At its core, I’ve always felt that DS9 is ultimately about what it takes to create and maintain the utopian future that exists in (at least) the core worlds of the Federation.
The high ideals of the Federation are very inspiring, to be sure. But Sisko lays it out in Season 1 when he tells Kira that “the problem is Earth” and that “it’s easy to be a saint in paradise.”
They are caught between the Cardassians and the Bajorans… and then discover they are also on the Dominion’s doorstep. And in a corner of the galaxy that Starfleet and the Federation have given up on and would like to forget about as quickly as possible. DS9 is as far from paradise as it gets.
Things get dark during the series, by Trek standards, and all of the characters show themselves to be less than perfect, but I think that’s what makes the series so interesting.
At its core, I’ve always felt that DS9 is ultimately about what it takes to create and maintain the utopian future that exists in (at least) the core worlds of the Federation.
The high ideals of the Federation are very inspiring, to be sure. But Sisko lays it out in Season 1 when he tells Kira that “the problem is Earth” and that “it’s easy to be a saint in paradise.”
They are caught between the Cardassians and the Bajorans… and then discover they are also on the Dominion’s doorstep. And in a corner of the galaxy that Starfleet and the Federation have given up on and would like to forget about as quickly as possible. DS9 is as far from paradise as it gets.
Things get dark during the series, by Trek standards, and all of the characters show themselves to be less than perfect, but I think that’s what makes the series so interesting.