Season 1
Deep Space Nine, the third live action Star Trek series, shook up the envelope of what Star Trek is. But it had a slow beginning. There are some stumbles and missteps, but by the end of the first season, Deep Space Nine had been well established. Where to begin? Well, at the beginning, with Emissary. The main characters are all well established from the outset. Sisko in particular, with his bereavement, and his encounter with the Prophets allowing him to move past it. As is Kira in their first meeting.
However, reviewing an episodic season is different to reviewing a more serialised season, like Season 2 of Discovery, or any season of (dare I say it) Babylon 5. One cannot talk about ongoing storylines, but rather the themes that run through the season. There are many themes in this introductory season. The main themes are the ongoing situation on Bajor (with the recovery from the Occupation, and trying to establish a Government), tensions with the Cardassians and the beginnings of exploration of the Gamma Quadrant.
There is also the Starfleet and Bajoran crews on the Station learning to work together, but that is mostly in the background. The situation on Bajor is set up very well in the first episode, with Sisko's meeting with Opaka not only setting up his discovery of the wormhole and the Prophets, but also his efforts to ensure that Bajor doesn't fall apart into civil war. It also sets a precedent that would be followed up when he needs to go to Bajor for help with a situation. e.g. him going to Bariel in In the Hands of the Prophets.
The Bajor theme repeats through the season. It doesn't slip into the background like the Cardassians do. The energy project in Progress and the land dispute in The Storyteller give excellent windows into the problems the Bajorans have to face. The situation Varis Sul has to deal with in the latter episode is an excellent depiction of a situation that would arise. Young people having to step up and lead their communities after their parents are killed by the Occupiers. Land disputes. It also depicts the stress such a situation would cause very well.
Then there's the situation in In the Hands of the Prophets. The overall situation would definitely allow for people like Winn Adami to get into positions of power. The tensions with the Cardassians aren't really given a focus. It just lies there in the background, only surfacing from time to time. For instance, tensions between Kira and Sisko when a trader arrives who had traded weapons (resources for weapons) to the Cardassians. The freighter that plays a role in the telepathic archive induced power struggle in Dramatis Personae is a case in point.
Of course one cannot talk about the role Cardassians play in this season without mentioning Marritza. The situation that he causes by coming to Deep Space Nine and claiming to be Gul Darhe'el is realised on screen very well. Kira's search for the truth and her realisation that not all Cardassians are evil were very well done. And Marritza's tragic end at the hands of a racist Bajoran was portrayed very well. (Of course, that Bajoran's experiences in the Occupation aren't elaborated upon, but that may have taken from the exploration of Marritza's backstory.)
Of course, there's also Garak, with the possibility of his being a spy being explored from the outset, along with his Tuesday lunches with Bashir. The exploration of the Gamma Quadrant mainly takes a back seat to these two other threads, with First Contacts mainly occuring by others stumbling upon the wormhole, like the Tosk in Captive Pursuit and the aliens in If Wishes Were Horses, or Vulcans exploring the Quadrant. (Clearly, Move Along Home was a massive stumble in this regard.)
Then there is the Klingon crew in Dramatis Personae bringing back something that should have been handed with much more care. And these this theme combines rather effectively with the Bajoran theme in Battlelines where Opaka ends up being the mediator between the two eternally battling factions. Clearly it is implied that the Prophets wanted her there for some reason. (Orb experience and then wanting to go through the wormhole...) Overall this is a rather good season to introduce the show with. 8/10.
Deep Space Nine, the third live action Star Trek series, shook up the envelope of what Star Trek is. But it had a slow beginning. There are some stumbles and missteps, but by the end of the first season, Deep Space Nine had been well established. Where to begin? Well, at the beginning, with Emissary. The main characters are all well established from the outset. Sisko in particular, with his bereavement, and his encounter with the Prophets allowing him to move past it. As is Kira in their first meeting.
However, reviewing an episodic season is different to reviewing a more serialised season, like Season 2 of Discovery, or any season of (dare I say it) Babylon 5. One cannot talk about ongoing storylines, but rather the themes that run through the season. There are many themes in this introductory season. The main themes are the ongoing situation on Bajor (with the recovery from the Occupation, and trying to establish a Government), tensions with the Cardassians and the beginnings of exploration of the Gamma Quadrant.
There is also the Starfleet and Bajoran crews on the Station learning to work together, but that is mostly in the background. The situation on Bajor is set up very well in the first episode, with Sisko's meeting with Opaka not only setting up his discovery of the wormhole and the Prophets, but also his efforts to ensure that Bajor doesn't fall apart into civil war. It also sets a precedent that would be followed up when he needs to go to Bajor for help with a situation. e.g. him going to Bariel in In the Hands of the Prophets.
The Bajor theme repeats through the season. It doesn't slip into the background like the Cardassians do. The energy project in Progress and the land dispute in The Storyteller give excellent windows into the problems the Bajorans have to face. The situation Varis Sul has to deal with in the latter episode is an excellent depiction of a situation that would arise. Young people having to step up and lead their communities after their parents are killed by the Occupiers. Land disputes. It also depicts the stress such a situation would cause very well.
Then there's the situation in In the Hands of the Prophets. The overall situation would definitely allow for people like Winn Adami to get into positions of power. The tensions with the Cardassians aren't really given a focus. It just lies there in the background, only surfacing from time to time. For instance, tensions between Kira and Sisko when a trader arrives who had traded weapons (resources for weapons) to the Cardassians. The freighter that plays a role in the telepathic archive induced power struggle in Dramatis Personae is a case in point.
Of course one cannot talk about the role Cardassians play in this season without mentioning Marritza. The situation that he causes by coming to Deep Space Nine and claiming to be Gul Darhe'el is realised on screen very well. Kira's search for the truth and her realisation that not all Cardassians are evil were very well done. And Marritza's tragic end at the hands of a racist Bajoran was portrayed very well. (Of course, that Bajoran's experiences in the Occupation aren't elaborated upon, but that may have taken from the exploration of Marritza's backstory.)
Of course, there's also Garak, with the possibility of his being a spy being explored from the outset, along with his Tuesday lunches with Bashir. The exploration of the Gamma Quadrant mainly takes a back seat to these two other threads, with First Contacts mainly occuring by others stumbling upon the wormhole, like the Tosk in Captive Pursuit and the aliens in If Wishes Were Horses, or Vulcans exploring the Quadrant. (Clearly, Move Along Home was a massive stumble in this regard.)
Then there is the Klingon crew in Dramatis Personae bringing back something that should have been handed with much more care. And these this theme combines rather effectively with the Bajoran theme in Battlelines where Opaka ends up being the mediator between the two eternally battling factions. Clearly it is implied that the Prophets wanted her there for some reason. (Orb experience and then wanting to go through the wormhole...) Overall this is a rather good season to introduce the show with. 8/10.
