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1
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[Gates McFadden]
Star Trek: The Next Generation
2
00:00:01,919 --> 00:00:05,799
had successfully returned the franchise
to television and flourished.
3
00:00:05,881 --> 00:00:06,721
How true.
4
00:00:06,799 --> 00:00:09,969
[Larry Nemecek] The syndicated model
had worked so well for Next Generation.
5
00:00:10,052 --> 00:00:11,392
Even on the business side of things,
6
00:00:11,470 --> 00:00:14,390
Next Generation
was this amazing paradigm shift.
7
00:00:14,473 --> 00:00:18,983
Paramount knew that they
had a cash cow in Star Trek.
8
00:00:19,061 --> 00:00:23,151
[McFadden] So Paramount did what
any studio does with its prized cow.
9
00:00:23,232 --> 00:00:24,152
Indubitably.
10
00:00:24,233 --> 00:00:26,113
-[cow moos]
-[McFadden] Milk it for all it's worth.
11
00:00:26,193 --> 00:00:28,153
We were a few seasons
into Next Generation
12
00:00:28,237 --> 00:00:29,777
when they said,
"Let's get another show."
13
00:00:29,864 --> 00:00:32,204
[McFadden] This is the story
of how Deep Space Nine
14
00:00:32,283 --> 00:00:35,793
attempted to take Star Trek
somewhere it had never been.
15
00:00:35,870 --> 00:00:36,700
A space station.
16
00:00:36,787 --> 00:00:37,617
[McFadden]
In other words...
17
00:00:37,705 --> 00:00:39,035
It's not a starship boldly going.
18
00:00:39,123 --> 00:00:40,583
[McFadden]
So even though...
19
00:00:40,666 --> 00:00:41,916
Some things are still the same.
20
00:00:42,001 --> 00:00:44,171
[McFadden]
Most things were very different.
21
00:00:44,253 --> 00:00:46,593
So beam aboard and hold on tight
22
00:00:46,672 --> 00:00:50,802
as we boldly go into the depths
of Star Trek.
23
00:00:53,053 --> 00:00:57,603
And you can see it all from here
in The Center Seat.
24
00:01:02,354 --> 00:01:05,484
With the death
of Gene Roddenberry in 1991,
25
00:01:05,566 --> 00:01:11,156
the next chapter of the Star Trek saga
on TV would be untouched by its creator.
26
00:01:11,238 --> 00:01:14,488
But Star Trek was now
in the hands of Rick Berman,
27
00:01:14,575 --> 00:01:16,825
someone Gene trusted more than anyone.
28
00:01:16,911 --> 00:01:21,331
I felt it was my responsibility
to keep Gene's optimism alive.
29
00:01:21,415 --> 00:01:25,085
[McFadden] Which as the new series
approached was easier said than done.
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00:01:25,169 --> 00:01:27,339
One of the biggest bugaboos
driving writers crazy
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00:01:27,421 --> 00:01:29,671
with the idea of Gene's perfect humans,
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00:01:29,757 --> 00:01:32,887
how do you have conflict among characters
and have it be Star Trek
33
00:01:32,968 --> 00:01:35,638
and its perfect humans
in the advanced 24th-century world?
34
00:01:35,721 --> 00:01:37,471
[McFadden]
There was another problem too.
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00:01:37,556 --> 00:01:40,766
We can't have two Star Trek ships
out at the same time.
36
00:01:40,851 --> 00:01:45,361
Do you want to confuse
the audience with another ship show?
37
00:01:45,439 --> 00:01:47,899
[McFadden]
With The Next Generation still on the air,
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00:01:47,983 --> 00:01:50,113
the network was looking
for something different.
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00:01:50,194 --> 00:01:52,704
They've got the well-oiled machine
up and running.
40
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Their problem was how to distinguish it
to go where you hadn't gone before.
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[McFadden] Meaning...
42
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[Andrew Robinson] It can't be just about
going from planet to planet
43
00:02:00,621 --> 00:02:04,171
and solving problems, you know,
with aliens in space.
44
00:02:04,250 --> 00:02:07,380
[McFadden] So Rick Berman
and showrunner Michael Piller
45
00:02:07,461 --> 00:02:09,881
came up with something
exactly opposite.
46
00:02:09,964 --> 00:02:14,224
Let's do it on a space station.
Let's not be locked onto an Enterprise.
47
00:02:14,301 --> 00:02:17,141
[Andre Bormanis] The premise
as Michael Piller used to explain it was,
48
00:02:17,221 --> 00:02:18,721
"The action is gonna come to us."
49
00:02:18,806 --> 00:02:20,766
It's like Dodge City,
you know, in Gunsmoke.
50
00:02:22,226 --> 00:02:26,016
And immediately now you're telling a story
that is different to what has come before.
51
00:02:26,105 --> 00:02:28,565
[McFadden] Well, different,
that's what the network wanted.
52
00:02:28,649 --> 00:02:30,149
This is where the adventure is.
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00:02:30,234 --> 00:02:32,284
[McFadden]
No sooner had the adventure begun
54
00:02:32,361 --> 00:02:33,701
than the worries set in.
55
00:02:33,779 --> 00:02:36,239
Every new challenge
to come up with an original Star Trek
56
00:02:36,323 --> 00:02:38,033
is fraught with worry.
57
00:02:38,117 --> 00:02:39,197
"Are we making it too different?"
58
00:02:39,285 --> 00:02:41,155
You know, it was a little bit risky.
59
00:02:41,245 --> 00:02:42,655
And is some of it just gonna be,
60
00:02:42,746 --> 00:02:44,956
"We're gonna have a certain aspect
of the audience
61
00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:47,460
that's just gonna be
so, you know, bullheaded
62
00:02:47,543 --> 00:02:49,633
that they won't come in
and accept something new"?
63
00:02:49,753 --> 00:02:52,723
[McFadden] Although risky,
the writers were more than ready
64
00:02:52,798 --> 00:02:54,928
to explore this new style
of Star Trek.
65
00:02:55,009 --> 00:02:57,509
Let's push the boundaries
and see what are the edges.
66
00:02:57,595 --> 00:03:00,005
What are the limitations
of what Star Trek can be?
67
00:03:00,097 --> 00:03:03,177
[McFadden] Someone who was
very interested in pushing the edges
68
00:03:03,267 --> 00:03:05,807
with both his writing
and his beard color
69
00:03:05,895 --> 00:03:08,395
was Next Generation writer Ira Behr.
70
00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,940
Man, he was just into it. [laughs]
I don't know how else to say it.
71
00:03:12,026 --> 00:03:14,026
[McFadden]
And coming over to Deep Space Nine,
72
00:03:14,111 --> 00:03:16,321
Ira brought some bold ideas.
73
00:03:16,405 --> 00:03:19,695
Ira got very involved in wanting to do
74
00:03:19,783 --> 00:03:23,663
long strings of continuing episodes.
75
00:03:23,746 --> 00:03:26,746
[McFadden]
Which is now bingeworthy TV.
76
00:03:26,832 --> 00:03:28,882
But since the original series,
77
00:03:28,959 --> 00:03:31,709
Star Trek had made its name
as an episodic epic.
78
00:03:31,795 --> 00:03:33,125
That follows a definite pattern.
79
00:03:33,213 --> 00:03:36,513
The minute you have serialization,
you have lots of arcs going.
80
00:03:36,592 --> 00:03:37,932
You can't miss those things.
81
00:03:38,010 --> 00:03:41,180
At this point in television, you know,
almost everything was episodic.
82
00:03:41,263 --> 00:03:42,853
Yeah, when will we learn?
83
00:03:42,932 --> 00:03:44,812
There were very few serialized shows.
84
00:03:44,892 --> 00:03:46,522
Dallas was a serialized show.
85
00:03:46,602 --> 00:03:49,192
Dynasty is a serialized show,
primetime soap operas.
86
00:03:49,271 --> 00:03:50,111
[gasps]
87
00:03:50,189 --> 00:03:51,979
[McFadden]
The studio wanted a fresh approach,
88
00:03:52,066 --> 00:03:53,356
but not that fresh.
89
00:03:53,442 --> 00:03:54,492
The studio said no.
90
00:03:54,568 --> 00:03:56,698
[McFadden]
Paramount feared viewers would be adrift
91
00:03:56,779 --> 00:03:59,029
in this new Star Trek universe.
92
00:03:59,114 --> 00:04:00,574
These shows were gonna be syndicated.
93
00:04:00,658 --> 00:04:03,038
They were not necessarily
gonna be syndicated in order.
94
00:04:03,118 --> 00:04:06,328
The independent stations,
they don't want to have to be locked
95
00:04:06,413 --> 00:04:08,873
into doing these
in the order that we give it to them.
96
00:04:08,958 --> 00:04:11,628
They wanna be able to show them
in whatever order they want
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00:04:11,710 --> 00:04:14,050
that suits their market
'cause this is important for their ratings
98
00:04:14,129 --> 00:04:15,259
and they just wanna mix them up.
99
00:04:15,339 --> 00:04:17,549
And they wanted standalone episodes.
100
00:04:17,633 --> 00:04:19,263
[McFadden]
And even though...
101
00:04:19,343 --> 00:04:22,643
Ira was very good at talking me
into doing what he wanted to do.
102
00:04:22,721 --> 00:04:24,101
[McFadden]
He wasn't that good.
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00:04:24,181 --> 00:04:26,891
The studio absolutely said no.
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00:04:26,976 --> 00:04:29,846
[McFadden] Okay, well,
that's the last we'll hear of that.
105
00:04:29,937 --> 00:04:31,517
Most likely.
106
00:04:31,605 --> 00:04:34,355
It may not have been ready
for serialized plotlines,
107
00:04:34,441 --> 00:04:38,531
but Star Trek was ready for something else
far more groundbreaking.
108
00:04:38,612 --> 00:04:40,952
Your hero's a Negro captain.
109
00:04:41,031 --> 00:04:43,831
Avery being the first
African American captain
110
00:04:43,909 --> 00:04:45,909
of a Star Trek series like this,
111
00:04:45,995 --> 00:04:48,075
but in that day and age
was a big deal.
112
00:04:48,163 --> 00:04:50,713
People won't accept it.
It's not believable.
113
00:04:50,791 --> 00:04:52,081
It just didn't happen.
114
00:04:52,167 --> 00:04:56,417
It was exciting to know that we were
gonna change history, really, with that.
115
00:04:56,505 --> 00:04:59,005
This was before
there was a Black president,
116
00:04:59,091 --> 00:05:01,801
so this was really groundbreaking
at the time.
117
00:05:01,885 --> 00:05:04,885
[McFadden] Not only did Starfleet
have its first commander of color,
118
00:05:04,972 --> 00:05:07,312
but unlike the captains before him,
119
00:05:07,391 --> 00:05:10,231
Benjamin Sisko
was carrying a lot of baggage.
120
00:05:10,310 --> 00:05:14,060
He was coming aboard with a very specific,
complicated backstory.
121
00:05:14,148 --> 00:05:16,898
And so we start
with a captain losing his wife.
122
00:05:16,984 --> 00:05:19,704
Damn it! We just can't leave her here!
123
00:05:19,778 --> 00:05:20,988
Being left with his son.
124
00:05:21,071 --> 00:05:24,281
I was just thinking
how much you look like your mom.
125
00:05:24,366 --> 00:05:27,996
[McFadden] Not only would Sisko
be unlike any captain before him...
126
00:05:28,078 --> 00:05:32,958
He believes Captain Picard is personally
responsible for the death of his wife.
127
00:05:33,042 --> 00:05:34,922
[screams]
128
00:05:35,002 --> 00:05:37,422
And he now has
to come to terms with all that.
129
00:05:37,504 --> 00:05:39,384
Otherwise, he has no future at all.
130
00:05:39,465 --> 00:05:40,965
One who does not wish to be among us.
131
00:05:41,050 --> 00:05:44,180
In that sense, he's very much
like Captain Pike in "The Cage."
132
00:05:44,261 --> 00:05:46,681
I'm tired of being responsible
for 203 lives.
133
00:05:46,764 --> 00:05:48,274
By choosing all these elements,
134
00:05:48,348 --> 00:05:52,228
Michael Piller set up the incredible
possibilities for this character.
135
00:05:52,311 --> 00:05:54,901
[McFadden]
But creating a complex, conflicted captain
136
00:05:54,980 --> 00:05:58,440
would prove to be a double-edged sword.
137
00:05:58,525 --> 00:06:00,935
That was a difficult fit for Star Trek.
138
00:06:01,028 --> 00:06:04,238
Like, that's not how
a Starfleet captain should be.
139
00:06:04,323 --> 00:06:05,703
[McFadden]
Avery Brooks' audition,
140
00:06:05,783 --> 00:06:07,163
though he didn't know it at the time,
141
00:06:07,242 --> 00:06:12,162
turned out to be a previous production
that showcased his emotional range.
142
00:06:12,247 --> 00:06:15,247
I had done a movie of the week
for Showtime.
143
00:06:15,334 --> 00:06:17,344
It was a version of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
144
00:06:17,419 --> 00:06:20,419
Nobody can buy my soul.
145
00:06:20,506 --> 00:06:24,216
Avery came off
as an incredibly powerful man
146
00:06:24,301 --> 00:06:28,721
with hurt, with damage,
which works perfectly for Sisko.
147
00:06:28,806 --> 00:06:31,676
[McFadden]
But Paramount was on a different page.
148
00:06:31,767 --> 00:06:35,057
The studio wanted Sisko
to be somebody else.
149
00:06:35,145 --> 00:06:38,935
They didn't think
Avery was charismatic enough.
150
00:06:39,024 --> 00:06:41,074
They wanted Kirk
and they wanted Picard,
151
00:06:41,151 --> 00:06:44,451
and I think they didn't realize
that no one was writing Kirk or Picard.
152
00:06:44,530 --> 00:06:45,530
They were writing Sisko.
153
00:06:45,614 --> 00:06:48,664
[McFadden]
This was going to require an intervention.
154
00:06:48,742 --> 00:06:50,872
So I went to Junie Lowry,
the casting director,
155
00:06:50,953 --> 00:06:53,413
and I said, "Avery Brooks,"
and she said,
156
00:06:53,497 --> 00:06:56,127
"Yeah, we talked about Avery,
but he's down in the Caribbean.
157
00:06:56,208 --> 00:06:57,458
He's on vacation."
158
00:06:57,543 --> 00:06:59,843
I said, "So what?
159
00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:01,420
Send him the script.
160
00:07:01,505 --> 00:07:04,585
We're talking about a man
who could have a job for seven years.
161
00:07:04,675 --> 00:07:07,295
You don't think he'd want
to read this script on vacation?"
162
00:07:07,386 --> 00:07:08,756
She says,
"Okay, I'll send him the script."
163
00:07:08,846 --> 00:07:10,136
[McFadden]
And in the end...
164
00:07:10,222 --> 00:07:11,892
I was ready to die with her.
165
00:07:11,974 --> 00:07:14,944
[McFadden]
Avery's talent could not be ignored.
166
00:07:15,018 --> 00:07:17,058
We settled on Avery Brooks
because he was the best.
167
00:07:17,146 --> 00:07:18,856
He was the best captain.
168
00:07:18,939 --> 00:07:20,319
[McFadden]
And this captain's leadership
169
00:07:20,399 --> 00:07:23,569
would be tested as much
off the bridge as on it,
170
00:07:23,652 --> 00:07:25,242
by a 15-year-old.
171
00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,570
I was instructed to not be like
Wil Wheaton and Wesley Crusher.
172
00:07:28,657 --> 00:07:32,157
He was too much
of a problem-solver/know-it-all,
173
00:07:32,244 --> 00:07:36,584
and they wanted my character
to be more human and fallible,
174
00:07:36,665 --> 00:07:37,915
just like a regular kid.
175
00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:40,790
[McFadden]
And Cirroc did have one advantage.
176
00:07:40,878 --> 00:07:44,258
[Cirroc Lofton] I think I avoided the trap
of being another Wesley Crusher
177
00:07:44,339 --> 00:07:47,009
by not knowing about Wesley Crusher.
178
00:07:47,092 --> 00:07:50,852
So you can't imitate something
that you have no idea of.
179
00:07:50,929 --> 00:07:51,929
Wanna go for a swim?
180
00:07:52,014 --> 00:07:53,854
[McFadden]
Like The Next Generation before it,
181
00:07:53,932 --> 00:07:59,312
Deep Space Nine imagined real-life
family struggles in the 24th century.
182
00:07:59,396 --> 00:08:01,686
Is this the food replicator?
183
00:08:01,773 --> 00:08:05,073
[McFadden]
And this dose of 20th-century reality
184
00:08:05,152 --> 00:08:09,322
was more alien to American television
than even the weirdest aliens.
185
00:08:09,406 --> 00:08:13,446
How often did you see
a single father raising a child
186
00:08:13,535 --> 00:08:15,245
in those days of television?
187
00:08:15,329 --> 00:08:16,249
Not very often.
188
00:08:16,330 --> 00:08:19,080
[McFadden] So Paramount
would be getting just what they wanted:
189
00:08:19,166 --> 00:08:24,206
a very different Star Trek
with a very different captain,
190
00:08:24,296 --> 00:08:26,756
captaining a very different starship.
191
00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:29,340
It's not a starship, it's a station.
192
00:08:29,426 --> 00:08:30,506
Space station?
193
00:08:30,594 --> 00:08:31,434
[McFadden] Indeed.
194
00:08:31,511 --> 00:08:33,221
The days of the Enterprise were over,
195
00:08:33,305 --> 00:08:36,175
and Captain Sisko
would need a station to captain.
196
00:08:36,266 --> 00:08:39,686
Very difficult to come by
that station's design.
197
00:08:39,770 --> 00:08:41,440
There was a huge evolution to it all.
198
00:08:41,521 --> 00:08:43,071
[Herman Zimmerman]
And it's a whole different approach.
199
00:08:43,148 --> 00:08:47,858
We were going about the station
as being a kind of Tower of Babel place
200
00:08:47,945 --> 00:08:52,985
that was built over a long period of time
by several cultures.
201
00:08:53,075 --> 00:08:55,285
So we started doing sketching of things
202
00:08:55,369 --> 00:08:58,209
that look like an alien platform
with different levels
203
00:08:58,288 --> 00:09:02,498
and different hardware hanging off
and places for ships to dock.
204
00:09:02,584 --> 00:09:04,714
So we had these crazy designs.
205
00:09:04,795 --> 00:09:09,255
[McFadden] In the end, producers decided
the solution to this space station dilemma
206
00:09:09,341 --> 00:09:13,221
was a simple matter
of keeping up with the Cardassians.
207
00:09:13,303 --> 00:09:14,643
I'm allowed to do whatever I want.
208
00:09:14,721 --> 00:09:17,391
[McFadden]
Oh, no, no, no, the Cardassians.
209
00:09:17,474 --> 00:09:20,564
You can't understand
that we are skeptical.
210
00:09:20,644 --> 00:09:23,404
[Nemecek] When it was finally decided
it would be a Cardassian station,
211
00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:24,400
that was still a blank slate.
212
00:09:24,481 --> 00:09:25,321
What did that look like?
213
00:09:25,399 --> 00:09:27,729
We have to start thinking
like Cardassians.
214
00:09:27,818 --> 00:09:29,438
[McFadden]
Who knows how Cardassians think?
215
00:09:29,528 --> 00:09:33,198
But Rick Berman knew one thing
about Cardassian architecture.
216
00:09:33,282 --> 00:09:36,082
Rick Berman rightly said,
"You know, this should be a shape
217
00:09:36,159 --> 00:09:39,499
that any kid watching the show
could draw in a few strokes."
218
00:09:39,579 --> 00:09:41,539
[Pabst] All right, I haven't got a title
for this one yet.
219
00:09:41,623 --> 00:09:42,623
Anybody got any ideas?
220
00:09:42,708 --> 00:09:48,668
And they eventually came around to maybe
the station could be a kind of a wheel.
221
00:09:48,755 --> 00:09:53,385
The circular station with a hub,
you know, with a core
222
00:09:53,468 --> 00:09:55,008
made a lot of sense.
223
00:09:55,095 --> 00:10:00,345
At the end of the process,
the station looked very alien.
224
00:10:00,434 --> 00:10:03,904
The model for Deep Space Nine
was six feet around,
225
00:10:03,979 --> 00:10:06,229
and it was the most beautiful model.
226
00:10:06,315 --> 00:10:09,435
[McFadden] The designers
had reinvented the wheel for space.
227
00:10:09,526 --> 00:10:11,646
There were, like, cogs in a wheel.
228
00:10:11,737 --> 00:10:15,697
They actually had cogs
and rolled in the cogged floor.
229
00:10:15,782 --> 00:10:17,372
Herman built, up until that point,
230
00:10:17,451 --> 00:10:20,751
the largest standing interior set
ever made for Star Trek,
231
00:10:20,829 --> 00:10:22,499
actually, on the promenade.
232
00:10:22,581 --> 00:10:25,251
You walked on and you were enveloped.
233
00:10:25,334 --> 00:10:31,134
You came on the set and it was hard not
to think that you were on a space station
234
00:10:31,214 --> 00:10:33,264
and that everything was fully functional.
235
00:10:33,342 --> 00:10:34,932
It was beautiful.
236
00:10:35,010 --> 00:10:36,890
[McFadden]
Beautiful, unusual,
237
00:10:36,970 --> 00:10:39,810
it was like nothing
Star Trek had seen before.
238
00:10:39,890 --> 00:10:41,140
Unfortunately...
239
00:10:41,224 --> 00:10:43,064
Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5,
240
00:10:43,143 --> 00:10:45,353
they came out
at right about the same time.
241
00:10:45,437 --> 00:10:49,567
[McFadden] Babylon 5, like Star Trek,
was set on a space station.
242
00:10:49,649 --> 00:10:52,029
Excuse me, but I'm in the middle
of 15 things, all of them annoying.
243
00:10:52,110 --> 00:10:54,200
[Doug Drexler]
I think that there were a lot of people
244
00:10:54,279 --> 00:10:55,989
who thought that one stole from the other,
245
00:10:56,073 --> 00:10:58,163
that Star Trek was ripping off Babylon 5.
246
00:10:58,241 --> 00:10:59,951
[McFadden]
And it certainly didn't help
247
00:11:00,035 --> 00:11:03,865
that Babylon 5
had already been pitched to Paramount.
248
00:11:03,955 --> 00:11:07,625
J. Michael Straczynski had come in and
pitched what we all now know as Babylon 5.
249
00:11:07,709 --> 00:11:10,749
Not every dream I've heard lately
ends well for you.
250
00:11:10,837 --> 00:11:12,047
[McFadden]
Paramount turned it down.
251
00:11:12,130 --> 00:11:13,590
[Drexler]
Straczynski, I believe he thought
252
00:11:13,673 --> 00:11:15,593
that Star Trek was ripping him off.
253
00:11:15,675 --> 00:11:19,095
Was Deep Space Nine ripping off Babylon 5?
I sincerely doubt it. I really do.
254
00:11:19,179 --> 00:11:23,179
The idea of a space station
is not an original idea.
255
00:11:23,266 --> 00:11:25,056
It's an obvious thing to do.
256
00:11:25,143 --> 00:11:28,113
I just think that
those are ironic similarities.
257
00:11:28,188 --> 00:11:33,648
[McFadden] Similarities that ended there
because Deep Space Nine was forging ahead,
258
00:11:33,735 --> 00:11:35,565
boldly going into the future.
259
00:11:41,993 --> 00:11:46,083
[McFadden] With a big cast,
big set, and big expectations,
260
00:11:46,164 --> 00:11:49,884
shooting on the pilot
began in August of 1992,
261
00:11:50,001 --> 00:11:54,301
with The Next Generation alumnus
David Carson in the director's chair.
262
00:11:54,381 --> 00:11:57,471
It wasn't the first pilot that I'd done,
but it was certainly the biggest.
263
00:11:57,551 --> 00:11:59,511
[McFadden]
Also big were the stakes.
264
00:11:59,594 --> 00:12:02,314
I had this meeting with
production people at Paramount
265
00:12:02,389 --> 00:12:06,349
who said to me, "This is the first time
we're doing a Star Trek series
266
00:12:06,435 --> 00:12:07,555
without Gene Roddenberry."
267
00:12:07,644 --> 00:12:10,904
[McFadden] Paramount feared that
if Deep Space Nine ventured too far
268
00:12:10,981 --> 00:12:14,941
from Star Trek 's traditions,
the fans might desert them.
269
00:12:15,026 --> 00:12:16,146
There is that risk.
270
00:12:16,236 --> 00:12:19,106
[McFadden] So the studio instructions
were crystal clear.
271
00:12:19,197 --> 00:12:23,077
[David Carson] "This pilot and this series
is very important to Paramount,
272
00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:26,910
so we want you to know that
it's very important that we get it right."
273
00:12:26,997 --> 00:12:28,707
[John Tenuto]
And of course, a director on a pilot
274
00:12:28,790 --> 00:12:32,710
isn't just coming in for the week,
getting an episode together and helping.
275
00:12:32,794 --> 00:12:34,464
A director on a pilot
really sets the tone.
276
00:12:34,546 --> 00:12:35,586
Cut.
277
00:12:35,672 --> 00:12:38,302
[McFadden]
David had his work cut out for him
278
00:12:38,383 --> 00:12:41,683
with a complicated pilot script
called "Emissary."
279
00:12:41,761 --> 00:12:45,521
The "Emissary" was such
a difficult story to tell.
280
00:12:45,599 --> 00:12:49,229
[McFadden] And David needed
to get it right from the very first frame.
281
00:12:49,311 --> 00:12:52,441
The first scene that I shot
of Deep Space Nine
282
00:12:52,522 --> 00:12:53,902
was the scene on the bridge,
283
00:12:53,982 --> 00:12:56,032
and there was a lot of movement
in the scene,
284
00:12:56,109 --> 00:12:59,449
so I thought this is a great way
for us all to get to know this bridge.
285
00:12:59,529 --> 00:13:01,109
So I followed them around on a crane.
286
00:13:01,198 --> 00:13:03,698
It was problematic, and it caused
Livingston to come and tell me
287
00:13:03,783 --> 00:13:04,623
what am I doing.
288
00:13:04,701 --> 00:13:06,081
"You're still doing this shot
at lunchtime?"
289
00:13:06,161 --> 00:13:07,371
[laughs]
290
00:13:07,454 --> 00:13:08,964
'Cause I had to represent
the production end,
291
00:13:09,039 --> 00:13:12,419
and I had to come at him and tell him,
"David, you gotta move on."
292
00:13:12,501 --> 00:13:14,541
He didn't want to,
and a lot of times he didn't.
293
00:13:14,628 --> 00:13:16,048
Damn it! What's the problem?
294
00:13:16,129 --> 00:13:19,339
[McFadden] The problem was to do
with some awkward introductions.
295
00:13:19,424 --> 00:13:21,224
It had a lot of characters to introduce.
296
00:13:21,301 --> 00:13:22,391
Who the hell are you?
297
00:13:22,469 --> 00:13:24,929
And they were all not
cookie-cutter type of people.
298
00:13:25,013 --> 00:13:26,313
[laughs]
299
00:13:26,389 --> 00:13:29,099
There were all kinds of people
that we had really never seen before.
300
00:13:29,184 --> 00:13:31,024
[McFadden]
Some weren't really people at all.
301
00:13:31,102 --> 00:13:32,732
The Trill is implanted. It's ancient.
302
00:13:32,812 --> 00:13:35,192
You've got trying
to figure out that relationship.
303
00:13:35,273 --> 00:13:40,573
[McFadden] A symbiotic relationship
between basically an ancient asexual slug
304
00:13:40,654 --> 00:13:42,784
and an alien race called the Trill,
305
00:13:42,864 --> 00:13:44,284
played by Terry Farrell.
306
00:13:44,366 --> 00:13:47,406
Deep Space Nine was not just about man.
307
00:13:47,494 --> 00:13:51,254
It was about a whole bunch
of different races and species.
308
00:13:51,331 --> 00:13:54,211
[McFadden] And for the actors
who played these races and species,
309
00:13:54,292 --> 00:13:57,212
well, even some of them
were a little lost.
310
00:13:57,295 --> 00:13:59,505
"I think there's been a mistake.
This is a man's role.
311
00:13:59,589 --> 00:14:01,759
It's not...
It's not written for a woman."
312
00:14:01,841 --> 00:14:03,431
And that was my conditioning.
313
00:14:03,510 --> 00:14:05,550
[McFadden]
Nana Visitor was invited to read
314
00:14:05,637 --> 00:14:08,307
for the character
of a Bajoran revolutionary.
315
00:14:08,390 --> 00:14:11,310
She found the way it was written
revolutionary.
316
00:14:11,393 --> 00:14:13,403
[Kay Eaton] Science fiction
needs more strong women characters.
317
00:14:13,478 --> 00:14:15,018
I'm always saying that, aren't I, Jules?
318
00:14:15,105 --> 00:14:18,315
[Nana Visitor] She wasn't smoothed out.
She wasn't reasonable all the time.
319
00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:19,860
She wasn't controllable.
320
00:14:19,943 --> 00:14:23,323
She didn't care about
how she was perceived.
321
00:14:23,405 --> 00:14:26,065
She cared about
how she lived her life more
322
00:14:26,157 --> 00:14:29,037
and what goals she had
and how she met those.
323
00:14:29,119 --> 00:14:32,079
And too bad if people didn't like her.
324
00:14:32,163 --> 00:14:36,423
[McFadden] Nana took that exact attitude
into her audition as Kira.
325
00:14:36,501 --> 00:14:39,461
[Carson] There was a long table
with Rick Berman and me
326
00:14:39,546 --> 00:14:41,966
and a few other people
sitting around behind it,
327
00:14:42,048 --> 00:14:45,428
and she stormed into the room, really,
and started reading.
328
00:14:45,510 --> 00:14:49,140
I think it was the first scene
with Commander Sisko.
329
00:14:49,222 --> 00:14:52,312
I don't believe the Federation
has any business being here.
330
00:14:52,392 --> 00:14:54,352
I was pretty pissed off in that scene.
331
00:14:54,436 --> 00:14:56,806
And she got hold of these chairs
and started to throw them around the room.
332
00:14:57,731 --> 00:14:58,571
And it was extraordinary.
333
00:14:58,648 --> 00:15:00,068
And we sat there going,
334
00:15:00,150 --> 00:15:02,990
"Wow, this really is a revolutionary
who wants to be doing stuff."
335
00:15:03,069 --> 00:15:05,819
I remember terrifying
someone in the room.
336
00:15:05,905 --> 00:15:09,775
And then she did her last line,
banged her hands on the tabletop
337
00:15:09,868 --> 00:15:13,708
and glared at us as if to chance say,
"Okay, I got it, right?"
338
00:15:14,706 --> 00:15:16,246
And turned
and walked out of the room.
339
00:15:16,333 --> 00:15:18,753
And she was right.
She got it. That was it.
340
00:15:18,835 --> 00:15:20,995
[McFadden]
Despite a spirited audition,
341
00:15:21,087 --> 00:15:22,957
Nana was conflicted.
342
00:15:23,048 --> 00:15:27,048
[Visitor] I was so excited to get it.
I wanted to do it so badly.
343
00:15:27,135 --> 00:15:29,135
And my manager said,
"It's science fiction.
344
00:15:29,220 --> 00:15:32,680
Don't take this one.
It's gonna ruin your career."
345
00:15:32,766 --> 00:15:35,636
I thought long and hard about it,
346
00:15:35,727 --> 00:15:39,187
and I refused the job at first.
347
00:15:39,272 --> 00:15:42,362
I got a call from one of the producers,
348
00:15:42,442 --> 00:15:47,032
and he talked about the level
and who else was cast,
349
00:15:47,113 --> 00:15:49,743
and that did it for me.
350
00:15:49,824 --> 00:15:51,624
I'll find a way to make it happen.
351
00:15:51,701 --> 00:15:53,241
[McFadden]
The aggressive audition technique
352
00:15:53,328 --> 00:15:56,078
that had worked for Nana
was all the rage.
353
00:15:56,164 --> 00:15:59,424
[Carson] Rene Auberjonois came in,
stalked into the room,
354
00:15:59,501 --> 00:16:01,091
shut the door firmly behind him.
355
00:16:01,169 --> 00:16:04,509
[McFadden] With some cast members
virtually demanding their roles.
356
00:16:04,589 --> 00:16:05,969
He didn't say hello to anybody.
357
00:16:06,049 --> 00:16:08,429
Just when he finished,
he finished his last line,
358
00:16:08,510 --> 00:16:10,800
turned his back, walked through the door,
slammed it behind him.
359
00:16:10,887 --> 00:16:14,807
He came in with the body posture
and the attitude
360
00:16:14,891 --> 00:16:17,271
and everything that was Odo.
361
00:16:17,352 --> 00:16:18,482
It was wild.
362
00:16:18,561 --> 00:16:21,231
He was as rude
as he could possibly be to all of us,
363
00:16:21,314 --> 00:16:23,534
and that was Odo.
[laughs]
364
00:16:23,608 --> 00:16:26,778
You're gonna get sloppy
without me to keep an eye on you.
365
00:16:26,861 --> 00:16:28,741
I don't think so.
366
00:16:28,822 --> 00:16:32,532
[McFadden] Armin Shimerman reprised
his Ferengi act from The Next Generation,
367
00:16:32,617 --> 00:16:34,487
but this time as Quark,
368
00:16:34,577 --> 00:16:38,077
and was now
an occasionally affable bartender.
369
00:16:38,164 --> 00:16:43,174
I'd like to discuss
arranging a line of credit. [laughs]
370
00:16:43,253 --> 00:16:46,343
[McFadden] The Cardassians had come over
from The Next Generation too,
371
00:16:46,423 --> 00:16:49,973
but the inscrutable Garak,
played by Andrew Robinson,
372
00:16:50,051 --> 00:16:53,811
was derived in part
from an unlikely inspiration.
373
00:16:53,888 --> 00:16:56,308
I played Liberace once on a TV movie.
374
00:16:56,391 --> 00:16:57,731
I have a wonderful song.
375
00:16:57,809 --> 00:16:59,139
[Andrew Robinson]
There was something about Garak
376
00:16:59,227 --> 00:17:01,097
that always was reminding me...
377
00:17:01,187 --> 00:17:04,067
He became kind of Liberace's cousin.
378
00:17:04,149 --> 00:17:07,319
I do appreciate making new friends
whenever I can.
379
00:17:07,402 --> 00:17:10,492
[McFadden] But the main influence
for Garak, a Cardassian spy,
380
00:17:10,572 --> 00:17:12,912
drew on contemporary literature.
381
00:17:12,991 --> 00:17:15,991
The conception of Garak
was a character out of a Le Carré novel.
382
00:17:16,077 --> 00:17:20,617
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was a common
reference point in the writers' room,
383
00:17:20,707 --> 00:17:22,747
that Garak was created with that in mind.
384
00:17:22,834 --> 00:17:25,214
If you can't beat it, spy on it.
385
00:17:25,295 --> 00:17:27,795
[McFadden] Which may explain
Garak's other peculiarity.
386
00:17:27,881 --> 00:17:29,761
I have a clothing shop nearby.
387
00:17:29,841 --> 00:17:33,341
For Garak to end up on Deep Space Nine,
388
00:17:33,428 --> 00:17:34,968
and as a tailor,
389
00:17:35,054 --> 00:17:38,024
it's one of the most bizarre
dramatic situations.
390
00:17:38,099 --> 00:17:39,639
It's Dr. Bashir, isn't it?
391
00:17:39,726 --> 00:17:43,186
[McFadden] Alexander Siddig
provided Star Trek with, hmm,
392
00:17:43,271 --> 00:17:46,481
arguably its first truly dashing doctor
393
00:17:46,566 --> 00:17:49,566
as its chief medical officer,
Julian Bashir.
394
00:17:49,652 --> 00:17:54,282
Dr. Bashir is this wide-eyed,
idealistic Starfleet officer.
395
00:17:54,365 --> 00:17:55,905
This is where the adventure is.
396
00:17:55,992 --> 00:17:57,622
Siddig, he was just terrific.
397
00:17:57,702 --> 00:18:00,082
I think we all agreed on him
as soon as he arrived.
398
00:18:00,163 --> 00:18:01,793
[McFadden]
Along with Irish actor Colm Meaney.
399
00:18:01,873 --> 00:18:03,003
Another neutrino disruption.
400
00:18:03,082 --> 00:18:05,962
[McFadden]
Who played Chief Engineer Miles O'Brien.
401
00:18:06,044 --> 00:18:07,254
[David Livingston]
He represented every man,
402
00:18:07,337 --> 00:18:10,337
you know, the working guy,
the guy who got his hands dirty.
403
00:18:10,423 --> 00:18:12,133
Even though
it was all this computerized stuff,
404
00:18:12,217 --> 00:18:14,007
you knew that he'd look good
with a wrench in his hand.
405
00:18:14,093 --> 00:18:17,853
[McFadden] There were a lot
of characters in the first episode,
406
00:18:17,931 --> 00:18:20,731
something that posed
quite a challenge for the director.
407
00:18:20,809 --> 00:18:22,889
What the hell is happening out there?
408
00:18:22,977 --> 00:18:28,017
Very often, directors on television
are trying to come in on budget.
409
00:18:28,107 --> 00:18:29,727
They got a lot of pressure,
410
00:18:29,818 --> 00:18:35,198
and they are going to try
to move you through as fast as possible.
411
00:18:35,281 --> 00:18:36,281
"That's good enough."
412
00:18:36,366 --> 00:18:38,826
[McFadden]
Well, they didn't come in on budget
413
00:18:38,910 --> 00:18:40,080
nor on schedule.
414
00:18:40,161 --> 00:18:42,291
Don't ask my opinion next time!
415
00:18:42,372 --> 00:18:45,752
[McFadden] So much so,
David fell behind with the feature-length,
416
00:18:45,834 --> 00:18:47,924
special effects-laden premiere.
417
00:18:48,002 --> 00:18:50,342
"Emissary" went over budget.
We went over schedule.
418
00:18:50,421 --> 00:18:51,881
This is outrageous!
419
00:18:51,965 --> 00:18:55,255
[McFadden] Paramount was soon
breathing down the young director's neck.
420
00:18:55,343 --> 00:19:00,103
He did get a lot of crap from the studio
about falling behind schedule
421
00:19:00,181 --> 00:19:01,891
and about going over budget.
422
00:19:01,975 --> 00:19:03,595
[McFadden]
But in David's defense...
423
00:19:03,685 --> 00:19:05,555
It's the hardest pilot I've ever done.
424
00:19:05,645 --> 00:19:08,645
And unfortunately,
the director has to take the wrath.
425
00:19:08,731 --> 00:19:09,901
It's show business.
426
00:19:09,983 --> 00:19:13,403
[McFadden] Exactly.
So what would the audience think?
427
00:19:16,114 --> 00:19:18,204
[Locutus]
You will disarm your weapons.
428
00:19:18,283 --> 00:19:19,953
[McFadden]
The pilot for Deep Space Nine
429
00:19:20,034 --> 00:19:23,624
premiered on January 3rd, 1993.
430
00:19:23,705 --> 00:19:25,535
And the music comes on.
431
00:19:25,623 --> 00:19:28,923
[theme music playing]
432
00:19:29,002 --> 00:19:30,342
It started very strongly.
433
00:19:32,171 --> 00:19:35,631
And all I could think of was,
"That's what we made?"
434
00:19:35,717 --> 00:19:37,427
And I was impressed.
I was like, "Wow."
435
00:19:37,510 --> 00:19:40,640
I found it beautiful.
I found it powerful.
436
00:19:40,722 --> 00:19:43,142
[McFadden]
Critics lauded its ambition.
437
00:19:43,224 --> 00:19:46,314
And I think when we made it,
it was the most expensive pilot on record.
438
00:19:46,394 --> 00:19:47,604
A lot of money.
439
00:19:47,687 --> 00:19:49,937
[McFadden]
Twelve million dollars to be precise.
440
00:19:50,023 --> 00:19:51,323
[Mark A. Altman]
They spent so much money on the pilot
441
00:19:51,399 --> 00:19:53,859
that they didn't have
a lot of money after that.
442
00:19:53,943 --> 00:19:56,323
So they did a bunch of bottle shows
on the space station.
443
00:19:56,404 --> 00:20:01,244
[McFadden] Bottle shows are shot
primarily in one location to save money.
444
00:20:01,326 --> 00:20:03,326
And it fed into this mythology
445
00:20:03,411 --> 00:20:05,711
that this was a show
that boldly goes nowhere.
446
00:20:05,788 --> 00:20:08,958
[McFadden] While shooting
in one location reduced costs,
447
00:20:09,042 --> 00:20:11,882
the makeup budget
was going in the opposite direction.
448
00:20:11,961 --> 00:20:12,801
Oh.
449
00:20:13,588 --> 00:20:14,418
Oh.
450
00:20:14,505 --> 00:20:16,415
[McFadden]
Even by Star Trek standards,
451
00:20:16,507 --> 00:20:19,757
there were more alien races
than you could shake a phaser at.
452
00:20:19,844 --> 00:20:21,764
[Nemecek]
Klingons and Cardassians and Romulans,
453
00:20:21,846 --> 00:20:24,386
much less the Ferengi,
much less the aliens of the week.
454
00:20:24,474 --> 00:20:28,104
We grew in the writers' room to really
love the world-building of those cultures.
455
00:20:28,186 --> 00:20:30,686
Every episode gave you
another opportunity
456
00:20:30,772 --> 00:20:33,232
to discover something new,
discover something richer.
457
00:20:33,316 --> 00:20:36,686
So we really got in
and built their worlds out
458
00:20:36,778 --> 00:20:40,488
in much bigger ways than
Next Gen or the original series.
459
00:20:40,573 --> 00:20:44,043
[McFadden] But the more alien stories
the writers dreamed up,
460
00:20:44,118 --> 00:20:46,828
the more makeup,
which was becoming...
461
00:20:46,913 --> 00:20:49,253
In a way, off-the-wall and kind of wacky,
462
00:20:49,332 --> 00:20:52,132
and it had so many challenges
that were so great.
463
00:20:52,210 --> 00:20:53,630
[McFadden]
And so expensive.
464
00:20:53,711 --> 00:20:57,631
Keeping up with the Cardassians
was proving costly.
465
00:20:57,715 --> 00:21:01,175
Well, the Cardassians were part
of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
466
00:21:01,260 --> 00:21:03,510
It was improved upon greatly.
467
00:21:03,596 --> 00:21:07,556
[McFadden] Improved upon by
master makeup magician Michael Westmore,
468
00:21:07,642 --> 00:21:10,772
who now had his hands very full
as head of makeup
469
00:21:10,853 --> 00:21:14,193
for The Next Generation
and Deep Space Nine.
470
00:21:14,273 --> 00:21:15,783
[Michael Westmore] We had a thing
called the Westmore Alien.
471
00:21:15,858 --> 00:21:19,778
The Westmore Alien
was boxes of noses and heads
472
00:21:19,862 --> 00:21:21,952
and ears
from previous aliens.
473
00:21:22,031 --> 00:21:23,991
That is good enough for me.
474
00:21:24,075 --> 00:21:26,785
[McFadden] But for
the non-randomly put together aliens...
475
00:21:26,869 --> 00:21:29,159
The Jem'Hadar are often
one step ahead of the Vorta.
476
00:21:29,247 --> 00:21:33,077
I always had something in Earth
that the people could associate with,
477
00:21:33,167 --> 00:21:34,457
but they didn't know.
478
00:21:34,544 --> 00:21:37,804
It's like the Jem'Hadar was a little bit
of dinosaur and rhinoceros.
479
00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:40,090
And you can see it's like,
"Where do you put the horn?"
480
00:21:40,174 --> 00:21:41,684
The horn was their hair
in the back of their head.
481
00:21:41,759 --> 00:21:45,139
[McFadden] For Michael,
Deep Space Nine 's aliens were his canvas.
482
00:21:45,221 --> 00:21:48,181
Did you tell him
about that slug inside of you?
483
00:21:48,266 --> 00:21:50,096
Yes, Benjamin, he knows I'm a Trill.
484
00:21:50,184 --> 00:21:53,734
[Westmore] With Terry Farrell,
I spotted them by hand.
485
00:21:53,813 --> 00:21:54,653
Take me 20 minutes.
486
00:21:54,731 --> 00:21:57,941
[McFadden] But most procedures
took quite a bit longer than that.
487
00:21:58,026 --> 00:22:02,486
That mother... outfit,
my makeup took over four hours.
488
00:22:02,572 --> 00:22:05,202
It was like being entombed.
489
00:22:05,283 --> 00:22:06,203
"Get me outta here."
490
00:22:06,284 --> 00:22:08,834
[McFadden]
For some, the rigorous makeup routine
491
00:22:08,911 --> 00:22:11,001
was just a way to get into character.
492
00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:13,000
[Visitor] They'd have us come in early,
get our makeup on,
493
00:22:13,082 --> 00:22:14,712
and wait for our scenes.
494
00:22:14,792 --> 00:22:17,252
So I would walk around Paramount,
495
00:22:17,336 --> 00:22:22,506
and it was one of the best ways
to prepare for being a Bajoran
496
00:22:22,592 --> 00:22:24,552
who's looked at with prejudice
497
00:22:24,635 --> 00:22:28,925
because no one was really aware
there was a new Star Trek filming.
498
00:22:29,015 --> 00:22:32,805
And I'd get double takes
and I'd get people looking at my nose.
499
00:22:32,894 --> 00:22:35,564
And after a while,
it would piss me off.
500
00:22:35,646 --> 00:22:36,806
It would be like, "What?"
501
00:22:36,898 --> 00:22:38,568
-[record scratches]
-[laughs]
502
00:22:38,649 --> 00:22:42,449
And that attitude
I definitely brought to Kira.
503
00:22:42,528 --> 00:22:46,238
Commander, let's not be confused here.
My loyalties are to Bajor.
504
00:22:46,324 --> 00:22:48,414
[McFadden]
Well, no one would question that.
505
00:22:48,493 --> 00:22:52,623
But when it came to what Nana was wearing,
well, that was a little on the nose.
506
00:22:52,705 --> 00:22:55,415
Bob Blackman
gave it such a look
507
00:22:55,500 --> 00:22:58,750
and such a texture to the whole show.
508
00:22:58,836 --> 00:23:00,756
[Robert Blackman]
Well, Nana, she needed to appeal
509
00:23:00,838 --> 00:23:03,838
to the 18 to 43-year-old group more,
510
00:23:03,925 --> 00:23:06,795
and so we put her
into a spandex-like fabric
511
00:23:06,886 --> 00:23:09,756
that was formfitting,
and she had a great figure.
512
00:23:09,847 --> 00:23:15,437
It's not necessarily comfortable.
I didn't love being in orange latex.
513
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:17,690
Oh, I love a woman in uniform.
514
00:23:17,772 --> 00:23:20,862
[McFadden] But it wasn't just
Nana's uniform that was stretched thin.
515
00:23:20,942 --> 00:23:23,952
As season one turned into season two,
516
00:23:24,028 --> 00:23:25,948
the writers
were feeling stretched as well.
517
00:23:26,030 --> 00:23:28,910
We're still trying to repair all the
damage your forces did before they left.
518
00:23:28,991 --> 00:23:31,241
[Ronald D. Moore]
Because the station didn't go anywhere,
519
00:23:31,327 --> 00:23:33,617
stories that you did last week
we're still kind of with you this week
520
00:23:33,704 --> 00:23:35,254
'cause those people were still here.
521
00:23:35,331 --> 00:23:36,831
[McFadden]
And despite the clear instructions
522
00:23:36,916 --> 00:23:40,126
from the studio
regarding serialized plotlines...
523
00:23:40,211 --> 00:23:42,761
The studio absolutely said no.
524
00:23:42,839 --> 00:23:44,629
[McFadden]
There was really no way to avoid it.
525
00:23:44,715 --> 00:23:47,585
[Moore]
As a result, you had ongoing relationships
526
00:23:47,677 --> 00:23:50,887
and ongoing stories
that you had to pay attention to.
527
00:23:50,972 --> 00:23:54,352
[McFadden] And despite Ira
clearly starting to get his way,
528
00:23:54,433 --> 00:23:56,603
the audience wasn't so sure.
529
00:23:56,686 --> 00:23:59,646
There were a lot of people
who didn't like the way it was going,
530
00:23:59,730 --> 00:24:01,190
the fact that it was serialized.
531
00:24:01,274 --> 00:24:03,824
[McFadden]
A defiant slap in the face to the studio,
532
00:24:03,901 --> 00:24:05,611
which promptly
slapped the show right back
533
00:24:05,695 --> 00:24:08,065
because as they initially said...
534
00:24:08,156 --> 00:24:11,026
These shows were not necessarily
gonna be syndicated in order,
535
00:24:11,117 --> 00:24:13,947
and they wanted standalone episodes.
536
00:24:14,036 --> 00:24:15,616
[McFadden]
Which meant for viewers...
537
00:24:15,705 --> 00:24:17,705
Who knows when
you're gonna be able to see it,
538
00:24:17,790 --> 00:24:19,500
much less when you can record it.
539
00:24:19,584 --> 00:24:21,754
A lot of the audience gave up.
540
00:24:21,836 --> 00:24:25,376
[McFadden] Poor ratings
confirmed Paramount's worst fears.
541
00:24:25,464 --> 00:24:27,434
[Moore] The studio
was concerned about the ratings.
542
00:24:27,508 --> 00:24:29,588
They wanted something that was equaling
543
00:24:29,677 --> 00:24:32,887
and then ideally surpassing
Next Generation.
544
00:24:32,972 --> 00:24:35,182
[McFadden]
Well, as it happens,
545
00:24:35,266 --> 00:24:38,936
The Next Generation
was ending its seven-year run,
546
00:24:39,061 --> 00:24:43,521
leaving Deep Space Nine adrift
and all by its lonesome.
547
00:24:43,608 --> 00:24:45,738
Now I know we're doomed.
548
00:24:45,818 --> 00:24:48,028
[Nemecek] For all the fans at the time
who loved to say,
549
00:24:48,112 --> 00:24:51,032
"Oh, yeah, DS9,
it's the show that doesn't go anywhere."
550
00:24:51,115 --> 00:24:52,655
Because there wasn't a starship,
551
00:24:52,742 --> 00:24:56,452
it had a little trouble finding
its place as a Star Trek show.
552
00:24:56,537 --> 00:24:59,577
[McFadden] Paramount wanted more
from its most valuable property.
553
00:24:59,665 --> 00:25:01,955
They wanted some change.
They wanted to see a spike in the ratings.
554
00:25:02,043 --> 00:25:04,213
They want to see
bigger popularity for the series.
555
00:25:04,295 --> 00:25:07,755
[McFadden] They wanted to match
the success of Next Generation.
556
00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:12,260
And short of importing key personnel
over from The Next Generation,
557
00:25:12,345 --> 00:25:13,425
Deep Space Nine...
558
00:25:13,512 --> 00:25:17,812
Actually, maybe they should bring
some people over from The Next Generation.
559
00:25:17,892 --> 00:25:20,272
Like senior writer Ron Moore.
560
00:25:20,353 --> 00:25:24,733
When I came on in the third season,
I was really a little burned out at TNG
561
00:25:24,815 --> 00:25:28,145
by the time the show ended,
and I was happy and grateful
562
00:25:28,236 --> 00:25:29,736
to start doing something new,
563
00:25:29,820 --> 00:25:31,240
and it was
a very different challenge, you know,
564
00:25:31,322 --> 00:25:33,742
and I was really energized by it.
565
00:25:33,824 --> 00:25:36,664
[McFadden]
Perhaps even a little defiant,
566
00:25:36,744 --> 00:25:39,584
an issue that Rick Berman,
the keeper of Gene's vision,
567
00:25:39,664 --> 00:25:41,424
was more than aware of.
568
00:25:41,499 --> 00:25:45,459
You know, he knew we'd been straining
at the leash for quite a while,
569
00:25:45,544 --> 00:25:48,304
and now Gene's gone,
and I think he just sensed that,
570
00:25:48,381 --> 00:25:52,511
"Okay, these guys are wild people,
they'll just, like, destroy this thing,"
571
00:25:52,593 --> 00:25:54,893
if he didn't hold the reins really tight.
572
00:25:54,971 --> 00:25:58,271
[McFadden]
And in Ron Moore's first defiant act...
573
00:25:58,349 --> 00:26:02,809
They created the Defiant
so they could go away from the station.
574
00:26:02,895 --> 00:26:05,765
Release docking clamps.
Aft thrusters at one quarter.
575
00:26:05,856 --> 00:26:07,606
Port and starboard at station keeping.
576
00:26:07,692 --> 00:26:10,402
[McFadden]
So Star Trek pimped its own ride
577
00:26:10,486 --> 00:26:13,486
with a brand-new battleship
and a revised mission.
578
00:26:13,572 --> 00:26:16,532
"Let's give Sisko a ship.
Let's see him getting out there."
579
00:26:16,617 --> 00:26:18,157
The Defiant was a prototype,
580
00:26:18,244 --> 00:26:21,334
the first ship in what would have been
a new Federation battlefleet.
581
00:26:21,414 --> 00:26:23,714
[McFadden] The ship was new,
but in launching it,
582
00:26:23,791 --> 00:26:27,001
Star Trek
was actually returning to its roots.
583
00:26:27,086 --> 00:26:28,916
Standby weapons and shields.
584
00:26:29,005 --> 00:26:31,795
"Oh, look, it's the Star Trek crew
getting off on a ship and doing stuff."
585
00:26:31,882 --> 00:26:34,392
Well, that's the DNA
of Star Trek all along.
586
00:26:34,468 --> 00:26:35,848
Thank you for finally figuring that out.
587
00:26:36,804 --> 00:26:39,524
[McFadden]
And just to make sure no one missed
588
00:26:39,598 --> 00:26:41,518
that Star Trek was back on track,
589
00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:43,690
producers threw in a little shock and awe.
590
00:26:43,769 --> 00:26:44,599
Fire!
591
00:26:47,565 --> 00:26:49,685
"It's got Gatling gun phasers.
Oh, my God."
592
00:26:49,775 --> 00:26:51,935
[McFadden]
They may have gained some Gatling guns,
593
00:26:52,028 --> 00:26:55,108
but in season three, the big gun,
594
00:26:55,197 --> 00:26:58,367
Michael Piller, the showrunner,
would depart,
595
00:26:58,451 --> 00:27:01,451
leaving Deep Space Nine 's future
uncertain.
596
00:27:08,711 --> 00:27:10,551
[McFadden]
With a new injection of talent
597
00:27:10,629 --> 00:27:13,379
from the wildly popular
Star Trek: The Next Generation...
598
00:27:13,466 --> 00:27:15,506
Wild. [laughs] We would go crazy.
599
00:27:15,593 --> 00:27:18,763
[McFadden] Showrunner Michael Piller
had left to work on
600
00:27:18,846 --> 00:27:21,176
other upcoming Star Trek projects.
601
00:27:21,265 --> 00:27:23,475
That was good news for Ira Behr,
602
00:27:23,559 --> 00:27:27,649
who would finally have his chance
to take the reins as showrunner.
603
00:27:27,730 --> 00:27:33,320
We gave more and more input to Ira Behr,
who was one of our top writers.
604
00:27:33,402 --> 00:27:35,452
So that took a lot of the load off of us.
605
00:27:35,529 --> 00:27:38,239
Ira, the blue-beard genius bear.
606
00:27:38,324 --> 00:27:39,534
He is phenomenal.
607
00:27:39,617 --> 00:27:43,447
You never know what color his beard
is going to be from day to day. [laughs]
608
00:27:43,537 --> 00:27:48,037
He was beyond energized.
He was just on fire.
609
00:27:48,125 --> 00:27:50,585
[McFadden]
And despite his bright beard...
610
00:27:50,669 --> 00:27:53,549
As the series went on,
they certainly went to darker places.
611
00:27:53,631 --> 00:27:55,341
They had a lot more shades of grey.
612
00:27:56,967 --> 00:28:00,047
[Visitor] Not everything
was black and white on our show.
613
00:28:00,137 --> 00:28:02,927
Not everything
is black and white in life.
614
00:28:03,015 --> 00:28:06,805
And I found it very true.
615
00:28:06,894 --> 00:28:09,654
[McFadden]
But Ira was shooting for more than truth.
616
00:28:10,689 --> 00:28:13,939
Ira wanted more warfare, more violence.
617
00:28:14,026 --> 00:28:15,106
[groans]
618
00:28:15,194 --> 00:28:17,784
My feeling was,
it strayed a little bit far
619
00:28:17,863 --> 00:28:21,123
from Gene's ideals
620
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:25,290
and his hopes
of what the future was going to be,
621
00:28:25,371 --> 00:28:29,751
and as a result, Ira and I
had a number of disagreements.
622
00:28:29,834 --> 00:28:33,384
[McFadden] But the darker hues
of the rejuvenated Deep Space Nine
623
00:28:33,462 --> 00:28:36,472
seemed to leave its audience
in a dark place too.
624
00:28:36,549 --> 00:28:39,139
[Nemecek] "We've added the Defiant
in the mix. Whoo, action."
625
00:28:39,218 --> 00:28:41,218
And yet the viewer numbers,
the ratings,
626
00:28:41,303 --> 00:28:42,353
aren't going up.
627
00:28:42,430 --> 00:28:44,890
[McFadden]
And so for season four,
628
00:28:44,974 --> 00:28:47,694
they just brought in more people
from The Next Generation.
629
00:28:47,768 --> 00:28:51,108
Michael Dorn was brought over
to try and bring over some of that flavor.
630
00:28:51,188 --> 00:28:53,268
It must be an exciting prospect.
631
00:28:53,357 --> 00:28:55,857
[Moore] They wanted to juice the show
in some capacity.
632
00:28:55,943 --> 00:28:57,613
So you know,
bring over a TNG character.
633
00:28:57,695 --> 00:28:58,525
I appreciate.
634
00:28:58,612 --> 00:29:01,702
[McFadden]
Unfortunately, Klingons are not known
635
00:29:01,782 --> 00:29:04,792
for blending easily
into their environments.
636
00:29:04,869 --> 00:29:07,499
[Lofton] It took a little while
for him to warm up to us.
637
00:29:07,580 --> 00:29:10,000
You know, 'cause
he was almost like his character.
638
00:29:10,082 --> 00:29:12,542
Like, "I will not talk to you
unless it's necessary."
639
00:29:12,626 --> 00:29:14,086
What more is there to say?
640
00:29:14,170 --> 00:29:19,510
My only fear was that they were
going to replace me with Michael Dorn.
641
00:29:19,592 --> 00:29:22,852
I really, really worried about that,
and that did not happen.
642
00:29:22,928 --> 00:29:26,218
[McFadden] For the writers,
Worf was just as unwelcome.
643
00:29:26,307 --> 00:29:28,977
I do apologize again
for the inconvenience.
644
00:29:29,059 --> 00:29:32,309
I felt the hand of the studio
forcing us to do something
645
00:29:32,396 --> 00:29:34,056
that wasn't organic to the show.
646
00:29:34,148 --> 00:29:36,898
"But if they feel this strongly,
let's try to make 'em happy
647
00:29:36,984 --> 00:29:38,864
so that we can do the things
we really wanna do."
648
00:29:38,944 --> 00:29:41,914
"Okay, let's find something interesting
and new to do with Worf
649
00:29:41,989 --> 00:29:43,989
that we haven't done,
you know, up until now."
650
00:29:44,074 --> 00:29:45,704
It will be a glorious adventure.
651
00:29:45,784 --> 00:29:47,084
[McFadden]
When Worf failed to bring
652
00:29:47,161 --> 00:29:50,621
The Next Generation -level ratings
to Deep Space Nine...
653
00:29:50,706 --> 00:29:52,246
It continues to struggle in the ratings.
654
00:29:52,333 --> 00:29:55,093
[McFadden] Not even Captain Sisko's
season-four makeover
655
00:29:55,169 --> 00:29:56,589
could bring in viewers.
656
00:29:56,670 --> 00:29:59,090
Avery was trying to find
the character at the same time,
657
00:29:59,173 --> 00:30:00,343
and part of it was his look.
658
00:30:00,424 --> 00:30:01,344
I couldn't agree more.
659
00:30:01,425 --> 00:30:04,045
[McFadden]
But the studio couldn't agree at all.
660
00:30:04,136 --> 00:30:06,676
[Moore] You know, Avery wanting
to shave his head and have the goatee,
661
00:30:06,764 --> 00:30:09,234
the studio,
they didn't wanna do that.
662
00:30:09,308 --> 00:30:10,808
Rick didn't wanna do that either.
663
00:30:10,893 --> 00:30:12,523
But it's Starfleet now on DS9 ,
664
00:30:12,603 --> 00:30:14,403
and he's gotta have
the clean-cut Starfleet look
665
00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:16,820
and have the, you know,
the pointed sideburns and the whole thing.
666
00:30:16,899 --> 00:30:19,939
It's like, "Come on."
[laughs] "Come on."
667
00:30:20,027 --> 00:30:23,067
[Moore] Ira fought really hard
to let him shave his head
668
00:30:23,155 --> 00:30:25,445
and let him have the goatee
because Ira felt
669
00:30:25,533 --> 00:30:28,083
it makes Avery comfortable in his skin.
670
00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:31,210
[McFadden]
After all, the more heroic the lead,
671
00:30:31,288 --> 00:30:34,118
the greater the chance
of hero-worthy ratings.
672
00:30:34,208 --> 00:30:37,088
Avery Brooks' biggest claim to fame
before DS9
673
00:30:37,169 --> 00:30:39,129
was playing Hawk on Spenser: For Hire.
674
00:30:39,213 --> 00:30:40,513
The name is Hawk.
675
00:30:40,589 --> 00:30:42,629
He was a hero in my community.
676
00:30:42,716 --> 00:30:43,546
Yeah.
677
00:30:43,634 --> 00:30:46,184
I prefer the bald Avery Brooks
678
00:30:46,262 --> 00:30:48,472
because there is power
in that baldness.
679
00:30:48,556 --> 00:30:50,176
And it gave him authority.
680
00:30:50,266 --> 00:30:53,556
There's no question,
bald with the goatee is the best Sisko.
681
00:30:53,644 --> 00:30:55,654
-[laughs]
-[McFadden] Well, he would say that.
682
00:30:55,729 --> 00:30:57,399
There's no guarantee of that!
683
00:30:57,481 --> 00:30:58,521
[McFadden]
Deep Space Nine
684
00:30:58,607 --> 00:31:01,687
had weathered
four years of disappointment.
685
00:31:01,777 --> 00:31:06,527
And neither Worf's whimsical ways,
Captain Sisko's shiny head,
686
00:31:06,615 --> 00:31:12,495
nor Ira's blue beard were enough
to stop Star Trek trying one last thing.
687
00:31:12,580 --> 00:31:16,540
Unfortunately,
it had nothing to do with Deep Space Nine.
688
00:31:16,625 --> 00:31:18,375
They got busy with the next show.
689
00:31:18,460 --> 00:31:22,460
[McFadden] Paramount had already
begun developing Star Trek: Voyager,
690
00:31:22,548 --> 00:31:25,088
putting DS9 further in the shade.
691
00:31:25,175 --> 00:31:29,305
Well, we were never the shiny, new thing,
so the idea of Voyager coming along
692
00:31:29,388 --> 00:31:32,268
was like, "Yeah, they're gonna try again
'cause they didn't get it with us."
693
00:31:32,349 --> 00:31:36,019
[Lofton] And because they were network,
they got more money,
694
00:31:36,103 --> 00:31:40,153
bigger budget, better trailers,
the whole gambit.
695
00:31:40,232 --> 00:31:41,692
Their craft service was amazing.
696
00:31:41,775 --> 00:31:44,445
I mean, everything that could be better
was better for Voyager.
697
00:31:44,528 --> 00:31:46,158
And we were sitting there like,
"Wait, wait a minute.
698
00:31:46,238 --> 00:31:47,618
We've been here for,
you know, all this time.
699
00:31:47,698 --> 00:31:49,328
How come we didn't get
the brand-new trailers?"
700
00:31:49,408 --> 00:31:51,158
[McFadden]
Not everything was better,
701
00:31:51,243 --> 00:31:53,703
but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
702
00:31:53,787 --> 00:31:58,457
Producer Ira Behr felt his show
had been abandoned by Paramount brass
703
00:31:58,542 --> 00:32:02,382
and left to fend for itself
in the war of ratings.
704
00:32:02,463 --> 00:32:06,883
He just felt like Voyager was getting
all the attention for being a network show
705
00:32:06,967 --> 00:32:10,797
and no one, he felt like no one
was paying attention to little DS9.
706
00:32:10,888 --> 00:32:14,018
[McFadden]
Oh, no one is paying attention you say?
707
00:32:14,099 --> 00:32:17,189
With Paramount no longer
breathing down its neck,
708
00:32:17,269 --> 00:32:21,229
DS9 had a unique opportunity
to spread his wings.
709
00:32:21,315 --> 00:32:23,935
[Moore] At some point,
Paramount just threw up their hands.
710
00:32:24,026 --> 00:32:25,986
Paramount left us alone.
711
00:32:26,070 --> 00:32:27,780
"The show's still dark.
The ratings are okay.
712
00:32:27,863 --> 00:32:29,493
They're never gonna pick up the ratings.
713
00:32:29,573 --> 00:32:31,873
Ah, whatever.
Let 'em do whatever they want."
714
00:32:31,950 --> 00:32:33,370
And they just started leaving us alone.
715
00:32:33,452 --> 00:32:38,122
DS9 got to do
pretty much what it wanted to do.
716
00:32:38,207 --> 00:32:43,337
[McFadden] With a free hand creatively,
DS9 was able to ask questions of itself,
717
00:32:43,420 --> 00:32:46,260
of Star Trek,
and ultimately of its audience.
718
00:32:46,340 --> 00:32:49,800
For example,
in the episode "Far Beyond the Stars,"
719
00:32:49,885 --> 00:32:51,965
they asked a lot of questions.
720
00:32:52,054 --> 00:32:53,394
-[tires screech]
-[groans]
721
00:32:53,472 --> 00:32:55,642
That was one of the most special episodes.
722
00:32:55,724 --> 00:32:57,184
Take a look at these readings.
723
00:32:59,103 --> 00:33:02,653
[boy] Hey, you gonna buy that or not?
724
00:33:02,731 --> 00:33:06,111
It was a period piece.
We're talking about police brutality.
725
00:33:06,193 --> 00:33:08,403
-[grunting]
-Stop it! Stop it!
726
00:33:08,487 --> 00:33:10,447
[Lofton]
This was a special subject matter
727
00:33:10,531 --> 00:33:12,661
that you wanted to make sure
you were getting right.
728
00:33:12,741 --> 00:33:17,001
[sobbing] I am a human being, damn it.
729
00:33:17,079 --> 00:33:19,669
In case you haven't been
paying attention to the headlines,
730
00:33:19,748 --> 00:33:21,168
but it hasn't gone away.
731
00:33:21,250 --> 00:33:23,380
Star Trek is the future.
732
00:33:23,460 --> 00:33:26,380
And that means that
these people who are writing these,
733
00:33:26,463 --> 00:33:29,973
they are hopeful in heart
that the future,
734
00:33:30,050 --> 00:33:33,760
people will eventually see the world
the way the world truly is.
735
00:33:33,846 --> 00:33:35,716
Things are going to change. They have to.
736
00:33:35,806 --> 00:33:38,346
[McFadden]
This was the original Star Trek ethos
737
00:33:38,434 --> 00:33:41,524
of infinite diversity, warts and all.
738
00:33:41,603 --> 00:33:42,943
[Penny Johnson Jerald]
The world full of people
739
00:33:43,021 --> 00:33:47,571
who have red skin, brown skin,
black skin, and white skin,
740
00:33:47,651 --> 00:33:50,741
and if any skin I left out,
that's in that too.
741
00:33:50,821 --> 00:33:54,491
[McFadden] But don't worry, Ira, Ron,
and the writers were not done yet.
742
00:33:54,575 --> 00:33:57,235
[Moore] "Let's push further
than anyone thinks we can.
743
00:33:57,327 --> 00:33:59,117
Let's challenge what Star Trek is.
744
00:33:59,204 --> 00:34:02,254
How good is the Federation?
Don't they have their own problems?
745
00:34:02,332 --> 00:34:04,882
What happens when they face
this kind of crisis? What about this?"
746
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:08,130
[McFadden] Well, Ron was about
to get the chance to find out.
747
00:34:11,258 --> 00:34:13,178
[McFadden]
With Ira Behr in the driver's seat...
748
00:34:13,260 --> 00:34:17,600
That's when we really started to feel
like we were a sailing ship
749
00:34:17,681 --> 00:34:20,021
and Ira was at the wheel.
750
00:34:20,100 --> 00:34:22,560
[McFadden] A wheel that Ira
had been spinning in the background
751
00:34:22,644 --> 00:34:24,274
for quite awhile.
752
00:34:24,354 --> 00:34:25,814
Because if you remember...
753
00:34:25,898 --> 00:34:27,728
Ira got very involved
754
00:34:27,816 --> 00:34:33,156
in wanting to do
long strings of continuing episodes.
755
00:34:33,238 --> 00:34:36,158
The studio absolutely said no.
756
00:34:36,241 --> 00:34:38,331
[McFadden]
But with the studio's attention elsewhere,
757
00:34:38,410 --> 00:34:40,660
Ira really only had Rick to convince.
758
00:34:40,746 --> 00:34:42,496
That wouldn't be too much of a problem.
759
00:34:42,581 --> 00:34:45,331
Ira was really good
at pulling the wool over your eyes.
760
00:34:45,417 --> 00:34:51,377
He would say, "We're not gonna have
a continual long series of episodes
761
00:34:51,465 --> 00:34:54,465
that aren't standalone,"
and all of a sudden,
762
00:34:54,551 --> 00:34:55,551
they would occur.
763
00:34:55,636 --> 00:34:59,176
[McFadden] Ira had planted the seed
of one such arc way back in season two.
764
00:34:59,264 --> 00:35:00,774
Right here.
765
00:35:00,849 --> 00:35:03,849
Let's just say, if you want to do business
in the Gamma Quadrant,
766
00:35:03,936 --> 00:35:06,556
you have to do business
with the Dominion.
767
00:35:06,647 --> 00:35:08,317
Uh, the Dominion?
What's that?
768
00:35:08,398 --> 00:35:11,608
[McFadden] With this
tiny mention of the Dominion,
769
00:35:11,693 --> 00:35:16,913
Ira would spawn one of Deep Space Nine 's
biggest arcing plotlines.
770
00:35:16,990 --> 00:35:18,780
You belong to the Dominion, don't you?
771
00:35:18,867 --> 00:35:21,537
[McFadden] Which would not only
fly in the face of the network's wishes...
772
00:35:21,620 --> 00:35:22,450
May it keep you strong.
773
00:35:22,538 --> 00:35:24,958
[McFadden] ...but possibly
Gene Roddenberry's as well.
774
00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:27,290
[Moore] The Dominion War,
Rick said so at the time,
775
00:35:27,376 --> 00:35:29,916
he said Gene would absolutely
have killed this story.
776
00:35:30,003 --> 00:35:32,803
But we were able to get it done
and we did talk him into it.
777
00:35:32,881 --> 00:35:36,011
And so, you know, even though
he would draw these lines,
778
00:35:36,093 --> 00:35:38,803
he was willing to kind of move
the lines and move the goal posts
779
00:35:38,887 --> 00:35:40,347
with us every once
in a while to kind of...
780
00:35:40,430 --> 00:35:42,980
'cause he could recognize
that this was a really good story.
781
00:35:43,058 --> 00:35:47,558
[McFadden] Ron Moore and Ira Behr
were waging a war on Star Trek tradition.
782
00:35:47,646 --> 00:35:50,856
They would push the series' boundaries
into new territory
783
00:35:50,941 --> 00:35:53,531
with a season-six
Dominion War episode
784
00:35:53,610 --> 00:35:57,030
that was unlike anything
Star Trek had done before.
785
00:35:57,114 --> 00:35:58,744
I can see where it all went wrong.
786
00:35:58,824 --> 00:36:01,834
"In the Pale Moonlight,"
it's a controversial episode.
787
00:36:01,910 --> 00:36:03,580
Michael Taylor wrote the first draft.
788
00:36:03,662 --> 00:36:05,872
[McFadden]
That's freelance writer Michael Taylor,
789
00:36:05,956 --> 00:36:08,036
who would later join the writing staff.
790
00:36:08,125 --> 00:36:11,245
We were having trouble making it work
and it got handed to me,
791
00:36:11,336 --> 00:36:13,336
and I came up
with the wraparound structure
792
00:36:13,422 --> 00:36:15,172
and Sisko talking to the camera.
793
00:36:15,257 --> 00:36:16,797
Captain's personal log.
794
00:36:16,884 --> 00:36:20,304
Recording a captain's log and that
that was gonna be the frame.
795
00:36:20,387 --> 00:36:25,347
Maybe if I just lay it all out in my log,
it'll finally make sense.
796
00:36:25,434 --> 00:36:28,944
[McFadden] Ron Moore thought the title
of the episode made sense too
797
00:36:29,021 --> 00:36:32,901
because everybody knows
about the pale moonlight, right?
798
00:36:32,983 --> 00:36:34,613
When I wrote that title,
799
00:36:34,693 --> 00:36:37,283
I was under the impression that
that was just a saying.
800
00:36:37,362 --> 00:36:39,702
You ever dance with the devil
in the pale moonlight?
801
00:36:39,781 --> 00:36:42,491
And everybody kept coming up to me
and saying,
802
00:36:42,576 --> 00:36:44,866
"Oh, so it's a Batman reference?"
803
00:36:44,953 --> 00:36:47,623
And I said, "No.
I mean, no, it's not about Batman .
804
00:36:47,706 --> 00:36:49,286
It's just about the phrase,
about the saying,
805
00:36:49,374 --> 00:36:50,794
'Dance with the devil
in the pale moonlight.'"
806
00:36:50,876 --> 00:36:53,916
And then later came to find that,
well, it's not really a phrase.
807
00:36:54,004 --> 00:36:57,054
It's really just something
that was said in Batman .
808
00:36:57,132 --> 00:36:58,512
I just like the sound of it.
809
00:36:58,592 --> 00:37:00,592
[McFadden]
Whatever Ron thought it meant,
810
00:37:00,677 --> 00:37:03,177
the episode was a radical departure,
811
00:37:03,263 --> 00:37:06,393
with Star Trek 's heroes
taking a devilish turn.
812
00:37:06,475 --> 00:37:09,595
[Sisko] I was going to bring
the Romulan's into the war.
813
00:37:09,686 --> 00:37:11,096
[McFadden]
The Dominion War.
814
00:37:11,188 --> 00:37:13,608
With the Federation losing,
815
00:37:13,690 --> 00:37:18,570
Captain Sisko conspires with Garak
in a dance of disinformation.
816
00:37:18,654 --> 00:37:21,784
It was willing to push characters
into darker,
817
00:37:21,865 --> 00:37:25,115
more ambiguous territory
than the other Star Treks did.
818
00:37:25,202 --> 00:37:31,002
You have Sisko and Garak both engaged
in this really untoward tale of darkness.
819
00:37:31,083 --> 00:37:36,383
And it may be a very messy,
very bloody business.
820
00:37:36,463 --> 00:37:38,343
When Sisko asks him for help,
821
00:37:38,423 --> 00:37:42,593
he has a pretty good idea of the lengths
to which Garak is going to go.
822
00:37:42,678 --> 00:37:46,768
Sometimes,
fairness doesn't win the day
823
00:37:46,848 --> 00:37:49,768
and there are dirty tricks
that have to be used.
824
00:37:49,851 --> 00:37:54,691
You knew I could do those things
that you weren't capable of doing.
825
00:37:54,773 --> 00:37:58,493
[McFadden] So perhaps
for the first time in Star Trek's history,
826
00:37:58,568 --> 00:38:01,908
the dirty tricks
weren't being played by the villains,
827
00:38:01,989 --> 00:38:04,619
and the consequences were deadly.
828
00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:10,830
[McFadden] "In the Pale Moonlight"
was a Star Trek episode unlike any other.
829
00:38:10,914 --> 00:38:13,584
[Moore]
And it is about a disinformation campaign.
830
00:38:13,667 --> 00:38:15,787
It's about fake news
that the good guys use
831
00:38:15,877 --> 00:38:18,047
in order to start a war, you know,
832
00:38:18,130 --> 00:38:20,510
or a different part of the war
with the Romulans.
833
00:38:20,590 --> 00:38:23,430
[McFadden] Five years before
the second war in Iraq,
834
00:38:23,510 --> 00:38:28,350
Star Trek actually foreshadowed
the rise of manufactured truths.
835
00:38:28,432 --> 00:38:29,852
It's a fake!
836
00:38:29,933 --> 00:38:30,773
"It's a fake!"
837
00:38:30,851 --> 00:38:32,021
"It's a fake!"
838
00:38:32,102 --> 00:38:33,692
"It's a fake!"
839
00:38:33,770 --> 00:38:38,110
We're dealing with fake news
and the use of fake news.
840
00:38:38,191 --> 00:38:41,701
How, you know, news and information
could be used by governments
841
00:38:41,778 --> 00:38:44,278
and people in power
to get what they wanted,
842
00:38:44,364 --> 00:38:48,874
and you don't usually see
the good guys do that on television.
843
00:38:48,952 --> 00:38:51,252
And if I had to do it all over again...
844
00:38:52,539 --> 00:38:53,749
I would.
845
00:38:53,832 --> 00:38:56,502
[McFadden]
Freed from the traditional scruples,
846
00:38:56,585 --> 00:39:01,045
"In the Pale Moonlight" took fans
into the darkest territory of them all.
847
00:39:01,131 --> 00:39:02,761
Garak kills the forger.
848
00:39:02,841 --> 00:39:03,841
I mean, he murders him.
849
00:39:03,925 --> 00:39:06,425
And I deliberately played it off camera
850
00:39:06,511 --> 00:39:09,931
because the episode as a whole
is already pretty dark.
851
00:39:10,015 --> 00:39:13,135
I'll be along shortly to say hello.
852
00:39:13,226 --> 00:39:15,726
And I just sort of had an intuitive sense
853
00:39:15,812 --> 00:39:20,652
that if I have one of our semi-regulars
who we love, in cold blood,
854
00:39:20,734 --> 00:39:24,864
murder another character on camera,
it was gonna be a whole thing.
855
00:39:24,946 --> 00:39:28,276
So I just buried it in the story
and it happens off camera.
856
00:39:28,366 --> 00:39:31,906
And I just knew that
that would make it easier to slip by.
857
00:39:31,995 --> 00:39:35,865
The joy of playing Garak
was derived so much
858
00:39:35,957 --> 00:39:40,417
from his lack of what we think
as being moral or ethical.
859
00:39:40,504 --> 00:39:42,674
Well, I suppose that depends
on how you look at it.
860
00:39:42,756 --> 00:39:46,296
[McFadden] And the captain too
was suddenly Machiavellian,
861
00:39:46,384 --> 00:39:49,474
light years from
Star Trek 's original hero.
862
00:39:49,554 --> 00:39:52,724
[Moore] Sisko does things in that show
that you can't imagine Kirk doing
863
00:39:52,808 --> 00:39:54,938
or any of the other Starship captains.
864
00:39:55,018 --> 00:39:58,688
We took that character pretty far
and engaged in deception
865
00:39:58,772 --> 00:40:02,152
and murder and, you know, criminality
and all kinds of things,
866
00:40:02,275 --> 00:40:03,605
in service of a higher goal,
867
00:40:03,693 --> 00:40:05,903
and I think that's an interesting place
to take a character.
868
00:40:05,987 --> 00:40:06,907
[groans]
869
00:40:06,988 --> 00:40:08,868
[McFadden] And when Sisko's
dance with the devil...
870
00:40:08,949 --> 00:40:10,119
Get up!
871
00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:11,450
[McFadden]
...spins out of control...
872
00:40:11,535 --> 00:40:12,365
You killed him!
873
00:40:12,452 --> 00:40:13,832
[McFadden]
...he faces a reckoning.
874
00:40:13,912 --> 00:40:17,752
Sisko might have even expected it
to have been a worse price.
875
00:40:17,833 --> 00:40:20,923
Like, Cisco might have had a deeper,
darker fear in the back of his head that,
876
00:40:21,002 --> 00:40:24,212
"Once I go to Garak,
who knows what the price is gonna be?"
877
00:40:24,297 --> 00:40:27,467
You may have just saved
the entire Alpha Quadrant,
878
00:40:27,551 --> 00:40:32,181
and all it cost was the life
of one Romulan senator,
879
00:40:32,264 --> 00:40:33,434
one criminal...
880
00:40:34,850 --> 00:40:39,810
...and the self-respect
of one Starfleet officer.
881
00:40:39,896 --> 00:40:42,356
[McFadden]
And so we see a Starfleet captain
882
00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:46,070
forced to make peace with himself
before his enemies.
883
00:40:46,153 --> 00:40:50,033
So I will learn to live with it.
884
00:40:50,115 --> 00:40:52,905
At the end, when he says,
"And I can live with it,"
885
00:40:52,993 --> 00:40:55,873
he can live with the fact
that he made those choices.
886
00:40:55,954 --> 00:40:57,294
That's the moral to the story.
887
00:40:57,372 --> 00:40:58,832
And he embraces it,
888
00:40:58,915 --> 00:41:01,285
and he hates himself for it
at the same time.
889
00:41:01,376 --> 00:41:03,206
I can live with it.
890
00:41:03,295 --> 00:41:07,585
Someone breaks the fourth wall
and speaks directly into the camera,
891
00:41:07,674 --> 00:41:09,094
that's the deepest you can go.
892
00:41:09,176 --> 00:41:12,386
What makes Sisko such a great leader
is that he deliberates
893
00:41:12,470 --> 00:41:14,390
and he tries to do the right thing
894
00:41:14,472 --> 00:41:17,142
even when it means
that he has to do the wrong thing.
895
00:41:17,225 --> 00:41:19,935
It's a great morality tale
of "how far is too far?"
896
00:41:20,020 --> 00:41:22,610
[Moore]
I think you go with them on the ride.
897
00:41:22,689 --> 00:41:25,109
You feel the pressure,
you understand the stakes
898
00:41:25,192 --> 00:41:27,822
of this galactic war
that's happening.
899
00:41:27,903 --> 00:41:30,823
Step by step, you understand
why they keep doing what they're doing,
900
00:41:30,906 --> 00:41:32,816
even as part of you is repelled by them.
901
00:41:32,908 --> 00:41:34,738
The truth is,
you can live with it too,
902
00:41:34,826 --> 00:41:36,826
and that says something about you
and that says...
903
00:41:36,912 --> 00:41:39,832
and that's a fantastic,
interesting interaction
904
00:41:39,915 --> 00:41:41,575
between show and audience.
905
00:41:41,666 --> 00:41:45,376
When it deals with complex issues
and dives into things that are meaningful,
906
00:41:45,462 --> 00:41:47,012
that's when Star Trek really works.
907
00:41:47,088 --> 00:41:49,258
[Moore]
Only Deep Space Nine could do that,
908
00:41:49,341 --> 00:41:52,511
and I think it is one of the very best
Deep Space Nine episodes.
909
00:41:52,594 --> 00:41:54,014
I'm very proud of that.
910
00:41:54,095 --> 00:41:56,765
[McFadden]
But no matter how proud or how good,
911
00:41:56,848 --> 00:41:58,518
ratings remained uneven
912
00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:01,980
as one of Star Trek 's
most creatively ambitious chapters
913
00:42:02,062 --> 00:42:03,272
neared its end.
914
00:42:03,355 --> 00:42:06,815
We sort of knew that it probably
was only gonna go one more year.
915
00:42:06,900 --> 00:42:08,780
TNG got seven years.
916
00:42:08,860 --> 00:42:12,240
Stood to reason that we probably
weren't gonna get more than seven years
917
00:42:12,322 --> 00:42:15,582
'cause we weren't ratings-wise
as successful as they were.
918
00:42:15,659 --> 00:42:19,749
[McFadden] With the end in sight,
they began tying up all the loose ends.
919
00:42:19,829 --> 00:42:22,789
You're trying to give
these actors a satisfying end.
920
00:42:22,874 --> 00:42:25,094
There was a melancholy sadness to it.
921
00:42:25,168 --> 00:42:27,298
"Next year's your senior year
and that's gonna be it."
922
00:42:27,379 --> 00:42:30,419
[McFadden] All the pieces were in place
for Deep Space Nine 's
923
00:42:30,507 --> 00:42:34,137
seventh and last season
to go out with a bang.
924
00:42:34,219 --> 00:42:39,349
Unfortunately, before they
could even start, there was a bombshell.
925
00:42:39,432 --> 00:42:41,562
Heading into its final season,
926
00:42:41,643 --> 00:42:46,363
Deep Space Nine was dealing
with the loss of a key cast member.
927
00:42:46,439 --> 00:42:48,939
Dax would not see a seventh season.
928
00:42:49,025 --> 00:42:51,355
You go into a seventh season,
you know it's gonna be your last season,
929
00:42:51,444 --> 00:42:54,864
so the network isn't gonna start throwing
more money at you because this is it.
930
00:42:54,948 --> 00:42:56,618
So she got squeezed.
931
00:42:56,700 --> 00:42:58,240
[McFadden]
Unimpressed with her offer,
932
00:42:58,326 --> 00:43:00,826
actress Terry Farrell checked out.
933
00:43:00,912 --> 00:43:04,172
DS9 's writers had a problem
they never saw coming.
934
00:43:04,249 --> 00:43:07,209
We made no accommodation
for what it would mean
935
00:43:07,294 --> 00:43:11,554
to pull Dax as a character completely out
of the structure of the show,
936
00:43:11,631 --> 00:43:15,181
and I don't think any of us
were really ready to do that.
937
00:43:15,260 --> 00:43:16,930
[McFadden]
Terry Farrell walked out.
938
00:43:17,012 --> 00:43:21,432
But if you can't change the character,
you can always change the actress.
939
00:43:21,516 --> 00:43:26,346
And Nicole de Boer wormed her way in,
so to speak, as the same character
940
00:43:26,438 --> 00:43:28,148
but of course in a different body.
941
00:43:28,231 --> 00:43:30,151
There was something of a scramble.
942
00:43:30,233 --> 00:43:32,283
And it became, "Oh, my God.
Okay, wait a minute, how does this work?
943
00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:33,400
How are we gonna go about this?"
944
00:43:33,486 --> 00:43:34,896
And there was a certain like,
"Oh, my God."
945
00:43:34,988 --> 00:43:37,528
[McFadden]
Basically, an alien slug named Dax
946
00:43:37,615 --> 00:43:41,405
found a new alien host,
and Nicole was that host.
947
00:43:41,494 --> 00:43:43,164
It's me.
948
00:43:43,246 --> 00:43:44,076
Dax.
949
00:43:44,164 --> 00:43:46,544
[McFadden]
But she had some questions.
950
00:43:46,624 --> 00:43:49,094
"What kind of alien is it?" [laughs]
951
00:43:49,169 --> 00:43:51,919
Because I had done
some prosthetic work before
952
00:43:52,005 --> 00:43:53,585
on an episode of Outer Limits.
953
00:43:53,673 --> 00:43:55,303
[McFadden]
Which had proved to be at the outer limits
954
00:43:55,383 --> 00:43:57,093
of Nicole's tolerance for makeup.
955
00:43:57,177 --> 00:44:00,637
I would not probably be able to do that
on a daily basis,
956
00:44:00,722 --> 00:44:03,392
so he said, "Don't worry,
it's very minimal makeup,"
957
00:44:03,475 --> 00:44:05,225
and I said, "Okay, I'd love that."
958
00:44:05,310 --> 00:44:08,560
[McFadden] It's a relatively complicated
symbiotic relationship.
959
00:44:08,646 --> 00:44:11,566
I was told to look at it
as a new character,
960
00:44:11,649 --> 00:44:14,069
although I would have
the memories of Jadzia
961
00:44:14,152 --> 00:44:17,662
as well as all these other people before
with the symbiont.
962
00:44:17,739 --> 00:44:20,579
[McFadden]
So Nicole had a lot on her mind.
963
00:44:20,658 --> 00:44:23,828
And the whole thing is that
she wasn't trained to be joined,
964
00:44:23,912 --> 00:44:25,662
so that is going to be
complicated for her.
965
00:44:25,747 --> 00:44:27,917
People need time
to get over losing Jadzia.
966
00:44:27,999 --> 00:44:31,089
[McFadden] But an even more complicated
relationship for Worf.
967
00:44:31,169 --> 00:44:33,669
Now, of course,
Worf wasn't too excited about me.
968
00:44:33,755 --> 00:44:35,335
I was your wife.
969
00:44:35,423 --> 00:44:36,673
You are not Jadzia.
970
00:44:36,758 --> 00:44:40,508
[McFadden] A fact that allowed
the writers to explore new territory.
971
00:44:40,595 --> 00:44:43,055
"Oh, there's an opportunity
to do different Dax stories,
972
00:44:43,139 --> 00:44:43,969
change relationships.
973
00:44:44,057 --> 00:44:45,387
Now she has a different host."
974
00:44:45,475 --> 00:44:47,975
We just kind of embraced it
as an opportunity to expand
975
00:44:48,061 --> 00:44:49,351
instead of contract.
976
00:44:49,437 --> 00:44:51,057
[McFadden]
Now in its final season,
977
00:44:51,147 --> 00:44:54,477
the production
raced to complete its 26 episodes.
978
00:44:54,567 --> 00:44:55,857
They're getting kind of tired.
979
00:44:55,944 --> 00:44:58,574
It's, like, the seventh season,
and the hours were grueling.
980
00:44:58,655 --> 00:45:02,695
For at least 16 hours a day and longer,
981
00:45:02,784 --> 00:45:04,084
it was insane.
982
00:45:04,160 --> 00:45:06,910
There were people there
that didn't see their children grow up.
983
00:45:06,996 --> 00:45:10,536
[McFadden] And it all came together
for the very last episode.
984
00:45:10,625 --> 00:45:13,205
You always said I looked good in a tuxedo.
985
00:45:13,294 --> 00:45:15,514
They just went where
they felt the story took them
986
00:45:15,588 --> 00:45:19,468
and then finally landed this sucker
at the end with an amazing finale.
987
00:45:19,551 --> 00:45:22,681
[McFadden] In arguably
the biggest story arc of them all,
988
00:45:22,762 --> 00:45:25,102
teased from the very first episode,
989
00:45:25,181 --> 00:45:29,811
Captain Sisko finally takes his place
among the Bajoran Prophets.
990
00:45:29,936 --> 00:45:32,306
Your time of trial has ended.
991
00:45:32,397 --> 00:45:34,107
[McFadden]
The Dominion War comes to an end,
992
00:45:34,190 --> 00:45:37,610
and the crew live it up
for one last night.
993
00:45:37,694 --> 00:45:40,164
To the best crew any captain ever had.
994
00:45:40,238 --> 00:45:43,658
People like myself, other members
of the support staff,
995
00:45:43,741 --> 00:45:45,871
got to be in the episode.
996
00:45:45,952 --> 00:45:49,502
So all of us were the extras
for those scenes,
997
00:45:49,581 --> 00:45:53,841
and Ira planned it perfectly to be shot
the very last day of shooting.
998
00:45:53,918 --> 00:45:55,378
It was just an amazing day.
999
00:45:55,462 --> 00:45:57,172
This one's from the heart.
1000
00:45:57,255 --> 00:45:59,915
[McFadden] The final episode
of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
1001
00:46:00,008 --> 00:46:05,678
went out on June 2nd, 1999,
leaving the audience wanting more.
1002
00:46:05,763 --> 00:46:08,683
Which now, thanks to streaming,
they can have.
1003
00:46:08,766 --> 00:46:14,356
DS9 has definitely stood up over time,
more so than the other shows,
1004
00:46:14,439 --> 00:46:19,569
which is ironic because, at the time,
it was thought of as the lesser show.
1005
00:46:19,652 --> 00:46:23,782
[McFadden] And as it happens,
that controversial serialized format
1006
00:46:23,865 --> 00:46:25,945
turned out to be ahead of its time,
1007
00:46:26,034 --> 00:46:29,044
and the vast story arc
gave the show a long life.
1008
00:46:29,120 --> 00:46:31,250
Today, the definition
of the word "streaming"
1009
00:46:31,331 --> 00:46:33,171
shows that people watch these shows
1010
00:46:33,249 --> 00:46:36,589
because they are continuing arcs,
continuing storylines.
1011
00:46:36,669 --> 00:46:42,009
I think the fact that the way
people view shows is different,
1012
00:46:42,091 --> 00:46:48,101
and binge-watching a show
is the way DS9 needed to be seen.
1013
00:46:48,181 --> 00:46:51,141
And Deep Space Nine
is bigger than ever now.
1014
00:46:51,226 --> 00:46:53,226
It's found a whole new following.
1015
00:46:53,311 --> 00:46:57,651
[McFadden] Routinely landing at the top
of the best Star Trek series lists,
1016
00:46:57,732 --> 00:47:02,402
thanks largely to its wide-ranging
and eclectic storylines.
1017
00:47:02,487 --> 00:47:06,777
And now I get a lot
of transgender people coming up to me
1018
00:47:06,866 --> 00:47:09,366
and saying, you know,
"Do you know how important
1019
00:47:09,452 --> 00:47:11,662
this character has been for me?
1020
00:47:11,746 --> 00:47:14,666
It was someone I could turn to
that was like me."
1021
00:47:14,749 --> 00:47:19,379
Out of the entire franchise,
I think Deep Space Nine was the best
1022
00:47:19,462 --> 00:47:23,342
because it dealt with issues that
a whole bunch of people were facing,
1023
00:47:23,424 --> 00:47:24,764
especially people of color.
1024
00:47:24,842 --> 00:47:27,052
[McFadden]
With Captain Benjamin Sisko,
1025
00:47:27,136 --> 00:47:29,846
Avery Brooks had made Star Trek history.
1026
00:47:29,931 --> 00:47:32,891
Avery, he just put his heart
and soul into it.
1027
00:47:32,976 --> 00:47:36,146
It was really stunning to watch.
1028
00:47:36,229 --> 00:47:37,269
[Lofton]
He taught me a lot.
1029
00:47:37,355 --> 00:47:39,315
The advice that he gave me
along the way
1030
00:47:39,399 --> 00:47:42,529
were life lessons
that just make you a better man.
1031
00:47:43,736 --> 00:47:48,696
He, by example, led in so many ways
that I believe without it,
1032
00:47:48,783 --> 00:47:50,243
I would have been on a different path.
1033
00:47:50,326 --> 00:47:53,246
[McFadden] As deep Space Nine
completed its mission,
1034
00:47:53,329 --> 00:47:56,579
a new Star Trek show
was already on air,
1035
00:47:56,666 --> 00:47:59,496
with its own first to boast of.
1036
00:47:59,586 --> 00:48:03,006
I was the first female captain.
It was an established fact.
1037
00:48:03,089 --> 00:48:04,169
You're serious.
1038
00:48:04,257 --> 00:48:05,087
Very.
1039
00:48:05,174 --> 00:48:09,104
[McFadden] But like all firsts,
this one wouldn't come easy.
1040
00:48:09,178 --> 00:48:12,308
This was an unprecedented moment
in the history of television.
1041
00:48:13,308 --> 00:48:15,388
[theme music playing]
1042
00:48:15,438 --> 00:48:19,988
Repair and Synchronization by
Easy Subtitles Synchronizer 1.0.0.0
90122