[Trekboy]

Hi guys,

You know, when I started watching TNG, I thought it was so bloody
good. I thought, why don't they make tv shows like this anymore.
I really love TNG and the TNG cast. So much so that I had to ban myself
from this forum in case there were any spoilers. Now that I am up to
season 6, I don't want to move on to season 7 because I don't want
it to end!!!

So I started watching DS9... in hope that it will help me let go of TNG...
except, after watching the first 7 episodes, I thought they were terrible.
Really bad acting by the actor playing Commander Sisqo and his First
Officer.
Does it get better? If someone would be so kind to let me know because,
again I'm reluctant to read the other threads in the
DS9 forum in case of spoilers and I don't think i'm going to continue watching it,
even though I want to...
because I know TNG will end....
so i'll have to reconcile my feelings....
But... terrible... acting.... can't... stand.... moody... female... first... officer......

[maneth]

Yes, it does get a lot better, but Kira will remain moody. DS9 suffers from the same problem as all other treks, it's a bit slow to get going. TNG improved a lot after season 2 as well, particularly Deanna Troi's role.

DS9 is my favorite Trek, mainly because it's darker and less episodic than the others. TNG is a very close second, though!

[Kedi]

I urge you to stick with DS9, Trekboy! Like Maneth says, it does get better. When it gets rollin' DS9 is absolutely brilliant! I also feel that is has some of the greatest guest stars (Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat and Jeffrey Combs as Weyoun comes to mind immediately) in any Trek series. So hang in there, Trekboy!

[maneth]

Don't forget Louise Fletcher as Vedek/Kai Winn. AFAIK the only Academy Award winner in any version of Trek.

[Kedi]

I stand reminded! Louise Fletcher is an amazing actress! Too bad for me she'll always be Nurse Ratchet no matter what part she plays... She made a lingering impression on me.

[Squidman458]

I too had a hard time starting with DS9, but after watching all of them, it is BY FAR my most favorite series. I still COMPLETELY love the other series, but I actually had some eyes watering during some of the final season's episodes. TRUST ME: STICK WITH IT. You will NOT be disappointed. Not even a little.

[Ted]

DS9 was an excellent series, though a bit jarring if you're used to classic trek and TNG. The first three seasons are nothing special, but things really pick up when Worf comes along in season 4. The war narrative in the final two seasons is extremely well done, in part because the Cardassians and the Dominion are very nuanced, complicated villains who you can sometimes understand and sympathize with. Sisko's acting gets better (or at least his character feels more appropriate) when DS9 goes to war, and in any case the most interesting characters in the show are Quark, Odo and Worf, who only get developped in final seasons.


Also, I think Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan) won an Oscar for playing the psychic in Ghost.

[Ted]

On the matter of the female first officers, I always found it odd that Star Trek sometimes acts as though female characters have to be moody, hotheaded and phloxy in order to be seen as strong, when some calm determination would have done the trick. That was always a problem with Kira, and with Tasha Yar in TNG (who I knew was going to be toast the moment she started yelling at Q on the bridge and crying when things didn't go according to plan). Reminds of Margaret Thatcher saying that if you have to demand respect it's probably because you don't deserve it.

[Squidman458]

Jadzia, while not a first officer in most cases (the officialness of that can be argued depending on certain episodes), definitely held her own and then some. Too bad she decided to go to Becker (never saw it, so I can't give it a fair shake).

[Trekboy]

Hey guys, Thanks for the reassurances about DS9. I was a bit worried.
It still hard to let go of TNG...... =/
But now that I know I have something decent to move on to, i feel better.
Do you guys have opinions on the the other Star Trek tv shows? i.e: Voyager, Enterprise.

[maneth]

Voyager splits opinions, probably because some can't stand Janeway at all. I have no problems with her, although since I'm in the middle of the 1st season, I can't really judge. But at least Janeway isn't moody or bitchy, she manages to keep her crew in line with a calm authority rather reminiscent of Picard's, although like Picard, Janeway can show her fiery side too when needed. So maybe the Trek writers finally learned the lesson that women in authority don't need to be nasty to be effective.

[Trekboy]

Yeah. In one sense, I can understand how the opression of the Bejoran
people shaped the character Kira. The injustices she has witnessed
throughout her life would have contributed to her emotional ups and
downs. However, as a representative of the Provisioning Goverment...
shouldn't one be more professional? Perhaps I expect too much.
I've grown up knowing many very capable women and witnessed their
leadership for change with initiatives in both business and social aspects.
And in comparing their steadiness with Kira's...unsteadiness? makes me
concerned for the Bejoran people.

My gosh, you know, I never thought I'd actually be so devoted and immersed
in 'movement' like Star Trek. I used to mock trekkies and make fun
of them and now, I am one of them.

[maneth]

Most Bajorans and certainly Kira are defined by their religion. Kira behaves the way she does early on because the only reason she respects Sisko is that she believes that he's the Emissary. She's always going to be rather hot-tempered, but she'll grow less volatile as she learns to respect the Federation and Sisko on their own terms.

How many episodes have you seen now? Just asking to try to keep this spoiler-free.

[JulesLuvsShinzon]

I love DS9. To me it is the best and most evolved Trek.

With regard to Kira: I always took her volatility to be part of her Bajoran make-up. If you recall Ensign Ro Laren, she wasn't exactly diplomatic either.

This post has been edited by JulesLuvsShinzon: 17 April 2009 - 09:24 AM

[Trekboy]

7 episodes in so far.

Yeah, true, Ensign Ro was similar.... probably little more volatile than Kira.

[Captain_Hair]

Trekboy, on Apr 17 2009, 11:22 AM, said:

7 episodes in so far.

Yeah, true, Ensign Ro was similar.... probably little more volatile than Kira.

Keep truckin' pal. It's a bit rough the first few seasons (what Star Trek isn't?), but you'll be glad you stuck through.

[Radardog]

Trekboy, on Apr 17 2009, 09:22 AM, said:

7 episodes in so far.

Yeah, true, Ensign Ro was similar.... probably little more volatile than Kira.

That would probably have something to do with the fact that Major Kira was originally supposed to be Ensign Ro.

I was a huge Star Trek fan, but after watching the first half of the first season, I only watched DS9 when I had nothing better to do. But then they gave Sisko the Defiant in Season 3, and after watching "Past Tense" I realized DS9 was getting better. By Season 4, everything starts to pick up and it eventually gets as close as Star Trek ever got to the new Battlestar Galactica. The last few seasons had some of the best episodes of Trek ever.

This post has been edited by Radardog: 17 April 2009 - 11:08 PM

[JulesLuvsShinzon]

^^^ I guess you probably know that Ron D. Moore had a hand in both!

I think I read somewhere that Moore had originally wanted to go far further than he did with DS9. I think he was the guy who was really keen on breaking some of the Roddenberry 'rules'.

I never knew that Ro Laren and Kira were so closely linked.

[Sevens]

I'm doing the same thing with DS9. I've never watched it before and I'm currently working on the 1st season right now. I have to say...there's not much going for it so far. Avery Brooks is a terrible actor. He has a voice pattern that, to me, is more obnoxious than Shatner's and he doesn't sound like he means everything he says.

Kira is an annoying *****. That's all I have to say about her so far. lol.

I'm really hoping it gets interesting soon.

[Captain_Hair]

Give it a few seasons, Sevens...