Star Trek doesn't quite have a history of starting things on a great note. TOS had three potential pilots and they aired the worst one first, TNG's first season is infamously rough, and TMP and Generations are far from the best Star Trek movies. Deep Space Nine's first season isn't amazing, but it starts the series on a much better note than usual.
Deep Space Nine is a change of pace for Star Trek, taking place on a stationary space station rather than a constantly moving ship. The series is about a crew running an old Cardassian station named Deep Space Nine, as they monitor an incredibly important wormhole to and from Bajor. In theory, this show sounds a lot like Babylon 5, which happened to come out that same year. However, DS9 put a larger focus on the main crew adjusting to their new life on the station and learning to get along, as unlike the start of Babylon 5 and most of Star Trek, these characters don't really like each other for most of this season. DS9's cast is by far the most diverse species-wise, and seeing the show dealing with their cultural differences is really interesting. The biggest running storyline here involves the conflict between the Bajorans and the Cardassians, and a lot of episodes this season do a good job of fleshing it out to be a really morally grey conflict. The Cardassians occupied Bajor for quite some time and put a lot of Bajorans in labor camps, yet the show never depicts it as a black-and-white issue while still not downplaying the horror of what they've done. The last two episodes of Season 1 are an especially strong one-two punch, depicting a Cardassian who tries to force his entire species to admit to their atrocities, as well as a Bajoran who blows up a school in an effort to assassinate a candidate in an election. DS9 never settles for Bajoran good, Cardassian bad or vice versa, and I really like that about the series.
Outside of that, I really like how Deep Space Nine utilizes its cast. While TNG did a better job of being an ensemble, you could tell that some characters (Picard, Data, Worf at points) got more attention than other characters (Beverly, Geordi). DS9, on the other hand, not only makes sure to give everyone in the cast an episode to themselves, but it splits many of its episodes in multiple subplots to make sure everyone gets something to do. Compared to how Kirk and Picard were unequivocably the protagonists of their respective series, Commander Sisko doesn't get quite as much screentime, and I think that's kind of cool. As for the characters themselves, I think they're alright. Kira is easily the highlight so far due to her connection to the Bajoran-Cardassian conflict, but I also liked Dax and Odo for being unique species for main characters. On the other hand, Dr Bashir's constant pining for Dax got annoying fast, and there were way too many subplots involving Jake and Nog this season. As a whole, I think the episode quality this season was decent. Aside from Move Along Home, I wouldn't say any of the episodes were bad, but I would say a lot of them were pretty average and dull.
Still, there were a few episodes that stuck out to me:
Dax: Call it a Measure Of A Man clone all you want, Dax still had an engaging moral conflict that dealt with the concept of a Trill far better than TNG ever has. The question of if Jadzia is accountable for the actions of her symbiont's past hosts was an interesting one, and I really enjoyed that judge who just seemed like she was done with everyone for the entire episode.
Duet: While I enjoyed most of this season, Duet was by far the best episode and it's not even close. I love just how conflicted I felt watching all of it, like I was constantly switching between siding with Kira and Marritza. First, I thought Kira was just being (rightfully) spiteful and vengeful, but then Marritza started to boast and I felt awful for doubting Kira. But then you start to realize that Marritza was just acting, and then we get that fantastic reveal of what he was really trying to do. The final scene where a Bajoran abruptly kills Marritza, doing what Kira wanted at the start of the episode, was heartwrenching, and served as a great bit of character development for Kira.
In The Hands Of The Prophets: Reviewing Star Trek has been an interesting change of pace since it's tendency to deal with real-world issues means I've had to show my biases a bit. I feel very strongly about keeping religion out of school and not using it to deny science, so naturally I found Vedek Winn to be an incredibly hateable character. She's so smug, so condescending, so sure that what she believes is right and that everyone must feel the same way. She should be a fantastic antagonist in the seasons to come. Otherwise, this is an odd approach to a finale. It feels like a standalone episode and isn't as emotional as Duet, yet it delves into Bajoran politics and shows just how tense things are. There's a school bombing, an attempted assassination, and a lot of election drama that I hope is dealt with come Season 2.
And as usual for Star Trek, there had to be at least one clunker:
Move Along Home: This episode was just plain nonsensical. The crew being stuck in a board game that Quark is playing, the bizarre costumes and set design, it all just felt so TOS. Given how Deep Space Nine is generally a darker show in both tone and lighting, Move Along Home felt really out of place.
Overall, I enjoyed the first season of Deep Space Nine. While many of the episodes were pretty average and I didn't love all the characters yet, it was already a more consistent season than many prior seasons of Star Trek. And with its compelling politics, well-balanced ensemble, and fantastic ending, I thought this was a great start for the new series.
3/5 Stars
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