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Sisko became a lot cooler once Brooks was allowed to shave his head and grow a goatee!
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Avery Brooks, and his portrayal of Sisko, definitely loosened up once he shaved his head. He still maintained that Sisko intensity, but I think he really embraced the character once he went bald. It took the showrunners and writers a couple of seasons to really nail down the characters; DS9 was so different, and you can tell from early seasons that they were still following a TNG-like structure while testing the waters of what they would soon become -- a heavily-serialized and character-driven show.
I don't have it in front of me at the moment, but in the Deep Space Nine Companion (a MUST HAVE to read if you love the show, by the way!), I seem to recall that Ira Behr talks about having to get the studio's approval to allow Brooks to shave his head, which was apparently how he kept his hair in between seasons. The studio, as with all things DS9, basically said "do whatever you want," and so it was. Behr goes on to say (again, I'm paraphrasing) that Brooks "loosened up [and was] more free" once he could keep his head shaved.
In any event, DS9 is by far my favorite TREK series. I love everything about the show; the music; the writing; the moral ambiguity; the serialization; the plethora of characters (many of whom were more developed than characters on TNG!). On one hand it irritates me to see it always forgotten about, but then on the other, I think the show is so great precisely because it was pushed to the side -- everyone was free to create something truly unique in the STAR TREK universe.
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Hated DS9.By far the worst of all the Trek series.Full of dislikeable characters and uninteresting stories.Ben sisko was a downright horrible character and i couldnt take Avery Brooks seriously.Just a terrible,terrible performance.
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Sisko became a lot cooler once Brooks was allowed to shave his head and grow a goatee!
The more he took from his Great,Great,Great,Great,Great Grandfather Hawk, the better he got.
:-)
Ford A. Thaxton
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Posted: |
Aug 22, 2012 - 3:30 PM
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By: |
LRobHubbard
(Member)
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Of all the TREK spin-offs, DS9 is the only one, I feel, that actually tried to find new ground (and took a lot of flak for it; notice that VOYAGER and ENTERPRISE pretty much stuck to retreading over ground that had been trod over many times) for the TREK universe and succeeded. Yeah, it took awhile to find its footing, just like TNG did; but once it did, there was some great television created.
Avery Brooks started out stiff, but once he got to channel his inner 'Hawk', really opened up - I especially liked the episodes where in an alternate reality, the character was a science-fiction writer, and it touched upon the contemporary problems of people of color living in a contemporary society.
The show made excellent use of the Klingons and Cardassians and even gave the Ferengi (whose introduction and use in TNG just bordered on embarrassing) some depth.
It's probably one of the most underrated genre shows out there... I'd like to see this circulating again.
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Posted: |
May 1, 2016 - 8:09 AM
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By: |
mastadge
(Member)
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On a whim I pulled the first couple seasons from my library and started watching. Surprised how well this holds up, more than 20 years later(!). As a kid I enjoyed the station setting and special effects, but had trouble getting into the Bajoran politics/spirituality stuff and didn't really love the show until the Dominion got into the mix.
Now, I don't love the Bajoran stuff - I wish they could have gone deeper into the politics of the mission with fewer episodic adventures in the first year - but I have a greater appreciation for it. And it's amazing how quickly so many of the major minor characters were introduced: Garak, Rom and Nog, etc. Also how quickly the actors grew into their characters: this show found its feet much faster than TNG. Also, I never realized how tiny Gul Dukat is, even with that long neck. The other characters tower over him! I think in later seasons they must have gotten better at hiding that fact to make him a more intimidating villain.
It's also weird thinking about how similar VOY was to DS9, in premise. DS9: mixed crew with political tension discover a doorway to unexplored part of the galaxy. VOY: mixed crew with political tension discover doorway to unexplored part of the galaxy. The main difference is in VOY the door then shut behind them. On DS9, however, they did a slightly better job with the tension between factions on the station, whereas in VOY the maquis seemed to integrate very easily into the Starfleet command structure with very little compromise or tension.
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I also feel this was the most fully realized of the Next Generation Star Trek series. It also had the best wrap-up episode of any of the TREK series, giving satisfying resolutions to almost all the characters--even the holographic lounge singer played by James Darren.
And, if there is a better single episode in any of the series than "The Visitor" with it's time bending story I can't remember it. (Maybe "The Inner Light" on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION.)
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I didn't really respect DS9 until we watched the whole series on Netflix a couple of years ago. And then I learned to love the show. (My show preferences in the Star Trek universe go in chronological order most-to-least-favorite from TOS to Enterprise.) I found I had to watch the whole series to really understand its strengths.
I have the same issues with Avery Brooks others mention, but when he's good, he's very good. And I too love the way they developed the Ferengi. I can understand where the comic episodes may not work for folks, but I enjoy them a lot. I'm so glad Armin Shimerman and Rene Auberjonois were able to work together over those years - they were a perfect double act. Jeffrey Combs was terrific as the many Weyouns. And Andrew Robinson's Garak is one of my favorite Trek characters period - I especially love the espionage-drenched episodes with Paul Dooley's Enabran Tain.
For me, the finale is depressingly wrong - both in the weak ending to the war and particularly how they rob two of the most effective villains in all of Trek - Gul Dukat and Kai Winn - of their meaning and purpose by turning them into a foolish fantasy conclusion reeking of exorcism and anti-science. This is where the creators I think betrayed their relative disinterest in what Trek stands for. But whatever.
Star Trek has always been best as a format for storytelling more than an individual storyline - one reason most of the series (except Enterprise) are for me just about always better than the movies. And DS9 has LOTS of excellent episodes, and also the only ongoing effective storyline of any the series. I think all true-blue trekkies and trekkers should give the whole show a try.
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I hated the holodeck stuff more than in TNG
Just awful!
The first few seasons were good , esp the complicated relationships between the former conquered with their conquerors. And the Ferengi stuff was great!
But, it became a bit absurd toward the end of the run
b
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