Emissary (3 Jan. 1993)

When the troubled Commander Sisko takes command of a surrendered space station, he learns that it borders a unique stable wormhole.

Director:

David Carson

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman (creator),

Stars:

Avery Brooks, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Avery Brooks	...	Commander Sisko
Rene Auberjonois	...	Odo
Alexander Siddig	...	Doctor Bashir (as Siddig El Fadil)
Terry Farrell	...	Lt. Jadzia Dax
Cirroc Lofton	...	Jake Sisko
Colm Meaney	...	Chief O'Brien
Armin Shimerman	...	Quark
Nana Visitor	...	Major Kira
Patrick Stewart	...	Captain Jean-Luc Picard / Locutus of Borg
Camille Saviola	...	Kai Opaka
Felecia M. Bell	...	Jennifer Sisko
Marc Alaimo	...	Gul Dukat
Joel Swetow	...	Gul Jasad
Aron Eisenberg	...	Nog
Stephen Davies	...	Tactical Officer

Storyline

Commander Benjamin Sisko, whose life has changed after his wife was killed in the battle with the Borg at Wolf 359, is to take command of the space station Deep Space Nine near Bajor. The station was built by the Cardassians, but recently taken over by the Bajorans after a very oppressive occupation of their planet was ended. Sisko has one hell of a task before him. The station is in ruins after the Cardassians stripped it, merchants are preparing to leave and its Bajoran commander major Kira Nerys seems to dislike the Federation. When Sisko gets to talk with Kai Opaka, the Bajoran religious leader, she tells him he is the long awaited emissary and shows him a 'Tear of the Prophet', a mysterious looking orb that enables him to relive memories. Kai Opaka tells the other orbs were stolen by the Cardassians looking for the Celestial Temple. She urges the DS9 commander to find it before they do. After science officer Jadzia Dax, a Trill, thinks she has found the possible location, she and...

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Plot Keywords:

space station | wormhole | religious leader | memory | emissary | 

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Taglines:

The Original Feature Length Pilot Episode

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 January 1993 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens - 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The wormhole effect contains water dripping in a pan.

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Goofs

During the attack on the USS Saratoga, we see the Borg cube fire a phaser at the ventral (bottom) side of the ship, yet when Sisko asks for a damage report, the Bolian officer says "Damage to Decks 1-4". Decks 1-4 would be on the dorsal (top) side of the ship, which was not where the Borg phaser was shown to strike at.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Locutus of Borg: Resistance is futile. You will disarm your weapons and escort us to sector 0-0-1. If you attempt to intervene, we will destroy you.
Vulcan Captain: Red alert. Load all torpedo bays, ready phasers.

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Connections

References Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Best of Both Worlds: Part 2 (1990)

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Soundtracks

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Main Title"
(uncredited)
Written by Dennis McCarthy
Performed by Dennis McCarthy

User Reviews

Very good series premiere

Emissary was Deep Space Nine's pilot episode. And not a bad one either. A fitting beginning to a 7 year story.

I don't think it was perfect, like The Next Generation's Encounter at Farpoint, but it did introduce all the characters and settings of this incredible show. Emissary reminds me of Babylon 5's Pilot Episode: The Gathering, which was aired a month after Emissary.

Deep Space Nine's first couple of years weren't THAT great, but then the show started to rise with a great storyline and great situations, such as the Klingons' separation from the Federation, Sisko's destiny and the Federation's war against the Dominion and Cardassian alliance. And Emissary was the 2 hour series premiere that gave birth to all this. Emissary has a good storyline. Sisko's encounter with the prophets beat any alien encounters ever seen before in Star Trek history. Sisko's background related to the Battle of Wolf 359 as well as his meeting with Picard make the series an excellent sci-fi drama. Kira started out as the angry vengeful Bajoran and grew intensively over the past 7 years, becoming an incredible leader and fighter. I was astonished to see Miles and Keiko O'Brien becoming part of the show, which affected deeply their personal lives as they moved from the excessive perfection of the USS Enterprise to the station that resembles our gritty reality rather than Roddenberry's perfect future.

Rick Berman and Michael Piller did a great job creating this show and keeping it alive and healthy after Roddenberry's death, while giving a fitting end to The Next Generation.

Paramount Pictures did a great job, creating both the pilot and the show. I give Emissary a 9 out of 10.