24 Years Of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Twenty four years ago, on January 3, 1993, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine premiered and changed Trek forever.

Every Trekkie has a favorite Star Trek series. It’s a close call for me between Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In the end though DS9 will always win out because it’s the adventure I first fell in love with.

I always loved Star Trek, and I waited with excitement to watch new episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation each week. I wouldn’t call myself a Trekkie though until I found Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. 

I remember the night DS9 premiered, I made my mom stay up and watch it with me. From the very beginning I was hooked. I feel in love with the station, Bajor, and the Gamma Quadrant. What I loved most about DS9 is that it felt like new unexplored territory. You didn’t know what was coming. This is also why Star Trek: Enterprise might be my least favorite Trek. Enterprise was a throwback, the feeling of not knowing where it was going was missing.

Deep Space Nine felt like Star Trek where anything could happen. A Star Trek where the galaxy wasn’t perfect, and neither were Federation officers. To me DS9 captured that piece of Star Trek: The Original Series where things were better for humanity, but problems still existed. The Federation’s ideals were good, but weren’t always effective. It showed a galaxy and humanity we could strive to be, a galaxy that was realistic.

One thing DS9 did that other Treks hadn’t done yet was do away with the “monster of the week” format. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine saw big story arcs that lasted for entire seasons. DS9 was Star Trek proving it could work as a “modern” television series.

I know I’ve given CBS a hard time for some of the choices they have made on Star Trek: Discovery, but I hope Discovery can capture some child’s imagination the way DS9 did mine. I had a Deep Space Nine model hanging over my bed, hopefully a Discovery will be hanging in a kids bedroom soon too.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine will always be special to me, and if you’re wondering how I’m celebrating today, well it’s time for a season 1 marathon.

NEXT: Alien Species We Want To See In Star Trek Discovery

So what do you think? Do you have a favorite Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode? Share it with us on Facebook or in the comments below.