Morality Low on DS9

[John Thiel]

Not that Sisko doesn't moralize, but it's apt to be on a low level. I think the series writers and dirctors are striving to make it clear that these people are rather far removed from being good people in the classical sense of the word.

 

[Dave]

I'm not sure that they weren't good people, but by the end of the series each was a kind of exile from their own society, or at least at odds with the society from which they had come:

Sisko almost resigned from Starfleet because of Wolf 379 and the death of his wife. He was the Emissary and he took on the role, even though it was at odds with being a Starfleet officer.

Jake became a reporter and told stories that Starfleet would not approve of.

Jadzia had contact with a previous partner. Ezri certainly bent those rules too.

Worf was a Klingon in Starfleet. But during the Dominion War he walked an even more difficult line between his Klingon heritage and Starfleet oaths.

Garek was an exile from Cardassian, a political spy.

Julian had genetic improvements, against Federation law.

Rom was the most un-Ferengi there was.

Nog was the first Ferengi in Starfleet.

Quark became Grand Nagus and changed all the rules. He let women wear clothes.

Odo turned his back on the Founders, the very people he had been looking for all his life.

Kira supported Starfleet, often against the direction of the Bajoran government.

 

[John Thiel]

We saw a different series end in a couple of those points. Worf lost his wife, was what I saw; Sisko's wife almost lost him, but in the last episode he told her he would return to her. Now he had business with the prophets who had resurrected him. Odo returned to the Link, escorted there by Kira, who gave him a final farewell. The other points are the same, except Jedzia wasn't still alive...she was Worf's wife.

 

[Pyan]

Wasn't DS9 the first of the franchise in which Roddenberry's Rules about the conduct of Starfleet personnel were relaxed?

Because one of Roddenberry's rules for both TOS and TNG stated that the Enterprise crew members were not allowed to fight among themselves............when Deep Space Nine first aired, many people considered it a risk in some regards because it changed a fundamental aspect of what many considered an important part of Trek, namely, the idea of space exploration. The premise of DS9 turns the accustomed starship setting into a static space station that can't go anywhere. Rather than seeking out new life, this series is primarily about a Federation team building a relationship with one civilization, the spiritual Bajorans. The Bajorans have recently liberated themselves from the Cardassians, who had occupied their world for 60 years. DS9's storylines are in many regards much more complex than those of either TOS or TNG, because they deal with drawn-out relationships and political situations within the context of a single culture, as well as the impact on that culture when outside political developments threaten its well-being.

From Four Series and the Trek Ideology
The rest is well worth a read, too.

 

[Dave]

We saw a different series end in a couple of those points. Worf lost his wife, was what I saw; Sisko's wife almost lost him, but in the last episode he told her he would return to her.

I was referring to Sisko's first wife, and Jake's mother, Jennifer. Cassidy Yates should have been locked up and the key thrown away for her support for the Maquis.

 

[John Thiel]

You're one. I mean, you're on. I think DS9 doesn't make what's happening very clear. One has to look carefully to see what's what. Sisko keeps a mean log, but it's rather ambiguous. And one time he pointed out that their life on the station might not even be reality.