Home :: DVD :: Television :: General  

A&E Home Video
BBC
Classic TV
Discovery Channel
Fox TV
General

HBO
History Channel
Miniseries
MTV
National Geographic
Nickelodeon
PBS
Star Trek
TV Series
WGBH Boston
Star Trek Deep Space Nine - The Complete First Season

Star Trek Deep Space Nine - The Complete First Season

List Price: $129.99
Your Price: $103.99
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 .. 15 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Welcome to Terok Nor !! DS9 is AWESOME !
Review: Long time Trek fan here too. As a child I would stay up late and watch the original series reruns and be tired all throughout elementary school. Then I recall a new Star Trek coming out called Star Trek: The Next Generation. I reacted adversely to it. But soon over time was a great fan of the show. And it was the same way with DS9 but even worse. I hated Star Trek Deep Space Nine the first few times I viewed it. It was only until years later I deceided to watch it starting off in episode 73 with the introduction of Worf. I was blown away by how great that season was and got hooked. Eventually, I saw all the seasons and to this day it is by far my favorite of all the treks. I have dreamed of Star Trek Deep Space Nine coming out on dvd and now its here. I also want to thank Paramount for releasing Deep Space Nine on dvd. I cannot wait to get my hands on every season as soon as it comes out. If you like or even love the other Treks, please due yourself a huge favor and get into DS9. LONG LIVE DS9 the best of all the treks ..each season is easily 5 out of five stars.. I too pray for a Deep Space Nine movie !!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Best Star Trek Series Gets Started
Review: Star Trek: Deep Space 9, by the end of its run, was the best of the Star Trek series, producing some of the most interesting, complex and daring shows that any Star Trek series ever attempted. While its first season was probably its weakest (like TNG, it really its stride in the third season), its first season was still better than TNG's (which really, with a couple of exceptions, wasn't very good until the latter part of season 2). Deep Space 9 starts with a great cast of characters (well, with the exception of Julian, who does't become a good character until he matures -- and stops propositioning every woman on the station -- a season or two later), who are thrown together and whose relationships have some real edges to them. The backstory is compelling, though the real arcs aren't developed until later seasons. All the Star Trek series are much more episodic than, say, Babylon 5 (which is both a strength and a weakness), but the early seasons tend to be even more so. But season 1 is a fine start.

Some fans haven't liked DS9, it part it seems because it does break the mold of other Star Trek series. It's not about exploring the galaxy, but is instead a character-driven drama set at a dangerous cross-roads in space. And by it's later seasons, it breaks the mold in yet other ways, doing things with the characters that are unlike anything any other Star Trek series has attempted. But if you go into the series without expecting the original series or TNG, but simply go looking for good science fiction, you'll find it here.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: my favorite Trek series...
Review: Something about the darker world of DS9 makes this my favorite Trek series. The development and interactions of the characters in year one (and throughout all seven years) was fantastic. Unlike the crews from the original Star Trek or from TNG, the DS9 crew was not always one big happy Starfleet family, especially in season 1 (and the early years). Commander Sisko ranks up there with Kirk and Picard in terms of his performance as a leader. On an additional character note, I'm glad that the producers saw fit to write in Chief Obrien from TNG and develop his character. The price of these DVDs is a bit hefty, but I'm glad that I can now watch my favorite episodes from crystal clear DVDs as opposed to my often grainy, commercial-filled, overplayed, VCR tapes! Plus the going used prices on Amazon are straining my wallet less as I try to complete my Star Trek collection!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Great Moments in a Flawed Season
Review: I must admit right off the bat that DS9 was never a show I held close to my heart; The Next Generation was (and is) my favorite Star Trek series. But nonetheless I decided to give the series another chance. Unfortunately, I was still unable to embrace it.

There are only four episodes in this season that I would want to watch more than once and they are; The Emissary, The Forsaken, Duet, and In The Hands Of The Prophets. The Forsaken is the weakest of the bunch, but I enjoy the insights into Odo's background and the nuances of Lawaxana Troi. The other three rank with the best of Trek. I was surprised at their high quality since the trest of the season was so lackluster.

Kira and to a much lesser extent Odo, are the only characters that piqued my interest. Garak was great in his one and only appearance this season as well. The rest of the cast was uninteresting, especially Sisko. I'm sorry, but Avery Brooks is WAY too self-conscious (what's up with the overly precise enunciation and practiced gestures), hopefully he improves as the series goes on.

As for the DVD set itself, it's done very well for the most part. I don't care much for the cases plastic slip cover and flip open design, but the book-like DVD trays are a welcome improvement over TNGs mile-long fold out. The menus are designed to look like Cardassian control panels and offer the standard features, but gone are the film clipped episode buttons of the TNG set, DS9 only offers a still image which makes finding the episode you want to see all the harder if you're not familiar with the show titles. The bonus disc is informative and done in the same style as the TNG bonus material except for the use of short 'easter eggs' that are very easy to find. I don't mind that they are easy to find, but if they're going to be so easy to find I wish that they'd rather just put them all in one selection.

I'd like to have rated this set higher since the four shows I liked, I thought were terrific, but as great as they are, they're not worth the full price. If you're a fan of DS9, you'll love this set. If you're new to the series, I'd suggest skipping this season and starting at season 4 which I hear is when the show shifted into high gear.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Deep Space Nine Season One - An incredible beginning!
Review: Late in the fifth season of Star Trek The Next Generation, the producers decided to embark in a new direction with a new, darker and even more character rich show. Having made that decision, they came up with Deep Space Nine, which turned into one of the best of all of the series. What made this series even more intriguing and enriching was its many contrasts to the way in which the other shows were produced. In Gene Roddenberry's vision of the twenty third and later twenty fourth century's human condition, life was not exactly a paradise yet much of the strife and hardships that we contend with today are eliminated. In the other series, there aren't many examples of conflict between the characters however, in DS9 there are plenty of opportunities for conflict between the Starfleet and Bajoran personnel or any other variety of alien species.

In Deep Space Nine we're introduced to Starfleet personnel who are asked to command a space station built and formerly run by Cardassians who had been occupying Bajor for sixty years and in many ways, quite brutally! Now that the Cardassians have decided to move out, the Bajorans aren't quite prepared to operate the station and are only in the beginning stages of rebuilding their world.

In many ways, this series unfortunately wasn't received as well as Star Trek The Next Generation, Star Trek Voyager or even today's Enterprise. Often referred to as the "red headed" stepchild of the franchise, DS9 didn't initially receive the critical acclaim or the fan support it so richly deserved.

Some character introductions:

Commander Benjamin Sisko, played brilliantly by Avery Brooks is a man of strong convictions and possessed of a superb leadership quality. In the beginning of "Emissary," Commander Sisko is still plagued by the death of his wife at the hands of the Borg at Wolf 359. He is raising his son Jake by himself, as a widower. He initially felt at the time he received the assignment that he didn't want the position and that he didn't wish to stay in Starfleet. Upon meeting Captain Picard and the stoic Bajoran people his desire to resign grows even greater. Upon his discovery of the wormhole and the aliens within serve to change his mind as they help him to finally recover from the anguish he'd been living in since the death of his wife. He accepts his role as the commander of Deep Space Nine and quite reluctantly accepts the Bajorans belief that he is the prophesized Emissary.

Major Kira Nerys, played perfectly by Nana Visitor is the Commander Sisko's choice as his first officer on DS9. She grew up under the terrible conditions of the Cardassian occupation. At an early age she joined the Bajoran resistance as a freedom fighter. Her character is one of great interest and intrigue as she learns to deal with situations from a leadership/political manner rather than always taking up arms. The role was initially to have been Ro Laren/Michelle Forbes from STNG, which probably would've been alright but thank goodness she turned it down as Nana Visitor did an outstanding job with the Kira Nerys role.

Chief Miles Edward O'Brien, continuing in his role from TNG, Colm Meaney performs admirably when his character accepts a promotion/transfer to DS9. Coming along with him, but somewhat reluctantly, is his wife Keiko. No longer used in the background as transporter chief, the character stands out in many different aspects, from the dramatic to the comedic.

Lieutenant Jadzia Dax, the ever beautiful Terry Farrell steps into the role of a joined Trill. Trill are a symbiotic species, meaning that while the woman is twenty eight, the "worm" in her abdomen is another life form that has been joined with other Trill several times before. Notably, Dax's last joining was with Curzon who had been mentor and friend to Benjamin Sisko. Playing the science officer, Jadzia is a brilliant and quite alluring character that enhances the show greatly.

Lieutenant Julian Bashir, played perfectly by Alexander Siddig. Dr. Bashir is fresh out of the Academy and on his first assignment. He is a brilliant doctor and also serves well in the role of the "ladies" man. Of course, in a later season we learn where a lot of his intelligence comes from.

Chief of Security Odo who is played beautifully by Rene Auberjonois. Odo is a shapeshifter or as we later find out, a changeling. Odo is a being possessed with a strong conviction for justice and a great need for privacy in his own affairs. The banter between him and Quark is perfect and very reminiscent of those between another pair on the Original Series.

Quark - The Ferengi that runs the stations drinking establishment. In good keeping with Ferengi tradition, he is in on nearly every illicit and illegal activity that happens on the station. The character is wonderful in every way conceivable, from the comedic stand point to the dramatic; Armin Shimerman's performance is brilliant and irreplaceable.

Garak, the Cardassian tailor/spy that was left behind when the Cardassians withdrew from Deep Space Nine is played superbly by Andrew Robinson. While only making one appearance in this first season, the former agent of the Obsidian Order does well to secure many recurring roles in episodes/seasons to come. He is, to date, one of the most intriguing characters of the entire genre.

I highly recommend this DVD set and the other seasons to come, as it is worth every penny! {ssintrepid}

Episode listing:

Emissary
Past Prologue
A Man Alone
Babel
Captive Pursuit
Q-Less
Dax
The Passenger
Move Along Home
The Nagus
Vortex
Battle Lines
The Storyteller
Progress
If Wishes Were Horses
The Forsaken
Dramatis Personae
Duet
In the Hand of the Prophets

Special Features:
Deep Space Nine: A Bold Beginning
Crew Dossier: Kira Nerys
Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season One
Secrets of Quark's Bar
Deep Space Nine Sketchbook

Alien Artifacts: Season One
A photo gallery
Several "hidden" interviews with cast members

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Best Post-Roddenberry Trek
Review: While Deep Space Nine is *not* the best Trek series, in my opinion, as stated here in other reviews, it is amongst the top three. The characters were fantastic, especially Sisko, Kira, and Bashir.

The series is easily the best post-Roddenberry Trek to date, with Voyager and Enterprise not even worthy of the franchise. Sisko is so far the only captain (or commander, depending which season you're watching) which has ever made me reconsider Kirk as the best ever (though I still go with Kirk; Sisko is a tough challenger, but he just can't stand up to Kirk's evolution through the series and movies).

I would recommend any fan of Star Trek give this series a chance. The only problem is, like many shows, it changes from more episodic storylines to continuing ones as it got older. This typically reflects difficulty in writing more original, contained plots, but even these desperate attempts are played well. All in all, the episodes make for great entertainment, just be prepared for a show that's based more around politics and religion (and a lot of battle nearer the end) than any of the other Treks.

I would love to see the DS9 characters in a movie, especially after the disgustingly corny, predictable, and boring mess that was "Nemesis."

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Season One of DS9(count to three,Allamaraine...)
Review: It's hard to belive it's been ten years since the first season of DS9 ,and how much in the following seasons that the characters have changed & evolved.
Before The Dominion,The Defiant,Strategic Operations Officer Worf,and Vic Fontaine,we have the humble beginnings of the station formerly known as Terok Nor.Sisko was more of an administrator than the passionate individual he is to become,Kira Nerys is unsettlingly fiesty,Julian Bashir rates high on the arrogent meter,and Jadzia Dax comes off as somewhat aloof.The shakedown season still plays better than any of the following Trek Series(Voyager,Enterprise).The standout episodes include Past Prologue,Captive Pursuit,Progress,In The Hands Of The Prophets,and Duet,which in my opinion is the best ever DS9 episode.
Even after a decade and nearly four years since the final episode,DS9 still manages to be the best Trek ever,and here's where it all started.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best Star Trek series
Review: In my opinion, DS9 was the best and most thought-provoking star trek series. It had a more realistic view of life and the decisions that we make, and showed that the innate idealism of Star Trek was something that could not be taken for granted, nor could it be completely above reproach. Also, this series is more character-driven than the other trek series. In TNG, you would not get to know many of the characters besides how you saw them in action every week doing this or that, but on DS9 you got to know the characters as they interacted with each other more in depth. In my opinion, the characters made the show what it was, for better or worse.

Many othes have described the plot and format for the series in their review so I won't do so here, but I will give my comments on this season. I'm a poor college student so I haven't bought the DVD set; however I did watch all of the seasons on DVD from Netflix. Season one had some hits and misses as the writers tried to get a feel for the show and the characters, but there were some good stories told. The best episode of the season was "Duet" which set the tone for all the premier episodes during its 7-season run; stories that made you think, made you cry, and weren't so cut-and-dry. While it is true that the series hit its stride in season 3 and continued a high arc up through Season 5 until a slight dip in season 6 and leveling off in season 7, you won't fully appreciate what you see in those seasons until you understand where they're coming from in season's 1 and 2. For example, you can see the wonderful friendship between Dr. Bashir and Chief O'Brien, but you'll see it even better when you remember that O'Brien couldn't stand Bashir in season 1. It is so cool to see the "growth" in all the characters over 7 seasons.

But anyways, check it out here on DVD or on Spike TV, show it the love it deserved and see why this was the Best Star Trek Ever.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nice, but it has problems
Review: I can't help but compare this to the Next Generation box set. They set the bar pretty high with the Next Generation box sets, and unfortunately Deep Space Nine doesn't quite hold up.

The box layout of DS9 isn't bad, but it's made of plastic, and looks kind of cheap. The insert slides out and when it opens up it shows the DVDs stacked neatly inside, each on their own page. I like this better than the huge fold out of the Next Generation box set. The insert doesn't fit as well into its sleeve as I'd like. One of the plastic over pages tends to get caught, and the colour is wearing off there.
The disks themselves have a pretty uniform layout, after the introduction you see four episodes listed (with the exception of the first disk, where the pilot was 2 hours), and there's a rotating shot DS9 in the background. However there is no screen to show clips, so if you're trying to find an episode you've seen before you're out of luck. You have to select the episode and hope the still there will give you enough information.

One thing that really bothered me about the episodes is the chapter layout. On the Next Generation disks the first chapter was the first few minutes of the episode, and the introduction. You could chapter ahead to the second chapter of each episode and skip the introduction. They didn't do that with the DS9 episodes, and so chaptering ahead can skip over part of the episode, sometimes as much as two or three minutes.

Overall I can't be too disappointed with the box set. I'm not too fond of the colours they chose or the plastic sleeve, and I really dislike the messed up chapters. However, considering that all the episodes are contained in one box set that's both cheaper and smaller than buying the individual episodes on VHS tape, I can't complain too much.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Recommended but some rough areas
Review: This is the only season of this show I have seen. It was quite good and I am planning to purchase additional season-in fact I almost gave it five stars. The season premiere was really excellent, easily shouldering the burden of introducing us to the characters and environment without losing focus on its own story.

The rest of the season was generally good, with a few standout episodes and no particular bloopers. My biggest complaint was that the closest thing to a season theme (tension between the Bajorans and Starfleet) never got the consistant attention it needed. Also the final episode of this brief package (only 19 episodes), although quite good as a stand-alone episode, was completely unable to balance out the overall experience and left everything feeling truncated.

That said, the episodes were engaging and occasionally thought-provoking. Although DS9 lacks the commanding presence of Patrick Stewart and is thus more of an ensemble piece than TNG, the characters were interesting and worked well together. Recommended!


<< 1 2 3 4 .. 15 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates