Trivia
Among the finalists for the role of Sisko was Gary Graham, best known for the TV series Alien Nation. Graham eventually received a recurring role as Vulcan ambassador Soval on Star Trek: Enterprise.
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Kira was a last-minute addition to the cast; the original plan was to include the Star Trek: The Next Generation character of Ro Laren, but Michelle Forbes didn't want a series at the time.
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The character that eventually became Vic Fontaine was written for Frank Sinatra Jr.. in Season 4. Sinatra, despite being a fan of the show, turned it down, declaring that he only wanted to play an alien. After meeting with Robert Goulet, and attempting to get Steve Lawrence, Tom Jones and Jerry Vale, the producers eventually decided on James Darren in Season 6. Darren would go on to appear in 8 episodes, including the series finale.
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Dax was originally envisioned as an alien from a low-gravity world forced to get around in a wheelchair and who flew around her quarters; the concept was scrapped and recycled into the character of Melora because the "flight" cables were too difficult to rig.
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The spots on Jadzia Dax were not stenciled. Instead, they were drawn on personally by Michael Westmore each day, a process which took over an hour.
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In the episode Trials and Tribble-ations, Crew from Deep Space Nine are hijacked into the episode Trouble with Tribbles from Star Trek. The set of the original Enterprise was re-created for this episode in detail except for the orange grating often seen in engineering areas. Apparently, the company that made it had discontinued its production.
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After production ended and the sets were dismantled, the Defiant bridge set was declared "fold & hold" and placed in storage. It has been redressed and reused as the bridge of an alien cargo ship and a Klingon battlecruiser on Star Trek: Voyager and the bridge of the ECS Fortunate on Star Trek: Enterprise.
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In the episode "Man Alone," the planet Alderaan is listed as a recent place visited by a murder victim. Alderaan is the planet destroyed by the Death Star in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.
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Stars Alexander Siddig and Nana Visitor were married in real life in 1997 (after the show's fourth season).
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The subplot of Kira carrying the O'Briens' baby was to explain away Nana Visitor's pregnancy.
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Both Armin Shimerman (Quark) and Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat) have appeared as one of the first actors to portray members of their respected species, and both appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Shimerman played the the Ferengi officer Letek on the TNG episode "The Last Outpost" (#1.04), while Alaimo played the Cardassian officer Gul Macet on the TNG episode "The Wounded" (#4.17).
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Lit Star Trek model kit parts can be seen as medical instruments throughout the series. In one episode, Dr. Bashir uses a part that makes up a Romulan Warbird engine nacelle to scan or heal.
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References are frequently made to Starfleet "ground troops," and some Starfleet characters have different uniforms (a black uniform with a small colored stripe across the middle). Fans generally accept that these characters are part of a Starfleet Marine Corps, although this has never been explicitly stated on-screen. There was a Starfleet Colonel West in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country; West was most likely a Starfleet Marine, since navies do not have the rank of colonel. Colonel West was played by Rene Auberjonois, who plays Constable Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
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Reportedly, Gene Roddenberry was made aware of plans for DS9 not long before his death in 1991, making this the last Star Trek TV series that he was connected with.
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The number 47 pops up an inordinate amount of times on computer screens, serial numbers, dates and so on. This tradition was started by writer/co-producer Joe Menosky and was soon picked up by the rest of the production team. Menosky said that he choose that particular number because when he was a college student at Pomona College, Professor of Mathematics Donald Bentley proved as a joke that all numbers are equal to 47. Interestingly, the later series Alias also featured the number 47 many times, and incorporated it into its ongoing storyline.
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Military ranks used in Star Trek are all based upon actual military ranks. Starfleet ranks are those of the US Navy: Ensign, Lieutenant Junior Grade, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain, Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral, and Admiral. Bajoran ranks are the same as those used in the US Army, Air Force, and Marines: 2nd lieutenant, 1st lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel (or, as the Bajorans call it, 'Field Colonel'), Colonel, and General. (Kira, after her promotion, was referred to simply as 'Colonel', but she was promoted two steps in rank at once.) Klingon ranks are 'bekk' (an enlisted rating), Ensign, Lieutenant, Commander, Captain, Colonel, Brigadier, General, Admiral. Cardassian ranks are based on those of the ancient Roman Empire: Gil (equivalent to a Starfleet/ US Naval Lieutenant), Glinn (Commander), Gul (Captain), and Legate (Admiral).
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The guy who is often in Quark's bar is named "Morn", which is an anagram for "Norm" from Cheers, who was often in the bar. Like Norm, Morn always sat in the same seat at the bar.
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The uniforms initially worn on DS9 were designed to look different from those worn on its parent show, Star Trek: The Next Generation Beginning with the movie Star Trek: Generations, however, these new uniforms were adopted by the TNG crew and Starfleet as a whole. From the mid-5th season of DS9 and Star Trek: First Contact another type of uniforms were issued by Starfleet, while Star Trek: Voyager (having no way of knowing about the change) retained the earlier version, distinguishing the two series from each other again. It is also worth mentioning that the DS9-style uniforms are very similar to the ones worn by Starfleet cadets in TNG, most notably in Star Trek: The Next Generation: The First Duty.
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In one episode, while Kira is still pregnant the O'Briens' baby, she screams at Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig) "This is all your fault!" This is an in-joke referring to the fact that actress Nana Visitor and Siddig were expecting a child in real-life.
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According to an April 2003 interview, Avery Brooks was initially required by contract to appear with hair in order to prevent confusion with his Spenser: For Hire character, Hawk. In later seasons, as Sisko became established, Brooks was allowed to shave his head and re-grow his beard.
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Although we only rarely see it, there is an ATM in Quark's bar. It dispenses the various types of currency used by major races visiting the station: Federation credits, Bajoran litas, Cardassian leks, and Ferengi latinum.
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In a scene where Bashir and O'Brien come out of the holo-suite and talk to Quark dressed as WWII RAF pilots, most of O'Brien's jargon comes from a Monty Python sketch, RAF Banter.
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Buck Bokai, a baseball player of the 21st Century, broke Joe DiMaggio's record for consecutive hits in 2026. While the name is never mentioned, this fact is mentioned in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Big Goodbye."
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Buck Bokai's baseball card, a collectable featured on Benjamin Sisko's desk, had actor Keone Young on the front, in character, but showed "Trek" model maker Gregory Jein, who invented the "history" of the character, on the back. The pair bore an uncanny resemblance to each other.
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The design of Ops incorporates ideas that were considered but dropped for The Bridge on Star Trek: The Next Generation, such as the upper level office, the briefing table in the center of the room, and the transporter being built into the set.
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The Bajoran monetary system uses the Lita as currency. The Lita is actually the name of the currency of Lithuania.
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Malcolm McDowell once said he'd like to appear on DS9, but only if his nephew - Alexander Siddig (who plays DS9's Dr. Bashir) - would direct the episode. Unfortunately, this never panned out, mostly due to scheduling conflicts.
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Wolf 359, mentioned as the battle site between the Borg and the Federation where Sisko lost his wife, is a real star that is 7.5 light-years from Earth.
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On occasion, sets from Star Trek: Voyager are used as other Starfleet locales. (For example: a holosuite grid in the episode "Inquisition", the entire U.S.S. Bellerophon [which was an Intrepid-class starship just as Voyager is] in the episode "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges.")
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The character 'Benjamin Sisko' was ranked #50 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" (20 June 2004 issue).
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The 'Star Trek Crews' from all the Star Trek series were ranked #2 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (1 August 2004 issue).
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The name of the alien race "Ferengi" is derived from the Persian word for "foreigner", which is Farangi.
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The Bajoran spiritual leader is known as the Kai. This is likely derived from the Japanese word "Kai" which means 'change'.
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Among the actors to read for the role of Captain Sisko was Eriq La Salle who would later be cast as Dr. Peter Benton in ER. James Earl Jones and Tony Todd were also offered the role. Todd (who originally appeared as Worf's brother Kurn on Star Trek: The Next Generation) would make two appearances on this series - both during Season Four; first as an elderly Jake Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Visitor and he also reprises his role of Kurn in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Sons of Mogh.
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The role of Jadzia Dax was initially offered to Famke Janssen, whose character makeup from Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Perfect Mate inspired the change in Trill character makeup from a forehead prosthetic. Both she and Michelle Forbes (see above) turned down the roles in order to remain available to appear in feature films.
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The character Elim Garak is a former spy who works as a tailor on the station. In many of 'John Le Carré''s spy novels a tailor is one of the main characters (and is often also acting as a spy). "The Tailor of Panama" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" are two examples.
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Benjamin Sisko is the only Captain in a Star Trek series that didn't start out as a Captain at the beginning of the series. From Seasons 1-3, Sisko held the rank of Commander. It wasn't until the Season 3 finale, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Adversary, where he was finally promoted to Captain.
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The primary design of Deep Space Nine is based off a gyroscope, but with the top and bottom parts removed. Some of the earlier designs of DS9 by Herman F. Zimmerman had complete hoops, also like a gyroscope, and the idea was that rotating the station would create artificial gravity, until someone pointed out that there was no need for this, as Star Trek ships use gravity generators. However, the idea of a halo-shaped space station stuck, and it was used in the final design.
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Executive Producer/Co-Creator Michael Piller said that when coming up for an idea for the series concept of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, there were initially three ideas toted around: Another starship adventure, a space station concept, and a remote frontier colony. The frontier colony idea was briefly considered, with the idea that since Star Trek was compared to Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. in outer space, the new series would be compared to Gun Law, but on a remote planet. The frontier colony idea was eventually dropped since it would've required a lot of on-location shooting, and the space station idea was ultimately developed instead.
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The appearance of the Trill symbiont is different from when it initially appeared on the episode Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Host. In that episode, the symbiont's appearance was made to resemble a caterpillar with the head of an octopus. According to Make-Up Supervisor Michael Westmore, the symbiont was re-made for this series to be more "stream-lined" to make it easier to handle. Also, the appearance of the Trill hosts had changed as well. In "The Host", the Trill people had semi-ridged foreheads and no body spots, but in this series, they have normal foreheads, and body spots. In "The Host," the Trill was also terrified of being transported, insinuating that it would damage the symbiont, but neither Jadzia nor Ezri ever mentioned concerns with being transported.
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According to numerous episodes, time on the Deep Space Nine space station is based on the length of a standard Bajoran day, which is 26 hours.
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Although all Star Trek series dealt with complex social issues, Deep Space Nine had darker undertones and seriously dealt with genocide, terrorism, bigotry, racism, shell shock and the consequences of war much more than other Star Trek series.
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In the episode "By Inferno's Light", several of the main characters are imprisoned in a Dominion POW camp. One of the characters, Elim Garak, must overcome his fear of claustrophobia to try and get them out. This has a lot of comparison with Charles Bronson's character in The Great Escape.
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The second time in the Star Trek TV universe that the ritual dis-commendation of a Klingon warrior is portrayed.
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Despite being credited as a regular, Cirroc Lofton appeared in only 85 of the show's 173 episodes. Morn, the most frequent recurring character, appeared in 92 episodes.
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O'Brien was the first regular Star Trek character to be established as being married from the start of a Trek series. (He had gotten married on the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Star Trek: The Next Generation: Data's Day as a recurring character on the show). In addition, Sisko was the first Star Trek Captain to be permanently married when he wed Kassidy Yates.
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Worf and Jadzia Dax were the first pair of regular Star Trek characters to be married to each other. Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres eventually got married on Star Trek: Voyager, and later Riker married Troi in _"Star Trek: Nemesis" (2002)_. O'Brien was only a recurring character at the time of his marriage on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and his wife Keiko was not a regular character on either TNG or DS9.
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This is the only "Star Trek" TV series not to have any human female as part of the main cast.
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Terry Farrell was the only regular Star Trek actor or actress not to return in any way after their character was killed off. Leonard Nimoy's Spock was resurrected, and Denise Crosby made appearances as an alternate universe counterpart to and later daughter of Tasha Yar.
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As revealed on Star Trek: The Next Generation, O'Brien's full name is Miles Edward O'Brien.
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O'Brien and later Worf were the only two regulars on a Star Trek series to be carried over from another.
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After Avery Brooks was cast as Captain Sisko, producers maintained a color blind approach to casting Jake.
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The name Deep Space Nine originated from an early working title, and predated the decision to set the series on a space station. Producers intended on coming up with a new title after the show was fully developed, but stayed with the Deep Space Nine name feeling it had an intriguing quality to it.
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Robert Walker Jr., who guest starred on Star Trek, was offered a guest role during the sixth season. But Walker did not want to come out of retirement.
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Aron Eisenberg was approaching his mid 20s when cast as Nog, who began on the series in his pre to early teens. In addition, Eisenberg was only 17 years younger than Max Grodénchik who played Nog's father Rom.
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Producers noted virtually no negative reaction to the romantic pairing and eventual wedding between Worf and Dax, which was essentially interracial. Producers cited that on the generally open minded nature of the Star Trek fan base. As was the case with all other Star Trek programs, the series depicted a number of mixed race romances, notably married couples O'Brien and Keiko, and Rom and Leeta.
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Debuting in January 1993, the first Star Trek series to premiere during TV's mid-season. Two years later Star Trek: Voyager would also premiere mid-season.
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Sisko's father (and Jake's Grandfather) Joseph was played by Brock Peters, who had previously played Admiral Cartwright in two of the Star Trek movies (IV and VI).
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The Dominion War storyline proved very divisive among veterans of the "Star Trek" universe. George Takei, in particular, voiced his belief that the storyline was directly antithetical to Gene Roddenberry's original concept of a peaceful, Utopian future.
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The Dominion storyline was originally only meant to span two episodes. Ronald D. Moore and Ira Steven Behr lobbied to make the storyline ongoing, but met with resistance from Executive Producer Rick Berman who wanted to maintain an episodic format to the series. After Berman left production to oversee the launch of 'Star Trek: Voyager (1996)', Moore and Behr were given more creative control over this series, making the Dominion War the main plot of the show and adopting a serialized format.
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Dr Julian Bashir's last name was originally Amoros. The name was not changed until the pilot episode went into pre-production.
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The show featured the largest cast of recurring or semi-regular characters of any Star Trek TV series.
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One of the original ideas of the station was based on the biblical Tower of Babel, meaning that it had been created over as long as 3000 years, through the cooperation of many different alien races who could not effectively communicate with one another, using different technologies that were often incompatible with each other. It was finally decided that the space station would be Cardassian in design, with lots of circular design elements.
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