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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine DVD Details Announced

l0key432 writes "The first season of Deep Space Nine will be released on DVD in late-February next year in the form of a six-disc box set, Paramount Home Entertainment officially announced on StarTrek.com. The DVDs will contain, of course, all of the season one episodes, newly remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and many extras. The following six seasons will be released one or two months apart from each other, as the Next Generation box sets were. Good to see this show finally coming out on DVD and getting some of the recognition it truly deserves."

259 comments

  1. Recognition? by someguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm not so sure how releasing something on DVD is providing recognition it deserves. I could understand saying that if Paramount went all out trying to promote it I could call it recognition. But if, not keep in mind how much low quality stuff gets put out that is "gaining recognition".

    --
    A planet where apes evolved from men? Long live the apes.
    1. Re:Recognition? by mceister · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Paramount has always treated DS9 as the family dog of the Trek shows. Best example is the commercial for four commanders during the early years of Voyager. Kirk, Piccard, Janeway and... Warf? That was a Paramount produced commercial and a slap in the face to Sisko and DS9. I'm afraid I would be insulted by however Paramount would try to market this release so it might be best they don't.

      The fact DS9 is being released on DVD before they pump out that 'Mister Roger's Neighborhood' derivative of a show called 'Voyager' is all the recognition I need from them. Thank you Paramount for this small favor to the best Trek ever - DS9. (IMHO)

    2. Re:Recognition? by entrylevel · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I totally agree. I've been searching desperately for reruns of DS9 ever since it went off the air, and just haven't been able to find them (on television). Most people claim that DS9 was a bad ripoff of B5, and I tend to agree, except for the "bad" part. I thought it was well written, fairly well acted ripoff, with much better special effects. I do wish there were equivalent cast members for Leeta and Talya [sic?] on DS9 though.

      I loved TNG as a kid, but now I watch it and wonder what I was thinking. People in tights standing in a room talking about "issues" while the camera gets shaken every now and then. Nowadays I just feel bad for Patrick Stewart for having to put up with the whole concept (having experienced several of his performances off-broadway).

      I always thought Voyager was a joke. How couldn't it be? First ever (televised, on a Trek) female starship captain. Pilot episode: she gets her crew hopelessly lost and spends the rest of the series trying to find her way back. To add insult to injury, how many times was the Enterprise and its experienced, battle-hardened crew completely destroyed by a broken, underpowered, 20-year old stolen Klingon ship, or a subspace anomaly? Yet Voyager (and its ragtag, fresh-from-the-womb crew) were indestructible, even to the Borg and Species 8579 (or whatever)! Too bad there was never a punchline.

      Of course I like TOS, but after you've seen every episode 700 times, it gets hard to watch. Although I still try to watch it now and then just to support "space-oriented" shows on the SciFi channel.

      Enterprise? Uhm. Right. WTF? Does _anyone_ enjoy that PC drivel?

      As for DS9, does anyone remember the grand finale? I would pay full DVD price just for that. The space battle at the end was absolutely the best I've seen on a TV show to date.

      I personally can't wait. I rarely buy DVDs, but DS9 and B5 are "must haves" in my book.

      --
      Karma: Incomprehensible (Mostly affected by posting at +5, reading at -1, and metamoderating everything unfair.)
    3. Re:Recognition? by nanoakron · · Score: 1

      Well when on earth is the TOS super-deluxe DVD collection set going to come out?

      THAT was the best trek ever made (and if you disagree, it doesn't matter because is SHOULD be released in a collection format anyway).

      -Nano.

    4. Re:Recognition? by Timesprout · · Score: 1, Redundant

      I always though the joke in Voyager was that every now and then where stuck for a storyline the ship and crew were destroyed. Fortunately every time they were survived by clones of themselves created from another dimension/space time continuum distortion/Q let loose with an advanced lego set

      --
      Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
      What truth?
      There is no dupe
    5. Re:Recognition? by Ponty · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Re: Janeway & crew. That's what always got me about Voyager. They had an opportunity to do something really interesting in that show. TNG was all about the biggest, bestest ship in the fleet. DS9 was all about crazy folks dealing with other crazy folks. TOS was all about cowboys in space. They had their niches and they worked. The Voyager crew was a bunch of losers stuck on a lowly science ship. On top of that, they had the nutso Maquis stuck on board with them. They were pretty much average, run-of-the-mill Starfleet officers on a so-so ship with an average captain. They never once had to confront their mediocrity. That's what would have been interesting. If they hadn't come up with a dozen scientific breakthroughs a season or figured out how to singlehandedly hand the Borg's ass to them every time they met. I would have loved to watch a show about average folks in the middle of a really crappy situation having to overcome their own inadequacies before they could even think about dealing with the rest of the universe. Big missed opportunity.

      It's not that different from what's currently happening with Enterprise. They have another one of the most exciting opportunities at hand: It's before the Federation, it's mysterious and dangerous. They're totally unprepared and out of their element. Let's go explore! Who the hell cares about some contrived "temporal cold war" plot. Let's set the stage for what comes next, not for something that was just made up. Don't take every chance to moralize and celebrate humanness, let's get our asses kicked and lose once in a while.

    6. Re:Recognition? by timmyf2371 · · Score: 1
      ...figured out how to singlehandedly hand the Borg's ass to them every time they met.

      I thought that happened - what did I miss? :)

      --

      Backup not found: (A)bort (R)etry (P)anic
    7. Re:Recognition? by Mythias · · Score: 1

      For a very enlightening and interesting discussion of the various similarities and differences of Babylon 5 and Deep Space 9, I guess you guys check out the thread titled "Who Are You?" and "What Do You Want?": The BABYLON 5 / STAR TREK Comparison at the Home Theater Forum, inside the TV and HDTV Programming forum. I would link to it, but HTF is a little miffed at Slashdot for linking to their forum postings and they block links from Slashdot.

      Rex Bachmann is doing a bang-up job of formulating some ideas with people regarding these two masterful shows. I am personally a huge fan of both shows and think this is something all fans should check out.

    8. Re:Recognition? by ttyRazor · · Score: 2

      Yeah, those last 11 episodes were probably the best ending for a tv series ever. As sad as I was to see the show end, they made the most of it and then some. They've spoiled me to all others, which seem to just end abruptly, doing stand alone episodes up until the last one or two.

    9. Re:Recognition? by Ponty · · Score: 1

      My distribution of negative words was a bit unclear. I wanted them not to hand the Borg's ass to them every time the met. It's just improbable.

    10. Re:Recognition? by stu-pendous · · Score: 1

      Everything about the finale was good except for that feel-good farewell music video... You all know what I'm talking about.

    11. Re:Recognition? by demi · · Score: 1
      I would have loved to watch a show about average folks in the middle of a really crappy situation having to overcome their own inadequacies before they could even think about dealing with the rest of the universe. Big missed opportunity.

      I think Firefly has some of these elements, which is one of the reasons I like it. It's the best sci-fi I've seen in a long time.

      --
      demi
    12. Re:Recognition? by Dionysus · · Score: 1

      USS Voyager wasn't an average science ship. It was a Intrepid class ship, a design between Defiant class and Excelsior class. It was originally sent out to capture the marquis. You don't send a science ship to do that. Intrepid class ships are probably like Cruisers in today's navy.

      --
      Je ne parle pas francais.
    13. Re:Recognition? by Scudsucker · · Score: 1
      to add insult to injury, how many times was the Enterprise and its experienced, battle-hardened crew completely destroyed by a broken, underpowered, 20-year old stolen Klingon ship, or a subspace anomaly?

      Because Picard was a pussy? Pretty much every confrontation would go something like this:

      1. Bad guys would fire at Enterprise.
      2. Picard would sit in his chair and look perturbed.
      3. Bad guys shoot at Enterprise some more.
      4. Geordi would say shields are down to 30%
      5. Picard: "hail them" (hail is ignored)
      6. Bad guys shoot some more, shields down to 15%
      7. Picard finally gives Worf the order to fire, but only at the weapons on the enemy ship, with only one phaser burst or maybe a photon or two.
      8. Picard: "hail them" (ignored)
      9. Some diplomatic solotion is found, the Enterprise limps off having the crap shot out of it while the bad buys merrily sail away to kick the E's ass another time.
      Common, how many times did the Romulans flagrantly violate the treaty and cross the Neutral Zone? WTF hasn't the Federation started using cloaking devices when the Romulans break the treaty at will? Question for you: in what TNG episode did Picard give Worf the order to fire at will (hint, none).

      None of the other ST captains have been afraid to kick a little ass when they had to, especially Kirk and Sisko. My fav TOS episode is with the first Romulan ship to have a cloaking device, and Kirk chased it and blew the snot out of it. Sisko never took any crap from anybody from season one through the end of the show. Picard OTOH would let my gradma slap him silly. Oh, to agree with at least one part of your post, B5 kicked ST's (any ST's) ass any day of the week. Unfortunatly it pretty much destroyed episodic shows for me, as I now hate it where everything goes back to normal at the end of every single episode (ie X-Files).

    14. Re:Recognition? by Cheyto · · Score: 1
      I hated DS9, up until I watched it regularly around the fourth season. In my opinion, these last few seasons were the best trek I have ever seen.

      However, did anyone else think the Ferengi episodes got ridiculously out of hand? They were nothing but worthless, whining bastards; by the end, I would have paid someone to see Worf kick Rom's ass.

    15. Re:Recognition? by NFNNMIDATA · · Score: 1

      B5 came second. And had worse effects by far. Perhaps you flip-flopped them in your comment?

      Right about Enterprise, though - that is just unwatchable. But give it time, they all got better after a couple of years. Except TOS, that got worse.

    16. Re:Recognition? by rweir · · Score: 2

      As for DS9, does anyone remember the grand finale? I would pay full DVD price just for that. The space battle at the end was absolutely the best I've seen on a TV show to date.

      Shush! Down here in Oz, we're only up to season five!

      If slashdot spoils another damn sci-fi show for me, there's going to be blood on the carpet.

    17. Re:Recognition? by Sri+Lumpa · · Score: 1

      "It was originally sent out to capture the marquis."

      The Maquis, not the Marquis. Chakotay is not some kind of French nobleman. ;)

      --
      "The obvious mathematical breakthrough would be development of an easy way to factor large prime numbers." Bill Gates,
    18. Re:Recognition? by Brendan+Byrd · · Score: 2

      I totally agree. I've been searching desperately for reruns of DS9 ever since it went off the air, and just haven't been able to find them (on television). Most people claim that DS9 was a bad ripoff of B5, and I tend to agree, except for the "bad" part. I thought it was well written, fairly well acted ripoff, with much better special effects. I do wish there were equivalent cast members for Leeta and Talya [sic?] on DS9 though.

      I always enjoyed B5 better than DS9, but DS9 was welcomed diversion that I would keep up with since they were on different timeslots.

      I loved TNG as a kid, but now I watch it and wonder what I was thinking. People in tights standing in a room talking about "issues" while the camera gets shaken every now and then. Nowadays I just feel bad for Patrick Stewart for having to put up with the whole concept (having experienced several of his performances off-broadway).

      I agree that TNG is starting to get dated as a sci-fi show, but it's still good stuff. I think Patrick Stewart liked the idea much better than some of his other roles. (What was that stupid kid's movie he was in? He's been in much worse stuff.) Considering he was in X-Men, I have a feeling he enjoys being in diverse roles.

      I always thought Voyager was a joke. How couldn't it be? First ever (televised, on a Trek) female starship captain. Pilot episode: she gets her crew hopelessly lost and spends the rest of the series trying to find her way back. To add insult to injury, how many times was the Enterprise and its experienced, battle-hardened crew completely destroyed by a broken, underpowered, 20-year old stolen Klingon ship, or a subspace anomaly? Yet Voyager (and its ragtag, fresh-from-the-womb crew) were indestructible, even to the Borg and Species 8579 (or whatever)! Too bad there was never a punchline.

      Voyager: A three-hour tour...a three-hour tour... Definately the Gillian's Island of Star Trek.

      Of course I like TOS, but after you've seen every episode 700 times, it gets hard to watch. Although I still try to watch it now and then just to support "space-oriented" shows on the SciFi channel.

      Yeah, but the best way to support your sci-fi shows is to get Farscape back on the air.

      Enterprise? Uhm. Right. WTF? Does _anyone_ enjoy that PC drivel?

      Ugh...pure commericialized bullshit. Ever since Gene and the Wolf left, the whole ST universe has turned to crap. The ST:TNG movies are mostly BS, and they seem to screw with the characters too much. Data's emotional chip is merely a lite diversion, rather than a total change of character. (They turn the thing off during the entire First Contact movie!)

  2. Pricing? by l33t-gu3lph1t3 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Are we going to be victimized on the price of this series just like when STNG came out on DVD?

    --
    ------- "From bored to fanboy in 3.8 asian girls" ----------
    1. Re:Pricing? by Slashdotess · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Victimized? $100 is pretty expensive, but when you think about it, you're getting about 26 40 minute episodes (of the best series ever -- refering to TNG) I'd say the price is resonable.

    2. Re:Pricing? by erpbridge · · Score: 2

      Yes, we'll be victimized. At $100 per season, 26 eps (42 mins each) per season, usually 4 eps plus some added stuff per disk... That's about 7 disks. 100/7 = $14.29 per disk

      That's 160 or so minutes (over 2 and a half hours) per disk. How much do you need to spend on a new DVD released the same day? (Usually $19.99 or higher).

      Oh, we're definitely being victimized.

      And if you don't like the price, you can always wait about 2-3 years for the price to come down to about $80. It's called an "Early Adopters Fee", and is used by almost every sales industry on a new product in high demand. Just like CD's, VHS, DVD's, software, and others, the price will come down over time, and also as demand becomes less.

      When Voyager box sets come out in March 2004, they too will be $100 each, and the same complaint will be brought up by people like you.

      I'm done. Now you can go ahead and whine about how this shouldn't be compared this way because it's a 10 year old product (or, in the case of TNG, 15 year old product for the first season).

    3. Re:Pricing? by erpbridge · · Score: 2

      Just re-read the article summary, and it said 6 discs. That's $16.67 each (not including the bonus CD (encyclopedia excerpts for one, audio tracks for another, audio book for another) that's coming with each box of TNG. Those will probably also come with DS9, except of course have DS9 instead of TNG stuff on them.

    4. Re:Pricing? by ttyRazor · · Score: 2

      Yeah, you're still getting a lot, but there are other tv shows on dvd that cost about half that, such as buffy, 24 and stargate sg-1. They probably don't have as many extras or remixed 5.1 dolby digital sound though, so I guess that's what you'd be paying for.

    5. Re:Pricing? by amuro98 · · Score: 1

      It's 6 discs, but disc 6 is nothing but extras.

      I don't usually bother with extras, other than
      commentary tracks (which don't appear to be here...) so to me it's 5 discs for $100. $20 still isn't that bad.

      Also, consider that most places lop 20% off MSRP, so you'll probably see places selling this for $79.99.

    6. Re:Pricing? by erpbridge · · Score: 2

      The $100 price I'm quoting is the retail price in stores like Wal-mart and also the price being shown on Amazon (List Price $139.99, Our price: $99.99).

      I'm still going to buy it. I saw DS9 in bits and pieces, and every station I try to watch it in reruns on for the past 4 years has either aired only half the series then dumped it, or changed the time slot all over the place without announcing it, or shown episodes out of order (really bad when one week you're watching season 3, then the next they start showing season 6, especially given the way DS9 started going into a serial format with every episode depending on the ones before).

      I know, I could've subscribed to Columbia House and bought the VHS series, but I wanted to wait for the DVD's anyways.

  3. First season has been available individually by terraformer · · Score: 2, Informative

    I believe the first season has been out on DVD for some time now. I rememeber when I moved from NY to RI the local stations did not have it so I looked into purchasing the series on DVD and they only had the first season. To add salt in the wound, there were only one/two episodes per disc and they were 19.95 per disc. No set. I fgured it would probably cost upwards of $2K for the whole series at that rate (if it had been available). What a rip off that was. Someone there was greedy. Glad to see they are finally releasing it in a more sane config.

    --
    Who are you? The new #2 Who is #1? You are #617565. I am not a number, I am a free man! Muhahaha.
    1. Re:First season has been available individually by thedigitalbean · · Score: 2, Informative

      I think you are confusing this with the release of Star Trek The Original Series...

      DS9 has never been released on DVD...

    2. Re:First season has been available individually by terraformer · · Score: 1

      Maybe. It has been over four years and I could have it wrong. But, I don't particularly care for TNG and I do not have a VCR so I would imagine I went looking for DS9 on DVD. I may have found TNG and have my($self) all confused...

      --
      Who are you? The new #2 Who is #1? You are #617565. I am not a number, I am a free man! Muhahaha.
    3. Re:First season has been available individually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He wasn't talking about TNG either.... he was talking about THE ORIGINAL SERIES.

  4. Yay! by acehole · · Score: 5, Funny

    We can see wayun(?) die all over again.

    Who needs kenny when you've got him.

    --
    Be you Admins? nay, we are but lusers!
    1. Re:Yay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      it's Weyoun, p'tak!

    2. Re:Yay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's P'tagh!

    3. Re:Yay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      uhm... wasn't Weyoun transformed to an Andorian in ST:ENT ? And he ain't dead in there ... yet ;-)

    4. Re:Yay! by pherris · · Score: 2, Informative

      Jeffrey Combs has played a bunch of characters on ST:

      ST:DS9
      Weyoun, Brunt, Capt. Mulkahey, Penk, and Tiron

      ST:ENT
      Shran and Krem

      --
      "And a voice was screaming: 'Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'" - HST
    5. Re:Yay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Q'plah, honorable friend.

    6. Re:Yay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      there's nothing like the Internet to reassure you that you aren't the biggest nerd in the world afterall

    7. Re:Yay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now if only it wasn't the internet that made being a nerd something to be proud of. :)

  5. Hell's Yeah!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Who here agrees with the order of the Star Trek franchise from top to bottom:

    TNG
    DS9
    Enterprise
    Original
    Voyager -- A Shame to be preceded by the words "Star Trek" IMNSHO

    1. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yea but B5 is better than any or all of them....

      The B5 season 1 DVD is pure gold!

    2. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      More like: DS9 TNG .. .. .. .. .. Voyager Enterprise Original

    3. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yea but B5 is better than any or all of them....

      I agree. However, the first three seasons of SCOOBY DOO has more intelligence and better plotting than all of B5 COMBINED.
    4. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by dhsmith · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I have to agree with this. Though The Original Series should be due a little more credit, maybe 3rd place on the list. The Original Series not only kicked off the whole Star Trek phenomenon, but also spawned 6 movies. 3 of which are some of the best Star Trek to ever be released. Also, Voyager was certainly not as strong as any of the other series but it did have it's good points. Good space battles every now and then, and sometimes even a good plot. As I have a Klingon symbol tattooed on my right arm, you may take the above comments as somewhat biased...

    5. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by jamie · · Score: 1
      TNG
      DS9
      Enterprise
      Original
      Voyager

      Bah. Here's the correct order:

      Voyager (all solid actors, good characters, good stories)
      DS9 (close second: great story arc, mostly good characters)
      TNG (mediocre with occasionally good stories, a single exceptionally talented actor more than making up for all the Data-learns-about-love crap)
      Enterprise (worth watching if nothing else is on, I keep holding out hope that the next episode will be good)
      TOS (better than almost anything else from the '60s but still unwatchably bad - except for the thinly-veiled social commentary episodes which are a cross between Twilight Zone and the History Channel)

      I like the Beatles, and their early work was groundbreaking and revolutionary and changed the face of rock'n'roll and all that. But I still fast-forward past "Please Please Me" to get to something from the White Album.

    6. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How can TOS be below Enterprise?

      TOS had HOT GREEN ALIEN CHIX0RZ!!!!

      Yeah. The only way I can watch TOS nowadays is if I'm drunk. Then it's still funny.

      It's.. still funny.. my, slashdotting friends.. my.. anonymous friends..

    7. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by viper66 · · Score: 1

      DS9
      TNG
      Voyager
      Enterprise
      TOS

      Though its possible Enterprise may pass Voyager.

    8. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by Forkenhoppen · · Score: 1

      Hear, hear.

    9. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by SparkyMartin · · Score: 1

      Zoiks! Come on, Scooby Doo was never that good.

    10. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WRONG
      here is the correct order

      TNG
      TOS
      DS9
      VOYAGER
      ENTERPRISE (how can you even classify this as star trek? It's an abomination, and wtf is with the new gay intro?)

    11. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My personal way of looking at it:

      TNG
      The movies
      Enterprise
      Voyager
      DS9
      Original
      Animat ed Series

      Does anyone else remeber the piece of crap that was the animated series. I own all the series and movies, and I think the order is pretty bang on.

    12. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      My personal list:


      DS9
      TOS (aka "Classic Trek")
      TNG


      And way far below. . .


      Voyager
      Enterprise

      The only things the last two series have to keep them afloat are the pontoons of 7 of 9 and T'Pol. And for me, that just ain't near enough.

    13. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I completely agree. Voyager was the best series of all. Great actors, great plots, great character development as the show progressed. Can't be beat.

    14. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by Hektor_Troy · · Score: 2

      Well, ya' know, I've always thought people should give a little more respect to Ted Bundy. He was a pretty good cook, and actually invented THE best sandwich, ya know.

      --
      We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
    15. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by dpete4552 · · Score: 1

      Voyager was my favorite, the next generation being my second favorite. I haven't watched the others enough to make an accurate judgement (maybe your problem with Voyager?)

      I didn't like Voyager at all, and when they stopped airing TNG at any decent times (1am and such) I started watching voyager and really liked it. Although the last episode of voyager was a little weak imho (sorry writers).

      --
      http://www.archive.org/details/ThePowerOfNightmares
    16. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by slavetrade55 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, i think i agree with your list, thus eliminating the necessity of me posting my own. I'm not sure TOS really should be anywhere on it though; it's kindof in a class of its own and 30 years out of context. As it stands I think Enterprise might shoot up the list in the future, and I also think that in some cases Voyager was superior to TNG, particularly when you compare the last couple seasons of both.

      --RMT

    17. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by Quikah · · Score: 1

      No it goes like this:

      DS9

      Yeah, that is it. Everything else was kind of crappy.

      --
      Q.
    18. Re:Hell's Yeah!!! by IHateEverybody · · Score: 2
      1. DS9 -- This series grew more and changed more than any other Trek series. Even in its early seasons it could surprise you with something great. By its third season it was firing on all cylinders. By its fourth season it had flowered and grown into the into the best Star Trek series ever.
      2. Original -- Forget the cheesy special effects and sometimes outdated stories. The writing on this show really sparkled. They could create excellent, moody stories with minimal sets and primitive special effects. William shatner, for all his flaws as an actor made Kirk into a memorable character -- a larger than life hero that was perfect for the cowboys in space era that the original Star Trek depicted.
      3. TNG -- It paved the way for modern scifi on TV. Patrick Stewart was probably the best actor to ever star in a Trek series.
      4. Enterprise -- Strictly ST lite at this point but frequently enjoyable and entertaining.
      5. Voyager -- The Star Trek series that never grew up. It had perhaps the greatest potential of any Trek series but the writers pissed it all away.
      --
      Does this .sig make my butt look big?
  6. Nikki is a goddess. by npietraniec · · Score: 2

    Shit, dude. It's all about Nichole DeBoer. I've been in love with her since she was "Laura" on the Kids in the Hall.

    1. Re:Nikki is a goddess. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude-forget "Kids in the Hall"! Just one word-Cube

      Chock full of geeky babalicious goodness (and lots of folks dying in horrorfic ways).

      Peace!

      Mike

  7. Victimized? by Prince_Ali · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That is a pretty strong word to use unless Paramount had a gun to your head. I think they didn't charge enough, because if you consider yourself "victimized" you would have probably payed even more (considering that you act as if you had no choice).

    1. Re:Victimized? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What, you like taking it up the ass on the things you buy? And how did this brain-fart get modded up as "insightful?!"

  8. Re:OOh boy by npietraniec · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    bah. I'd mod you funny if I had some mod points.... Further proves that you miss the truly funny posts unless you browse at -1.

  9. Recognition? by carb · · Score: 3, Informative
    Is this so much about recognition as it is about money? Too many people have this perception that when releasing old stuff on DVD, the producers deserve some credit - like they're doing us a favour. Trust me, I'm sure Paramount would love to snag a few million more to add to their pocketbooks.

    Don't get me wrong, I love DS9 though.

  10. If only DS9 writers continued to be work on Trek by loggia · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's too bad the many talented folks on DS9 were let go to work on so many great other shows after the show ended.

    Of course, the rich tapestry that was DS9 probably threatened Brannon and Rick and thus we ended up with Voyager and Enterprise.

  11. Show comparison by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well a space station sitting in space with people in it and all is fine, but it doesn't convey the same heart-breaking feeling as a full ship crew far away from home, a show like VOYAGER. These dudes are so far away from their families, and still they make friends with locals and let them hop in for a ride. Voyager is tear-breaking sci-fi. Truly emotional.

    1. Re:Show comparison by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *SMACK*

    2. Re:Show comparison by ttyRazor · · Score: 1

      That was a joke, right?

  12. Here is the info from the star trek website: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Star Trek fans wondering what to do with life once all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation on DVD have been released come December can take heart: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on DVD is following right behind.

    Season 1 of DS9 on DVD Paramount Home Entertainment has announced that the entire series of DS9, plus a Gamma Quadrant's worth of special extras, will be issued on DVD in 2003 with Season One due on February 25th.

    Season One of DS9 on DVD will come in a six-disc collector's box set containing, naturally, all of the Season One episodes, along with new, never before seen featurettes. New seasons of DS9 will be available every other month.

    The DS9 DVD's feature newly remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and exclusive retrospective featurettes. Fans who pick up the TNG Seasons Six and Seven will be able to get a peek at the upcoming DS9 DVD's, as special trailers have been added to the TNG sets.

    Season 1 of DS9 on DVDThe DS9 DVD Contents are as follows:

    Disc 1: "Emissary," "Past Prologue," "A Man Alone"

    Disc 2: "Babel," "Captive Pursuit," "Q-Less," "Dax"

    Disc 3: "The Passenger," "Move Along Home," "The Nagus," "Vortex"

    Disc 4: "Battle Lines," "The Storyteller," "Progress," "If Wishes Were Horses"

    Disc 5: "The Forsaken," "Dramatis Personae," "Duet," "In the Hands of the Prophets"

    Disc 6: Special Features, including the feature Deep Space Nine: A Bold Beginning, Crew Dossier: Kira Nerys, Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season One, Secrets of Quark's Bar, Alien Artifacts: Season One, Deep Space Nine Sketchbook, Deep Space Nine Chronicles, Section 31 Hidden Files and a Photo Gallery.

    So DS9 fans should take January to clear off more shelf space, because on February 25, the wormhole opens.

  13. Season 1 of DS9... by Xpilot · · Score: 1, Redundant

    If I remember correctly, DS9 season 1 was kinda lame. I heard it got better in later seasons, but they don't show DS9 on TV where I live any more.

    I did manage to watch the entire run of Babylon 5, and that was much better than any Star Trek, in comparison.

    --
    "Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it." -- Linus Torvalds
    1. Re:Season 1 of DS9... by Zorikin · · Score: 3, Insightful

      > I did manage to watch the entire run of Babylon 5

      Funny you should mention that.

      Continuity was always a strong part of B5, and never a feature of Trek. The former was basically Straczynski's vision, whereas the latter has always had mostly-unrelated scripts by a diverse crew of writers.

      Trying to watch B5 when it was first on the air was always frustrating because I could never sit down for it the same time every week, and there would be so many things going on that I didn't understand because I'd missed a couple of episodes. I've caught virtually all of DS9 in reruns, but there's no way I could bring myself to watch Babylon 5 again unless I had the whole series in some sort of box next to me.

    2. Re:Season 1 of DS9... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Season 1 of any Star Trek series is lame.

  14. Re:And... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    DUDE!

    I didn't cream, I just went all Wesley, not to mention, I've already got this on my shelf ;-)

  15. Re:I've got so much karma by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Your comments about karma might have had more meaning if you hadn't posted anonymously.

    --

    How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
  16. Re:I've got so much karma by teamhasnoi · · Score: 2
    You are right. Gene Rodenberry said as much. "Star Trek is drama in space."

  17. Re:I've got so much karma by richie2000 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    You had so little karma that you had to post as AC? Chicken!

    --
    Money for nothing, pix for free
  18. Re:If only DS9 writers continued to be work on Tre by jpt.d · · Score: 3, Funny

    Rich Tapestry? Did I miss that one in some episode?

    The last series that I ever saw that had that would be Babylon 5. Jeremiah seems to be turning out to be that too.

    --
    What we see depends on mainly what we look for. -- John Lubbock Now search for that bug slave!
  19. why wait tell feb. by dlockamy · · Score: 2, Funny

    when you can just go buy the Babylon5 season 1 box set now and see the same story [ me ducks :-) ]

    1. Re:why wait tell feb. by Wiz · · Score: 0

      There is one big difference between B5 & DS9.... B5 is /really/ good!! Seriously, it is the best sci-fi I've ever seen and I don't think DS9 is even in the same league. Ok, not as if I saw much of it beyond series 3 anyway I think although I caught the last episode. B5's series 2/3/4 are all just amazing, apart from the rushed ending of series 4 but that wasn't how it was going to be originally.

    2. Re:why wait tell feb. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      See, if only you were wrong... You DO know that JMS (creator of B5) went to Paramount to pitch the show at them and they turned him down only to create their own show based on a space station shortly thereafter, right?

  20. isi it me.... by m0nkyman · · Score: 1, Redundant

    or is that pricegrabber link under the realted links new....

    --
    ~ a low user id is no indication I have a clue what I'm talking about.
    1. Re:isi it me.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's been there since November 11 but was originally listed as "Ad: PriceCompare"

    2. Re:isi it me.... by m0nkyman · · Score: 1

      Thanks, nice to know that it is relatively new, and I hadn't missed it for years or something. Hopefully it's paying for some of the bandwidth bill for Slashdot....

      --
      ~ a low user id is no indication I have a clue what I'm talking about.
  21. Aged for goodness by solendril · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Funny that you mention it... I've been tuning in recently to TNN's TNG broadcasts, and remembering how good, and how BAD Trek can be. Some episodes are funny, spooky, interesting or downright cool, but seeing it now as an adult, its not nearly as cool as I remember it being when I was a kid.

    The Best of Both Worlds may have been better than most of the movies, but half the time the script didn't live up. The chemistry of TNG had that special something that later series tried to capture with little success, but it DIDN'T have the awesome writing of later series.

    Late-season voayger had some fantastic writers at the helm, and as for DS9, a decade after TNG, I'll say that it's severly underrated. Never had Trek ventured so much into politics and religion, never had individuals had so powerful motivations and messages. DS9 had better characters and a deeper milieu than TNG. But because there was no space opera, no flying around and blasting aliens, it wasn't as successful.

    Nevermind, I guess I'll buy the DVDS. But that's just my 2 cents.

    1. Re:Aged for goodness by Syncdata · · Score: 2

      Never had Trek ventured so much into politics and religion, never had individuals had so powerful motivations and messages.
      This is a concise statement about what I didn't like about DS9 in particular, and Star trek on the whole. I grant you, dealing with alien societies and such allows a lot of room for political/religious commentary, but I never felt it was done properly. Star Trek, in any of it's incarnations, never felt like anything more than flight of fancy to me. Too often, a perfectly good sci-fi story about enterprise, DS9, etc got derailed by some half hearted attempt at socio-political commentary.

      --
      "Inattention makes clowns of us all" -Bean
    2. Re:Aged for goodness by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree...I really liked DS9 when it first started, but later in the season things when down hill.

      You mention that it wasn't successful because "there was no space opera" or "no flying around blasting aliens". Well, I think the producers tought the same thing, and it's when they started to implement this that the show started to lose its charm.

      Dax marrying Worf, Odo falling for Kira, and the big battles with the Jem Hadar and the Klingons--all these things tried to make the show appeal to the action-loving audience, but they ended up eclipsing all the good elements of DS9 that you mentioned.

  22. Have you never seen DS9? by Morgahastu · · Score: 3, Informative

    Deepsace nine had the most intense battle scenes ever in any tv show. Those big war scenes with those crazy camera angles was awesome!

    One thing that I loved was when they simulated a camera being attached to the hull of the defiant. That looked really awesome when they were flying in circles and shooting people.

    You are right that the first few seasons were like a soap opera but every few episodes it got to be more then that. I suggest you watch the last 3 seasons of DS9, you'll realize its one of the best sci-fi shows ever.

    1. Re:Have you never seen DS9? by Lady+Lance · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Agreed. The first few seasons are definitely slow, but the Dominon arc (from their first introduction through their rapid gaining of power to the war and the beginnings of aftermath) was simply amazing; it was great to see such effort put into a war story line, as opposed to the battles of the week on TNG.

    2. Re:Have you never seen DS9? by SparkyMartin · · Score: 1

      DS9 had some good battle scenes but they are no match for B5. One thing B5 tried to do right was show that there is no up in space and the battles took place in a 360 degree universe with the ships flying in from all directions, instead of the flat plane "sea" battles in ST. But some DS9 battles did get pretty good with some ships flying left-right-up-down-front-back.

  23. Despite the fact.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ..that it had no coherent plot arc that spanned more than four episodes in a row (O'Brien is suicidal one episode, his normal self the next!), and the fact that it became a rip off of Babylon 5 ("They're having a war. We need one! Sheridan's going beyond the rim? Let's send Sisko to the Prophets!")..

    I *liked* DS9. I'd actually say I liked it more than Next Gen. It certainly kicks the crap out of Voyager and Enterprise.

    Why? One word. Klingons. They are, without a doubt, the coolest part of the entire Trek franchise. They aren't based off of screwed up yet glaringly obvious mythology, like Vulcans and Romulans. They're not just another alien species with bumps on their nose, like the Bajorans and fifty other races. They.. Well, okay, two reasons - Cardassians were pretty damned cool - Garrick, at least.

    I wish my tailor went out and killed people.

    Despite my bitching about DS9's plot arc, or lack thereof, I'll give them credit - they started forging one in the last seasons. So far, it's the only Trek series to have done that.

    Since I have a slight hangover, I'll cheer loudly, and leave you with this quote:

    "Comment?! Klingon programmers do not comment!"

    1. Re:Despite the fact.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "..that it had no coherent plot arc that spanned more than four episodes in a row"

      What? The last 2 seasons were one big arc.

    2. Re:Despite the fact.. by harlows_monkeys · · Score: 2

      Don't forget the Ferengi. They were developed quite a bit in DS9.

    3. Re:Despite the fact.. by viper66 · · Score: 1

      Garak was awesome. Gul Dukat was pretty cool too in the earlier seasons.

    4. Re:Despite the fact.. by abhinavnath · · Score: 4, Interesting

      You know, I was thinking about this earlier... I think it would be cool to have a spin-off about a *Klingon* ship on it's adventures through space. The characters would not be as one-dimensional as, say, Voyager, and they could do some interesting things with Klingon history, ethics etc. Also, a whole lot more fighting and no stupid Prime Directive ;)

      --
      My other sig is also a .Porsche
    5. Re:Despite the fact.. by Aexia · · Score: 3, Informative

      To be fair, much of the lack of longer plot arcs was Paramount's meddling. The best and prime example being the start of the 5th(?) season with the war with the Klingons. What was supposed to be a 10 episode long arc got crushed to a single episode thanks to the suits at Paramount.

    6. Re:Despite the fact.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I think it would be cool to have a spin-off about a *Klingon* ship on it's adventures through space.
      Ooh, definitely! Maybe they could use Keith R.A. DeCandido's crew of the I.K.S. Gorkon (first seen in Diplomatic Implausibility) as a starting point. 'course, that'd depend on willingness of Michael Dorn to once more return to Worf (the Gorkon is the ship that ferries Worf around while he's playing Ambassador). But that would be so good! It'd go back to what DS9 did best, following the progressing events in the Alpha Quadrant in long overarching storyarcs... The Klingons are in a prime position to play a very important part in the next few years of Trek history (due to all their entanglements with the Cardassians), and Worf with his ties to the Federation could keep it regular Trek, while everything would still show the more exotic and fun aspects of life on board a Klingon vessel.

      Ah well, we can dream. After Voyager and Enterprise I've about given up hope that Star Trek will ever return to doing anything interesting...
    7. Re:Despite the fact.. by Idarubicin · · Score: 2
      I think it would be cool to have a spin-off about a *Klingon* ship on it's adventures through space.

      Not likely to happen. The makeup would be a killer. As it is, the Klingon cast members of the various Treks have to spend two hours before shooting begins putting on latex and makeup. Takes some time to take it off, too. Can you imagine having to do that with an entire cast--including all the extras--every episode? It boggles the mind...

      --
      ~Idarubicin
    8. Re:Despite the fact.. by Xtraneous · · Score: 1

      Damn those rich people and their tailors!

      --
      .noitacidem deen uoy siht daer nac uoy fI
    9. Re:Despite the fact.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dear God, NO! I couldn't even bear another ST:* episode telling the 1265th detail of Klingon lore.

  24. Ron D. Moore by T-Kir · · Score: 2

    Ron Moore was one of the main guys to then go onto Voyager from DS9 (he did Q&A sessions available on TrekWeb).

    He went over to try and sort some of the problems out (i.e. continuity reset button, more fluid story arc, etc), but ended up leaving because he couldn't work with people who just didn't give a shit about trying to make the series better anymore (i.e. the writers).

    Although I don't have a link of where he gave his reasons for leaving, but it's out there... somewhere (a bit like my desire for watching Enterprise, it has completely disappeared).

    --
    Are you local? There's nothing for you here!
  25. You watched them with ads now you can pay again... by crovira · · Score: 2, Flamebait

    And this is Deep Space Nine... Not great cinema was it...

    And when the format changes (as it will, you can pay all over again.)

    You can. I won't. I hope that there's too few suckers out there for the studios to make yet another buck off this.

    --
    MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
  26. Doomsday Machine by CFBMoo1 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    The new Star Treks needed a DoomsDay machine to contend with! Imagine a Voyager episode where a DoomsDay machine is running amuck in the Delta Quadrent and a borg cube or tactical battle cube happens to get gobbled along the way. Neat idea. :)

    Imagine an episode of DS9 where the Dominion actually gained control of a DoomsDay machine.. Oooho DS9 is a sitting duck.

    TNG, hmm.... That would be interesting to see a Galaxy class face off against one of those. Or perhaps another fleet battle facing off against it. The potential is staggering to think about. :D Especially if it gobbles a few planets in the process. >:)

    Enterprise... Ripe for an encounter with the Doomsday machine since it wasn't killed in the alpha quadrent yet!

    Sci-Fi isn't all about love interests and peace in the galaxy through talking. Things MUST be blown up in good fight scenes and the Doomsday machine would make plenty of waves in the process! WHOOOT! Gobble up a few and have a bud afterwards!

    --
    ~~ Behold the flying cow with a rail gun! ~~
    1. Re:Doomsday Machine by SparkyMartin · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Not sure if this was meant to be funny or serious, but good point. The new ST's should have revisited the stories and people that were introduced in the original series more often. What happened to Balok? Or the planet with the gangsters where Kirk said "I'm putting the bag on Krako." Or Rojan and his invaders from the Andromeda galaxy that were convinced to settle on a planet in the federation instead of return back home. Or those tribes people with the white 80's hair on that planet from A private little war.

    2. Re:Doomsday Machine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Doomsday machines aren't scary, ever since we learned that a single 100 Megaton blast, right up it's throat, kills it.

      You can destroy a doomsday machine with a single well-aimed bomb.

    3. Re:Doomsday Machine by escape · · Score: 1

      one word Lyta(see http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/1 07.html the 9th point plot)

      --
      Escape
    4. Re:Doomsday Machine by CFBMoo1 · · Score: 1

      Actually Enterprise is at a time before Kirk and such. So it's my personal belief that a DoomsDay machine would fit right in. Humor yes in a twisted and warped sense. :)

      --
      ~~ Behold the flying cow with a rail gun! ~~
    5. Re:Doomsday Machine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know where rojan is, i built a production linux box called that a couple of months ago. :P

    6. Re:Doomsday Machine by orpheus2000 · · Score: 1

      The new Star Treks needed a DoomsDay machine to contend with! Imagine a Voyager episode where a DoomsDay machine is running amuck in the Delta Quadrent and a borg cube or tactical battle cube happens to get gobbled along the way. Neat idea. :)

      Yes, it is a neat idea, and a wonderful author of TNG books named Peter David wrote a hardback called Vendetta which continues the story of the old TOS Doomsday Machine episode. It comes back bigger and badder and yes, it takes on more than one Borg ship, usually by eating it. Go to B&N or somewhere and get it, it's great!

    7. Re:Doomsday Machine by IndependentVik · · Score: 1

      Thanks for making this comment. Peter David is the best ST novelist for my money. And his comics aren't too bad, either.

      --
      I'd suggest you don't use Slashdot as your only news source, or you will suffer permanent brain damage.
  27. Wrong. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Babylon 5 handily beat DS9 in terms of 'most intense battle scenes ever'. (They also beat the last battle of Return of the Jedi, claiming for a short while, 'most ships on screen in a battle'.)

    I will say that DS9 kicked the living crap out of all else Trek in terms of actual battle instead of, "Cap'n! The shields canna take mahch mer! Och! Me scotch! She's fahlen on th'deck'n shahtahrd!"

    For the first few seasons, Space Opera Drivel. For the last seasons, they actually attempted some semblence of a plot arc. More importantly, they showed plenty of Klingon action.

    Hmm. Klingon action. Now there'd be a successful spam campaign. Who wouldn't smile at seeing, "FWD: HOT KLINGON ACTION!!!! FOR KAHLESS!!" in their inbox?

    1. Re:Wrong. by Twirlip+of+the+Mists · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They also beat the last battle of Return of the Jedi, claiming for a short while, 'most ships on screen in a battle'.

      Idiot. The noteworthy fact about ROTJ is that one shot included more motion-controlled model shots optically composited together than ever before. As far as I know, that record still stands.

      "Most ships on the screen" doesn't mean a damn thing. But the challenge of optically compositing umpty-bump layers together without having the result look like one big blur is... well, it's more well than you can imagine.

      --

      I write in my journal
    2. Re:Wrong. by cassidyc · · Score: 0

      No /You're/ wrong, idiot. Babylon5 now holds that very title, and indeed broke it with it's pilot episode, with 200 ships on screen, /easily/ beating the previous record for motion controlled elements in a composite shot.

    3. Re:Wrong. by Minna+Kirai · · Score: 2

      Um, in the jargon of special effects, "motion controlled" means that the motion of a camera or its target (or probably both) is controlled by a computer. It's a way of filming miniature models.

      Computer-generated imagery doesn't count, as there's no actual motion. Special Effects experts consider this a real difference.

      You could argue that "virtual motion-control" has been performed, but that's a big stretch. The difficult part of motion control is mechanical engineering- working 100% in software lets you trivially increase the entity count by doubling your filesize + rendering time. (I could argue that I beat the world high-jump record when I played Virtua Fighter 3, too)

      The Star Wars motion control record will probably stand forever, since big use of motion control is no longer cost effective to pursue.

    4. Re:Wrong. by Twirlip+of+the+Mists · · Score: 1, Troll

      Okay, we've got idiots coming out of the walls tonight. I know you kids were raised on the computer-generated whatsit, but back in the day we used to do whatcha call "optical compositing." No computers, no digital anything, just a dark room and some film.

      Hence the phrase, "more motion-controlled model shots optically composited together than ever before."

      All of Babylon 5's special effects were computer-generated and digitally composited. Apart from looking like hammered shit most of the time, they do not even remotely qualify for the title of most complex optical shot ever.

      Sheesh. Kids these days.

      --

      I write in my journal
    5. Re:Wrong. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hahaha!!! Your a pompous-assed, stupid mother fucker Twirlip. Shithead!

  28. DS9's Slogan ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "To boldy stay where no man has stayed before."

  29. Why eat tofu when you can have beef? by bourne · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The first season of Babylon 5 is available NOW on DVD.

    For those who aren't aware, or haven't seen, Babylon 5 has a far more interesting and COHESIVE story than DS9 - and DS9 was the closest approximation ST ever had to a cohesive storyline.

    What do I mean by cohesive? Simply this: there's no reset button. Everything isn't solved at the end of the episode, all mutations un-mutated, all weird twists un-twisted. There are episodes in Season 5 which are tied closely to what happened in episodes from the other four seasons.

    There's a real story - beginning, middle, and end. It spreads over the full 5 seasons. And, if my opinion isn't already clear - that's huge. It's a good story, and worth exercising your attention span for.

    Sure, their special effects budget wasn't as rich as $T. Some threads get mangled because an actor wasn't available two seasons after the seeds were planted. When you consider the difficulty of producing a cohesive epic 5-season TV show, though, B5 did pretty good.

    1. Re:Why eat tofu when you can have beef? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (Hey, don't knock tofu.) I completely agree that Babylon 5 is a much more engaging epic series that wasn't shackeled by standard SciFi TV conventions. (My B5 season 1 DVD order has already shipped.)

      I like Avery Brooks and I watched some of the first season of DS9, but it didn't hold my interest. When the B5 ripoff storyline was in full swing, I tried to get into DS9 again after hearing (non B5 fan) friends rave about it, but it never saw what they were so excited about.

      Let's just hope the Telepath War gets made in some form or another...

    2. Re:Why eat tofu when you can have beef? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    3. Re:Why eat tofu when you can have beef? by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 2

      As for the cohesive plot arcs, the assumed "laws" of syndicated television seemed to preclude them. The extras for STNG said that they finally gave in on no episode-to-episode continuity after the "Best of Both Worlds", to make "Family" to deal with Worf's dishonor and Picard's Borg-ification, the writers and producers said that those plot arcs demanded attention and got them.

      Of course, there a lot of factors, but the creator of Babylon 5 had to fight *hard* to beat his show through to keep a story arc. I think it was a good thing that he didn't back down on that so easily as otherwise it might have been just another DS9 - oops, there are accusations that DS9 was based on B5 as it was announced not too long after JMS pitched it to Paramount.

    4. Re:Why eat tofu when you can have beef? by amuro98 · · Score: 1

      What is it with folks who think there's only room for either DS9 or B5, but not BOTH?

      They're very different shows, with different aims, strengths, and weaknesses.

      I may think B5 is better than DS9, but I still like DS9 a lot.

      Heck, even JMS said he liked DS9.

    5. Re:Why eat tofu when you can have beef? by bourne · · Score: 2

      What is it with folks who think there's only room for either DS9 or B5, but not BOTH?

      Beats the hell out of me. It irritates me when things are lopsided like that. Like, for example, how earlier story submissions about B5 coming to DVD - something that fans have been hoping for for years - get rejected instantly by slashdot, but the second someone goes into the shower on Enterprise, it's on the front page.

      If some of us B5 fans are annoying, it's only because we're trying to restore balance to the force.

  30. ATTN: SLASHDOT EDITORS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    YHBT. YHL. HAND.

  31. Re:Six disc box set by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Six disc box set
    Six disc box set
    Six disc box set

    What's the problem?

  32. Best moment on DS9 by Reality+Master+101 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I loved this scene:

    Quark: "I want you to try something for me. Take a sip of this."
    Garak: "What is it?"
    Quark: "A Human drink, it's called Root Beer."
    Garak: "Ahh, I don't know....."
    Quark: "Come on....Aren't you in the least bit curious?"
    Quark: "..........What d'you think?"
    Garak: "It's vile!"
    Quark: "I know. It's so bubbly and cloy, and happy."
    Garak: "Just like the Federation....."
    Quark: "But do you know what's really frightening? If you drink enough of it you begin to like it...."
    Garak: "....It's insidious...."
    Quark: "....Just like the Federation."

    --
    Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
    1. Re:Best moment on DS9 by saskboy · · Score: 1

      Worf: "MMMMMMMMMMMMMM, what is this drink called?"

      Quark: "Prune juice."

      Worf: "A drink fit for a WARIOR!"

      --
      Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
    2. Re:Best moment on DS9 by barc0001 · · Score: 4, Funny

      I really liked almost any scene with Garak. My favorite was from this episode.

      After Sisko had bribed Quark to drop the charges against Tolar:

      Sisko: "Who's watching Tolar?"
      Garak: "I've locked him in his quarters. I've also left him with the distinct impression that if he attempts to force the door open, it may explode."
      Sisko: "I hope that's just an impression?!"
      Garak: "...It's best not to dwell on such minutiae."

    3. Re:Best moment on DS9 by WWE-TicK · · Score: 0

      Worf had prune juice for the first time in the TNG episode entitled "Yesterday's Enterprise".

    4. Re:Best moment on DS9 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      And it was Guinan who introduced him to it - first time Worf ordered a prune juice from Quark, Quark merely looked weird (and probably made some forgettable remark)

    5. Re:Best moment on DS9 by DeeKayWon · · Score: 2
      It's been a while since I saw it, and I don't even know what episode it was in, but my favorite went something like this:

      Ferengi Receptionist: Have a seat. [Holds out his hand]
      Quark: How much?
      Ferengi Receptionist: Three slips of latinum.
      Quark: I'll stand.
      Ferengi Receptionist: That'll be two slips of latinum.

    6. Re:Best moment on DS9 by dmaxwell · · Score: 2

      There was an episode where whatever the main characters imagined popping into reality.....

      Quark: "Odo, Your problem is that you have no imagination."

      several scenes later:

      Odo is sitting in his office when his viewscreen turns on. It shows Quark locked up in the brig.

      Odo: "Quark! What are you doing in there?!"
      Quark: "You should know! You're the one who put me in here!."

      Odo: "No imagination indeed!"

    7. Re:Best moment on DS9 by DudemanX · · Score: 1

      I like the one where Worf has to take Garak to the gamma quadrant.

      Worf: At the first sign of betrayal I WILL kill him.
      Sysko: You're joking, right?
      Work: We shall see.

    8. Re:Best moment on DS9 by coaxial · · Score: 2

      My favorite quote is also from Garak, mostly because I can identify with it.

      scene: Garak and the rest of the DS9rs are on the Defiant getting reddy to enter battle

      Garak: We're all going to die.
      Bashir: Thank you Garak. We always look forward to your optimisitcal appraisal of the situation.
      Garak: Quite the contrary Dr. Bashir. I always try to look on the bright side, it's just that experience has taught me to expect otherwise.

  33. Am i Alone in... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thinking that chick in the new Dell Intern commercials really needs to get done in the ass?
    Maybe while she's going down on Ellen Feiss?

    1. Re:Am i Alone in... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not at all. I'd pay to do that.

  34. I like watching by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nana Visitor in her pyjamas. As a 31 year old male with a perpetual hard-on, I must say I really go for the older ladies that look much younger.
    I'd treat her real good. She looks good enough to eat! Yum yum! Crunch crunch on the cookie!

  35. The worst part... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The worst part is somebody modded his post +5 informative. And he's a star trek idiot.

  36. Whatever... by 2Bits · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I thought /.ers don't hate MPAA/RIAA so much, right? But then, every week, we see this "Oooh, shiny DVD/CD" on some shit repackaged over and over, over (ok, I don't know if this one is repackaged or not, as I don't watch TV for the last five years now). And then every new or repackaged DVD/CD is a must-have.

    No wonder we get all these stupid DMCA, permanent mickey mouse copyright extension, regional DVD encoding, "copy protection scheme" CD, etc. People would scream "bloody hell" one minute and rush to spend money on whatever MPAA/RIAA care to put on the market the next minute after. If I were an executive of an MPAA/RIAA-member corporation, I would have done exactly the same thing to milk you people, because that's too easy.

    Sometimes, you can feel so lonely trying to make people understand MPAA/RIAA are bad, and there are many ways you can change things, and one of these is to vote with your money. Am I the only person here who don't own DVD player, don't have cable TV and don't watch TV, don't buy CD, don't go to cinema?

    (I do go to live concerts tho).

    Whatever, you can mod me down into oblivion for venting here, but I'm going to look at /. prefereneces if I can filter out all these movie/tv/CD/DVD-related junks.

    1. Re:Whatever... by xenoweeno · · Score: 1

      The TNG and DS9 DVD sets are actually a decent deal, which is quite a shock after the ass-reaming Paramount gave Original Series fans (2 episodes per disk at a suggested retail of $19.99 (!) each multipled by 40 disks).

      I'm happy to give my money to companies when they provide a good I want at a fair price. Profit is the producer's reward for producing. However, I don't reward the major RIAA member labels with my money, and I don't see a conflict here.

    2. Re:Whatever... by k_187 · · Score: 2

      Well, you might be but I would assume the ones (other than the /. editors) posting on the "Ooohh, shiny DVD/CD" stories are not the ones posting on the "DMCA is bad m'kay" stories. Its just a thought.

      --
      11 was a racehorse
      12 was 12
      1111 Race
      12112
    3. Re:Whatever... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "...Am I the only person here who don't own DVD player, don't have cable TV and don't watch TV, don't buy CD, don't go to cinema?..."

      Yes. But don't worry; you seem to be staying afloat quite well with your smug sense of superiority. .

  37. AC, You've never seen DS9 before have you? by saskboy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You've never seen DS9, have you AC?
    I was initially pissed off at my TV station that promised Trekkers that they would bring the new Star Trek series to our screens, and when they fell through, I transferred that anger to DS9 itself. I was saying, "Well how good could a show where they don't go anywhere be?" It was sour grapes, until I say my first show in Winnipeg on a 4 inch black and white screen, and I loved it. I was in Trek withdrawl, and DS9 was my new fix.
    Years later, I started to tape the show at my Grandparents house, and when the tape was full, I'd bring it home and watch it. I got to see Voyager this way too. I started watching just when both series started to get really good. I watched the last 3 seasons of DS9 with a 3 week tape delay. Anyone who has seen more than a few shows, knows that they leave the station frequently, and even when they don't, interesting aliens visit the station anyway. And there is always Quark's bar and holosuites ;-)
    TNG doesn't go flying around in every show, and not everyone centers on their voyage, anyway. To keep costs down, both TOS and TNG shot entire shows in closed sets with the meager benefit of stock ship warping shots. I can think of dozens of DS9 episodes where the station is not the scene of the action. And around season 3, Worf and the Defiant show up too :-)
    So don't be like me, and bash DS9 before seeing it. Like any Trek series, if you watch it, you'll like it. And if you don't, you aren't using your imagination very well.

    --
    Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
  38. I must be the minority. by Mustang+Matt · · Score: 2

    I am a huge fan of all the other series, but I really disliked DS9. It was all politics to me.

    It's odd because most fans I know didn't care for Voyager, but I thought it was great.

    I like Enterprise a lot too. Took a little while to grow on me but it's not too bad.

    More than anything I think I'd like to see a followup series AFTER STNG with Riker as Captain.

    --
    The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
    1. Re:I must be the minority. by cstrommen · · Score: 1
      There is rumour that Star Trek Nemesis (the 10th ST-movie) will lead to a new series called "Mariner" which according to the latest SFX will:

      "parallel Enterprise's rise of the federation by telling the story of its decline and fall, in which the Federation will 'lose over half its territories to a new, completely alien foe that Future Guy works for'. The Titan/Mariner, an untested ship, will be in charge of taking care of established threats like the Borg and the Dominion. Mariner will pave the way for the seventh Trek series, which will see the Federation restored to it's former glory, and 'a fan favourite enemy from the original series joining the Federation'. Oh, and apparently the men in suitsare so impressed by the way Stuart Baird and John Logan reinvigorated the Trek film franchise with some fresh blood that they're considering handing over Enterprise to some new boys, with Enterprise producers Brannon Braga and Rick Berman getting shifted to the new series if they don't pull their socks up."


      They also speculate that Riker (Jonathan Frakes) will be the captain of the Titan/Mariner.
      --

      --
      \ Christian A Strømmen

    2. Re:I must be the minority. by yoho_jones · · Score: 1

      I just juiced my pants full...
      Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh Moma.
      Yoho

  39. I like both tofu AND beef by dswensen · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'll be getting them both.

    Because one story is good doesn't render the other bad. I think they were both good series, for very different reasons.

    That they're both set on a space station is pretty much where most similarities end.

  40. and yet. by /dev/trash · · Score: 1

    The best show ever, Northern Exposure still remains DVD-less.

    1. Re:and yet. by Minna+Kirai · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      That was a decent series- but not as good as Picket Fences. Now that's something that deserves some DVDs. The creator, David Kelley, has been TV's golden boy for the past few years. I wonder why they've never tried to put out his old stuff.

      However, sci-fi/fantasy in general will have a better audience for DVD publication than a show in the "real world". Maybe not bigger, but more dedicated. A particular fan can be roped in not just by characters and story, but by technology (setting, props, costume, makeup). For nerdy folks, the opportunity to speculate on the plausibility of imaginary technology can be a big draw.
      (Coincidentally, nerds are more likely to collect DVDs)

    2. Re:and yet. by /dev/trash · · Score: 1

      Not sure why you were modded as flamebait.

      I liked Picket Fences as well. I see so many crappy shows get DVD's yet the good quality shows are not even on syndication runs.

  41. Ha! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The only Trek worth watching is the originals. It got all PC in TNG and after not to mention TECHNOBABBLE ARGH! Random words strung together does not make for an entertaining conclusion to an episode.

  42. BORG Episode!! by whereiswaldo · · Score: 2


    Which season had the Borg season finalie (or was it season premiere) episode? That's my all time favourite - STTNG and DS9 together.

    I'll be buying that boxed set!

    1. Re:BORG Episode!! by tuffy · · Score: 1
      Which season had the Borg season finalie (or was it season premiere) episode? That's my all time favourite - STTNG and DS9 together.

      The very first DS9 episode had Borg (and Picard), but that's it.

      --

      Ita erat quando hic adveni.

    2. Re:BORG Episode!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      End of Season 3 TNG Begining of Season 4 TNG, Best of Both Worlds Parts 1 and 2. It's actually already come out of a two vhs set. A friend bought it be for Chanukah 2 years ago, and I just bought my girlfriend it when i saw it for sale in good will.

      Remember you can always check startrek.com and check under borg to see all the episodes they were in.

  43. Re:jolene is a godess by escape · · Score: 1

    are we forgetting dax?

    --
    Escape
  44. Re:jolene is a godess by escape · · Score: 1

    oh yeah and she was *real* if you know what i mean

    --
    Escape
  45. Amen! by ink · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I am thrilled to see DS9 coming out on DVD. I am truly surprised that it's coming out before the silly Voyager series as well. Of all the Trek franchises, DS9 has the most detailed thematic and character development. With TOS and Voyager you can basically sit down to any episode and watch it without any context needed. TNG is the same, but to a lesser extent (they actually changed the status quo from time to time, imagine that!). DS9, OTOH, can have you completely lost if you missed a few episodes since the last time you saw it.

    It will be a GREAT set to own, and I can't wait!

    --
    The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead.
  46. No Utopian Federation on DS9 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I particularly liked DS9 compared to all the other Treks because it presented a much more realistic view of the Federation. In the other Treks, the federation was presented as a socialist utopia. On DS9, we saw dissent (the Marquis), underhanded tactics (the changeling disease, section 9). The politics actually made it more interesting rather than presenting a good guys vs. bad guys all the time.

    In DS9 the federation isnt perfect, bad things do happen, the captain and crew isnt above doing some underhanded things to get what it takes to get the job done.

    My favourite character all the trek series is from DS9- Garrick. I know everyone loves Kirk, but Kirk is to nice, Garrick is just cool, machiavellian to the core, you gotta love him haha.

  47. [OT] Babylon 5 by Val314 · · Score: 1

    btw: the german (with a full english audio track) Babylon 5 Code 2 DVD is very cheap (30 ) so if your player supports PAL and Code 2 you may want to consider the Cheaper Code 2 DVD. (but Episode 8 has some errors (the 4:3 cgi is scaled to 16:9 so it doesnt look that good))

  48. I'm waiting for Deep Space X by mtec · · Score: 2, Funny

    the natural sequel to DS9 of course - in which Captain Steven P. Jobs explores the strange new worlds of the seemingly enless tract of space called Intel 4 and it's sister universe Athlon.

    The main ally in Athlon will be the Durons. A technologically slow but friendly race with a cranial crest of metal spikes which can be used as a weapon in pinch and the ability to do most calculations in their heads.

    Captain Steve on the intrepid ship OSS Xmac will, on a weekly basis, have to partner with the inferior but faithful Athlons to deal with the schemeing inhabitants of the Intel universe and their ability to subsume entire worlds by taking over the population using their superior weapons R&D and the ability to heat up and melt plastic if threatened.

    --
    Cake or Death? Cake Please!
  49. Oh, and the main omnipotent alien by mtec · · Score: 1

    will be 'G'.

    A mysterious being represented by a small wormlike creature that crawls in the ear of it's victims and watches everything they do gaining unlimited knowledge and using it to blackmail leaders of races and the people they lead into subservience. A recurring theme in DS X will be the use of a special GNU-Ray device to rid a poor soul of it's 'G' infestation bringing them back to their senses. The worm will spring from the mouth of the victim being 'saved' , rock back and forth, make some notes on an electronic tablet, laugh a little 'heh-heh' laugh and dematerialize.

    --
    Cake or Death? Cake Please!
  50. Missed Opportunity by harlows_monkeys · · Score: 2
    DS9 was a very good Trek...but they missed a great opportunity at the end. Consider these facts:

    The Changelings are worried enough about the Federation to engage in a major war against it

    Changelings are excellent spies. Even after the Federation was aware of them, and taking measures against them, we saw Changelines take the place of the top Klingon, and infiltrate very high into Starfleet.

    Starfleet has been penetrated before. E.g., in TNG, there were those aliens that crawled down your throat and took over...those got into, I think, at least an Admiral.

    We've seen many more, in TNG and the OS, that tried to penetrate Starfleet, but were foiled.

    We also saw in several DS9 episodes that there are corrupt or rogue elements within Starfleet. Section 31, for example. Whether these are really due to bad humans, or the result of alien penetration is up for speculation.

    Given all that, here's how they could have ended the series. The Changelings are fighting the Federation not because they just have an irrational hatred of solids from years of mistreatment before they started the Dominion. Rather, they oppose the Federation because they have spies at the highest levels and know the truth. The "good guy" Federation that Sisko is fighting for is just a sham, covering up evil people (or aliens) that are trying to grab galaxy-wide power.

    The series could have ended with Sisko realizing this, and changing sides, working as a rebel trying to overthrow the evil side of the Federation to save the good side.

    1. Re:Missed Opportunity by trotski · · Score: 1

      Great idea, one problem thoguh. If you made the Federation out to be an evil, bad organization, then you'd have ruined that chances for further expansion of the franchise.

      --

      "Entropy is the bad-guy, and he is everywhere"
    2. Re:Missed Opportunity by ttyRazor · · Score: 2

      The problem with that is that they could care less what solids controlled what, as long as they didn't interrupt their prepetual orgy in the great link. Conquering the galaxy seemed like an expedient way to prevent that.

    3. Re:Missed Opportunity by yoho_jones · · Score: 1

      Well... They found out how to detect changling in DS9 and they developed a disease to kill them. I don't think the Federation would have much problem keeping spies out.

      On a side not I always like how the federatino was protecting their own quadrent and not expanting into another. I really want to see a series about the aftermath of the dominion war... voy and ent are no help...

      Yoho

  51. You forgot "Stat Trek: Phase 2". by Blaede · · Score: 2

    Best Start Trek series ever.

  52. "Pathos" -- DS9 is Star Trek's MacBeth by MacAndrew · · Score: 2

    DS9 was the only show that had genuine pathos, a sense of deep tragedy. The moment I'm thinking of at the moment is when Gul Dukat's illegimate daughther Tora is killed as a traitor by Garak. (It was so rare in the other series for someone to get killed whose name you knew or cared about.)

    In another episode, the essential crew (ever notice how all the most valuable people go on all the dangerous away missions) tried to salvage a crashed Dominion warship and are besieged by the Jem'Hadar (I had to check these spelling, BTW -- see startrek.com). One of the crewman is wounded and dies slowly! This was one of the few times the essential nastiness of dying in war was explored. Most often, Star Trek was very hygenic about these things, even vaporizing the corpse.

    DS9 was generally more character-centered, both individuals and entire civilizations such as Ferengi, Klingons, the Jem'Hadar/Founders symbiosis, Bajoran, and so on. Voyager was the polar opposite, dominated by technobabble -- I think even the writers call it that, it's inserted after the script is written, which should give a sense of its irrelevance.

    The real world doesn't have a plot arc, and I'm not sure a long-running series should either, though it does need continuity. DS9 was mostly about struggling to exist in a hostile crossroads of the galaxy. If you want predictable plot arc, again you have Voyager. No I didn't hate V'ger, but it has good episodes whereas DS9 was a good series.

    One bit of analysis I would like to throw out is that it is disturbing that the captain the Trek people choose to snub, it's the only black captain and really the best and most powerful black actor in the entire franchise. (Let me explain that Uhura is wonderful but given little to say or do until the movies -- and Travis (Enterprise) has so far (non) developed like Uhura; Tuvok is a sterile bore who made Spock look like a rabid Klingon; Geordi, well, admit he got on our nerves; and I'm not quite sure whether to count Worf, though it goes without saying he's a cool dude, at least I would never criticize him to his face :) I don't mean to suggest or exclude any racial prejudice, but that decision was plainly stupid; Avery Brooks was one the most talented actors they ever had, on a par with Patrick Stewart who, when given good material, really shone.

    Incidentally, was it ever adequately explained how Klingon technology evolved in a society where they kill each other over social slights?

    1. Re:"Pathos" -- DS9 is Star Trek's MacBeth by benzapp · · Score: 1

      Re: Klingon Technology

      I seem to recall TNG episodes referring to how the Romulans originally gave the Klingons technology... This may have been the cloaking device specifically, I don't recall.

      Hopefully this will job someone's memory.

      --
      I don't read or respond to AC posts
    2. Re:"Pathos" -- DS9 is Star Trek's MacBeth by yoho_jones · · Score: 1

      I've read somewhere that klingon warp technology was traded for Romulan cloaking technology. I'm not sure where i heard this but episodes of TNG show that Romulans still use artificial black holes for energy production as opposed to the matter/antimatter engine that starfleet/klingon empire use. In enterprise there are not cloaking Klingon ships but there are cloaking Romulan ships/mines which seems to substantiat this. but then again every other race in enterprise seems to cloak anyways so...(eg suliban ship in newest episode) Yoho

    3. Re:"Pathos" -- DS9 is Star Trek's MacBeth by Dionysus · · Score: 2

      You forgot the best DS9 episode. I think it was called "In the Pale Moonlight" or something like that where Sisko basically hires Garak to assasinate a Romulan senator so that the Romulans join the war on the side of the Federation.

      --
      Je ne parle pas francais.
    4. Re:"Pathos" -- DS9 is Star Trek's MacBeth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      YES

      "In the Pale Moonlight" = Best Trek Episode EVAR

    5. Re:"Pathos" -- DS9 is Star Trek's MacBeth by runenfool · · Score: 1

      While Avery Brooks had some great moments, I think the knock on him was that he was considered 'inconsistent'. When he was on, though, I don't think there was anyone better - even Patrick Stewart (possibly the best Trek actor ever).

      Star Trek was always a bit too much of a white man's club. That really had a lot to do with Roddenberry. Its not that he was a racist, but just that he liked to emphasize characters he identified with (hi Wil Wheaton). Since he created all of the franchise up to DS9, that is really when characters from different races started taking a center role in Trek. Its too bad VOY had to suck so bad, it had an American Indian, an Asian, a black man (can't really say of African descent in this case), and a large breasted blonde. Oh wait, those aren't a minority on television :).

    6. Re:"Pathos" -- DS9 is Star Trek's MacBeth by Scudsucker · · Score: 1

      Not to assasinate....to convince the senator that the Dominion was planning an invasion of the Romulan Empire.

      **SPOILER**

      First Sisko wants Garak to find evidence that the Dominion was planning a surprise attack on the Romulan Empire. After that proves impossible, Garak suggests that they manufacture such evidence, and Sisko (very) relucantly agrees. The senator arrives in secret in a small cloaked ship with a few staff, and is shown a recording of Wayun (sp) and some Cardasians discussing the upcomming invasion of Romulus.

      The senator analyzes the evidence and is furious when he discovers that its a fake, and leaves in a huff. Then his ship blows up on the way home. Sikso is pissed. He confronts Garak, who explains that he planted a bomb onboard the senators vessel in such a way that it killed everyone on board but left the data crystal intact. Sisko points out that they can just re-analyze the evidence and will again discover that it was a fake. Garak counters that any imperfections in the forgery will appear to be caused by the explosion.

      The Romulans find the wreckage, the evidence, and declare war on the Dominion. The cool part of this episode was how Sisko gradually lost his inhibitions to doing a little dirty work.

    7. Re:"Pathos" -- DS9 is Star Trek's MacBeth by MacAndrew · · Score: 2

      Welll ... I'm not totally sure. Sisko was perceptive about people and certainly knew what Garak was about -- an Obsidian Order alum whose allegiances and possibly slightly morals had changed. In the final confrontation between the two, IIRC, Garak accuses Sisko of knowing, perhaps subliminally, that only on course of action remained. Sisko may have understimated Garak's ruthlessness (and cleverness), but he lost his deniability when he signed on for the escapade. Sisko just didn't want to think himself capable of authorizing such a think. Finally, he not attempt to punish Garak, rather the two apparently remained friends and Garak became of the more twisted Trek heros as the Dominion War wound up.

      Besides, the Romulan was an asshole. :)

      And, yes, a very good episode. How nice not to see the ending coming from a mile away. Another was the one where Miles finds everyone treating him strangely, including his (annoying) wife, and sinks into desperation, until (SPOILER) it is revealed at the last moment that he was actually his clone.

    8. Re:"Pathos" -- DS9 is Star Trek's MacBeth by MacAndrew · · Score: 2

      Her breasts weren't *that* large, I think that bizarre suit they whipped up for her was responsible for half of it. As a sex symbol (an icy one) she was OK, but I intensely disliked the ridiculous high heels they had her wear. (Look like I'm not the only grump about this point. One fan insists the heels are "irony" :)

      I just read Koenig/Chekov's book "Warped Factors" from the library. It's fairly entertaining and talks some about Roddenberry's influence/ One comment, there or elsewhere, was that his relationships with women tended to be physical rather than intellectual. However, I get the sense from Majel Barett that she is not an airhead. I also sensed that Rick Berman was a strong influence in later years, and perhaps a bit of an asshole.

      Yes, I agree Sisko was a somewhat uneven character (as was Picard, at his worst in any number of season 1-3 episodes, and at his best in "The Inner Light" wherein via a probe's intervention he lives a lifetime as a member of a dying civilization -- I can't imagine ever being the ame after such a wrenching experience). FWIW Avery Brooks appeared ambivalent about playing the role. My wife loved the deep space "Hawk" -- not a person to fsck around with.

    9. Re:"Pathos" -- DS9 is Star Trek's MacBeth by Scudsucker · · Score: 1

      Sisko just didn't want to think himself capable of authorizing such a think

      I was thinking of the scene where he's talking to himself and says that he'll live with it because they had to bring the Romulans into the war.

      Besides, the Romulan was an asshole. :)

      Yes he was. :) I'd forgotten that part, damn but that was a good episode.....

      Another was the one where Miles finds everyone treating him strangely, including his (annoying) wife, and sinks into desperation, until

      Yeah, I remember that one...great episode. The only episode I really liked from the first season was also pretty cool, where one of the most bloodthirsty Cardasians from the occpuation of Bajor is apparantly found, but isn't what he seems to be....

    10. Re:"Pathos" -- DS9 is Star Trek's MacBeth by coaxial · · Score: 2

      **SPOILER**

      Okay now. How exactly can you have a spoiler for a television show that aired almost 5 years ago?

      Romeo and Juliet both die. Oh shit. I just spoiled it.

    11. Re:"Pathos" -- DS9 is Star Trek's MacBeth by Scudsucker · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but it was a *really* good episode, and maybe some people haven't seen it yet. :)

  53. Re:Nana Visitor has a great ass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    None of those skinny ass chicks compare to those great ass cheeks of Nana, A.K.A Col. Kira. That chick that married Rom has a nice caboose too, and a nice rack.

  54. I keep expecting Mrs. King to appear... by Blaede · · Score: 1

    ...everytime I see the Scarecrow commanding the Babylon 5 station.

  55. Mod that up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We are not worthy

  56. Oops... by MacAndrew · · Score: 2

    Oops -- Tora was not "killed by Garak" the tailor; she was killed by what's-his-face, you know the bad Cardassian who later becomes a grudging good guy when he realizes the Founders are going to exterminate his people.

    Just trying to head off a correction for my typo!

    1. Re:Oops... by __aasfhc1949 · · Score: 1
      [...] she was killed by what's-his-face [...]

      His name was Leget Damar.

    2. Re:Oops... by MacAndrew · · Score: 2

      Thank you! I knew it sounded like a condiment. He's snubbed on the character list at the Star Trek City, although he did recur a fair number of times. As did that Vorta creep (OK, redundant) Weyun we all wanted to kill.

      The number of Star Trek fan sites, and the work the evidently went into them, is frightening.

    3. Re:Oops... by __aasfhc1949 · · Score: 2
      Thank you!

      You're welcome.

    4. Re:Oops... by coaxial · · Score: 2

      As did that Vorta creep (OK, redundant) Weyun we all wanted to kill.

      Which we did. Several times. :)

      Remember when Weyun-3 was activated, but he had a conciounce and wanted to defect, so the Founders activated Weyun-4 to kill Weyun-3?

  57. Woops! Bad joke, bad spelling! by Blaede · · Score: 2

    Never attempt written comedy right after waking up, kids.

  58. so... by glwtta · · Score: 1, Offtopic
    is it #ds9-central, or #deepspace9-episdoes or something? Good thing I added that 120GB recently...

    (looking forward to the lectures about stealing things I don't like paying for)

    --
    sic transit gloria mundi
  59. Yeah! by mtec · · Score: 2, Funny

    The episode'd be called...

    "Switch"

    I can see the promo for it.

    *Sisko, shifting from foot to foot*
    I was writing a message, on the console, when - beep! beep! beep! beep! beep! beep! - and like, half of my message was gone! And I was like... ngggh? Evil Federation spies had devoured, my message.
    It was a really good message. And then I had to do it fast... so it wasn't as good. I could see how Changlings feel. And it was like ... a bummer...

    I'm Benjamin Sisko ... and I'm a Dominion Captain.

    --
    Cake or Death? Cake Please!
  60. And Sports Night. by zerocircle · · Score: 1

    See also Sports Night, now available in a no-frills but nonetheless complete DVD set -- both seasons in one box.

    Sports Night was canceled by ABC, who didn't know how to market it (it was a highly intelligent comedy -- imagine that). The final episode was a beautiful dig at ABC: "Anybody who can't make money off Sports Night should get out of the money-making business," spoken by the billionaire tech geek who bought out the fictitious CSC cable network and its "Sports Night" news show.

    Sports Night featured one of my favorite characters ever, Jeremy Goodwin, a sports/computer nerd and a /. reader if there ever was one on TV.

    Brilliant show. I wish they'd strip out the laugh track from the first season (as with the comparable M*A*S*H, the network didn't think viewers would know which parts were funny), but hey, that's for the Special Collector's Edition, right?

    Note: You can check out Sports Night on Comedy Central, but they re-cut the episodes for different commercial breaks, which screws up the act structure.

  61. not just good Trek, good sci-fi by dandelion_wine · · Score: 1

    I loved TNG when I was in junior high, but as an adult, I look at it now and see a show made for teenagers. Feeling isolated and different? Don't worry, Data, Worf, Wesley, and Jordy are ALL there to remind you that you're not alone. DS9, however, is good science-fiction , period. Two absolutely great episodes, Far Beyond The Stars and In The Pale Moonlight were simply great fiction in any milieu, which I just didn't find the other series delivering. (rather, it seemed to be all about seeing our much-beloved gang in new situations -- look: the night shift! look: Data with a cat! Ok, sometimes this worked to spectacular effect -- case in point, Picard's lifetime spent on the dying planet) I did initially find DS9 to be rather boring -- I didn't care about Bajorans OR Cardassians. But a few seasons in, I started seeing some of my favorite science fiction anywhere. Don't know about you, but I could have watched half a season of O'Brien skulking around with "The Syndicate." Though if they made another episode where O'Brien and Keiko continuously squabbled, I would have shot myself in the head and bled contempt. I see what some of you are saying about B5, but honestly, I just don't get it. Yes, no one hour solutions. Yes, bold attempt to create a non-Trek universe (difficult these days when Trek has such a grip on pop culture). But somehow... they just seem to do it all so badly. As for other series, I'll be shilling out whatever I can afford to get Six Feet Under when it comes out... after I get my DS9, of course. :) Oh, and had to get some James Darren tunes. I'm spending my rehab time at Vic's place. Oh, don't even get me started on Voyager.

  62. ok really.... by seelet · · Score: 0

    get a life...beam me up goat.se

  63. And don't forget... by darylp · · Score: 0

    Nicole in panties! *drool*

  64. It's called life ... by Hektor_Troy · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I would have loved to watch a show about average folks in the middle of a really crappy situation having to overcome their own inadequacies before they could even think about dealing with the rest of the universe.
    It's called life. Go outside and live a little.

    And for once, do as I say and not as I do!
    --
    We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
    1. Re:It's called life ... by Ponty · · Score: 2

      Oh, I do. I can't tell you how many crappy situations I've been in which I've had to overcome my inadequacies (sometimes unsuccessfully). I'm talking about a TV show. I used to really enjoy Star Trek, but now, despite giving Enterprise a season's worth of a chance, I'm just not interested any more.

  65. What about Babylon 5? by SarekOfVulcan · · Score: 1

    The first season of Babylon 5 was just released on DVD, and there appears to be an echoing silence on Slashdot. What's the deal? A bad episode of B5 is better than most good episodes of ST:TNG, and I'm speaking as someone who still has his off-the-air tape of "Encounter at Farpoint" lying around somewhere. :-)

    1. Re:What about Babylon 5? by grimsweep · · Score: 1

      I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't really think there's anything bad about Babylon 5. It's just got a universe a bit wrapped-up in previous plotlines, which while making for a highly intricate plot, doesn't do much for the casual viewer that happens to catch it while channel surfing. Anyone elses' thoughts on the issue?

    2. Re:What about Babylon 5? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      good episodes of ST:TNG

      Not sure if I know of such a thing... :)

      B5 is good though, I think that's why it doesn't get mentioned a lot - not much to argue about.

      Geek 1: "That B5 is pretty damn good."
      Geek 2: "Yep."
      Geek 1: "Yep."
      Geek 2: "soooo...."

    3. Re:What about Babylon 5? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd forgotten all about this show.

      You just gave me a new show to download every episode of...South Park and the Simpsons just doesn't cut it any more.

    4. Re:What about Babylon 5? by Ziviyr · · Score: 2

      Great maker!

      We need a Babylon 5 story now. And a topic icon with one of those guys with the hair!

      We need a place for disgruntled Voyager fans to sound off! :-)

      --

      Someone set us up the bomb, so shine we are!
  66. I believe it when I see it. by soccerisgod · · Score: 1

    Paramount.

    If you browse the trivia section of Star Trek I, you will see that Paramount has quite a history of misinforming the public about what their plans are. They said they would start a new series, when at the same time they planned to make a Motion Picture instead.

    That's just one example. I have heard official and unofficial rumors about the release of Enterprise season 1 on dvd. According to a Paramount executive, it was scheduled for march. March 2002.

    And DS9? I lost count of how many announcements there were for DS9 DVDs. What I do know is that most of them were official Paramount announcements. There's been catalogs of Vendors that stated the availability of DS9 DVDs. And what happened? Nothing.

    I have my serious doubts about this. But if DS9 will be released on DVD - I'll still be the first to order them. And that even though Paramount has deceived their fans so often. It's just.. that series is just so good :O

    --
    If a train station is a place where a train stops, what's a workstation?
  67. Outrageous prices... by Vrallis · · Score: 2

    Yes, you get 26 episodes, blah blah blah, but...

    Stargate: SG1 runs $45-55 per season (5 DVDs).

    The Simpsons runs about $25-35 per season (3-4 DVDs).

    $100 a damned season for TNG? You're looking at $700 plus tax for the entire series.

    Even TOS comes out to around $700-800 for all episodes--at barely 3 seasons, I believe, that's more like $200-$300 per season!

    If the Star Trek eps were down to SG1 prices, about $45-55 per season, I'd buy all of TOS, TNG, DS9, and any others they put out and I wouldn't think twice about it.

    At $100 a season though...forget it.

    1. Re:Outrageous prices... by DarkEdgeX · · Score: 2

      Agreed, their pricing is horrible. I'll never buy them at the prices they're asking for-- MAYBE if it dropped it $65 per season, but that's still pushing it for what is really JUST a TV series. They made their money off of the advertising, I wish they wouldn't feel the need to milk the fans even more for wanting something better than videotapes of the series...

      --
      All I know about Bush is I had a good job when Clinton was president.
  68. One word.. by chegosaurus · · Score: 2

    Seinfeld.

    1. Re:One word.. by /dev/trash · · Score: 1

      No.
      Seinfeld is a) in syndication. b) really not that good. Maybe in 10 years I'll appreciate it more liek I do NX and Picket Fences but for now it's just not up there.

  69. One note of warning.... by cuyler · · Score: 2

    The B5 DVDs are great - the only down side is the full series won't be out for a while. The second season is due out April 2003 and the third the following November. Like a good book, the DVDs are hard to put down.

    Thanks to the fact it's a flowing plot line I've seen all of season 1 over the past three days. Now I'm stuck. I *need* to see season 2 but I have to wait.

    *argh* I hate seeing only half a movie - and that's what like seeing only one season of B5 is like.

    1. Re:One note of warning.... by bourne · · Score: 2

      the only down side is the full series won't be out for a while.

      Yeah, but that's true for any series. They always milk it. You could just wait until season 5 comes out and THEN watch them ;>

  70. Enterprise by Peterus7 · · Score: 1

    Hah. That show is pathetic, nobody actually watches it. (That I know of.) Just seeing the first episode was a turn off, seeing how they had that skanky scene with the vulcan and the guy, I'm sorry, on a first episode that's just wrong... Also, if I wanted to see a show that goes back a few hundred years, I would want to see a hell of a lot of nostalgia: Red shirted ensigns all the way! As fir DS9, sure it doesn't get the attention it deserves, but after TNG I think most of the treks just started rotting away. But that's just my opinion...

  71. Klingon Tech by MacAndrew · · Score: 2

    Well, it doesn't jog -my- memory (little does these days), but I Google'd your clue. It looks like you're right, though none of the sources are worth citing (can't anyone spell any more? the trekkies make slashdot look immaculate). One clever observation is that both races name their ships after birds.

    Most of the trek speculation about Romulans and Klingons centers on the Klingon transformation from the lightly soiled guys of TOS and the ridged monsters exemplified by Worf. Some speculate the smooth foreheads were the result of Kligon/Romulan interbreeding, later after Romulan betrayal driven out of the species.

    A search for "klingon engineer" brings up a moderate amount of stuff, mostly citing Voyager's half-Klingon B'Elanna Torres. Several others are mentioned. In the current Enterprise ("Sleeping Dogs") there was an Officer Bu'kah on the bird of prey rescued from being crushed in a planet's atmosphere. There was also a female Klingon scientist is one of the TNG's. There is no end to further speculation.

    In Voyager, they threw in a sensitive engineer from the Harogen (phonetic).

    Then there are the Ferengi. They probably just bought it, for a good price.

  72. Re:OOh boy by plasm4 · · Score: 0

    I was browsing at +4 for a while, but now I'm gonna browse at -1. its good stuff

  73. w00t!! by Tuxinatorium · · Score: 1

    this means in 3 months I'll be able to download higher quality DVD rips to replace my DS9 collection!

  74. Re:Six disc box set by porges · · Score: 1

    Six disc box set

    What's the problem?


    For a start, I can't say it five times fast.

  75. Save your money.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...The first season of B5 has been out on DVD for a week or two now.

  76. No no NO by slavetrade55 · · Score: 1

    Okay, here's the thing. I sincerely believe that DS9 is the best one. Everything from the first contact with the Dominion to the end of season 6 was awesome. The best shit ever. But for season 7 they killed off Jadzia Dax and replaced her with a nerd, and the writing got boring and trite, though it was still far better than say, season 7 of TNG. The only thing that *really* made me mad was that in the finale they killed off Weyoun (or his 'last clone'). Man, that guy was the best character ever. But at least, like you say, the space battles were unmatched.

    BUT, for all the protestations that Voyager sucked ass, I disagree--well, partly. The first few years of Voyager were absolutely terrible, surely the nadir of startrek so far. None of the characters were the *least bit* interesting, except maybe the doctor, and enemies like the Kazon were a big yawn of a nothing. Plus they made Janeway some kind of female Captain Picard, but forgot to give her a personality or a brain. But then they got rid of Kes, brought in 7/9, and eventually turned Janeway into a useable character. I swear that one of the best startrek scenes ever is the one where the Doctor is trying to teach 7/9 to sing "You are my Sunshine". I mean *come on*, how can you not love that? "you are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy..." by a borg and a hologram. Supurb. (maybe that's some of the punchline you were looking for)

    And I watch Enterprise, and *I* like it. Frankly i consider season 1 of enterprise to be farrrr better than that of tng, ds9 or voyager. People complain about the softcore porn in the pilot ("it's a distraction, it takes away from teh philosophy blah blah blah")...well look how many alien chicks captain kirk got with. Enterprise is another step in a long tradition of sexed up sci fi. Plus most of the characters are awesome, particularly that chief engineer guy, Tucker. Every alien he meets you can practically sense him trying to restrain himself from uttering, "WTF are you?"

    As for buying those ds9 DVDs, count me in. But I just can't sit by while people entirely denigrate Voyager and say they despise Enterprise on principle. I hope it goes 10 seasons and they start 5 different wars with the klingons. I'll be in rapt suspense.

    --RMT

    1. Re:No no NO by runenfool · · Score: 1

      Well, I disagree with your assessment of the Dax change. It was really neat to see the new one struggling with who and what she was when the original Dax was fully mature and unshakeable.

      I don't think I will buy the early season DVDs until the later seasons are out. Talk about boring. Still, by the end DS9 blows away all of the other Treks.

      Considering its early in the 2nd season, I think Enterprise has a great deal of promise. The characters, which were a major hole in Voyager, are great. They are limited by the 'prequel' status, but hopefully they can pull 7 seasons out of it. Its kind of funny that there are 'fantasy' stories by fans with Kirk and Spock being gay lovers - well, instead of going that far they just made the Vulcan a female. Nice. The fact that shes a hottie doesn't hurt at all.

  77. Lucky Canucks. by yoho_jones · · Score: 1

    Well.. I've seen people complaining about the lack of DS( reruns on this thread. In cananda the cable chan space has the WHOLE trek franchaise from tos to voy every day. If you have 4 hours to kill a day it's great television. Yoho. p.s. Each series follows itself linearly.

  78. Straczysnki != continuity by therion · · Score: 1

    My god, I am/was a hard-core b5 fanboy during the original broadcast but afterwards I look back and think two things: 1-he did a great job making up stuff as he went along and actors dropped out and 2-jms can't write dialog that's not horribly stilted to save his life.

    I shudder now listening to some of the heroic monologues Sheridan and Ivanova and (oh geez) Delenn made.

    I *liked* the show a lot. G'kar and Londo kick freaking ass.

    But Sisko and Garak and...DS9 is simply a richer, fuller story. Less preachy (which is incredible after TNG) than B5 and more fun too!

  79. I don't see why this is news... by Call+Me+Black+Cloud · · Score: 2

    "News for Nerds", sure, but Trek nerds will already know about this. Others won't care about a boxed Star Trek set.

    It seems to me that something like "Friends - season 1" boxed set would be more appropriate. It shows people with knowledge of hygiene dressing nicely and having normal relationships. Very useful information for nerds.

    Or how about when the latest "Girls Gone Wild" dvd is released? After all, man does not whack to jpgs alone...

    1. Re:I don't see why this is news... by MikeBabcock · · Score: 2

      The Friends' characters have normal relationships?

      Wow ... I need to go tell all the normal people I know that they're not anymore.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
  80. New Movies by captainstupid · · Score: 1

    Speaking of DS9, the movie Nemesis is supposed to be "a generation's final journey."

    Which cast will star in the next Star Trek movie(s)?

    --
    "Anyway, long story short... is a phrase whose origins are complicated and rambling...." - Abraham Simpson
  81. B5 DVDs are not encripted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    B5 DVDs are not encripted. The do have Macrovision, though.
    Start Trek DVDs are encripted AND have Mascrovision Protection.

    It looks that they dont care if you pirate B5.
    The DO care if you pirate Star Trek.

  82. Star Trek more Valuable than B5 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Movie/TV industry think that Star Trek is a more valuable asset than B5. Otherwise they would encript B5, not only Star Trek.

    Probably this is why B5 is cheaper than Star Trek - the B5 DVDs are not encripted

  83. Prices and CSS encription by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All DVDs you mention (Stargate, B5, etc) are
    so cheap because they do not have CSS encription.
    Star Trek DVDs have CSS encription AND Macrovision.

    CSS encription costs money

  84. DS9 Sux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and that's all i have to say on the matter. Jadzia and the next one were hot, though. Oh yah, Kira, too.

  85. No no no how can you say that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    TOS
    TNG
    Voyager
    DS9
    Enterprise

    TOS was excellent considering their low budget and the fact it was well over 30 years ago. Just the right blend of action and thought. And it kicked ass the way there was a crew member of each race (in the 60s).

    TNG - a bit 80s but Patrick Stewart's a great actor and he's British. The annoying habit of getting out of impossible situations by inventing new science on the spot is a little annoying, as are characters like Wesley - how sad. For all that I think it's actually pretty good.

    Voyager - Ok Janeway sucked as a captain and someone should've killed Neelix but otherwise I thought it was quite fun. Nice effects and ideas.

    DS9 - Can't comment too much as I've mostly avoided watching it. It's too much like a soap! I mean they're stuck on a space station, they can't move anywhere, how much scope does that give for excitement? *Yawn*

    Enterprise - Hah! Don't make me laugh! Just the cheesy theme tune is enough to make me wanna kill myself by smashing my TV over my head. Captain Sam Beckett lmao yeah right. Also as it's supposed to be set before TOS I think they should've made the equipment look a lot more retro that would be cool. Some of it looks more hi-tech than the stuff on TNG or Voyager FFS. It's just so disconnected from the Trek universe, it might've worked if they released it as a totally different show - i.e. not Trek.

  86. syndication by chegosaurus · · Score: 2

    At the risk of going OT, could someone explain, for the benefit of us backwards Brits, exactly how syndication works and why it stops things getting DVD/video releases?

    1. Re:syndication by /dev/trash · · Score: 1

      It doesn't stop it from being on DVD per se. I was using sysdication as an example of a show still being on the air, thus you can still watch it, record it whatever, so putting it on DVD is low priority. Northern Exposure and Picket Fences, as far as I know are not in syndication ( well NX is sorta on the Hallmark channel but all cut up) and thus I can't watch it on TV. I have almost all the NX episodes taped and some day will convert them to VCD, but I'd prefer to have a DVD of them, and I would pay for a DVD set.

  87. As long as we're counting... by MacAndrew · · Score: 2
    I figure TNG and DS9 each had recurring Asian actors (the nurse and O'Brien's annoying wife). And of course there was Sulu/Takei who, like Chekov, was mostly silent but had a fine episode half-naked (even more skin than Kirk) in "The Naked Time."

    The omissions are odd because, remember, Roddenberry was incredibly enlightened by 1960's standards even to cast Nichelle Nichols (whom, yes, he was reportedly dating at the time), let alone to broadcast TV's first interracial kiss. Perhaps he just didn't evolve much. At the time I think it had been just a year since the Supreme Court struck down anti-miscegenation laws in 15 states. Like the other team-of-5 actors Nichols wasn't given much to do, but neither was she singled out. She relates that she was tempted to quit the show out of frustration, but was persuaded to stay partly by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who told her Star Trek was one of the few TV shows he would let his children watch.

    As for American Indians, well that's a little tough. I'm not one myself, but I sometimes questioned whether Chakotay and his religion were entirely flattering portrayal. At least, I wanted to jump out a window when Wesley went on his viscion quest. :) (Having read some on wilwheaton.net, I am more sympathetic to Wesley, and Wil has some great gossip.)

    Off-screen, by all accounts, Stewart has the best non-virtual personaility. (Avery Brooks might be the most intense.) I came across dozens of anecdotes of people happening upon Stewart -- and he must be one of the most recognizable characters -- and his being the perfect gentleman. This was a guestbook entry, mostly
    about Shatner :

    I don't have a Shatner story, however a co-worker of mine,who is a huge Star Trek: TNG fan, waited on Patrick Stewart in our shop. He was very amicable. As it turned out, my associate ended up going out to Stewart's house to do an in home estimate and then installing an entertainment system for him. He was beside himself that he had Capt. Picard's phone # in his cellphone. He had to restrain himself from calling Mr. Stewart and checking up on it every other day. One day he swung by again to make sure everything was working. Patrick Stewart opens the door, looks my friend in the eye and says (with his trademark delivery)...

    "I do believe you've gone beyond the call of duty."

    Needless to say, my buddy Shatnered his pants.
    Not a Shatner story, just an affirmation of how a Starfleet officer should conduct himself.


    On the other hand, should Stewart be forgiven for participating in "Lifeforce"? The jury's out.
  88. My order by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    My opinion of the series:
    1. TOS (Original) -- OK, maybe my age is showing here; TNG did not exist until I was in high school. The thing about TOS, as opposed to TNG, is that just about every episode is watchable as a re-run.

    2. TNG -- The special effects were a lot better (but surprisingly 80s looking when I started watching the re-runs on TNN); however there were a number of episodes which I find unwatchable as reruns.

    3. DS9 -- I've only watch a couple of episodes (we lost our cable subscription right after this show debuted), so I never really formed an opinion. I always felt that staying put limited the plot possibilities.

    4. TAS (Animated) -- The forgotten child of the Trek franchise. This show had many ideas which were not possible in a non-animated show at the time. For one, it introduced the holodeck. For another, real alien crewmembers. Also, this has William Shatner saying "Beam me up Scotty", which TOS didn't have.

      That said, this was a saturday morning cartoon.

    5. Enterprise -- I've only watched one episode and a bit of a second episode (have better things to do than watch TV these days); seems somewhat boring and I can't stand the theme music. Then again, it is more mature than Voyager.

    6. Voyager -- This show always reminded me of a saturday morning non-cartoon show. I didn't wantch much of the last seasons; however what I have watched wasn't terribly profound. Then again, maybe I had outgrown the whole Star Trek thing by the time this was on the air.

    As recently as two years ago, I found watching an episode of TNG which I never watched before exciting. Now, I do not; they suddenly started looking really cheesy.

    I still enjoy watching TOS re-runs from time to time; I think TOS' re-watch value is that Gene really did try to sneak in some social commentary which would have been censored if it were not a science fiction show. Star Trek was the only show in the 1960s which could have gotten away with an interracial kiss; it was also the of the very few TV shows which showed an Afro-american accomplishing something meaningful.

    In fact, when Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) was thinking of quitting Star Trek, no one less than Dr. Martin Luther King himself urged her to stay on the show. Other racial groups were also represented on the show (E.G. Sulu).

    In addition, TOS had war and historical commentaries which would not have been possible with a format besides science fiction.

    A lot of kids here on Slashdot can't see past the dated special effects when watching TOS. A real shame, since what TOS has to say is often far more important than how they were able to say it. If kids these days could have a little more imagination, they would see that TOS was and still is a truly revolutionary TV show.

  89. Musical Wey[o]uns by MacAndrew · · Score: 2

    Good point! An upside to cloning.

    The errant Weyoun may have been #6. Was it Weyoun-7 whose neck Worf casually snapped for making a smartass remark -- giving dour Dumar a rare joke opening? Maybe it was Weyoun-7 who kept getting on the Founder's nerves so much she threatened to have him executed? I wonder whether he really was a limited edition. Weyoun made the Breen seem "warm" by contrast.

    Weyoun was like the little dogs in "A Fish Called Wanda."

    In its own way DS9 had the best (dark) sense of humor. And some of the fans, too -- one evidently thought Weyoun attractive. Ewwwww. I think/hope Vortas were way beyond mating.

    1. Re:Musical Wey[o]uns by coaxial · · Score: 2

      I wonder whether he really was a limited edition.

      He wasn't until Dumar attacked the cloning facilities at someplace when he led the Cardasian revolt. In fact I belive it was their first target.

    2. Re:Musical Wey[o]uns by MacAndrew · · Score: 2

      What!?! The Founders didn't backup their work?!? ;-)

    3. Re:Musical Wey[o]uns by coaxial · · Score: 2

      What!?! The Founders didn't backup their work?!? ;-)

      Does anyone? :)

  90. Its a pity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    that its a crap show, moving far away from Roddeberrys ideals. All that religious nonsense for starters.

  91. Technically... by mblase · · Score: 2

    There's a real story - beginning, middle, and end. It spreads over the full 5 seasons.

    Actually, the story was spread out over four seasons, owing to the fact that Straczynski wasn't certain a fifth season would be paid for until about four episodes before the end of the fourth. The fifth season connects with the other four, and carries on the plotlines developed there, but it also feels tacked-on and epilogous (?) because, essentially, it is.

    Sure, their special effects budget wasn't as rich as $T.

    JMS was proud to inform fans that in every single season, B5 came in under budget due to the heavy use of computer-gemerated graphics instead of the models "Star Trek" and its ilk were dependent upon. I'd say he very effectively did more with less.

  92. But my FAVORITE part about DS9 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Quark: "I want you to try something for me. Take a sip of this."
    Garak: "What is it?"
    Quark: "A Human drink, it's called Root Beer."
    Garak: "Ahh, I don't know....."
    Quark: "Come on....Aren't you in the least bit curious?"
    Quark: "..........What d'you think?"
    Garak: "It's vile!"
    Quark: "I know. It's so bubbly and cloy, and happy."
    Garak: "Just like the Federation....."
    Quark: "But do you know what's really frightening? If you drink enough of it you begin to like it...."
    Garak: "....It's insidious...."
    Quark: "....Just like the Federation."
    s/Root Beer/Coca Cola/g
    s/Federation/United States/g

    Now, I know that this was a comparison which was always supposed to be obvious, but DS9 had an interesting way of underscoring the obvious (to me, at least). It seemed a very deliberate act, but with the exception of "Admiral Ross", almost none of the primary characters were anglo/caucasian. Now, I know that in the enlighteneded late 20th (when these were filmed)/ early 21st century, that these things aren't supposed to matter, but it does: it helped make the familiar alien, and the alien familiar.

    I have to say that I, too, found myself identifying a little too much with the John LeCarre-ish Garak; and not as much as I would have imagined with the (often unintentionally, and always with the best of intentions) imperialist Federation. It helps me, even today, to understand why the rest of the world isn't with us (that is, U.S.) on something as elementary as, say, fighting the terrorists, or freeing Iraq. But that, as they say, is another post.
  93. DVD sets rock! by wessman · · Score: 1

    These DVD sets of entire TV seasons is such an incredible idea. And I'm glad to see DS9 coming out right after TNG; hopefully, Voyager will follow suit. Here are the complete TV series I would like to see released in DVD sets (just wish I could afford these mammoth releases!): Babylon 5 (including the movies and few Crusade episodes), Outer Limits (the modern run), Highlander (including the short-run female series), Airwolf, Knight Rider (including the reunion stuff), A-Team, Street Hawk, MANTIS, X-Files and Millenium, and both of Sci-Fi Channel's Invincible Man and Farscape. And what was the name of that series that used to air after the Outer Limits on Fox several years ago? What is called the Prophecy? How about some cop series to, like CHiPs, TJ Hooker, Hunter (and what was the name of Fred Dryer's spin-off series on UPN?), Law & Order, and of course, Silk Stalkings (damn that female cop was a hottie!). Babylon 5's first season DVD set was available at Costco. So was the 7-episode Carl Sagan series. My So-Called Life just came out on DVD, too; and I have hated Claire Danes in everyting after that excellent MTV series. MTV's Undressed would be another great DVD idea. Damn, I wish I won the lotto and could vegge on this stuff all day!!!

  94. Last Post! by alpg · · Score: 1

    While the engineer developed his thesis, the director leaned over to
    his assistant and whispered, "Did you ever hear of why the sea is salt?"
    "Why the sea is salt?" whispered back the assistant. "What do you
    mean?"
    The director continued: "When I was a little kid, I heard the story of
    `Why the sea is salt' many times, but I never thought it important until just
    a moment ago. It's something like this: Formerly the sea was fresh water and
    salt was rare and expensive. A miller received from a wizard a wonderful
    machine that just ground salt out of itself all day long. At first the miller
    thought himself the most fortunate man in the world, but soon all the villages
    had salt to last them for centuries and still the machine kept on grinding
    more salt. The miller had to move out of his house, he had to move off his
    acres. At last he determined that he would sink the machine in the sea and
    be rid of it. But the mill ground so fast that boat and miller and machine
    were sunk together, and down below, the mill still went on grinding and that's
    why the sea is salt."
    "I don't get you," said the assistant.
    -- Guy Endore, "Men of Iron"

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