Star Trek - Deep Space Nine - Series 1 (Slimline Edition) [DVD]

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Product Description ------------------- 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 ------------- 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