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Star Trek: Voyager developed a cult following unlike its more successful spinoff shows such as The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. The Kate Mulgrew starrer again saw an experimental storyline where the titular Voyager ship was placed in a different dimension and was tasked with handling a diverse crew of Starfleet and Maquis.

One two-parter episode of Voyager tested the ship and Captain Kathryn Janeway to such an extent that it faced several casualties. It is arguably one of the best arcs in the whole show and could have lasted longer if not for one intervention. Bryan Fuller, one of the writers on Voyager revealed the behind-the-scenes drama.

Star Trek: Voyager’s ‘Year of Hell’ was supposed to last a whole season Kate Mulgrew in Star Trek: Voyager | Credits: Paramount

Star Trek: Voyager was kind of a mixed bag in the franchise. While it was not a typical exploratory...

The fate of The Orville remains undecided. After three seasons, it could all be over in a blink of an eye. Still, if all we got were three seasons, then what a wonderful three seasons it was. The series won over fans by embracing the core concepts of Star Trek. Granted, it was with a humorous twist most times, but the idea of pushing for a brighter future while also pushing important cultural conversations was straight out of the Star Trek playbook.

The fact that The Orville so lovingly modeled itself after the prime years of Star Trek (1987-2005), and the shows that came with it isn't some random act. Many of the men and women who worked on those iconic shows 20 to 30-odd years ago were brought in by Seth MacFarlane to help launch and mold The Orville into a spiritual successor to all of those wonderful Star Trek shows of the 80s,...

Actor Tim Russ was an army brat who, at an early age, became interested in acting and theater. He attended St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, getting a degree in theater arts, and he continued his acting studies in grad school at Illinois State University. His first professional acting gig was a supporting role in an episode of the reboot of "The Twilight Zone" in 1985, and his first movie was a small part in the 1986 Ralph Macchio vehicle "Crossroads." Audiences of a certain age likely recall Russ' cameo in Mel Brooks' 1987 spoof "Spaceballs." He was the Spaceball officer who, while (literally) combing the desert with an outsize afro pick, announced that "We ain't found s***!" That same year, Russ appeared in the wonderfully absurd "Death Wish 4: The Crackdown," a film that boasts one of the best death-by-bazooka scenes in cinema history. 

Russ remained prolific, however, picking up dozens of...

Cirroc Lofton and Wil Wheaton have admiration for each other

On his recent podcast “The 7th Rule”, Cirroc Lofton who portrayed Captain Sisko’s (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) son Jake Sisko – along with his co-host Ryan T. Husk, interviewed Wil Wheaton who portrayed Dr. Beverly Crusher's (Star Trek: The Nex Generation) son Wesley Crusher. It was exciting to see these two former child actors who portrayed children in space while going through puberty in the adult world of Starfleet regulations, space travel, aliens, and adolescent drama.

Lofton congratulated Wheaton for “pioneering the space of the young kids in space…you paved the way in space for young men.” Wesley followed up by reflecting when a fan questioned him about Jake Sisko at a ComiCon “I kind of feel like Wesley Crusher crawled so that Jake Sisko could walk, so that Adira Tal from Star Trek Discovery could fly…”

Creation Entertainment...

Bryan Fuller, the creator of Star Trek: Discovery, left the series in 2016 due to "creative differences," but fortunately he stayed long enough to get the lead actress he wanted on board. In an interview with the D-Con Chamber[via Screenrant] with Star Trek: Enterprise's Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating, he said getting series star, Sonequa Martin-Green wasn't easy as CBS Studios didn't want to wait for her.

Martin-Green was still working on The Walking Dead, and Fuller told the studio to "push production" so they could have her for the lead of Discovery. He said the studios resisted and "I was fighting for Sonequa. They didn’t want to wait for Sonequa, and I was like, ‘Push the production. She’s great.’”

Some fans would disagree with the choice to play Captain Michael Burnham, and there were plenty of Star Trek fans who took issue with the way Martin-Green played the role.

One of the most iconic elements of Star Trek is arguably the design of Starfleet uniforms. Bright, primary colors, coupled with the iconic Starfleet delta often screams "Star Trek," even to people who are not fans of the franchise. Despite this, there has actually been a lot of variation in Starfleet uniforms over time. Here, I'll try to rank my (entirely subjective) top 10 Starfleet uniforms.

10. Grey shoulders, colored undershirt Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko, wearing the grey-shoulder-style uniform in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Paramount Pictures/CBS Entertainment

Originally designed by Robert Blackman for the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact, the first appearance of these uniforms was technically in the Deep Space Nine episode "Rapture." Superficially, these uniforms appear to swap the color pattern of the shoulders and collars in the previous uniforms used on DS9—which were also used for all seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager.

Upon closer inspection,...

Jennifer Lien's star was on the rise before she was cut from Star Trek: Voyager at the beginning of the series' fourth season. Not only had she been a soap opera actress, appearing as Hannah Moore in Another World, but she voiced Elle on the Men in Black series. While she had some good scenes in Voyager, nothing could really be classified as a stand out unless you count her time in "Warlord." It wasn't until she was cast as Davina in American History X that her true talent came out.

Gone was the meek and quiet Kes from Voyager. In her place was the wife of a paroled neo-Nazi, Derek, a woman who, despite the abuse she suffered, stood up to him and tried to give back as good as she got. In fact, there wasn't even the slighest hint of Kes in Lien's portrayal as Davina.

Avery Brooks,...

Andrew Robinson played the role of Garak in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The show was noted for being the first one in the franchise to star a Black man as the protagonist of the series. It was also the first in the franchise to not feature space exploration on the Enterprise but was set on a space station.

While the series has its own cult following like the original series, it never went as big as Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Patrick Stewart-starrer became a global phenomenon and took the franchise to a whole new level. Robinson mentioned that the show suffered one novel thing they did which was too new for TV at the time.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Andrew Robinson theorized why the series was not as big as Tng Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: Tng | Credits: Paramount

Starring as Captain Picard for...

Sir Patrick Stewart played Captain Jean-Luc Picard for seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and four original films before taking a hiatus and appearing on the spinoff show Picard. The second film with the Tng cast was helmed by co-star Jonathan Frakes, best known for playing William Riker in the show.

Stewart was all praise for Jonathan Frakes and his direction skills in Star Trek: First Contact. The film was well-received by audiences too, with many regarding it in the same league as Wrath of Khan. The X-Men star called it his favorite of the films he was in and appreciated Frakes for his technical mastery.

Patrick Stewart called Jonathan Frakes’ feature film debut the ‘best-looking Star Trek film’ A still from Star Trek: First Contact | Credits: Paramount

While the first original film with the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast was considered a passing-of-the-torch from the...

Even before Star Trek: The Next Generation ended its run, the franchise received its next spinoff in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The show was the first to be developed without original creator Gene Roddenberry’s involvement and probably because of that, broke many of Roddenberry’s rules for the Star Trek universe.

One of the biggest rules that Roddenberry had was to minimize interpersonal conflict between the Starfleet crew as he believed that people would be more professional in the future. However, in the pilot episode of Deep Space Nine, the makers introduced the then-commander Benjamin Sisko as a man angry with his captain, Jean-Luc Picard.

Gene Roddenberry’s important rule for Starfleet was broken in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Avery Brooks in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Credits: Paramount

Gene Roddenberry is the mastermind behind the Star Trek franchise that everyone now loves. The former military man...

Omari Hardwick, who portrayed the legendary James ‘Ghost’ St. Patrick from 2014-2020 in the television family crime drama “Power”, was a recent guest on Sherri Shepard’s daytime talk show “Sherri”. Hardwick was beaming while promoting his acting accomplishments as well as his first 2025 Best Spoken Word Grammy nomination for his work on the poetry album “cOncrete & wHiskey Act II Part 1: A Bourbon 30 Series”.

In the interview hotseat that aired on Jan. 22nd, 2025, Hardwick told Shepard he was thrilled to now be part of the Star Trek universe due to his portrayal of Alok Sahar in the Paramount+ new movie “Star Trek: Section 31”. Hardwick assured any non-Trekkies in the audience that they did not have to know Star Trek canon to enjoy Section 31.

Despite the usually serious and intense roles that Hardwick tends to play, he was quite relaxed and self-aware of his female fans. At one moment,...

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's USS Defiant is the best-known starship by that name, but Star Trek's original USS Defiant impacted two Star Trek timelines. The Defiant Class Nx-74205 USS Defiant debuted in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3. A heavily-armed warship designed, in part, by Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), the USS Defiant was the prototype of a new starship class designed to fight the Borg. DS9 repurposed the Defiant as Sisko's main weapon against the Dominion.

However, Star Trek: The Original Series introduced the first USS Defiant. A Constitution Class deep space heavy cruiser similar to Captain James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) USS Enterprise, the USS Defiant Ncc-1764 encountered the Tholians, with the crew going insane and killing each other. The Defiant was then trapped in a spatial interphase and vanished in Star Trek: The Original Series' "The Thiolian Web." Over 30 years later, Star Trek: Enterprise...

It's been thirty years since Star Trek: Voyager debuted on Upn. A unique version of Star Trek, this bridge was led by a female captain whose authority was unquestionable. Captain Kathryn Janeway [Kate Mulgrew] owned that bridge, and the crew that helped Voyager make its way across the Delta Quadrant were some of the best on a Star Trek show.

Unfortunately, Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation didn't give the female officers much to do. Voyager corrected that, makihng, the women integral to the ship's journey, more so when Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine came aboard. They worked in tandem with the rest of the crew, never backing down from a challenge or a fight.

Though Star Trek: Deep Space Nine put Major Kira [Nana Visitor] in a position of authority, she was still under Commander/Captain Sisko's [Avery Brooks] command. With Voyager,...

Actor Avery Brooks is best known for his portrayal of Captain Benjamin Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The casting was revolutionary at the time because a Black actor had never led a mainstream TV series like Star Trek and the move was appreciated at the time. However, it was not as progressive behind the scenes as it made itself out to be.

Much like William Shatner, Brooks was an experienced actor before being selected to lead Deep Space Nine. Hence, his look was drastically different in the pilot of the spinoff series than what fans came to know him for. The reason behind the look change was apparently borderline racist but with Brooks’ insistence, it dodged that bullet.

Avery Brooks’ look as Benjamin Sisko was different in the pilot for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Avery Brooks in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Credits: Paramount Network

Avery Brooks...

A half dozen notable Star Trek starships have carried the name Defiant. The USS Enterprise is the most recognizable starship in Star Trek, and some Star Trek TV series have been named after their eponymous ships like Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Discovery. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was named for its titular space station but, in season 3, DS9 also gained its own starship, the USS Defiant.

Starships named Defiant originated in Star Trek: The Original Series. However, it is Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that turned the name "Defiant" into a legacy comparable to the various starships named USS Enterprise. Most of Starfleet's Defiant starships come from the Defiant Class established on DS9, but one Defiant made an impact fighting for the Terrans in the Mirror Universe. Finally, Star Trek's newest Defiant Class starship has a mission to explore and protect Star Trek's expansive multiverse, itself.

Jonathan Banks is the kind of actor that automatically elevates whatever he's in. Many first discovered him through his role as fixer Mike Ehrmantraut on "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul," where his soulful performance helped audiences care deeply for a troubled man in a despicable line of work, while others found him through his role as cartoon duck drawing criminology professor Buzz Hickey in season 5 of the college sitcom "Community."  He's a fantastic performer who brings some surprisingly different characters to life, and back in the 1990s, he stole the show in a guest role on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

"Deep Space Nine" often delved into darker topics than was typical for the "Star Trek" franchise, and in season 1, episode 12, "Battle Lines," several members of the DS9 crew were thrust into a truly unpleasant situation on a moon where the inhabitants cannot die. Banks stars as Golin Shel-la,...

Like many Star Trek: Deep Space Nine characters, Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) underwent a complex character evolution throughout DS9's seven seasons. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's First Officer was originally supposed to be Star Trek: The Next Generation's Ensign Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes), but when Forbes declined to return as Ensign Ro, DS9 created Major Kira instead. Unlike Ro Laren's Starfleet-adjacent point of view in Tng, Kira's backstory in the Bajoran Resistance placed her closer to the front lines of the conflict between the Bajorans and their Cardassian oppressors.

Born in 2343 in Bajor's Dahkur Province, Kira Nerys grew up in a refugee camp with her parents, Kira Taban and Meru; and her brothers, Reon and Pohl. When Nerys was three years old, her mother was taken to be a comfort woman for the camp's Cardassian overseers, and Meru became Gul Dukat's (Marc Alaimo) mistress. Dukat ensured that Kira's family was safe,...

After one particular decision in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Worf (Michael Dorn) should not have been able to become captain of the USS Enterprise. For most of Star Trek: The Next Generation's seven seasons, Lt. Worf serves as the security chief on the USS Enterprise-d under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). After Tng came to a close, Worf transferred to DS9, where he truly came into his own as a character and starship captain. Worf serves as the strategic operations officer on Deep Space Nine, coordinating Starfleet's activity within the Bajoran sector.

As the most senior officer under the leadership of Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) on DS9, Worf takes over command of the USS Defiant when Sisko is not in command of the ship. Initially built as a warship to defend against the Borg, the Defiant proves vital in the Dominion War and allows...

Star Trek: Lower Decks made T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) Star Trek's newest Dax, but it's unclear what this means for either character's future or if audiences will ever see it. In its fifth and final season on Paramount+, Star Trek: Lower Decks' USS Cerritos investigated a series of quantum fissures that had mysteriously opened up throughout the galaxy. The penultimate episode, "Fissure Quest," revealed that Section 31 had assigned Captain William Boimler (Jack Quaid) and a Star Trek legacy character crew of "interdimensional castaways" to discover the cause of these unstable connections to the multiverse.

Captain Boimler's ragtag crew was made up of several familiar faces from across Star Trek's vast timeline, including T'Pol and Curzon Dax (Fred Tatasciore), the Trill host for the Dax symbiont before Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Jadzia (Terry Farrell). Although Curzon died before the events of DS9, he nevertheless had a presence on the show,...

Legendary genre actor Tony Todd passed away in 2024, leaving behind a legacy that includes the horror films "Candyman" and "Final Destination." His deep voice also earned him many voiceover villain roles in geek franchises: Zoom in season 2 of "The Flash", the Decepticon Dreadwing in "Transformers: Prime," Venom in Insomniac's "Spider-Man 2" video game, and many more.

Trekkies might recognize Todd too; he had a recurring role on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and then "Deep Space Nine" as Kurn, the Klingon brother of Worf (Michael Dorn). Kurn's last appearance was in "DS9" season 4, "Sons of Mogh," but Todd appeared in an even better episode earlier in that season. That would be "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" season 4, episode 2, "The Visitor," penned by the prolific "Trek" writer Michael Taylor.

"The Visitor" is set many decades (even further) in the future and stars Todd as an aged Jake Sisko (normally played as...

Both during and after its seven-season run, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has been set apart from the rest of the Star Trek franchise. Whereas other Star Trek shows have had great crossovers and reference each other constantly, Deep Space Nine has, for the most part, stood alone. With its more mature themes, political intrigues, seasons-long arcs, and space station settting, Deep Space Nine was always going to be different from more episodic and adventuresome shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation or Star Trek: Voyager.

It's hardly surprising Deep Space Nine is something of an outcast from Star Trek. Despite this distance, however, Deep Space Nine has always been a fan favorite, with some of the best episodes in all of Star Trek. Indeed, some of the same darker themes and more dramatic storylines that make Deep Space Nine so great have also set it apart from the rest of the franchise.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) tripled Captain James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) singular devotion to the Starship Enterprise on Star Trek: The Original Series. Sisko commanded the Deep Space Nine space station for seven seasons of DS9, fending off all manner of hostile aliens, interstellar crises, and the all-encompassing Dominion War that nearly toppled the United Federation of Planets. Through it all, Captain Sisko achieved a remarkable work-life balance that eluded Captain Kirk.

Star Trek: The Original Series set Captain Kirk as the gold standard of starship Captains. Kirk led the Starship Enterprise on a historic five-year mission, interacting with countless aliens, solving dilemmas, and saving the galaxy. To accomplish this feat, Kirk fully committed himself to the USS Enterprise and his crew. Jim may have enjoyed numerous human and alien lovers, but the Captain of the Enterprise denied himself a long-term relationship and a family.

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" is kind of an odd entry in the "Star Trek" franchise, as no one boldly goes much of anywhere and the series focuses heavily on war (something franchise creator Gene Roddenberry was explicitly against). Despite these apparent setbacks, "Deep Space Nine" is one of the best "Star Trek" shows ever made and features an incredible and diverse cast of characters that provide very unusual perspectives for a "Star Trek" series. "Deep Space Nine" also has characters that hail from outside of the Federation, which helps to make the show feel unique from its more Starfleet-focused brethren.

Among the characters who brought a bit of fun and sweetness to "Deep Space Nine" was Leeta, played by Chase Masterson. Leeta was a Bajoran who worked at Quark's (Armin Shimerman) bar as a dabo girl, in addition to occasionally selling jumja sticks (a sticky Bajoran treat) on the promenade.

Star Trek and Hallmark Ornaments have been a long-standing tradition for nearly 40 years. Starting in 1991, Star Trek and Hallmark have forged a bond that fans, old and new alike, continue to enjoy all these years later. It's become so popular that the ornaments usually sell out. They're collector's items after all and only so many are made at a time.

This year, we got some neat ones, my personal favorite being the new Captain Christopher Pike one, where he's sitting in the captain's chair aboard the Enterprise. It's a wonderful new addition to a line of great designs. The Hallmark line usually falls into one of three categories; ships from the franchise, characters from the franchise, or scenes from the franchise.

After pouring over just about all of the offerings from the last four decades, I think these are the five that are the best of the best. Your opinion...

Section 31 is one of the most mysterious and long-lasting ideas that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine added to Star Trek canon. This network of spies and secret agents does the United Federation of Planets' dirty work, pruning away any threats to the perfect paradise of Earth. The upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 movie promises to fill in details about the early history of Section 31, between Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation, but audiences first encountered Section 31 on Deep Space Nine from the perspective of Doctor Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig).

The second episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine established Doctor Bashir loves mysteries and spying. He trades barbs and innuendos with Elim Garak (Andrew J. Robinson), plays a James-Bond-esque spy on the holosuite, and is even initially accused of being a Dominion spy during Section 31's first appearance. Doctor Bashir was poised to be a secret agent,...

Star Trek will never have a cast as expansive as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's again. At the heart of Star Trek are the scores of beloved characters that generations of fans have come to adore. From noble Captains like James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), and Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), to the multitudes of Starfleet Officers and alien characters populating Star Trek's ever-growing universe, it's the people and their stories that keep audiences coming back for more. No Star Trek show, however, could match the impressively massive cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ran for seven seasons in syndication from 1993-1999. The first spinoff of Star Trek: The Next Generation, DS9 broke Star Trek's established mold centering on the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Deep Space Nine was set aboard the eponymous space station led by Commander...

Warning: Spoilers For Star Trek: Lower Decks Series Finale - "The New Next Generation"Star Trek: Lower Decks' series finale ends with the animated comedy creating its own version of Deep Space Nine. The USS Cerritos was the only starship in the United Federation of Planets that could stop a deadly soliton wave from wiping out Star Trek's Prime timeline. In the end, a new stable portal to infinite Quantum Realities was opened, and only one starbase could guard this wormhole to the multiverse.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's original mission saw the space station led by Commander (later Captain) Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) transported from Bajor to guard the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. Known by the Bajorans as the Celestial Temple where their gods, the Prophets, reside, the wormhole was a conduit to an unexplored region of Star Trek's galaxy. Even after the Gamma Quadrants' rulers,...

Even though Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Trill character Curzon Dax died in 2367, two years before DS9 season 1 in, Curzon's legacy is felt throughout DS9's seven seasons and beyond. After the symbiotic Trill were introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4, episode 23, "The Host", Star Trek: Deep Space Nine improved the Trill with DS9's Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell). Because DS9's Trill symbionts carried the memories of all previous hosts, and Curzon hosted the Dax symbiont right before Jadzia, Jadzia Dax's personality was influenced by Curzon's, and she knew everything he did.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine shows how Jadzia Dax is separate from but similar to Curzon Dax, unlike Tng Trill who were vessels for their symbionts. In DS9 season 1, episode 7, "Dax", Jadzia is not responsible for Curzon's actions in a murder trial but still honors Curzon's desire to take his secret affair to the grave,...

Jonathan Frakes' guest spot as Lieutenant Thomas Riker in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3 is effectively a remake and Star Trek's version of the first Jack Ryan movie, The Hunt for Red October. Posing as Commander William Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Thomas charms his way into Deep Space Nine with a nefarious agenda: Will Riker's transporter clone steals the USS Defiant to use as a weapon against the Cardassians, with Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) aboard as Tom's prisoner. What's more, Riker reveals he quit Starfleet and joined the Maquis.

1990's The Hunt for Red October was the first big-screen blockbuster adapted from Tom Clancy's series of novels centering on CIA analyst Jack Ryan. In Red October, Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) steals the Red October, the Soviet Union's most advanced nuclear submarine. As the United States and Soviet navies mobilize to hunt the Red October,...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 8 - "Upper Decks"

25 years later, Star Trek: Lower Decks finally shows the horrific reality of one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's biggest tragedies. When Star Trek: Deep Space Nine begins, Bajor has finally won its independence after the 50-year-long Cardassian Occupation of Bajor forced the formerly peaceful Bajorans to take up arms as resistance fighters. Starfleet sends Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) to oversee Bajor's bid to join the United Federation of Planets. Sisko's First Officer is Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor), a notable member of the Shakaar Resistance cell turned DS9's liaison to the Bajoran provisional government.

Star Trek: Lower Decks is connected to this dark chapter of the Star Trek timeline via the USS Cerritos' Bajoran Chief of Security, Lieutenant Shaxs (Fred Tatasciore), who was a Resistance fighter before joining Starfleet. The Cerritos' visit to...

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine revealed that Captain Benjamin Sisko's (Avery Brooks) mother isn't who he thought, and Sisko's real mother was a Prophet of Bajor. Since the series premiere of DS9, Sisko was pulled in two directions, between his duty as a Starfleet Officer and his growing responsibility as the Emissary, one of Bajor's religious leaders. Sisko's true nature and destiny was finally explained in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7, central to which was the identity of Ben's true birth mother.

The expansive cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine grew to include members of Captain Benjamin Sisko's family. Besides his teenage son, Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton), Ben's father, Joseph Sisko (Brock Peters), was an important player in his life. Joseph was the patriarch of the Sisko family, which included Ben's unseen sister, Judith Sisko, and their two younger brothers. However, Joseph's unnamed wife passed away before DS9 began,...

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson) predicted Seven of Nine's (Jeri Ryan) future Starfleet career in Star Trek: Picard. Seven joining Starfleet seemed unlikely during Seven's time on Star Trek: Voyager, but Star Trek: Picard revealed that Seven had actually attempted to join Starfleet. Even with Captain Kathryn Janeway's (Kate Mulgrew) sponsorship, Starfleet turned Seven down on account of being an ex-Borg drone. In Star Trek: Picard season 2, Seven of Nine earned a field commission from Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), with 20 years of Fenris Ranger experience qualifying Seven for the rank of Commander.

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5, episode 14, "In Purgatory's Shadow", Lieutenant Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) accompanies "plain, simple tailor" Garak on a trip to the Gamma Quadrant. On the way, Garak asks if Worf would be willing to sponsor Garak's admission to Starfleet Academy. Worf is understandably skeptical, but Garak points...

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is famous for its large cast of compelling characters from all different walks of life who have different relationships to the United Federation of Planets. Nowhere in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's cast, however, are any prominent Bolians. Still, without the heroic actions of the Bolian Lieutenant (Stephen Davies) aboard the USS Saratoga, Deep Space Nine could not have existed. Although he never even gets a name, the Bolian Lieutenant is the unsung hero of Deep Space Nine's opening scene.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's series premiere, "Emissary," introduces Lt. Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) on the doomed USS Saratoga during Star Trek: The Next Generation's Battle of Wolf 359. Once it's clear that there is no hope for the Saratoga, Sisko tries to rescue his son Jake (Cirroc Lofton) and wife Jennifer (Felecia M. Bell) from the flaming ruins of his cabin.

Anson Mount is a great hire for Star Trek. He plays a conflicted, yet optimistic Christopher Pike to perfection. He's owned the role the same way that people like Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, and others have owned theirs. He's been the best part of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds since the show began (and was the best part of Star Trek: Discovery while he was on it).

He truly has found the role of a lifetime. The role of Christopher Pike will forever be synonymous with Mount, even though he wasn't the first person to play the role. However, things almost went against him and us as fans. Apparently, Mount wasn't just up for the role of Pike in season two of Star Trek: Discovery. He was apparently trying to land the role of Gabriel Lorca in season one.

Lorca of course went to famed actor Jason Issacs,...

Part of Star Trek's classic introduction to Tribbles in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 15, "The Trouble With Tribbles", was set up by Star Trek: Discovery. In "The Trouble With Tribbles", Captain James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) USS Enterprise crew meets Klingon Captain Koloth's (William Campbell) crew on Space Station K-7. Instead of attacking the station, the Klingons claim to want shore leave. A Klingon plot to sabotage the Federation settlement on Sherman's Planet is unveiled and subsequently thwarted when an outbreak of mass-replicating Tribbles consumes a shipment of poisoned quadrotriticale grain destined for the colony.

Star Trek: The Original Series' incident on K-7 alerts Kirk to a very important fact: Klingons do not like Tribbles, and Tribbles do not like Klingons. That mutual hatred points towards the true mastermind behind the poisoned quadrotriticale: Arne Darvin (Charlie Brill), assistant to the Federation Undersecretary in charge of agriculture.

One of the biggest questions surrounding Star Trek: Section 31 has been answered. Directed by Olautunde Osunanmi and written by Craig Sweeney, Star Trek: Section 31 premieres Friday, January 24, 2025, on Paramount+. The first Star Trek movie made for streaming on Paramount+, Star Trek: Section 31 is headlined by Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh, whose antiheroine, Emperor Philippa Georgiou, rejoins Section 31 in a different era of Star Trek's timeline.

Section 31 was created by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and its season 6 introduction was immediately controversial. A secret black ops agency seemed to contradict the lofty ideals of the United Federation of Planets. Yet Section 31 was an enduring concept. It exists in the alternate Kelvin Timeline of Star Trek Into Darkness, and details about its earlier incarnations were revealed in the prequels Star Trek: Enterprise, set in the 22nd century, and Star Trek: Discovery, which took place in the 23rd century during its first two seasons.

Introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation's 24th century era, the Maquis were more complex than many Star Trek villains. Like many science fiction sagas, Star Trek often drew clear lines between good guys and bad guys. Captains like James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) had strong morals even outside of the rules and regulations of Starfleet. However, as the television landscape changed and storytelling styles shifted, morally gray characters and antiheroes became more commonplace.

With the premiere of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1993 and Star Trek: Voyager in 1995, the world of Star Trek: The Next Generation expanded and became more interconnected. The Maquis were introduced on DS9, for example, but the resistance group played a major role in storylines on both Tng and Voyager. Members of the Maquis came from all over the Alpha Quadrant, united by their common goal to oppose the Cardassian Union.

Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) came of age on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and here's how old the son of Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) was throughout DS9's 7 seasons and beyond. Jake was a series regular Star Trek: Deep Space Nine cast member, although he only appeared in 71 episodes. Wary of the mistakes Star Trek: The Next Generation made with Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), DS9's writers carefully developed Jake, turning him into a lovable, bright, and well-adjusted teenager who found his niche as a writer.

As a boy, Jake came aboard Deep Space Nine with his father, then-Commander Sisko, following the death of his mother, Jennifer Sisko (Felecia M. Bell) during Star Trek: The Next Generation's Battle of Wolf 359. Jake is the only human main character in a Star Trek series who never joined Starfleet. Instead, Jake became a reporter from behind enemy lines during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine...

Star Trek has introduced seven amazing series-leading captains in its nearly 60-year history. While most Star Trek shows feature ensemble casts rather than focusing on one singular character, Star Trek's various captains often take center stage. When Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) set out to explore strange new worlds in Star Trek: The Original Series, he laid the groundwork for every starship captain who would follow him. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) of Star Trek: The Next Generation was a very different kind of captain from Kirk, but he became just as beloved.

Following Picard, Captains Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) faced very different challenges from their predecessors, but they both rose to the occasion. On Star Trek: Enterprise, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) was retconned as the first Captain of the Enterprise, helping to found the United Federation of Planets. With its premiere...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 6 - "Of Gods and Angles"

Star Trek: Voyager proved that one of Starfleet's enemies in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine could be reformed. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Maquis were a guerrilla resistance group started by civilians whose homes had been annexed by the Cardassians and disillusioned former Starfleet officers. The Federation considered the Maquis traitors, and vehemently pursued their capture. DS9's Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) had a particularly difficult time with Starfleet officer turned Maquis fighter Michael Eddington (Kenneth Marshall), and infamously resorted to poisoning the atmosphere of Eddington's safe haven in order to draw him out.

Captain Kathryn Janeway's (Kate Mulgrew) first mission as captain of the USS Voyager was to recover the Maquis raider ValJean from the Badlands after leaving DS9. When both Commander Chakotay's (Robert Beltran) ValJean and Voyager were swept to the Delta Quadrant,...

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine wasn't the typical Star Trek fare. In fact, many fans were skeptical of a show that called itself Star Trek but was set on a space station instead of on a starship. Not to mention, when the show premiered, it was considerably darker than its predecessors. Though Star Trek: The Next Generation took on some heavy topics, Deep Space Nine went even deeper, and for writer, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, he didn't understand the show at first.

For Wolfe, the show wasn't as edgy as it was pitched to him, according to a report by Giant Freakin' Robot, and he was disappointed at first. He didn't think the characters were really being driven. Then one episode changed it all. That episode was the eighth of the first season, "Dax." In it, Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) is accused of a murder her previous host, Curzon, was supposedly responsible for.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine never jumped to feature films, but a movie crossing over DS9 and Star Trek: The Next Generation could have jumpstarted the Star Trek film franchise after Star Trek: Insurrection. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine aired for 7 seasons in syndication from 1993-1999. DS9 didn't achieve the popularity of Star Trek: The Next Generation, while Star Trek: Voyager was considered as Tng's heir apparent by Paramount. After Tng, no other Star Trek TV series leaped to movie theaters. A DS9 and Tng crossover was a missed opportunity.

1996's Star Trek: First Contact was the apex of the Star Trek: The Next Generation movies. Captain Jean-Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart) big-screen battle with the Borg grossed over $92 million and was a smash with audiences. 1998's follow-up, Star Trek: Insurrection, was a downturn, earning only $70 million and disappointing fans. It would be four more years until the final Tng movie,...

Best known for playing Lt. Commander Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, actor Michael Dorn also directed four episodes of Star Trek. Dorn is one of many Star Trek: DS9 actors who became directors. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Avery Brooks (Captain Benjamin Sisko) and Rene Auberjonois (Constable Odo) each directed nine episodes of DS9. Tng's LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), and Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Tom Paris) and Roxann Dawson (Lt. B'Elanna Torres) have all become successful television directors.

Many Star Trek actors, including Dorn, got their chance to direct episodes because Star Trek producer Rick Berman's "Director's School" let interested actors from 1990s Star Trek shows get hands-on experience as directors. The Star Trek Director's School was inspired by Dorn's Star Trek: The Next Generation cast mate Jonathan Frakes (Commander William Riker), who...

Used on more than a few occasions over the years, Star Trek's best weapon to beat Klingons probably isn't what you think it is. Klingons have been iconic Starfleet enemies since Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 26, "Errand of Mercy", which saw Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) defend the Organians from Klingon Commander Kor (John Colicos). Unlike Starfleet phasers, Klingon disruptors have no stun setting, proving their thirst for blood. Time and again, Kirk's Klingon enemies match the USS Enterprise captain's battle strategy, starship armaments, and taste for revengebest served cold, of course.

Klingons are redefined by Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, with an emphasis on rituals and honor that changes the Klingons' favored weapons. Instead of carrying disruptors like Tos Klingons, 24th-century Klingon combat is defined by bladed weapons, like the two-handed bat'leth, the smaller mek'leth, and the d'k tagh dagger.

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 5 - "Starbase 80?!"Star Trek: Lower Decks has its own version of Deep Space Nine, and it's the worst starbase in the United Federation of Planets - Starbase 80. In its fifth and final season on Paramount+, Star Trek: Lower Decks sees the USS Cerritos investigating rifts in space that open into alternate Star Trek timelines. However, a malfunction of the Cerritos' navigation processor forces Captain Carol Freeman's (Dawnn Lewis) California Class starship to dock at the dreaded Starbase 80 for repairs.

In Star Trek, Federation starbases are usually havens for starships and their weary Starfleet crews. Months or years deployed in the final frontier take a toll, and starships often need repairs, upgrades, and resupplies, while Starfleet Officers also require shore leave. While most Federation starbases are sleek and comfortable, Deep Space Nine was an outlier as it was a retrofitted former Cardassian mining facility orbiting Bajor.

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5

Lieutenant Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) growing facial hair in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 is hilarious, and it's a running joke that parodies how Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) gradually changed his appearance on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In Star Trek: Lower Decks' final season on Paramount+, the USS Cerritos investigates dimensional rifts that lead to alternate Star Trek timelines. Meeting his confident, bearded doppelganger inspired Boimler to grow a beard of his own.

When Star Trek: Deep Space Nine introduced Commander Benjamin Sisko, he had a full head of hair and was clean-shaven. Avery Brooks' most famous prior role was the bald, goateed Hawk in Spenser for Hire and A Man Called Hawk. Paramount Studios didn't want their 24th century Star Trek leading man to resemble a modern-day character so Brooks was given a mandate to adjust his look. Yet...

The Captain Pike Trekkies see on "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is a very different Captain Pike they saw in the original 1966 "Star Trek" pilot "The Cage." The latter Pike was played by Jeffrey Hunter as an angry, passionate figure, quick to lose his temper, and only able to solve problems through sheer force of enraged will. The Pike as seen in the 2009 "Star Trek" movie was played by Bruce Greenwood had a scene so "hideously uncomfortable" that we're shocked he agreed to return for the sequel. The newer Pike, as played by Anson Mount, is a lighthearted, gregarious figure, eager to engage in jocular diplomacy and greet any and all members of his staff into his quarters for breakfast. The Hunter Pike seems like he would be an intimidating boss. The Mount Pike is the boss you always wish you'd get whenever you start a new job. 

Indeed, if...

A recent trend of articles has popped up across the net recently talking about the "proposed' eight season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Never an actual idea that was considered, but the former showrunner for the series, Ira Steven Behr revealed on the 2018 documentary "What We Leave Behind" an idea that he came up with alongside fellow DS9 writers.

They hammered out an episode for the eight-season concept, and Behr revealed it in the documentary. It'd essentially see the death of Nog, the return of Benjamin Sisko to the station, and a war with the Jem'Hadar. The idea has some legs, but with how popular Nog and his actor Aaron Eisenberg were, it seems like a tough sell. Especially since he was still very much alive in 2015.

Eisenberg has since passed away, dying in 2019, making the crux of the episode a bit more difficult to pull off now. Plus,...

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ended in 1999 on a cliffhanger of sorts with Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) leaving his wife and unborn child to join the Prophets. Though he promised to return, that promise has gone unfullfilled, unless you count Idw Publishing's current series of comics that has not only brought Sisko back but given him adventures galore.

In 2015, however, there was a different kind of adventure worked out in idea form. Ida Steven Behr, the showrunner for the series, gathered his team of writers, which included Rene Echevarria, Hans Beimler, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and Ronald D. Moore, and together, they plotted out what could have been the first episode of the 8th season of Deep Space Nine. [Via Screenrant] On the Deep Space Nine documentary, What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Deep Space Nine, Behr revealed what they envisioned.

The new series was set twenty years after the...

Five years ago, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine teased season 8, which, unfortunately, can't happen. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ended in 1999 after seven seasons, wrapping up the saga of the space station commanded by Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). Unlike Star Trek: The Next Generation, DS9 did not move on to become a movie franchise. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's cast went their separate ways, but the series lives on in streaming and found an even greater appreciation from audiences 30 years after it first aired.

In 2019, 455 Films released What We Left Behind: Looking Back At Deep Space Nine. The documentary was spearheaded by DS9's showrunner Ira Steven Behr and reassembled most of the show's actors and creative team to look back on the triumphs and controversies of Deep Space Nine. What We Left Behind's centerpiece was Behr gathering his core writers, Rene Echevarria, Hans Beimler, Robert Hewitt Wolfe,...