Rating: 
Summary: great begining
Review: ds9 season 1 is the beginning of in my opinion the best startrek series. No other series was as complex so it was hard to get tired of it because there are so many things going on and things that happen in one season a lot of times come back around in a later season. The non starfleet cast is what set it apart and a great captain. No other series had as many non starfleet charecters that were vital throughout the series. From the ferengis to cardassians to klingons and dominion, you learned more about these races than in any other series. You got to see things from their perspectives at times. And section 31 was very cool. I recommend the entire series on dvd.
Rating: 
Summary: A slow start, but a good series
Review: Ben Sisko (Avery Brooks) is commissioned by Starfleet to an old Cardassian space station called Terok Nor which Starfleet has re-named Deep Space Nine to safeguard the planet Bajor. He later discovers a stable wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant and is chosen as the Emissary by a race of aliens known as "The Prophets"BEST EPISODE: DUET
Rating:
Summary: The Underrated Middle-Child of Trek
Review: Now we come to the underrated middle child of Trekdom. Premiering in the midst of Next Generations's peak in popularity, Deep Space Nine was instantly overshadowed and ignored. A shame, since this is beyond any doubt the finest Trek series, surpassing Captain Kirk & Co., and presents some of the best science fiction in recent memory. Prior to DS9, Star Trek was basically about a bunch of interstellar social workers that traveled around solving everyone's problems. Picard was a classy, cerebral philosopher, and Kirk was the sci-fi equivalent of Superman. But from the very first scene of it's very first episode and the majestic but somber opening theme that follows, you know Deep Space Nine will be something different. DS9 is set on a shabby space station (Deep Space 9) in the frontier of Federation territory. It is administrated by a brooding, troubled man (Capt. Sisko) who would rather eat a live toad then be in charge of the station. It is surrounded by warmongering, hostile alien races, one of which starts a devastating interstellar war later in DS9's run. Clearly, this is a much darker show then what came before it. The first season is pretty solid, though not as spectacular as what comes after it. The two hour pilot episode "Emissary" does a good job of setting the characters and premise up, even though it's second half is basically 45 minutes of Sisko preaching to omnipotent life forms called "Prophets" about how great humanity is. There are several very powerful episodes scattered throughout the season, all of which deal with the alien characters on the show (Kira in "Progress" and "Battle Lines", Odo in "Vortex", and Dax in... well, "Dax"). The standouts though are obviously "Duet" and "In the Hands of the Prophets", the two final episodes of the season. "Duet" is a masterpiece, 'nuff said. It consists of a gripping conflict between Kira and a Cardassian war criminal that slaughtered hundreds of her people (the Bajorans). "What you call genocide, I call a day's work." as the Cardassian so memorably puts it. There are few twists involved in this, climaxing with an unprecedented and shocking ending that was unlike anything I had seen on TV before. "In the Hands of the Prophets" is a terrific and socially relevant episode about the separation of religion and state. It also introduces Vedek/Kai Winn, an evil Bajoran priest played by Nurse Ratchet actress Louise Fletcher, who would become a major reoccurring villain as the show continued. In this episode, she demands O'Brien's wife to stop teaching "heresy" (ie: science) in the station's school. After she doesn't get her way, Whine--excuse me--Winn stirs the Bajoran population on the station into a near-rebellion against the lead characters, during which the school is bombed in an act of religious terrorism. A fine episode in a pretty solid season which, despite a sluggish start (understandable, considering that this was the first year), still churned out a number of gems in the second half.
Rating:
Summary: The Star Trek Series that could
Review: The DS9 series was a bold step into the unknown. It is true that people did not really travel away from the station , and the neighbors were restless , but it was those uncertanties that did make DS9 a good series. Not every episode ended with happiness and not all problems were solved in 45 minutes like the other series did. There were more background elements that made this series more real and to me more enjoiable to watch. DS9 may not have been the best sci-fi series out there at the time , but it was a lot better that most and in the long run I think that it could turn out to have been the best of all the Star Trak series.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Start to a Fantastic Show
Review: I loved Deep Space Nine. I thought it was an excellent show and I'm gald to see it on DVD. DS9 had hard and high expectations. It was the first spin off of the Star Trek The Next Generation. When the show premeired it had to compete against TNG for fans and sometimes ratings. A lot of trekkies were skeptic about the whole idea of life on a space station and were scared to see something else besides a crew of the Enterprise. I think thats what made the show so great,it's orignality. Avery Brooks was awesome as Commander Sisko. Season one developed him very well as we saw a man trying to turn his life around. I thought he was brillant in "Emmisary" and after I saw the pilot I knew this show would last. Commander Sisko is one of the most underrated characters in Star Trek. Avery Brooks played him to absolute perfection. He's a great actor and a great man. You'll love the way they develop his character in season one. It was good to see Colm Meaney on the show. Give credit to the producers for putting Miles O'Brein on the show. He was always a key character to the show. You always knew the chief was going to get it fixed. He reminded me a lot of Scotty in what they did with him. Nana Visitor was great as Major Kira. It was cool how they put a Bajoran on the station and how they made it a co-op leadership thing. To this point in Star Trek all we knew about the Bajorans were Ensign Ro and the Maquis. They developed the race well and once again it all starts in season one. Rene Auberjonois as Odo was one of the coolest characters ever in tv. Star Trek executives made a smart move and made him a shapeshifter. Then they did a really smart move and modeled him after the T-1000 from T2. It was brillant. He was orignal and cool looking. Props to Rene for wearing all that make up. He played the character great. Armin Shimmerman as Quark was great. Once again DS9 developed a race the Ferengi that not a lot was known about. Quark was the comic relief to the show and Armin hit a home run with the role. Quarks one of the funniest and most loveable characters to ever come out on a sci-fi show. Terry Farrel as Lt.Dax was awesome. The whole idea of the trill was a cool addition. I love how they developed Dax and Siskos friendship from what it had been. Terry was hot on the show. It was sad what they did with her in the later seasons, but she remains one of my favorite Star Trek characters ever. Alexander Siddig was great as Bashir. They started Bashir as kind of the hopeless romantic who is out to show what he can be. He wanted to practive frontier medicine. Once again I like how they developed his character. He was a great addition to the show and Star Trek universe. DS9 was a great show. This is the shows humble beginnings. It had to compete against the highly rated TNG and it easily holds it own. It might be a little darker than some trekkies like it, but me as a casual Star Trek fan love it. I think DS9 was a great show and this is something all Star Trek fans should own. People who don't like Star Trek might like DS9 becaue it's not the Enterprise, but an original and fantastic show setting place in the same time period and the same Star Trek universe.
Rating:
Summary: A new direction
Review: The first spin-off of TNG launched in a spectacular way. Opening with the Borg battle at Wolf 359 (from TNG's classic two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds"), we are introduced to Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Sisko. He is the Executive Officer on the Saratoga when the attack begins, with Jean-Luc Picard -former captain of the Enterprise and now Locutus of Borg - leading the assault. And quickly, Starfleet discovers they are no match for the Borg. Forced to abandon his damaged ship, Sisko is able to save his 9 year-old son; his wife is tragically killed. Three years later, we meet Sisko as a Commander about to assume the position of command of a former Cardassian space station Terok Nor -now renamed Deep Space Nine. Starfleet needs Sisko there to help prepare the Bajoran's for entry into the Federation. And a bitter single father soon discovers, his newest mission to aid the Bajor may have been written in the stars centuries before he was born. DS9's first season, like TNG before it, had many high and low points. The 2-hour opener was a better pilot than TNG, and featured a better theme music. Almost from the start, this spin-off was going to way different from TNG. Where everyone on Enterprise were a happy family and conflict free, DS9 introduced conflict galore. Sisko and his first officer, Bajoran Major, Kira, butted heads from day one. And instead of solving that right away, it would take years for them both to come to an understanding. Political intrigue and religion would be the series bread and butter over seven years and while it would take most of the first season to introduce these concepts, it still had a handful of stories that introduced you to the characters that populate this show. The first season would also feature a few familiar characters that were first introduced on TNG. The biggest, of course, was Colm Meany's Chief Miles O'Brien. Meany, a part of the Trek franchise since TNG opener, brought Miles over to become Chief of Operations. The Klingon sisters of Lursa and B'Etor -who were involved in several plots to take over their homeworld - visited DS9 in "Past Prologue" and popular character of Q would visit with Vash (TNG's Captain's Holiday" and "Q-Pid") in "Q-Less". "Battle Lines" would kill off the spiritual leader of the Bajoran's, and the late Brian Keith shines in the allegory episode "Progress". Even Majel Barrett's mostly annoying character of Lwaxana Troi would show up in "The Forsaken". But perhaps, the highlight of season one is "Duet", a tightly plotted tale of culpability. Guest star Harris Yulin shines as a coward who personalized the guilt of an entire race. It was, perhaps, Nana Visitor finest hour as Kira, who realizes for the first time in her life that not all Cardassians need to be punished for their 60 year enslavement of the Bajoran's. With the season finale, "In the Hands of the Prophets", the series long-overdue conflict between the tolerant Federation and the deeply spiritual Bajorans comes forward in a tale of intrigue, murder and philosophy. With this episode Oscar wining actress Louise Fletcher begins her recurring role of Vedek Winn, and chews the scenery and steals every scene she's in. Over all, the first season was uneven, much like TNG. Still, with a last two episodes, the series proved it could be different and still be entertaining and keep with in Roddenberry's vision of a peaceful Federation. But season two would begin to blur the lines... To be continued.
Rating:
Summary: The best trek ever... volume 1!
Review: On the heels of the runaway success (and soon to be ending) "Star Trek: The Next Generation", the studio and producers decided to add another chapter to the Trek legacy. For the first time, there would be no starship going where no man had gone before. Instead, this would be set on an alien space station at the edge of the known frontier. If the original was meant to be "Wagon Train" in space, then this would be "Gunsmoke" in space. We meet all of the players early on. A disillusioned Starfleet commander and his son. A former freedom fighter who sees the Federation as no better than the Cardassian occupation force that was just driven out. A geeky doctor. A shape-shifting Security Chief. A nefarious Ferengi bar owner. An ill-tempered station engineer. A Trill that has lived seven lives. And, the former leader of the Cardassian forces, determined to return to his old office. Unlike in previous Treks, not all of the protagonists got along very well. The station seems like the last stop for all of them until a major discovery puts it and them on the map. All of the elements for a great story arc were in place here. Unfortunately, they didn't make full use of these elements until they hit the third and fourth seasons.
Rating:
Summary: Great New form of Star Trek
Review: ...It is a great series though it is somewhat different from the other Trek series. I liked all the characters. I intend to buy the whole DS9 now. Everyone should watch this if he claims to be a true Trek fan. Even non Trek fans will enjoy it as it deals with many present day issues like Terrorism. I recommend it to all. Now about the DVD. The Picture and Sound Quality are great. The only problem I have is with the distribution of Special Features. There are too many Section 31 hidden files which are very small. So it is a nuisance to watch those 2-3 minute clips seperately. Paramount should have integrated these small interviews together. All in all it's a great buy.
Rating: 
Summary: Only the beginning
Review: Deep Space Nine was Star Trek, but probably not a series that Gene Roddenberry would have entirely approved of. Instead of a happy-go-lucky crew piloting the latest and greatest in Starfleet technology, we have a bunch of different species and races all living on a rather beat up old space station where not everything can be counted on to work properly. We're not bolding going where no man has gone before, but it's definitely a step in a direction that Star Trek itself had feared to tread. The first season of Deep Space Nine set up the series adequately. The space station didn't warp around the galaxy, so, unlike other Treks, this series had more of an opportunity to build up a local universe, populated by cultures and characters. A lot of this season is simply setting the stage for potential future stories. For example, there's gobs of detail concerning Bajoran and Cardassian politics, some of which is shockingly interesting, while some of it just falls flat and is promptly ignored. Setting up the characters is also something that the creators needed to do fairly early on, and this they do an excellent job at. From the very beginning, we know who they are; the actors put their stamps on immediately. But as the season progresses we also see how they interact with each other. Odo and O'Brien immediately come alive, both based on great performances from good character actors. I've also come to appreciate Avery Brooks' acting in the part of Captain Sisko. I was cold to his performances when I watched Deep Space Nine to begin with, but rewatching the series on DVD has given me a chance to reevaluate him, and I must admit to being impressed. It's fun to go back to the beginning of the series and see how it was before the Powers That Be figured out exactly what they were doing. Especially amusing is to note how nearly every early episode seemed to have a scene where the camera would focus upon an obviously out of place prop, which would promptly morph into the familiar form of the shape-shifter, Odo, just to keep reminding the audience that, hey, this guy can change his appearance. Also entertaining is seeing how early the producers got on board the idea of having the Morn character as a constant running gag. Fortunately, he's hysterical. The DVD extras are fairly decent. There are lots of interviews with the cast members and production people. The documentaries are tied to the first season, therefore we have a look at how they designed the aliens from that season, how the series was pitched, how they designed the station, what the characters were designed to be, etc, etc. Also included are several "hidden" interviews, though the user would have to navigating the extras menus with his/her eyes closed not to notice them. These extras and documentaries are rather interesting for a casual fan like myself, though I suspect that more hardcore members of Star Trek fandom will already know most of the information revealed here. Still, it's nice to get a peek behind the scenes and to see the actors appearing as themselves. Who would have imagined that Armin Shimerman, the man behind the comedy Quark character, was such a serious actor? There are some really good stories here, but also some bad ones to balance things out. It's difficult to rate an entire season's worth of episodes in a short space, but, to be perfectly honest, I rate this one as "average". Don't get me wrong; there's some good stuff here. But there are also some missteps, mistakes and fumbles. Modern Star Trek series seem to require a little bit of time before they settle in (and some of them simply never really take off, no matter how long they're kept on the boil), and Deep Space Nine is no exception. The best was yet to come.
Rating:
Summary: Good, But not their best
Review: Deep Space Nine is neck and neck with Next Generation for being my favorite Trek. The actors that make up the regular cast are incredibly talented. So are the Guest Stars. While I love DS9, the first season is not as good as the subsequent seasons. It relied a lot on the legacy of Next Gen to get it moving. While this is true there were some truly fine episodes: Emissary: This pilot was better than Encounter at Farpoint. Avery gives a poignant performance as a grief-stricken man who lost his wife. Past Prologue: It introduced Garak. This alone made it important. It was the first episode that dealt with disgruntled Bajorans, friction between the crew and intrigue. Q-Less: I love Q. It relied a lot on Next Gen, but hey it was entertaining. Dramatis Personae: Everyone just went nuts on this. Sisko and Kira went at it and the whole crew just got dragged in. Duet: This was a good episode. It talked about the importance of forgiveness, and with the realization that not everybody of a certan race (Cardassian in this case) are the same. In the hands of the Prophets: This along with the three part premiere of season 2, talked about the more negative aspects of religion. The first season was laying the ground work. as with other treks, it got better from here.
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