A Brief Guide to Star Trek

Trek
series had numerical identifiers) and the oft-suggested
Star Trek: The Final Frontier
. Inspiration for the exact setting and dramatic situation of the new series would be drawn from a handful of specific episodes of
The Next Generation
.

    The Next Generation
episode ‘Ensign Ro’ had introduced the planet Bajor and the Maquis rebel faction, both developed further in
Deep Space Nine
. Bajor had suffered under the oppressive rule of the Cardassians for generations, with the orbiting space station Terok Nor recently vacated and reoccupied by the now freed Bajorans alongside Starfleet personnel, led by Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). ‘Ensign Ro’ introduced the character of troubled Bajoran Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes), intended to be a regular on
Deep Space Nine
. However, Forbes declined the offer, making way for the station’s First Officer Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor). The joint control of the station was intended to pave the way for Bajor to join the Federation, with the station renamed
Deep Space Nine
.
    The Maquis rebel faction grew out of
The Next Generation
episode ‘Journey’s End’. That saw a group of Native American settlers refuse to leave their colony world when it is reassigned to the Cardassians under the terms of a treaty. Unusually for
Star Trek
, the Maquis (the name taken from French Resistance guerrillas during World War II) were a human resistance group made up of Federation citizens, many of them working within Starfleet. They would later reappear in
Star Trek: Voyager
.
    An additional element was the discovery of a stable worm-hole, with the station residing between the wormhole and Bajor.The wormhole offered access to the largely unexplored Gamma Quadrant of the galaxy, so was strategically important. This development saw the return of the Cardassians, who had stripped the station during their withdrawal from Bajor. Interested in accessing (or controlling) the wormhole as much as the Bajorans and the Federation, the Cardassians would become recurring villains.
    A further complication saw the wormhole perceived by the religious Bajorans as fulfilling a long-held prophecy. The alien beings inhabiting the wormhole and living beyond linear time and space are seen as gods by the Bajorans. In their religion, the wormhole is the Celestial Temple, while the aliens are dubbed the Prophets. Sisko is seen an emissary of the Prophets after he survives an encounter with the wormhole inhabitants and he subsequently acts on their behalf.
Deep Space Nine
started with a much more complicated and more sophisticated set-up than
The Next Generation
had only a few years previously.
    Another break with the past was taken in the casting of leading character Commander Benjamin Sisko (the equivalent to Captains Kirk and Picard). It was decided to spearhead
Deep Space Nine
with an African-American actor, although thought was also given to casting a woman. Experienced movie names Tony Todd (
Candyman
) and Michael Clarke Duncan (
The Green Mile
) were considered, but the leading role went to acclaimed stage actor Avery Brooks (known to US TV audiences for the sidekick role of Hawk on
Spenser: For Hire
and its short-lived spin-off
A Man Called Hawk
in the 1980s). ‘Today, many of our children, especially black males, do not project that they will live past the age of 19 or 20’, Brooks told Michael Logan of
TV Guide
in 1993. ‘
Star Trek
allows our children the chance to see something they might never otherwise imagine.’ Brooks was following in the footsteps of such
Star Trek
role models as Whoopi Goldberg and LeVar Burton, who’d both stated that the existence of such characters in
Star Trek
’s future had fuelled their own ambitions.
    The other regular roles on
Deep Space Nine
were filled by avariety of television actors who were not particularly well known. Two of the most experienced – Armin Shimerman and Rene Auberjonois – had their faces disguised by heavy alien make-up as Quark, a Ferengi, and Odo, a shape-shifter. Movie star Famke Janssen turned down the role of alien Trill Jadzia Dax, allowing Terry Farrell to take the part, but only after the pilot had been filming for over a week. Siddig El Fadil (now Alexander Siddig) played the genetically boosted Dr Bashir, the station medic.
    This ensemble cast allowed
Deep Space Nine
to escape from the focus on a core triumvirate of characters (like Kirk–Spock– McCoy and Picard–Data–Riker), allowing for a wider range of representation.