Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had a bold plan to finally escape the shadow of its parent show, Star Trek: The Next Generation, which eventually reaped some big rewards. DS9 season 1 was uneven and often relied on story ideas that were more appropriate for the episodic TNG. Deep Space Nine episodes like “Q-Less” and “Move Along Home” felt more like the types of stories that Star Trek: The Next Generation would tell. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 1’s strength was in strong character-led stories that tackled big issues like religion and politics, and the show doubled down on this for season 2.
As production began on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, executive producer Michael Piller instructed the writers to build on the strengths of season 1. Piller intended to properly differentiate DS9 from Star Trek: The Next Generation in season 2, so he conceived a bold plan. In a major Star Trek first, DS9 season 2 opened with a three-parter about a plot to restart the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. Michael Piller would later describe it as an attempt to “do for us what ‘Best of Both Worlds’ had done for Next Generation“ drawing a comparison with TNG‘s classic season 3 finale.
DS9’s 3-Part Season 2 Premiere Was A Star Trek Game Changer
Deep Space Nine season 2 did something brand-new for the Star Trek franchise – a three-part story – fully establishing DS9 as a game-changing show.
How Star Trek: DS9 Broke Away From TNG With Its Own “Best of Both Worlds”
Michael Piller was the writer of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s “The Best of Both Worlds”, and so was uniquely placed to make the comparison between it and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Circle trilogy. TNG‘s season 3 finale was a watershed moment for the show that finally allowed the show to emerge from the shadow of Star Trek: The Original Series. The first-ever cliffhanger ending to a Star Trek season was breathtaking and boldly announced that TNG had arrived and was going to do things very differently. Piller hoped that DS9 season 2’s three-part opener would do something similar to help the show emerge from TNG‘s shadow.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Circle two-parter couldn’t be more different from “The Best of Both Worlds.” Where Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s fight against the Borg Collective was a blockbuster extravaganza, DS9‘s story of Bajoran political intrigue was more nuanced. DS9‘s season 2 premiere swiftly established that the TNG spinoff could tell richer stories that have a lasting impact on the characters. This approach was key to the critical acclaim that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would later have bestowed upon it for how it handled the Dominion War arc.
DS9 Still Struggled To Escape TNG’s Shadow Until Season 4
Despite firmly establishing itself as a very different show to Star Trek: The Next Generation, DS9 struggled to escape the shadow of its parent show fully. Ironically, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine eventually did this by embracing one of TNG‘s most beloved characters. The addition of Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) to DS9 in season 4 was intended as a soft relaunch of the show, and it’s often where fans will state that Deep Space Nine starts to get better. That’s an unfair assessment of DS9‘s quality and fundamentally ignores the great work done from season 2 onward.
The Dominion’s manipulation of the Klingon Empire and the advent of Star Trek‘s second Klingon war in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4 only happens because DS9 has spent two seasons setting it up. DS9 season 2’s three-part opener was a demonstration of how it was different from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but also inspired the writers’ room to think bigger. Contrary to what Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s critics believe, seasons 2 and 3 work incredibly hard to establish the Dominion as a threat. That hard work then pays huge dividends from the moment that Worf steps onto Deep Space Nine’s Promenade.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.
