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- DEEP SPACE NINE - CAN PARAMOUNT STRIKE GOLD A THIRD TIME?
- -----------------------------------------------------------
- by Simon Plumbe
- -----------------
-
-
- Most of you will have heard about this new STAR TREK series about to go into
- production, but will it be as successful as its two predecessors, or will the
- series fade into oblivion after only a few seasons?
-
-
- Background
- ----------
-
- If you haven't heard, Deep Space Nine is set on a Starbase, located near the
- Cardassian border. It is one of the Federation's outposts in unexplored areas
- of the galaxy and is manned by a team of top Federation experts and
- scientists. In command of the base is a single parent who looks after his 12
- year old son. His wife was killed by the Borg in the attack at Wolf 359 and
- he STRONGLY resents Picard because of this. Other characters have yet to
- announced apart from the base's Security Chief, a shape-changing alien. As
- well as the new characters, we will also see Miles O'Brien and his family
- transferring to the new base.
-
- The series is going to be more action-orientated, like the original series,
- and the series is more "down to earth" in the fact that the characters are
- "grittier" and more realistic. There will be conflicts and arguments between
- the main characters who initially find it difficult to work together.
-
- The starbase is also located next to a stable wormhole, so instead of
- exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life and new civilisations,
- they'll sit back and wait for the new civilisations to come and pay them a
- visit!
-
- The production team will be headed by the current TNG crew of Rick Berman and
- Michael Piller. Now, some of you may be concerned as to whether they'd be
- able to continue in the same spirit that Gene had envisaged. Well, early last
- year, Gene was asked if he would do a third Star Trek series and he replied
- that he had no objections to a third series being made, but he wasn't to be
- involved. However, he said he trusted the Berman/Piller team to continue his
- legacy.
-
- As far as getting the characters right, the production team are taking no
- chances. With every character they create, the actually suggest the iedas to
- fans at conventions to see what sort of response it will get. If the fans
- don't like it, the character is scrapped. It's not an easy way of working,
- but they obviously want the show to be a success.
-
- There was a character that they had created who came from a planet with
- zero-gravity. Now, to function on a Starbase, there would need to be
- artificial gravity for the majority of the crew to be able to function
- properly. This character was said to have needed a wheelchair for interaction
- with the other crew. Rich Berman and Michael Piller were booed on stage by
- fans when this character was announced, and it has now been subsequently
- scrapped.
-
-
- Success or Failure?
- -------------------
-
-
- Most fans are dubious of the new series. Although the Next Generation was
- initially doubted by a large number of fans (to quote some people, "No Kirk,
- no Spock, no McCoy, no point!") after it's first season the show became
- accepted as a new show in it's own right, as well as being accepted as part
- of the Star Trek legend. It has now grown to such an extent that there are
- many Trekkers who actually prefer this to the original series.
-
- Deep Space Nine, on the other hand, is a totally new concept. There is no
- ship to go exploring the galaxy. No Enterprise which has been such a focal
- point for the previous two shows (although George Takei is still hoping for
- a spin-off series with the Excelsior!) and having a number of civilians being
- seen on a regular basis (such as the Ferengi-owned brothel) go against
- everything that has been seen before.
-
- Seeing conflict between the main cast will also be something new and
- potentially dangerous to the show. Grittier characters are great in any
- series, but if they stray too far away from the Star Trek mythos, the fans
- will quickly reject the show. It will add a strong element of realism to the
- series and many people are wary of shows where the main cast seem to get on
- well right from the offset. Friendship and trust need time to develop and
- hopefully DS9 will reflect this.
-
- The idea of meeting new alien races who travel through a wormhole to meet us
- is a novel idea, but it could be over-used. Can you imagine after a few
- episodes, asking yourself, "Okay, what three-headed, ridged-nosed alien is
- going to fly through our wormhole this week?!".
-
- Being an action-oriented series is a great idea, being a move towards the
- original series, but again, that could be fatal if every episode ended in a
- punch-up or a space dogfight. The philosophies behind Star Trek mustn't be
- ignored just for the sake of a little action.
-
- Again, the team have to be wary of the shape-shifting security officer. It's
- all to easy to have the alien change form every other episode to try and
- add gloss to the stories or even to use the alien's abilities to resolve an
- episode, but it is very easy to fall in to the TNG trap of "The kid saves the
- day!". The character of Wesley is generally disliked amongst fans because of
- poor writing in the first season. If we see this happening to this new alien,
- it could do a lot of harm to the show. I read somewhere of someone commenting
- on the reasons why DS9 will fail. They said, "Why did Space 1999 fail in it's
- third season? A shape changing alien! Why did fans hate season one of TNG?
- A kid - Wesley. What has Deep Space Nine got? A shape changing alien and a 12
- year old kid!" This may seem like a joke, but it could easily take place.
-
- One thing that is also bound to be worrying for Paramount, as well as the
- fan's reaction, is that Warner Brothers have announced their own new sci-fi
- series that is... wait for it... set on a Starbase! So not only have the
- production crew got the fans to struggle with, but for the first time in
- Trek's history, REAL competition! However, this could actually HELP DS9 as it
- would invariably mean than Paramount would have to get the best possible
- writers to work on the show and to make sure that there are at least a couple
- of episodes written by Ron Moore.
-
- It's up to us whether DS9 will be a hit or not, and I think we should all at
- least give it a fair try. Don't compare it to the original series, don't
- think about TNG when you watch it. Just enjoy it as a new, original show.
- The whole philosophy of IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations) is
- what Star Trek is all about and if you beleive in Trek, you'll watch DS9 with
- an open mind. I for one am looking forward to the new show with keen
- anticipation.
-