“Emissary” Parts 1 & 2- Quick thoughts

Here I am starting my next voyage in Star Trek, after abandoning, nay, postponing my adventure with TNG. From the very beginning, DS9 is different, and much much darker. SPOILER: The series starts out with the Borg Locutus (formerly Picard) firing on Commander Sisko’s ship and ultimately killing Sisko’s wife. No wonder Sisko does not like Picard much when he sees him three years later. Sisko speaks to our beloved Captain with disdain, hatred even. And Picard feels his insult, because nothing so truly injured Picard as his assimilation n into the Borg. Sisko requests that he not be captain of this far off, lonely space station. But this episode is about letting go of the past.

One, fans need to let go of some of the happy promises from The Original Series and TNG. Even uniforms in DS9 are now disordered as opposed to the perfectly wrinkle free (until the very end) uniforms worn by the TNG crew.  The space station in DS9 looks recklessly abandoned, as  opposed to the perfect union between stylish simplicity and practicality in TNG. And our leader Sisko, he doesn’t even want to be there. His job at this space station is different than most Federation Captains. He must maintain order for the federation without stepping on equally important crew members such as Kira and Odo. He does not have sole authority.

And two- Sisko must become the emissary- a person sent on a special mission- something that he cannot embrace until he lets go of the death of his wife and accepts his new life and new place on this space station. There is a struggle in this pilot that is a departure from the normal feel of Star Trek. And I feel a promise of a new series willing to embrace the darker side of our existence. And that’s an exciting new world for Star Trek to explore. We all love Star Trek for it’s beautiful optimism but sometimes we need a reminder of the struggles we must overcome as we better ourselves. And fortunately, I am living to see the betterment of people. First with the acceptance of gay marriage, and hopefully will live to see the continued equality for all. Exciting things are ahead!