It was a shame to see Deep Space Nine end because once it found it's feet it was a brilliant show and produced easily some of the best Star Trek episodes to date. After four seasons they started a story arc which would last for the rest of the shows run as they started a war with the Dominion and added their own soldier to the mix, Worf.

I didn't really care for the first three seasons, and I've not yet seen the majority of the episodes from those seasons (though I now have them on DVD so I'll report back in a few months whether or not my opinion has changed) - or at least I don't remember them anyway.

What this show brought to the franchise was a change of style - we were no longer watching the exploits of a crew on a shiny Federation ship, but the fragile alliance between the Federation and the Cardassians on board a space station that orbited the once oppressed Bajor and situated next to a wormhole which led to the Gamma quadrant. It also borrowed from what made Star Wars good (the originals) - not everything worked, there was grit and grime and things that would always break. It made the world believable. The show also created a brilliant dynamic between Constable Odo, the shape-shifter, and Quark - a bartender who often skirts on the wrong side of the law. Their repertoire became a source of humour and some very memorable moments.


Odo: I heard an interesting rumour today.
Quark: Only one? I started at least twelve.


Worf wasn't the only Next Generation alumni on the show either, we also saw Chief Miles O'Brian as a Scotty-like engineer who was responsible for keeping the station in running order. There are also a few other colourful characters that were regulars on the series. Doctor Bashir was genetically modified, Jadzia Dax was a Trill - someone who held a symbiote inside of her, and even a Cardassian tailor who was a former spy.

This was my favourite Star Trek show and one I would have no problem recommending to others.

This comes as a close second to Star Trek: Next Generation. The acting was great, as was the writing.

A slight bit darker than TNG, but still a true classic, DS9 had it all too. Comedy episodes, sci-fi episodes, action episodes, continuity, crossovers and more