Producers didn’t like the title of Deep Space Nine

Deep Space Nine wasn’t well-liked as a title

When production was underway for the newest Star Trek series in 1992, producers knew that the words “Star Trek” had to be in the title. This dictate came from the head of the network at the time Brandon Tartikoff. The series was coming on the heels of the success of Star Trek: The Next Generation so there could be no mistaking that this was a part of the franchise as well.

Final Frontier held appeal to the producers as it had an “evocative feel”, according to The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine by Judith Reeves and Garfield Stevens. Of course, there was that pesky little problem of it already having been used for a Star Trek: The Original Series movie, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, which was considered the least successful movie at the time. (That position has since been usurped by the box office failure of Star Trek: Nemesis which brought in a measly $67.3 million against a $60 million budget.)

The Deep Space Nine title came out of desperation

Though the Cardassian name for the station was Terek Nor, neither Rick Berman nor Michael Piller wanted an alien word in the title. And the original title they’d come up with, Starbase 362, seemed bland to them and just didn’t work to stir up any excitement.

So how was it decided to name the new series Deep Space Nine? Out of desperation, Berman suggested it. Producers needed to begin working on the pilot so they couldn’t spend anymore time on a better title. According to the Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, no one liked the title, but “no one hated it enough to suggest something else.” They were just ready to move on to the production of the series.

Now, twenty-eight years later, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine itself is such a significant part of the franchise that we couldn’t imagine it having any other title. And even though the producers weren’t wild about it, that didn’t stop the viewers from tuning in and making the series a success.