Product Description
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The complete first season of the popular 'Star Trek'
spin-off series. In 'The Emissary, Parts 1 and 2' Commander
Benjamin Sisko must face some personal demons before assuming
command of the far-flung Federation outpost, Deep Space Nine. In
'Past Prologue' Major Kira's loyalty is put to the test when a
Bajoran terrorist arrives on DS9. 'A Man Alone' sees Odo accused
of the murder of an old foe, causing anti-shape shifter feeling
to spread throughout the station. 'Babel' has an old Bajoran
booby-trap infect the crew with a lethal virus. In 'Captive
Pursuit' an alien arrives on the station pursued by bloodthirsty
soldiers. It transpires that the alien has been bred to be part
of a ritual hunt, but O'Brien decides that he will violate the
Prime Directive and stop the hunt. 'Q-Less' sees Vash arrive on
the station and attempt to sell some archaeological artefacts.
'Dax' finds Dax on trial for a murder which she didn't commit.
'The Passenger' has strange things happen when Dr Bashir brings
the corpse of a criminal on board. 'Move Along Home' sees Quark
play a gambling game which causes senior officers to disappear.
'The Nagus' has the leader of the Ferengi race visit the station
and makes Quark his successor. In 'Vortex' Odo arrests a man who
cls to have some information on the past of the security
chief. In 'Battlelines' Sisko, Kira, Dax and Kai Opaka travel
through the wormhole and c-land on a penal colony where the
inhabitants are constantly involved in a bitter war - a war with
no end because no-one can die on this planet. 'The Storyteller'
sees O'Brien chosen as the defender of a village on Bajor even
though he is not trained in the skills needed. 'Progress' has
Major Kira beam down to Bajor to help with a relocation plan. Her
simple task is made difficult when she meets an obstinate old
farmer who does not want to move. 'If Wishes Were Horses' finds
the crew's thoughts taking on a physical form and threatening the
safety of the station, as well as seriously embarrassing Doctor
Bashir. In 'The Forsaken' Lwaxana Troi visits the station and is
rather taken with Odo, becoming trapped in a turbo-lift with him.
'Dramatis Personae' has a Klingon beamed onto the station ranting
about the death of his crew before he dies. The DS9 crew start to
behave out of character and soon a dramatic power struggle is
being played out. 'Duet' sees a Cardassian war criminal arrive on
the station, causing the crew to argue over whether he should be
brought to justice for his crimes against Bajor. Finally, in 'The
Hands of the Prophets', Vedek Winn stirs unrest and anti-human
feeling on board the station. Using the pretence of religious
differences she manipulates the on-station Bajorans to do her
dirty work.
.co.uk Review
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Of all the spinoff TV incarnations of Star Trek, Deep
Space Nine had the hardest job persuading an audience to watch.
By all accounts, Gene Roddenberry had concerns about the idea
before his death in 1991. It took two more years to develop, and
when it finally aired in 1993 reasons for that concern were
evident right away. The show was dark (literally), characters
argued a lot, no one went anywhere, and the neighbouring natives
were hardly ever friendly. Yet for all that the show went against
the grain of the Great Bird's original vision of the future, it
undeniably caught the mood of the time, incorporating a complex
political backdrop that mirrored our own.
In the casting, there was a clear intent to differentiate the
show from its predecessors. Genre stalwarts Tony Todd and James
Earl Jones were considered for Commander Sisko before Avery
Brooks. The one letdown at the time was that Michelle Forbes did
not carry Ensign Ro across from The Next Generation, but when the
explosive Nana Visitor defiantly slapped her hand on a console in
the pilot episode, viewers knew they were in for a different crew
dynamic. In fact, the two-part pilot show ("The Emissary") is
largely responsible for DS9's early success. Mysterious,
spiritual, claustrophobic, funny, and feisty, it remains the most
attention-grabbing series opener (apart from the original
series') the franchise has had. The first year may have relied on
a few too many familiar faces--like Picard, Q, and Lwaxana
Troi--but these were more than outweighed by refreshingly
detailed explorations of cultures old and new (Trill, Bajoran,
Cardassian, Ferengi). As it turned out, Deep Space Nine was the
boldest venture into Roddenberry's galaxy that had been (or ever
would be) seen. --Paul Tonks