Continuing my tradition to watch all Star Trek series (in reverse chronological order) I just finished Deep Space 9 from start to finish. Aside from it being Babylon 5 in the Star Trek universe, tarnished with an overly-dramatic lead actor, and having every damn episode be some parallel to a historical event from Earth’s history, it wasn’t that bad of a show. I think all the actors fit the role perfectly except Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko. He would have made an awesome Sisko if he wasn’t so overly theatrical in his actions and dialogue. Every time he was on screen it was as if he was at a stage rehearsal. The way he emphasized words, the way he lifted his hand by his face and clasped three fingers together as if to emphasize a point (sort of like an upside down “mama mia” gesture)…it was all so fake. It was the most unnatural piece of acting I’ve ever seen. I have nothing against the guy, but his performance in the role was equivalent to the performance of a high school theater student.

Anyway, I think the following clip sums up the entire show. It is of Gul Dukat (who by the way was probably the best character and best performed character in the whole show. Marc Alaimo was absolutely phenomenal) doing a rant from the season 6 episode “Waltz.” Can you guess which famous historical character he is portraying?

At the very least I can say that I grew to love all characters in the show. The crew did a good job developing them (with the exception of Bashir. Midway through the series they go, “Oh, guess what, you’re genetically enhanced”) but Alexander Siddig did a good job staying true to the character all the way through. Special kudos to Armin Shimmerman for redefining the entire Ferengi race and society with his performance as Quark. Aside from that, it was a warm and fuzzy show that was loosely hashed together but set forth the future of the Trek universe with the whole Dominion/Cardassian war.