Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is one of my favourite Science Fiction shows of all time. Taking place in the 24th century, amidst Earth’s membership in the United Federation of Planets, the story revolves around the titular space station, Deep Space Nine. Positioned near a wormhole, this station serves as a crucial link connecting Federation space to the Gamma Quadrant on the opposite side of the Milky Way galaxy.
The cast of the series included Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, Cirroc Lofton, Colm Meaney, Armin Shimerman, Alexander Siddig, Nana Visitor, Michael Dorn, and Nicole de Boer delivering notable performances.
There’s probably a lot that you don’t know about this show (which was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller), but today my aim is to change that.
Here are 10 Interesting Facts You Might Not Have Known About Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
1. Originally broadcast in syndication from January 3, 1993, to June 2, 1999, the series comprised 176 episodes across its seven-season run.’
2. Initially hesitant to commit to the series, Colm Meaney was reluctant to sign on. He had been content portraying O’Brien on a per-episode basis for Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), and at that point, he was uncertain about taking on a full-time television role.
3. Nana Visitor’s character Kira was a late addition to the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The initial intention was to include the character Ro Laren from Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). However, Michelle Forbes was not interested in committing to a series at that time, leading to the decision to introduce the character of Kira instead.
4. Armin Shimerman, who portrayed Quark, and Marc Alaimo, known as Gul Dukat the Cardassian, were among the initial actors to depict members of their respective species. Both had earlier appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), with Shimerman playing the Ferengi officer Letek in “The Last Outpost” (1987), and Alaimo portraying the Cardassian officer Gul Macet in “The Wounded” (1991).
5. Originally conceived as a character resembling a young Clint Eastwood, Constable Odo took on a different direction during Rene Auberjonois’ audition. The casting director informed him that none of the previous actors had captured the required level of “grouchiness.” In response,
Auberjonois improvised his lines with a particularly gravelly voice, ultimately earning him the role. Odo’s distinctive scoff became such a trademark that screenwriters frequently incorporated it into his lines as “harrumph!,” though this occasionally proved irksome to Auberjonois.
6. Initially reluctant to reprise his role as Worf on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine due to the taxing daily make-up application, Michael Dorn was relieved to put the character behind him. He reconsidered when presented with a salary offer that prompted him to revisit the decision.
7, Wolf 359, the location of the battle between the Borg and the Federation resulting in the loss of Sisko’s wife, is an actual star situated seven and a half light-years away from Earth.
8. The inspiration for the character of Garak, a former spy turned tailor on the station, can be traced to specific spy novels by John le Carré, with a particular emphasis on “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
9. The containers of “pills” in Dr. Bashir’s office were actually filled with M&Ms. In the early episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, there were instances where the level of the pills would vary between shots due to crew members taking them. To address this issue, the lids were ultimately secured in place with epoxy.
10. While all Star Trek series addressed intricate social issues, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine delved into darker undertones, tackling themes such as genocide, terrorism, bigotry, P.T.S.D., and the repercussions of war more seriously than other Star Trek series.
The static setting of a space station also provided the writers with a more straightforward platform for exploring the long-term consequences of characters’ actions, in contrast to a starship crew that would frequently change locations each week.
11. Alexander Siddig (Dr Bashir) and Nana Visitor (Kira) were married in real life in 1997 (after the show’s fifth season).
12. Following the conclusion of production and the disassembly of sets, the Defiant bridge set was designated as “fold and hold” and stored. It was later repurposed, redecorated, and employed as the bridge for both an alien cargo ship and a Klingon battlecruiser in Star Trek: Voyager (1995) and also served as the bridge for the ECS Fortunate in Star Trek: Enterprise (2001).
13. In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Trials and Tribble-ations” (1996), when Sisko and Dax encounter Kirk and Spock, Dax is attracted to Spock. Interestingly, in August 2017, Terry Farrell, who portrayed Jadzia Dax, became engaged to Adam Nimoy, the son of Leonard Nimoy (Spock).
14. The character Morn, portrayed by Mark Allen Shepherd in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, was created as a tribute to Norm Peterson from Cheers, with “Morn” being an anagram of “Norm.” Despite several scripted lines for Morn, he never spoke throughout the show’s run.
The character’s lack of dialogue became a running joke, with others frequently joking about Morn being extremely talkative off-screen and “never shutting up.” The mask initially lacked a mouth opening, but over time, makeup artist Michael Westmore added lips in case the character needed to speak.
15. Throughout Worf’s tenure on the show, spanning from season four to the finale, he consistently avoids using Quark’s name and never directly addresses him as such. Instead, Worf consistently refers to Quark simply as “the Ferengi bartender.”
16. While seldom shown on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Quark’s bar features an ATM that dispenses various currencies used by major races visiting the station, including Federation credits, Bajoran litas, Cardassian leks, and Ferengi latinum.
17. “Trials and Tribble-ations” (1996) was created as a tribute to the 30th Anniversary of Star Trek. In this time-travel episode, the Deep Space Nine crew goes back to 2268 during the events of the original Star Trek episode “The Trouble with Tribbles” (1967) to prevent an assassination. To accommodate the aging original cast, the crew interacts with the original footage using bluescreen and computer technology, recently employed in Paramount’s Forrest Gump (1994).
18. Upon Nana Visitor’s pregnancy, the show addressed her condition by having Kira become an emergency surrogate for Keiko O’Brien’s baby. Surprisingly, Visitor missed only one Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “(Let He Who Is without Sin…” (1996) following the birth of her son. She chose to cut her maternity leave short, concerned that an extended absence might lead the writers to substantially diminish her role in the remaining episodes of the series.
19. The design of Deep Space Nine was initially based on a gyroscope, minus the top and bottom parts, inspired by earlier designs featuring complete hoops by Herman F. Zimmerman. The concept of rotating the station for artificial gravity was abandoned since Star Trek ships already had gravity generators.
The idea of a halo-shaped space station persisted and was incorporated into the final design. The initial concept of artificial gravity through rotation was dismissed to avoid similarities with Babylon 5 (1993), as fans had already noted parallels. Accusations of plagiarism arose after J. Michael Straczynski pitched Babylon 5 to Paramount Studios in the late 1980s.
20. Due to the timing of its debut after the 1992 Presidential election, some viewers unfamiliar with Star Trek believed that the character Quark was a parody of Independent Presidential candidate Ross Perot, noting physical similarities. However, this was not the case, as the Ferengi character appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) five years before Perot announced his candidacy.
Well, there you have it, 20 interesting facts you might not have known about Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. If I’ve left out something important, feel free to comment below.
Check out the intro for the show below:
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