...But alas all good things must come to an end.
Sniff, sniff. It's the last day and our final question for #30daysoftrek. Has it really been a month? Was I really stupid enough to attempt a question a day? Yes to both of those questions.
Which is why I wanted us to end on a high, a nice, easy question to end the challenge. We started with favourite episode so let's end on favourite series.
From the last month it might have become apparent that my favourite show is Deep Space Nine. Saying that, it wasn't until the third season that I finally "got" it. The first two years were decidedly average and, running as they were, alongside The Next Generation's sixth and seventh seasons, I didn't see it as major competition for my Star Trek affections.
The announcement of a new starship and that the Dominion would have an increased presence in the series certainly piqued my interest. For a brief period between the end of The Next Generation and Voyager, Deep Space Nine held its own and made massive improvements. It retained its darker overtones, the conflict that Voyager steered away from and embraced an incredibly character-driven story focus. That namely came from the stationary nature of Deep Space Nine itself and instead of providing a hindrance it meant that events could continue, there were consequences and genuine character development not only specific to themselves but in relation to each other and even recurring guests.
The arrival of Worf and the Klingons breaking from the Khitomer Accords were unexpected moments and I even thought it was a last gasp attempt to keep the show alive, potentially even doing it more harm than good. Instead it just added even more to the show and Deep Space Nine went from strength to strength giving us utter classics such as The Visitor, Trials and Tribble-ations, Children of Time, Call to Arms, Far Beyond the Stars, In the Pale Moonlight and Tacking into the Wind; episodes I would easily place in any "best of" listing.
Through the inclusion of the three classic Klingons, those tribbles and the Mirror Universe, Deep Space Nine also became the series to draw the most (I felt) on its roots to The Original Series and acknowledge its history.
The final years may have been dominated by the Dominion War but it was much more than just a series of space battles. There were brilliantly written stories that explored the issues of war as well as expanding on the roles of the Bajorans, the influence of Gul Dukat, the exploration of the Klingons in more detail with the inclusion of Martok as well as Worf and a whole host of other twists and turns along the way.
I'll always have a love for the franchise as a whole but for me Deep Space Nine was as good as it got; superb stories, layered and well-acted characters and ongoing developments that made it the most believable of Star Trek's incarnations.
So to you for the final time - what was your favourite show?
Check back on all the previous questions HERE. Remember that TOMORROW, October 31st, there will be an Ask Me Anything opportunity to end the challenge!
