star trek space pimp

Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Harry Mudd

Thief, swindler, con man, liar, rogue, intergalactic matchmaker and importer of Klingon coffee.

Harcourt Fenton Mudd is one of Star Trek's most memorable characters. He is a, to quote Captain James T Kirk: "Thief, swindler and con man, liar and rogue". A forerunner to other intergalactic chancers like Quark, Harcourt (Harry for short) first appeared in the very third episode of The Original Series, Mudd's Women. He's introduced as a human trafficker who arrives with a group of beautiful women whom he refers to as cargo, rather than crew. It might sound like a typically sexist plot for an old TV show, but the network themselves were concerned about the portrayal of a space pimp.

However, Roger C Carmel's performance is so overblown and extravagant that he can't help but be charming in a roguish way. And, ultimately, he always gets punished for his schemes, even if he does connive a way out. The character appeared in future episodes of both TOS and The Animated Series.

Decades later, the character returned for two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery, attempting to steal the titular ship's revolutionary spore drive by triggering a catastrophic time loop. It was quite an elaborate scheme by the con man, who perhaps learned his lesson and settled for more low-key scamming by the time he met Kirk and the Enterprise crew. Here are 10 things that you may not know about the Star Trek villain.

10. Roger C Carmel Also Played A Niche Batman Villain

Harry Mudd isn't the campest antagonist played by actor Roger C Carmel in a much-loved 1960s TV show. That honor goes to Colonel Gumm, the foreman of the Pink Chips Stamp Factory. Like many of the 60s Batman villains to face Adam West, he had a very niche criminal interest - stamps. His main crime was the counterfeiting of stamps and he also had various stamp-themed implements of torture like the Enlarged Perforating and Coiling Machine, presumably designed to turn Batman and Robin into stamps.

Colonel Gumm appeared in Batman a year after Carmel's first appearance as Harry Mudd in Star Trek. It's likely that it was Carmel's performance as Mudd that caught the attention of Batman casting agents. Both Mudd and Gumm were inherently dishonest men with a keen interest in financial gain, be it stamps or latinum.

Unlike Mudd, however, Gumm didn't stick around for long. The character only made one appearance in the Adam West and Burt Ward series and has never appeared again. However, with Nicolas Cage stating an interest in playing a similar niche villain, Egghead, in a future Batman movie, perhaps Rainn Wilson or Greg Grunberg could revive the role of Colonel Gumm opposite Robert Pattinson's Batman.

Citizen of the Universe, Film Programmer, Writer, Podcaster, Doctor Who fan and a gentleman to boot. As passionate about Chinese social-realist epics as I am about dumb popcorn movies.

Star Trek (TV Series)

Mudd's women (1966).

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My Star Trek Reviews

Jeremy A Perron's multiple year mission to complete an interesting and witty review for every Star Trek series, every movie, and maybe branch out into my novel collection. Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers beware!

Saturday, June 11, 2022

The space pimp returns and this time he is pimping everybody.

Episode Title:   Mudd's Passion

Air Date: 11/10/1973

Written by Stephen Kandel

Directed by Hal Sutherland

Cast: William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk     Leonard Nimoy as Commander Spock         DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”               James Doohan   as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”, Lieutenant Arex, unnamed Human Miner, and unnamed Male Ursinoid Miner          George Takei   as Lieutenant   Hikaru Sulu               Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura and unnamed Female Ursinoid Miner        Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel, Lieutenant M’Ress, and Lieutenant Lora             Roger C. Carmel as Harry Mudd          

Ships: USS Enterprise NCC-1701, Copernicus NCC-1701/12

Planets: Motherlode and unnamed rocky planet

My Spoiler filled summary and review: The Enterprise begins its adventure in charge of a police action.   The crew of the Federation’s finest starship are to locate and arrest their old “friend” Harry Mudd for a boatload of charges, up to and including trying to sell Starfleet Academy.   They find Mudd on the planet Motherlode, a nice name for a mining colony.   There the conman is trying to sell a type of “love potion.”   These crystals when consumed makes anyone you touch fall madly in love with you.   The colonists all seem interested so instead of telling them that brain washing people romance and sex is wrong, Spock exposes Mudd as fake by showing them that the woman who Mudd uses a test subject isn’t even real but an illusion brought on by a creature that Mudd has with him.   With the mob now angry and wanting to kill him, Mudd agrees to be taking back to the ship.

In the brig Mudd cons Chapel, who he knows has the hots for Spock, to experiment with the love crystal. She decides to give it a try, and while she is doing that Mudd begins to make his escape.   Chapel’s attempt to woo Spock with this special drug apparently fails, so she decides to confront Mudd and realizes he is gone.   Chapel tracks him to the shuttle bay and the two of them struggle.   While they are struggling some love crystals fall and break with their powered heading into the ventilation shaft. Mudd overpowers Chapel, kidnaps her, steals a shuttlecraft, and heads for a planet nearby.

  On the bridge they notice two things: the stolen shuttlecraft and the love drug has defiantly worked on Mr. Spock.   As serious as the situation is Spock’s anger at the loss of Nurse Chapel goes way beyond character.   Kirk decides to take Spock with him on the landing party to retrieve Nurse Chapel and arrest Mudd.   He justifies this as a way to calm things down.   However just as they are leaving the love drug is working its way through the ship’s air causing the crew to go crazy with lust.   Scotty gets freaky with the cat lady, McCoy is hitting on a young woman, and no one is attending to their duties.

The episode ends with Mudd being shipped off to prison, and the entire crew dealing with a love hangover that caused everyone to despise the person they thought that they were in love with. All is well that ends well.

Additional thoughts: Love is one of the best and most frustrating things about life. One of the worst parts about it is how it doesn’t make too much sense.   There is no way to predict how it turns out.   You fall in love with someone who you see as being perfect for you, and by what that person says they want you would be the perfect fit for them too.   However, for some reason they aren’t that into you.   They have dated people like you, in terms of looks and personality, both before and after you took your shot.   Yet, they weren’t interested in you.   Many of us have gotten a break up notice where your now Ex is explaining how wonderful you are and hope you find someone but they are just not ‘feeling it.’   The old “it’s not you it’s me” line.   Wouldn’t it just be nice just to be able to skip the confusion and magically just wish there to love where you think it should be. The concept of “love potion” is an old fantasy and plays often in fiction. There are of course some clear problematic elements of this.   Using a form of mind control to create love is really a dark recipe for disaster.   If you are using mind control to create love then it really isn’t love, is it?

Speaking of love isn’t it interesting that love is the game that Mudd is always playing.   The first time we meet him, in “ Mudd’s Women ,” he is helping some women catfish some rich men with the help of drugs to make the women appear more beautiful, and in “ I, Mudd ” he is leading a planet with a great many androids who have kindly built some lady androids for Mudd’s amusement. Now he is trying to sell a cheap love potion and just like before what he is selling does not meet the eye.

My favorite scene in this episode is a love sick McCoy trying to hit on a young officer, "I've saved just about everybody on this here ship. If the Enterprise had a heart, I'd save her, too. Now, let's talk about your heart, my dear."   In addition to that I must confess I don’t have a lot of affection for Spirk slash stories.   Death of the author and all but I have never seen much sense in trying to pretend that Kirk and Spock were lovers.   This only works if you highlight certain scenes out of context and ignore everything else about the characters.   This not to say that people who like that sort of thing are in any way ‘bad Star Trek’ fans.   If stories like that give you joy then by all means continue to enjoy them.    I am just saying they never worked for me.   However, there is a real Spirk moment on the planet when both guys are affected with the love crystals.

On one final note, does anyone know why they didn’t use the tractor beam on the shuttlecraft.   I kept shouting for them to use it and was slightly frustrated when they didn’t.   Oh well, no episode is ever truly perfect.

FINAL GRADE 3 of 5

3 comments:

Yay! I've found someone ELSE who dislikes Spirk shipping! I thought I was the only one! :D

No, there are many. I don't identify with the "hate it" crowd, I just find it kind of annoying.

I'm the same. :)

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

Comic Book Review – Star Trek: New Visions – “The Survival Equation″

September 9, 2015 by Villordsutch

Villordsutch reviews Star Trek: New Visions – “The Survival Equation″…

Andrea, Ruk, Exo III — names that conjure grim memories for James Kirk. What, then, happens when the killer androids start showing up by the dozen? Plus, a special guest star who’s bound to surprise!

To get it on record, as I know what is bound to appear soon, the past couple of Star Trek Photoplays I’ve truly enjoyed, and I’ve said so here at Flickering Myth.  I thought “ Resistance “  was “Quite Excellent”, and felt that, “John Byrne has given [the Borg] back a boost of power and mystery”.  Then in the last issue, “ 1971/4860.2 “ Byrne actually took a Star Trek story “ Assignment: Earth ” which I wasn’t a fan of (one that I originally found extremely dull), but I highlighted that John had – in his tale 1971  – “…given life to lifelessness.” As said, I do want to make these points before I proceed with this review.

The Survival Equation is an extension of the episode “ What Are Little Girls Made Of? ”.  With Kirk and McCoy arriving on Wrigley’s Pleasure Planet, Kirk instantly notices the android Andrea from the aforementioned episode.  Transporting her to the Enterprise against her wishes, to check she is an android, Nurse Chapel recounts the story to Dr. McCoy.  Shortly after an examination of Andrea. Kirk and Co. return to the planet to investigate where Andrea came from,  and in the process they discover that the Space-Pimp has sixteen copies of Andrea, with Kirk taking them all into custody.  It’s here a furious Space-Pimp lets it be known that he’s not happy about this and he has the transaction recorded between him and Kirk’s brother, who is very much alive.  The story continues on Exo III with an appearance once again from the space con-artist Harry Mudd and numerous androids.

Four issues ago we met Harry in “ Made out of Mudd ” and once again he’s wheeled out to cause confusion in this tiny quadrant for Kirk and Co.  The con man with the face of the most well-known Captain in Starfleet doesn’t make it to the Rehab Colony, yet nobody thought of looking for him or at least letting Kirk know there is trouble out there for him!?  This story – if you’re not picking up my vibrations – isn’t overly great, and if anything it’s a bit of a chore.  We seem to trudge along at tediously slow pace, until Mudd arrives and then you feel slightly cheated as this card was played four issues ago. Thinking even harder, a duplicate Kirk was played also back in issue #1 “ The Mirror, Cracked ”.  JB seems to really love playing the Double Kirk card trick.

What really finishes this issue off is the look of issue #8.  I have stated in my previous reviews that John is becoming more proficient with his photo manipulation skills. Also watching his forum posts regarding his designs, I am truly taken back by them, along with his subtle additions we don’t even notice.  However, here in this issue I’m unsure what’s gone wrong?  It looks extremely rushed, characters looked badly pasted into panels, eye-levels are wrong, no time appears to have been taken to blend characters in with any sort of care, heads are smudged to a severe level on some fight / motion scenes, characters appear to have had pieces sliced from them in some panels along with heads occasionally oddly kinked, the bizarre odd power source looks vulgar and the four figures poorly pasted underneath make it appear even more so.  The strange thing is I recently watched JB complete work on a holographic representation of the NCC-1701 and I’m more than aware he’s capable of pulling off some excellent computer generated art.  This feels like one John’s early photoplays, when he was still finding his way around the toolbox, not a more recent release.

I’m sorry to say that The Survival Equation isn’t a photoplay to show as a piece of John Byrne’s excellent work.  If you did plan on introducing a friend to New Visions step back to issues #6 and #7.

Villordsutch likes his sci-fi and looks like a tubby Viking according to his children. Visit his website and follow him on  Twitter .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&t=1145&v=qvTY7eXXIMg

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Benjamin Sisko

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Benjamin Lafayette "Ben" Sisko was a well-known Human male Starfleet commanding officer who was perhaps best-known for his seven-year assignment aboard starbase Deep Space 9 in the Bajor sector . After discovering the Bajoran wormhole , he became known to the Bajoran people as the Emissary of the Prophets . He played a critical role as a strategist and front line commander in the Dominion War . ( DS9 : " Emissary ", " In the Hands of the Prophets ", " Accession ", " The Search, Part I ", " Favor the Bold ", " The Siege of AR-558 ", " What You Leave Behind ")

• 1 Childhood
• 2 Starfleet Academy
• 3.1 Early postings
• 3.2 Wolf 359
• 3.3 Recovery
• 4.1 Life on the frontier
• 4.2 The Maquis
• 4.3 Contact with the Dominion
• 4.4 Rising pressures
• 4.5 The Dominion War
• 5.1 Initial doubts
• 5.2 Following destiny's path
• 6 Alternate timeline and realities
• 7.1 Hobbies
• 7.2 Relationships
• 7.4.1 Academy friends
• 7.4.3 Kira Nerys
• 7.4.4 Miles O'Brien
• 7.4.6 The crew and residents of Deep Space 9
• 7.4.7 William Ross
• 8 Memorable quotes
• 9 Holograms
• 10 Chronology
• 11.1 See also
• 11.2 Appearances
• 11.3.1 Casting
• 11.3.2 Characterization
• 11.3.3 Sisko as the Emissary
• 11.4 Reception
• 11.5 Documentary
• 11.6 Apocrypha
• 11.7 External links

Childhood [ ]

Sisko was born in 2332 in New Orleans , North America , Earth , to Joseph and Sarah Sisko . Sarah, however, had been possessed by a Prophet – a non-linear alien species which lived in the then-undiscovered Bajoran wormhole – in order to ensure the birth of Benjamin, who would later become the Emissary of the Prophets.

A year later , the Prophet returned control of Sarah's body, and she soon left her son and husband. Joseph soon remarried, and his new wife raised Benjamin as her own. ( DS9 : " Image in the Sand ") She later gave birth to his younger half-sister Judith and two half-brothers . ( DS9 : " Past Tense, Part I ", " Homefront ", " Paradise ")

Sisko's, owned by Benjamin's father

During his childhood , Sisko and his siblings were taught to cook by their father, who believed that replicated food was lacking. Joseph owned his own restaurant , Sisko's Creole Kitchen , where his children worked in the summers . ( DS9 : " Homefront ") Joseph called his children his " taste testers " and insisted that they all eat dinner together. ( DS9 : " A Man Alone ") He also grew his own vegetables and would send his sons out to the garden to pick them. ( DS9 : " Paradise ")

As a teenager , Sisko had a crush on Neffie Beumont and later dated Zoey Phillips for three years. ( DS9 : " Paradise Lost ")

Starfleet Academy [ ]

Sisko joined Starfleet Academy in 2350 , where he studied to be an engineer . During his first week there, he became homesick to where he would beam back home to New Orleans every night for dinner with his family, but he eventually got over his homesickness. ( DS9 : " Explorers ", " Homefront ", " Paradise Lost ")

During his sophomore year, he performed his field study at Starbase 137 . He later considered it to be one of the best experiences of his life. ( DS9 : " The Ascent ")

During his years at the Academy, Ben became friends with Calvin Hudson and Laporin . ( DS9 : " The Maquis, Part I ", " The Maquis, Part II ", " Apocalypse Rising ")

Sisko also became the captain of his Academy wrestling team in 2351 . ( DS9 : " Q-Less ", " Apocalypse Rising ") He once challenged a Vulcan , Solok , to a match after a few drinks at an off-campus bar called The Launching Pad . Already impaired with alcohol against an opponent three times stronger than himself, he lost, was humiliated, and resented Solok for decades. ( DS9 : " Take Me Out to the Holosuite ")

On their graduation day from the Academy – the first day they donned their officers' uniforms – Sisko and Hudson both swore that they would be starship captains by the time they were thirty, and admirals by forty. ( DS9 : " The Maquis, Part II ") Sisko did not, in fact, attain rank of captain until he was thirty-nine, the same year he also became a starship commander. ( DS9 : " The Search, Part I ", " The Adversary ")

Early career [ ]

Early postings [ ].

Sisko meets Jennifer at Gilgo Beach in 2354

After graduation in 2354 , while waiting for his first assignment, Benjamin met a woman named Jennifer at Gilgo Beach . As the year pressed on, the two fell in love , were married and moved to Benjamin's new posting at New Berlin . Together with Cal and Gretchen Hudson , they attended the local Mazurka Festival where Benjamin was remembered for dancing in lederhosen . ( DS9 : " Emissary ", " The Maquis, Part I ")

While he was still "a raw young ensign ", Sisko first met Curzon Dax at Pelios Station , and thereafter, Curzon took Sisko "under his wing " and became the young officer's mentor . Years later, Sisko recalled that Curzon " taught me to appreciate life in ways I'd never thought about before. He taught me about art and science and diplomacy , " adding that " whatever sense of honor I might have today, he nurtured. " ( DS9 : " Dax ")

Curzon's next host, Jadzia Dax would recall in 2371 during the construction of Sisko's lightship that the last time she had seen Sisko so excited and caught up in something was when the Siskos decided to have a baby, and he busied himself with creating a nursery for their future child which turned out well, including a starscape on the ceiling . The child, Jake , would be born in 2355 . ( DS9 : " Explorers ")

Sisko affectionately dubbed Curzon Dax " Old Man " and continued to use the name for both Jadzia and later Ezri .

Later in their careers together, Jadzia once reminisced in 2374 , " whatever happened to that young, callow ensign I used to know? The one who used to turn to me for advice all the time? You know, the one with hair ? " His response was " I grew up. " ( DS9 : " You Are Cordially Invited ")

The following year , Ezri Dax told Kira Nerys to remind her to tell the story about a drunken ensign she once escorted home, specifically, following a visit to " a bar on Bolarus and a certain young Mister Sisko. " ( DS9 : " Field of Fire ")

Curzon had to deal with Sisko's temper at times, including when Sisko was in an argument with an Argosian lieutenant , during which a drink was thrown in his face. Sisko intended to finish the fight, but Curzon held him back, eventually punching him in the jaw just to restrain him. He wore a ring which left a scar he held for many years later. ( DS9 : " Dax ")

As Sisko continued to serve with Curzon, he later recalled how his mentor " used to take perverse pleasure in assigning me to take care of VIP guests. " According to Sisko, he "graduated" from those assignments after he hit one of the guests, during " a simple misunderstanding over [the VIP's] attempt to coax a young female ensign to his quarters against her will. " ( DS9 : " The Forsaken ")

Further among their adventures was the time they were cornered by a party of hostile Kaleans on Rochani III . ( DS9 : " Dramatis Personae ")

Following his promotion to Lieutenant , Sisko later recalled, " it took me a while to get used to being called " sir " by my friends who were still ensigns. " ( DS9 : " Accession ")

During the late 2350s , Sisko and Dax served together for many months aboard the USS Livingston , along with another well-remembered officer named Kustanovich . ( DS9 : " Invasive Procedures ")

Sisko later served on the USS Okinawa during the Tzenkethi War . ( DS9 : " The Adversary ") At the time, he was more interested in engineering and ship design than command . However, Captain Leyton noticed potential in young Sisko and promoted him to lieutenant commander , making him the ship's executive officer . Leyton later recalled Sisko's being " a damn fine [executive officer]. " ( DS9 : " Homefront ", " Paradise Lost ")

During one encounter with three Tzenkethi raiders , while aboard the Okinawa , the enemy vessels fled into a nearby asteroid belt . Commander Sisko told Captain Leyton it was risky to pursue them, but was overruled by his commanding officer . Years later , Sisko admitted that going after the Tzenkethi was the right thing to do. ( DS9 : " Paradise Lost ")

Wolf 359 [ ]

Massacre by the Borg

Sisko later transferred to the USS Saratoga , where he also served as the first officer. Both Jennifer and Jake lived with him aboard the vessel.

In early 2367 , the ship was operating close to Earth, and was called to join a fleet at Wolf 359 to defend the Sol system from a Borg attack. The Battle of Wolf 359 became a disaster for Starfleet, with thirty-nine of the forty starships assembled there destroyed. The Borg damaged the Saratoga , forcing the crew to abandon ship. Sisko found his son and wife in the family's quarters, but his wife had been killed in the attack. He was forced to leave her body behind as the ship suffered a warp core breach , and assisted the other officers in evacuating both crew and civilians to the escape pods .

As late as 2369 , Sisko blamed Jennifer's death on Jean-Luc Picard , who had been assimilated by the Borg as Locutus of Borg and had carried out the massacre at Wolf 359. ( DS9 : " Emissary ")

Recovery [ ]

Sisko watches as the Borg destroy the Saratoga

Sisko was faced with the loss of his wife and raising his son alone. This left Sisko on the verge of resigning his commission . He intended to work on Earth, constructing orbital habitats , but struggled with the decision to leave. ( DS9 : " The Way of the Warrior ")

He eventually found an outlet for his pain in a new posting at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on Mars . ( DS9 : " Emissary ") There, Sisko worked on the prototype USS Defiant – the first in what was to be a fleet of warships to defend the Federation from the Borg. After work on the project slowed, and design flaws became apparent, the project was mothballed. ( DS9 : " The Search, Part I ", " Defiant ") It was also around this time, in 2367, that Sisko attended a Starfleet briefing on Q . ( DS9 : " Q-Less ")

As he was contemplating his next move, his former captain, Leyton, nominated Sisko for a command position. Promoted to commander , he was assigned to Bajor , original home to the Prophets who had caused his birth. There, Sisko was to command the old ore processing station Terok Nor, built by the Cardassians during their Occupation of Bajor , then abandoned as part of their recent withdrawal from the system. Under Federation control, the station was newly christened Deep Space 9 . It was to be Sisko's responsibility to help prepare the Bajorans for entry into the Federation.

Sisko is briefed by Captain Picard

Arriving on DS9 in early 2369 , Sisko was briefed by Jean-Luc Picard, whom he still blamed for his wife's death. At this point, Sisko told Picard he intended to resign, and that Starfleet should probably look for a replacement. However, for the time being, he would do his duty as assigned and assumed command of the station. Sisko's crew slowly arrived, and it was then that he met his future friends, Bajoran liaison and second-in-command Kira Nerys , security chief Odo , Doctor Julian Bashir , and Chief of Operations Miles O'Brien . He was also reunited with his old friend Dax , living in a new host, Jadzia .

The situation on Bajor was hostile, as factions vied for control in the new Bajoran Provisional Government . Sisko learned that the only way to unite them all was to call on the Bajoran spiritual leader, Kai Opaka . Sisko met with her in a secluded area of Bajor, and she told him that he was to be the Emissary of the Prophets and was destined to discover the Celestial Temple , home of the Prophets.

Sisko returned to the station and with the help of Dax, began studying everything known about the Celestial Temple. Eventually, they discovered an unusual area in the Denorios belt . Traveling there, they were surprised to discover a stable wormhole . Dax was sent home by the Prophets, but they met Sisko, who explained linear existence to them.

While talking with the Prophets, Sisko realised he was resigning from Starfleet in a futile attempt to escape the pain he felt after his wife's death and he was forced to come to terms with her death rather than running from it. He returned to Deep Space 9, forgave Picard for his actions as Locutus, and informed him that he would stay in Starfleet. Sisko now had the difficult task of commanding a station with a large Bajoran staff, many of whom revered him as a religious figure – their prophesied Emissary. ( DS9 : " Emissary ", " The Way of the Warrior ")

Over time, Sisko and his son Jake came to view the " Cardassian monstrosity " that was Deep Space 9 as home. ( DS9 : " The Search, Part I ")

Deep Space 9 [ ]

As commander of Deep Space 9, Sisko could be somewhat unorthodox in his methods. He employed blackmail and extortion – and, early on, even physical violence – on some of the inhabitants of the station when he thought they needed persuading to do something for the benefit of the station or other inhabitants. He turned a blind eye to some of the questionable things people did on the station, too, including those by his staff, whether or not he agreed with what they were doing. When he didn't agree with an order from Starfleet, sometimes he kept to the letter of the order but worked around it if he thought there was a better approach. All of this was done because he took his job seriously, however, recognizing the importance of a vibrant space station for the protection of Bajor, and valued his staff. While sometimes at odds with his superiors, he believed in Starfleet and his uniform. ( DS9 : " Emissary ", " Captive Pursuit ", " The Siege ", " Paradise ", " Blood Oath ", " The Jem'Hadar ", " The Search, Part I ", " Second Skin ", " Business as Usual ")

Life on the frontier [ ]

Deep Space 9's position at the mouth of the Bajoran wormhole made it a key location. Exploration and business opportunities were opened to the distant Gamma Quadrant , and DS9 became a way-port for ships and people from all over the quadrant. Sisko began encouraging Bajorans and merchants on the Promenade to stay on the station, in order to shape DS9 into a thriving community. ( DS9 : " Emissary ") He even approved the formation of a school on the station. ( DS9 : " A Man Alone ")

Station Deep Space 9

Sisko had to put all his training and skills to use, as he was forced to balance command, diplomacy, his home life, and his new position as a Bajoran religious icon. Sisko made first contact with the first species to come through the wormhole from the Gamma Quadrant, the Tosk , in 2369. ( DS9 : " Captive Pursuit ") He acted as defense in the extradition trial of Dax to the Klaestron government, and proved her innocent. ( DS9 : " Dax ") He fought in the war between the Ennis and the Nol-Ennis on the planet where Kai Opaka was stranded. ( DS9 : " Battle Lines ") Constantly dealing with Jake's friendship with a Ferengi boy, Nog , proved to be a challenge. ( DS9 : " A Man Alone ", " The Nagus ") But his most difficult tasks were preparing Bajor for life in the Federation and dealing with his title as the Emissary.

During late 2369, tensions on the station rose between Bajoran and Starfleet personnel. Scientific teachings about the nature of the Bajoran wormhole conflicted with the religious beliefs of much of the Bajoran population. Sisko struggled to keep the peace, and in the process had his first meeting with Vedek Winn Adami . ( DS9 : " In the Hands of the Prophets ")

Months later, internal pressures on Bajor exploded. A terrorist group called the Alliance for Global Unity – also known as the "Circle" – tried to seize power, under disguised support from the Cardassian Union and sought to break off relations with the Federation. Starfleet was forced to abandon the station, but Sisko stayed behind, eventually proving the Cardassians' involvement with the Circle, which allowed power to quickly return to the Bajoran Provisional Government. ( DS9 : " The Homecoming ", " The Circle ", " The Siege ")

The Maquis [ ]

Sisko was also forced to deal with internal pressures within the Federation as well. When the Federation-Cardassian Treaty of 2370 caused several colonies in Federation space to come under Cardassian rule, many colonists felt the Federation had abandoned them. They formed the Maquis , a terrorist group operating out of the Badlands . Sisko's old friend Calvin Hudson was assigned as the Starfleet attaché to the colonists in the Demilitarized Zone but became a Maquis leader. Several other Starfleet officers resigned to take up the Maquis cause. Sisko felt angered by the actions of these officers and felt the pain of personal betrayal by Cal Hudson. ( DS9 : " The Maquis, Part I ", " The Maquis, Part II ")

Michael Eddington

The Maquis continued their private war for the next three years and gained more support among Federation citizens. Deep Space 9's chief of Starfleet security, Lieutenant Commander Michael Eddington , and a woman with whom Sisko had become involved, Kasidy Yates , began to aid the Maquis in their activities. When Sisko discovered this, he felt betrayed by both people. He was forced to arrest Yates, but Eddington escaped. Sisko felt that Eddington had betrayed his oath to Starfleet the same way Cal Hudson had and vowed to capture him. ( DS9 : " For the Cause ")

After eight months of tracking Eddington unsuccessfully, Starfleet took Sisko off the mission. However, he had become obsessed with finding his former officer, and continued his work to bring Eddington to justice. Sisko managed to force Eddington to surrender after he poisoned Solosos III , threatening to wage a campaign to poison every Maquis colony in the Demilitarized Zone. ( DS9 : " For the Uniform ")

Several months later, Sisko and Eddington were involved in attempting to prevent a force of cloaked missiles from reaching Cardassia , launched by the Maquis as retaliation for their losses to the Dominion . The missiles were a ruse, however, propagated by Rebecca Sullivan in order to let Eddington know that the Maquis survivors had reached Athos IV for evacuation. Sisko was able to get the Maquis off the planet in a runabout despite coming under fire from the Jem'Hadar . ( DS9 : " Blaze of Glory ")

Contact with the Dominion [ ]

In late 2370, Sisko made first contact with the Dominion in an encounter with the Jem'Hadar . This launched Sisko on a path that would define his career. The Dominion declared the Gamma Quadrant off-limits to Alpha Quadrant species, and destroyed several Starfleet ships, along with the colony on New Bajor . Sisko returned to DS9 with the realization that he had discovered a powerful and dangerous new enemy. ( DS9 : " The Jem'Hadar ")

Sisko returned to Earth to brief Starfleet on the Dominion situation. Realizing that Deep Space 9 was to be the first line of defense from a Dominion attack, Sisko convinced Starfleet Command to finish work on the mothballed USS Defiant . Sisko returned to DS9 with the new warship and entered the Gamma Quadrant on a mission to find the Founders . ( DS9 : " The Search, Part I ") During the mission, the Defiant and crew were captured by the Jem'Hadar and placed in a simulation, testing their reaction to a Dominion incursion in the Alpha Quadrant. It was discovered that the Founders were in fact Changelings , the same species as Sisko's security chief, Odo. Odo forced the Founders to release the Defiant crew, and they returned to the station. ( DS9 : " The Search, Part II ") Based on his experiences with the Dominion, Sisko's psychological evaluation became required knowledge for Vorta operatives in the Dominion. ( DS9 : " To the Death ")

Sisko's promotion was celebrated in late 2371

Following three years of commanding Deep Space 9, Sisko was given a promotion, finally attaining the rank of captain in late 2371 . Soon afterward, Sisko discovered that the Founders had begun infiltrating the Federation, posing as high-ranking officials. One Founder, disguised as an ambassador , ordered Sisko on a mission to the Tzenkethi border, and then tried to provoke a new Tzenkethi war. Sisko and crew were successful in stopping the Founder's attempt, but it became apparent that there were now Changeling infiltrators throughout the Alpha Quadrant. ( DS9 : " The Adversary ")

Rising pressures [ ]

Fears of Dominion infiltration swept the quadrant, and when the Cardassian government was overthrown by the civilian Detapa Council in 2372 , the Klingon Empire feared Changeling involvement. A large Klingon task force docked at Deep Space 9, bound for Cardassian space. Klingon Chancellor Gowron asked Sisko for Starfleet's help in invading Cardassia Prime. Sisko rejected their call for help, and the Klingons withdrew from the Khitomer Accords , ending decades of peace. Sisko now had to help the new Cardassian government survive the Klingon attack. He contacted his long-time adversary, Gul Dukat and arranged to rescue him and the new Council. He made sure, however, to test the members for possible Changeling impostors. Sisko then faced a Klingon fleet in the First Battle of Deep Space 9 until Starfleet reinforcements were imminent. Faced with a war on two sides, the Klingons backed down. However, the balance of power in the Alpha Quadrant was changing, which played right into the Dominion's hands. ( DS9 : " The Way of the Warrior ")

Leyton and Sisko

On Earth, video footage linked the bombing of the Antwerp Conference to Changeling infiltration. Sisko's knowledge of the Founders led to his brief promotion to Chief of Starfleet Security on Earth. Using Odo as a test subject, Sisko implemented many new security measures on Earth such as automated low-level phaser sweeps throughout Starfleet Headquarters . Unfortunately, his promotion was part of Sisko's former captain, now Admiral Leyton 's plan to overthrow the Federation government. Leyton misjudged Sisko's loyalties, and the coup d'état failed when Sisko and Odo exposed the plan. ( DS9 : " Homefront ", " Paradise Lost ")

Sisko surgically altered to appear Klingon

Changelings also infiltrated a high position within the Klingon Empire. In 2373 , Sisko and crew were ordered to expose the impostor. Undergoing cosmetic alterations to appear Klingon and taking the Klingon name Jodmos , son of Kobor , Sisko took Worf, Odo and O'Brien to the Klingon outpost Ty'Gokor to expose Chancellor Gowron (whom the Founders had led Odo to believe was a Founder). It was later discovered that General Martok was the Changeling. The mission was a success, and it brought the two powers closer to reconciliation. ( DS9 : " Apocalypse Rising ")

During a trip to the Gamma Quadrant that same year, Sisko took possession of a Jem'Hadar attack ship and returned the ship to Starfleet Intelligence . ( DS9 : " The Ship ") Soon afterward, the Dominion formed an alliance with the Cardassian Union, gaining a foothold in the Alpha Quadrant. They attempted to destroy Deep Space 9 and Bajor and cripple the Klingon and Federation fleets in one action, but Sisko discovered their plan and thwarted it. This new turn of events convinced the Klingon government to reinstate the Khitomer Accords, and Sisko allowed a permanent Klingon presence on the station. However, with the new Dominion presence in the Alpha Quadrant, war was inevitable. ( DS9 : " By Inferno's Light ")

The Dominion War [ ]

As Dominion fleets began coming through the wormhole on a weekly basis, Starfleet made the decision to mine the entrance to the wormhole. Sisko commanded the station during the resulting Battle of Deep Space 9 , the opening strike of the Dominion War . During the final moments of the battle, Sisko gave a speech to the station residents, telling them of his fondness for commanding the station, and promising to return. The Dominion took control of the station, but Sisko implemented a computer program which completely destroyed DS9's main computer core. Sisko retreated aboard the Defiant , leaving his prized antique baseball behind; the station's new commander, Gul Dukat, knew this was a sign from Sisko that he would eventually return. ( DS9 : " Call to Arms ")

The Dominion attacks

Sisko commanded the Defiant for the next three months, engaging in numerous battles with Jem'Hadar and Cardassian forces. Ordered to fall back to Starbase 375 , Sisko was placed in command of a mission behind enemy lines to destroy a ketracel-white storage facility. Sisko and crew traveled aboard the stolen Jem'Hadar attack ship he had acquired the year before and completed the mission. ( DS9 : " A Time to Stand ") However, their ship was destroyed, and they were stranded on a planet in Dominion space along with Jem'Hadar forces. Knowing he was beaten, the commanding Vorta, Keevan , gave Sisko his force's attack plans. Sisko was forced to massacre the Jem'Hadar troops, despite his personal objections. ( DS9 : " Rocks and Shoals ") Sisko's crew was soon rescued by General Martok and Worf aboard the IKS Rotarran . ( DS9 : " Sons and Daughters ")

Having completed his mission, Sisko was promoted to adjutant for Vice Admiral William Ross at Starbase 375, while command of the Defiant passed to Lieutenant Commander Dax. ( DS9 : " Behind the Lines ") Using his new influence in Starfleet, Sisko created a plan to retake Deep Space 9, Operation Return , and convinced Starfleet to commit its forces. After learning that the minefield around the wormhole was about to be neutralized, Sisko ordered the operation to commence immediately. ( DS9 : " Favor the Bold ") He commanded the Starfleet forces during the battle from the Defiant and made his way to DS9. Faced with an armada of Dominion ships as the minefield fell, Sisko ordered the Defiant to go down with guns blazing. In a vision from the Prophets, Sisko convinced them to stop the invading fleet, and he returned to retake the station. ( DS9 : " Sacrifice of Angels ")

Following his defeat during Operation Return and the death of his daughter, Ziyal , Gul Dukat descended into madness and was captured. He was forced to stand trial for his crimes. Captain Sisko was to testify at his trial, but their transport, the USS Honshu , was destroyed by Cardassian forces. They escaped in a shuttlecraft and crashed on a nearby planet. There, Dukat's madness intensified, and he attempted to kill Sisko. Vowing to kill every Bajoran, Dukat escaped as the Defiant rescued Sisko. Following the ordeal, Sisko vowed that from then on, " it's him or me. " ( DS9 : " Waltz ")

Sisko with Romulan Senator Vreenak

Soon afterward, Sisko hired Elim Garak to fabricate a recording designed to bring the Romulan Star Empire into the war. This plan was approved by Starfleet. Sisko struggled with the ethical implications of his actions, but in the end decided it was worth it. With the help of a few of Garak's sources, he was able to fabricate a holo-recording of the Dominion and Cardassians planning to invade Romulan space violating their nonaggression pact . He secretly invited Senator Vreenak over to DS9 to "show" him the evidence . However, Vreenak later found it was a fake and was prepared to expose this "vile deception" to the entire quadrant. A few days later, it was reported that the senator's shuttle was destroyed. Sisko confronted Garak on what he had done, but the former Obsidian Order agent pointed out that it was the only way to make the Empire think that the Dominion was responsible, with the acceptable losses of one convict , one senator and the self-respect of one Starfleet captain. As a result, the Romulans entered the war, attacking several Cardassian outposts along the Cardassian-Romulan border , and turned the odds in the Federation's favor. Sisko later recorded what happened into his personal log before deleting it. ( DS9 : " In the Pale Moonlight ")

Sisko was chosen to command the first offensive into Dominion space in late-2374. The First Battle of Chin'toka was a success, but while Sisko was away, Gul Dukat managed to close the Bajoran wormhole, cutting off Bajor from the Prophets, after having killed Jadzia Dax. Sisko felt responsible and decided to take a leave of absence to find a way to restore the wormhole. Sisko and Jake returned to New Orleans, not knowing if they would ever return to DS9. ( DS9 : " Tears of the Prophets ")

After three months on Earth, Sisko was given a vision of a woman's face in the sands of the planet Tyree . He reconstructed her face on a PADD , and Jake recognized her from a photo in which she appeared with his grandfather, Joseph, who reluctantly identified her as Sarah Sisko, Sisko's biological mother. Joseph finally told his son about his true mother, prompting Benjamin to travel to Tyree to find the meaning of his vision. He departed along with his father, Jake, and Ezri Dax , the new Dax host. ( DS9 : " Image in the Sand ") While on Tyree, Sisko discovered the Orb of the Emissary , which restored the Bajoran wormhole. He also communicated with the Prophet who had possessed his mother and learned of her true identity. Following the reopening of the wormhole, the tide of the war turned back to the Federation's favor, and Sisko returned to the station. ( DS9 : " Shadows and Symbols ")

The Defiant is destroyed

Later that year, Sisko commanded the Defiant in the Second Battle of Chin'toka . The ship was destroyed by the Dominion's new allies, the Breen Confederacy . ( DS9 : " The Changing Face of Evil ") Sisko was then given command of the USS Sao Paulo , in late 2375 , which was renamed to USS Defiant . ( DS9 : " The Dogs of War ")

Sisko then helped command the final assault into Dominion territory. The Battle of Cardassia was a success, with the help of the Cardassian Rebellion . Afterward, Sisko, Admiral Ross, and Chancellor Martok gathered in the ruins of Cardassia to celebrate. Faced with the destruction the Dominion had wrought in retaliation for the Cardassian uprising, Sisko did not feel like celebrating. He returned to the station to bid farewell to his crew before their reassignment. ( DS9 : " What You Leave Behind ")

The Emissary [ ]

Initial doubts [ ].

When Sisko first met with Kai Opaka in 2369, she surprised him by proclaiming that he would be the long-prophesied Emissary to the Prophets. He was at first skeptical of her assessment, and immediately tried to dismiss her, stating that he was simply a Starfleet officer. Any religious role in another culture would directly clash with his oath to uphold the principles of Starfleet. However, when he discovered the Bajoran wormhole and made first contact with the non-linear lifeforms the Bajorans knew as the Prophets, he became slightly less skeptical. He still rejected the role, but realized that the Prophets' ability to see outside of time must have allowed them to communicate certain information to the Bajorans. Sisko taught the Prophets about linear existence and became very important to them. They began referring to him as "The Sisko." ( DS9 : " Emissary ") The Bajorans began celebrating the arrival of the Emissary each year during their Ha'mara festival. ( DS9 : " Starship Down ")

Later that year, Sisko met Vedek Winn Adami for the first time during a Bajoran-Federation ideological conflict on the station. The Vedek, an ultra-conservative, was not sure that she believed Sisko was the Emissary. ( DS9 : " In the Hands of the Prophets ")

In 2371, Sisko was confronted by Vedek Yarka , who told him that he had discovered a prophecy in which the Emissary was involved in the destruction of the Celestial Temple. After reviewing Trakor's Third Prophecy , Sisko ignored the Vedek's warnings. He continued work on a subspace communications relay through the wormhole into the Gamma Quadrant. However, Major Kira Nerys was slowly convinced that Yarka was correct. She interpreted the prophecy as referring to three Cardassian scientists aboard the station, and a comet which was discovered near the wormhole. The comet was on a course leading it into the wormhole, causing it to collapse. Sisko stopped the comet, but inadvertently released trace amounts of silithium , which caused the wormhole to constantly remain slightly open. In the end, this chain of events actually fulfilled Trakor's prophecy, without the destruction of the wormhole as the final outcome. Sisko began to take an interest in other Bajoran prophecies, but continued his skepticism about his role as the Emissary. ( DS9 : " Destiny ")

Following destiny's path [ ]

Akorem Laan's lightship

Sisko continued walking the fine line between acknowledging the Bajoran beliefs and rejecting their admiration for him. In 2372, an ancient Bajoran lightship emerged from the wormhole carrying famed poet Akorem Laan . Akorem had apparently discovered the wormhole centuries before and had been inside it ever since. Finally able to relinquish his title, Sisko jumped at the chance to allow the poet to become the Emissary. However, when Akorem began guiding Bajor down a road incompatible with joining the Federation, Sisko decided to challenge his title. He began studying the ancient texts and realized that many of the prophecies applied to him, and not to Akorem. The two men traveled back into the wormhole and met with the Prophets, who confirmed that Sisko was in fact intended to be the Emissary. They returned Akorem to his own time, altering the timeline, but preserving everyone's memory of the previous events. Following this, Sisko slowly began to embrace his role as the Emissary. ( DS9 : " Accession ")

Sisko experiencing a threatening vision of Bajor's destruction

In mid-2373, Sisko experienced a series of pagh'tem'far s in which the location of the lost city of B'hala was revealed to him. He was also shown the destruction of Bajor after its entrance into the Federation. Following his visions, he recommended that Bajor not join the Federation at that time, which angered Starfleet Command . Sisko was forced to undergo surgery to stop the visions when they became life-threatening. ( DS9 : " Rapture ")

When Sisko entered the wormhole facing a Dominion fleet following Operation Return , the Prophets communicated with him once again. They refused to allow Sisko to die and granted the destruction of the Dominion fleet. Referring to his life as "the game", they enacted a penance and told him that though he was "of Bajor" he would find no rest there. ( DS9 : " Sacrifice of Angels ")

Sisko's morale slowly fell, and a few months later, after losing his friend Quentin Swofford , he was thinking of resigning his post. Knowing he had much work left on Bajor, the Prophets sent him another series of pagh'tem'far , in which he was shown the life of Benny Russell , a black writer on Earth in the 20th century . The trials endured by Russell allowed Sisko to reevaluate his problems, and he decided to stay on the station. ( DS9 : " Far Beyond the Stars ")

Later that year, Sisko inadvertently instigated the prophesied Reckoning , the battle between the Prophets and the Pah-wraiths . His son was possessed by a Kosst Amojan and Major Kira was taken over by a Prophet. The outcome of the battle was indefinite due to interference by Kai Winn. ( DS9 : " The Reckoning ")

Sisko fulfils his destiny in the Bajoran Fire Caves

Following the release of a Pah-wraith by Dukat into the Orb of Contemplation in 2374, Sisko was confronted with visions of his biological mother. He traveled to Tyree and discovered the Orb of the Emissary , which reopened the wormhole and the Orbs. ( DS9 : " Image in the Sand ", " Shadows and Symbols ")

Sisko embraces his destiny

Sisko was led to the Bajoran Fire Caves following the victory at the Battle of Cardassia , where he engaged in a final showdown with the Pah-wraiths, in the form of Dukat. Sisko destroyed the evil Book of the Kosst Amojan and trapped Dukat, along with the Pah-wraiths, in the Fire Caves forever. He was taken to the Celestial Temple, where according to the Prophets, his work had only begun. He would later contact his wife Kasidy in a vision, explaining where he had gone and of his new role, but that he would return to her one day, no longer bound to linear time. Kasidy related his message to Jake and several of DS9's senior staff that were with her at that moment.

One of Sisko's last acts in Starfleet was promoting Nog to the rank of lieutenant junior grade ; in recognition for all the young Ferengi's contributions in the Dominion War. ( DS9 : " What You Leave Behind ")

Six years later his whereabouts was questioned by truthers , but in fact he was, according to Beckett Mariner , recognized by Starfleet to be " working hard in a celestial temple, " as related by Kasidy. ( LD : " Reflections ")

Alternate timeline and realities [ ]

In an alternate timeline created by Q where Earth had become the Confederation of Earth , General Benjamin Sisko was a flag officer in the Confederation of Earth during the early 25th century .

When the Confederation Magistrate prepared President Annika Hansen for her morning update from the Vulcan Front , she asked to be briefed by an officer. The magistrate offered to " comm General Sisko right away", but President Hansen instead wanted "an unfiltered perspective from the field " and asked to be put in contact with Colonel Cristóbal Rios . ( PIC : " Penance ")

Personal life [ ]

Hobbies [ ].

Sisko enjoyed cooking instead of just using the food replicator , thanks to his father, a renowned chef whose specialty was Creole food . Sisko would cook Hungarian food, like Chicken paprikash , when in a really good mood. ( DS9 : " A Man Alone ", " Family Business ") He also played the piano and had an excellent singing voice. ( DS9 : " Image in the Sand ", " His Way ", " Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang ") He played Jokarian chess and poker , but wasn't a good bluffer . ( DS9 : " The Nagus ", " Paradise ")

According to Nog and Hector Ilario , Saurian brandy was Sisko's favorite drink. ( DS9 : " Treachery, Faith and the Great River ", " Field of Fire ")

Sisko with his antique baseball

Sisko was a fan of baseball . He owned several holosuite recreations of the game, and a baseball card of Giants and Mets legend Willie Mays , gifted to him by his son Jake after a lengthy series of negotiations aided by Nog. He had a baseball, which he kept on his office desk, given to him by an alien impersonating baseball player Buck Bokai . It appears Bokai's team, the London Kings , was Sisko's favorite. ( DS9 : " Emissary ", " If Wishes Were Horses ", " Past Tense, Part II ", " In the Cards ") He was also on the Academy wrestling team. ( DS9 : " Q-Less ", " Apocalypse Rising ")

Sisko's most ambitious pastime was the construction of an ancient Bajoran lightship replica. Sisko built the ship from scratch, using only materials available to the ancient Bajorans, with the exception of artificial gravity . The ship proved spaceworthy, and even helped prove that Bajorans had achieved spaceflight centuries before the Cardassians. ( DS9 : " Explorers ") He also enjoyed maintaining a complex clock he first constructed while controlled by a Saltah'na energy sphere . ( DS9 : " Dramatis Personae ", " Hippocratic Oath ")

Two legends meet

Another of Sisko's interests was history. He collected models of old Starfleet starships, and ancient African art. ( DS9 : " The Search, Part I ") He was very knowledgeable about 21st century history, which came in handy when he became accidentally stranded in 2024 San Francisco . ( DS9 : " Past Tense, Part I ") One of his heroes was Captain James T. Kirk , whom Sisko got to meet during another accidental time trip to 2268 ; he even managed to acquire Kirk's autograph, Kirk thought he was signing a crew complement list, and told Kirk it had been an honor to serve with him. He also commented he would love to shake Kirk's hand, asking him about the Gorn he had fought previously on Cestus III . ( DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ")

Relationships [ ]

Soon after graduating the Academy in 2354, Ben met his future wife Jennifer on Gilgo Beach on Earth. Sisko was carrying lemonades through the hot sand and stopped on Jennifer's towel to cool his feet. When Jennifer learned that Sisko was a young ensign , she was reluctant to go out with him, because her mother had warned her about dating young ensigns. However, she relented, and her mother turned out to love Sisko. The two were married, and their son Jake was born a year later . Jennifer and Jake accompanied Sisko on his assignment to the USS Saratoga . When the ship was destroyed in a battle with the Borg, Jennifer was killed. ( DS9 : " Emissary ")

A woman named Fenna was Sisko's first attraction after his wife's death. In 2370, Sisko met her on the Promenade and was instantly taken with her. Unfortunately, he later discovered that Fenna was only a mental projection of Nidell , a telepathic woman married to Professor Gideon Seyetik . ( DS9 : " Second Sight ")

In two trips to the mirror universe , Sisko met the alternate version of his wife, Jennifer . He also had a brief romantic encounter with the alternate version of Jadzia . ( DS9 : " Through the Looking Glass ", " Shattered Mirror ")

While telepathically influenced by Lwaxana Troi , Jadzia Dax displayed romantic interest in Sisko, which according to Doctor Bashir, she only harbored on a subconscious level. Sisko did not appreciate her advances. ( DS9 : " Fascination ")

Sisko wishing Kasidy Yates farewell shortly before her imprisonment

Sisko was introduced to Kasidy Yates in 2371 by his son. The two began dating after they discovered a shared interest in baseball. ( DS9 : " Family Business ") Yates later began smuggling supplies to the Maquis, and Sisko was forced to arrest her in 2372. ( DS9 : " For the Cause ") After Yates served her sentence, she returned to Deep Space 9 a year later, and the two resumed their relationship. ( DS9 : " Rapture ")

Sisko marries Kasidy Yates in 2375

The two were engaged in 2375 . ( DS9 : " Penumbra ") The Prophets warned Sisko that the two were not destined to walk the same path, causing Ben to call off the wedding ; however, he soon relented, and the couple was married in a small ceremony conducted by Admiral William Ross. ( DS9 : " 'Til Death Do Us Part ") Shortly thereafter, Kasidy became pregnant . ( DS9 : " The Dogs of War ") After being taken by the Prophets to the Celestial Temple, Sisko appeared to Kasidy in a vision, telling her that he would someday return, and that he loved her. ( DS9 : " What You Leave Behind ")

Sisko's son Jake was born in 2355 to his first wife Jennifer. Sisko remembered taking care of Jake as a baby and looked back on the time fondly. ( DS9 : " The Abandoned ") By the time Jake became a teenager, Benjamin had already imparted his love of baseball to his son. The two watched holo-recreations of famous games and played the game themselves. ( DS9 : " Emissary ", " If Wishes Were Horses ", " Starship Down ")

Prior to 2367, the Sisko family made a camping trip to Itamish III , where Jake learned water skiing . While on a camping trip on a planet in the Gamma Quadrant in 2370, Jake recalled this vacation as the happiest time he and his parents had had together. ( DS9 : " The Jem'Hadar ")

On Deep Space 9, Jake's friendship with Nog bothered Sisko at first, since Nog seemed to always get Jake into trouble. However, when Jake began to teach Nog to read, Sisko began to see their friendship was beneficial, and allowed them to remain friends. ( DS9 : " The Nagus ") In 2370, Jake told his father that he did not wish to follow in his father's footsteps in Starfleet; Sisko took the news well and gave Jake his blessing, provided that Jake pursued his chosen vocation with all his ambition. ( DS9 : " Shadowplay ")

Sisko became very concerned in 2370 when Jake's first girlfriend turned out to be a dabo girl named Mardah . ( DS9 : " Playing God ") When Sisko finally met the girl, however, his fears were assuaged, as Mardah turned out to be very nice and began to reveal sides of Jake that Sisko had never known. ( DS9 : " The Abandoned ")

As Jake began to concentrate on his future career in writing, Sisko felt his son slipping away. He occasionally forced Jake to come with him on various outings: on a trip to the Gamma Quadrant, the test flight of Sisko's Bajoran lightship, and to see the Bajoran wormhole undergo a subspace inversion . ( DS9 : " The Jem'Hadar ", " Explorers ", " The Visitor ") But Sisko finally had to allow his son to become an adult, and in 2373, Jake moved out and became roommates with Nog, who had by then become a Starfleet cadet . ( DS9 : " The Ascent ")

Ben and his son in 2375

In 2372 of an alternate timeline , during an accident on the Defiant , Sisko was caught in subspace for more than thirty years. During this time, Jake became obsessed with finding a way to bring his father back, and eventually sacrificed his own life to return Sisko back to the moment of the accident. ( DS9 : " The Visitor ") Later that year, when Jake was slowly being killed by Onaya , Sisko discovered her true nature, and saved his son. ( DS9 : " The Muse ")

When the Dominion temporarily took control of DS9 in 2374, Jake decided to remain behind; Sisko was reluctant to leave him behind, but knew that Jake was a grown man capable of making his own decisions, however dangerous. ( DS9 : " Call to Arms ") Sisko did, however, have to explain leaving Jake behind to his very angered father. ( DS9 : " A Time to Stand ")

After Sisko's disappearance, Jake felt troubled by the loss of his father. He was comforted by Kasidy Yates and Colonel Kira Nerys, who believed that Sisko would return. ( DS9 : " What You Leave Behind ")

Friendships [ ]

Academy friends [ ].

Sisko went to the Academy with a Benzenite named Laporin, and Quentin Swofford, both of whom became starship captains. ( DS9 : " Apocalypse Rising ", " Far Beyond the Stars ")

Sisko's old Academy friend Calvin "Cal" Hudson in 2370

Sisko's closest friend during his early career was Calvin Hudson. Sisko and Hudson attended the Academy together, and stayed friends afterward. The Siskos and Hudsons often took family vacations together. They once attended the Mazurka Festival at New Berlin. ( DS9 : " The Maquis, Part I ") When Hudson abandoned Starfleet and joined the Maquis, Sisko felt Hudson was personally betraying him. In 2370, he allowed Hudson to escape Starfleet custody, but ended their twenty-year friendship. ( DS9 : " The Maquis, Part II ") Hudson was later killed in a skirmish with the Cardassians, news of which hit Sisko pretty bad.( DS9 : " Blaze of Glory ")

Benjamin's mentor during his younger days was Trill Ambassador Curzon Dax. After meeting Dax on Pelios Station in the 2350s , Dax and Sisko were close for almost twenty years. While defending Dax against charges of murder in 2369, Sisko described the Trill's influence on him: " [He] taught me to appreciate life in ways I'd never thought about before. He taught me about art, and science and diplomacy. Whatever sense of honor I have today, he nurtured. " ( DS9 : " Dax ")

Dax attended Sisko's bachelor party in 2354, and the two often visited Risa together. ( DS9 : " Invasive Procedures ") When Curzon died in 2367, his symbiont was passed on to a woman named Jadzia. Despite the new appearance of Dax, Sisko insisted on calling her "old man." ( DS9 : " Emissary ") Though it was initially difficult for him to adjust to Dax's new appearance, Jadzia and Sisko became friends again quickly. ( DS9 : " A Man Alone ")

Sisko soon considered Jadzia one of his closest friends. On at least two separate occasions, when faced with the possibility of her death, Sisko did whatever it took to save her. Jadzia once told Sisko in turn that, after living seven lifetimes, Dax had never had a friend like Sisko. ( DS9 : " Invasive Procedures ", " Equilibrium ", " Rejoined ")

Upon Sisko's promotion to captain, Jadzia remarked that Curzon would have been proud of him, but not as proud as she was, a sentiment Sisko greatly appreciated. ( DS9 : " The Adversary ")

When Jadzia called off her wedding to Worf in 2374, it was Sisko who told her that she was being unreasonable, finally convincing her to proceed with the nuptials. ( DS9 : " You Are Cordially Invited ")

Sisko and Jadzia Dax in 2374

Jadzia was killed by Gul Dukat later that year, and Sisko was forced to say goodbye to her. Taking a moment before her funeral, Sisko told her that while Curzon was his mentor, she had been his friend and he needed her most now, and painfully regretted that she was gone. ( DS9 : " Tears of the Prophets ")

However, the Dax symbiont lived on, having been joined with Ezri Tigan. The new Ezri Dax tracked down Sisko on Earth and helped him discover the Orb of the Emissary. ( DS9 : " Shadows and Symbols ") Dax eventually decided to return to Deep Space 9 and continued her friendship with Sisko for a third lifetime. Unfortunately, Ezri was unprepared for the Dax symbiont and struggled to adjust to the new memories; in the process of helping her, Sisko became both her commanding officer and mentor. ( DS9 : " Afterimage ")

Kira Nerys [ ]

Sisko with Kira in 2373

The relationship between Sisko and his Bajoran first officer, Kira Nerys, began with a rocky start, since Kira openly stated that she was opposed to the Federation's presence for fear that that it would become another occupying power. ( DS9 : " Emissary ")

Kira's views on the Federation shifted once the wormhole was discovered, and she begrudgingly accepted the need for the Federation's presence to keep the Cardassians away. However, the early relationship between Sisko and Kira was still often defined by arguments regarding different approaches to station policy. At times, Kira was not only argumentative but also insubordinate contacting an admiral over Sisko's head. ( DS9 : " Past Prologue ") However, Sisko stated that despite these arguments he and Kira always came away with new appreciation for the other's views. Kira joked at the end of their first year that she didn't believe Sisko was the devil, despite Winn Adami's attempt to portray the Federation as evil. ( DS9 : " In the Hands of the Prophets ")

Kira looking after Sisko when he was injured in a Jem'Hadar attack

Kira's religious beliefs further complicated the relationship with Sisko. Like other religious Bajorans, Kira viewed Sisko as the Emissary of the Prophets, which left Sisko feeling uncomfortable and conflicted at times. Kira attempted to keep her religious beliefs to herself; however, when Sisko was injured by a Jem'Hadar attack, she prayed for his recovery. After the incident, Sisko invited her to attend a baseball game with him. As Sisko grew to accept his position as the Emissary, the tension between the two softened. ( DS9 : " Destiny ", " Starship Down ")

When the Federation was forced to abandon Deep Space 9, Sisko, speaking as both the Emissary and the commanding officer, ordered Kira and the other Bajorans to avoid interfering in the conflict with the Dominion. ( DS9 : " Call to Arms ") However, as it became clear that the Federation was losing the war, Kira disregarded Sisko's orders and formed a new resistance against the Dominion. ( DS9 : " Rocks and Shoals ")

Kira also shared her reservations with Sisko regarding his intentions to marry Kasidy Yates, due to the warnings from the Prophets that Sisko's marriage would cause him pain. ( DS9 : " 'Til Death Do Us Part ")

Miles O'Brien [ ]

Sisko and Miles O'Brien's relationship could be described as a classic example of a crewman's loyalty and devotion to a commander. This relationship developed quickly, with O'Brien respecting Sisko from the start, and Sisko coming to rely on O'Brien to keep Deep Space Nine running since the earliest days of his command.

Sisko and O'Brien talking about Jake.

Sisko was quick to reprimand O'Brien, after the Tosk incident, even though he approved of O'Brien's actions on a personal level. ( DS9 : " Captive Pursuit ")

Aside from this incident, Sisko developed a very casual friendship with O'Brien, despite the difference in rank and the fact that Miles was an enlisted crewman and Sisko an officer. They both would occasionally talk about their respective roles as fathers. ( DS9 : " Call to Arms ")

Sisko verbally threatened the Cardassians should any harm come to O'Brien, when he was held under false charges in 2370. Upon stopping the Cardassians' plot regarding the Maquis, he pulled a few strings and extended O'Brien's vacation time.( DS9 : " Tribunal ")

O'Brien volunteered to remain behind on Deep Space Nine to help Sisko, Li Nalas , and a handful of others retain control of the station after Starfleet was ordered off by the Provisional Government, under the influence of The Circle. He did this even though it could have meant the end of his Starfleet career and over the strenuous objections of his wife. ( DS9 : " The Siege ")

In Sisko's words, he was confident that O'Brien could "take care of himself as well as anyone [Sisko] knew". ( DS9 : " Honor Among Thieves ")

Sisko was sympathetic to O'Brien after his daughter Molly was thrown into a time portal. Once the incident ended, he volunteered to represent and defend the actions of his engineer at any ensuing Starfleet hearing . ( DS9 : " Time's Orphan ")

Sisko speaking with Odo in 2371

Although Odo noted that he didn't think he would like Benjamin Sisko when he first met him, the two formed a keen respect for each other over the years. When Sisko was promoted to Captain, Odo noted that, while he didn't personally see the relevance of such titles, he could think of nobody who deserved this ritual more than Sisko. Sisko reciprocated this admiration more than once. When Odo's life was at stake following his capture by the Obsidian Order and his illness, Sisko took the Defiant into Dominion territory to save Odo, despite the risks of conflict with the Dominion. Odo also accompanied Sisko back to Earth when they received news that the Changelings had reached Earth. He helped him develop means of detecting Changelings on the planet . Odo later helped Sisko, who was falsely accused of being a Changeling by Admiral Leyton, escape. ( DS9 : " Emissary ", " The Adversary ", " The Die is Cast ", " Homefront ", " Paradise Lost ", " Broken Link ")

The crew and residents of Deep Space 9 [ ]

Sisko grew very close to his command crew on Deep Space 9. Besides Dax, Miles O'Brien, and Kira Nerys, he formed close relationships with Worf, Odo and Julian Bashir. He occasionally invited his staff to a home-cooked dinner. ( DS9 : " Equilibrium ") However, he often had to draw the line between friend and commanding officer. On more than one occasion when a member of his senior staff bent (or broke) the rules, Sisko was forced to come down on them without regard for their off-duty relationship.

Sisko was not quite fond of Quark, but over time, he began to tolerate the Ferengi . He blackmailed Quark on a number of occasions when he thought it necessary, such as convincing him to stay on DS9, and helping the Federation make First Contact with the Founders of the Dominion. He was grateful when Quark helped uncover the first Dominion spy, and when he saved his life from a Jem'Hadar. ( DS9 : " Emissary ", " The Jem'Hadar ")

Nog with Sisko, attempting to convince him to support his interest in joining Starfleet

Though initially unsupportive of Jake's friendship with Nog, Sisko eventually grew to like the young Ferengi. Nog asked Sisko to help him apply to Starfleet Academy; initially wary of the idea, Sisko soon recognized Nog's genuine desire to become a cadet, and he approved. ( DS9 : " Heart of Stone ") When Nog returned to DS9 for field study, Sisko actually encouraged his friendship with Jake, hoping that Nog's new Starfleet discipline would rub off on his son. ( DS9 : " The Ascent ") Nog later served under Sisko on the Defiant , and Sisko began to rely on Nog's presence among his crew. ( DS9 : " Call to Arms ")

The only other Ferengi Sisko got along with on DS9 was Rom , Nog's father and Quark's brother. At one point, both Sisko and Rom conspired to get Jake and Nog talking in the same room. Sisko also performed the wedding of Rom and Leeta . ( DS9 : " The Ascent ", " Call to Arms ")

When Sisko assembled his senior staff in 2375 for a baseball game on the holosuite against a team of Vulcans, the Logicians led by Captain Solok, the game brought the crew together, and they enjoyed the experience. During this time, he intimidated Rom by kicking him off his baseball team (the Niners ) due to his poor batting skills. He later apologized [sincerely] to Rom for his attitude. ( DS9 : " Take Me Out to the Holosuite ")

Later that year, Sisko also took part in a jack-in-the-box program involving Vic Fontaine with his crew. Though intially skeptical, Sisko helped regain Vic's lounge after it had been taken over by the mob. ( DS9 : " Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang ") Sisko assembled his crew together one last time, at Vic's, following the end of the Dominion War. ( DS9 : " What You Leave Behind ")

William Ross [ ]

After the Dominion War started, Sisko and Vice Admiral William Ross developed a good working relationship. In early-2374, Ross made Sisko his adjutant. Later that year, when the Federation Alliance was ready to go on the offensive against the Dominion, Ross gave Sisko the news that Starfleet had chosen him to plan the invasion of Cardassia. ( DS9 : " Behind the Lines ", " Tears of the Prophets ")

Despite their fairly solid working relationship, Ross expressed some frustration with Sisko's status as the Emissary of the Prophets. This frustration came to a head in late-2374 on the eve of the First Battle of Chin'toka, when Sisko told Ross that the Prophets told him not to go to Cardassia. Ross told Sisko that he could no longer be both a Starfleet captain and the Emissary of the Prophets, and that he would have to choose one or the other. Sisko opted to go to Cardassia. ( DS9 : " Tears of the Prophets ")

Ross performed Sisko's wedding ceremony to Kasidy Yates in 2375. ( DS9 : " 'Til Death Do Us Part ")

Memorable quotes [ ]

" You value your ignorance of what is to come? " " That may be the most important thing to understand about Humans. It is the unknown that defines our existence. We are constantly searching, not just for answers to our questions, but for new questions. We are explorers. We explore our lives, day by day. And we explore the galaxy, trying to expand the boundaries of our knowledge. And that is why I am here. Not to conquer you with weapons or ideas, but to co-exist and learn. "

" You exist here. " " I exist here. I don't know if you can understand; I see her like this every time I close my eyes, in the darkness, in the blink of an eye, I see her like this. " " None of your past experiences helped prepare you for this consequence. " " And I have never figured out how to live without her. " " So, you choose to exist here. It is not linear. " " No, it's not linear. "

"There's an old saying: Fortune favors the bold. Well, I guess we're about to find out."

" You hit me! Picard never hit me! " " I'm not Picard! "

" Phew. I wonder when that happened. [...] When did I start thinking of this Cardassian monstrosity as home? "

" ...if the station falls, then Bajor falls, and I will not let that happen. "

"Better luck next time." "You better hope there isn't a next time, mister! I have cut you a lot of slack in the past; I even decided to look away once or twice when I could have come down hard on you, but those days are over! Now we may not be able to get you for selling weapons but you so much as LITTER on the Promenade, and I will nail you to the wall!!"

" The Bajorans who have lived with us on the station, who have worked with us for months, who helped us move this station to protect the wormhole, who joined us to explore the Gamma Quadrant, who have begun to build the future of Bajor with us, these people know that we are neither the enemy nor the devil. We don't always agree. We have some damned good fights in fact, but we always come away from them with a little better understanding and appreciation of each other."

" On Earth, there is no poverty, no crime, no war. You look out the window of Starfleet Headquarters and you see paradise. Well, it's easy to be a saint in paradise, but the Maquis do not live in paradise. Out there in the Demilitarized Zone, all the problems haven't been solved yet. Out there, there are no saints — just people. Angry, scared, determined people who are going to do whatever it takes to survive, whether it meets with Federation approval or not! "

" When I first took command of this post, all I wanted was to be somewhere else. Anywhere but here. But now, five years later, this station has become my home. And you all of you have become my family and leaving this station, leaving you, is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But this war isn't over yet. I want you to know that, while we were keeping the Dominion occupied, a Starfleet/Klingon task force crossed the border into Cardassia and destroyed the Dominion shipyards on Torros III. Your sacrifices, our sacrifices, made this victory possible. But no victory can make this moment any easier for me and I promise, I will not rest until I stand with you again. Here. In this place. Where I belong. "

" My father used to say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I laid the first stone right there. I'd committed myself. I'd pay any price; go to any lengths because my cause was righteous. My...intentions were good. In the beginning, that seemed like enough. "

" So... I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But the most damning thing of all... I think I can live with it. And if I had to do it all over again, I would. Garak was right about one thing; a guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant. So, I will learn to live with it. Because I can live with it. I can live with it... Computer, erase that entire personal log. "

Holograms [ ]

Hippocrates Noah with Sisko's appearance

Ben Sisko has been holographically duplicated on a number of occasions.

• A recreation was created by the personnel of Deep Space 9 in 2370 in order to lure Bajoran soldiers into a holosuite during the coup d'état attempt by "The Circle". ( DS9 : " The Siege ")
• A transporter accident in 2372 aboard Deep Space 9 resulted in transporter patterns that would normally be stored in the pattern buffer to overwrite some of the characters in the Julian Bashir, Secret Agent holoprogram set in the 1960s . The character of Hippocrates Noah was overwritten with the appearance of Sisko. ( DS9 : " Our Man Bashir ")
• Luther Sloan recreated the entire station and staff of Deep Space 9 in 2374 as part of his investigation into Julian Bashir. This program had a recreation of Sisko. ( DS9 : " Inquisition ")

Chronology [ ]

• 2332 : Born in New Orleans , Earth
• 2333 : Mother, Sarah Sisko leaves
• 2350 : Joins Starfleet Academy
• 2351 : Spends sophomore year on Starbase 137
• 2354 : Graduates Starfleet Academy ; marries Jennifer Sisko , moves to new posting on New Berlin Colony
• 2355 : Son, Jake Sisko , born
• Late 2350s : Serves aboard USS Livingston ; promoted to lieutenant
• Early 2360s : Serves aboard USS Okinawa ; promoted to lieutenant commander and first officer
• Mid 2360s : Serves aboard USS Saratoga
• 2366 : Battle of Wolf 359 ; wife dies; transfers to Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards ; works on Defiant -class design project
• 2369 : Promoted to commander ; commands station Deep Space 9 ; discovers the Bajoran wormhole , becoming the Emissary of the Prophets
• 2370 : First contact with the Dominion
• 2371 : Given command of USS Defiant alongside DS9; meets Kasidy Yates ; promoted to captain
• 2372 : Defends Deep Space 9 and the Cardassian Detapa Council during a Klingon invasion ; prevents coup of Earth by Admiral Leyton
• 2373 : Proposes restoration of Khitomer Accords ; forced to evacuate Deep Space 9; start of the Dominion War
• 2374 : Retakes Deep Space 9; responsible for the Romulan Star Empire joining the war; awarded the Christopher Pike Medal of Valor ; leads the First Battle of Chin'toka
• 2375 : Discovers truth about mother, Prophets; marries Kasidy Yates; the Defiant lost during the Second Battle of Chin'toka ; given command of USS Sao Paulo ; Dominion War ends; defeats Dukat and the pah-wraiths ; joins the Prophets in the Celestial Temple

Appendices [ ]

See also [ ].

• Benny Russell
• Gabriel Bell
• Hippocrates Noah

Appearances [ ]

• " Emissary "
• " Past Prologue "
• " A Man Alone "
• " Captive Pursuit "
• " The Passenger "
• " Move Along Home "
• " The Nagus "
• " Battle Lines "
• " The Storyteller "
• " Progress "
• " If Wishes Were Horses "
• " The Forsaken "
• " Dramatis Personae "
• " In the Hands of the Prophets "
• " The Homecoming "
• " The Circle "
• " The Siege "
• " Invasive Procedures "
• " Cardassians "
• " Rules of Acquisition "
• " Necessary Evil "
• " Second Sight "
• " Sanctuary "
• " The Alternate "
• " Armageddon Game "
• " Whispers "
• " Paradise "
• " Shadowplay "
• " Playing God "
• " Profit and Loss "
• " Blood Oath "
• " The Maquis, Part I "
• " The Maquis, Part II "
• " The Wire "
• " Crossover "
• " The Collaborator "
• " Tribunal "
• " The Jem'Hadar "
• " The Search, Part I "
• " The Search, Part II "
• " The House of Quark "
• " Equilibrium "
• " Second Skin "
• " The Abandoned "
• " Civil Defense "
• " Meridian "
• " Defiant "
• " Fascination "
• " Past Tense, Part I "
• " Past Tense, Part II "
• " Life Support "
• " Heart of Stone "
• " Destiny "
• " Prophet Motive "
• " Visionary "
• " Distant Voices "
• " Through the Looking Glass "
• " Improbable Cause "
• " The Die is Cast "
• " Explorers "
• " Family Business "
• " Shakaar "
• " The Adversary "
• " The Way of the Warrior "
• " The Visitor "
• " Hippocratic Oath "
• " Indiscretion "
• " Rejoined "
• " Starship Down "
• " Little Green Men "
• " The Sword of Kahless "
• " Our Man Bashir "
• " Homefront "
• " Paradise Lost "
• " Crossfire "
• " Return to Grace "
• " Sons of Mogh "
• " Bar Association "
• " Accession "
• " Rules of Engagement "
• " Hard Time "
• " Shattered Mirror "
• " The Muse "
• " For the Cause "
• " To the Death "
• " The Quickening "
• " Body Parts "
• " Broken Link "
• " Apocalypse Rising "
• " The Ship "
• " Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places "
• " Nor the Battle to the Strong "
• " The Assignment "
• " Trials and Tribble-ations "
• " Let He Who Is Without Sin... "
• " Things Past "
• " The Ascent "
• " Rapture "
• " The Darkness and the Light "
• " The Begotten "
• " For the Uniform "
• " In Purgatory's Shadow "
• " By Inferno's Light "
• " Doctor Bashir, I Presume "
• " A Simple Investigation "
• " Business as Usual "
• " Ties of Blood and Water "
• " Ferengi Love Songs "
• " Soldiers of the Empire "
• " Children of Time "
• " Blaze of Glory "
• " Empok Nor "
• " In the Cards "
• " Call to Arms "
• " A Time to Stand "
• " Rocks and Shoals "
• " Sons and Daughters "
• " Behind the Lines "
• " Favor the Bold "
• " Sacrifice of Angels "
• " You Are Cordially Invited "
• " Resurrection "
• " Statistical Probabilities "
• " The Magnificent Ferengi "
• " Who Mourns for Morn? "
• " Far Beyond the Stars "
• " One Little Ship "
• " Honor Among Thieves "
• " Change of Heart "
• " Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night "
• " Inquisition "
• " In the Pale Moonlight "
• " His Way "
• " The Reckoning "
• " Valiant "
• " Profit and Lace "
• " Time's Orphan "
• " The Sound of Her Voice "
• " Tears of the Prophets "
• " Image in the Sand "
• " Shadows and Symbols "
• " Afterimage "
• " Take Me Out to the Holosuite "
• " Chrysalis "
• " Treachery, Faith and the Great River "
• " Once More Unto the Breach "
• " The Siege of AR-558 "
• " Covenant "
• " It's Only a Paper Moon "
• " Prodigal Daughter "
• " The Emperor's New Cloak "
• " Field of Fire "
• " Chimera "
• " Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang "
• " Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges "
• " Penumbra "
• " 'Til Death Do Us Part "
• " Strange Bedfellows "
• " The Changing Face of Evil "
• " When It Rains... "
• " Tacking Into the Wind "
• " Extreme Measures "
• " The Dogs of War "
• " What You Leave Behind "
• LD : " Empathological Fallacies " (Image on tarot card)

Background information [ ]

Benjamin Sisko was played by Avery Brooks .

Ronald D. Moore mentioned the story of Moses as an inspiration for the developments in Sisko's life. ( AOL chat , 1997 )

In the script for "Emissary", Benjamin Sisko was described as "a rugged, charismatic man in his late thirties," as of 2366 . [2]

The original Writer's Bible for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , created in 1992 , [3] gave this biography for the character:

Casting [ ]

When Avery Brooks' agent first rang him to tell him that there was a role available in a new Star Trek show, Brooks laughed, because he instinctively felt he was going to be offered a role requiring heavy prosthetics, which he wasn't interested in doing. After finding out the role was that of a Human, Brooks was still unconvinced, and of his pursuit of the role he said, " This will never work. " Indeed, on his way to his audition for the part, the transmission in his car began to slip, so he called the producers and nonchalantly told them he couldn't make it; he was surprised when they rearranged his audition. It was ultimately the quality of the script for " Emissary " which convinced Brooks of the value of the show. ("Crew Dossier: Benjamin Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)

Other actors who auditioned for the role of Sisko were Robert Gwilym, Keith Allen, Pip Torrens, Ralph Brown, Anthony Head, Jolyon Baker, Peter Firth, Nick Brimble, Stefan Kalipha and Peter Capaldi (who later became the Twelfth Doctor in Doctor Who ). [4]

Speaking in 1992, shortly after filming had begun on "Emissary", Avery Brooks said of Sisko, " He is very, very human. He shows what he feels, wears what he feels. He is a quick thinker, but yet a deep thinker. He is a single parent, and thus is worried about raising his son. In this case, of course, he is a widower, so that part of his history is there, especially every time he looks at his son, he is seeing that part of his life, indeed, seeing his wife, and we have to assume that he loved her very deeply. So there are indeed conflicts, Human conflicts, which make it a wonderful experience because you can play everything. " (Hidden File 01, DS9 Season 1 DVD special features)

In 2012, Brooks recalled his role as Sisko: " When I read the pilot script, it was the presentation of a man dealing with loss and raising a son, and how he handled those situations, that really got my attention. Certainly the fact you have a black man in a command position is very important. That is something that goes far beyond just having black people working on a show, which itself is also very important. It goes to children being able to see themselves on screen and visualize that in the future they will be doing something of importance to the world at large. It addresses the situation of having all kinds of people interacting and cooperating for the mutual survival of the planet. The writing was exceptional, and the funny thing is I initially said no to Star Trek . My wife convinced me to go to the audition. She was the one who said, 'You can't say no to this'. " [5]

Sisko underwent a major change of appearance between Seasons 3 and 4, shaving his head and growing a beard. This coincided with Avery Brooks reprising the role of Hawk in a Spenser: For Hire TV movie in which Hawk sported the same look.

Characterization [ ]

According to Michael Piller , " It was harder to define Sisko as a character than perhaps any of the others, and ultimately it took us probably a season and a half to reach the conclusion that Sisko was a builder, a man who built things, stayed with projects, as opposed to the driver, the captain of a starship who went off and moved from place to place. " ( New Frontiers: The Story of Deep Space Nine , DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) Robert Hewitt Wolfe also contrasted Sisko the builder against Picard the explorer in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. 30): " [Sisko] wears his heart a little more on his sleeve, and acts on emotion, on instinct, more than Picard. "

Hans Beimler also saw Sisko as a builder. Beimler commented, " Captain Sisko is a complicated man. He's a family man. He's a builder, a man who has come to this place and is trying to do something – he's not some kind of transient. Picard and Kirk were both captains who were 'passing through, ma'am', but Sisko is here to stay, to build something more lasting. I certainly can relate to that situation and that kind of man; he's a different kind of hero, more complex in a way. " ( The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine  issue 15 )

Speaking in 1999, just after filming on " What You Leave Behind " had finished, Ira Steven Behr said, " Sisko's arc is pretty clear. He came to the station, it was an assignment he did not want, he was not happy to be there, and he became a man who talks about living on Bajor for the rest of his life. So, I think it was a healing process for Sisko. I think he's a wonderful leader, and he's a great family man. And he came to the show a wounded man, who had just lost his wife, was somewhat bitter, and he became a religious icon. " ("Crew Dossier: Benjamin Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)

Avery Brooks considers Sisko's relationship with his Jake as very important: " The relationship with his son was critically important, aside from the fact that I have children, but knowing how tenuous, how fragile, how fleeting, ultimately, the moment, or moments that you have with your children, how important and critical the time that you spend early on in sowing these seeds that you hope will help your child survive and then pray that you've done the right thing. " ("Crew Dossier: Benjamin Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features) Cirroc Lofton also says, " With Jake's character, he brought out the human-ness in the captain because otherwise you would just see the captain as an authoritative figure, you'd see him as just being someone who just gives orders, and someone who's really firm and aggressive, with Jake he can be playful, and you see the father side and the Human side of this icon, this character, this person who you respect, but there's another side to him, the loving, caring side, the playful side. " ("Crew Dossier: Jake Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)

Brooks found the Emissary storyline very interesting: " The investigation of self, or the discovery of self, is an internal journey. The investigation of the unknown is not outer, ultimately, but inner. So, the idea of this man reluctantly wrestling with this idea of being the chosen one, to make this journey, this internal journey, towards the discovery of self, something that human-kind does, until they leave the planet I'm sure, certainly that's what I'm doing. " ("Crew Dossier: Benjamin Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)

Brooks commented: " When people come up to me and ask what being Benjamin Sisko meant, I understand why they are asking me that. I don't get mad or upset. I just let them know he was one aspect of my life, one role that was good to me, but not one that defines who or what I am. But I'm happy so many people remember it and remember me, and I hope the full message of Star Trek , that humanity must interact and evolve and survive in all its different experiences and embodiments, is what they really remember ". [6]

One of the plans for a six-episode arc which started season six was to promote Sisko to admiral , even if only temporarily. This was vetoed after extensive discussion involving Ira Steven Behr, who "felt it took the lead character out of the Star Trek pantheon." He did, however, briefly serve as adjutant to Admiral Ross, temporarily turning over his command to Dax. ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 38 ) Around the same time, Ron D. Moore in an unrelated matter described Sisko as having evolved since the start of the series in that he had "grown accustomed to the idea that he may never get admiral's stars" and preferring to remain a captain on the frontier. ( AOL chat , 1997 ) ( AOL chat , 1997 )

Sisko as the Emissary [ ]

Hans Beimler commented: " That Sisko’s mother was a wormhole alien is to me the stuff of science fiction and what separates that character and distinguishes him from any other Starfleet captain that we have ever built a series around. Jean-Luc Picard, his heritage is very grounded in Earth. James Kirk is quintessential American . This is a guy with a difference. I think Avery Brooks is a different man, and a different actor from all these other people, and I think that's important. His heritage is different. He's a black man, and he brings a whole different perspective to the role. I think he's done that very successfully and distinguished himself admirably. " ( Cinefantastique , Volume 29 Number 6/7)

Reception [ ]

• Ira Behr commented: " Originally Sisko wasn't going to be quite the commander that he became. We thought he was going to be more easy-going. Surprisingly, some of the feedback that we’ve been getting from people in the military is that Sisko is the closest thing to a true military commander that has yet been seen on Star Trek , more than Picard, more than Kirk. They feel his relationship with his people is much more like the way the true commander of a sub or a ship would behave, which is not so much that he's by the book, but there’s an attitude of formal behavior .” ( citation needed • edit )

In Black and Brown Planets: The Politics of Race in Science Fiction , the authors write: " Perhaps after watching black actor Avery Brooks play Captain Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–99), Americans no longer were alienated by the idea of electing a black man as the U.S. President ".

Documentary [ ]

In the documentary What We Left Behind , the writers of DS9 pitch a new episode, where Sisko returns from the Prophets twenty years after the series.

Apocrypha [ ]

In the DS9 relaunch novels now part of the First Splinter timeline, Sisko returns from the Celestial Temple in the novel Unity , on the day that his daughter ( β ) Rebecca Jae Sisko is born, and subsequently lives on Bajor with Kasidy. As of the Star Trek: Typhon Pact novel Rough Beasts of Empire , Sisko has returned to Starfleet and is in command of the Galaxy -class starship USS Robinson ( β ) (NCC-71842). Whereas in Rough Beasts of Empire , Sisko requested a divorce from Kasidy on the basis of the Prophets warning him, several years earlier, that he would face great sorrow, but in Plagues of Night , he withdrew the request. In the novel Ascendance , Sisko starts a mission commanding the Robinson on an exploration mission into the Gamma Quadrant that he expects to last two years.

In the new revised continuity, Sisko only returns from the Celestial Temple after three years, as seen in Star Trek , Issue 1 (2022) , and his and Kasidy's daughter is named Sarah instead.

In the novel The Siege , Sisko told Odo that he was nicknamed "Dead-Eye" at Starfleet Academy since he was the best shot there and could bounce a phaser beam off a mirror and still hit the target. He later admitted however, that this was somewhat of an exaggeration.

In the short story "The Dreamer and the Dream" from the anthology book Strange New Worlds 2016 , Sisko's child with Kasidy was a boy named Jonathan.

In Star Trek Online , Sisko's antique baseball still sits at his former desk, in a protective case, and a Prophet encountered in the mission "Crack in the Mirror" says that "the Sisko" has convinced them to leave to the player character the task of retrieving the stolen Orb of Possibilities from the mirror universe. This seems to indicate that, in this continuity, Sisko has not returned from the Celestial Temple.

Benjamin Sisko of the alternate reality

The alternate reality version of Benjamin Sisko appears in the Star Trek: Ongoing story arc The Q Gambit where he is the founder and co-leader of the Free Federation Resistance. When Q transports the USS Enterprise over a hundred years into the future, Sisko meets James T. Kirk , Montgomery Scott and Nyota Uhura in the holding cells of Terok Nor. Having found a way out with help from Odo, Sisko intended for Kirk, Scott and Uhura to come with him. However, Kirk refused, stating that he will not leave his crew. Apologizing in advance, Sisko rendered Kirk unconscious with a punch to the face and all are beamed aboard the USS Defiant . When Kirk wakes up, Sisko informs him that they are on a course to meet with allies on Earth, which Sisko implied is very different. He then explains to Kirk the history of the past century, in which the Dominion used the Bajoran wormhole to arrive in the Alpha Quadrant and sway the Cardassian Union to join them. In response to the threat, the Klingons and Romulans joined forces to crush their mutual foes while the Federation attempted a failed diplomatic resolution. The Dominion eventually managed to infiltrate Romulus where they stole the red matter and used it to destroy the planet. The Klingons then turned on the Federation and, after destroying their fleet at Wolf 359, conquered Federation space. Now both the Klingon Empire and the Dominion exist in a state of cold war . Though the humans attempted a resistance against the Klingons, it was short lived, and Sisko grew up under a Klingon flag on the renamed planet "Tera'." Having grown up on Earth ruled over by the Klingons, Sisko longed to leave the planet and explore other worlds and when he got older, he joined the Human Auxiliary Corps as a cargo pilot and eventually started the Free Federation Resistance movement, which embodies the ideals of the Federation; ideals of freedom that can never be eradicated. Finishing his story, Sisko and the others arrive on Earth where they are taken by Kurn to meet with the Klingon Chancellor Worf. However, Kurn and Worf's guards are soon revealed to be Changelings and kill Worf. They were able to escape with help from a shuttlecraft piloted by Miles O'Brien. Sisko then rendezvous on the Resistance outpost planet Paradise with his son Jake and Jadzia Dax. Dax then asks Sisko about the status of Kira, saying she thought he would rendezvous with Kira after she found the Reckoning Tablet and Sisko says it was imperative that they find her and the tablet as it's the only hope left to defeat the Dominion. Later, Sisko becomes host to the freed Prophet and after examining the Prophet's memories, Sisko insists that they must head back to Terok Nor immediately. The Defiant arrives just in time to see the Enterprise enter the wormhole. Dukat hails them and taunts them into following him beyond the event horizon. Though Kirk insists they follow, Sisko overrules him as the Pah-wraiths rule the dimension in the wormhole and are too powerful to be fought, but Kirk reiterates his opinion to rally and follow Dukat when Q appears saying he supports Sisko and explains the truth of why he brought the Enterprise to the future. At the nexus of the wormhole, Q explains to Kirk and Sisko that he is both powerless and at a loss. He had hoped the Prophet might be able to defeat the Wraiths, but Sisko reveals he lacks the power to do so. Dukat then transports Q, Kirk, Spock and Sisko aboard the Enterprise as his prisoners. As even the Wraiths are powerless inside the nexus, Dukat grabs a phaser and kills Sisko, who uses his dying breath to transfer the Prophet into Spock who then transfers the Prophet into Q through a mind meld causing the two beings to merge into an even more powerful entity. Q then uses his newfound powers to snuff out both the Wraiths and Dukat with little more than a thought.

External links [ ]

• Benjamin Sisko at StarTrek.com
• Benjamin Sisko at Wikipedia
• Benjamin Sisko at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Benjamin Sisko at the Star Trek Online Wiki
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Den of Geek

Star Trek: The 50 Best Alien Races

From Tribble to Andorians, we're ranking the 50 best alien life forms explored in the Star Trek universe...

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The crews of the various iterations of Star Trek boldly went where no one has gone before — and then boldly met a crap ton of alien species.

Star Trek may be the human adventure, but there have been countless non-human beings, critters, menaces, gods, and blobs that have been introduced in the Star Trek  universe. From The Original Series to The Animated Series , to The Next Generation , to Deep Space Nine , the Delta Quadrant and Voyager , to the early adventures of Enterprise , to the modern day films, Star Trek has gifted fans with unforgettable species after species as the five-year mission has turned into five decades of first contact.

There have been vile races bred for combat, omnipotent races that use humankind as puppets, and even a bunch of cute little furry things.  Star Trek just keeps on delivering the cool aliens show after show, film after film. Just imagine the species that will soon be coming to Star Trek: Discovery ! But now is the time to celebrate the past as we present the fifty coolest Star Trek aliens ever to appear in films or TV.

50. Arcturian

First appearance: star trek: the motion picture (1979).

The Arcturian didn’t have a great deal of Star Trek screen time, but this alien race that resembled melted wax (eww) makes our list because it stands as a prime example of the story richness of the Star Trek  galaxy. An Arcturian can briefly be seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the Mego toy company even made two versions of this blink and you’ll miss him creature (one 3 ¾ inch one 12 inch). But what intrigues us the most is this melty guy’s backstory…

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Star Trek costume crafters extraordinaire Fred Phillips and Robert Fletcher came up with a rich history for the Arcturian. According to Philips and Fletcher, the Arcturians were actually a race of clones that made up the bulk of the Federation’s infantry. While never seen on screen, there are legions of these guys running around, just waiting to be sent to some hostile planet to go to war. The Federation has always been portrayed as peaceful and benevolent, but it has the potential to unleash billions of melty looking monsters at a moment’s notice. Yikes.

Arcturians also appeared in the Star Trek daily comic strip and their back story continues to stand as a great example of the vast richness of the Star Trek galaxy, a place where billions of stories exist at all times. Including one about a race of wax soldiers that can be replicated and sent to do the Federation’s will. Eeep.

49. Edosian

First appearance: star trek: the animated series “beyond the farthest star” (1973).

Edosians are a tripedal species and are skilled at using their three arms and three legs in navigation and piloting. Lieutenant Arex, the loyal Enterprise navigator that first appeared in Star Trek: The Animated Series , is a proud member of the Edosian species and was a recurring character during this era of animated Trek. Arex was voiced by Scotty himself James Doohan and was a standout character in the era between The Original Series and The Next Generation .

Arex popped up in comics and novels and took his place of honor among the original crew. Arex also was a character that fully utilized animation as the six limbs and distinct alien features of this character would have been impossible to pull off in live-action back in the day. But thanks to The Animated Series , the distinctive Edosians live on and prosper in Trek lore.

48. Excalbians

First appearance: star trek: the original series “the savage curtain” (1969).

Listen, any species responsible for bringing Abraham Lincoln into the Star Trek  universe has to make this list. The Excalbians are a silicon based life form that possessed the ability to shape shift. These rock beings, who honestly looked like something Steve Ditko would have designed for Doctor Strange, were fascinated by the human notion of good and evil.

So they did what anyone would do in the same situation: they made a recreation of Abraham Lincoln and teamed it with Kirk, Spock, and famous Vulcan goodie-good Surak and sent them up against four representatives of evil — Kahless the Unforgettable of Qo’noS, Genghis Khan, Colonel Green of Earth and Dr. Zora of Tiburon. How’s that for a traditional Survivor Series match?

For this wonderful bit of schlock and for making us believe that Ben Grimm could work in live action in 1969, we salute the ever curious Excalbians.

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47. Caitian

First appearance: star trek: the animated series “the survivor” (1973).

The cat-like Caitians were represented in Enterprise history by M’Ress, a feline female that served both as engineer and a communications officer during The Animated Series . M’Ress spoke in a purring voice and was a skilled operative that stood side by side with the more iconic members of the Enterprise.

Now, I would like to talk about how cool the Caitians were. I would like to talk about how M’Ress was the main character in the Power Records’ Star Trek book and record set Star Trek: Passage to Moauv (1975). I would also like to talk about how a Caitian also appeared in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home …

But I just can’t help but wonder if Captain Kirk did what he does and somehow at some point bed down with this cat woman. This would make Kirk’s TV sci-fi’s first furry and I’m sort of fascinated by this idea. I don’t want to focus on this idea because it kind of reduces M’ress as a character and the Caitian as a race… But then I read that the alien twins that Kirk hooked up with in the first Abramsverse film were confirmed to be Caitian and everything just stirs up again and I fell absolved of all responsibility.

Anyway, M‘Ress and the Caitians might be considered obscure now, but she was a pretty big deal to Trek lore during The Animated Series era. So this race is a purr-fect addition to our list. Did the Enterprise come equipped with a giant litter box? Okay, I need to stop now; this is going to some bad places.

46. Bolians

First appearance: star trek: the next generation (1988).

The Bolians have been a perennial background species since their first Trek appearance in 1988. The first Bolian fans witnesses aboard the Enterprise was an ambassador, but many other Bolians have appeared around the Trek verse since. They have been seen as barbers, manicurists, Federation troops, and high ranking officials.

Bolians are distinctive due to their blue skin and their ridge that bisects their anatomy. They are highly friendly individuals and compassionate. In fact, an episode of Voyager puts forth that Bolians were  supportive of assisted suicide. These deep seated beliefs make the Bolians an intriguing species ripe for future Trek exploration.

45. Lurian

First appearance: star trek: deep space nine “the emissary” (1993).

Lurians were a very rarely encountered species that possessed multiple hearts, lungs, and stomachs. Fans got to know this ellusive species through DS9 regular/bar fly Morn. Yes, Morn is an anagram for Norm, because, like the famed Cheers fat man, in Quark’s Bar, everyone knew Morn’s name.

Morn was a bombastic and talkative fellow who fans never got to actually hear speak. He was a former thief that barely moved away from his bar stool. Morn was also fiercely loyal to Quark and got his little Ferengi pal out of many a jam. But mostly, Morn just sat there and drank stoically.

Although we only ever met one Lurian, we will always remember his name because Morn was such a constant (and inebriated) presence on Deep Space Nine . He also once had a torrid love affair with Jadzia Dax but that is a tale for another time. Raise a glass to the Lurians!

First appearance: Star Trek (2009)

So far, the rebooted Trek films have not really given funs much by way of alien species. The only classic races to get good screen time in the reboots have been Romulans and Vulcans. But the films did give us Keenser the Roylan, Scotty’s diminutive engineering pal.

Keenser first appeared in the first Trek reboot film as Scotty’s ever present companion when Scotty was exiled on the Federation outpost on Delta Vega. When Scotty beamed to the Enterprise, he left Keenser behind which was kinda sad. JJ Abrams and company must have thought so too as Keenser was all of a sudden part of the Enterprise’s crew in Star Trek: Into Darkness .

Keensar is ever loyal to his pal Scotty as the two share one of the best bromances in the galaxy. The fourteenth issue of IDW Publishing’s Star Trek comic gifted fans with Keensar’s origin. It also revealed the name of his species — Roylan — for the first time.

In this issue, fans learned that Keensar was constantly mocked by his peers because he was so tall (heh). It also revealed that Keensar served with distinction aboard the USS Kelvin and was shipmates with none other than George Kirk.

Keensar the Roylan is a constant presence in the new Trek Universe and I’m sure this member of the Roylan species will have many adventures to come.

43. Mugato

First appearance: star trek: the original series “a private little war” (1968).

Because sometimes in space, there are giant, poisonous horned gorillas. What’s not to love about Mugato? He’s kind of cute, very fuzzy, and is as poisonous as the nastiest snake. Poisonous gorillas in space, this is why we love Trek. Sadly, Mugato only appeared briefly, attacking and poisoning Kirk before being disintegrated by Doctor McCoy.

But, remember: as you watch the hard sci-fi and techno jargon of Trek, as you witness the human adventure of Roddenberry’s galaxy, as you watch carbon-based life forms achieve full potential and enlightenment, remember , in this same world there are fuzzy, horned, albino gorillas that will poison the crap out of you.

42. Acamarians

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “the vengeance factor” (1989).

The Acamarians are an advanced race of humanoids that have found a peaceful existence very late in its history. For centuries, the tattooed Acamarians lived in rival clans and their planet was split apart by warfare. One of the clan wars lasted three centuries and wiped one of the combating sides out of existence. When Picard’s Enterprise encountered the Acamarians, the people finally almost found peace.

However, a splinter group known as the Gatherers could not overcome centuries of clan warfare and refused to negotiate, so Picard had to navigate the complex web of Acamarians politics and bitterness as well as the assassination of the Gatherer ambassador to finally forge a peace with the Acamarians.

Despite all these issues, the Acamarians have a rich culture and mirror many contemporary Earth societies that have been splintered by war. Sci-fi works best when it reflects reality, and through the Acamarians, Trek fans got to see some really effective social commentary about tribalism and societal bitterness.

41. Denobulans

First appearance: enterprise “broken bow” (2001).

A Denobulan served aboard the very first Enterprise as the ship’s doctor, thus making the species vital to the origins of the Federation. Our medic in question, Phlox by name, was one of the main protagonists in Enterprise and was a staunch example of the exemplary qualities of the Denobulan race.

Denobulans are loyal but quite hedonistic by human standards. Denobulan males can take up to three wives while the entire race embraces polyamory. As humanity headed off into space aboard the first Enterprise, Phlox served as a constant reminder of the varied belief systems and practices the people of Earth would encounter as space exploration began.

Phlox and the Denobulan held ethics in high regard as Phlox would never allow a sentient being to suffer. Even though the ridge faced Denobulans had fierce tempers, they also were gentle and kind, and valued knowledge and pleasure over confrontation and violence.

Denobulans also have the propensity to puff out their faces when they were threatened — so, yeah, there’s that. Plus, Denobulans have really long tongues. What was it that I said about hedonism and Denobulans? Anyway, these cunning linguists were great doctors as seen through Enterprise ’s first mayor of the sickbay: Doctor Phlox.

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40. Orions

First appearance: star trek: the original series “the cage” (1966).

The green Orion slave dancer that shimmied into the dreams of Trek fans has been an iconic bit of Star Trek lore since her Shakiraesque debut, but the history of the Orions did not stop there…

Although a cosplay staple, the slave girl was just one Orion. Others have appeared in The Animated Series , Enterprise , novels, comics, toys, and one even prominently appeared in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek timeline as Uhura’s roommate and an early romantic partner of one James T. Kirk.

Orions are a species with close ties to the Federation — ties that are explored in some of the better episodes of Enterprise . Although the Orions will long be remembered because of the grinding of the hips of a slave dancer, there is so much more to this green-skinned humanoid species that has been part of Star Trek lore since almost day one.

39. Ocampans

First appearance star trek: voyager “caretaker part ii” (1995).

The Ocampans carry an importance to the Star Trek  universe because Kes, a noted member of the Ocampan species, was a member of the lost Voyager crew for three years. Ocampans are a race with powerful telekinetic powers but, sadly, this race of elf-like humanoids only have a life span of nine years. (So… combine Jean Grey with a mayfly and you get the idea.) 

Ocampans are very accepting of their short life span and a rather enlightened species. Through Kes, the crew of Voyager learned a lust for life as the wide eyed Ocampan enjoyed every minute of her existance even though she was trapped with the Voyager crew. When Kes’ power grew out of control, she left Voyager and her friends, including her constant companion Neelix, and used her abilities to push the lost Voyager out of Borg space and a year closer to home. This sacrifice taught the crew of the Voyager and fans of the show the innate nobility of the Ocampan race.

38. Vidiians

First appearance star trek voyager “the phage” (1995).

While the Ocampans were a nice, little, Tinkerbell-like species that fluttered about Voyager , there were also these Wes Craven nightmares… The Vidiians suffered a disease known as the Phage. The Phage is kind of like a hardcore space Ebola that utterly destroys the infected’s body and organs. So, yeah, Bones McCoy was sort of right about space being a petri dish of death and pain.

The ravaged Phage would wander the galaxy and rob sentients of their organs and body parts. So there you are, doing warp three with caution around the Delta Quadrant, and, all of a sudden, a few Vidiians beam unto your ship and rip out your liver and intestines. Then, they use said liver and intestines to replace their own — whether you filled out your Federation organ donor cards or not.

The Vidiians were eventually cured by the crew of the Voyager, but you have to assume that in a galaxy so big there are still some Vidiians cruising around out there taking hearts and lungs from innocent travelers. Yeesh.

37. Breen

First appearance: star trek deep space nine “indiscretion” (1995).

First off, cool points for the Breen because the helmet that this species wears looks kind of like the helmet Princess Leia used to disguise herself as a bounty hunter in Return of the Jedi . But the space awesomeness of the Breen doesn’t end there…

The Breen’s fighting prowess and technology are so advanced that even the Romulons and Klingon talk about this mysterious species in hushed whispers. And, indeed, when the Breen made themselves known to the Federation during the Dominion War, things got intense. These mighty warriors allied themselves with the Cardassians and the Dominion to take on the combined might of the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulons.

During this conflict, the Breen destroyed the USS Defiant, the flagship of the Deep Space Nine space station, and managed to attack the Earth city of San Francisco. The Federation managed to develop counter weaponry to defeat the Breen, but many will remember these armored badassess as race of military specialists to be reckoned with.

The alliance with the Dominion cost the Breen, though, and — after the War — it wasn’t easy being Breen.

36. Hunters

First appearance star trek deep space nine : “captive pursuit” (1993).

Imagine a Trek alien that is pretty much Boba Fett mixed with Kraven the Hunter and you have these big game-tracking motherfuckers. The Hunters popped out of the Bajoran Wormhole and had their first contact with the Federation in the DS9 episode “Captive Pursuit.” In this stirring installment of this reporter’s favorite Trek show, fans were introduced to the Hunters and their chosen prey: the genetically enhanced Tosk.

The Hunters (whether this was the species name is unknown) would alter their Tosk prey in order to make the hunt more difficult. The pursuing of the Tosk was an obsession with the Hunters that rubbed members of the freedom loving Federation the wrong way.

The Hunters even gave the Federation a run for its money as the race of killers had advanced tech to assist them in their eternal hunt for Tosk. Sadly, the Hunters only appeared in one episode of Deep Space Nine , but their fighting skills and bloodthirsty rituals will be burned into the minds of Trek fans for a long time.

35. The Salt Vampire

First appearance: star trek: the original series “the man trap” (1966).

Old Salty here, or creature M-113, is a reminder that space can be a really, really dangerous place because there are things out there called Salt Vampires. And, no, this thing doesn’t just hang around a Pringles factory, it freakin’ shape shifts and then kills innocent people and drains them of their salt. Kirk and his crew first encountered this thing as it took the form of a number of the Enterprise’s crew. It almost killed Sulu, Yeoman Rand, Spock, and Kirk before being shot and killed by Dr. McCoy who had no time for such foolishness.

I suppose Kirk could have kept the Salt Vampire alive and just fed it Wetzel’s Pretzels (those things are like licking the ocean), but I guess Kirk felt that a shape shifting thing that looks like it was spat out of the ninth plane of hell that brutally kills people and drains them of sodium probably needed to be deleted from the universe. One has to wonder what special M-114 might be: Cinnamon Vampire?

34. Cheron

First appearance star trek: the original series “let that be your last battlefield” (1969).

When we first met the Cheron, there was only two members of this species left: Bele (played by the Riddler himself, the great Frank Gorshin) and Lokai. Bele was hunting Lokai whom Bele deemed a traitor after the planet Cheron was wiped out due to centuries of racial wars.

Apparently, some Cheron were black on the left and white on the right while other members of this advanced species possessed the opposite skin alignment. Due to this difference, the entire population — save Lokai and Bele — were eradicated. Bele hijacked the Enterprise and used his vast array of mental capabilities to hunt for Lokai.

The whole opposite was a thinly veiled, but powerful allusion to the destructive potential and sheer idiocy of racism — a message as powerful today as it was in the ’60s. Of course, you know I’m going to say that Mego made a Cheron doll, a toy I treasured in my childhood and called Oreo Man.

We should all have an Oreo Man during our most innocent years. But who knew my beloved Oreo Man was actually a genocidal racist madman that used his vast power to almost destroy the Enterprise? Oh, Oreo Man…

33. Nausicaans

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “tapestry” (1993).

One of the surlier races in the galaxy, Nausicaans are big hairy warriors that hire themselves out as mercenaries throughout the galaxy. A Nausicaan had quite the impact on the life of Jean-Luc Picard. When the future captain of the Enterprise was an ensign, he played a stirring game of domjot with some Nausicaan thugs (as one does). Picard and his pals accused the Nausicaans of cheating and the bad-tempered badasses stabbed Picard through the heart. This required Picard to get an artificial heart. (The more you know!)

The Nausicaans gave the crew of Deep Space Nine a hard time as well. This hairy race of pirates even encountered Captain Archer and the original crew of the Enterprise back in the day, proving that big hairy thugs that cheat at domjot remain big hairy thugs that cheat at domjot.

All that aside, Nausicaan fighting prowess is equal to the fighting prowess of Klingons and the only thing that keeps the Nausicaans from being more of a threat is their mistrust and their inability to come together as a species. Instead of being intergalactic conquerors, the Nausicaans have remained bullies, raider, and cheaters. But they do have killer 80s rocker hair, don’t they?

32. Kazon

First appearance: star trek: voyager “caretaker” (1995).

The Kazon were the first race that the crew of the Voyager encountered when they arrived in the Delta Quadrant, and — as far as d-bag, aggressive alien species go — the Kazon take the space cake (because when you put the word space in front of something, it sounds like you are in the future).

The Kazon race was separated into rival sects, which made negotiating with them as a whole almost impossible. They were once a slave race that served the Trabe, but the Kazon were a fractured species before and during its enslavement. Despite their disloyalty to each other, the Kazon were fierce combatants who were unwilling to negotiate a peace treaty with the Trabe or Voyager.

The Kazon had advanced technology and a back-stabbing blood thirst that introduced the crew of the Voyager to the Delta Quadrant and caused Voyager to be trapped in what was going to be a very hostile place, if the battle-hardened Kazon were any indication.

31. Metrons

First appearance: star trek: the original series “arena” (1967).

We do so love the Gorn. And what alien species was responsible for Kirk’s immortal battle with the Gorn? Why that would be the shiny and nigh omnipotent Metrons.

The Metrons possess tremendous mental powers and can control matter and energy. These human like aliens fiercely guard their sector of space and regard even the most minor intrusion as a great trespass punishable by death. When the Enterprise and a Gorn vessel find themselves in Metron space, the Metrons mentally teleport both Captains to a remote planet and force them to fight.

The Metrons are intensely xenophobic and regard other races as barbaric, so when Kirk spares the Gorn, the aloof Metrons are impressed and free both vessels. You see, a simple act of kindness was all it took to free the Enterprise from the Metrons’ wrath and impress a race of people that do not impress easily. Also, the Metrons wear sparkly evening gowns so they have that going for them…

30. Horta

First appearance: star trek: the original series “devil in the dark” (1967).

The Horta may look like a pile of bile soaked dog puke, but, hey, it was featured in William Shatner’s favorite Star Trek episode, so we have to give this blob of silicon its props.

The Horta was first encountered by a group of miners. After a miner was killed, Kirk and company were called to see what was up. They encounter the Horta, an extremely alien-looking beastie. After the creature is injured, Spock attempts a mind meld but the creature is in too much pain for Spock to connect with it. Soon, the crew of the Enterprise learns that the creature is the lone survivor of its race charged with protecting the eggs of the next generation of Horta. So Kirk and his pals dedicate themselves to protecting the thing’s little vomit eggs from the angry miners.

All jokes aside, the Horta was classic Trek alien: a semi-cheesy-looking beastie that stars in an episode with a powerful theme. The Horta was a prime example that all life has merit and even something that looks like a half-digested taco only wants to survive and thrive. By saving the Horta, the crew of the Enterprise shows that their most important mission is to contact and understand all life, no matter what it looks like. Thank you for that valuable lesson, Mr. Horta.

29. Greek Gods

First appearance: star trek: the original series “who mourns for adonis” (1967).

Wait, what? Oh, by the bristling beard of Zeus, the Greek Gods exists in the Star Trek  universe. 

The legendary deities of ancient Greece were actually super-powered aliens that lived on Pollox IV. They would visit Earth back in ancient times and bask in the worship of primitive humans. Well, the humans of the Enterprise were no primitives, and — when the Pollox IV alien that called itself Apollo trapped Kirk and his crew on the planet and refused to allow them to leave — Kirk and Spock fought back, kicking a god’s ass in the process.

Sadly, we never saw the other Greek gods. (Because could you just imagine Kirk versus Zeus?) But, it was established the other gods existed — and that they wore togas and laurel leaves like they were going to a frat party. The fact that this all exists in the same galaxy as Klingons and Borg just makes me very happy.

28. Hirogen

First appearance: star trek: voyager “message in a bottle” (1998).

The Hirogen are a nasty Delta Quadrant species of reptilian hunters that view any other sentient beings as prey. When the Hirogen chose a victim, the religious ritual of the Hunt began and all aspect of Hirogen culture centered on this blood sport. After the Hirogen tracked and captured its prey, they would remove the victim’s skeletal system, muscles, internal organs, ligaments, and tendons and keep these parts as trophies.

The Hirogen ran afoul of the Starship Voyager a number of times and Captain Janeway and her elite crew always found ways to defeat these hunters. In one of the Hirogen’s more bone headed moves, they created advanced holograms that could feel fear and pain. These thinking holograms quickly became more advanced than the Hirogen and turned the hunters into the hunted.

Despite this addlepated move, the Hirogen were always a feared species for those that traveled through the Delta Quadrant because they were essentially Predators dropped into the middle of the Star Trek universe.

27. El-Aurians

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “the child” (1988).

El-Aurian were a race of wise and peaceful people that transverse the galaxy to listen to the stories of others. When the Borg wiped out the El-Aurian’s home world, the galaxy lost a race of wise listeners… Or it almost did, because the surviving members of this race spread out across the galaxy.

Fans met the El-Aurians when The Next Generation introduced Guinan, the proprietor of Ten Forward, the bar of choice for the crew of the Enterprise. When Guinan came aboard, the members of the Enterprise had a kind and quick-witted being to bounce their problems off of, and Guinan listened. It was a shame that so many people like Guinan were lost to the Borg as the El-Aurians long lived goodness was a boon to the galaxy.

But not all El-Aurians were benevolent. Tollan Soran was an El-Aurian survivor that was aboard a ship of refugees with Guinan when the ships ferrying the El-Aurians refugees was lost to the fiery Nexus ribbon. It seemed that the legendary Captain Kirk was killed in this rescue attempt, but it turns out Kirk was trapped within the Nexus.

Soran became obsessed with returning to the Nexus and his Ahab like need for knowledge led to the first and only meeting between James T. Kirk and Jean Luc Picard. Soran was an anomaly to the El-Aurians species as most of the race used their centuries of wisdom to spread enlightenment wherever they went.

26. Tellarites

First appearance: star trek: the original series “journey to babel” (1967).

Along with Andorians and Vulcans, Tellarites were one of the first species to join the United Federation of Planets. A Tellarite first appeared in The Original Series episode “Journey to Babel,” where Sarek, Spock’s father, was framed for the murder of a Tellarite ambassador.

Sarek was able to solve the crime, freeing his name and forging a long-lasting peace with the Tellarities. Early contact with the Tellarites was recounted in Enterprise , but members of the specials also popped up in The Next Generation and even in a couple of films. Tellarites, with their distinctive beards, hooves, and stubbornness, have long been one of the backbone species of the Federation.

25. Tamarians

First appearance star trek: the next generation “darmok” (1991).

“Temba, his arms wide. Shaka, when the walks fell.” Who can forget these poetic, yet somewhat ominous phrases spoken by Dathon the Tamarian to Captain Picard when the two were trapped on a hostile world together?

Trek lore has it that the Federation and the Tamarians only had seven encounters over the years because the Tamarian language was so hard to comprehend. Well, if he was to survive, Picard would have to understand it (and fast) because Dathon beamed Picard down to the planet in order to teach the human captain a language that was as complex as it was beautiful.

It turns out Tamarians only communicate in metaphors (I’ve had grad school professors like that), and in order for the Federation and the Tamarians to build an accord, Picard would need to understand those metaphors. “Shaka when the walls fell,” has become quite a famous little moment of Trek myth as the Tamarians stand as a metaphor themselves — for cultural understanding and empathy.

24. Species 8472

First appearance: “star trek: voyager” part 1 (1997).

Species 8472 are so deadly that they even make the Borg poop their cybernetic underroos. (Hey, do you think when the Borg poops they all go at once? Or does one go make while the rest of the Collective just snickers? This is now the most ever written about Borg poop on the internet. Or is it? I’m not googling that.)

Anyway, Species 8472 existed in an extra-dimensional bit of hell known as fluidic space. When the Borg discovered the fluidic dimension, the ever deadly race of cybernetic killers busted through the dimensions and attempted to assimilate Species 8472. 8472 was having none of that and fought back, creating weapons that could slay the Borg with ease. In fact, 8472 was able to destroy the Borg Cubes in seconds. (Man, that’s like taking down the Death Star with a single bullet.) Sadly, Species 8472 also took out many innocent Delta Quadrant planets, which forced the crew of Voyager to get involved.

The Borg and Voyager had to form an unlikely alliance to drive Species 8472 back to fluidic space. 8472 was one of the closet things Trek fans ever got to Lovecraft-like cosmic horrors, as even the Borg could not stand up to these waling nightmares. This species appeared a few more times on Voyager until Captain Janeway was able to broker a peace with these terrors that exist behind the fabric of time and space.

23. The Gorn

Oh, the Gorn. Who doesn’t love Gorn? Of course, this rubbery looking and cold blooded reptilian monstrosity first appeared in the classic TOS episode “Arena,” where Kirk had to go mano-e-lizardo with the captain of a captured Gorn vessel. What followed was one of the most classic fights in Trek history as Kirk had to fashion a makeshift cannon to defeat this alien monster.

Despite its primitive appearance, future novels established the Gorn as a technologically-advanced race and, you just have to admit, Trek lore has not even scratched the surface of the Gorn. Imagine the spin offs. The Gorn Identity. Gorn to be Wild. Gorn on the Fourth of July. Fans were able to witness the Gorn home world for the first time in DC Comics’ Star Trek the Next Generation: The Gorn Crisis .

The Gorn were also one of the aliens made by Mego in its second set of Trek dolls. Fun fact: Mego’s Gorn looks nothing like the TV Gorn, as Mego just reused Marvel’s Lizard mold, painted it brown and decked old Gorny in the outfit used for the Klingon doll. Despite this lack of toy respect, and despite one of the cheapest prosthetic heads ever seen on TV, the Gorn’s battle with Kirk is still forever burned into Trek lore.

22. Tholians

First appearance: star trek: the original series “the tholian web” (1968).

Get a load of these psychedelic xenophobes. Yeah, the Tholians might look like a funky black light album cover come to life, but, really, they are brutal, territorial, hateful, and will do anything to keep other species out of Tholian territory. But, hey, they are known for the punctuality, so take heart in the fact that, when they kill you, it’ll be done in a timely fashion.

The Tholians cruise around their sector of space in geometric rainbow ships, making the aesthetic of the race more Yes album cover and less cool space despots. The Tholians first encountered the crew of the Enterprise when the USS Defiant flew too close to Tholian space.

Always protective of their borders, the Tholians phased the Defiant out of real space and into an interspace dimension. Kirk himself was phased out of time and space (for Shatner, it wouldn’t be the first or last time this happened), but Spock and the Enterprise were able to get their captain back and pimp-slap the Tholians.

The Enterprise under Jonathan Archer also ran afoul of these crystalline killers. The Tholians are a great example that in space, threats can come in any shape and even rainbows can kill you.

21. Talaxians

First appearance: star trek: voyager “caretaker” (1995).

One of the friendlier species of the Delta Quadrant, the Talaxians — or more accurately, an individual member of the Talaxian species — was pivotal to Voyager’s survival during the years it spent trapped in the Delta Quadrant.

Talaxians became dispersed throughout the Delta Quadrant after a devastating war with the Haakonian Order. Talaxians had no real home world, but that did not break their spirits. Talaxians are a very spiritual, upbeat, and whimsical race that — when confronted with two unpleasant paths to take in life — will find a third, happier path to traverse. This spiritual ability to find light and hope in any circumstance made the Talaxian Neelix indispensable to the crew of the Voyager.

Neelix was the cook and morale officer aboard Voyager and helped his friends out of many spiritual and literal crises. Throughout its wanderings in the Delta Quadrant, Voyager encountered many Talaxians that were always willing to lend a hand. Sadly, many aggressive species like the Borg also targeted the peaceful Talaxians — but, like Neelix, the Talaxians always found that third path.

Keep going, because we’ve got more aliens for you!

20. Organians

First appearance: star trek: the original series “errand of mercy” (1967).

When Kirk, Spock, and the crew of the Enterprise first encounter the Organians, a non-distinct humanoid species, this new race appeared to be akin to an 18th century agrarian Earth society. Spock commented that his tricoder has more technology than the entirety of the Organians planet.

Sadly, the Organians home world became caught up in a war between the Federation and the Klingons. Kirk warned the Organians leaders that war was coming but the Organians were completely unconcerned… When the Klingons arrived and began to take Organians hostages, the Organians remained unconcerned — because, apparently, the Organians are millions of years more advanced than either Klingons or humans. The Organians mentally disabled the Klingon and Federation ships in orbit around their planet and calmly disarmed Kirk, Spock, and the Klingons.

The Organians have an advanced form of ESP and can predict future events. They also can possess the bodies of others. An Organian told Kirk that, one day, Klingons and humans would be friends — something ‘ol James T. couldn’t wrap his head around, but something Next Gen fans would know to be true. So here’s to the Organians, the Amish space gods of the galaxy.

19. The Traveler

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “where no one has gone before” (1987).

Now, let’s all be honest. Yeah, we love Wil Wheaton as he is truly nerd royalty and has done a great deal over the last few years as a sort of geek ambassador. But, real talk: no one really liked Wesley Crusher. We love Wesley’s mom, Dr. Beverly Crusher, but Wes was kind of the Jar Jar Binks of Star Trek . The Traveler freed us of all of that.

The Traveler is a member of a mysterious race of immensely powerful beings. The Traveler could transverse time, space, and heavenly bodies at will and could use his thoughts to manipulate nature and reality. The Traveler seemed to be second only to Q in terms of power and omnipotence.

When the Traveler first met ‘lil Wesley Crusher, he compared the lad to Mozart. This caused Captain Picard to promote Crusher to ensign. Later in his Starfleet career, Crusher began to have doubts about his lot in Starfleet. The Traveler convinced Crusher to leave Starfleet after Crusher began to develop powers similar to the Traveler.

As Crusher’s powers grew, the Traveler took him on as protégé, teaching the former ensign how to best use his vast powers to help the galaxy. Wesley left the Enterprise with the Traveler as his very own Yoda and, for this, Trek fans hold a great debt to the Traveler as he freed us from the oft times insipid Crusher.

You know, looking back, I wouldn’t mind a novel or two explaining what happened to Crusher later in life. So, I guess we can give the Traveler credit for not only freeing us from Wesley, but also for making Bev’s boy into an interesting part of the Star Trek universe.

18. Crystalline Entity

First appearance: star trek: the next generation: “datalore” (1988).

The Crystalline Entity is basically the Galactus of the Star Trek  universe. The Entity is a giant, electromagnetic engine of cosmic death that lives to consume organic matter. It goes from planet to planet, absorbing all organic matter and leaving dry husks of death behind. A Crystalline Entity destroyed the outpost where Commander Data was created, essentially making Data an intergalactic android orphan.

Despite its destructive power, the Crystalline Entity is a beautiful sight: huge and multi-faceted, colorful and shimmering — frankly, an artist’s dream. But, behind the beauty, lies a bite that can lay waste to entire species.

This giant snowflake of death was pivotal in the origins of Data and is one of the most feared species in the entire galaxy. There are other Crystalline Entities out there in the void of space, but, thankfully, encounters with them are very rare. As of yet, no Crystalline Entity has been seen hanging out with a silver guy on a surfboard… but we remain hopeful.

17. Betazoid

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “encounter at farpoint” (1987).

For seven seasons and a handful of films, Star Trek fans got to know a very special Betazoid: Counselor Deanna Troi. Troi was an exemplary member of the Betazoid race — a mostly peaceful people that possess empathic and telepathic powers.

Most Betazoids, including Troi, use their powers for the benefit of others. The Enterprise was saved many times thanks to Troi and her fantastic abilities as she served with honor and distinction about the Federation flagship. Betazoids are indistinguishable for humans except for their all black irises. It’s a very cool thought that there is a race of Charles Xaviers in the Star Trek  universe and, with more Star Trek coming our way soon, let us hope we have the honor to meet more Betazoids.

Fun fact: Gene Roddenberry wanted the Betazoid women to have four breasts. Can you imagine trying to take Troi seriously with four breasts? Thankfully, Roddenberry was talked out of this silliness and the Enterprise’s resident Betazoid counselor became the stuff of Trek legend.

16. Talosians

First appearance: star trek pilot “the cage” (1965).

You know we had to include the first aggressive alien species ever encountered in a Trek episode. And, yes, we’ll get this out of the way quickly: the Talosians’ heads look like asses. We know. ‘Ol fanny foreheads. Butt heads. Get it all out of your system. Okay, done? Good.

The Talosians were the sole survivors of a nuclear holocaust. The remaining Talosians manifested the power to create illusions. These beings grew addicted to the illusions and abandoned technology. Like the Lotus Eaters of old, their existence was now tied to their narcotic-like illusions. Soon, the Talosians grew bored. The buttheads lured alien races to their planet and fed off the psyche of their victims.

Captain Pike of the Enterprise and his science officer Spock were drawn to the Talosian home world. The Talosians tempted the Federation officers with everything they could desire, but — through the minds of both men — the Talosians learned that humans hated captivity. The Talosians showed compassion and let Pike and Spock go. Later, Spock would return to the Talosian planet after Pike was left paralyzed. The Talosians once again showed compassion as they allowed the broken Pike to live his life on the planet.

The Talosian story ends sweetly, but just remember that, somewhere in the galaxy, there are siren-like, androgynous aliens (the male Talosians were actually played by female actors), ready to lore victims into a life of captivity. The Talosians were Trek’s first encountered, named alien species and they are also some of the most memorable as these illusion-casting humanoids set the standard for all Trek species going forward. Not bad for a bunch of ass-heads.

15. Vorta

First appearance: star trek: deep space nine “the jem’hadar” (1994).

The Vorta were genetically bred by the Founders to be the perfect military commanders and strategists of the Dominion. Vorta are sly, cunning, and corrupt. Try to imagine an entire species of Littlefingers and you get the idea.

In addition to the strategic acumen baked into Vorta DNA by the Founders, Vorta are also programmed to believe that the Founders are gods — and the Vorta serve their gods in all things. The Vorta created the Jem’Hadar and could clone themselves so the Dominion would never be without its master strategists for long. Even after death.

But, like the Jem’Hadar, the Vorta were programmed to serve. Upon capture or defeat, a Vorta was programmed to commit suicide, and during the Dominion War, many Vorta pulled the trigger on their own demise. The Vorta was one of the most cunning and immoral races Starfleet ever faced, even if the immorality was inserted into their genetic makeup by another species.

14. Xindi

First appearance: star trek: enterprise “the expanse” (2003).

The Xindi are a collective of six subspecies — avian, arboreal, primate, reptilian, insect, and aquatic — that form a single race. As a whole, the Xindi posed a great threat to the early Federation.

The Xindi worship a race known as the Sphere Builders and, when this mysterious race warns the Xindi that they will be involved in a war with Earth, the Xindi preemptively strike, killing millions of humans. Jonathan Archer and his crew take the fight to the Xindi who provide the first crew of the Enterprise its greatest challenge.

The Xindi was one of the first warnings to humanity that not every race is benevolent as the six races of this advanced culture reined death upon an Earth that was still getting used to the idea of contact with alien life.

13. Trill

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “the host” (1991).

Trills are an advanced species of humanoid that are passionate and kind in most of their dealings. Some Trills are joined with wise Symbiotes that chose different member of the Trill species with which to share a mutual bond. The Symbiotes retain the personalities and memories of each host and pass these aspects on to the new hosts.

The first Trill Trek fans encountered was named Odan. Odan quickly struck up a romance with Dr. Beverly Crusher and, when Odan was tragically killed, the Symbiote was moved into the body of William Riker. Riker had long been friend-zoned by Crusher, so this began one of the most awkward romances in Trek history.

It also gave fans the legacy of the Trill, a legacy that continued into Deep Space Nine with the beloved Jadzia Dax. Through Dax, fans learned about almost every aspect of Trill life. It was a fascinating meditation of duality, sexuality, and identity and the character of Jadzia Dax was almost a dozen disparate characters in one. When Jadzia was lost, the Symbiote moved into Ezri Dax, a wonderful new character that continued the exploration into what it is like being many beings at once.

12. Tribbles

First appearance: star trek: the original series “the trouble with tribbles” (1967).

They’re fuzzy, they squeak, they can be deadly — who doesn’t love Tribbles? Ask any casual fan to name a Trek alien, and there’s a good chance Mr. Joe on the street guy will say Tribbles because these bundles of fur are just that darn famous.

“Trouble with Tribbles” — The Original Series  installment that first introduced these puff balls — allowed Shatner, Nimoy, and company to really flex their comedy chops. But, when you break down the threat the Tribbles represented, they actually are pretty terrifying… Imagine a species that reproduces so fast, a ship can be suffocating on the things in a matter of days. That’s a bit more Giger than Pokemon.

Despite the threat, the Tribbles also brought the laughs to generations of fans. Of course, the Tribbles were revisited in the classic DS9 episode “Trials and Tribble-ations” and also played a major role in the recent film Star Trek: Into Darkness . To quote a great man from a rival space franchise: “Not bad for a little fuzzball.”

11. Jem’Hadar

One of the greatest and most efficiently deadly militaries the galaxy have ever seen, the foot soldiers of the Dominion — the Jem’Hadar — are also one of the more tragic species that can be found in the Trekverse.

Jem’Hadar reach maturity in the span of about three days. They are genetically programmed to be the perfect galactic foot soldier by their masters, the Vorta. To insure control, the Vorta have withheld an essential enzyme from the Jem’Hadar genetic makeup. This enzyme is supplied to the Jem’Hadar in the form of The White, a liquid that the Jem’Hadar has filtered into their systems through a tube in their necks. Essentially, Jem’Hadar are drug-addicted soldiers unleashed upon the galaxy.

The Jem’Hadar were the main Dominion force that laid siege to Deep Space Nine during the Dominion War and were nearly unstoppable. The need for The White was a religion to the Jem’Hadar, who became one of the most feared species in any quadrant.

Jem’Hadar are incredibly resilient and possess keen minds that help them plan for battles. Despite all this, most Jem’Hadar die very young due to the fact that they are essentially cannon fodder for the Dominion. Yet, the Jem’Hadar value duty and loyalty above all else as they embrace their lot as pawns of the Dominion. All for The White.

The Top 10 Star Trek aliens await on the next page!

10. Changeling

First appearance: star trek: deep space nine “the emissary” (1993).

As we all know, life in the Trek universe can take many and varied forms. One of the most profoundly different races of the Trek galaxy are the Changelings, a race of intelligent liquid-based shape shifters that reshaped the political climate of the galaxy with the same ease that they reshape their bodies.

The Changelings were also known as The Founders and were the puppet masters behind the Dominion War. From their wormhole homeworld, the Changelings manipulated the universe. The Founders used entire races like chess pieces showing the Federation and its enemies that there are beings that exist within and behind the galaxy that are willing to go any lengths for power.

But not all Changelings were adversarial. Through Odo, Trek fans saw another side to this fascinating species. Odo was the constable aboard DS9 , a by-the-books cop who went to any lengths (literally) to solve crimes. He was a defender of his Federation friends, particularly Kira Nerys the woman he learned to love. When the Founders merged their liquid forms with Odo, they learned about humanity, and his love and bravery spread even to the hidden spaces of the galaxy.

Plus, The Changelings are an alien species that can easily disguise themselves as furniture. You can’t teach that!

9. Andorians

First appearance: star trek: the original series “journey to babel” (1968).

The Andorians are an aggressive yet advanced race that was one of the first alien races that formed the original Federation of Planets with humanity.

The Andorians have distinctive blue skin, white hair, and two protruding antennae. The blue skinned humanoids have an advanced armada and a long history of conflict with the Vulcans. This conflict was put aside as Andorians entered into the Federation and, with it, decades of peace. But peace wasn’t easy, as seen in Star Trek: Enterprise,  in which Federation Captain Archer and Andorian Captain Thy’lek Shran developed an adversarial relationship that, thankfully, culminated in a friendship based on mutual respect.

The Andorians are more than a bit xenophobic as they refer to humans and Vulcans as “pink skins” and have a long standing mistrust of everything not Andorian. In fact, the Andorians don’t even trust their offshoot race, the very rarely encountered, white-skinned, psychic Aenar.

Enterprise is a bit unfairly-maligned by some Trekkers, but it will always be the show that took the Andorians from background characters to a narratively-explored race with deep contradictions. Of course, I need to mention that the Andorian was also one of the final Trek dolls Mego produced. It is very sparkly.

8. Ferengi

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “the last outpost” (1987).

I would  tell you some facts about the Ferengi, but I’d have to charge you about ten bars of (snarl, drool) gold-pressed latinum first. Because that’s what drives the Ferengi race: cold, hard, glimmering, wonderful cash-money.

By the time fans met the crew of the Kirk’s Enterprise, most races in the galaxy had abandoned cash-based economies to focus on the improvement of science and technology for all beings. But not the Ferengi. These big-eared, fanged critters utilize science and technology to procure cash and heaven help any sentients that stand in their way.

Fans first me the Ferengi in Next Gen as the greedy race of miscreants became the first real adversaries Picard’s crew had to face. The Ferengi in Next Gen were vile and greedy, sort of like spacefaring Daffy Ducks. But, in Deep Space Nine , fans were introduced to Quark, Rom, Nog, and other Ferengi that had a streak of nobility. Oh, they were still as greedy as they come, but this Ferengi family, saved the DS9 space station more than once. Heck, Nog even became the first Ferengi to serve in Starfleet.

In DS9 , fans learned many of the finer points of Ferengi culture. For example, Ferengi women aren’t allowed to wear clothes. In addition to their odd dress codes, the Ferengi live by the Rules of Acquisition, an almost religious text that teaches the Ferengi the best ways to make money. Quark constantly had to choose between loyalty to his friends and his Ferengi impulses for cash and this often humorous double nature led to some fun dramas.

But, if you have a piece of latinum in your pocket, be warned that there are many Ferengi out there who would kill for it because that is the Ferengi way.

7. Romulans

First appearance: star trek: the original series “balance of terror” (1966).

All sentient races in the galaxy have a good, healthy fear of the Romulans — and with good reason. In many ways, the Romulans are like the anti-Vulcans. In fact, Romulans are an offshoot of the Vulcan race. Centuries ago, the Romulans rejected the Vulcan idea of repression of emotions and struck out on their own, finally settling on the twin planets Romulus and Remus and forging an empire.

Where Vulcans are cold, collected, and benevolent, Romulans are fiery, aggressive, and often power hungry. This passionate need to conquer led to the Earth/Romulan war, the first time humanity experienced total war on an intergalactic scale. Earth was eventually victorious and, during the conflict, no human ever actually saw a Romulan. Years later, it was the crew of the Enterprise that actually saw what Romulans looked like and it was Mr. Spock that postulated a common ancestry between Vulcans and Romulans.

The Romulans were based on the aggressiveness and culture of the Roman Empire, which is seen through the race’s military aggression and clothing. Despite years of ill will, the Romulans sided with the Federation in the Dominion War. A Romulan also changed reality, as fans of the new Trek films know…

A Romulan named Nero used a Red Matter device to destroy Romulus and punch a hole in time and space. Nero then went back in time and destroyed the USS Kelvin, causing a new reality to splinter off from the original Trek timeline — a reality Trek fans are currently enjoying in films.

Romulans have touched every part of Trek history and have even created a huge amount of it. They continue to serve as a counterpoint to the Vulcans and their name brings fear and respect throughout the Trek galaxy.

If you can imagine God in the Star Trek   universe, you understand Q. Q isn’t a kind god or an emotionally-distant god, hungry for worship. Q is a curious god that wants to test the intelligent races of the galaxy — particularly Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the Enterprise.

Q is a member of The Q, a race of omnipotent beings that observe the universe from afar and interfere in the lives of mortals when it suits their whims. The Q are a force of nature, appearing when and where they want to bring gifts or utter destruction to lesser beings. It all depends on a Q’s whims. Q became a sometimes-ally, sometimes-antagonist to the crew of the Enterprise and even popped up on DS9 and Voyager . (And, really, how awesome would it be to see Q pop into J.J. Abrams’ Kelvin Universe?)

Q is everywhere and everything. Wherever Q went, great storytelling followed — mostly because of the deeply complex and often comedic relationship between Q and Picard. Whether it was TV, comics, or novels (most notably the eminently readable Q Continuum trilogy by Greg Cox), The Q’s force of nature omnipotence have made them one of the most feared and gloriously divine species in the Trek universe. Yes, in Trek, Q definitely stood for quality.

5. Bajorans

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “ensign ro” (1991).

It is apropos that the Bajorans and Cardassians are so close on this list because the two races are forever linked in the mind of Trek fans. Trekkers first met the Bajoran through Enterprise Ensign Ro Laren, a fiery and ultra-capable young Starfleet cadet.

Ro had everything it took to get ahead in Starfleet. She was loyal, dedicated, brilliant, and strong willed. Yet, the past of her people, the Bajorans, was filled with so much tragedy. The loyalty to her race led Ro away from Starfleet and into the waiting arms of the Marquis, a group that abandoned Starfleet to form a renegade fleet of rebels dissatisfied with Federation doctrine.

Ro’s discontent was expanded upon by the inclusion of the Bajorans in Deep Space Nine . In DS9 , fans learnt of the suffering that the Bajorans were forced to endure at the hands of the Cardassians. Bajorans were a race of freedom fighters, a highly scientific and artistic race that had to embrace militarism and xenophobia in order to survive.

In DS9 , fans learned almost every aspect of the Bajoran race. What began with Ro continued the Kira Nerys, the second in command of the Deep Space Nine space station and a woman who would do anything to keep her people free and punish her former oppressors.

DS9 introduced many Bajoran notables in its many seasons, and not all of them were benevolent. Of all the races introduced in Star Trek , the Bajorans might be the most tragically human as they had to see their own darkness in order to survive the unthinkable in order to survive the Cardassians.

4. Cardassians

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “the wounded” (1991).

Nowhere in the Trek universe have there been a race more troubling, more complex, and more narratively-interesting race than the Cardassians. Fans first met the lizard like, leathery Cardassians in the Next Gen episode entitled “The Wounded,” in which the martial struggle between the Cardassians and the Bajoran was introduced.

The Cardassians were first seen as Nazi-like war criminals that committed a horrible genocide against the Bajoran people. The anger against the Cardassians, amongst other points of discontent, caused a large segment of Bjorn sympathizers to break off from the Federation and form the Marquis.

Cardassians warred with both the Federation and the Klingon Empire and took both fleets to the absolute limits. When the Cardassian/Bjorn conflict ended with the Bajoran victorious, it was up to the Federation to help the galaxy heal. The Federation set up the Deep Space Nine space station to oversee this transition of power as Cardassians began to be tried for war crimes that were simply unthinkable in such an enlightened galaxy. 

At this time, fans met Gul Dukat and Garak. Garak in particular demonstrated that there was more to the Cardassians than violence. He became a DS9 wildcard who, for the most part, was loyal to peace and harmony.

However, both Garak and former Cardassian military leader Gul Dukat had spilled their fair share of blood and the Cardassians began to stand-in for any race that committed genocide. Parallels were drawn not only to the Nazis but to Imperialistic Europe and to America’s treatment of indigenous peoples as well.

The Cardassians were a difficult mirror to look into because they exposed many societal flaws of the contemporary world. Through rich, powerfully crafted characters like Garak, Trek reminds viewers that in all species, there is the capacity for tremendous good and unthinkable evil.

3. Borg

First appearance: star trek: the next generation “q who” (1989).

Throughout Trek history, the wonderful men and women who have crafted stories for Star Trek have often reminded fans that space can be a cruel and terrible place — but no race has represented the horrors of the Final Frontier more than the Borg.

The Borg is a race of cyborg drones that share a hive mind. Their only aim is to assimilate the universe and make all Borg. Borg are mindless automatons that answer to the Borg Queen and the Collective. They are unstoppable and fiercely efficient. The Borg roam the galaxy in their distinctive Borg Cubes and, when they encounter any organic race, that race is forcibly assimilated into the Borg. All hopes, history, art, passion, and individuality become part of the Collective while the individual becomes a living weapon, a husk dedicated only to the Borg. Famously, Jean-Luc Picard fell to the Borg and was transformed into Locutus. As Locutus, Picard came an eyelash away from assimilating the Enterprise.

Later, through characters like Hugh Borg and Seven of Nine, some humanity was given to the Borg. Hugh was an injured Borg healed by Picard’s crew, while Seven of Nine broke her programming and served on Voyager. Through both characters, more and more history was revealed about the Borg. Fans even got to meet the Borg Queen in the film Star Trek: First Contact  — and what an H.R. Giger nightmare that was.

Throughout the decades, Star Trek has been the most hopeful of sci-fi franchises. Trek is infused with humankind’s potential for greatness and a hope for an enlightened future. The Borg serve as a reminder that technology can lead to paradise, yes, but it can also lead to a cold future of pure horror where individuality is worthless and resistance is futile.

2. Klingons

When we first met the Klingons, they were classically humanoid aliens that mirrored the worst of humanity. In the earliest Klingon appearances, Klingon society was portrayed as brutal and despotic. They were slave masters that would do anything to crush any opposition.

The Klingons were constant threats. At times, the Klingons seemed to be analogous to the Nazi Third Reich. In other instances, they resembled Communist Russia. But whatever real world nightmare the Klingons represented at any given moment, whenever a Klingon Bird of Prey warped into a confrontation with the Enterprise, fans know that intense action would follow.

When the Klingons returned in Star Trek: The Motion Picture , this brutal race’s appearance was altered. Suddenly, Klingons were shown to have deep forehead ridges and a more bestial appearance. The real reason this was done was because Trek now had a budget, but there has never been an in story reason for the Klingon alteration. This just adds to the mystique of the Klingon race.

Klingons take the next step of their story evolution in Star Trek: The Next Generation . Now, a Klingon served on the bridge of the Enterprise, and it could be argued that this Klingon — Mr. Worf — was the very model of what a Starfleet officer should be. Through Worf, Next Gen explored every aspect of Klingon culture and made it more like a race of honorable technologically-advanced Vikings or Mongols than an analogy to fascism. That exploration continued into Deep Space Nine and, through the half Klingon-half human engineer B’Elanna Torres, onto Voyager .

There is an actual a Klingon language that exists in the real world. A whole freakin’ language has been created inspired by these honorable and violent warriors of the cosmos. So, raise a glass of Klingon Warnog, grab your Bat’leth, and salute the Klingons — a race that started out as typical villains, but evolved into one of the most engaging and inspiring races in the galaxy.

1. Vulcans

Is there any race in genre fiction more beloved than the Vulcans? This race of logic-driven, emotionless, pointy-eared people have defined the Star Trek experience since day one.

In the Star Trek pilot, “The Cage,” the world was introduced to science officer Spock, a cold, calculating yet brave and benevolent alien who loyally assisted his captain. Fifty years later, Spock is still the strong right hand of the Enterprise. The Vulcan’s lack of emotion serves as a perfect narrative contrast to human nature, with the interactions and differences between Spock, McCoy, and Kirk as the beating heart of Trek since Roddenberry first put pen to paper.

But the wonder of the Vulcans don’t end with Spock. Over the decades — through countless books, films, TV episodes, and comics — many Vulcans have taken center stage and have, in the words of the most famous Vulcan of them all, fascinated fans for generations…

There has been Sarek, Spock’s father who dared to follow his emotions and take a human wife. There has been Tuvok, the brave and able Vulcan officer who served on Voyager. There has been T’Pol, the sometimes cold but always loyal commander that served as the first officer of the first Enterprise. By being so alien, all these characters and so many more have shown the world what it means to be human.

Trek lore has delved deeply into Vulcan history, creating one of most fully-functioning and detailed fictional worlds in all of sci-fi. Sadly, in the latest set of Trek films, Vulcan has fallen and this magnificent race is endangered. But take heart that Spock, Vulcan and Earth’s favorite son, is endeavoring to rebuild the race that has long made Star Trek so awesome.

Marc Buxton

Marc Buxton is an English teacher/private tutor by day,and a super-hyper-uber geek by night. Marc spent six years on the frontlines as a comic retailer before…

Musings of a Middle-Aged Geek

… observations from a lifetime of geekiness.

Searching for Spock, and the issue of recasting…

News broke earlier this week that “Star Trek Discovery”  has recast the role of “Spock” yet again, and the actor they’ve chosen is Ethan Peck (grandson of legendary actor Gregory Peck).  This isn’t the first time “Star Trek: Discovery” has recast a previously established role for the new series.

Mark Lenard was the original actor to play “Sarek”, the father of Spock, in TOS’ “Journey to Babel”, the movies “Search For Spock” (1984), “The Voyage Home” (1986), “The Undiscovered Country” (1991) as well as two episodes of “The Next Generation” (“Sarek” and “Unification” part 1).   The role would also be played by Ben Cross in “Star Trek” (2009), and is now being played by James Frain (right) in “Star Trek: Discovery.”  Both Cross and Frain did somewhat different takes on the character (Cross even used his native British accent), but both retained the essence of Lenard’s emotional frugality and seemingly distant (yet potent ) paternal love for his son.  Frain expands on that to show Sarek had similar feelings for his adopted human daughter, Michael Burnham (played by Sonequa Martin Green ).   Sarek’s human wife Amanda has also been recast several times; from the original’s Jane Wyatt to 2009’s Winona Ryder to Mia Kirshner in Discovery.

Season one also saw a recast TOS villain “Harcourt Fenton Mudd,” with “The Office”’s Rainn Wilson taking over for the late Roger C. Carmel.   I had issues with how Harry Mudd was portrayed in Discovery, but those issues had nothing to do with Wilson’s choices as an actor.  My issues were more with the character being an incongruously  turbocharged version of himself.   Hard to believe a mere ten years would see him go from the dangerous, Federation starship-hijacking hacker-genius seen in “Star Trek: Discovery” to the bumbling, inept space pimp we see in TOS’ “Mudd’s Women”.  See: “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad. ”

Oh well. Moving on…

There was also casting news surrounding the enigmatically unnamed Enterprise first officer, “Number One”; originally played by the late Majel Barrett-Roddenberry in the Star Trek pilot, “The Cage.”  Number One will now be played by “The X-Men”’s original “Mystique”, Rebecca Romijn.   Romijn’s character in the X-Men movies was herself recast with Oscar winner  Jennifer Lawrence.

This came after the news that the role of previous Enterprise captain, Christopher Pike, was also recast yet again (beyond  Bruce Greenwood ’s portrayal seen in the “Bad Robot” movies).

The new Chris Pike is to be played by Anson Mount (previously seen on AMC’s “Hell On Wheels”).

I recently saw Mount in person at the Las Vegas Star Trek convention, and he certainly looks the part.   He could easily pass for the late Jeffrey Hunter’s son.

Now “Star Trek: Discovery” has the seeming audacity (or courage , depending on one’s perspective) to recast the role yet again.   Spock was already recast for 2009’s “Star Trek” with “Heroes” costar Zachary Quinto , who brought a slightly more emotional take on the character.  That interpretation was fitting, since Quinto was playing a younger Spock who didn’t quite have the control over himself that Nimoy’s incarnation had in TOS.  Quinto played Spock in several of the JJ Abrams produced Star Trek movies, from 2009 to 2016.

The Bad Robot Star Trek movies  movies recast all of the iconic TOS characters, and while some of the physical casting was uncanny, others were a bit less so.  What was more impressive to me was how the new cast members brought their own mojo to the roles, rather than simply lapsing into cheap, SNL-style impersonations.   The characters felt close enough to their original counterparts, yet exhibited enough newness (brought on by their different life experiences, via the films’ alternate timeline) to make them seem fresh again; even after 50 years.   I have mixed emotions on the three Bad Robot Star Trek films, but casting is one area where the films truly hit it out of the park.

The original Star Trek characters have also been recast in Star Trek fan films, such as “Star Trek: New Voyages/Phase II,” and again in the more consistently successful  Star Trek Continues.

The first time Star Trek ever recast a role  on-camera  (sans reboot) was with the character of Lt. Saavik, played in 1982’s “The Wrath of Khan” by Kirstie Alley (“Cheers”) and in 1984’s “The Search For Spock” and 1986’s “The Voyage Home” by Robin Curtis .  Alley brought a certain firebrand  intensity to the role, while Curtis was arguably closer to a more typical Vulcan characterization.   Lt. Valeris (played by  Kim Cattrall , of “Sex and the City”) was originally supposed to be Saavik in 1991’s “The Undiscovered Country,” but negotiations for Alley’s return to the role fell apart, and (for some reason) Robin Curtis wasn’t an option, so rather than recast the role a third time, writer/director Nicholas Meyer simply changed the character’s name.

Personally, I’d wished they’d found a way to bring Robin Curtis aboard for that one, since Saavik betraying the Federation and her shipmates would’ve had far more gravitas than some anonymous new Vulcan we’d never seen before.  It would also give Spock’s personal feelings of betrayal a bit more heft as well.  In hindsight, it’s really not that important, since Kim Cattrall is excellent in the role of Valeris, with or without any previous connections to the Star Trek universe.

Star Trek is, of course, not the first big ticket sci-fi franchise to recast an iconic role or two…

“Doctor Who” (1963-present) first recast its lead character of “The Doctor” over 50 years ago.  In fact, recasting is part of Doctor Who’s design , since the character frequently ‘regenerates’ either through aging or through trauma/shock/death.   The first time such regeneration was seen was in 1966, when original actor William Hartnell ‘s increasingly fragile health forced him to step down from the role, making way for the younger Patrick Troughton,  who brought a fresh take to the role.  His energy and more humorous take arguably ushered in the series’ longevity.   Frequent recasting is now a much-anticipated part of this series.

The series recently made its own history with the announced recasting of the Doctor with Jodie Whittaker  stepping into the TARDIS later this year.

After years of attending Doctor Who conventions and seeing many inspired female cosplayers doing their own takes on the Doctor, I think this casting choice was both a logical and arguably long overdue new direction for the character.

Not to mention that “Missy”, the villainous Master’s newly female incarnation (played to perfection by Michelle Gomez ) recently established that gender is subject to change during Time Lord regeneration as well.

As a longtime Whovian myself, the regeneration has become a ritual of mixed emotions. There is the typical sadness at the loss of the outgoing Doctor, whom we tend to grow quite attached to after a few years.  However, there is also a bit of giddy anticipation for the incoming version as well.  It’s this built-in cycle of loss and renewal that makes Doctor Who such an interesting and exciting exception to recasting issues.  We’re not supposed to ignore or forget the previous actors in the role; because all of them are the same being .  Some interpretations of the Doctor are more successful with fans than others (that’s a never-ending argument in Whovian circles), but they’re all part of the complex tapestry of the character.   Sometimes elements of previous incarnations manifest themselves in unexpected ways, but each new actor always adds his or her own touch as well.

Of course, big ticket recasting is hardly exclusive to science fiction (or any genre of screen entertainment).   I’m also a fan of both the James Bond and Sherlock Holmes franchises, and have seen each of those recast multiple times within my own 50 plus-year lifetime.

Does the recasting bother me?  It’s a case-by-case basis.

When I was 12, I went to see my first big-screen Bond adventure; the ‘Bond-goes-to-space’ adventure “Moonraker” (1979).  I enjoyed the mix of spy shenanigans combined with the giant end battle aboard Drax’s space station.  As a newbie to Bond at the time, I had no idea what constituted a ‘real’ Bond movie.  I didn’t realize that the campy, Roger Moore -starring space-parody was hardly typical of the earlier Bond films.  It wasn’t until I began watching the Sean Connery’s  Bond movies on TV broadcasts and rented laserdiscs (yes, my family bought heavily into those… don’t judge ) that I realized “Moonraker” was something of an aberration in the Bond franchise.  It was basically a spacebound version of the previous entry, 1977’s “The Spy Who Loved Me.”

Bond movies were typically somewhat grittier than the bloated space opus I’d seen at age 12.   No disrespect to the late Roger Moore, who made a fine ‘gateway’ Bond, but it was also clear that Connery was born to play the role.   The man moved like a panther on the prowl.  Despite the urbane sophistication of Connery’s Bond, there was something dangerous and even  predatory about him that was simply missing from Moore’s 007.  I would stay with the Bond movies through several other Bonds, including  Timothy Dalton , Pierce Brosnan and current Bond,  Daniel Craig,  who’s something of a throwback to the more dangerous Bonds of yesteryear.

I also went back and saw “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1969), featuring the onetime Bond performer, former Australian model George Lazenby.  While Lazenby looked quite a bit like Connery, he arguably lacked the sheer power of his predecessor, but I enjoyed him in the role nevertheless.  I had the chance to meet Lazenby at 2009 San Diego Comic Con, and I liked him immediately.  He told a couple of funny on-set anecdotes, and his thick Aussie accent seemed both earthy and warm.

There is a rumor brewing that Idris Elba is in consideration for the Bond role, and I would very much welcome that choice.  I’ve been a fan of his since I first saw him in 1998’s vampire miniseries  “Ultraviolet” , where he played the pragmatic, no-bullshit veteran soldier/vampire hunter “Vaughan Rice.”  He’s was also one of the few bright spots in the otherwise messy Ridley Scott sorta-ALIEN prequel “Prometheus” (2012).  Elba has both the urbane smoothness and danger that have characterized some of the better Bond actors, like Connery and Craig.   This is an intriguing rumor if true, and I hope it pans out.

Sherlock Holmes is another instance of revolving door recasting.   I read some of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories as a kid (thanks to a teacher who turned me on to “The Hound of the Baskervilles” in 8th grade).   I also remember being holed up in my old bachelor apartment once, back in the 1990s, watching a “Turner Classic Movies” channel marathon of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films from the 1940s.  Those films, like the classic Universal monster movies of the same period, seemed to take place  in some weird nether-time.  Some of the clothing and architecture in the movies was very specifically Victorian, while the double-breasted suits and other stylings were recognizable as contemporary 1940s vintage.  Despite the strange mishmash of period stylings, the films were terrific .

Back in 1985, I remember going with a friend to the see “Young Sherlock Holmes” at the movies.  While the movie took a few harmless liberties with the biographies of Holmes ( Nicholas Rowe ) and Watson ( Alan Cox , son of character actor Brian Cox ), it was a perfectly benign gateway to the world of the characters for newer fans.  Yes, the story borrowed heavily from 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” but with less violence, gore and more adventure.   It also featured then-revolutionary CGI FX of a stain-glass knight that was a showstopper 33 years ago.  It was, to me, the “Harry Potter” of its day.

The less said about 2009’s “Sherlock Holmes” (with “Iron Man” star Robert Downey Jr .), the better.  The movie seemed less an ode to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and more of an excuse to shovel a red-hot action star into a second moneymaker franchise as soon as possible.   Downey is essentially playing an English Tony Stark.   The film, and its sequel ( “Game of Shadows” ), are a waste of the talents and resources of all involved.   Jude Law is also very much miscast as John Watson; he arguably would’ve made a better Sherlock Holmes.

It wasn’t until I discovered reruns of Jeremy Brett in the role on A&E (Arts and Entertainment network) sometime during the mid-to-late 1990s in “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” (1984-5), as well as a series of sequel TV movies.   When I first watched my first few episodes, my brain seemed to say,  “That’s it! Look no more.”    Brett was simply perfect.  He was the character, leaping straight off of the pages of the books.  The series had two actors in the role of Doctor Watson ( David Burke, Edward Hardwicke ), both of whom blended effortlessly with the  wonderfully mercurial Brett.  The stories were picture-perfect adaptations of the books I’d read in school, and it was very exciting to see them so perfectly realized onscreen.

Currently there are two versions of Sherlock Holmes on television at the moment; only one of which I actually care for, to be honest.   Benedict Cumberbatch (Holmes) and Martin   Freeman (Watson) star in BBC’s “Sherlock”  (2010-present); a smart, totally 21st century updating which adapts many of the old stories into contemporary settings (surprisingly faithfully, considering the original era of the books).  “Sherlock” also smartly mixes and matches elements of different stories into each other, while simultaneously managing to make a concurrent,  all-new  Holmes mythology.    Cumberbatch plays Holmes with near-alien detachment ( “I am a high functioning sociopath!” ), with only occasional, subtle flickers of warmth.  Freeman is the Watson I’ve always envisioned in my mind’s eye; a somewhat more cynical  army-vet physician than the more jovial, cliched portrayal (“I say , Holmes!”) typically seen in other adaptations.  “Doctor Who” veteran writer/producers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss (who also plays Sherlock’s older brother  “Mycroft” ) give the 130-year old characters a truly vibrant coat of fresh paint. The series, whose immediate future is in doubt (sadly), only released a few episodes a year, though each were feature-film length.

I’ve also tried watching CBS’ “Elementary” with Johnny Lee Miller (Holmes) and Lucy Liu (Watson), but I simply couldn’t stand it.  The plots were pedestrian, typically made-for-TV stories; more “Matlock”/“Murder, She Wrote” than Sherlock Holmes.  The performances, while decent, didn’t hold a candle to the chemistry of Cumberbatch and Freeman’s perfect pairing.

Ironically, even “Star Trek” has taken a stab into the Sherlock Holmes mythos, with the beautifully realized (if maddeningly nonsensical) “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode, “Elementary, My Dear Data” (1988) and its sequel, “Ship in a Bottle” (1993).  “Elementary, Dear Data” has some of the most exquisite production design of the entire TNG series (especially when seen on the remastered blu-ray sets), but is hindered by a story that falls apart under scrutiny.  Just how does Data remove paper from the holodeck when other holodeck-created matter can’t leave the room?  How did the Enterprise computer suddenly have the ability to create a sentient holographic being ?  Why can’t Geordi simply override his own ‘misspoken’ command (which apparently undid the holodeck’s safety protocols)?   At any rate, it’s a gorgeous looking episode; with Victorian London streets and “221 B Baker Street” sitting room sets detailed enough to work in a Sherlock Holmes feature film.

So going back full circle; why does Star Trek seem to have such a difficult time with recasting its iconic roles than say, Doctor Who or Sherlock Holmes?

Doctor Who’s solution to that problem is woven into the fabric of the show with its ‘regenerations.’  Simple, elegant and arguably the best answer to this sort of issue; making casting changes a literal part of the story itself.

Sherlock Holmes and James Bond simply reboot their franchises every time; with a new actor who is just accepted as the same man we’d seen before, no questions asked.  Daniel Craig’s Bond shared the same “M” ( Dame Judi Dench ) with Pierce Brosnan, but there is never any nagging issue over whether he is the same James Bond.  Clearly, he isn’t .  Craig’s Bond is newly minted as a double-0 agent in his 2006 debut, whereas his predecessor Brosnan was an outmoded “dinosaur,” according to Dench’s M.   So Craig’s Bond  isn’t  supposed to be Brosnan’s Bond, despite a common M.    Oddly enough, the tragic death of ‘Tracy Bond’ ( Diana Rigg) , seen at the climax of 1969’s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” was carried over  (however minimally) in the opening prologues of both 1971’s “Diamonds Are Forever” and 1981’s “For Your Eyes Only” with Connery and Moore in the Bond roles, respectively.

Lead actor regenerations and constant rebooting wouldn’t really work for Star Trek, since Star Trek’s 52 year mythology, despite continuity goofs everywhere, is supposed to be the same mythology; the same shared universe (with the exception of the Bad Robot Star Trek movies, which take place in an alternate reality).

Even a corner of the Trek universe as seemingly unrelated as that of “Deep Space Nine” still connects with the original 1960s TV series; as seen in the beautifully realized 30th anniversary episode “Trials and Tribble-ations” (1996), which is a love letter to the original series’ “The Trouble With Tribbles” (1967).

So recasting characters within Star Trek’s complex, interconnected universe would seem to burst that universe’s bubble of reality a bit too much for the comfort of some Star Trek fans.   I can certainly understand that feeling, even if I don’t necessarily share it.  It seems like a dismissal of one’s own fond childhood memories of the franchise; as if the producers are trying to tell us, “Oh no, Captain Pike and the Enterprise didn’t really look like that …they looked like this .  You just remembered it wrong .” 

And now we have Ethan Peck playing Mr. Spock, following where the irreplaceable Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto have gone before… not to mention the many  actors who played Spock at various ages in “Star Trek III: The Search For Spock” (1984) and “Star Trek” (2009).

Is this recasting of the Spock character an homage to, or further sacrilege against, the works of the late Leonard Nimoy?  I prefer to think it’s the former .  Yes, Leonard Nimoy established that character, and his characterization is immortalized in 79 episodes of the Original Series, 22 Animated episodes,  8 feature films, and 2 episodes of The Next Generation ( “Unification” parts 1, 2 ).   No one would, or ever  could,  take any of that away from Nimoy.   In fact, Zachary Quinto worked closely with Nimoy when he first played the role.  Reportedly, the two actors became good friends.

Nimoy had no issues with sharing the role, because however memorable the actor’s contribution, the bottom line is the character .   Is the Spock character important enough to warrant survival, or should the role simply die with the actor?

If the latter choice had been the case for other iconic roles, we’d have never had a “Doctor Who” series beyond William Hartnell ,  or no more James Bond movies after Sean Connery left.  I cannot imagine the loss to pop culture if new interpretations of classic roles were never allowed.

Spock, like Star Trek itself, is far more than just a group of actors and a mock spaceship; it’s become as much an  aspirational lifestyle as a pop entertainment.  Star Trek, with its depiction of a diverse United Federation of Planets reaching for the stars, is something to dream toward, even if it’s unachievable.  It’ll outlive all of its original performers, just as it will outlive devout older fans such as myself.   New fans will discover it for themselves, just as I’ve seen people in my own circle discover Star Trek anew through Next Gen, or even the Bad Robot movies.

At the annual Las Vegas Star Trek convention  a couple of weeks ago, I talked to a young fan who,  through his dad, was just discovering Star Trek via “Star Trek: Discovery.”   Now, he’s curious to see all of the older shows as well.  “Discovery” was his gateway Trek, just as Roger Moore was my gateway Bond.

No doubt Ethan Peck will be his generation’s Spock, just as Leonard Nimoy’s has been, and always shall be mine.   May the character of Spock, and Star Trek, continue to live long and prosper.

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4 comments add yours.

I am happy they are revisiting old characters instead of completely writing them out of future stories. Great read.

Thank you for reading! Recasting, however troubling to some, ensures a beloved character’s longevity.

Great post. Just wanted to note a couple of things. Bond’s wife even gets mentioned in Dalton’s License to Kill by Felix telling his bride about James having been married long ago.

I don’t think Craig himself is a throwback, he’s just benefiting from grittier scripts. Timothy Dalton was seen as too gritty after Moore’s long run and Brosnan never got anything serious to do after Goldeneye. I wish he had had a Bond movie that really allowed him th show off his range.

Great points, well taken.

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The Intriguing World Of Entertainment

Whatever Happened To Armin Shimerman, ‘Quark’ From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine?

By Nick Lee | December 9, 2022

Armin Shimerman is an American actor and writer who rose to fame playing Quark on the long running show Star Trek: Deep Nine.

In addition to this iconic role, he has played many memorable characters and had a hand in the professional lives of many aspiring actors as a teacher of theater at USC. 

Armin Shimerman was born on November 5, 1949 in Lakewood, New Jersey. His parents, Susan and Herbert Shimerman were an accountant and house painter, respectively. When Armin was 15, his family moved to Los Angeles, where he would be enrolled in a drama group. His mother thought the drama group would be a great way for him to meet friends in their new town. 

In addition to the drama group, Armin was active in the drama community at Santa Monica High School. He would go on to play leading roles in school productions of Hamlet, The Crucible, and The Skin of Our Teeth his senior year. He graduated in 1967. 

After high school, Armin attended college at University of California, Los Angeles. When he graduated, he was one of 8 students selected to be an apprentice at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. 

Thanks to the influence of the apprenticeship, he pursued a career in theater and moved to New York City to try his luck on Broadway. He became a member of the Impossible Ragtime Theater.

While in New York, he had a successful run as part of the ensemble for the musical Threepenny Opera. Next, he performed in the play Saint Joan until 1978 and later, the musical I Remember Mama in 1971. 

Armin then would return to Los Angeles, where he would land two roles on CBS series. This move would launch his television acting career!

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Armin’s first appearance in the Star Trek universe began in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He would appear in 4 episodes of the series, playing a 3 different Ferengi characters including Quark.

In the episode ‘The Last Outpost’, he would play Letek . In the episode ‘Peak Performance’, he would play DaiMon Bractor and in the episode ‘Firstborn’, he would play the part of Quark.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Armin is best known for his work playing the character Quark for seven seasons on the infamous television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In the Star Trek realm, Quark is the owner of a bar and is a member of the alien species of Ferengi. 

Thanks to Armin’s superb acting skills, he quickly gained the love and admiration of fans throughout the country. His character, Quark, became a household name and a fan-favorite.

Armin would appear many times on the cover of TV Guide with other characters from the franchise and even alone as part of a collector’s series. 

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine In Retrospect

When asked about his favorite Quark-centered episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Armin states that “ Magnificent Ferengi ” is his favorite because of all the Ferengi character actors were incredibly funny and Armin says he was in hysterics during the entire filming of the episode.

When asked about his favorite episode of Deep Space Nine, Armin reveals that ‘ Far Beyond The Stars ‘ is his favorite and states that it had the best writing and the best social commentary of the series. He says it was a socially conscious episode that was greatly benefited by Avery Brooks’ wonderful directing. Armin’s costar Cirroc Lofton , who played Jake Sisko, also mentions that ‘Far Beyond The Stars’ is his favorite episode as well.

While a fan favorite role in a series as infamous as Star Trek is impressive, Armin’s work does not stop there. He was also a series regular on Beauty and The Beast, playing the role of Pascal. 

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Armin was also a series regular for playing Principal Snyder for 19 episodes on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 

Other characters that Armin has played include, Antaeus in Stargate SG-1, an evil wizard on the hit show Charmed and Stan the caddy on an episode of Seinfeld.

Speaking about his experience on the Seinfeld set, Armin reveals that he had a horrible experience while filming the episode. He stated that he ‘hated’ the cast of the show and called them ‘non-commutative’, ugly’ and ‘insular’.

He said that none of the cast of the show attempted to talk to him or communicate with him beyond the scope of filming the show.

He describes one incident where he was positioned in between Jerry Seinfeld and Julia Louis-Dreyfus for 30 minutes while the gaffer was positioning the lights. During that 30 minutes Jerry and Julia had a full conversation and never once included him.

Boston Legal

While that seems like a lot of acting under his belt, he isn’t done yet. Armin played Judge Brian Hooper in the first 7 episodes of season 3 of Boston Legal with other Star Trek alumni including William Shatner, Rene Auberjonois, and Ethan Philips. 

Armin was in the first The Tick live-action series as “The Terror” as well as making a cameo in the show The West Wing, the movie What the Bleep Do We Know?!, and in the television series Numb3rs. 

To round out his appearances in television series, he also appeared in Mr. Ian Anderson, Married… with Children, Warehouse 13, Tremors, The Young and the Restless, Castle, Bad Samaritans, and Red Bird. 

Armin has lent his voice to several video game villains as Toad from X-men Legends, Zealot from X-men Legends II: Rise of the Apocalypse, Andrew Ryan from the Bioshock series, Razputin’s father in the Psychonauts, and General Skarr from Evil Con Carne. His work as General Skarr carried over to Evil Con Carne’s sister program, The Grimm Adventures of Billy and Mandy. 

Armin’s best known voice work is for his character Doctor Nefarious in the Ratchet and Clank franchise. 

In addition, he also provided voice work as Emperor Sun Hai, Abbot Song, and the Innkeeper in Jade Empire, a game created by BioWare. Another BioWare game that Armin was a part of was Mass Effect, where he voiced Salarian Councilor and Fai Dan. 

In StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and its 2013 expansion StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, he voiced Dr. Emil Mohandar and Dr. Emil Narud. 

Armin would also continue to lend his voice to his infamous character Quark in various Deep Space NIne video games and even reprised the role in the 2018 Star Trek Online: Victory is Life program. 

Moving into television cartoon programs, he lent his voice talents to Ben Robbins and the Shopkeeper in 2 episodes of Rocket Power, a cartoon that ran on Nickelodeon, in 1999-2000. 

He voiced Wilmer in The Maltese Falcon in 2008 as well as Mr. Phillips in a production of Anne of Green Gables. In the movie Bionicle: Legend Reborn, Armin voices the Villager and the Village Leader. 

What is Armin Shimerman doing now?

With such a long and great career under his belt, it is common to wonder what Armin Shimerman is doing today. As of 2022, Armin is still acting and lending his voice to various tv and video game projects.

His latest acting gig was in 2021 for the television show The Rookie. He was in the episode ‘Consequences’ and played the part of Judge Paloma.

During the Covid lockdown in 2020, Armin participated in an online script read of a Deep Space Nine fan-fiction, entitled ‘ Alone Together ‘. He reprised his role as Quark and even donned the teeth of Quark during the session.

The script read had appearances by Alexander Siddig, Cirroc Lofton , Andrew Robinson, and Nana Visitor .

Conventions

(photo: GalaxyCon Richmond )

Armin is also a regular at Star Trek conventions, comic cons, and even the upcoming Star Trek Cruise, which is set to leave port in February 2023! 

In 2022, Armin made appearances at the 56-Year Mission Las Vegas convention, the Fanboy Expo in Knoxville, the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Virtual Experience and will be appearing at the Destination Star Trek – Germany convention.

When he is not busy with his acting career, he teaches a theater class on Shakespeare and stage acting at the Antaeus Theatre Company

Relationships / Marriage

Armin married Kitty Swink in 1981 and is still happily married.

Kitty is an actress who has appeared in numerous theater, TV and movie productions. She also appeared in two episodes of DS9 as ‘Luaran’ and as ‘Minister Rozahn’.

Kitty is also pancreatic cancer survivor and now advocates for other survivors as well as organizing fundraisers and awareness programs for the disease. 

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About Nick Lee

Nick is a Senior Staff Writer for Ned Hardy. Some of his favorite subjects include sci-fi, history, and obscure facts about 90's television. When he's not writing, he's probably wondering how Frank Dux got 52 consecutive knockouts in a single tournament. More from Nick

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Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Star Trek: Discovery" season 5, episode 7

Almost immediately, we're treated to the return of Commander Nhan (Rachael Ancheril), who we last saw in the episode " Rubicon " S04, E09, just like we called a couple of weeks ago with episode 3, "Jinaal." And you know, this new episode, entitled "Eirgah," starts off strong and actually holds our attention throughout. In short, with just three more episodes remaining until the end of " Star Trek: Discovery " forever and ever, we actually get a pretty good installment. 

Yes, it seems the writers aren't quite sure what to do with Captain Rayner's character, and that was always a danger. Callum Keith Rennie is an actor of the highest caliber, and a reoccurring B-character was never going to be worthy of his talent. And so we seem to continually walk the very thin line between a basic, two-dimensional character and someone who teases the tiniest hint of Mariana Trench -like depth.

Regardless, we are at least given a little more insight into his background, and, of course, it leaves us wanting so much more — though his character is so disappointingly clichéd at times, you really have to wonder how Raynor actually made it through Starfleet and ended up with his own command in the first place. 

Related:   Watch the bittersweet trailer for 'Star Trek: Discovery's final season (video)

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Another interesting observation is the mention of the USS Mitchell, clearly a nod to the actor Kenneth Mitchell, who popped up a number of times in "Star Trek: Discovery" playing various roles, but who tragically died from complications of ALS back in February . Possibly an indication of when this scene was actually filmed, which seems really rather recent, but it's a small matter. 

Arguably the most important issue to focus on here is that Malinne "Moll" Ravel (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis) are in fact chasing the ultimate power in the universe, to trade it ... so they can, in essence, elope? It's less of a romantic gesture and slightly more of a staggeringly irresponsible and breathtakingly selfish thing to do, don't you think? 

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"Oh, darling, let's go and visit Risa, the pleasure planet, for our honeymoon," purred Moll as she gently shifted under the bed sheets, her skin enjoying every moment of contact with the luxury one-billion-thread Vulcan cotton. 

"We could do that," he replied, his arms still wrapped around her. "But don't forget, absolutely everyone in the galaxy is dead, so we'd have to make our own Samarian Sunsets..." he added almost as an afterthought. 

But enough of all of that. There are a number of reasons, many beyond the obvious, as to why this is a pretty good episode. The obvious ones include the fact that this episode didn't rip off any decades-old sci-fi that the millennial scriptwriters have only just discovered, so you know, that's always a plus. It happens, sure. It's like discovering the music of T-Rex for the first time, 20 years later, then trying to form a band, aged 13½, believing beyond any doubt that you have a rock-star future ahead of you, basically by copying their songs. The difference is, you were prepubescent, no one in the band could actually play an instrument — and the writers on "Discovery" are Paid Professionals.

Interestingly, this episode is the first major directorial role that Jon Dudkowski has had, and frankly, it shows a lot of promise. He too, we suspect, has studied the work of the legendary Vince Gilligan, and some of the camera angles and edits reflect this. The problem with all of Nu-Trek is that a ton of different directors are hired to come onboard and churn this stuff out. " Picard " was practically a case study on how not to production line principal photography as quickly as possible. Because every director has their own style and when you have a minimum of say, six different styles, more often than not, it jars, making the show inconsistent and harder to enjoy, ultimately driving a wedge between the viewer and the experience. 

"Discovery" too suffers from the same problem, but if they'd given Dudkowski the whole season to direct, well, we might have had better episodes, and certainly a more consistent experience. Having the same showrunner isn't the same as having the same director, and having a variety of such notably different styles, in this instance, is a bad thing. Each episode should be a labor of love, and, as such, in a show where the season is only 10 episodes long, both the season and the show would really benefit from being seamless. 

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Of course, quite how much actual control Dudkowski had we'll never know. But this installment definitely benefits from good dialogue, good pacing, some creative cinematography and even little touches like how Burnham is never quite given the chance to use a catch phrase, lame or otherwise. And that self-aware-style of writing has been noticed and appreciated.  

The fifth and final season of "Star Trek: Discovery" and every other episode of every "Star Trek" show — with the exception of "Star Trek: Prodigy" — currently streams exclusively on Paramount Plus in the U.S., while "Prodigy" has found a new home  on Netflix.  

Internationally, the shows are available on  Paramount Plus  in Australia, Latin America, the UK and South Korea, as well as on Pluto TV in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel. They also stream on  Paramount Plus  in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In Canada, they air on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and stream on Crave.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

When Scott's application to the NASA astronaut training program was turned down, he was naturally upset...as any 6-year-old boy would be. He chose instead to write as much as he possibly could about science, technology and space exploration. He graduated from The University of Coventry and received his training on Fleet Street in London. He still hopes to be the first journalist in space.

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Yeah, Chris Pine has no damn clue what's up with Star Trek 4 , either

Pine makes it clear he's getting all his star trek news right along with the rest of us.

If there’s a running joke currently going in Hollywood that’s funnier to us than Chris Pine saying “Fuck if I know” every time someone asks him about a new Star Trek movie, we’re not privy to it. Pine, who’s debuting his new film Poolman this week, got asked the obligatory question about the film franchise that made him a movie star—and which he is still, hypothetically, the star of , eight years after it last released a movie—and made it clear that he’s still getting his Star Trek news from the same places as the rest of us.

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“I honestly don’t know,” Pine told Business Insider this week , adding that, “There was something in the news of a new writer coming on board. I thought there was already a script, but I guess I was wrong, or they decided to pivot. As it’s always been with Trek , I just wait and see.” Which has been the Pine party line for the better part of a decade at this point, as he’s made it clear in interviews over the last few years that communication from Paramount about the franchise has been fairly minimal ever since the release of Star Trek Beyond in 2016. (Including, apparently, the arrival of incoming screenwriter Steve Yockey.)

The following period has been a tumultuous eight years for Trek , which has seen it reclaim huge chunks of its territory on television and streaming, while completely failing to put any kind of dent in theaters, where it previously dominated after the release of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek in 2009. Not for lack of trying: Even discounting the whole “Quentin Tarantino is making a Star Trek !” thing, which always seemed a little bit make-believe, there have still been multiple Trek film scripts in active development, including one that appears to have gotten scuttled after director Matt Shakman jumped ship to go direct Fantastic Four for Disney. Variety , for instance , notes that there’s also an “origin story” movie still in some kind of development, even though the Star Trek universe is already up there with, like, Spider-Man in terms of having its origins thoroughly explored in TV and film. None of which, really, is Chris Pine’s problem: Man just wants to fly his spaceship, and will presumably hear about his next chance to do so along with the rest of us.

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Star Trek: Discovery boldly goes where no Trek has gone before by saying religion is... OK, actually

‘Whistlespeak’ breaks from Trek tradition to be pretty chill about believing in a higher power

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Star Trek’s future is a secular one. Franchise creator Gene Roddenberry was an avowed atheist , and the series and its spin-offs have routinely criticized organized religion as manipulative, illogical, and detrimental to the evolution of a society. Individual members of the human race may have an undefined spirituality, a curiosity about the afterlife, or a sense of wonder at the unknown or unknowable, but specific religious beliefs are typically reserved for alien cultures.

But, if Trek’s fervently pro-science and anti-superstition has remained constant, so have the attempts by different storytellers within the franchise to approach religion from other, more tolerant angles. And the latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery , “Whistlespeak,” may present Trek ’s most even-handed take on faith to date.

Religion as childhood fantasy

Somewhat restrained by the standards and practices of 1960s television, Star Trek: The Original Series used sci-fi allegories to criticize religion as an institution that stifled advancement and expression. In two episodes (“The Return of the Archons” and “The Apple”), Captain James T. Kirk and his Enterprise crew encountered a planet where a population was cowed into willful ignorance or repression by a deity that turned out to be a computer, which Kirk summarily destroyed.

In the 1980s, however, Star Trek’s writers were free to take the gloves off and criticize religion directly. In the 1989 Next Generation episode “Who Watches the Watchers,” Captain Jean-Luc Picard is mistaken for a god by a Bronze Age civilization for whom religion is already a thing of the past. Picard is mortified to be the catalyst for what he, in no uncertain terms, views as a societal regression, and steps in to reveal the truth to his new worshippers, even at the risk of his own life.

The position of “Who Watches the Watchers,” and of Star Trek at large, is that people turn to the supernatural when there are questions they can’t answer, but that the answers will always come, eventually. The willingness to pursue those answers and the patience to avoid drawing rash conclusions is a sign of maturity. By contrast, inventing digestible but unsupportable explanations for life’s mysteries is a sign of immaturity , a phase to be grown out of.

Other people’s gods

After Gene Roddenberry’s death in 1991, there was a gradual shift in the way Star Trek stories approached religion. The human species had still exited the evolutionary stage at which religion was practiced, but many of their peers in the galactic community — such as the Klingons and the Bajorans — held strong religious beliefs. And these beliefs began to be explored in much greater detail.

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , the human members of the command crew go to great lengths to not only respect but participate in the Klingon rituals of their comrade, Lt. Commander Worf. Ahead of Worf’s marriage to Jadzia Dax, his colleagues Captain Sisko, Chief O’Brien, and Dr. Bashir join him for four days of fasting and physical exhaustion (though not without complaint). When Jadzia is murdered and Worf fears her death has not earned her a place in the Klingon Valhalla of Sto-Vo-Kor, Bashir and O’Brien follow Worf on a potential suicide mission to win glory in her honor. Worf’s friends are content to take Klingon religion at face value, and the existence of Sto-Vo-Kor is never questioned.

During this era of Star Trek, alien religious beliefs were not merely tolerated, but validated. This is an important wrinkle in the case of the Bajoran religion on Deep Space Nine , whose worshiped Prophets are undeniably real: a species of non-corporeal beings who live outside of time and periodically intervene in the development of the nearby planet Bajor. Whether or not the Prophets have done the things the Bajorans worship them for is not up for debate, only whether or not they should be treated with religious reverence. Through DS9 ’s exploration of Bajoran politics, religious power is as dangerous as the person wielding desires it to be — not inherently malevolent or infantilizing towards its people. But, of course, since the existence of the Bajoran gods can be scientifically proven, their value as an analog to real-life religion is limited.

Discovery’s middle way

The streaming era of Star Trek under executive producer Alex Kurtzman, which began in 2017, has seen some new, minor references to religious practices in human society. For example, an unnamed background character serving aboard the USS Cerritos on Star Trek: Lower Decks can be seen wearing a hijab, indicating that some semblance of Islamic tradition is still observed in the 24th century. Not long after we meet Captain Christopher Pike during the second season of Star Trek: Discovery , we learn that his father taught both science and comparative religion.

But “Whistlespeak,” which comes midway through Discovery ’s fifth and final season, returns fully to the Original Series’ territory of a classic “weird alien religion” episode, and with a much more multi-faceted approach. Captain Burnham and her crew visit the planet Halem’no. which is nigh-uninhabitable except within the radius of a tower-like device that was secretly installed by a Federation scientist centuries earlier. The planet’s surviving inhabitants are a peaceful and friendly pre-warp civilization who believe that the towers are temples built by their gods.

Disguised as locals, Burnham and her friend and shipmate Lt. Sylvia Tilly join the faithful Halem’nites for a ceremonial marathon up to the towers as tribute to their divine saviors. It’s a joyful ritual that brings the entire community together, but there’s a shocking twist the Starfleet visitors only learn after the race is finished. Tilly and the marathon’s other winner, a Halem’nite named Ravah, are locked inside the tower, where they will eventually asphyxiate; a sacred sacrifice to keep the planet’s terrible storms at bay.

Though Starfleet officers are forbidden to interfere in the development of pre-warp civilizations, Burnham isn’t about to let Tilly (or Ravah) die to satisfy some arcane ritual. However, rather than tearing the whole society down like Kirk might have done, Burnham appeals directly to the community’s leader — Ravah’s father, Ohvahz — and implores him to stop the sacrifices, explaining the tower will do its work whether or not his child gives their life. Ohvahz is, naturally, open to the idea of not killing his child, but fears that revealing that their temple is actually an alien artifact will shatter his community and lead to violent conflict. What is their civilization without their faith and traditions?

“Better off,” is how Picard would probably answer. But Burnham’s response is more measured.

“There is still what you believe. Nothing we’ve shown you means gods don’t exist… it’s just that you know that there’s also us… Beliefs can evolve. Denying that can cause almost as much chaos as the worst storm.”

It’s probably no accident that Ravah, the teenager who’s supposed to be sacrificed in this episode, is gender non-binary, a trait which is not controversial for the Halem’nites but is condemned by many conservative religious groups here on present-day Earth. There’s also a parallel to the climate crisis, as the Halem’nites will need to learn to maintain the alien weather tower in order to keep their world safe. Would Christianity collapse if their leaders recognized that some of their flock don’t fit into the gender identities described in their holy texts, or that human intervention is required to undo human-made damage to the Earth? Probably not, and their inflexibility is only doing harm to their community. It’s not necessary to hold onto harmful policies or practices, nor is it necessary to throw out an entire system of beliefs because of new, contradictory, or unanticipated information.

Meanwhile, aboard Discovery, Dr. Hugh Culber has been trying to make sense of his own spiritual awakening, a feeling of connection to a higher power that has lingered with him since an out-of-body experience on a recent away mission. As a scientist, Culber’s first instinct is to investigate, understand, and catalog this sensation, but the explanation eludes him. He seeks the advice of his friend Cleveland Booker, a non-human with his own spiritual life, who essentially asks him, “Why do you need to understand it?” With this guidance, Culber decides that the value of his new spirituality is in how it feels, not where it comes from.

The approach to religion in “Whistlespeak” does not broadly condemn religion like The Original Series or The Next Generation , or rationalize and tolerate faith as a quirk of the other, like Deep Space Nine . Instead, “Whistlespeak” questions why a philosophy that is rooted in the unknowable should be attached to absolutes. Spirituality is what you make of it, whether that’s on an individual or community level. Religion can do harm, but it doesn’t have to, so long as its leaders and its believers are willing to embrace uncertainty. In this way, at least, science and religion can find some common ground.

Star Trek: Discovery is cracking open a box Next Gen closed on purpose

Star trek: discovery is finally free to do whatever it wants, the 10 horniest episodes of star trek, ranked by cultural impact, loading comments....

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• May 7, 2024 | Crowdfunded ‘Space Command: Redemption’ Released, Features Star Trek’s Doug Jones, Robert Picardo & More

Crowdfunded ‘Space Command: Redemption’ Released, Features Star Trek’s Doug Jones, Robert Picardo & More

| May 7, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 12 comments so far

A dozen years after its first crowdfunding campaign , the first installment of Marc Scott Zicree’s Space Command has been released, with several Star Trek actors in the cast. “Space Command: Redemption” is out now on Tubi, VOD, and physical media, with more installments from the series in the works.

Space Command finally arrives

Space Command is a sci-fi series inspired by Star Trek. The ensemble cast for “Space Command: Redemption” features Star Trek: Discovery’s Doug Jones in a leading role. Other franchise stars include Robert Picardo ( Voyager ), Armin Shimerman ( Deep Space Nine ), Faran Tahir (J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek ), and the late Nichelle Nichols (TOS). The cast also includes several Babylon 5 stars including Bill Mumy,  Bruce Boxleitner, and the late Mira Furlan.

Check out the release trailer…

Here is the official synopsis for “Space Command: Redemption”…

Captain Kemmer rescues xeno-archeologist Vonn O’Dara high above Mars, setting into motion a revolution that changes galactic history. The thrilling new space-set film follow the bold adventures in space of the United Planet’s Space Command, a dedicated group of scientists, soldiers and adventurers exploring and taming the vast expanse of our solar system for human colonization.

Here is how Doug Jones described his role in Space Command in a 2018 interview with TrekMovie :

Dorn Neven is an android in Space Command . I loved his character so much. He is much like other characters I have played, in that he is tall and lanky, but very poised and very mannered. He is an android that served as a servant for rich people in this future setting, but he ended up getting a heart and soul of his own, getting more human characteristics and asking questions he wasn’t supposed to ask. So, they end up demoting him and putting him in the salt mines, and that is how you meet him in the beginning of  Space Command .

Doug Jones with Robert Picardo, Jelena Mrdja, and Mira Furlan in Space Command

Space Command was written, directed, and produced by Marc Scott Zicree, who worked on shows like Sliders and Babylon 5 , as well as authoring the influential book The Twilight Zone Companion . Zicree has also been involved in Star Trek, writing the stories for the Next Generation episode “First Contact” and DS9’s “Far Beyond the Stars.” He also wrote and directed the 2007 Star Trek Phase II fan film “World Enough and Time,” starring George Takei. His concept for Space Command was to make something more like Star Trek, in reaction to the dark and dystopic sci-fi of the early 2000s.

“Our idea was an uplifting show like the original Star Trek , which came out when I was 10, blew my mind, and inspired my lifetime fascination for this whole realm. Star Trek was truly revolutionary,” says Zicree in a statement. “Like Star Trek , the stories we present in Space Command are hopeful, taking on various challenges that show we can make a future worth living and not just passively accept defeat. The whole philosophy of the film is that we can achieve all of this through empathy, compassion, and inclusivity. We want to change millions of lives for the better.”

The initial crowdfunding campaign brought in $221,000 in 2012, which helped launch the independent Space Command Studio based in Los Angeles, California. Over the past decade, Zicree has raised $4 million between crowdfunding and selling investment shares. Filming and post-production work on the Space Command series has been ongoing over the last decade with work recently completed on the 2-part pilot, which is the newly released “Space Command: Redemption” movie. Zicree has planned out a 12-part “season” for Space Command with filming for part 6 recently completed and parts 7 and 8 already begun.

For more about the development of Space Command , check out TrekMovie’s 2018 interview with Marc Zicree .

You can watch “Space Command: Redemption” now for free on the ad-supported streaming service Tubi . You can also rent or buy it at Amazon and Google Play . There is also a DVD and Blu-ray release with special features and director’s commentary available at the official site  spacecommand-theseries.com .

Keep up with more Trek-adjacent Sci-Fi news here at TrekMovie.com

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This looks like a slice of classic 80s Sci-Fi cheesiness. Hope it’s enjoyable in that way.

Looks like something I would have rented from Hollywood Video in 2001… So yep, I’ll watch it!

This has been out for years. Not sure what this is about.

Yeah, I wondered this as well when I saw it posted up on YouTube as if it was a new thing. Marc Zicree, bless him, can sometimes be a bit over the top with ‘marketing’. As in, reposting, clipping, whatever. Amusing that such a repost has made its way here as a story though. I guess a correction is in order!

I’ve never heard of this but I’m curious now. I am definitely interested in watching anything that has the classic Star Trek spirit of optimism and hope.

Mira Furlan passed away a couple years ago. A damn shame, she was an underrated actress, and her personal story was equally compelling.

Nichelle Nichols has been gone almost two years now as well…

How is this different from Space Command 2020? It’s on youtube as Space Command Streaming Series (10 parts). Very poor Imdb reviews, two fake 10*s. Space Command Redemption is also on Imdb, no reviews, incomplete cast list. Some poor acting in the trailer.

I watched the original version of “Space Command” some time ago and was not too impressed. Nevertheless, I wish Zicree nothing but the best in this project, and will hopefully get around to checking it out myself eventually. I met him many years ago at the Director’s Guild in Los Angeles for a screening of the Trek pilots which also included his excellent “World Enough and Time,” and he seemed like a very nice guy.

He’s a cool dude, for sure. And Space Command (2020-2022) is packed with cool people. I’m not sure what happened. Perhaps an avalanche of issues. Or maybe it’s just not for me – which is, you know, fine.

But I didn’t so much watch that production as I endured it!

Watching it myself, I went with the second possibility. And you’re correct; that’s fine. If I were 14 and had just finished reading my first Heinlein juvenile, where the characters tended to say things like “gadzooks!,” I probably would have loved it.

A dozen years??? I had thought that the Axanar crowd were the world – class slackers! LMAO.

What Happened To Chase Masterson After Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Chase Masterson turned heads as both Leeta on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." Leeta only pops up in 17 episodes throughout seven seasons — just a tiny fraction of the 173 Episodes that comprise its full run — and yet everyone remembers her sweet ways and personable nature. A Bajorian Dabo girl hired by Quark ( Armin Shimerman,  who would return to the franchise under one condition ) to keep the tables hopping at his club on the space station, she manages to make friends with most of the crew. Her courtship with and marriage to Rom (Max Grodénchik) provides "Deep Space Nine" with one of its most memorable romances, and her friendship with Quark is often both hilarious and touching.

Masterson, as many actors from "Deep Space Nine" did after it ended , took to appearing in TV movies. Her credits include "Sometimes The Come Back...For More," "Terminal Invasion" with Bruce Campbell,  and "Manticore." She established herself as an American dubber for multiple animes, lending her voice to Mamiya for "Fist of the North Star: The Shin Saga" and its attendant properties, "Starzinger" and "Lun Lun the Flower Girl" and voiced the computer in "Pandora." More recently, she's branched out and lent her voice to a variety of podcasts, including "Master!" and "Vienna," both spin-offs linked to her appearance in "Dr. Who"-related audio dramas. She continues to act professionally.

However, one of the most important roles Chase Masterson has played over the years is heading a vital organization for youngsters. 

Chase Masterson has kept a toe in the world of sci-fi while pursuing a life of activism

In 2013, Chase Masterson fought online abuse by co-founding the Pop Culture Hero Coalition, an organization that seeks to aid the mental health of children and teens and teach them how to stand up to bullies by using characters from popular pop culture properties like "Star Wars." The organization began providing school curriculum material in 2016 and teamed with Random Acts in 2015 to support children and teens in crisis.

Masterson has previously worked as a mentor for Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, and she seems to be incredibly proud of her work. She told Startrek.com that she believes the Pop Culture Hero Coalition is absolutely working in the same spirit as "Star Trek: The Original Series" creator Gene Roddenberry."These stories hold such transformative truth, things that have really changed the world as Roddenberry intended," the actor said.

In 2020, Masterson participated in a Ted Talk  where she expounded upon the founding of her coalition and talked about her own experiences with being bullied and harassed. It's clear the actor is on a mission Leeta herself would be proud of.

US Space Force insignia designs look straight out of Star Trek

T he US Space Force's mission is to secure the US's "interests in, from, and to space". And how's it supposed to do that without some classic science-fiction inspired visual design? We've already reported on the similarity of the Space Force logos to motifs from Star Trek. It turns out the influence also extends to its various insignia.

Reddit users are poring over the details of 13 designs that look like they could have been taken straight from several sci-fi series. Well, I guess they're better than that new Canadian Army logo that looks like it was made in Minecraft.

Space Force is a branch of the US army dedicated too, well, space. Founded in 2019, it's the subject of a Netflix comedy series . And its designs do lend themselves to parody.

"Star Trek already sorted this out for us. Just use the Federation insignia and save millions!," one person commented on Reddit. "I feel that half of these are full frontal nerditry," someone else wrote "I see, aside from Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Airwolf, Dune, superhero comics, Stargate, and a couple of what are probably going to turn out to be from Thunderbirds or Twilight Zone, and also, cats and Furrys." "I like the one with the multiplayer mouse-cursor Asteroids," another person added.

Perhaps the similarities are inevitable. After all, sci-fi are based on real armed forces insignia but relocated to space. Perhaps Space Force would always have come up with these designs; it's just that sci-fi got there first. 

It recalls a similar conundrum with product design: are sci-fi writers prescient or do they end up making their imagined future happen? Several people have suggested in relation to things like the Tesla Cybertruck that talented and creative science-fiction writers imagined the future only for less imaginative businesses to then aim to make the future look the way they saw it in film and television.

For more logo design news, see the new Puig logo and the best Eurovision logos .