Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Complete First Season; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Complete Second Season

Bajorans, Cardassians, Ferengis, oh my! At the same time that Star Trek: The Next Generation entered its penultimate sixth season in 1993, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine boldly went where no man, woman, or Borg had gone before: to a more character-driven series set aboard a (mostly) stationary space station in the further reaches of east bejeezus. Collecting all 20 of the first season's episodes, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Complete First Season takes viewers back to the early (televised) days of Terek Nor, the Cardassian space station overseen by Federation Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), with help from Bajoran Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor), shapeshifting Chief of Security Odo (Rene Auberjonois), blue-collar Chief Operations Officer O'Brien (Colm Meaney, coming over from Star Trek: The Next Generation), the Trill Lieutenant Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell), Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig), and occasional hindrance from Quark (Armin Shimerman), who runs DS9's major onboard conceit--the Promenade, a Star Wars-intergalactic-bar-inspired watering hole/mini-mall where folks (of all species and races) sling back exotic drinks, gamble at the Dabo tables, and check out the latest fashions at Garak's Clothiers (interesting footnote: although the Promenade is a double decker, you'll only see the first deck in the budget-conscious opening season). Of course, there has to be more to the show than just weird drinks and weirder threads, and there is, thanks to strained relations between the Bajorans and Cardassians (the former newly liberated from the oppressive rule of the latter), which offers up good grist for the geopolitical dramatic mill, and a newly discovered wormhole that Commander Sisko stumbles upon in the two-part opener "The Emissary," vastly expanding the potential roaming ground. Season highlights include the pilot (with the emotional slammer of a line--"no, it is not linear"--you think I'm joking, but it will put a lump in your throat), "Captive Pursuit," "Progress," "Duet" (with the chilling line, "what you call genocide, I call a day's work"), and the closer "In the Hands of the Prophets." As with the ST:TNG boxed sets, this includes a solid mix of extra featurettes: a "making-of," a profile of Kira Nerys, a look at alien design, background on the cool drink glasses used in Quark's bar, a sketchbook on the creation of the space station, and a brief glimpse of some of the props used in the inaugural season. By the second season the cast had settled into their roles quite nicely and the series writers were able to move beyond set-up exposition to offer more engaging episodes with meatier storylines. Of the 26 episodes, standouts include the opening trilogy ("The Homecoming," "The Circle," The Siege"), which not only serves up a heady mix of action and politics, but also features the wonderful Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) as Vedek; "Rules of Acquisition" (especially for Wallace Shawn's impish scenery-chewing turn as the Ferengi Grand Nagus Zek); the two-parter "The Maquis"; the parallel universe episode "Crossover"; and the season finale face-off against the Dominion's kick-butt soldiers, "The Jem'Hadar." Bonus features include the 15-minute "New Frontiers: The Story of Deep Space Nine" featurette, with producer Michael Piller and others talking about the creation of the series; the 12-minute featurette "Michael Westmore's Aliens" (in which he discusses the options of creating aliens--tattoos, spots, stripes, color, rubber--and the challenges of making it new); the 11-minute "Deep Space Nine Sketchbook: Season Two (which looks at the design of the hologenerator used in the episode "Shadowplay," as well as various games and musical instruments played on the Promenade); the 18-minute "Crew Dossier: Jadzia Dax"; and 10 hidden files spotlighting individual episodes or characters. Both the first and second season sets look and sound sharp (although the packaging is a bit on the flimsy side), and come with the same fine array of behind-the-scenes/retrospective interview extras (with the addition of the hidden files) that were found on the Star Trek: The Next Generation boxed sets. Also, like its predecessor, DS9 would live long and prosper for a respectable seven-year run. Sure to be popular, these sets are definitely recommended. (R. Pitman)