UNCUT - Emissary (DS9 S1E1-2) | Star Trek Journey 245
A new chapter of the Journey begins
Comments (213)
Monotone boice “i am excited….good to be here….DS9…..”
Rewatching reactors first viewing of DS9 episode 1
DS9 sex scoreboard catch up version We are going to do a catch up on the sex scoreboard for DS9. The first many of these will be short and sweet. For the first 3 seasons I will be watching only the T&A …. I mean TA reactions on youtube to do a hard pounding catch up. The sex score board Picard 4 Chief/Keiko 1 No new humpin and bumpin just carry overs. If the scoreboard missed anything from the ep because we watched the edited you tube version because reply, we’ll watch the long (maybe very long let’s call it Sisko version) of the ep to make adjustments
In case you are not familiar with how the sex scoreboard works it is all about bangin in the ep counting as “new”. We do a lot of assuming it happened. If there looks like it could and if there is time, we assume yes. PLEASE do not spoil anything if you know something from future episodes. When something happens in future episodes that would change the score THAT is when you point it out and can look cool. NOT BEFORE. We are playing a little fun game all, lighten up. We get crude and you may get offended so if you are easily offended do not read these posts. Always post replies that agree or disagree. We like debate and sometimes that is the most fun of this thread. If you think we missed a score OR if you think we are counting one that should not be counted state you reasons (again based only on the CURRENT episode).
Been watching for a while on Youtube but DS9 finally convinced me to sub!
Ditto. While I'm keeping up with the new releases, I'm enjoying going back to watch from the beginning
I have to sub to anyone watching DS9!
Btw, everyone starts somewhere! https://youtu.be/69WB7qXoxNw?si=ULy3vxQUuF-mfYsg
Michelle Forbes got an NBC series Homicide Life in the Streets.
I like these episodes focus on grief and loss. He goes back to that one event because of his grief. He remembers it again and again because of the loss. Sisko exists at the time he loses his wife is very real for many in grief. I am a chaplain and know that is real through personal and professional experience. Getting to a new normal without the presence of the other is hard. Memories are great but not the same.
One of my all time favorite things about DS9 is that they brought back the og ferengi and one of the first cardassians to embody and redeem or enrich the species
My goal is to try to get through this series with you guys. I've tried to watch it several times before but I find Sisko's acting very off putting in a way that he makes me feel very uncomfortable. it's like whatever emotion he is trying to portray never quite reaches his eyes. His facial expressions are something unnatural and doesn't match the tone of his voice or the dialogue. I don't mind how he says his lines, its that his face is all over the place. It feels like if you told Data to act while emoting, it just wouldn't be quite right because he can't feel the emotions of the scene. With all that said tho i hear the acting gets alot better and more importantly I hear the writers learn how to write specifically for Avery's (sisko) acting style. We will see. two cringy (for me) episodes down!
yeah for sure avery brooks performs very... differently than most other people. i think he does a really good job with some things, and acts strangely with others. i will say his 'weird' acting improves over time, but part of that is just avery brooks. if you see some of his interviews, he is just kind of a strange guy, so if you go into it thinking that sisko is just a little bit weird like avery brooks is it works a bit better
Character development and the semi-serialized nature is important in DS9. This episode sets the stage for what is to come.
I love how you are so resistant to the idea that it’s a show set on a space station. Stationary is right in the name :)
( That's Ree-Bish if you're looking for pronunciation ;p ) Yahoo !! It was so good for the Patreon , Full Pilot watch-a-long Guys, thanks heaps.... " It's not linear " I was balling thru that passage.., but only coz of what this Crew means to me. Terry Farrell wasn't kidding !! ( what a kick to get her hello ! & Married to Adam Nimoy no less.... ) "Character Driven" this series is INDEED !! Which is why I think it's so up your alley ( or is that 'Up your Promenade' ? " Watch it Quark ! " ) It will feel to you - like quite a 'different' Star trek series..., but all for the better, I assure you. & really show you what this Universe is capable of ! Happy watching !
In Germany the DS9 Pilot aired 13 month (28th Jan 1994) after the US premiere but still before TNG season 4 episode 10 (the loss, aired 2nd march 1994). A total mess regarding the timeline ;) I had no clue regarding Bajor or the events of 'chain of command'... I remember how I looked forward to DS9 and loved it from the first moment. To get more information about episodes and watch order, I joined the 'Star Trek Central Europe' Fan Club and I was looking forward to every little piece of information from the fan magazine. Basically, every spoiler for future episodes. It actually increased my anticipation ;) The time before the internet was really a different world... I loved TNG and instantly loved DS9. And now, so many years later, I joined patreon and will rewatch the episodes with you guys! fun fact: I had access to italian TV (I'm originaly from italy) but DS9 premiered in june 1995 there ;)
The acting ability on this series is top notch. Avery Brooks was a Theater star, played Hawk in TVs Spenser for Hire and its spinoff and became a Jazz singer later in life. Rene Auberjonois who plays Odo was a character actor with more than 200 TV roles including the hit 70s sitcom Benson, was a Tony Award winning star of Musical Theater, was in the 1970 movie version of MASH as Father Mulcahy, and was a voice actor for cartoons incluing the Justice League and several video games, Alexander Siddig who plays the Doctor had supporting roles in 24, Peaky Blinders, and was in the movies Hannibal and Syriana with George Clooney and Matt Damon, and also has been on Game of Thrones, Nana Visitor who plays Bajoran Kira Nerys is the daughter of 1950s movie star and dancer Cyd Charisse and starred in daytime soap operas and was a TV character actress in Hunter, McGyver, Remington Steele, Kinight Rider and other 1980s shows, Terry Farrell who played Dax was a fashion model since age 16 and had guest roles on Quantum Leap and The Cosby Show, and Armin Shimmerman who played Quark was on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate SG-1, Boston Legal, and has done voice acting roles in several X-Men and BioShock videoegames as well as the MMORPG Star Wars Old Republic
Is it top notch though? Brooks, Siddig and (regrettably) Farrel aren't exactly that great?
Interesting fact- the actor who payed Odo, Rene Auberjonois, was descended from French nobility. His family was among the leading families in the Norman invasion of 1066. His 3rd Great Grandmother in the late 1700s was the sister of the Emperor Napoleon and his 3rd Great Grandfather was one of Napoleon's generals and was a King of Italy when Europe was carved up before Waterloo before Italy was unified as one nation in 1848
When they were talking about him all I thought was they need to watch Boston Legal!
Gentlemen -like your early takes on the characters. ODO is one of a kind, so when I saw this first run he did come across as this show's Data. This show is very much Billy Joel's Piano Man- they all share a drink called loneliness but its better than drinking alone. Quark and his relatives are the only Ferengi on the station that we see in the first episode. Kira has to now help run a station that was basically a concentration camp for her murdered people just a few weeks back. Sisko is a widower with a young teen kid and only has O'Brian and Dax from the Federation to help, O'Brian is on his own to run an alien station with a major promotion. Dr. Bashir is brilliant but has no bedside manner and he has no second opinions other than Dax a smart scientist but not an MD- Dax is a science officer but a trill with a strange identity- they are a bunch of misfits who have to adjust to a strange frontier world
To replace the static nature of being based on a space station- we get the wormhole which opens up the area as a major hub for 1/4 of the Milky Way in the Gamma Quadrant- providing plot potential for MANY aliens- that why I called this Space Casablanca in my other post. Cardassians are Nazis, The Bajorans are newly liberated from camps, Quark's bar is like Rick's bar, and Sisko, Kira, and Odo need to police this Wild West area of space
This pilot was nominated for FOUR emmy awards- winning one
Gentlemen: This is a promotion for O'Brien- he is the Chief Engineer for the entirer space station
O'BriEn
I'm 59 and watched the Animated series as a 7 year old in 1973, went to my first Trek convention in 1974 and been a fan ever since. DS9 is may favorite series in the Trek universe. Great writing, excellent acting, basically Casablanca in Space. DS9 basic ally was a "fixed location" serialized show to go along with the TNG ship-based episodic show and once TNG ended Voygaer took over as the ship based show to go along with DS9
Been waiting for you guys to get to DS9. became a patron just for this :) TNG is still my fave trek but this is a close second and I KNOW you guys are probably gonna think its your fave
ah-Ber-juh-NAY.
in terms of the "explaining to the wormhole aliens", besides explaining humans, it shows how they are not like humans, So its not just explaining what you already know, its showing how truly alien these things are.
so there is confusion about Chief. Here's the deal. He didn't go to the Academy so hes not an officer, he is an enlisted man. However, while serving as the transporter chief aboard the Enterprise, he had the rank if Acting Lieutenant, while his real rank was Chief which is a crewman rank. On DS9, while he is essentially chief engineer, probably chosen for his familiarity with Cardassian technology because of his war service, he no longer holds the rank of acting Lieutenant, as most of his staff are Bajoran officers, not starfleet. The Acting Lieutenant role was only valid for his time as transporter chief. Confusing? Yes, it gets many people confused, but thats what it is.
Whole thing is a result of the writers being ignorant of military rank structures. In classic Trek everyone was either an officer or a red shirt with a short lifespan. There isn't even an established rank structure for enlisted personnel. Pretty much anything. Military gets completely fucked up by TV writers almost every time. All they ever need to do is basically get any retired military guy to be a consultant and go through their scripts and highlight protocol stuff to be corrected. And there would be no issue.
The scene with Dax on the beautiful planet and Sisko on the stormy rocky world, I interpreted that as Dax being happy and having a peaceful life, whereas Sisko is still feeling grief and his dislike of Picard making his life turbulent and bleak.
Nice! Didn’t think of that.
Good review. I didn’t expect you guys to like the new uniforms. They grew on me. I really didn’t notice before how petty it was for Sisko to let his son sleep on the floor rather than take a bunk bed from the Enterprise…lol.
Haven’t seen the movies. But from the TV shows, I do like TNG’s collared uniforms the most. I know they still refer to them as pajamas but I think they look like military uniforms more than the others.
I'll be interested to see what you think of Avery Brooks as Sisko going forward. It's not a spoiler to say that Avery Brooks has an acting style that tends to be a bit divisive (I say it's not a spoiler because he had played a prominent role in a TV drama before DS9 so his acting style was well established). I personally love it, but I know some people hate it, so I'll be interested to see which, if any, side you two wind up falling on. I'd say it's probably a good sign that you didn't hate his performance here, considering he hadn't settled into the character yet.
Avery Brooks is honestly a pretty good actor... But then he overacts. That's just how he rolls. It's annoying, but it is what it is. Kate Mulgrew does it too.
I don't like Avery Brooks as an actor either, I just find his acting....weird
he's sort of a weird guy
I've only seen a few episodes of DS9 so its going to be exciting to watch with you guys.
They're not shuttles.
They are plus size shuttles 🤷♂️
The next adventure on a Space Station instead of a Spaceship, as Bashir said without tact, "in the wilderness of the frontier", quite a shift indeed. My favorite moment from this Pilot is a cross between Kira bluffing the Cardassians & Sisko explaining baseball to the aliens. I can't wait to experience all future episodes to come with you guys, here in our little ol' linear time.
Odo’s actor’s last name (Auberjonois) is very difficult to pronounce, but if you spell it out phonetically, it’s pronounced: oh-BAIR-zhon-WAH. The zh (“j” in French) is like the sound of the “s” in the word “pleasure”
This was such a wonderful time. Thanks for helping me relive my first time watching again! I'm so excited for more. I think you guys are in for a wonderful time.
Hope you guys are doing an edited version for YouTube
They always do :-)
One of the big differences between you guys watching this now, trying to avoid spoilers and all, is that back in the nineties, there were lots of commercials for it on TNG, so the basic set up, we already knew a lot before it even aired. Not to mention articles in magazines like Starlog and Entertainment Weekly ahead of the launch of the show. It's very interesting to me seeing you guys go into it with *fewer* expectations and foreknowledge than we had in the nineties.
Thats why I wasnt clear if explaining what the runabouts are and how they are different from shuttles counts as a spoiler. While its not said in the episode, I recall this being explained before the show premiered.
It’s interesting to hear these thoughts of “Odd choice to put *this* episode as the pilot”. I know it couldn’t be known at this point, but….this episode could never have been anything *other* than the pilot. I won’t say why, of course, but, it always had to be this.
I think this is a spoiler
Trivia—in real life, the actress who played Kira and the actor who played Dr. Bashir had a baby together. Meanwhile, Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax) married Adam Nimoy, Leonard’s son. At the time, the promenade set was the most expensive set ever made for a TV show. The lift that gets people into Ops (basically, the bridge of DS9) is the only lift in all of Star Trek that actually goes up and down.
You need to go back and watch engineering episodes in TNG. Pretty sure they have a lift.
This show helps you see more of what it's like to live in the Star Trek world. It's always made it all feel more real to me
They called TOS wagon train to the stars. The showrunners compared DS9 to the Rifleman, because the show mostly took place in one western town + the father son dynamic.. but I think that it’s way more like Gunsmoke.. Quark is Miss Kitty.. 😂
Best trek
I was a teenager the first time I saw this, and I don't remember a lot of my first impressions but I think generally I was just excited to see an expansion from TNG, and I think early on I was bummed Sisko and Picard didn't get along. Initially I didn't really know what to think so soon.
Odo, played by the late Rene Auberjonois, pronounced "Oh-BER-jon-wah". It's french.
IMO major Kira is the best female character in all of SciFi and fantasy. Followed closely by Ripley and Sarah Connor.. but she had 7 seasons to cook Ripley just got a couple of movies.
I would classify this as a spoiler as well. Some regular characters from the TNG pilot weren't regulars for 7 seasons.
I am surprised I have not seen anyone here mention Terry Farrell is married to Leonard Nimoy's son, Adam.
was...
I will try to do a better job moving forward with Patreon takes, with guiding stars being 'Is everything I'm saying exclusively what they would know at this point' and 'keep it short'. In hindsight, I wasn't doing as well as I had thought.
Not only is Quark my favorite Ferengi, he goes on to become one of my favorite characters on this series.
also gotta say i love the new shuttles, they look like real shuttle then the box shuttles from TNG
they refer to them as "runabouts"
I think that this is a great pilot they set up a lot of intrigue with the station and the promenade, Bajoran mythos. But I think that all the repetitive scenes with the prophets explaining what the meaning of the word is is..grinds the show to a halt.
I don’t know if this is considered spoilery at all? But Terry Farrel is married to Adam nimoy.
As horror fans, you may recognize Terry Farrell from Hellraiser 3. She played the lead, Joey. Even if you never watched the movie, check out the church scene on YouTube. It's ICONIC.
She's also in the 80s movie Back To School.
First off, how the hell did the Bridge Crew get that cameo recorded?! Awesome work! This was a great reaction, I really like this pilot / premier, some of the editing is a little rough around the edges but the camera work and acting are great. The intro scene is fantastic, showing how brutal the battle was and what it was like for the lesser ships. The Chief and Major Kira are the two I enjoy the most in this episode.
One word..."Money" that's why cameo exists...lol
When are y'all starting Voyager?
Just take the episodes between now and 3 a week and voyagers premium date.
Firstly, there are a couple of familiar faces you might recognize. Gul Dukat is played by Marc Alaimo, who played Commander Tebok (TNG's 1st Romulan), and is more recognizable as Gul Macet in The Wounded, so it's good to see him back as another cardassian. Then there's Quark, played by Armin Shimerman, who was one of the original Ferengi in The Last Outpost. He felt he did such a poor job portraying the Ferengi that he was determined to make his portrayal on DS9 more than one-dimensional and give the Ferengi depth. I'll let you decide if he succeeds.
Alaimo also played one of the gamblers Data played poker against in "Time's Arrow Part 1"
What! Terry Farrell did a video for you guys?! Wow! That is one of the coolest things ever. You guys are lucky. Bridge Crew, how did you put that together?
Cameo
I believe Ro Laren was supposed to be instead of major Kira, but the actress Michelle Forbes couldn't commit to be the regular on the show. I think I heard the character of Kira was written for the pilot with having Ro in mind.
Ok edit, just checked, the character of Kira wasn't to be carbon copy of Ro, but yes Michelle Forbes was first offered to portray Ro on DS9. Also I should wait for the video to end and not comment ahead of myself as you already mentioned that.
Is the blue Lt the guy from SAW?
ds9 is my favourite of all the shows yes it starts a bit hit and miss but once it hits its stride and all the characters get fleshed out its amazing
it definitely shows its potential in season 1 but there were some episodes that were based on rejected TNG scripts and its sort of obvious which ones those are. That said, I enjoy them for the early character development, but thats more of a "in hindsight" thing
So much I wanna say, so I will sum it up with this...I'm so fucking excited for you guys.
Your comments about Ro had me curious, so I looked it up. Huh, learned something new today. "Ro was also planned to be a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but Forbes turned down the role, so Kira Nerys was created to replace her."
Yep. I'm a big fan of Kira, as a character... But imagine this show exploring Ro's character instead. Michelle Forbes does hardcore hard ass effortlessly...Nana Visitor had to work at it. She does a great job, but I think Ro would have been killer.
I'm glad you guys enjoyed this overall. I've been looking forward to the start of your DS9 journey. I love all the cast of this show. This is A tier for me.
Its difficult to sum up my feelings on the pilot outside of the context of the show. Because truly, as has been mentioned, its the sort of thing that can be best appreciated as the first chapter after having finished the book, so to speak. Season 1 is rough IMO. Maybe as rough as TNG season 1. I know most don't agree, but there are some truly dastardly episodes coming this season. As a first season episode, this is absolutely top of the pile. All of these characters are going to grow and change so tremendously...but again...I just can't talk about any of this yet. The things that make DS9 special are all about the context of the complete series and character arcs. To me, its hard thinking of something like this in isolation.
I agree with every single thing you said!
Its really important to remember, the Humans in Star Trek are basically Aliens. Could you imagine Humans, the people we are today, existing in a world without money, with all of our needs and wants given to us in surplus without getting fat and lazy? Without our political, social, racial squabbles? People who work solely to better society? Star Trek Humans are not us. They are an idealized version of what we could become, and for a new viewer, it's also very important to explain that. These are not people who would respond the same as we would to many situations. With all that being said, this is a Star Trek Pilot. It's not going to be the greatest episode in the series. You have a whole new cast with no chemistry together, working under directors and producers they haven't before. You have a writing staff that is experienced, with a very different show in the same setting. Is this a perfect episode? Hell no. Is it a good jumping off point for a new show? Yes. Yes it is.
I am a big fan of DS9 and often said that it, combined with TNG is my fave era of Trek. The pilot has a lot I love too, and it’s one of those where it’s interesting no to go back and watch it again after the end of the show. On rewatch I forgot how much of an impression Kira and Odo make right off the bat.
Ohnmigosh, Terry Farrell! Dax! I love her character. That was an awesome gift from the bridge crew! When you get further into the show, maybe season 4 or 5, go back and rewatch that. And yes, this show is very character driven. I do love kinda brainy sci fi so this was awesome to me. And this show will boldly go where no trek has gone before…while remaining Trek. When you watch the last episode, go back and rewatch this. Many of your questions will be answered in time🙂
Short and no spoilers. Made me laugh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYxdqsndIF4&t=1s
This is the best pilot episode(s) of any Star Trek series. It was the first timw I watched it when it came out. It remains so to this day.
I ❤️ VOY pilot.
There is SO much to unpack in this pilot. I’ve seen it literally dozens of times and I still find new stuff in it. I still have a surprisingly emotional reaction to it. You’re in for a completely different Star Trek ride. There will be bumps in the road here and there but the journey is off the charts. I hope you end up enjoying it as much as I and many, many others do. I think you’ll find that a lot of episode re-watches will be in order. I never thought I’d love characters more than TOS or TNG but then - seven seasons of DS9 came along…
Welcome to the start of real star trek deep space nine
Sorry, Alex. Stations are stationary. They are not ships.
Unless it is a Death Star.
Holy crap. Terry Ferrell cameo. Was not expecting that. :)
Farrell
imposible to sync with Paramount+... scenes missing etc..lets hope it is not for the whole show
Sync'd fine with Paramount+ for me?
Damn youtube comments, what is it with youtube where it lowers the IQ of people commenting?
Youtube is the general public. Experiment: Got to a public place with lots of people. Do a 360 turn and check everyone out within sight. Notice how many are obviously complete morons, insane, or basically just assholes? There's your youtube comment section.
You know Alex was excited to watch this, because he was wearing his dress Star Trek III shirt.
Yeah knew it wouldn't be a religious experience that everyone hyped it up to be...lol to be clear I don't hate DS9 or people who love it but I definitely think people over hype it.
Especially the early seasons
Am I the only who has problems syncing ? My their reaction is slower than my dvd version… I have to pause every 30 sec or so to let them catch up.
yeah...they are watching some different version..both episodes combined and with deleted scenes I guess??
and here we go! I'm so excited for you guys to watch this show.
Maybe someone beat me to this, lots of comments to filter through, but if not… Quark’s actor, Armin Shimerman, was also in another of your favourite shows! 😂 He played the second Headmaster of Sunnydale High in Buffy!
Damn people suck, you were actually spoiled Chief was in the show.
Yeah, that was a pop I was looking forward to, but alas
I'll be honest, when I first saw this I was 14, and it made no sense me. My brain couldn't figure out why we went from 'to boldly go' to just sitting in the corner of Cardassian space. I was used to the 'happy go lucky' themes of ST. I also became too busy as a teenager so I didn't follow up until many years later. By that time, now I was a young adult, and was better able to understand the darker themes and political factions in later seasons. In this case I was glad that I revisited it when I was older as looking back I don't think my teenager self would have appreciated it the same as now.
Spoilers. Be careful what you say
Soooooo…..when will you be starting Deep Space 9? Heh. You fools thought you were immune now!
goddammit you beat me to it
We’re obviously years and years away from this, but once you see where the show goes and how it wraps up, I would challenge you both to rewatch this episode at that point. I think you’ll appreciate a lot of the things that seemed vague or confusing. Just a thought.
The actor who plays Doctor Bashir was originally credited Siddig El Fadil. He charged it to Alwxander Siddig. I heard he thought the audience would find that easier to pronounce. It eventually was changed in the opening credits.
the way i heard it - he started using Siddig as his last name to be next in the credits to Nana Visitor who was his partner- sort of a symbol of their commitment to each other
The whole "I exist here" part makes me cry EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
Omg same! I can't watch this episode without tearing up. It's so touching how deeply Sisko loved Jennifer. Really makes Wolf 359 hit harder too.
I only noticed on this watch through that the Wormhole is absent from the opening theme, because it hasn't been discovered yet!
Dude, technically that's a spoiler. If it's not, it's only because they've probably seen a few other episodes. But, you can't be posting on that assumption.
Even though DS9 stands at odds with a lot of Roddenberry's ideas for Trek, I feel that THE EMISSARY pilot is something of an homage to Trek's pilot THE CAGE. -Both have a commanding officer who's questioning his career. -Both Commander's are held captive and tested. -They both have their perceptions of reality challenged. -Traumatic events in both Commander's pasts. ("You exist here" is trauma personified). -Aliens that put them through different memories to relive. -Teasing both commanders with a woman they can't have. -Both pilots serve as deep character studies and introduce elements of Star Trek’s philosophical exploration of free will, perception, and leadership under extraordinary circumstances.
I seem to remember the episode receiving a pretty mixed reception at the time it aired, with a lot of complaints that it was too weird and too confusing. If you're rewatching the show you can appreciate the things the episode does well, and it does a LOT of things well. But I can see how on a first watch it may not do a great job explaining exactly how the show's going to work, and how it's going to be different from the TOS/TNG formula. It *feels* like these answers should be obvious to those of us who've seen the whole series, but that's why it's nice to get a fresh perspective from people who haven't seen it.
There was A LOT of backlash to DS9 when it first aired. People hated it. No starship, boldly going? The dark atmosphere, the conflict! WHAT ABOUT GENE'S VISION! WAAAAHHH! It took a while for DS9 to be accepted and beloved for what it was.
It is so fun to start another ST show with you boys! I liked seeing your evolution during the episide like how you kept saying "ship" and by the end that reference was gone. For us original watchers, we had everything spoiled beforehand. We knew the premise, the actors, the characters and more.
I would recommend rewatching TNG's The Price, to recall how the Milky Way Galaxy's four quadrants are set up, and just how far 70,000 light years truly is and where the Gamma Quadrant is in relation to The Alpha Quadrant (where Earth is). Without the Bajoran wormhole, it would take like 65-70 years to travel that distance even at Warp 10. The Gamma Quadrant is truly uncharted due to it being utterly unreachable because of how far away it is. You guys may already remember all this from The Price, but this episode isn't exactly clear on how insane that distance really is and how remote the Gamma Quadrant is from Federation Space.
Apologies for being nit-picky, but it would take that much on warp 8 or 9. Warp 10 on TNG scale is infinite speed, so theoretically it couldn't be achieved.
Wow! Josh hit the nail right on the head! While I do agree that “Emissary” is a better pilot than “Encounter at Farpoint”…one of the few things I’ll ever give DS9 over TNG…Sisko spending thirty minutes explaining what human beings and linear time are when we, the audience, already know all this was a real snoozer. It was boring to me back in the 90’s and it still bored me upon the re-watch with the guys.
True. It's the only part of the episode that felt like it was padding for runtime.
So many great characters to love and hate in this
The best way to describe Avery Brooks' acting is "intense". He's quite the opposite of Picard, who was far more stoic. Sisko is a more animated, emotional character which is a nice change of pace. He's also not the skilled diplomat as Picard as you can see, but he does bring a refreshing honesty which won most people over who enjoy this series. Picard is still my favorite, but Sisko is a close second.
He is a bit more Kirk-like, though he is not Kirk. Kirk is my favorite, but Sisko is a close second
I liked the trippy sequence with the weird edits. I'd like to bring up the opening sequence here brings up what a dumb episode "I, Borg" is. Real people died, and presumably more real people die every day and will die tomorrow courtesy of the Borg, and Picard, Beverly and Guinan responded to that concept with "Yeah, but Hugh is cute".
The point of I Borg was that they're potenially only "evil" because of being connected to the hive mind. Not "let's just forgive the borg for all the killing they do" lol
Funny enough with some comments saying how reactions are popular because it lets people vicariously watch the show for the first time again, and your skepticism about the setting on a station takes me and I'm sure many others right back to the 90s. How can you "Trek" when you're standing still? Have faith in the writers to make it work is all I'll say. I tend to agree with others that this is the pilot that really does get better with age. Never would rate it S tier, as pilot's are never a series best work. It's a solid A though. As an introduction to the show, it covers a lot of ground. You were asking for more cardassians, and you got a show set on a cardassian station, orbiting a planet they occupied for half a century, and a whole bunch of cardassians making a mess of things in the first episode. Wish granted. The wormhole reaching halfway across the galaxy opens up a ton of storytelling possibilities, even if they only have oversized shuttles to go there. Where Emissary really shines over Farpoint is in how much work it does to establish it's cast though. Obviously they can't give a lot of screen time to everyone, but enough to get an idea of what the characters are about. Bashir is the young, naive go getter. Odo, like Data, is the outsider unaware of his origins, and his morphing ability opens up some unique possibilities. Kira is the jaded resistance fighter. Quark is as greedy and unscrupulous as any ferengi, but masks it with a veneer of hospitality. Jake is a fairly typical teenager living in a near ghost town. Dax is the old friend, with a twist. And of course the chief we know. Compare that to Farpoint, and Worf and Geordi barely got enough for us to gather anything about them, beyond the former being klingon and the latter being blind. Crusher was probably about the closest to what she would become. Picard, Riker, and Data all feel off in retrospect. Really though, Emissary is Sisko's story, and I think that's where it shines. Ok, maybe not in that beach scene, but overall. I like that they establish the lead as a family man right from the start, and that he's only a commander assigned to what was initially just a backwater station. He's not a big name in starfleet like Kirk or Picard. It was also a ballsy move to make the "passing the torch" scene so cold. You can understand where he's coming from even if it's not fair to blame Picard. At the same time, Picard just went through another major trauma with the cardassians, and now he's getting his assimilation and the guilt over Wolf 359 thrown back in his face. More than enough pain to go around between those 2 men, but it's all part of Sisko's journey to heal and move on so they can part amicably at the end. Beyond being a father who's haunted by his past, we also see a couple other sides to him. First, arresting the ferengi kid and then blackmailing Quark into staying in exchange for his freedom, all while manipulatively saying how terrible it is like he wasn't the one who put him in that cell. Second, the excellent speech he gave about the nature of linear existence which perfectly encapsulates what drives us as humans and what Star Trek really is all about. The definitely set up Sisko as a very multifaceted character. Overall Emissary does a good job "setting the table", but it's up to the rest of the series to make the setting and characters pay off. Looking forward to the journey.
Always look forward to your comments! ❤️
I’m really glad we’ve made it to this point I have stopped doing patron takes back in the early part of season four because of all the ways that I thought I could trip up the beginning of deep space nine Glad we’re here. I’m back your back. We’re back. Where are we again someplace near Bayshore something called deep space nine? I believe it was inaccurate, but in the first four months of deep space, nine lots of people were calling it Star Trek light, All the characters, and none of the stories I just think it’s jealous people who wish that they had the opportunity to write and don’t have the skill
I watched with my DVD and it held sync... I guess I was fortunate. I am bummed that things are getting spoiled for you guys, but honestly that's not too different from my original experience. From Starlog to Entertainment Tonight, I pretty much knew all about the show before I started watching it. Star Trek was a pretty popular franchise at the time, so you couldn't open a Sci-Fi magazine without finding an article or two about what was coming. It wasn't called "spoilers" it was called "promotion." Terry Farrell looks as beautiful as ever! I wonder if any of the various Star Trek cast members watch ST reactions...
I think at the time they understood people coming into it were going to need some help given all the TNG background and the unusual premise
I had a pretty similar reaction to the pilot the first time I watched it. It's significantly better on a rewatch imo. Avery Brooks acting is often described as being like jazz. It's definitely unique but the guy is really good.
Ahahaha, that was my first ever Patreon comment, and it was only so short because I was trying to make a new paragraph, and didn't realize that hitting enter would post it.
If you hit shift before you hit return for a new paragraph, it won’t post it then and there but actually start another paragraph. Like I just did here. Hope that helps. 😁👍
Oh boy, are you guys in for a ride. No spoilers, but this is a show with a grand scope beyond its simple premise and the most layered Star Trek show of all time.
O'Brien's face was also literally on the side of the DS9 box you guys kept picking up in your various 'DS9 is coming soon' videos.
definitely much better than Encounter at Farpoint
Seems like a reasonable reaction, all around. Everything's kinda lukewarm at the start. I think the writers/producers knew that it would take time and future episodes to really flesh out the entire drive of this series. I just hope y'all enjoy the journey, even if it remains relatively... station-ary.
Auberjonois = aww bear Jean wah
Jean as in Jean Luc Picard!
*Adjusts glasses* Technically, this wasn't a pilot; it was a premier, since a full season of the show had already been ordered. Seriously, though, had a lot of fun watching you watch this. I've seen it a couple of times, but this really brought me back to when I was ten years old watching it as it first aired and being so excited for a new Star Trek show.
Ah yes that’s a good point! (I will continue to call it the pilot)
Blessed be the Prophets we've arrived!
Peldor Joi!
Holy shit!! Awesome gift at the end. What an honor. You lucky sons a bitches!!!! I had such a major crush on Dax.
We sure did......do
And so it begins…😁🖖 Excited to watch again. Hopefully fans remember their original watches, and don’t get too upset if they don’t enjoy every first season episode(we all know trek shows needed to find their footing first season). The shows quality, much like the characters, grow, evolve, and improve with each season. The station might not move, but the wormhole is like the discovery of North America to europeans. Deep space nine is like the mouth of the St. Laurence river. The MAIN outpost for those exploring and discovering a whole world while growing and evolving itself, much like the city of Montreal or Quebec City did. Just to be safe for spoilers(and because I missed the first batch of patron takes), I’ll save any deep dive character stuff for the episodes that focus on those characters. If any viewers spot any stores selling or reprinting the Deep Spaxe Nine official companion book, I’d LOVE to buy them a copy(no offense to the TNG companion book, but it wasn’t near as interesting or in depth as the DS9 one was). It breaks down chapters by episodes so there’s no spoilers for later episodes, and is incredibly open and frank about what they were trying to do with an episode, what did or didn’t work as intended along with evolution of ideas that may have started differently than where it ended, along with how they did this or that(their focus and enjoyment of different directors makes me think it would be especially ideal for them). I’m not talking about something they need to read on screen, but for themselves between episodes both for insight, and when on their own, unable to watch the next episode until the next watch day or time. Mine is still my favorite tie in item to the series I own(I’d send mine, but they say you should never loan books, and unless I find another to buy, not willing to part with my one and only copy. Whoa…typed way more than I planned(can’t do that for any patron takes). Think we’re all excited. It was a long wait until Christmas morning, but we’re up and unwrapped our first present. Don’t be upset by the odd one that might be socks. There’s some great presents still to unwrap.🎅🖖
LETS GOOOOO
I thought you guys would make a coment about the runabouts. Oh well they really weren't shown all that much in this episode.
WHO?
The executive producers infamously described the show as, "darker" than previous Trek. This didn't go down well with fans and they tried to walk it back saying they meant in "aesthetic" terms - lighting and set decoration. But in fact they did mean in tone, and it is. I wasn't hungry for it at the time but I appreciate its flavour more now.
“We really need a Data on the ship for this situation.” Maddox was right!
I understand the feeling of "is it a good episode? meh not sure..." This is after all a Startrek pilot episode haha so... Let's say it's a great startrek pilot. You will feel much more invested in the pilot if you rewatch it a few seasons in but thats my knowledge of what is to come! But yeah the re-recording of voices is kinda weird hahah
I'm predicting that, upon first watch, they will like the pilot of Voyager better than this episode. I know I did, but probably because there was SO MUCH hype in the UK for the launch of Voyager. It coincided with the franchise's 30th anniversary, whereas it had first aired 2 years earlier in the States. We even had a whole "Star Trek Night" with original programmes!
Loved the reaction! I came to DS9 relatively late. I never watched it as a kid and I tried twice to get into it as a teenager and failed. Like TNG it takes a little time for the show to find its feet and for the characters to take shape. Took a while for me to adjust, but once I was in, I was completely hooked. I'm sure you will be too.
It’s interesting you talk about the joy people get from introducing beloved shows to family and friends and the crushing disappointment when you turn to look at them and they’re on their phone or otherwise not impressed. Because I believe that is the essence of why reaction channels exist. They give people a chance to watch someone be introduced to something they love, and in turn get to experience it for the first time again through the reactor. Knowing how much you guys have enjoyed Star Trek, I think that’s why a large amount of people here are hyped for you to start. We love this show, and we hope you love it too. Here’s hoping to not turn around one day to see you on your phone while important story beats are happening! xoxo
Man, you guys keep reading the novel-length takes!! Haha. I thought that was over! Great reaction, sorry people spoiled things for you. I saw lots of questionable comments on the YT series prediction vid. "Oh, they think it's on a SHIP? Hur hur hur." Like people can't make inference from that. Top comment that I saw literally name-dropped the episode title, no F's given. I understand being critical of the "journey" Sisko went on with the wormhole aliens being so early but I would say it is properly placed. I am really looking forward to this journey and I like that you guys aren't disappointed with what the show is potentially offering.
The space ship spoiler was a Patreon comment 💔
Boy I'm glad I got the DVD set to watch along timing 1was perfect. You blew me away with that Terry Farell cameo.
my DVD kept running fast
And thus began 7 glorious years of 2 Trek shows on at the same time... *sigh*
I think they'll do it quicker than that
It’s okay. Took as all a while to adjust as well. 🖖😂 Probably a B when I watched it back in ‘92 - watching back throughout the prism of time in 2025 - I give it an S.
Ending the episode with “that was 90 minutes?” seems like a good sign overall 😅
I’ve been waiting for this moment for years!!!! I am going to watch every uncut episode!!! May you be one with the Prophets!
Odo serves the same role as Spock and Data. He’s a foil for humanity.
Ahhhhhhh, I need a different cut! *orders DVD box set* - I hope it's the right one :O
As long as it is the 90-minute version should be good
I just wish people would stop spoiling Trek for you, whether here or on YouTube.
Me too
Not a spoiler: this does take place shortly after Chain of Command. Admiral Nechayev said at the start of part one that the Cardassians had just withdrawn from the Bajoran sector.
Did she say that in the episode? I’ll have to rewatch. I always assumed that it was part of the concessions the Cardassians made at the end of chain of command, like returning Picard was.
I think Jake works better than Wesley, simply because he isn’t “special,” he’s just a kid following his father around because of work
I think Cirroc was around 14 when this was filmed. He did pretty good playing a fairly normal teenager
The stardate given near the start of CoC 2 was 46360.8, while Emissary was 46379.1. Hard to say how long a period of time Chain of Command 2 happened over, but there's 2.7 stardates per day, so Emissary is less than a week after CoC.
Props to you for knowing the length of of a stardate! For me strings of numbers just go in one ear and out the other
When will you be starting Voyager?
In release order
Well this is proving to be a chore! My DVD keeps running ahead of your playback
My attempt to follow along with Paramount+ had to be abandoned. There are scenes are in different orders and I completely and utterly lost sync.
Time to go Cardy killing with the Chief!
Squeeee, I'm so excited to re-watch DS9 and hope y'all enjoy it.
So many people are watching along with this it crashed the episode on Paramount Plus haha
I can’t check right now myself (Canadian boycott), but a few months ago deep space nine was still streaming on Netflix in Canada(I understand VPN’s are a thing in case others wanted a non paramount option. The complete series was only $40US on iTunes as well).
ITS HERE ITS HERE ITS HERE
Names in the opening was not a spoiler for us. The twice hourly commercials the week leading up to the episode was
lets fuckin gooooo
Welcome to DS9 where Wagon Train to the Stars finally meets The Rifleman… in SPACE!!!
Sisko’s the mayor, Odo’s the sheriff, Quark’s the barkeep…
Finally We have arrived.
Here. We. Go.
YES!!! That was such a fun reaction. I didn’t quite get a blackout on my bingo card I made but I got most of them 😊
The wormhole awaits!!!
bear in mind, however much the Patrons have hyped it up, this was STILL early 90s TV, so it will include early 90s "tropes"
Yep, including one of the biggest. Finding its footing for the first season(better than TNG’s first, but the Original series is the only series that would be well regarded if every season was on par with the first). Less tropes and more risk taking with each season I think.
Let's gooooo!!!!
New crew, new mission, new worlds to explore... on the edge of the final frontier🖖
Yep. Always liked those Runabout class ships too. They’re like premium deluxe shuttle craft with more space(if normal shuttles are a 3 man dome tent, runabouts are double decker camper RV’s), and most importantly the ability to go to warp instead of just impulse speed. And I believe named after Earth rivers.
Woooohooooio
I exist here.