been handled terribly.
In my opinion Deep Space 9 is and was the best Star Trek show. It wasnt afraid to touch touchy subjects like TOS did. I believe it was a more realistic view of society. It had people that religious and people that wasn't, and the worked together and were friends. I personally am religious, but my best friend isn't. Also Captain Sisko is and was the best Captain on all of Star Trek in my opinion. A really good video!
Indeed, so, where exactly is _your_ Celestial Temple, then? ;-] At least the Bajorans had the distinct advantage that the gaggle of gods they revered actually existed for sure, in their fictional universe, having interacted and left actual functioning artefacts behind. Now whether they were "gods" or just extremely powerful aliens who were barely aware of Bajor at all, is up for debate, I suppose. But in comparison, your deity is unfalsifiable... so blindly believing in it, without any substantive evidence, is quite irrational. You can go around professing pride in your delusion all you like, but don't expect to pass it off as wisdom any time I'm in the vicinity. That just ain't gonna fly!
I can watch Ds9 all day, it rarely had a bad episode. I wish more people made reviews like this! Thanks for your insight. If you made a breakdown on each episode id watch them.
For us Europeans who doesn't know anything about baseball that one baseball episode was super cringe and went over our heads. Therefore thats the only episode i didn't like of all seasons of DS9
@@obelic71 You were watching a franchise that celebrates the differences and explores other cultures from half the galaxy, yet you couldn't adjust to a cultural phenomenon from a few thousand miles away... Pathetic! lol
Loved his arc... Com/Captain.Sisco was the best father on tv and movies,he and Jake had such a loving relationship. Star Trek : Deep Space 9 is my favorite Trek , great story's,compelling characters,true IDIC in action. I was fortunate to get to watch the finally in the Movie theater thanks to Tor🎉onto's City TV promotion,lol.,,got off from the graveyard shift and stood in line for over an hour ,was 2nd to last to snag a ticket(almost did not though due to people in line letting all their friends jump the gue!). I really wish they would have made a movie that would bring back Sisco,etc,,, lol,love that Worf was surprisingly intimidated by Him.
@@jeanettecarnell8933 O'Brien was my favorite and a great character as well. Not only was he a bridge from TNG to DS9 but the character had a much bigger role and development.
My most favourite of all Series offshoots. Why CBS/Paramount don't air it again on Australian TV, I can't figure out. They keep airing TNG & Voyager, supplemented with Enterprise & The Original Series, as well as have Discovery - Strange New Worlds, yet have not had DS9 aired for well over a decade, possibly as much as 2 decades.
The best series in the franchise by far. Believable, realistic (taking basic premise of ST into account, obviously), explores very interesting topics, issues, dilemmas and situations. Actually, a series you can really learn a great deal about life from... A series that actually requires from viewers to use their brain and imagination. Great characters also... And in my opionion , the only ST series (not counting the new ones) where almost every episode is interesting, and some are spectacular.
DS9 was the show that brought me back to ‘Trek - I’d grown bored with TOS and TNG, but DS9 was both better-written and something fresh and different, and I’m so glad I gave it a chance. Even then, if Babylon 5 hadn’t been delayed a year after it’s pilot, I might not’ve given DS9 a chance. As is, I was hooked after the first episode, and enjoyed almost every episode and every recurring character. Gul Dukat and Kai Wynn are the best villains in all of Star Trek - no other ‘Trek has even a single antagonist that rises to their level, let alone a recurring antagonist.
It's Star Trek because, like the other series, it offers hope for the future. Yes, it does this by going through some very dark periods, but usually coming out better for them.
@PaleGhost69 your comment cracks me up because it’s almost how I feel about it. I’m in the fourth season, and starting to get into episodes I missed during first run. A show that is filled with Starfleet main characters would be very different. Here we have scheming and mistrust around every corner. coming back to it and years later, I’m finding so much more character and content packed into each episode. It’s hard to compare to anything else. you can’t watch this like other Trek, it’s less linear, it makes you work, it’s engaging, but you have to pay attention.
How many shows have their been in the history of tv, and are still on today, that portray a “realistic” view of humanity? Literally thousands or at least hundreds? In fact EVERY show except Star Trek is like this. DS9 was boring to me because they decided to show humans as they are today. Yeah that’s been done to death! Roddenberry’s vision made Star Trek very different from everything else. I watched almost every episode of DS9 and although there were a few good episodes, I mostly didn’t like it. TOS, TNG and ENT are my favorite, while VOY is ok.
I too put off watching DS9 for many, many years & watched OT in its first run & many times over in syndication. Once I did give DS9 a shot I fell in love with it for all the reasons you’ve so beautifully explained. Thank you for a brief trip down memory lane. I may just go rewatch again. ❤
I liked DS9 for different reasons.. 1 it was still star trek but it was different and getting to see life in the federation from the perspective of being on a space station instead of a ship was a new look at the star trek universe from a perspective we hadn't had before and I thought it was pretty cool. 2 the characters were very interesting, from quark and odo and garek to sisko who was a kind of captain we were not use to, the characters had depth and were very interesting to follow, also the plots and story lines were very interesting and I enjoyed pretty much every episode and especially once the Dominion were introduced. TNG will always be my favorite because I grew up on it but DS9 is a very close 2nd.
I just started watching the first few minutes here and will have to finish later - because I’m binging episode after episode of DS9, revisiting it after watching it in first run and falling off after a few seasons due to the darkness, you mentioned right up front. I couldn’t agree more with you that this is the most underrated Trek. it takes more of a commitment than most of the other series, but it really pays off. it was ahead of its time and is a great watch. HELL, I hated cork [< I meant Quark!] back in the day, but now I really appreciate how, for instance, Dax finds him endearing unlike most of the other Federation suits….not to mention the humanization of Gul Dukat. It was the first Trek in decades to explore nasty characters from petty crooks to outright criminals with any real depth.
I promised I’d be back and it only took me five days! This long video could’ve been twice as long and I still would have found time for it. Without DS9 we might not have modern Trek - whether that means the fan/canon risks Discovery or that (pretty much) universally well-regarded third season of Picard.
I’m a big Trek fan and while I can appreciate DS9 for it’s real delve into the world of politics, religion and war in its last 4 seasons and understand why this is critically acclaimed etc etc……as Star Trek the show lacks enormously with regards to actually trekking the stars and adventure. It’s not a show that I personally like as I find it’s arc very stagnant, slow and tedious and it doesn’t give the same excitement or hope that you get from all the other legacy shows. It is however one part of what I see as a 5 part story (ENT, TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY) which is by a mile the single best era not only of Trek but of Science Fiction ever.
DS:9 did more to expand the Trek verse than any other installment outside of TOS. I made many of the species intro'd in Next Gen into actual fully formed 3 dimensional cultures instead of just shallow villains of the week.
And it also used secondary characters very well: Quark,Nog,Garak,etc,etc,...most-times these secondary characters were used as much as the main cast.Then there were the long story arcs DS9 did: Like the Dominion War story arc,TNG never did this.The women of TNG,Dr Crusher and Troi were care givers and rarely used out side those roles.Major Kira and Dax were far more developed than their TNG counter-parts and they sometimes led away missions.Dax and Kira fought Klingons and other foes on the show.
My problem with DS9 when it debuted and still my issue decades later, is that in its presentation it appeared to be nothing but a knock-off of Babylon 5, which did not have to gut Roddenberry's vision in order to present an alternative vision for humanity's future in space.
I love your analysis. I grew up with the original ST, running home from school to see the re runs, and then later would rush home from college to see Next Generation episodes, and then followed DS9 and Voyager as an adult. I never analyzed them, but just loved them all for the stories and characters. I always found it weird that some fans would pick favorites, as I just love each on theor own merits. Thank you for your insightful analysis that helped me understand why I loved each series differently. Cheers, mate
Well, b5 is a sore subject for a lot of b5 fans and i hoped by not mentioning it that the hate train wouldn't follow my video😂 but apparently any video with ds9 in the title is good ennough for all the b5 fans to spam the comment section that ds9 is a b5 ripoff🤣
DS9 in my opnion is so good because the characters like us in real life walk the thin moral line of good and bad in dire times. As a person you can only hope you never have to make a crossing the thin moral line choice in life. When confronted with such a damn if you do or damn if you don't situation life just sucks hard.
Really well done. I hope you got an "A"! Your critique style shows some personal flair and confidence that I would encourage you to keep developing. I thought it was excellent that you hit the big points without belabouring them, and found a few of the diamonds in the rough that DS9 intro'd to the IP. Solid work Ensign!
5:22 I disagree with Roddenberry when he says they shocked the audience with how they portrayed minorities, historical evidence does not back his claim up and suggests it was the audience that shocked them. Take the episode where Kirk and Uhura kissed, there was much debate and hysteria in Hollywood previous to its airing, writers and producers fought about it crazily, actors were upset. And then it aired and to Hollywood's surprise no one was shocked or offended. It received scant negative response, fan mail was overwhelmingly positive. Hollywood has never been a good judge of Average Americans, and they always assume the worst, probably because of their own debaucherous nature. Average Americans, whether they are urban or rural, regardless of race or gender, are overwhelmingly good people, thinking they are otherwise shows a flaw not in them but in you.
Gene Roddenberry didn't even want to do Deep Space 9 because it went against what Star Trek was supposed to be, which is why they waited until after he died to do it.
I came to ST TNG late, I was very young at the time and only caught the last two seasons. DS9 I was there for from the beginning, so that show had a greater impact on me than the others did. I went back and watched ST TOS, the movies, and TNG, I even loved them, but DS9 will always be MY Star Trek. And Odo and Garak will always be my favourite characters.
Out of every Star Trek show only Deep Space Nine has shown children who you didn't want to get off the screen as soon as they showed up. Not just Jake and nog but even Molly was bearable.
And DS9 didn't have a pre-teen saving the flag-ship of Star-Fleet several times.Either the officers and non-coms on the Enterprise were incompetant or just useless to have a teen saving their bacon-THAT-much. LOL.
The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine are my favourites for different reasons and therefor I can't pick between the two, but if I had to, it would be Deep Space Nine for the 'heavy' episodes with social commentary that stuck with me and made me think about existentialism and our relations with others. Lastly, I hate to promote others, but it might benefit others: There is a youtuber called 'RolyPolyOllie Reactions' who is uploading first time reactions of Deep Space Nine from the beginning. It might be nice to re-experience the show with his interesting views.
The Original Series sets the stage, presents the premise, sells it with amazing characters. In TNG Roddenberry takes actual complete control of the franchise (Gene Coon had made much of the work on TOS). its the maturity of the premise, some things are a bit overstated because of Gene's idiosyncratic ideas, but overall has strokes of genius such a Q and the Borgs and is in retrospect the core of what star trek IS. After Gene dies, some of his ideasand preconceptions get challenged, and we have DS9, a more pragmatic show. The idealism of Gene meets situations that strain it but only develops further from the experience instead of breaking. The one thing you said I object to is the idea that the issues of the day can be ever discussed without bias, and that they were in TOS and TNG specifically. Bias is an inevitable part of human consciousness and thinking, the two Genes behind star trek certainly weren't beyond it.
I feel like a reason this show is extremely underrated is because unlike tng and star trek there is nothing truly iconic about this show it just sort of exists and does its thing. I personally think it does its thing super well but what stands out about this show and makes it so memorable and I am not sure it has that kind of thing.
It's my favorite series. What got my interest, it's shows the not so near utopian side of the federation, most of thee characters personalities seem a lot more real.
@@lewstone5430 for the record I am not saying that is a bad thing. Or even it's a bad show my opinion is its one the best star trek shows but it's the one that really requires the most investment to watch.
@@thewewguy8t88 I’m not sure what you mean by “more investment”. I watched every episode except may 1 or 2, so I was invested in that way. I know that Star Trek shows like TNG had a lot of episodes where people did a lot of talking and parsing out of ideas and not everyone will like that but I did. DS9 imo had more action and personally I think the utopian vision of earth should’ve been kept. There’s always conflict in the galaxy which is what most older Trek is about.
Maybe i'll make a video on that! I'm not the biggest fan of discovery myself but i do give it a chance every season! And i know that theres a lot of people who actually do like it a lot! The next video is called "In defence of star trek enterprise" But there is a good chance that i'll cover discovery in one of my next video's :)))
The SF Overton window has long passed you. BSG reboot was brilliant but alas changed everything. DS9 has dark and humor as best SF does (DS9, B5, SG1/A). In the Pale Moonlight is one of if not the best ST episode any franchise.
Star Trek was all about hope. We (today) hope that one day we'll figure it out as a species. We'll get it right and go united into space. Eventually Trek "became" about future technology solving problems. Technobabble to the rescue. So DS9 gave us a Star Trek show where nothing worked. Every piece of tech was broke. The only way to solve problems was therefore for humans to once again use their brains. Figure it out. And they did!
I know I'm gonna catch flack, but ... Deep Space Nine is basically a rip-off of Babylon 5. J. Michael Straczynski pitched Babylon 5 to Paramount, passed on the project but then rushed to get a Star Trek-based version of its plot to television first.
Everyone keeps commenting this on my video, i dont see why this is relevant to the point i'm trying to make in the video😅 but thanks for watching i guess😂
@@acey5338 It's relevant to the title of the video as to why a Space Station show exists in the universe of "seek out new life and new civilizations..."
I have noticed that all the trek shows currently in production ignore STAR TREK Deep Space 9. I think that is the best trek show ever. Even better than Star Trek Picard season 3! It not as good as Babylon 5 but the best Trek series ever.
Because its set in the startrek universe has Starfleet the Federation and all the ST milkyway powers in it lol pretty much answer's its self ....an interesting fact Red Dwafs JMC is exists in the ST universe as its naame appears on the promanards list of businesses lol
when you mentioned early on that after The Original Series ended in 1969 there was no other Star Trek for about 20 years its probably closer to about 15 years as you have forgotten to mention The Animated in 1973
Before I watch this, I'll answer the title. It's Star Trek because it's challenges Trek's ethos with the reality of international politics and war. I'm curious if we reached the same conclusion.
I always say that DS9 is at the same time the least Star Trek and the most Star Trek of all Star Treks. Definitely my favourite series of the bunch, including all the later ones.
Most underrated? I think you have that backwards. The problems with DS9 aren't that it "isn't Star Trek", that it is dark or a space station rather than a star ship. The problem is that the show is generally tedious, often preachy rather than thought provoking and generally the only interesting characters tend to be ones taken from TNG. This does not mean that there are not some good episodes of the show but rather that the series as a whole isn't all that good and you have to sit through a lot of schlock to get to the good bits. DS9 is just not worth the time to watch. On a side note that the presenter tried to contrast Star Trek with Star Wars and labeling the latter as sci-fi seems to highlight just how little thought was put into this video.
2:10 _"...and for about 20 years there were no other Start Trek TV shows..."_ Um, except for two season of Star Trek: The Animated Series (NBC, 1973-1975)
Deep Space 9 showed the universe as it was, warts and all, instead of hiding the dirt and grime and pretending it didn't exist at all like ST:NG did. It is by far the best Trek TV show up to and including Voyager. I can't speak for the new shows, because I haven't seen them, but based on clips on YT, DS9 is the still likely the best Trek TV series.
because it is the best star trek ever, the question should be why is STD and Strange new world considered star trek? also the shaky cam and lense flares filmed movies are considered ST too for no obvious reason
Maybe i'll delve into that in a video. While i dont hate those shows i think they're made for a diffrent audience.(std) I am most scared of the reactions, there are a lot of toxic fans out there that i dont want to upset or turn against me😅 while my channel is still quite young.
the best thing that could have happened to Star Trek was the death of Roddenberry. DS9 wouldn’t have become the revered series that it is if Roddenberry was allowed to run it. DS9 creators knew that Roddenberry’s version would have been too pristine which would have been boring as heck, AND even unrealistic. DS9 showed that Starfleet and the federation is not as clean cut as they are depicted as. yes, the future it depicts is hopeful and something to strive for. but conflict always arises. especially when you have a federation populated by very diverse cultures and peoples. and if you have outside groups and threats to deal with, a near utopian society won’t survive any kind of interaction with those same groups.
I've been watching the original Star Trek movies and then I watched September 29th of 1987. I was glued to the TV for Star Trek TNG then in 93 for DS9 and then I believe it was in 94 for Voyager and then Star Trek Enterprise. DEI has been throughout every single series everyone. So let's stop whining and bitching that is not in there. There has been nothing but representation in Star Trek so let's stop complaining that it's never not in there because it is any type of DEI you can think of. It's been in Star Trek so let's drop it now. They're over doing it. Trying to throw it in our faces like it was never there when it's been there the entire time
The first 2 seasons were, ugh, whatever. The third season is when the character and storylines begin to take shape. CAPT. Sisko actually represents what the Federation I,s weirdly. It's a colonialist society in many regards. When you tick the colonizer off, you will get someone pushed to the edge and, in this case, CAPT. Sisko is one of the officers. I'm not saying he's a bad guy/good guy scenario. It just is. This was a very thought-provoking video. CAPT. Sisko was the foil for both CAPT. Picard, and Gul Dukat. DS9 is an awesome series!
Yes, ds9 has never been on my list of shows i want to see. I saw a few episodes now and then, but i didn't like the station. I preferred the ship. But so many people like the ds9 that i will give it a chance. After i catch up with Voyager episodes that i didn't see.
I thought that it was going to be a soap opera in space, but it's not. What got me interested was the references to the Dominian in other episodes, so I gave it a shot. The first season is a bit slow because they have to build up the characters and the issues going on with Bajor. Once you understand the characters and the plot, it is really enjoyable. Piece of advice: either skip or ignore in your head cannon the episode "Run Along Home".
Yeah i get that, it's kind of a touchy subject for a lot of people😅 but star trek has allways been about controversial themes at its core! So i guess it did something right in that regard then!😎
How many times did Kirk & Picard encounter species that had a religious belief system? It seems to me, those types of "Star Trek fans" are the issue. " I don't want religion in my TV show." Gatekeeping fandoms tend to self implode by their hypocrisy.
@@ledarbyromeo9667 What I really find ironic is that some of these same fans that hate religion in Star Trek. Treat Star Trek almost like a religion itself.
Its better off asstar trk still vaving that optimism and all that. Just because its darker, i think it doeshave the same mssage even strogr , because of all the odds, its sining even bettwer, because it really gets challenged . It makes suceeding and keeping that spirit despite the odds yery star trek, how to keep tht spirit when things go bad. How things can get bdetter again by hanging on .
DS9 was _the_ worst Star Trek show out of the original 5, and I watched almost every episode. It felt like someone trying too hard, it didn’t feel like Star Trek (i.e. Optimistic/positive perspective gone), and Avery Brooks was terrible for the part of Sisko. I remember this ‘yelp’ he’d do once in a while that made me cringe. I like the secondary characters much better than the primary. Personally I found being stuck in a space station boring, and Sisko becoming a prophet was absolutely ridiculous. Keep in mind I actually liked the Bajorian religion and the Kai’s, that was interesting. Kai Wynn was a great villain, but overall I don’t understand why people love this show. Hey, if you love it, more power to you, I still think it’s dreck.
Because DS9 up holds the vision and values of the federation and the original series more then any other spin off out there. The next gen was just a woke version of ST and universaly dispised, Voyager was all about getting home and the war between the privateers and the federation. Enterprise was just a mess and a lost opportunity, but had some good episodes.
Deep Space 9 was so good because the writing was on point. In lesser hands, the entire Dominion War arc or the arc of the characters could have been handled terribly.
In my opinion Deep Space 9 is and was the best Star Trek show. It wasnt afraid to touch touchy subjects like TOS did. I believe it was a more realistic view of society. It had people that religious and people that wasn't, and the worked together and were friends. I personally am religious, but my best friend isn't. Also Captain Sisko is and was the best Captain on all of Star Trek in my opinion. A really good video!
AGREED.Well said.
Indeed, so, where exactly is _your_ Celestial Temple, then? ;-]
At least the Bajorans had the distinct advantage that the gaggle of gods they revered actually existed for sure, in their fictional universe, having interacted and left actual functioning artefacts behind. Now whether they were "gods" or just extremely powerful aliens who were barely aware of Bajor at all, is up for debate, I suppose. But in comparison, your deity is unfalsifiable... so blindly believing in it, without any substantive evidence, is quite irrational. You can go around professing pride in your delusion all you like, but don't expect to pass it off as wisdom any time I'm in the vicinity. That just ain't gonna fly!
I can watch Ds9 all day, it rarely had a bad episode. I wish more people made reviews like this! Thanks for your insight. If you made a breakdown on each episode id watch them.
Phahahahat thanks! that would take a long time🤣 i would love to do that tho!
For us Europeans who doesn't know anything about baseball that one baseball episode was super cringe and went over our heads.
Therefore thats the only episode i didn't like of all seasons of DS9
ALLAMARAIN intensifies
@@obelic71 "You're Outta Here!"
@@obelic71 You were watching a franchise that celebrates the differences and explores other cultures from half the galaxy, yet you couldn't adjust to a cultural phenomenon from a few thousand miles away... Pathetic! lol
Nog to me was the greatest character growth.
Loved his arc... Com/Captain.Sisco was the best father on tv and movies,he and Jake had such a loving relationship. Star Trek : Deep Space 9 is my favorite Trek , great story's,compelling characters,true IDIC in action. I was fortunate to get to watch the finally in the Movie theater thanks to Tor🎉onto's City TV promotion,lol.,,got off from the graveyard shift and stood in line for over an hour ,was 2nd to last to snag a ticket(almost did not though due to people in line letting all their friends jump the gue!). I really wish they would have made a movie that would bring back Sisco,etc,,, lol,love that Worf was surprisingly intimidated by Him.
Nog wesley crusher done perfectly
@@jeanettecarnell8933 O'Brien was my favorite and a great character as well. Not only was he a bridge from TNG to DS9 but the character had a much bigger role and development.
@@steverutkowski3546 so true,my problem mis I love all of them,so hard to choose!
Lots f thecsemreguar characters got good character development j😢ust look at Rom,Dakar,Dukat and of course Garak
By FAR my favorite StarTrek! Any scene or episode with Garak, Dukat or the JemHadar!
My most favourite of all Series offshoots.
Why CBS/Paramount don't air it again on Australian TV, I can't figure out.
They keep airing TNG & Voyager, supplemented with Enterprise & The Original Series, as well as have Discovery - Strange New Worlds, yet have not had DS9 aired for well over a decade, possibly as much as 2 decades.
I really love this show. Every time I binge rewatch I get sad at the end knowing there is no more episodes!
That's how I felt when DS9 went off the air on it's first run,like someone stole my dog.
DS9 is probably my favourite Star Trek show...and that is saying a lot.
The best series in the franchise by far. Believable, realistic (taking basic premise of ST into account, obviously), explores very interesting topics, issues, dilemmas and situations. Actually, a series you can really learn a great deal about life from... A series that actually requires from viewers to use their brain and imagination. Great characters also... And in my opionion , the only ST series (not counting the new ones) where almost every episode is interesting, and some are spectacular.
DS9 was the show that brought me back to ‘Trek - I’d grown bored with TOS and TNG, but DS9 was both better-written and something fresh and different, and I’m so glad I gave it a chance. Even then, if Babylon 5 hadn’t been delayed a year after it’s pilot, I might not’ve given DS9 a chance.
As is, I was hooked after the first episode, and enjoyed almost every episode and every recurring character. Gul Dukat and Kai Wynn are the best villains in all of Star Trek - no other ‘Trek has even a single antagonist that rises to their level, let alone a recurring antagonist.
It's Star Trek because, like the other series, it offers hope for the future. Yes, it does this by going through some very dark periods, but usually coming out better for them.
That sounds like what every person born goes through on earth.
Every Star Trek show has dark plot lines.
This 65 year young Aussie has em all, Original, Next Generation, Voyager, DS9 & Enterprise NX01 😊 And they are all great 👍🖖
DS9 is the most realistic view of humanity in the Star Trek universe in my opinion
That's my problem with it. Star Trek should be an optimistic view of humanity, imo.
@PaleGhost69 your comment cracks me up because it’s almost how I feel about it. I’m in the fourth season, and starting to get into episodes I missed during first run. A show that is filled with Starfleet main characters would be very different. Here we have scheming and mistrust around every corner. coming back to it and years later, I’m finding so much more character and content packed into each episode. It’s hard to compare to anything else. you can’t watch this like other Trek, it’s less linear, it makes you work, it’s engaging, but you have to pay attention.
How many shows have their been in the history of tv, and are still on today, that portray a “realistic” view of humanity? Literally thousands or at least hundreds? In fact EVERY show except Star Trek is like this. DS9 was boring to me because they decided to show humans as they are today. Yeah that’s been done to death! Roddenberry’s vision made Star Trek very different from everything else. I watched almost every episode of DS9 and although there were a few good episodes, I mostly didn’t like it. TOS, TNG and ENT are my favorite, while VOY is ok.
Yeah, almost like Babylon 5..😂
@@mecurian485 yep! Been there done that.
I too put off watching DS9 for many, many years & watched OT in its first run & many times over in syndication. Once I did give DS9 a shot I fell in love with it for all the reasons you’ve so beautifully explained. Thank you for a brief trip down memory lane. I may just go rewatch again. ❤
Wow thanks, i love this comment!🤩 this is exactly why i made the video!!!
I liked DS9 for different reasons.. 1 it was still star trek but it was different and getting to see life in the federation from the perspective of being on a space station instead of a ship was a new look at the star trek universe from a perspective we hadn't had before and I thought it was pretty cool. 2 the characters were very interesting, from quark and odo and garek to sisko who was a kind of captain we were not use to, the characters had depth and were very interesting to follow, also the plots and story lines were very interesting and I enjoyed pretty much every episode and especially once the Dominion were introduced. TNG will always be my favorite because I grew up on it but DS9 is a very close 2nd.
I highly agree!
Give me TOS, followed by TNG then DS9. And that’s where the series’s should have ended, on a high note.
I just started watching the first few minutes here and will have to finish later - because I’m binging episode after episode of DS9, revisiting it after watching it in first run and falling off after a few seasons due to the darkness, you mentioned right up front. I couldn’t agree more with you that this is the most underrated Trek. it takes more of a commitment than most of the other series, but it really pays off. it was ahead of its time and is a great watch. HELL, I hated cork [< I meant Quark!] back in the day, but now I really appreciate how, for instance, Dax finds him endearing unlike most of the other Federation suits….not to mention the humanization of Gul Dukat. It was the first Trek in decades to explore nasty characters from petty crooks to outright criminals with any real depth.
I promised I’d be back and it only took me five days! This long video could’ve been twice as long and I still would have found time for it. Without DS9 we might not have modern Trek - whether that means the fan/canon risks Discovery or that (pretty much) universally well-regarded third season of Picard.
This was respectful and interesting. Thank you. I never tire of pre-2009 Trek content!
DS9 is the best Trek. It feels the most real. thanks for making this video.
I glad someone made the connection between Wagon Train/The Rifleman, and TNG/DS9.
I’m a big Trek fan and while I can appreciate DS9 for it’s real delve into the world of politics, religion and war in its last 4 seasons and understand why this is critically acclaimed etc etc……as Star Trek the show lacks enormously with regards to actually trekking the stars and adventure. It’s not a show that I personally like as I find it’s arc very stagnant, slow and tedious and it doesn’t give the same excitement or hope that you get from all the other legacy shows.
It is however one part of what I see as a 5 part story (ENT, TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY) which is by a mile the single best era not only of Trek but of Science Fiction ever.
TOS is terrible
DS:9 did more to expand the Trek verse than any other installment outside of TOS.
I made many of the species intro'd in Next Gen into actual fully formed 3 dimensional cultures instead of just shallow villains of the week.
Yes exactly, like the thrill and ferengi!
@@acey5338 and the Cardassians and Bajorans.
And it also used secondary characters very well: Quark,Nog,Garak,etc,etc,...most-times these secondary characters were used as much as the main cast.Then there were the long story arcs DS9 did: Like the Dominion War story arc,TNG never did this.The women of TNG,Dr Crusher and Troi were care givers and rarely used out side those roles.Major Kira and Dax were far more developed than their TNG counter-parts and they sometimes led away missions.Dax and Kira fought Klingons and other foes on the show.
My problem with DS9 when it debuted and still my issue decades later, is that in its presentation it appeared to be nothing but a knock-off of Babylon 5, which did not have to gut Roddenberry's vision in order to present an alternative vision for humanity's future in space.
That's because it was a B5 ripoff. It was literally stolen from him.
I'd say "Enterprise" is the most underrated Trek series...
Made a video about that, you can see it on my channel😜
I love your analysis. I grew up with the original ST, running home from school to see the re runs, and then later would rush home from college to see Next Generation episodes, and then followed DS9 and Voyager as an adult. I never analyzed them, but just loved them all for the stories and characters. I always found it weird that some fans would pick favorites, as I just love each on theor own merits. Thank you for your insightful analysis that helped me understand why I loved each series differently. Cheers, mate
The main character of Deep Space 9 is the space station itself.
That's the problem with it.
I am surprised that you didn't compare DS9 with the other science fiction show in the 1990's based on a space station, Babylon 5.
Well, b5 is a sore subject for a lot of b5 fans and i hoped by not mentioning it that the hate train wouldn't follow my video😂 but apparently any video with ds9 in the title is good ennough for all the b5 fans to spam the comment section that ds9 is a b5 ripoff🤣
Your title.e question should have been "Why is Deep Space Nine the GREATEST Star Trek ever made?"
Lol, you can make a video with that title if you want😅 i like my title. I do agree that its the best one!
DS9 in my opnion is so good because the characters like us in real life walk the thin moral line of good and bad in dire times.
As a person you can only hope you never have to make a crossing the thin moral line choice in life.
When confronted with such a damn if you do or damn if you don't situation life just sucks hard.
DS9 also had some of the most interesting minor characters. Garak and Nog were my favorites, but Rom, Morn, Dukat and Keiko O'Brien were great too.
Really well done. I hope you got an "A"! Your critique style shows some personal flair and confidence that I would encourage you to keep developing. I thought it was excellent that you hit the big points without belabouring them, and found a few of the diamonds in the rough that DS9 intro'd to the IP. Solid work Ensign!
Hahaha thanks i got a 55% so basically an F😅 BUT HEY! people on RUclips seem to enjoy the essay so yeah :)
Absolutely my favorite of all the ST shows!
5:22 I disagree with Roddenberry when he says they shocked the audience with how they portrayed minorities, historical evidence does not back his claim up and suggests it was the audience that shocked them. Take the episode where Kirk and Uhura kissed, there was much debate and hysteria in Hollywood previous to its airing, writers and producers fought about it crazily, actors were upset. And then it aired and to Hollywood's surprise no one was shocked or offended. It received scant negative response, fan mail was overwhelmingly positive. Hollywood has never been a good judge of Average Americans, and they always assume the worst, probably because of their own debaucherous nature. Average Americans, whether they are urban or rural, regardless of race or gender, are overwhelmingly good people, thinking they are otherwise shows a flaw not in them but in you.
Hollywood has always been way out of touch from normal people and has just been getting worse over the decades.
It wasn’t even the first inter racial tv kiss. I don’t think it was even the first on Trek.
Thanks for the video. I enjoyed all the DS9 AND OTHER STAR TREK shows
Gene Roddenberry didn't even want to do Deep Space 9 because it went against what Star Trek was supposed to be, which is why they waited until after he died to do it.
Thst was sick of them and practically spitting on his saying they never liked his version of stsrtrek
@@thesegafan4472 yep
Good essay.
I came to ST TNG late, I was very young at the time and only caught the last two seasons. DS9 I was there for from the beginning, so that show had a greater impact on me than the others did. I went back and watched ST TOS, the movies, and TNG, I even loved them, but DS9 will always be MY Star Trek. And Odo and Garak will always be my favourite characters.
I am currently watching ds9. Its probably the series ive watched the least, but i still really like it.
Deep Space Nine was amazing series, huge fan of Quark.
Out of every Star Trek show only Deep Space Nine has shown children who you didn't want to get off the screen as soon as they showed up. Not just Jake and nog but even Molly was bearable.
And DS9 didn't have a pre-teen saving the flag-ship of Star-Fleet several times.Either the officers and non-coms on the Enterprise were incompetant or just useless to have a teen saving their bacon-THAT-much. LOL.
The lens flares in the last few movies were used to the point of being annoying
The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine are my favourites for different reasons and therefor I can't pick between the two, but if I had to, it would be Deep Space Nine for the 'heavy' episodes with social commentary that stuck with me and made me think about existentialism and our relations with others. Lastly, I hate to promote others, but it might benefit others: There is a youtuber called 'RolyPolyOllie Reactions' who is uploading first time reactions of Deep Space Nine from the beginning. It might be nice to re-experience the show with his interesting views.
The Original Series sets the stage, presents the premise, sells it with amazing characters.
In TNG Roddenberry takes actual complete control of the franchise (Gene Coon had made much of the work on TOS). its the maturity of the premise, some things are a bit overstated because of Gene's idiosyncratic ideas, but overall has strokes of genius such a Q and the Borgs and is in retrospect the core of what star trek IS.
After Gene dies, some of his ideasand preconceptions get challenged, and we have DS9, a more pragmatic show. The idealism of Gene meets situations that strain it but only develops further from the experience instead of breaking.
The one thing you said I object to is the idea that the issues of the day can be ever discussed without bias, and that they were in TOS and TNG specifically. Bias is an inevitable part of human consciousness and thinking, the two Genes behind star trek certainly weren't beyond it.
DS9 is the show I grew up with. I frequently go back and watch episodes of DS9. Quite frankly it is far better than any Nu Trek offerings (post 2005).
I feel like a reason this show is extremely underrated is because unlike tng and star trek there is nothing truly iconic about this show it just sort of exists and does its thing. I personally think it does its thing super well but what stands out about this show and makes it so memorable and I am not sure it has that kind of thing.
It's my favorite series. What got my interest, it's shows the not so near utopian side of the federation, most of thee characters personalities seem a lot more real.
Yes, DS9 characters are almost like present day people. How boring!
@@lewstone5430 for the record I am not saying that is a bad thing. Or even it's a bad show my opinion is its one the best star trek shows but it's the one that really requires the most investment to watch.
@@thewewguy8t88 I’m not sure what you mean by “more investment”. I watched every episode except may 1 or 2, so I was invested in that way. I know that Star Trek shows like TNG had a lot of episodes where people did a lot of talking and parsing out of ideas and not everyone will like that but I did. DS9 imo had more action and personally I think the utopian vision of earth should’ve been kept. There’s always conflict in the galaxy which is what most older Trek is about.
@@AlKaseltzer87I mean, the federation is utopian. The rest of the galaxy, was not
So DS9 can be considered a deep space western. 🤔
Yes exactly! Thats cool right!🤩
Still the best Star Trek series
@07:42 funny how the subtitle said "Kardashian" with Gul Dukat on screen LOL
I agree 100%. DS9 is Star Trek; just different.
The more important question is why is Discovery Star Trek?😮😮😮
Maybe i'll make a video on that! I'm not the biggest fan of discovery myself but i do give it a chance every season! And i know that theres a lot of people who actually do like it a lot! The next video is called "In defence of star trek enterprise" But there is a good chance that i'll cover discovery in one of my next video's :)))
simple because it took place in the same universe.
The SF Overton window has long passed you. BSG reboot was brilliant but alas changed everything. DS9 has dark and humor as best SF does (DS9, B5, SG1/A). In the Pale Moonlight is one of if not the best ST episode any franchise.
Pale Moonlight went where no TREK show had ever gone before.
Best episode, the acting was phenomenal.
Star Trek was all about hope. We (today) hope that one day we'll figure it out as a species. We'll get it right and go united into space.
Eventually Trek "became" about future technology solving problems. Technobabble to the rescue.
So DS9 gave us a Star Trek show where nothing worked. Every piece of tech was broke. The only way to solve problems was therefore for humans to once again use their brains. Figure it out. And they did!
Deep Space Nine was my favourite Star Track series.
I know I'm gonna catch flack, but ... Deep Space Nine is basically a rip-off of Babylon 5. J. Michael Straczynski pitched Babylon 5 to Paramount, passed on the project but then rushed to get a Star Trek-based version of its plot to television first.
Everyone keeps commenting this on my video, i dont see why this is relevant to the point i'm trying to make in the video😅 but thanks for watching i guess😂
@@acey5338 It's relevant to the title of the video as to why a Space Station show exists in the universe of "seek out new life and new civilizations..."
DS9 is the best Star Trek series 👍
I have noticed that all the trek shows currently in production ignore STAR TREK Deep Space 9. I think that is the best trek show ever. Even better than Star Trek Picard season 3! It not as good as Babylon 5 but the best Trek series ever.
Because its set in the startrek universe has Starfleet the Federation and all the ST milkyway powers in it lol pretty much answer's its self ....an interesting fact Red Dwafs JMC is exists in the ST universe as its naame appears on the promanards list of businesses lol
It's awesome. I am watching it right now on Pluto TV
Dude select all audio chanbels in editor, and normalise your audio. Levels are alllllll over the place.
I fixt it in the next video😂 i have audio equipement now😂
when you mentioned early on that after The Original Series ended in 1969 there was no other Star Trek for about 20 years its probably closer to about 15 years as you have forgotten to mention The Animated in 1973
Before I watch this, I'll answer the title.
It's Star Trek because it's challenges Trek's ethos with the reality of international politics and war.
I'm curious if we reached the same conclusion.
DS9 looked like it would failed till B5 shook star treks bones.
I always say that DS9 is at the same time the least Star Trek and the most Star Trek of all Star Treks. Definitely my favourite series of the bunch, including all the later ones.
I was watching this with captions on. I burst out laughing when you said Cardassians, and the caption read Khardasians.
I didn't write those😂
@@acey5338 Anyway, it was still hilarious! And thanks for the Vid, liked it!
Most underrated? I think you have that backwards. The problems with DS9 aren't that it "isn't Star Trek", that it is dark or a space station rather than a star ship. The problem is that the show is generally tedious, often preachy rather than thought provoking and generally the only interesting characters tend to be ones taken from TNG. This does not mean that there are not some good episodes of the show but rather that the series as a whole isn't all that good and you have to sit through a lot of schlock to get to the good bits. DS9 is just not worth the time to watch.
On a side note that the presenter tried to contrast Star Trek with Star Wars and labeling the latter as sci-fi seems to highlight just how little thought was put into this video.
Lol
POV: you've never watched DS9
Great video. Keep up the good work.
ds9 is the best star trek.
Nicely done mate. Cheers.
2:10 _"...and for about 20 years there were no other Start Trek TV shows..."_
Um, except for two season of Star Trek: The Animated Series (NBC, 1973-1975)
Good job and keep up the good work!!
Deep Space 9 showed the universe as it was, warts and all, instead of hiding the dirt and grime and pretending it didn't exist at all like ST:NG did. It is by far the best Trek TV show up to and including Voyager. I can't speak for the new shows, because I haven't seen them, but based on clips on YT, DS9 is the still likely the best Trek TV series.
Really? You have to ask that question?
Idk maybe watch the video😂🤷♂️
Its not it's way better then Star Trek.
it is Star Trek end of discussion
@@jarrodskufcagaming5203 well I didn't mean literally and now it's end of discussion.
@@markolumovic2750 not the way you worded it and i invalidated your end of discussion, end of discussion
@@jarrodskufcagaming5203 OK you win now choke on that ego.Till the end.
@@markolumovic2750 i apologize for my "ego"
because it is the best star trek ever, the question should be why is STD and Strange new world considered star trek? also the shaky cam and lense flares filmed movies are considered ST too for no obvious reason
Maybe i'll delve into that in a video. While i dont hate those shows i think they're made for a diffrent audience.(std) I am most scared of the reactions, there are a lot of toxic fans out there that i dont want to upset or turn against me😅 while my channel is still quite young.
Picard and Kirk could never get away with what Sisko does in this show but tgey weren't in a war
The best of the Star Trek shows.
Loved this!
Great breakdown, thank you 🍻
You forgot about Star Trek the animated series
Good content, but the audio quality is quite bad - volume is inconsistent and the sound sometimes seems to come from far away.
I know lol, my audio equipment is on the way haha😅
Where the hell did you get that The Rifleman was a spinoff from Wagon Train nevermind how it was the roots of DS9?😮😮😮. 😎🤓🖖🏻
Lol research on the development😅 i found it really interesting so i added it in the video😎
DS9? Instant subscribe
Thanks man! I'll be making more video's in the future :D
the best thing that could have happened to Star Trek was the death of Roddenberry.
DS9 wouldn’t have become the revered series that it is if Roddenberry was allowed to run it. DS9 creators knew that Roddenberry’s version would have been too pristine which would have been boring as heck, AND even unrealistic.
DS9 showed that Starfleet and the federation is not as clean cut as they are depicted as. yes, the future it depicts is hopeful and something to strive for. but conflict always arises. especially when you have a federation populated by very diverse cultures and peoples.
and if you have outside groups and threats to deal with, a near utopian society won’t survive any kind of interaction with those same groups.
I've been watching the original Star Trek movies and then I watched September 29th of 1987. I was glued to the TV for Star Trek TNG then in 93 for DS9 and then I believe it was in 94 for Voyager and then Star Trek Enterprise. DEI has been throughout every single series everyone. So let's stop whining and bitching that is not in there. There has been nothing but representation in Star Trek so let's stop complaining that it's never not in there because it is any type of DEI you can think of. It's been in Star Trek so let's drop it now. They're over doing it. Trying to throw it in our faces like it was never there when it's been there the entire time
Garak was a bad- ass character
The first 2 seasons were, ugh, whatever. The third season is when the character and storylines begin to take shape. CAPT. Sisko actually represents what the Federation I,s weirdly. It's a colonialist society in many regards. When you tick the colonizer off, you will get someone pushed to the edge and, in this case, CAPT. Sisko is one of the officers. I'm not saying he's a bad guy/good guy scenario. It just is. This was a very thought-provoking video. CAPT. Sisko was the foil for both CAPT. Picard, and Gul Dukat. DS9 is an awesome series!
Yes, ds9 has never been on my list of shows i want to see. I saw a few episodes now and then, but i didn't like the station. I preferred the ship. But so many people like the ds9 that i will give it a chance. After i catch up with Voyager episodes that i didn't see.
I thought that it was going to be a soap opera in space, but it's not. What got me interested was the references to the Dominian in other episodes, so I gave it a shot. The first season is a bit slow because they have to build up the characters and the issues going on with Bajor. Once you understand the characters and the plot, it is really enjoyable.
Piece of advice: either skip or ignore in your head cannon the episode "Run Along Home".
One thing I always find surprising is how many star trek fans I've met over the years. That don't like Deep Space Nine because it has religion in it.
Yeah i get that, it's kind of a touchy subject for a lot of people😅 but star trek has allways been about controversial themes at its core! So i guess it did something right in that regard then!😎
How many times did Kirk & Picard encounter species that had a religious belief system? It seems to me, those types of "Star Trek fans" are the issue. " I don't want religion in my TV show." Gatekeeping fandoms tend to self implode by their hypocrisy.
@@ledarbyromeo9667 What I really find ironic is that some of these same fans that hate religion in Star Trek. Treat Star Trek almost like a religion itself.
It’s no that it has religion in it, it’s the fact that there is just so much of it. That coupled with the never ending politics turned people off.
I'm so sorry, it says you have 69 subscribers, so by law I can't click the button.
Phahahahaha Nice! 🤣 i like how you think😎
@@acey5338 I do apologize it's just against my religion, great video essay btw. If you get to 70 @me lol
Tng is the best star trek series, but ds9 is the best in terms of story arc
All in all a decent video, but dude, your audio is all over the place.
I fixt it in the next video haha😅
thank you . ( 2023 / July / 05 )
It isnt. It just takes place in the same universe. There is no "Trek".
Its better off asstar trk still vaving that optimism and all that. Just because its darker, i think it doeshave the same mssage even strogr , because of all the odds, its sining even bettwer, because it really gets challenged . It makes suceeding and keeping that spirit despite the odds yery star trek, how to keep tht spirit when things go bad. How things can get bdetter again by hanging on .
Why is Star Trek even on television? TNG is literally just community theater actors pretending to be Robin Hood characters in space.
🤨
DS9 was _the_ worst Star Trek show out of the original 5, and I watched almost every episode. It felt like someone trying too hard, it didn’t feel like Star Trek (i.e. Optimistic/positive perspective gone), and Avery Brooks was terrible for the part of Sisko. I remember this ‘yelp’ he’d do once in a while that made me cringe. I like the secondary characters much better than the primary. Personally I found being stuck in a space station boring, and Sisko becoming a prophet was absolutely ridiculous. Keep in mind I actually liked the Bajorian religion and the Kai’s, that was interesting. Kai Wynn was a great villain, but overall I don’t understand why people love this show. Hey, if you love it, more power to you, I still think it’s dreck.
KURTZMAN DREK ISN'T CANON
I think you mistook my video for Nerdrotics channel, you are welcome there.
DS9 is awesome especially after season 1 , I rewatch it least once a year. fyi Picard sucked
DS9 is a direct ripoff of Babylon 5. The first 3 seasons were very weak. Only a few characters were interesting.
Because DS9 up holds the vision and values of the federation and the original series more then any other spin off out there. The next gen was just a woke version of ST and universaly dispised, Voyager was all about getting home and the war between the privateers and the federation. Enterprise was just a mess and a lost opportunity, but had some good episodes.