'm not Picard," says Commander Benjamin Sisko to Q in the episode "Q-Less." That one line, uttered by Avery Brooks six episodes into Deep Space Nine's first season, pretty much encapsulates the fact that Deep Space Nine was, and will always be, different from the other kids. In the legacy of Star Trek, Deep Space Nine was, for so long, confined to the role of the middle child who gets lost in the shuffle. Sure, the series is generally recognized—and rightly so—for its strongly drawn characters and solid storytelling. But it also had the misfortune to overlap two other Trek series, its seminal progenitor, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Star Trek: Voyager.
Which is why it's such a treat to have the chance to appreciate Deep Space Nine anew through its release on DVD. Every couple of months, Paramount plans to release another season, providing fans an opportunity to watch the series sequentially and to fully absorb the subtle nuances and complex sociopolitical storylines the way they were intended. Set on a former Cardassian space station, Deep Space Nine follows the ordinary, and extraordinary, happenings on the station, which has increased geopolitical importance with the discovery of a stable wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. Newly liberated from Cardassian tyranny, Bajor turns to the Federation for help in administering the station—and the Federation, in turn, sends Cmdr. Benjamin Sisko (Brooks) to run this remote outpost.
When revisiting Deep Space Nine, the beginning is a very good place to start, given how intricate the story arc will get down the road. For one thing, the seeds of future relationships and plot directions can be seen. Armed with the power of 20/20 hindsight, it's remarkable to note just how strong a season Deep Space Nine's freshman effort really was. Right out the gate, the actors nailed their roles—and jelled together like a well-harmonized acting ensemble—even though, onscreen, harmony wasn't always the intent. Shimmerman's portrayal of local barkeep Quark is dead on from the get-go, as are Auberjonois' brusque Constable Odo and Visitor's headstrong former resistance fighter, Maj. Kira Nerys, Bajoran liaison to Deep Space Nine. Even Farrell handles her science-officer role with aplomb, navigating through lines and lines of technobabble (DS9 is probably Trek's worst offender in this regard) with ease. (As an aside, the best line in the whole season should be credited to Maj. Nerys, in "If Wishes Were Horses": "Perimeter sensors are picking up a subspace oscillation. [beat] What the hell does that mean?")
When considered individually, there are few standout episodes in the season; the opener, "The Emissary," is above average for a pilot, the finale sets the stage for the future, and in between there are episodes like "Duet," a stunning piece on the aftermath of war. What does distinguish the season is its excellent character development and virtual lack of any true doozies (anyone remember Next Generation's first season groaning, er, growing pains?).
In addition to the 20 episodes of season one, the six-disc set provides six featurettes covering various aspects of production, the early beginnings of the show, alien prosthetics, a photo gallery and a character profile of Kira Nerys. Plus, there are another 10 "hidden" mini-featurettes—but more on those later.
A DVD done right ... almost
Saying that this DVD set is perfect wouldn't quite be right: There aren't as many extras as we'd like to see (still no episode commentaries, for example), and the editing and content of some of the featurettes leave much to be desired (the main documentary purports to be about the beginning of the series, but focuses primarily on the origins of the design—which would have been nice to have as its own dedicated feature). However, overall, from the packaging and presentation on down, this is one of the better-produced DVD series sets we've seen to date.
The packaging steals a page, ironically, from Warner's first season of Babylon 5 on DVD, and then improves on it from there. The discs are housed in an easy-access flip-book style case; and rather than the typical paper-based cover-and-box design, which can quickly show wear and tear, this set uses a thin, pliable plastic cover that slips into a similar plastic slipbox. The effect is both sleek and cool—though the verdict is out on how much dust the plastic might attract.
The menus, fashioned after the Cardassian consoles found on the station, are easy to navigate. All of the extras are housed on the sixth disc—and that's the only place the menus might seem a bit confusing, since you can end up highlighting parts of the station, without getting any description of what's there to view. Click through anyway, though, and you'll find one of the 10 soundbites, appropriately dubbed "Section 31 Hidden Files," taking bits of past interviews with the cast reflecting on specific things. Calling the "Hidden Files" soundbites is no exaggeration, considering they range from one and a half minutes to three minutes in length.
The primary documentary, a 15-minute affair titled "Deep Space Nine: A Bold Beginning," features a mix of interviews, both recent and tied to the start of the series. Unfortunately, there's not much of a season overview from the production standpoint (and I'm not mentioning the annoying repetition of the tuneless DS9 theme in the background). Rather, the piece focuses more on production design, with the reminiscences of Herman Zimmerman, Rick Sternbach and Mike Okuda taking up two-thirds of the documentary; though they provide an informative look behind the design elements of the station, this would have been better as a standalone element.
The similar-length "Crew Dossier" on Kira Nerys is well produced and includes interviews with Nana Visitor that date from the start of the series, and from the end of the series. But it's odd to find so much discussion of the future episodes on a disc that's, ostensibly, tied to the first season. And if it's intended as a whole-series overview of the character, it falls short, essentially skipping over much of the middle years and focusing on the first and last seasons only.
Though neither of these are very long, the most visual elements are with makeup master Michael Westmore's interview (which delves into the prosthetics behind the aliens featured in season one), and illustrator Rick Sternbach's early sketches detailing the evolution of the DS9 station. Less intriguing is the four-minute look at the props used in Quark's Bar, and the props used in season one.
Few of the extras come across as especially compelling, but ultimately that's not why you'll buy DS9's first season anyway. Hopefully, Paramount will have a few more tricks up their sleeve on future releases.
