dorkstranger:

bernardin:

I finally finished my epic rewatching of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It did so many things so well, once it hit its stride, but the thing I loved most was how willing it was to compromise its characters. To render them entirely in shades of gray so that even they couldn’t recognize the person in the mirror.

It was the Star Trek Gene Roddenberry never would’ve given you. It was the Star Trek that put away childish things.

spoonfullofspock:

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Season Six, “In the Pale Moonlight”.

I disagree about DS9 putting away childish things. Just because you have characters acting more selfishly or immoral doesn’t make them adult. The main idea behind Star Trek was about how mankind had the capability to evolve beyond its current adolescence. If anything, DS9 represented an ethical step backwards in a lot of ways, even if the writing and storytelling did improve. 

Reblogging my own GIF set because I want to weigh in on the “childish things” discussion…

I can’t say for sure what bernardin meant by ‘childish things’ but the way I read it and think it/agree with it is that DS9 put away the naive belief that had cropped up in TNG that if mankind grew beyond it’s own narrow and petty ways, everything would be a utopia.  Perhaps mankind growing beyond such would enable mankind to do such; but what about all those alien races?  All those other empires, not part of the UFP? 

I’d say the ‘childish thing’ DS9 put away was the naive approach that had cropped up into TNG through Gene’s desire to live up to the ‘visionary’ label he had been given that all things could be solved with reason and ethically justified means.  Perhaps within humanity or even the Federation, this is so.  But outside of it?  When dealing with alien races and empires not built on the ideals of the UFP, but on conquest and what not?  How could such a standard be applied?

DS9 was a great example of Star Trek as a whole ‘growing up’ because it began as very much of a “TNG on a space station” and became it’s own thing.  Which is why it’s often forgotten or lamented or what not by some purists as the ‘black sheep’ of the Trek franchise.  It accepted Gene’s idea that mankind could, mostly, put it’s own issues like racism and sexism behind it.  But while it did so, it took a cold hard look in the mirror by showing us that other species did not always do so.  And through that, and dealing with them, sometimes we had to do things that where not the utopian visionary way.

Sisko did a few questionable, unethical, dark deeds.  He did not do any of them though for evil reasons.  He did what had to be done, because he was often faced with situations none of the others ever came close to.

I think it’s DS9’s greatest strengths.

Would Gene have taken issue with it?  Probably.  Does that invalidate it or “un-Trek” it?  Not in the least bit.

When Gene first heard the story for “Star Trek VI” he was quite upset with it.  In the end though, he saw a rough cut of the film shortly before his death, and approved of it.  I think DS9 would have been much the same.  Had he lived to see it, he may have taken issue with it.  But I think, in the end, he’s have approved.

(Source: frontier001, via dorkstranger)