Star Trek Deep Space Nine - The Complete Sixth Season

Bottom-Line: "ST: DS9 ~The Complete Sixth Season" with its 26 episode arc (unheard of today in this era a 13 episode seasons) is science fiction television at its best.

The Star Trek franchise has been alive for over forty-five years and through all of the various incarnations: Star Trek (The Original Series), Star Trek The Next Generation, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, as well as nine motion pictures, I have been an eager and loyal fan.

When "Star Trek Deep Space Nine (ST: DS9)" hit the airways in 1993 I was stationed with the U.S. Navy in Hawaii. Because if my rather unpredictable schedule I was able to see only a few episodes, principally the first season, but overall I missed most of the 7-season run of ST: DS9. So when I found all seven seasons of the series on Amazon.com, I plotted a course and picked up the entire (7) season run over the last two years. I am just finished watching The Complete Sixth Season.

The Story-Line

"ST: DS9 ~The Complete Sixth Season" is entrenched in Gene Roddenberry's now multifaceted Star Trek universe. The series was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller and indeed they produced most of the episodes. Paramount Television owns the Star Trek franchise and released the series to DVD.

A spin-off of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "ST: DS9 ~The Complete Sixth Season" opens as the war with The Dominion kicks off in a big way. At the end of Season Five, the Federation loses control of the Cardassian space station Terok Nor (Federation name Deep Space 9) to a combined Cardassian/ Dominion force.

As "ST: DS9 ~The Complete Sixth Season" kicks off the Federation and the Klingon Empire are losing the war against The Dominion. Major Kira (Nana Visitor ~ Dark Angel, Mini's First Time, Wildfire), Odo (Rene Auberjonois ~ Benson, The Pirates of Dark Water, The Patriot), Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton ~ Soul Food, Invasion) and Quark (Armin Shimerman ~ Beauty and the Beast, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Boston Legal) live under Dominion-occupied Deep Space Nine and eventually start a resistance cell to limited effect.

Meanwhile Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks ~ Spenser For Hire, A Man Called Hawk, American History X) together with Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell ~ Paper Dolls, Deep Core, Becker) and Operations Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney ~ Last of the Mohicans, Star Trek The Next Generation, Clean Break) based on the U.S.S. Defiant devises a plan to take back Deep Space Nine. And five episodes into the season in Favor The Bold, he succeeds, calling upon the "Wormhole Aliens" for help in keeping Dominion reinforcements from coming through the wormhole.

But the war with The Dominion is far from over, indeed "ST: DS9 ~The Complete Sixth Season" proves to be a very bloody and costly one indeed; the retaking of Deep Space Nine is only the beginning of what turns into a long protracted war in which the survival of the Federation is at stake. The war with the Dominion taints every episode of Season Six and takes the series to a very dark place that also sees Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn ~ Star Trek The Next Generation, CHiPs, Heros) and Jadzia Dax marry, only to have her character meet an unfortunate end during the closing episode.

There are also several recurring Cardassian characters in ST: DS9 ~The Complete Sixth Season, including the former head of the station Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo ~ Hill Street Blues, Star Trek: The Next Generation); he acts as the primary villain of the series. Gul Dukat is a complex character and he undergoes several transformations before ultimately becoming profoundly evil and by the show's conclusion, he has morphed into Sisko's archenemy.

Another equally complex character is Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson ~ Ryan's Hope) the only Cardassian to stay on the station after his fellows pull out. He is suspected of being an agent of the dreaded Obsidian Order, the Cardassian secret police however; he insists that he is but a humble tailor.

My Thoughts

ST: DS9 ~The Complete Sixth Season continues to build on the fine start of Season One insofar-as each story build on the other in some way shape or form. And each episode is well written, well-acted, and this sixth season builds on the story-lines of the first five with intriguing and engaging story-lines and characters.

In the ST: DS9 universe a large cross-section of alien creatures comes through the station, in fact almost every episode introduces us to a new race, most of which come through the wormhole.

Though there are light moments in ST: DS9 ~The Complete Sixth Season most of the episode explore dark material that more than other Trek series explore contemporary issues in American society at the time, including the separation of Church and State, the role of religion in the classroom, genocide, racism, loyalty, bigotry, and terrorism and now all-out war with The Dominion.

Avery Brooks continues the evolution of Captain Benjamin Sisco in fine fashion. His character, like so many before him called "Captain" in the Star Trek universe, is both strong, but also flawed, and essentially human.

There is little separation between Star Trek: The Next Generation and ST: DS9; both series take place during the same time period, only ST: DS9 had a bit more dark spice to offer up. All of the actors on the series now completely inhabit their characters and work well together as an ensemble. The caliber of actors, both regulars, and guest stars, is outstanding make the series and engaging, emotional, and sometimes tough to watch.

"ST: DS9 ~The Complete Sixth Season" with its 26 episode arc (unheard of today in this era a 13 episode seasons) is science fiction television at its best. The special effects are top notch, the stories well written, and episodes well-acted, and the overall plotline well received. And while Season's 4 and 5 should be watch before this sixth season (context), "ST: DS9 ~The Complete Sixth Season" stands out for me as the best season in the (7) season run of Star Trek Deep Space Nine.

I also have to register my complaint with Paul Tonks' rather ignorant and dismissive editorial review for DS9's 6th season, which I consider to be its most complete and satisfying overall.

The famed 6-part story arc isn't famous because they tried it, it's famous because it succeeded. Even the weakest ep of the 6, Sons and Daughters, did its part to move the compelling storylines along in an interesting way. And Rocks and Shoals is DS9 doing what it does best: showing fascinating aspects of the Trek universe (and its inhabitants) without having to fly around in a ship greeting the alien of the week.

It's generally accepted that few episodes of any Trek series were as powerful or compelling as In the Pale Moonlight, which Tonks neglects to even mention. He decries the overabundance of humourous episodes, but it seems he forgot to watch some of the most important 'serious' eps in order to come to his conclusion. And Far Beyond the Stars, while packed with humorous moments, isn't a 'comedy' episode at all. It deals with subjects such as racism and segregation from a Trek vantage point.

As for the comic eps, yes, there are several, and while Profit and Lace is a Ferengi stinker, The Magnificent Ferengi is probably the best Ferengi ep in the series' history. You Are Cordially Invited is a treat for fans of any Trek show or movie, as it uncovers even more aspects of Klingon culture and mating rituals. And while some may not have been fans of the Kira/Odo pairing, His Way was a very clever way to finally bring it out into the open, adding another great recurring character in the mix in Vic Fontaine.

As for Tears of the Prophets, it was an abrupt way to have Terry Farrell exit the show, but for anyone who knows what the Dax character is about, killing Jadzia is the only way to have the Dax character live on in the form of another host body, which is how Ezri Dax came to be in Season 7.

Season 6 was all about risk taking for DS9, and I think it paid off in some of the best hours of Trek ever seen.

Its DS9. The artistry speaks for itself

In this season the war with the Dominion starts to heat up and there are some victories. The most noted one is the retaking of Deep Space Nine. And it was one that had to be acted on fast because the Dominion had figured out a way to disable the mine field (set up during Season Five). Now while much of the season was focused on the war there were other events as well. Major Kira and Odo start a relationship and things do get intense. Lt. Commander Worf and Jadzia Dax get married. A new character appears. That would be Vic Fontaine, a 1960's Las Vegas

night club singer. Vic Fontaine is a hologram and knows he's a hologram, but he is able to interact with the crew and he is able to sense when things are wrong and can step in to help or give advice. However the season does not have a pleasant ending. Jadzia Dax is attacked and killed, the prophets abandon Bajor, and Captain Sisko leaves Deep Space Nine on a leave of absence and it's not known if he'll return. He takes his baseball with him.

While all the episodes were good here are some that stand out:

* Who Mourns For Morn: A episode that is devoted to and tells a side about a beloved, secondary character: Morn

* In The Pale Moonlight: Captain Sisko lies, cheats, and even becomes an accessory to murder to help the war effort. And he is okay with doing that.

* Inquisition: Introduces Section 31. An outfit whose stated purpose is to safeguard the Federation at all costs-even if it violates Federation principles.

* His Way: Introduces the character Vic Fontaine

Again I am happy with this product. There were no problems with the discs and they got to me in a timely manner and this was with the free Super Saver Shipping Again good job

Deep Space Nine(DS9) began as a mediocre shopping mall in the sky with characters and plots hardly up to the hopes of the Trekker community. As a result, it never 'took off' as did the original show and Next Generation. Even Voyager(my favorite but much maligned) had Seven-of-Nine while DS9 never had that 'water cooler' attention getter.

To set itself apart from the other Treks, the producers made the station chief hate Captain Piccard of Next Generation. OK, they wanted to break away, but this further antagonized some viewers. What next?

Ah, but the producers took another direction. Adding Dominion War, the most interesting character in Trek(the tailor/assassin on board the station, a Cardassian double agent); Worf from Next Generation along with O'Brien too; Ferengi's for comedic relief; hyper-serious plots about the Holocaust, the military-industrial complex, etc etc. By the time of the sixth season, the show had become mature, nuanced, and 1 million miles away from the shaky start. People forgot how shaky the Next Generation was in its first year. But, unlike any other Trek series, DS9 learned from its errors and just kept evolving and adding weight to its content. By this, the sixth season, it was as good as any Star Trek-themed series.

One final note: This DVD is a pretty good print, but the sub-menu's are terrible, perhaps the worst I've seen since the Commodore 64. If you enter them, be forewarned: my print did not illuminate the cursor selection properly and it was quite irritating after a while. The menu's were poorly designed, so best avoid them at all costs...

Season six was, in my opinion, one of the best seasons for Deep Space Nine. In Season Six the Federation has lost Deep Space Nine to the Cardassians and their Dominion allies and the war with the Dominion is only getting bloodier for the Federation and the Klingons. To me, that was part of what made this particular season so great. In no other Star Trek series before or after DS9 has war been written so dramatically, so truthfully, and so emotionally. You can really see Ronald Moore's hand in this season. Much of the grittiness we see in the Battlestar Galactica seemed to get its genesis here. Moreover, even with the bloody war around their characters, the writers also found time to write some deeply felt stories of everyday life on the station, and as usual gave each of the main cast an episode that allowed them to shine. Of particular note in this season is the episode entitled "Far Beyond the Stars," in which Sisko is thrown into an alternate reality where all the cast of DS9 -- minus the makeup; yes, we get to see their real faces! -- plays a role during 1940s/1950s America. A majority of the cast is a part of a group of early science fiction writers at a time when women had to use initials so the readers wouldn't find out about them, at a time when an African-American writer (played beautifully by Avery Brooks) had to hide color of his skin. By far, it is the best depiction of racism in Star Trek ever. Above all, it was perfect science fiction. Not only did it discuss the issue of racism, but it was an homage to the early science fiction writers who were paid pennies to put out good, and bad, sci-fi stories that fired the imagination of a generation of future science fiction writers. It was Star Trek at its finest, and this episode deserved far more attention than it ever received. It was certainly Emmy worthy in the tradition of the Twilight Zone.

In addition to "Far Beyond the Stars," the wedding of Worf and Jadzia Dax was a comedic delight. I always liked the pairing of Worf and Jadzia much more than the forced pairing of Troi and Worf in the last season of Star Trek: TNG. Michael Dorn and Terry Farrell had fantastic chemistry. This pairing is also what makes me put the "Almost" in my title. I remember at the time the sixth season was coming to an end that Farrell and the producers of DS9 were at an impasse concerning her salary for the seventh and final season, so in their infinite wisdom the producers decided to kill the character of Jadzia Dax in a very crappy way. After two seasons of building this relationship up and to see the character killed off like that was just stupid. Money or not, the seventh season would have been a heck of a lot better, a heck of a lot more fun if Terry Farrell had been there. Of course, there is nothing wrong with Nicole deBoer -- she's great in The Dead Zone -- but too much time was wasted trying to integrate a new character into the final season, and she just wasn't Jadzia.

Except for that final part, this season of Deep Space Nine is definately worth the price to own.

A Time To Stand- 5/10

Rocks And Shoals- 6/10

Sons And Daughters- 3/10

Behind The Lines- 3/10

Favor The Bold- don't remember

Sacrifice Of Angels- 3/10

You Are Cordially Invited...- 4/10

Resurrection- 9/10

Statistical Probabilities- 8/10

The Magnificent Ferengi- 7/10

Waltz- 6/10

Who Mourns For Morn?- 4/10

Far Beyond The Stars- 10/10

One Little Ship- 9/10

Honor Among Thieves- 6/10

Change Of Heart- 5/10

Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night- 10/10

Inquisition- 6/10

In The Pale Moonlight- 10/10

His Way- 10/10

The Reckoning- 4/10

Valiant- 3/10

Profit And Lace- 2/10

Time's Orphan- 10/10

The Sound Of Her Voice- 7/10

Tears Of The Prophets- 6/10

10- absolutely wonderful

9- really great

8- great

7- very good

6- pretty good

5- good

4- okay

3- so-so

2- bad

1- very bad

The best episodes of this season are: Wrong's Darker Than Death or Night, His Way, One Little Ship, Time's Orphan, In The Pale Moonlight, Far Beyond The Stars, Resurrection, The Magnificent Ferengi

The worst episodes of this season are: Profit and Lace, Sons and Daughters, Sacrfice Of Angels, Behind the Lines

If left unchecked, I could spew tons of info about this season and DS9 as a whole, but I shall restrain myself and keep this short.

This is, in my opinion, at least, the best season of Deep Space 9 and possibly even of Star Trek as a whole! We start off with a wonderful 6-episode arc as the Dominion War heats up. Characters continue their personal, as well as professional, journeys. The end of the season is sad, but it doesn't really leave you craving for more the way the previous few season-enders did.

If you don't know much about Deep Space Nine, please do yourself a favor and begin watching it. You'll have this wonderful season to look forward to!

Tenía las cuatro primeras temporadas de la serie, y me he decidido a comprar las tres que me faltaban. Esta edición está empaquetada en alemán, pero, además del idioma original inglés, incluye -entre otros- el audio y subtítulos castellanos. Suficiente para mí.

Der offene Krieg zwischen der Föderation und dem Dominion hat begonnen. Die 6. Season startet außergewöhnlich: Captain Sisko und seine Föderationscrew sind im Exil, da das Dominion und die Cardassianer mit Weyoun und Dukat Deep Space Nine übernommen haben. Bajor und die Station gehören nun dem Dominion, und da die Bajoraner notgedrungen ein Friedensabkommen mit den Besatzern eingehen mussten, bleiben Kira und Odo auf der Station. Unter dem Kommando von Admiral Ross werden Pläne zur Rückeroberung geschmiedet. Solange das Minenfeld am Wurmloch Bestand hat, können die Flotten des Dominion keine Verstärkung erwarten. Auf der Station versuchen Kira, Rom, Leeta, Odo und Jake, durch Sabotage die Zerstörung der Minen zu verhindern. In "THE SACRIFICE OF ANGELS"/ "SIEG ODER NIEDERLAGE" kommt es zum Showdown. Sisko erobert die Station zurück, und das Dominion muss sich nach Cardassia zurückziehen.

In der Episode "SONS AND DAUGHTERS"/ "SÖHNE UND TÖCHTER" gibt es ein Wiedersehen mit dem inzwischen fast erwachsenen Sohn Worfs, Alexander, der sich endlich unter Klingonen behaupten will, seinen Vater jedoch zunächst nicht sehr stolz auf sich macht. "YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED..."/ "KLINGONISCHE TRADITION" präsentiert die Hochzeit von Worf und Dax: eine traditionell klingonische Zeremonie, weshalb auch O'Brien und Bashir die Vorfreude auf Worfs Junggesellenparty schnell vergeht...

So richtig amüsieren kann sich der Star Trek- Fan bei "WHO MOURNS FOR MORN?"/ "WER TRAUERT UM MORN?". Quarks erfährt, dass sein stiller Bar-Stammgast Morn, der über die gesamte Serie hinweg immer wieder als 'Running Gag' auftaucht, tot ist. Es beginnt ein amüsanter Wettlauf gegen Morns offensichtliche Ex-Frauen um das versteckte Vermögen des offenbar Verblichenen... Eine weitere witzige Folge mit noch mehr Ferengi-Beteiligung ist "PROFIT AND LACE"/ "DIE BERATERIN", in der Quark in die Rolle der 'bezaubernden' Ferengi-Dame "Lumba" schlüpfen muss.

"HONOR AMONG THIEVES"/ "EHRE UNTER DIEBEN" ist eine menschliche und einfühlsame Episode. O'Brien ermittelt undercover für die Föderation. Er wird in das gefährliche Orion-Syndikat eingeschleust und freundet sich mit Bilby, dem Anführer einer kleinen Gruppe, an. Bevor dieser auffliegen soll, beschleicht O'Brien ein zunehmend schlechtes Gefühl. Inzwischen hat er Bilby nämlich als liebevollen Familienmenschen kennen gelernt...

"INQUISITION" führt Sektion 31 ein. Die extremistische Untergrundorganisation der Föderation sieht sich als Spezialeinheit und hat ihre eigenen Mittel, den Todfeinden der Föderation zu begegnen. Der Agent Sloan (fantastisch gespielt von William Sadler) will Bashir für Sektion 31 rekrutieren...

Die Folge "IN THE PALE MOONLIGHT"/ "IM FAHLEN MONDLICHT" wird von Sisko erzählt. Der Captain sieht sich in einem großen Gewissenskonflikt. Er weiß, dass die Föderation endgültig die Romulaner auf ihre Seite gegen das Dominion ziehen muss. Um dies zu erreichen geht er aber mit seinem waghalsigen und dramatischen Plan zu weit.

Im monumentalen Abschluss der Season, "TEARS OF THE PROPHETS"/ "TRÄNEN DER PROPHETEN", wird der erste große Angriff der Föderation gegen die cardassianischen Schiffswerften Realität. Die Ereignisse überstürzen sich: Dukat taucht wieder auf und unterbreitet dem neuen Führungsduo Weyoun und Damar einen neuen, teuflischen Plan. Er lässt sich äußerlich zu einem Bajoraner machen und fliegt unerkannt nach Deep Space Nine, um sein Vorhaben umzusetzen.

Außerhalb der Spannung rund um den Doninion-Krieg bietet Season 6 mit "FAR BEYOND THE STARS"/ "JENSEITS DER STERNE" eine mehr als außergewöhnliche Folge, die eigentlich nicht einmal eine Science Fiction-Episode ist! Sisko ist nicht mehr Sisko - er ist Benny, ein junger, farbiger Schriftsteller im New York der 50er Jahre, dessen Traum die Gleichberechtigung gegenüber Weißen ist. DS9 und Besatzung existieren in seinen Gedanken und in der Geschichte, die er geschrieben hat. Doch seine Story wird nicht gedruckt, weil der Kommandant der fiktiven Station ein Farbiger ist. Die Episode beschäftigt sich in einfühlsamer Weise mit der Menschlichkeit, mit der das Star Trek-Universum funktioniert. Alle Schauspieler - auch viele der Nebendarsteller - wirken mit... und verkörpern Menschen, ohne ihr gewohntes Alien-Make-up.

Ein besonderer Leckerbissen ist auch "HIS WAY"/ "AUF SEINE ART". Hier wird Vic Fontaine in die Serie eingeführt, das Hologramm eines Barsängers des Las Vegas der 60er Jahre. Vic kann nicht nur fantastischen Swing bieten und in bester Frank Sinatra- Tradition unterhalten, sondern auch zuhören und wird zum wahren Freund vieler aus der DS9-Crew.

Die vorletzte Season steckt also voller Überraschungen und fantasievollen Drehbüchern und endet äußerst tragisch mit dem Tod einer der Hauptfiguren. Dem Zuschauer bleibt eine immense Spannung auf Season 7.

Staffel 6 ist die bis dahin am beste geschriebene Staffel der Serie, was nach den drei großartigen vorherigen Staffeln sehr schwer war, es gibt eigentlich kaum etwas Negatives zu sagen. Keine Episode ist ein Durchhänger, sowohl die ernsten als auch die witzigen Episoden sind großartig geschrieben und unterhaltsam. Die Charaktere sind großartig getroffen und das Schreiben an sich ist ausgezeichnet. Aber es gibt ein paar Episoden und Umstände, die ich hervorheben möchte. Da wäre der fast schon epische Anfangs Sechsteiler, der wirklich herausragend war und erst im Finale der siebten Staffel durch den Zehnteiler, fast schon ein Elfteiler, übertroffen wird. Alles, was man brauchte, war vorhnaden. Auch die darauffolgende Entwicklung von Dukat war großartig und faszinierend zu beobachten. Die humoristischen Episoden "The Magnificent Ferengi" und "Who Mourns for Morn?" sind mit die Highlights der Staffel. Das Finale gehört ebenfalls zu den besten Episoden der Staffel. Die vielleicht aber am besten geschriebene Episode ist "In the Pale Moonlight", die für mich aber eines der beiden persönlichen Lowlights der Staffel ist, das andere ist "Inquisition". Warum? Beide sind einfach ein Verrat an "Star Trek". Klar Section 31 und Siskos Aktion in "In the Pale Moonlight" machen im Spiegelbild der Realität Sinn, sind aber ein Verrat an Gene Roddenberrys Vision, einer Zukunft, in der die Menschheit so etwas wie Sektion 31 nicht mehr braucht oder wenigstens so abstoßens findet, dass sie lieber untergehen würde, als sich auf solche Aktionen zu berufen. Dasselbe gilt für Sisko, der vor nicht all zu langer Zeit noch Eddington darüber Vorträger gehalten hat, dass terroristische Aktionen niemals gerechtfertig sind.

FAZIT: Objektiv die vielleicht beste Staffel der Serie, aber persönlich hängt sie etwas hinter den Staffeln 3-5 hinterher. Ist den anderen drei Staffeln aber immer noch überlegen.

Trés bonne avant-dernière saison de Deep Space Nine. La station passe sous le contrôle du Dominion et des cardassiens.

Il y a de nombreux bonus.

Nice box.