On more than one action, when Deep Space Nine was brought up in conversation, people have told me that the first couple of seasons are a bit rough, and then it gets good. Like, really good. Well, I have to say, I thought the first season was pretty solid, so that bodes well!
One of the key complaints I hear is that the conflict between the Cardashians and the Bajorans takes up too much time and is a little bit dull, so I've been surprised at how few of the first season episodes are really devoted to it. Sure, there are a good number which are focused around the repercussions of the Cardashian occupation, or the uncertain treaty that the Federation has brokered, but for the most part these are used for either solid character development or specific meta-analysis of real world debates happening around the same time, such as the fairly solid finale, that is an entirely unsubtle commentary on the whole "evolution in schools" debate that, sadly, is still ongoing two decades later.
The only area that I feel could have been a little less clunky was the discovery of the wormhole, and the subsequent religious implications, but even this feels quite interesting – though I do wish that there would be some mention of what the "Prophets" are doing now. I mean, I understand that they have granted use of the wormhole, but they were also pretty clear that ships passing through their little pocket dimension cause them harm, and yet now it's a major trade route? Just seems inconsistent, and could have been explained in a couple of sentences with hand wavy space magic 🤷♂️
There are some other criticisms. Whilst I'm a big fan of the diversity of species that make up the DS9 cast and crew – which feels very right, for a space station so far from the Federation's core, and certainly from Earth – they are a rather odd mix, and the acting can be a bit clunky at times. Still, it's never as bad as first-season The Next Generation, and we all now how that developed, so I'm not too concerned. The actors are finding their characters and their feet in this weird, alien world; I can forgive the occasional stilted line of dialogue or bizarre facial expression. And, as with TNG before it, this is saved by the rather remarkable acting of one or two cast members, in this case Rene Auberjonois as Constable Odo and Armin Shimerman's Quark. If for nothing else, DS9 has won me over with how much focus they're paying the Ferengi! In fact, between Dax, Quark, and various other recurring characters, I'm really enjoying the fact that several of the races introduced in TNG are being more fleshed out in the spin-off.
I also find it funny that the whole wormhole premise is directly ripped from an episode of the parent show, though the other overlaps are a little better done. Indeed, it's clear that they were banking on the popularity of TNG in this first season, with constant cameos of side characters from that show, as well as the occasional "big name" drop in. Picard in the opening episode was fine, but personally I've had far more fun with Lwazana Troi and Q (even though I feel they made poor use Vash, who remains a woefully underutilised character). All in all, though, I enjoyed the first season. I've enjoyed a more grounded look into the Star Trek universe, with more long-term repercussions for character actions, and a greater focus on the society that these people inhabit. And if this is as bad as the show gets, then I have high hopes for whats to come.