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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."

97 of 259 comments (clear)

  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 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.

    4. 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.

    5. 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.

    6. 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 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...

  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 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. 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: 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.
    2. 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...

    3. 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.
    4. 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.

  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).

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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."

  12. 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!
  13. 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 :-) ]

  14. 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
  15. 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.

  16. 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 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
    4. 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.

    5. 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
  17. 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!
  18. 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.
  19. DS9's Slogan ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

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

  20. 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 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.

    2. 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.

  21. 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.

  22. 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
  23. 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 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."

    2. 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.

    3. 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!"

    4. 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.

  24. 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 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
  25. 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.
  26. 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
  27. 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.

  28. 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.

  29. 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!

  30. 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.
  31. 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.

  32. 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!
  33. 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 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.

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

    Best Start Trek series ever.

  35. "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 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.
    2. 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.

    3. 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.

    4. 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.

  36. 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 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.

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

      You're welcome.

    3. 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?

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

    Never attempt written comedy right after waking up, kids.

  38. 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!
  39. 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.

  40. 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.
  41. One word.. by chegosaurus · · Score: 2

    Seinfeld.

  42. 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 ;>

  43. 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.

  44. 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)
  45. 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!
  46. 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?

  47. 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.
  48. 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? :)

  49. 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.