'Deep Space Nine' Might Have Been ...

[spshu]

'Deep Space Nine' Might Have Been All a Dream Trek Today Reports --

Behr also revealed that he wanted to end DS9 by revealing that "it was all a construct in the mind of Benny Russell," the oppressed writer who imagined an African-American captain and his crew, "but there was no way in hell."

That would sure as the world would have ruined it for those that liked DS9. You have to consider that all the Star Trek series would have been dreams.

[tonyg]

"Breaking the fouth wall," is always a risky thing. I don't think it would have hurt DS9 much (the series was ending), but it might have hurt other projects, since it would make "supension of disbelief" a lot more difficult.

[Captain Otto]

considering the ending Behr imagined, I'm quite happy with the "open ending" finale.

But on the other hand this kind of ending would fit the DS9 episodes "Far Beyond the Stars" and "Image in the Sand / Shadows and Symbols" although I personally disliked the ntion that Star Trek is "only" a dream, it could have been a powerful alternative ending. Probably with seeing an aged author "Benny Russell" being shown the TV-set

[Cut]

The mentioning of a "kick-ass DS9 movie" would have not pleased me that much in former days - but right now with all this prequell stuff and the re-casting of TOS going on anything set in the nowtime of Trek would be welcome to me with open arms... I still think Trek XI should see to a proper farewell to the Next Gen crew an I wouldn't mind having crossovers from VOY and DS9. By now I'm so far that I'd happyly venture to a movie theater to see a pure DS9 thing as long as there will be no mainstreamed Trek including guys like Damon or Affleck. Don't need Tom Hanks or Clooney either

[Ergi]

EDIT: It seem some people replied a lot faster than I did. The following refers to the starting post by spshu.



Oh, yes! I absolutely agree. This definitely would have destroyed the bond between the fans and the characters, by devaluating the whole show. I know that all TV series are fictitious, but that doesn't prevent me from empathising with the characters and being interested in their lives, especially in the case of a series like DS9 with a constantly changing, "living" universe and story arcs spanning several seasons. Suddenly being told that the everything we have seen all these years was merely the product of a single, crazy mind, would have been a slap in the face for all the fans that have supported the show for all those years.

This were pretty much my reasons why I didn't really like Far Beyond the Stars, when I first watched the episode, despite the superb acting, the opportunity to see the actors without make-up, and the social commentary of that episode, since I could only interpret this as an attack against the Star Trek universe.
Only after Image in the Sand, which made it clear that the events of first Benny Russel episode must have been an attempt by the Pah Wraiths to lead the Emissary off his destined path, I was able to appreciate "Far beyond the Stars".

[spyone]

I read this a few years back in Star Trek: The Magazine, and my thoughts at the time have been pretty much expressed above: the "statement" at the end that it was all really fiction would have ruined it for me, and made a whole lot of fans angry. Star Trek needs to maintain the pretense (within the episodes/movies at least) that all of this stuff is real, and really happened sometime in the future (if I may mix my tenses there). Like if we were in the 26th century watching a documentary on the past.

I don't know who changed his ending, but "Good Call" whoever you are.

[C5]

I second that. I've grown weary of the "it was all a dream" episodes (or sometimes, "it was all a holodeck simulation"), I'd have hated seeing that happening to a whole series. Yuck.

The only time I found a breaking of the fourth wall in Trek quite funny (not that there are many of them to begin with, though) was in the TNG Moriarty episode (Ship in a bottle IIRC), where Picard jokingly muses about the fact that they could be themselves an illusion appearing on a box in someone's house.

[whoman69]

That sounds like the thing that killed Dallas, where they made an entire season into a dream in the end. I love DS9 the best of all the series even though I grew up watching TOS when it was the only one available. Dream sequences usually end up in the show 'jumping the shark' a reference to a stupid stunt on happy days that killed that show's popularity. In order to believe in the world, a part of you has to say 'this is possible.' Turning it into a dream makes that notion into 'I thought it was real, but it was all a stupid dream.'
BTW, I loved the original Benny idea. That was great television.

[Taurik]

I'm kinda late in replying, but I'm also glad they didn't do this.

I'm also a bit skeptical about that, because they almost exactly the same thing in the final episode of "St. Elsewhere". It turned out the entire series was just a delusion/daydream of an autistic boy.

[First of Two]

Isn't that how they ended "Newhart?"

[Pericles]

Isn't that how they ended "Newhart?"

Yes it was, but when they did it on Newhart it was uproariously funny, if they had tried the same trick with DS9, much like with St Elsewhere, it would have sucked,

[BouncyCaitian]

'Deep Space Nine' Might Have Been All a Dream Trek Today Reports --



That would sure as the world would have ruined it for those that liked DS9. You have to consider that all the Star Trek series would have been dreams.

Gah! What a horrible idea

[Robbert Raets]

ZOMG Tommy Westphall Universe!