"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" Emissary (1993)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

David Carson

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator: "Star Trek")
Rick Berman (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993)

Original Air Date:

3 January 1993 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Original Feature Length Pilot Episode

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Space Station | Wormhole | Memory | Emissary | Star Trek

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 3 nominations

Cast

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

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Filming Locations:

Golden Oak Ranch - 19802 Placerita Canyon Road, Newhall, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Network Television Productions

Trivia:

After the attack on the station, Dr. Bashir makes Odo compress a man's wound to stop it from bleeding. This scene, which does not appear in the two-part version, alludes to "M*A*S*H" (1972), in which Rene Auberjonois's character, Father Mulcahy, is called on to do the same thing during an operation.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): 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.

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.

Movie Connections:

References "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987)

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.