Do any of you watch Star Trek?

[Sunstroke]

DS9 is my favorite series by far, though TNG is also really good.  DS9 is where you get to see a little more depth in the Star Trek universe;

I finally broke down and started watching it. I am about 6 episodes into season one now.

A few rambling thoughts on DS9 to this point:  I loves me some Quark... I'd love to loves me some Dax, symbiont and all... I knew I recognized Odo, he's the original Father Mulcahey from the movie M*A*S*H... The actor who plays Commander Sisko might be the worst actor in the history of acting. If I don't make it through the series, it will be because of the pain I experience watching him robot his way through lines, especially when he laughs or smiles...

[mecadonzilla]

I finally broke down and started watching it. I am about 6 episodes into season one now.

A few rambling thoughts on DS9 to this point:  I loves me some Quark... I'd love to loves me some Dax, symbiont and all... I knew I recognized Odo, he's the original Father Mulcahey from the movie M*A*S*H...

Quark was also the principal of Sunnydale High.  Odo was also Benson's foil in, well, Benson.

I've been a fan of the whole Trek genre since the 70s.  The old Star Trek animated series was instrumental in my fandom.  Hell, I even loved the entirety of Voyager.  I got a little snobby when DS9 came on, though.  I liked much of what they were trying to do (the Tribble episode was classic).  Jeffrey Combs in your TV show is a major plus.  However, as a huge devotee of Babylon 5, I couldn't watch overt ripoffs.  It felt like much of the story was ripped straight from the B5 script that happened a year or two prior.  I'd feel more strongly about it and give examples, but it's late and I don't care enough to research.  All I remember is at the time, I thought B5 should have been suing the crap out of DS9.

And if you've never watched Babylon 5, if you can get past the first 3/4 of season 1, it's a pretty damn good show btw.  It's got high cheese factor, I admit, as it was a product of its time, but the over all story arc is superb.  Hell, Harlan Ellison was a major contributor and Neil Gaiman even wrote an episode.

[Spider-Dan]

A few rambling thoughts on DS9 to this point:  I loves me some Quark... I'd love to loves me some Dax, symbiont and all... I knew I recognized Odo, he's the original Father Mulcahey from the movie M*A*S*H... The actor who plays Commander Sisko might be the worst actor in the history of acting. If I don't make it through the series, it will be because of the pain I experience watching him robot his way through lines, especially when he laughs or smiles...

Commander Sisko is a bit of a buzzkill (particularly early on).
Captain Sisko is awesome.

[Dave Gray]

I'm on Season 1, Episode 18 of DS9.

Sisko is a buzzkill, for sure.  He just kinda tells people what they can't do so that the good characters can respond to their inner conflict.  You do get a little bit of his character in the middle of the season, Stroke.  Hang in there -- it gets a little bit better.  He's no Picardl; that's for sure.

I like Odo and Dax the most, I think.  But there are episodes where they do nothing, as well.  I'd like to see more of Bashir.  He's kinda funny trying to pick up women.

[Sunstroke]

Bashir would really be near the top of my list of characters I'd like to see less of. He's just too much of a pretty boy doofus.  I'm with ya on Odo though...love that character. I'm looking forward to seeing more of his back story revealed. Even though it was a small insignificant scene, one of my favorite moments early on in season one was when Quark was talking to Odo about how everybody wants something, and that surely there was something that Odo wanted. Quark keeps prying, listing different things and Odo keeps shooting them down, and then Quark says "A gold-plated bucket to sleep in," to which Odo paused momentarily before saying "nah." That brief hesitation spoke volumes. I'll actually say that the ongoing relationship between Odo and Quark, constable and con man, is one of my favorite parts of the show.

[Dave Gray]

Bashir would really be near the top of my list of characters I'd like to see less of. He's just too much of a pretty boy doofus.  I'm with ya on Odo though...love that character. I'm looking forward to seeing more of his back story revealed. Even though it was a small insignificant scene, one of my favorite moments early on in season one was when Quark was talking to Odo about how everybody wants something, and that surely there was something that Odo wanted. Quark keeps prying, listing different things and Odo keeps shooting them down, and then Quark says "A gold-plated bucket to sleep in," to which Odo paused momentarily before saying "nah." That brief hesitation spoke volumes. I'll actually say that the ongoing relationship between Odo and Quark, constable and con man, is one of my favorite parts of the show.

I agree with everything you said.  Bashir is blank at the point you are, but starts to get his moments in the next few episodes.  There is an episode where he imagines a version of Dax that's all in to him and he plays off of it pretty well.

I can see great things in the future for Odo and Quark.

[Lee]

Jeff, try to make it to season 4 in DS9, it will be well worth it :-)

Lots of character development finally.  You'll even grow to like Bashir.

[Sunstroke]

It's enough like TNG that I'm sure I'll keep watching it. Mec has me interested in checking out Babylon 5 as well, as it seems we have some similar tastes in TV shows.

[Spider-Dan]

Sisko's role as the Emissary of the Prophets becomes more significant as the series goes on (and he is ultimately defined by it).  It isn't until season 4 that he begins to understand and accept it.

Bashir also has a major character background revelation (around the middle of the series' run) and it has a definite impact on his place in the show.  Suffice it to say that there is a particular element of Star Trek that is missing from early DS9, and he slides into that role.

To be perfectly blunt, after you've watched a few episodes of season 1 and gotten a basic feel for who the characters are, you can skip to season 2 episode 20 ("The Maquis") and skip a bunch of ultimately irrelevant stuff.  Unlike other Star Treks, DS9 is very serialized and many of the episodes build upon events in previous episodes (I'm not talking about 2- or 3-parters).

[Sunstroke]

There is an episode where he imagines a version of Dax that's all in to him and he plays off of it pretty well.

Yeah, I watched that one today..."If Wishes Were Horses." Definitely an interesting episode, with the Gamma quadrant species being intrigued by humanity's imagination. They could have made the baseball player look a little more like an athlete though, rather than a pudgy Asian accountant...just sayin'.

I can see great things in the future for Odo and Quark.

The episode where he's stuck in the elevator with the amorous Lwaxana Troi (good to see her ported over from TNG) was outstanding. Definitely showed a different side to Odo and gave him a little depth, imo...

To be perfectly blunt, after you've watched a few episodes of season 1 and gotten a basic feel for who the characters are, you can skip to season 2 episode 20 ("The Maquis") and skip a bunch of ultimately irrelevant stuff. 

If I skipped ahead, I'd just end up coming back to watch the episodes I missed later on. I'm definitely enjoying DS9 immensely so far, so thanks for the nudge in this show's direction.

[Dave Gray]

Stroke,

Not sure if you marathoned more DS9 over the weekend, but by last count, we were at about the same place.

Now, I'm about 5 episodes into Season 2.

There was just a 3 episode arc about "The Cirlce", a terrorist group that is trying to get Starfleet away from Bajor.  I enjoyed that a lot...my favorite episodes so far.  So, I can see how the ongoing stories may start to work.  I'm also liking the characters more and more, which is good.

I do have one issue with Quark.  I like his character a lot, but it's a stretch to believe that he'd have as much access as he does on the station.  Or that he wouldn't just be charged with mutiny.  In a recent episode, he risks the lives of the entire crew for some money.  I just can't imagine a Starfleet captain putting any trust in someone like that.

[Spider-Dan]

Quark can't be charged with "mutiny"; he's not a member of Starfleet.

He's a Ferengi and the station is under Bajoran (not Federation) law.  He could be charged with a crime, but he's smart enough not to get caught (or, Odo chooses not to arrest him, provided he stays within certain boundaries).

I think Sisko has generally regarded Quark logically: like most Ferengi, Quark can be trusted to do that which is most profitable.  So Sisko makes sure that he sets up the proper motivation before he gets Quark involved.

[Dave Gray]

In the episode I just saw, Quark secretly undid some kind of protection and let a group sneak on to the station.  Then, the group took the entire group hostage and attempted murder on Dax.  That's pretty serious.  Regardless of who is in charge, if you did that, you wouldn't be invited back.

[Sunstroke]

Stroke,

Not sure if you marathoned more DS9 over the weekend, but by last count, we were at about the same place.

Now, I'm about 5 episodes into Season 2.

There was just a 3 episode arc about "The Cirlce", a terrorist group that is trying to get Starfleet away from Bajor.  I enjoyed that a lot...my favorite episodes so far.  So, I can see how the ongoing stories may start to work.  I'm also liking the characters more and more, which is good.

I do have one issue with Quark.  I like his character a lot, but it's a stretch to believe that he'd have as much access as he does on the station.  Or that he wouldn't just be charged with mutiny.  In a recent episode, he risks the lives of the entire crew for some money.  I just can't imagine a Starfleet captain putting any trust in someone like that.

I marathoned pretty hard this weekend...  I just finished the two-parter, "The Maquis," episodes 2-20 and 2-21. I did skip two episodes, "Blood Oath" and "Paradise," as I realized a couple of minutes into each that I had seen them before.

I agree with you on "The Circle"...those were my favorite episodes to this point, with the two-part "The Maquis" being right behind them. I also had the same thoughts on Quark when he tried selling out Dax for profit. That was the only time so far in this show that I wanted to see that Ferengi weasel eat a phaser blast.

[Dave Gray]

You coming around on Bashir yet?  I am starting to like his character more and more.  He seems like a real doctor, too.  Cocky, but always interested in helping anyone -- really sticking to that oath, no matter what.