The Greatest Sci Fi/Fantasy TV Shows: Considering the case for the sci fi and fantasy television shows that should be counted among the greatest of all time.
What Is It?
Deep Space Nine is a former Cardassian space station orbiting Bajor, now jointly administered by the United Federation of Planets and the Bajoran government. Once used as a base for the Cardassian occupation, it now serves as a hub for interstellar commerce and diplomacy, while monitoring a nearby stable wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. Captain Benjamin Sisko leads a crew dedicated to maintaining peace in the sector, exploring new territories, and navigating the tensions between the many races present on the station.
Aired: Syndication, 1993-99, 7 Seasons Totaling 176 Episodes
Starring: Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, Cirroc Lofton, Colm Meaney, Armin Shimerman, Alexander Siddig
Created By: Rick Berman, Michael Piller
Argument to Count It as One of the Greatest Sci Fi TV Shows:
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) is the second of the Trek sequel shows, and like Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), it got off to a slow start. For the first couple of seasons, they were trying to figure out the characters and what direction the show would go while also laying the groundwork for bigger story arcs. So those who might have bowed out by the second season can be forgiven because DS9 was rather hit or miss early on and seemed to just plod along at times. But if you did not stick with the show, it is worth revisiting because it eventually turned into one of the greatest entries in the franchise and arguably one of the best sci-fi TV series.
By the third season, DS9 was starting to get more focus as it was setting the stage for the Dominion War, and by the fourth year, the show was proceeding to warp speed and would not slow down until it wrapped things up in its seventh season. This series delivered a different take on the Star Trek theme as it delved into politics and interplanetary relations and ultimately headed into a full-scale war. We saw less of the brighter future and more of the moral ambiguities of politics and interstellar conflict. But it also never gave up on hope, still carrying the Trek torch that believes there is good in people. So while it did deliver darker tales at times, it still suggested there is hope for the future.
As with all of the Trek entries, the show ultimately came down to its main characters, and DS9 delivered quite a collection. Avery Brooks offered a more contemplative leader, but one who could step up and command with authority when needed. He was surrounded by an adept command team which included Julian Bashir, Dax, Miles O’Brien, and Kira Nerys, all of whom had their own interesting backstories. Then there were the alien characters such as Odo, Quark, Garak, Dukat, and later Worf, each of which added intrigue to the space station setting of DS9. The cast that brought this crew to life proved up to the task and helped carry many of the character arcs through the show’s seven-year run.
DS9 did have its share of mediocre to bad episodes, just like TNG and pretty much every Trek series in the franchise. But starting with its fourth season, it was hitting on all cylinders more often than not and truly delivered top-notch sci-fi TV, counting as one of the all-time greats in the genre. (You can read more about the series at this link.)
ALSO READ: 20 of the Greatest Sci Fi and Fantasy TV Shows of All Time
Argument Against:
While Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has its moments, it committed one of the great television sins early on of just being boring. We saw this from TNG when it first started as well, but that one had the advantage of ushering the franchise back to television, and that halo helped carry it through its slow start. By the time that DS9 arrived, TNG was delivering some of its best episodes, and the new series paled in comparison.
The show would eventually get better, but franchise fatigue was setting in at that point. And its darker take on the Trek universe just did not feel right. The franchise has always been about the brighter future and how humans can overcome their baser instincts, but DS9 veered too far from that and at times delivered outright depressing episodes. Even worse, it copied much of what the superior Babylon 5 was doing at the same time on television while getting away from its Trek roots. DS9 was still a decent series overall and did produce some gems, but it pales next to The Original Series and The Next Generation and slides significantly down the list when ranking the best sci-fi TV shows of all time.
Johnny Jay’s Take:
I was one of the people who quickly grew frustrated with DS9 when it arrived in 1993. I followed both it and Babylon 5 and much preferred the latter series, and I ended up bailing on DS9 around the end of the second season. I did check back in when Worf came on board, but that was not enough to keep me tuned in.
But I had it on my to-do list for many years to go back and re-watch Seasons 4 through 7 because I kept hearing about how good the show got in its later years. I eventually did that, even going back as far as Season 1 to watch some of the episodes crucial to the later story arcs. And with that, I really learned to appreciate the show. Not only did I discover what I missed the first time around, but I also really appreciated what they did with it compared to the more recent Trek entries. DS9 had a decent budget for its time, but it did not give us CGI overload (as we see all too often from new Trek), keeping its focus on the stories and the characters. That is what Star Trek does when at its best, and DS9 certainly did the franchise proud.
As someone who grew up with TOS, I still consider that the best entry in the franchise. But I would put DS9 in a tie with TNG for second on the Trek list, and I would not argue too much if someone thought it was the best entry in the franchise. It accomplished quite a lot over its seven-year run and counts as one of the greatest Trek shows and one of the all-time best sci-fi TV entries.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series has been released on DVD, but not Blu-ray yet. It is available for streaming on Paramount+, and Pluto TV has a Star Trek live-streaming channel that plays episodes of DS9.
Stream or Purchase VOD
Do you consider Star Trek: Deep Space Nine one of the greatest sci fi/fantasy shows of all time or did it veer too far from what a Trek show should have been? Chime in with your thoughts below or at our discussion thread at r/SciFiTV.
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We need a professionally upscaled 1080p BluRay release of DS9. (And of Voyager, too.) Some fans have created their own upscaling workflows, either to 720p or 1080p, and even the early stuff looks really good most of the time, and A-OK all of the time. Just imagine what could be done with a proper handling by the studio. Sadly, they can’t remaster the VFX—no negatives to work with as on TNG. So upscaling is the only feasible way to go.
Just searched YouTube a bit, and there are even very convincing DIY 4K upscales, so an UHD release would be possible, too, I guess. 🙏