Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was the third live-action Star Trek television series. It took place in the same time period as Star Trek: The Next Generation, and, in its first two seasons, ran concurrently with its parent show. Unlike the previous two incarnations of the franchise, which took place on spaceships roaming the galaxy, this series took place on a space station located near both an intergalactic wormhole and the planet Bajor.

Fast Facts

1. Network: Syndicated
2. Seasons: 7
3. First aired: January 3, 1993
4. Starring: Avery Brooks, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Colm Meaney, Nana Visitor, Armin Shimmerman, Terry Farrell, Michael Dorn, Nicole de Boer

A Different Trek

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) was markedly different from its predecessors, a conscious decision of the producers. Where every other Star Trek has been set on a ship traveling through space, this series was set on a space station. The show was much darker, both visually and thematically. While inter-character conflict was largely prohibited on Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation, it was a central feature of DS9. The series also featured much longer plot arcs, with plotlines spanning multiple episodes and at times multiple seasons.

Carryover Characters

Producers also decided to carry over familiar, but underdeveloped, characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Miles O'Brien (played by Colm Meaney) and his family. Producers had initially planned to bring over the character of Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes), a Bajoran, to be the second-in-command of the station, but Forbes turned down the offer and a new Bajoran character, Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) was created to fill the role. Later, the character of Worf (Michael Dorn) was also brought to DS9.

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