When Deep Space Nine was new, I was still working on Next Generation. I recall feeling this strong sense of sibling rivalry (entirely my issue, never created or encouraged by anyone else) that got in between me and my ability to watch the show, and give it the chance it deserved. Also, by 1993, I was 21 and feeling like it was time for me to get a break away from Trek and its emotional baggage. Over the years, I’ve wondered what, exactly, I missed, but I never made it a priority to find out.
With the passing my my friend, Aron, last week, I thought that I could remember and honor him by finally watching the series he gave so many years of his life and career to.
I know that DS9 is uneven, especially in its early seasons, just like we were, and I didn’t want to invest time into whatever their version of Angel One or Justice was (or, the gods help us all, Shades of Grey). Luckily for me, my friend, Max Temkin, has written a guide to watching the best of TNG in like 40 hours, and a similar guide to watching DS9 in like 80 hours (because, Max says, there are just too many good episodes of DS9 out there to get it down to 40).
So I dug up his guide, and read it. I took note of the context he thinks we should have before we start watching the show, including its time of production, its relationship to TNG, and some details about the characters that are useful to know before we really meet them.
Max tells us, “Deep Space Nine … is chock full of full, flawed characters with world views more diverse than their forehead prostheses.”
After we have that information and perspective, he picks out the episodes he feels are the best from each season, not just in terms of enjoyment (there are plenty of entertaining episodes of TOS that don’t exactly advance the character arcs, such as they were in 1966, like Arena, for instance) but as they relate to the things he feels makes DS9 the best of all the Star Treks: the Cardassians and their relationship to Bajor and the Federation, the Dominion, the character arcs that made Kira and Sisko so memorable and beloved by fans for thirty years.
I know it makes for better drama and a more interesting story if I say I was skeptical going into it, but I wasn’t. I was purely excited. I trust Max, and I trust the legions of DS9 fans who love it for what I’ve come to know this week are extremely good reasons.
Max’s guide tells us to watch the following episodes from S01: The first four, including the two-part pilot, which has the distinction of being the only truly good Trek pilot in the history of the series. Episodes 11, 13, 19, and 20.
I binged the first four on Netflix. This is significant because I *hate* binging shows. I prefer to let shows sit for at least a day between episodes, so I can digest and reflect upon what I watched. I believe that when we binge shows, we trade enjoying a meal for not being hungry any more … and yet. I loved the characters so much, I loved the look of the show, the tone of the show, and the stories they told in those four hours so much, I couldn’t stop watching.
Last night, I watched Episode 11, The Nagus. It’s the introduction of a character which could have just been broad and silly comic relief, but which I understand becomes a beloved part of the show. I’ve never been a big Ferengi fan; if you’ve read Memories of the Future you know why: they were so comical and broad in TNG, all I got out of them was buffoonish misogyny. There’s still some of that in the writing (it’s still the first season, and the writers haven’t let Quark and Rom and Nog grow into who they will become), but the actors pull the most interesting and complex nuances out of the scripts, to make their characters so compelling, I wanted to dive head first into the rest of the series, just to get to know them.
I told Anne that I was watching Deep Space Nine for the first time, which surprised her. I love Star Trek so much, she thought I would have watched it already. I told her how I had all this emotional baggage that got in between me and watching the show, but the therapeutic, emotional work I’ve done the past year has let me heal a lot of stuff, and stop carrying around that emotional baggage. So watching Deep Space Nine is extra special to me, because it lets me watch Star Trek, and it lets me LOVE Star Trek, in a way that I hadn’t been able to for essentially my entire adult life.
I love TNG, and I love my cast. They are my real family, and I will cherish the memories I have from working with them. And that means I can’t just watch TNG the way a fan does, without any complicated memories related to, you know, MAKING the show.
But I can watch Deep Space Nine and just see characters. Yeah, I know some of the actors a little bit, but for some reason, I can compartmentalize this time around. And that’s a wonderful revelation and a wonderful gift, for me.
Aron’s performance is sensational, by the way. But if you watched DS9, you already know that.
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I consider Star Trek Deep Space Nine a treasure. It’s my favorite of all the Star Treks, and I definitely love all the other ones. You can tell, when watching it, but it was clearly done with a lot of love. The first season is a little shaky, but that’s not unusual. The later seasons are truly amazing.
I haven’t watched any of DS9 either. After hearing so much about it, about how good it really is, I’m tempted to give watching the series a shot, too.
I saw DS9 for the first time a few years ago. For some reason I couldn’t watch it when it was airing. I got caught up in a couple of other shows as I didn’t see the appeal of a show on a station. Then when all of the shows came to Netflix I decided to watch them all and instantly starting with the pilot, I was hooked. Part of me regretted not having watched it, but part of me was glad I waited because DS9 is made for binge watching. I agree with some of the other people that you should just watch all of the episodes. The first couple of seasons are good and they only get better. By skipping episodes you miss out on the character development and growth as well as the full range of emotion when the finale comes.
I wasn’t sure if you knew Aron at all, but I do remember seeing a movie you were both main cast in – The Liars Club (I think?) way back in the late 90s.
I would love nothing more than to rhapsodize about my utter adoration for Deep Space Nine, and my delight that you are now enjoying it as well…
But I can only think of the loss of Aron Eisenberg. I may never have known had I not read this article: I get Trek news updates daily (hence my presence here), I have no idea how I could have missed it.
I grieve with you for the loss of your friend…
And with all Trekkers for the loss of an amazing performer who made Lieutenant Junior Grade Nog into one of the most surprising and compelling characters on one of science fiction television’s greatest shows.
May the Blessed Exchequer accept his bribe, and welcome him into the Divine Treasury.
I am pleased to hear you watching the show. DS9 is the best of Trek. It simply is. TNG is also, but not quite on the level of DS9. I have to say tho, I personally found it distressing that you are skipping whole swaths of the series in each season. Even what one might consider not one of DS9’s greatest episodes still has its merits. Each ep builds on the last, and each one adds a little to the overall story. I honestly think you should be watching the entire thing. I think you would enjoy it more that way. But hey, that’s my opinion. I am excited you are watching it at all. DS9 is a very fun ride. Hope it does you well, sir.
TNG is still my favorite, followed closely by DS9. I identified with the Nog character as closely as I did to the Wes one – young, in school, smart, eager, breaking from tradition, etc. I’m glad you get to enjoy it with a degree of detachment from an entertainment perspective. It’s good stuff.
The one episode that is a must watch is “In the Pale Moonlight.” I thought that Avery Brooks and Andrew Robinson gave “perfect” performances in their roles and the plot brought true and flawed humanity to the squeaky clean and antiseptic “star fleet captain” mythos. In it, Sisko isn’t a destroyed captain like Decker, Tracey, or Merik, he’s acting in what he thinks is the best interest of the Federation.
I’m so excited for you. I wish I could go back and watch it for the first time. Meaning no offense whatsoever to your own show, which is quite good, you are about to experience the greatest Trek.
I hope discovering why your friend was so beloved can help with your loss.
Wil, are you going to post your reactions to YouTube? I think it would make a great series.
My family were fans of TNG when it originally aired, and to be honest Will I actually sympathized a lot with your character. We were around the same age and faced similar social problems, so seeing someone I could relate to was inspiring during some really rough times. (Doubt you’ll ever read this but just wanted to say thanks nonetheless.)
Anyway…we started DS9 right when it originally aired and I knew it was going to be something special. It was very different from the traditional Star Trek we knew but we were quickly drawn in. The real issue however was the only TV station we could pick up aired it in syndication, or perhaps that was in later seasons. (Yes kiddos, back in those pre-digital dark ages we had to tweak antennas to find the broadcast station every time we changed channels, in hopes we could get a watchable picture. And some stations would pick “syndicated” shows that were outside of the normal schedule of their corporate network.) Nonetheless, the schedule would shift around randomly as the station changed their off-network lineup and new episodes were rarely announced when it returned from one of the many mid-season breaks–being produced concurrently with the broadcast and all. We’d have to manually shuffle through the TV Guide listings every week to find if, or when, it would be on. (Back in the dark ages, we had to find when shows were broadcast by searching these cheaply produced paper tomes called “magazines”.) Eventually, we lost track of the show. By the time we found the new schedule, it was well into one of the long plot arcs and we gave up.
A few years ago, we were talking about DS9 and how much we enjoyed and missed it. However, we couldn’t determine which episodes we’d missed and trying to pluck them from the long plot arcs would have been confusing and fruitless anyway. So, we endeavored to watch the entire series. It took awhile, but we don’t regret it. Even the episodes I’d remembered loathing weren’t quite as bad as my recollections had made them to be. A number of Star Trek episodes had touched and resonated with me, leaving an impression that endured for all these decades. Most were from DS9.
Hello Wil,
Just reading your website for the first time.
The posts seem to be up and down in the last few months and I note you are writing about some healing that has been going on in your life which sounds like a good thing.
I’ve seen you on the TV that I feel like I know you which I know I dont but its one of those things I suppose. You seem like a nice guy and I have been working on trying to change my life and myself in the last 2 and a half years and I can relate to getting rid of the baggage and trying to approach things differently.
Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and if you ever need anything I could help with in any way, let me know.
I am currently watching through DS9 all the way, I do not pick and choose episodes. I think you will miss out on great episodes that may have flown under the radar otherwise. It was odd, I started watching DS9 a few weeks before Aron died… So, if you have not watched DS9 does that mean you have not watched Voyager either?? Voyager is one of the best Star Trek shows out there, if you haven’t seen it you need to!
I’m a long time Star Trek fan, but I’ve never watched DS9 either! I don’t know why except that I think the majority of it started when I was in college and had no time for TV. I love this idea of watching the best episodes with a guide. I’ll have to check it out!
I have yet to run through the comments. Wil Have you watched “Move Along Home” and would you like to develop a TT game of it?
Aw! Why would you suggest that he subject himself to THAT episode?! It’s the “Spock’s Brain” of DS9 and one of the top three worst episodes in all of Trek.
Season one of DS9 was filled with “Alien Of The Week” shows:
A new species would come through the wormhole, an episode would be built around them…and then we’d NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN.
There were many of these episodes on TOS and TNG, but that makes sense: They were on a ship, traveling through space and exploring….it would be weird if they WEREN’T regularly meeting new aliens–that was literally their mission.
The writers of DS9 mostly got their start on TNG…this was the kind of story they were accustomed to.
It took them a little while to realize that they were dealing with an entirely different concept, and start writing episodes more suited to Deep Space Nine is–as both a setting and as a series.
Amusingly, that’s one of my daughter’s favorite episodes.
Sweet – just enjoy it, watch em all, the ‘bad’ ones just make the ‘good’ ones better and shows how they got there. Aron does some incredible stuff in those last seasons.
Good to see you have yourself the chance to finally watch this gem of a show. Enjoy Will!
This may be the greatest compliment I could possibly pay to a tv show:
If it were not for DS9, I don’t think I ever would have learned that Netflix shows have yearly download limits❤️
Depression trigger warning…Colm Meaney’s performance in “Hard Time” (S04E19) will do you in. Set aside a substantial block of time after you watch that one. No episode of Star Trek affected me more.
Ohhh DEFINITELY.
That’s another truly great DS9 episode that I just can’t handle sometimes.
Here are a few others to approach with caution:
Second Sight, The Visitor, Sons Of Mogh, Ties Of Blood And Water, Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night, The Sound Of Her Voice, Chrysalis, The Siege Of AR-558…
And of course: It’s Only A Paper Moon.
These are all at LEAST good episodes, several are truly great even…the emotional impact they have is a testament to their quality.
There are also a few eps that I wouldn’t “warn” anyone about–but are equally profound: Treachery, Faith, And The Great River is a personal favorite.
Rejoined was one of the very few episodes where Terry Farrell really impressed me.
And Avery Brooks’ performance in Far Beyond The Stars will kick your ass, and you’ll thank him for it.
I’ll end on a personal note: I can’t watch Shattered Mirror.
I lost my mother at about the same age as Jake…if you know the episode, you understand.
I am disappointed with the list choice. Not only is season 1 not bad, I already don’t trust that list for not including S.1 E. 18 Duet. One of the most emotional and compelling episodes in the entire series, and all of Star Trek. It sums up in a single episode everything 7 seasons of DS9 explores with good and evil, action/inaction, Cardassia vs. Bajor. Hatred, love, fear, absolute guilt and suffering.
Look up just a scene on YouTube of Duet. You’ll know what I mean.
Skipping season 1 episode Duet is to skip what some consider to be the best episode. The best scene.
https://youtu.be/Kjtm6u3LRRg
Don’t even have to click the link–there is only one scene that you could possibly be referring to…
(and I’d rather not cry in the middle of this coffee shop😉)
Absolutely LOVED DS9. It was one of the few shows that had a ton of political intrigue that I actually loved. And the characters–the actors all did a great job. Also liked the writing. Altogether, it was my fave trek series. Glad you’re able to watch it now. 🙂
I am a big fan of all of the series with the exception of Enterprise. TNG is my favorite. DS9 was touted as a darker version of Trek, but it didn’t get as dark as Enterprise. Klingons and of course Ferengi are fleshed out, so to speak. The Next Generation doesn’t really do them justice considering how popular Klingons became due to both DS9 and TNG.
Once you’ve finished the series, you must treat yourself to the recently released behind-the-scenes documentary What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I caught it a few months ago in the one-day theatrical release and immediately pre-ordered the BluRay. As an actor yourself, I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we fans did, and maybe it will inspire you to develop such a collaboration with your former TNG cast members?? (fingers crossed)
That’s it, I need to watch it again myself. TNG was downright formative for me, as I was 11 when it started and was just what young me needed to get through middle school – honestly, the idea of a universe where I wouldn’t be the target of derision from everybody in my life outside immediate family, school was a psychological hellscape – was life saving, I am not exaggerating that – but DS9 is just amazing and had some of the best Trek episodes of any series.
Warning: you want to have a box of tissues when you get to The Visitor. Possibly several.
I would give my left eyebrow for a youtube reaction series of Wil Wheaton watching Star Trek.
I’m one of those weird people who thought the first 2-3 seasons of DS9 were the best, and the later ones were just same old space wars trope that sci-fi series seem to have to fall into. Even Orville is leaning that way ffs.
Not weird. I felt the same way. The latter seasons radically changed the Star Trek universe in terms of scale. Star Trek isn’t about battle fleets to me, and I wish they’d left that to other shows. But the first few seasons were awesome-right up there with the best of TNG.
If you are one of those weird people, so am I. The first few seasons were to me the kind of science fiction that might have episodes written by Ursula LeGuin or Octavia Butler. The later seasons were just your typical explosions-and-push-up-bras sci-fi mass-market stuff. It went downhill sharply after the third or fourth season with very few exceptions.
The first time through you should watch every episode. When I re-watch a series I will skip some, but I can’t understand skipping so many your very first time watching.
Oh gosh, I didn’t read the other comments before I made mine. I didn’t realize so many others said something about skipping episodes. Ahh well.
DS9 was unwatchable. You could just hear the pitch “and they don’t go anywhere, everyone comes to them! It’s like Fantasy Island, in space…think of the money we’ll save!” I expected Desi Arnaz Jr. to get piped aboard…with a little rubber prosthetic on his forehead, of course.
Interesting to read you only just started watching it. I decided a few months ago to start doing the same – I had only watched a few of the early ones and then the odd one, sporadically. I rushed home from work to watch TNG every week, then bought them on VHS, then DVD, then blurays. The same didn’t happen with DS9 – it didn’t grab me in the same way and eventually I missed most of them. I only watch a couple of eps every few days (if I watch 3 in 1 day, that’s a lot for me) and have just finished S3 – I bought the dvd box set once I realised how much I enjoyed seeing them; strange to think I have another 4 seasons to go… I guess I won’t finish at this rate until 2020 but that’s ok; just enjoying them! I hope you continue to do so, too.
My condolences in regards to your friend Aron; sounds like he was a brave, strong fella from what I’ve since read.
Gotta tell you, I loved DS9 when it was on. It was very, very character-centered — lots of flawed people very like those we all know in life, where you love them, get impatient with them, laugh at and with them, want to strangle them, and want them to be their best selves. I’ve got to say, it’s probably my favorite of all the shows, at least in the first few seasons, when it was quiet, strange, and more character-centered. I will always, always, always have a soft spot for the single-dad philosopher/captain, the defensive first officer with the chip on her shoulder, the scientist with the “bored now, been there, done that” attitude, the naive, nerdy motormouth doctor … It was all so good. More words, fewer explosions — the sort of science fiction show you could imagine Octavia Butler or Ursula LeGuin writing for.
There’s no doubt, I have a love/hate relationship with you, but when it comes to non-political stuff, I find you endearing.
DS9 was my “Saturday Night, working the swing shift” show”. I’d be stuck at Harvard Marlborough Campus, watching the labs for 12 hours at a pop. But some good tv was on, and this was my favorite show. I plan to get the entire series in the Box Set, because it’s one of my favorite memories from my 20’s.
DS9 has always been my “go to” Trek series. It’s so ridiculously good with so many amazing characters and stories that I can watch that much more than any of the other series.
I listened to the “Bunny Ears” podcast with you and Macauly Culkin, which I thoroughly enjoyed. If possible, please offer some posts as you go along in the franchise. Id love to hear your thoughts about each season or several episodes that you watched as you move along.
Wil,
I’m glad you finally started watching DS9. It definitely stands on its own. The writers were not kidding when they said this show was gritty, it really is.
I can’t wait for you to go through the highlight episodes from the later seasons. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised with the twists and turns that the characters are put through as the series progresses.
Just because DS9 is set on a station instead of a starship does not make it any less of a Star Trek show, if anything, it makes it unique and rightfully so.
Enjoy the series!