Deep Space Nine was the best star Trek show.

After a difficult round which probably left him feeling like a Ferengi at a Klingon drinking contest, my opponent has tried to retreat to more defensible ground. I’m afraid I cannot allow his escape. Weapons free, fire all torpedoes. Characters My opponent misread my comment about Ben Sisko’s placement at #31 on the list as being a claim that he is the highest ranked DS9 character. If you re-read my earlier comments, you’ll find I made no such claim that he is the most popular. Since my opponent had invested so much into building Sisko into an important piece of his argument by emphasizing the importance of his race, the power of his monologue, and the depth of his character’s moral dilemmas, I chose to emphasize how ineffectively that has endeared him to fans. My point was simply that despite all the reasons my opponent gave defending Sisko’s relevance, including his quasi-religious status, we still have a character that is less beloved than Pavel Chekov. I was not claiming that there are no DS9 characters who ranked more highly than the captain. Worf and O’Brian did spend a considerable amount of time on DS9, although they were introduced on TNG, and in my mind earned most of their popularity on TNG. Even if we concede a split for Worf between DS9 and TNG, there’s still only half a character in the top 10 to support Pro’s case (I’m not giving Q to DS9 even though he did cross over for an episode or two. No way no how, he was much more interesting vs Picard, and played a much bigger role on TNG). .5 characters is clearly not good enough for him to win “best“ in the characters category when TNG has 4.5, and TOS has 3. TNG continues to win 5 more characters if we extend it to the top 20, while DS9 straggles behind with only Jadzia Dax and Quark earning honorable mentions. Setting I did contest Pro's argument that DS9 is the only series which explored a dystopian future, but I could agree that no series stayed dark and depressing for quite as long as DS9. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that dystopia and “best” do not necessarily have anything to do with one another. Taking place on a space station was limiting rather than liberating. TOS and TNG could both explore anywhere, and there was a sense that anything could happen. DS9 was often limited to being little more than a soap opera in space (this changed marginally once the Defiant came online). “Best? ” No. Alien Civilizations Pro admires DS9 for spending episodes exploring alien civilizations, and in particular the Ferengi. TOS and TNG were responsible for introducing and developing all of the major Alpha quadrant civilizations, so whatever piggy-backing off of this DS9 might have done was not nearly enough to earn it “best! ” My friends, Star Trek was great because of its ability to take us on adventures. When Picard has to make a choice between letting millions of people die, or disobeying a direct order, that’s the kind of worthwhile TV that builds meaningful tension, plot, and character development. TNG episode “Darmok” [1] was an incredible example of what can be done with intra-species encounters, and of how alike we are even with those we seem completely different from. By contrast, when characters of an annoying, fictional satire race like the Ferengi are stressing themselves over fictional currency and Dabo girls, it just seems like a waste of time. Nog’s heroism and difficulties adjusting to his injury was alright I guess, but in this aspect he was really less of a Ferengi than he was a human actor wearing a Ferengi costume. I mean, rather than enlightening us about anything unique about the Ferengi, he spent his time recovering in a holosuite with 1962 Earth singer Vic Fontaine! [2] I’m sorry Pro, no dice. Other Differences Pro goes to considerable lengths to differentiate DS9 from the other series, but many of these differences do not give it a better or worse position, just a different one. Take for example, that Defiant has a non-traditional design specification – so what? How does that make DS9 the “best”? Movies Some important differences between DS9 and other series are absolutely not in favor of Pro’s resolution. Take for example, the fact that there are no DS9 feature length films. TOS had six well received films with the original cast, and now a restarted series by JJ Abrams that remains extremely promising, and which probably gives it the edge over TNG as the best Star Trek series. So how many of us think DS9 is coming back? Does Pro even think DS9 has anywhere to go with a movie? Does he think movies add nothing to the greatness of the series they represent? DS9 is decidedly NOT the best series. Vote Con. 1) . http://en.memory-alpha.org... 2) . http://en.memory-alpha.org...