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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Television

                     Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
           Genre         Science fiction
       Running time      About 42 min. per episode
        Creator(s)       Rick Berman
                         Michael Piller
   Executive producer(s) Ira Steven Behr
                         Michael Piller
                         Rick Berman
         Starring        See cast
     Country of origin   United States
       Original run      January 3, 1993– June 2, 1999
      No. of episodes    176 ( List of episodes)
        Preceded by      Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994)
        Followed by      Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001)
                            IMDb profile
                           TV.com summary

   Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series.
   Debuting in 1993, it ran for seven seasons, finishing in 1999. Based on
   Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek, it was created by Rick Berman and Michael
   Piller, on Brandon Tartikoff's request, and produced by Paramount
   Pictures. The main title is sometimes abbreviated to ST:DS9, or simply
   DS9. The show is a spin-off of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

   DS9 began while Star Trek: The Next Generation was still on the air,
   and there were several crossover episodes between the two series.
   Unlike its predecessor, DS9 often broke the rules laid down by Gene
   Roddenberry, such as the prohibition against interpersonal conflicts
   between the main characters. In contrast with the other series, DS9
   took place on a space station instead of a starship. It also depended
   on continuing story arcs, many recurring characters, and darker themes.
   Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

About the show

   Conceived in 1991, shortly before Gene Roddenberry’s death, DS9
   chronicles the events surrounding space station Deep Space 9, which is
   under the joint control of the United Federation of Planets and Bajor.
   In the pilot, the station is moved to the recently discovered Bajoran
   wormhole, allowing access to the unexplored Gamma Quadrant. The station
   quickly becomes a cornerstone of interstellar trade and political
   activity.

   The wormhole is inhabited by aliens who do not exist within normal
   space and time. To the religious people of Bajor, these are the
   Prophets and the wormhole itself is the long-prophesied Celestial
   Temple. Commander Benjamin Sisko, who discovers the wormhole with
   Jadzia Dax, is hailed as the Emissary of the Prophets, a spiritual role
   that makes him uneasy.

   According to co-creator Berman, he and Piller had considered setting
   the new series on a colony planet, but they felt a space station would
   both appeal more to viewers and save money due to the high cost of
   on-location shooting for a "land-based" show. However, they were
   certain that they did not want the show to be set aboard a starship
   because Star Trek: The Next Generation was still in production at the
   time and, in Berman’s words, it "just seemed ridiculous to have two
   shows—two casts of characters—that were off going where no man has gone
   before."

   DS9 was well received by critics, with TV Guide describing it as "the
   best acted, written, produced, and altogether finest" Star Trek series.
   However, some fans grew dissatisfied with the show’s generally darker
   themes and objected to the stationary setting. Some fans of the series
   call themselves " Niners", after a baseball team which appeared in the
   seventh-season episode " Take Me Out to the Holosuite".

   Although DS9's ratings were initially solid, it was never as successful
   as Star Trek: The Next Generation, and its ratings declined in later
   seasons. A number of reasons were given for this decline, including an
   increasingly crowded television marketplace (the show Babylon 5 aired
   about the same time, mining similar themes), cannibalization of
   viewership between it, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek:
   Voyager, and viewer fatigue. Nonetheless, it remained the top rated
   first-run syndicated drama series throughout most of its run.

   The show is best remembered for its well-developed characters and its
   original, complex plots. The main writers, in addition to creators
   Berman and Piller, included Ronald D. Moore, Peter Allan Fields, Ira
   Steven Behr, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Joe Menosky, René Echevarria. Richard
   Manning, and Hans Beimler.

Cast

Main characters

   Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

   Featuring the most diverse cast in Star Trek history, DS9 was the first
   series to include main characters who were not members of Starfleet.
   Kira Nerys is an officer in the Bajoran militia, Odo is a Changeling
   who worked for the Cardassians during the Occupation of Bajor, while
   Jake Sisko and Quark are civilians. Though Ro Laren ( Michelle Forbes)
   was the producer's first choice as the first officer, Kira Nerys was
   created because Forbes did not wish to commit to a television show.
   Among Starfleet characters, Miles O'Brien is the first enlisted
   (non-commissioned) main character, reprising a supporting role he
   played on several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

   During its seven-year run, DS9 faced two major cast changes. The fourth
   season added Michael Dorn as Worf, who had recently finished seven
   years on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The original reason for this
   was to boost ratings, but the Klingon soon became an integral part of
   the show. Worf later married Jadzia Dax.

   The second change was the abrupt departure of Terry Farrell (Jadzia
   Dax). Feeling that the large cast of DS9 limited her screen time,
   Farrell did not renew her contract at the end of the sixth season. She
   joined the Ted Danson TV show "Becker" for four years. Because her
   character was the host of the Dax symbiont, the writers introduced Ezri
   Dax ( Nicole de Boer) to provide a new host after Gul Dukat killed
   Jadzia.

   Alexander Siddig ( Julian Bashir) appeared in the opening credits by a
   shortened form of his birth name, Siddig el Fadil, for the first three
   seasons. He appeared as Alexander Siddig after he married co-star Nana
   Visitor ( Kira Nerys), which placed their names together in the
   alphabetical cast credits, although his stated reason for the name
   change was that he discovered that nobody watching the show knew how to
   pronounce 'el Fadil'. Siddig continued to be credited as Siddig el
   Fadil when he directed.

Recurring characters

   The setting of the show—a space station rather than a starship—fostered
   a rich assortment of recurring characters. It was not unheard of for
   "secondary" characters to play as much, or more, of a role in an
   episode as the regular cast. For example, " The Wire" focused almost
   entirely on Garak, while " Treachery, Faith, and the Great River"
   featured an A-story about Weyoun and a B-story about Nog. Lasting
   consequences and the presence of familiar faces were among the reasons
   Berman and Piller chose to set the series aboard a space station.

   Of particular note to Star Trek fans is Weyoun, played by Jeffrey Combs
   (of Re-Animator fame), who made his Star Trek debut on DS9. Combs has
   stated that he had auditioned for the role of William T. Riker on Star
   Trek: The Next Generation, but when Jonathan Frakes (who won the part)
   later directed the DS9 episode " Meridian", he recommended Combs for a
   part. Combs would go on to appear in thirty-one episodes of DS9,
   playing four distinct characters—five, if one counts the " mirror
   universe" version of Brunt. In " The Dogs of War", he also became one
   of the few Star Trek actors to play two distinct roles (Brunt and
   Weyoun) in a single episode. He later played a prominent role as Shran
   on Star Trek: Enterprise.

   Another prominent character was Gul Dukat, played by Marc Alaimo. Dukat
   was one of Trek's most complex characters, starting out sometimes
   cooperative, though usually antagonistic, and undergoing several
   transitions before ultimately becoming purely villainous by the show's
   conclusion. Commander of the station before it was turned over to
   Federation control, Dukat remained a part of the Cardassian military
   through the beginning of the Dominion-Cardassian alliance's war with
   the Federation, until being driven mad by the loss of his daughter.

   Morn, a minor character who frequents Quark's bar, is silent but
   seemingly omnipresent. According to Emmy Award-winning make-up designer
   Michael Westmore, on the first day of filming the series, the director
   chose Morn somewhat randomly from among several prosthetic characters
   to be a barfly at Quark's, and he went on to spend the next seven years
   there. Westmore and others named Morn as an anagram of the character
   Norm from Cheers, who also spent seemingly all of his time sitting on
   his favorite bar stool and drinking. Ironically, although Westmore went
   to great lengths to ensure that Morn could talk in case the character
   ever got a line, he remained silent; this became a running joke, with
   other characters frequently commenting on how extremely talkative he
   was. So great was the affection for the silent character that a special
   episode called " Who Mourns for Morn?" was written for him in the sixth
   season.

   Several of the prominent recurring actors are also known for their work
   on other projects, the most notable being Academy Award winner Louise
   Fletcher (the Bajoran spiritual leader Kai Winn) and sci-fi veteran
   Salome Jens (the Female Changeling). Other celebrities seen in guest
   and recurring roles included Vanessa L. Williams, Wallace Shawn, Lark
   Voorhies, James Cromwell, Gabrielle Union, Iggy Pop, Steven Berkoff and
   James Darren. John Colicos reprised his Star Trek: The Original Series
   role as Kor on several occasions.

Plots

   DS9 also differs from preceding Star Trek series in that it contains
   more story arcs that span several episodes and even seasons. Its
   predecessors tend to restore the status quo ante at the end of an
   episode so that each episode could be seen out-of-order without
   compromising its plot. On DS9 however, not only are events in one
   episode often referenced and built upon in later ones, but sometimes
   several episodes in a row are cliffhangers. This trend is especially
   strong near the end of the series’ run, by which point the show was
   intentionally very much a serial, as the producers felt it enriched the
   show.

   One such story arc is Benjamin Sisko’s role as a religious icon. He
   initially faces it with open discomfort and skepticism, referring to
   the Bajoran Prophets simply as "wormhole aliens" and striving to keep
   his role as commander of the station distinct from any obligations that
   the Bajorans try to place on him. Later, he becomes more accepting of
   his role and, by the end of the series, he appears to openly embrace
   it.

   The station crew early on contend with a terrorist group known as the
   Maquis. Rooted in the events of The Next Generation episode " Journey's
   End", in which Native American settlers refuse to leave when their
   colony world is given to Cardassia as part of a treaty, the Maquis are
   an example for the show’s exploration of darker themes: Its members are
   Federation citizens who take up arms against Cardassia in defense of
   their homes, and some—such as Calvin Hudson, a long-time friend of
   Sisko's, and Michael Eddington, who defects while serving aboard the
   station—are former Starfleet officers. The show’s violent departure
   from traditional Star Trek themes can be seen in episodes such as " For
   the Cause", in which Eddington tells Sisko, "Everybody should want to
   be in the Federation. Nobody leaves paradise. In some ways you’re even
   worse than the Borg. At least they tell you about their plans for
   assimilation. You assimilate people and they don’t even know it."

   The second-season episode " Rules of Acquisition" introduces the
   Dominion, a ruthless empire in the Gamma Quadrant. It is led by "the
   Founders", a race of shapeshifting Changelings—the same race as station
   security chief Odo. They were once persecuted by non-shapeshifters
   (whom they call "Solids") and they seek to instill "order" upon those
   who might otherwise cause them harm—including nearly all Solids. The
   Founders have created or genetically modified two races to serve them:
   the Vorta, sly and subversive diplomats, and the Jem’Hadar, their
   fearless shock troops. These races worship the Founders as gods.

   The Dominion forms an uneasy alliance with the Cardassians in the
   fifth-season episodes " In Purgatory's Shadow" and " By Inferno's
   Light" and goes to war with the other major powers of the Alpha
   Quadrant. Throughout the series, loyalties and alliances change
   repeatedly: pacts with the Cardassians are made, broken, and remade; a
   short war with the Klingons flares up and is settled, and (through
   Sisko's machinations) the formerly neutral Romulans ally with the
   Federation.

   Another example of DS9’s darker plot material is Section 31, a secret
   organization that exists within the Federation, dedicated to preserving
   the Federation way of life at any and all cost. This undemocratic
   shadow group, introduced in " Inquisition", justifies its unlawful and
   ethically questionable tactics by claiming that it is essential to the
   continued existence of the Federation. Section 31 features prominently
   in several episodes of the Dominion War arc; such darker plot elements,
   as well as DS9’s relative lack of exposure compared to its predecessor,
   garnered the show a reputation as the "black sheep" of the Trek family.

   At the start of DS9’s third season (" The Search"), with the threat of
   a Dominion attack looming from the other side of the wormhole,
   Commander Sisko returns from a trip to Starfleet Headquarters on Earth
   with the USS Defiant, a prototype starship that was originally built to
   fight the Borg, but was determined to be 'overgunned and overpowered'.
   It remains stationed at Deep Space Nine until its destruction in season
   seven, providing not only defense but also an avenue by which plotlines
   could progress without being limited by the stationary nature of the
   setting. After the ship is destroyed in a skirmish against the Breen, a
   new Defiant-class ship is assigned.

   Many fans believe that the Dominion War was the height of DS9 and,
   according to Michael Piller, tend to overlook the first two "pre-
   Dominion" seasons. However, Piller has indicated that the second season
   was his favorite.

   In DS9, the Ferengi are no longer an enemy of the Federation, but
   rather an economic power whose political neutrality is, for the most
   part, respected. Several episodes explore the capitalist nature of the
   Ferengi, while others delved into the race’s sexist social norms.
   Ferengi are guided in their lives and in their business transactions by
   the Rules of Acquisition. During the course of the series, Rom's son
   Nog transformed from a juvenile delinquent into the first Ferengi in
   Starfleet, attaining the rank of Lieutenant (junior grade) in the
   series finale.

   Interpersonal conflicts between regular characters were previously
   forbidden by Roddenberry in Star Trek: The Original Series and Star
   Trek: The Next Generation, but feature prominently in DS9. This was
   brought about at the suggestion of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s
   writers (many of whom also wrote for DS9) because they felt that the
   prohibition limited their ability to develop interesting stories. In
   Piller's words, "people who come from different places—honorable, noble
   people—will naturally have conflicts".

   Several of the characters also have their own personal demons. For
   instance, Jadzia Dax, a Trill, has seven lifetimes' worth of memories
   as a result of her joining with the Dax symbiont. Security chief Odo, a
   Changeling, yearns to find others like him and wonders if he is unique;
   later, he finds that his own people are the ruthless leaders of the
   Dominion and is torn between his desire to join them, his sense of
   morality, and his love for Kira Nerys. Meanwhile, Worf struggles (even
   more so than on Star Trek: The Next Generation) with conflicting
   loyalties to the Federation and his own people, the Klingons – as well
   as life on the station, which he finds is not at all what he expected.

Themes

   DS9 sheds some of the Utopian themes that permeated the previous
   versions of Star Trek, leading both to praise and criticism from both
   fans and general viewers. Some fans, in particular, hated how the show
   seemed to imply that the utopian society of the Federation was merely a
   sort of hypocritical disguise hiding its true "Borg-like" character.
   Its darker setting—being based on a station in a region of space
   recovering from sixty years of brutal occupation—focuses more on war,
   religion, political compromise, and similar issues.

   The most prominent theme is that of the deeply religious Bajoran people
   attempting to rebuild their world and their economy after sixty years
   of Cardassian occupation and oppression. The relationship between the
   Bajorans and the Cardassians is intentionally portrayed as a powerful
   Holocaust allegory mixed with other themes such as Soviet-era Russia.
   The Cardassians had put the Bajorans to work in forced slave labor
   camps under terrible conditions, killed them with impunity, and now
   refuse to acknowledge the atrocities that occurred during the
   Occupation, which is explored in episodes such as " Duet", " Necessary
   Evil", and " Waltz".

   The relationship between the Cardassians and the Bajorans is colonial
   in nature. Much like Kipling’s " The White Man's Burden", the
   Cardassians believed themselves both technologically and culturally
   superior to the Bajorans they had subjugated. According to Dukat (in
   "Waltz"), at the time of first contact, Cardassia was at least a
   century ahead of Bajor "in every way", and the brutality of the
   occupation would not have happened "if [the Bajorans] had accepted
   their place in history." The Cardassians strip-mined Bajor for
   resources and set up forced labor camps under the guise of civilizing a
   backward people. Guerrilla tactics by Bajoran fighters led to their
   freedom in the same way that many colonies gained their independence in
   the 1960s and 1970s.

   As with many former colonies, Bajor struggles to establish a stable
   democracy and is wary of the involvement of the "well-intentioned"
   United Federation of Planets. Kira Nerys in the pilot episode states
   "We finally drive the Cardassians out, and what do our new leaders do?
   They call up the Federation and invite them right in!" The planet,
   thrust into the galactic spotlight after languishing in obscurity,
   nearly plunges into civil war on several occasions, most notably the
   three-part arc of " The Homecoming", " The Circle" and " The Siege",
   and again in " Shakaar".

   The universe portrayed in DS9 is one of power politics practiced by the
   galaxy’s great powers. Prior to the series, the Federation had been
   depicted as a near utopian society guided by human rights (or rather
   sentient rights). In contrast, as depicted in DS9, it tries to balance
   its high ideals with practical political realities. Episodes revolving
   around this theme include " Improbable Cause" and " The Die is Cast",
   where the major powers sit by while a joint Cardassian- Romulan fleet
   attempts to obliterate the Changeling homeworld; " The Way of the
   Warrior", a two-part tale of political intrigue and conflict between
   the Klingon Empire, Cardassian Union, and Federation; " Homefront" and
   " Paradise Lost", in which the Federation risks turning into a military
   dictatorship; and " In the Pale Moonlight", which focuses on Sisko,
   who, in his own words:

          "I lied, I cheated, I bribed men to cover the crimes of other
          men. I am an accessory to murder. But the most damning thing of
          all... I think I can live with it. And if I had to do it all
          over again, I would. Garak was right about one thing: A guilty
          conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha
          Quadrant."

   Another theme DS9 visits on several occasions, including Sisko's
   struggle in "Pale Moonlight", is the idea that the universe is not
   perfect and there is often no right or wrong answer to difficult
   situations. This theme is embodied by the Maquis storyline; members of
   the Maquis are neither enemies nor criminals; they take up arms against
   Cardassia in defense of their homes. A quote from Sisko in the
   second-season episode " The Maquis, Part II" embodies not only the
   Maquis but also the stark contrast between DS9 and its predecessors:

          "On Earth there’s no poverty, no crime, no war. You look out the
          window of Starfleet headquarters and you see... paradise. Well,
          it’s easy to be a saint in paradise. But the Maquis do not live
          in paradise. Out there in the Demilitarized Zone, all the
          problems haven't been solved yet. Out there, there are no
          saints... Just people. Angry, scared, determined people who are
          going to do whatever it takes to survive. Whether it meets with
          Federation approval or not."

Reception

Praise

   Despite debuting in the shadow of The Next Generation, DS9 achieved a
   considerable level of success in its own right. According to a press
   release through Newswire on April 7 1999, it was the #1 syndicated show
   in the United States for adults 18-49 and 25-54 throughout its run in
   the National Television Index. The characters of DS9 were featured on
   the cover of TV Guide ten times during its run, including several
   "special issue" editions in which a set of four different-covered
   versions were printed.

   Additionally, the series won a number of awards. It was nominated for
   Emmy Awards every year of its run, including makeup, cinematography,
   art direction, special effects, hairstyling, music (direction and
   composition), and costumes. Of these, it won two for Makeup (for "
   Captive Pursuit" and " Distant Voices") and one for the Main Title
   Theme Music ( Dennis McCarthy). It was also nominated for two
   prestigious Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation, for " The
   Visitor" and " Trials and Tribble-ations", although its competitor show
   "Babylon 5" managed to win the awards instead.

   The show was different from the previous Star Trek installments for its
   character and plot development. Villains are of particular interest.
   For instance, StarTrek.com in an article about Star Trek's greatest
   villains described Gul Dukat as "possibly the most complex and
   fully-developed bad guy in Star Trek history". Dukat was the focus of
   several episodes, such as the sixth-season episode " Waltz", in which
   he has gone insane and begins to hallucinate, and " Covenant", in which
   he becomes a twisted messianic figurehead for a group of Pah
   Wraith-worshipping Bajorans.

Critique

   Only recently did supporters of DS9 say that the series was allegedly
   conceived while Gene Roddenberry was still alive but not put into
   production until after his death. This has led to debate over whether
   he would have approved of the show, and a contingent of Star Trek
   fandom felt it took its darker themes too far. In particular, many were
   annoyed that DS9 somehow hinted that the utopian aspects of Federation
   society was actually just a show of sorts, a hypocritical disguise
   hiding the Federation's fascist and totalitarian plans for the galaxy.
   Although writer/producer Ira Steven Behr has acknowledged that some
   fans feel the show has "gone away from the image of the future as a
   paradise", he defends the show as moving forward and believes
   Roddenberry would have understood their motivations and, as a "forward
   thinker", been pleased with the results. Additionally, Michael Piller,
   who spoke very highly of Behr's contributions, believed one of the
   series' most redeeming qualities was that the repercussions of past
   episodes remained with the show and characters were forced to "learn
   that actions have consequences".

Taboos

   DS9 is also notable for breaking several cultural taboos during its
   run. Most prominent among these is the issue of homosexuality. Gay and
   gay-friendly fans of the franchise had been waiting for a Star Trek
   television spin-off to address how the utopian society dealt with the
   issue of sexual orientation, since Gene Roddenberry had promised to
   tackle the issue in 1987. While Star Trek: The Next Generation would
   occasionally gingerly address the issue through gender identity, DS9
   had two episodes with lesbian kisses.

   The first same-sex kiss on a Star Trek television series was shown in
   the episode " Rejoined". In that episode, Jadzia Dax and another Trill
   named Lenara Kahn at one point embrace in a passionate kiss. While it
   was only technically a lesbian kiss – as the two had been married in
   earlier lives when the Dax symbiont was in a male host and in love with
   the female host of the Kahn symbiont – none of the other characters
   expressed any shock at temporary homosexuality. Writer Rene Echevarria
   made a conscious effort not to glamourize the kiss and make it a
   ratings booster, wanting it to be romantic rather than sensational.
   This aired a year and a half before the controversial "out of the
   closet" shift in the sitcom Ellen, and proved troublesome for some
   local affiliates. It would be followed up by the seventh-season
   episode, " The Emperor’s New Cloak", which features the Mirror Universe
   versions of Kira Nerys and Ezri Dax kissing in a clearly lesbian or
   bisexual context and the Mirror Universe Leeta exhibiting an
   unmistakable interest in the Mirror Ezri (and vice versa). Although
   none of these instances dealt directly with a homosexual character per
   se, the pre-Ellen same-sex kisses were often compared to the Star Trek:
   The Original Series episode Plato’s Stepchildren, which featured one of
   the first interracial kisses to air on United States network
   television. (see also LGBT characters in the Star Trek universe).

   In addition to homosexuality, there were several instances of
   potentially offensive language during the series' run, unprecedented
   for the Star Trek franchise (although Star Trek: Enterprise went much
   further, even using the phrase "you son of a bitch" in its pilot). The
   episode " Far Beyond the Stars", much of which takes place in 1950s
   Earth, features a scene in which Cirroc Lofton, as an African-American
   man, claims that blacks will never get to space except to "shine the
   shoes" of whites, to whom his character feels blacks "would always be
   niggers." Although not the first time the word had been used on
   American television (it was commonly used in dramas in the 1970s as
   well as the groundbreaking sitcom All in the Family), by the late
   1990s, the word had all but vanished in any context in mainstream
   media. Another occurrence likely went unnoticed among American
   audiences; in the episode " Time’s Orphan", Irish Chief O’Brien utters
   the British and Irish swear word " bollocks". In addition to these, the
   series spawned and used several racial epithets for alien races in the
   series, namely "spoonhead" and "Cardies" for Cardassians.

Books

   Pocket Books has published several dozen books based on DS9 since its
   premiere in 1993. Some of these were novelizations of memorable
   episodes, such as "Emissary", "The Search" and "What You Leave Behind",
   which were usually published a few days after the episode officially
   aired in the United States. Several novels were part of "crossover"
   series between the Star Trek franchises, while others were part of
   other franchises but dealt with events laid out in DS9. For example,
   The Battle of Betazed tells of how Deanna Troi attempted to resist the
   Dominion occupation of her world (Betazed had fallen to the Dominion in
   DS9 episode " In the Pale Moonlight"). Most focus on the station and
   its crew, with a notable exception being Ira Steven Behr and Robert
   Hewitt Wolfe’s Legends of the Ferengi.

   Of particular importance among the books published after DS9 concluded
   its run is Avatar, a two-part novel published on May 1, 2001, which
   continued DS9’s legacy by picking up where the series left off. It
   began season 8 of DS9, into which A Stitch in Time (a biographical look
   at the life of Elim Garak, written by Andrew Robinson) was incorporated
   retroactively. The events of "What You Leave Behind", DS9’s series
   finale, caused some radical changes to occur in season 8. As Benjamin
   Sisko had entered the Celestial Temple, Colonel Kira was given command
   of the station while a new Commander named Elias Vaughn took over her
   position, Garak became the leader of post-war Cardassia, Odo (now a
   part of the Great Link) helped the Changelings rebuild, and Rom
   presided over the Ferengi Alliance, among other things.

   Outside its line of novels, DS9 has been the subject of several comic
   books and other publications. One comic is a spin-off, detailing Nog’s
   experiences at Starfleet Academy. Another DS9 comic series became an
   exceptional example of licensed Star Trek works influencing each other,
   a major character from WildStorm Comics’ N-Vector, Tiris Jast, appeared
   in the Avatar, Part I novel. Other publications, such as the Deep Space
   Nine Technical Manual and Deep Space Nine Companion, are common to all
   Trek series. DS9 series influences were included in role-playing game
   reference books from Last Unicorn Games and Decipher. Additionally,
   several novels have also been released in audio form, narrated by Rene
   Auberjonois (Odo).

Games

   Several video games have been released over the years focusing on DS9,
   although they are relatively few in number compared to Star Trek: The
   Next Generation. The first was Crossroads of Time, a side-scrolling
   platform game released for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis in 1995.
   The game takes place around the time of the series premiere, borrowing
   some stories from early episodes such as " Past Prologue" and creating
   others. A number of problems reportedly impeded the game’s development
   process, and it met with mixed reactions. No further games were
   released outside the PC platform, although DS9’s influence
   (particularly the presence of the Dominion) is present in many other
   games.

   Other games had similar results. Three DS9-themed games were released
   for the PC: Harbinger (1996), The Fallen (2000) and Dominion Wars
   (2001). A little-known board game was released as part of the
   now-defunct "component board game" series, which included an
   intercompatible board name for Star Trek: The Next Generation. DS9’s
   role-playing book, was one of several which failed to be released into
   wide circulation when Decipher, then publisher of the Star Trek
   role-playing game, discontinued its line.

   The series features prominently in the Star Trek Customizable Card
   Game, particularly its second edition. In the game’s first edition
   (originally the Star Trek: The Next Generation Customizable Card Game),
   Deep Space Nine was the titular fifth set released, followed by one
   entitled "The Dominion" and several other DS9-themed sets. In the
   second edition, however, DS9 has a much stronger presence. In this
   version, there are two types of cards for the United Federation of
   Planets, which may be placed at Earth or Deep Space Nine. The Ferengi,
   Dominion, Cardassian, Bajoran, and Maquis affiliations are comprised
   primarily of DS9-derived material, while the Klingon affiliation also
   borrows strongly from it.

Other merchandising

   Along with the rest of the Star Trek franchise, DS9 has been the
   subject of many merchandizing attempts. Action figures, keychains, and
   models, and other items have been released. The station itself, which
   is highly recognizable and iconic of the series, is the subject of many
   of these items. Paramount also sells Starfleet uniforms; among the
   styles is the so-called "DS9-style" uniform, which is primarily black
   with a division colour (red for command, yellow for engineering or
   security, blue for medical and the sciences) on the shoulders.

   DS9 is also well represented at Star Trek: The Experience, where both
   Quark’s Bar & Restaurant and the Promenade have been recreated
   faithfully. The former takes formal reservations or walk-ins, and is
   open daily from 11:30am-10:00pm (11 on Fridays). It serves Star
   Trek-style food and drinks, hosting gatherings such as conventions as
   well. The latter (called the Shopping Promenade) was the natural choice
   for a place to sell various souvenirs and rarities; among the items for
   sale are Niners jerseys, official Starfleet uniforms and action
   figures.
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