I agree that the early seasons are kind of weak, but there are a few good ones hidden among them. Duet was a masterpeice, The Passenger had an interesting, if predictable plot, and every scene Garak was in turned to gold. It's still got some major issues, but there was enough to keep me going until things really picked up.
I'm a geek.
What was the "Babylon 5" scandal?
It was suggested that Deep Space 9 had stolen a lot of it's ideas from Babylon 5. In particular Babylon 5 had been pitched around the networks from before the networks asked someone to develop DS9 and and Babylon 5 filmed it's pilot before DS9 filmed theirs (but released it afterwards). That combined with a lot of story similarities has created a lot of controversy
Ah, thanks. I admit I haven't actually watched it, but my impression was DS9 mostly ripped off World War II :P
I have a strongly disagree. The earlier seasons were the better ones. Asshole Ron D. Moore ended exploiting the Dominion War arc to torment and kill countless innocent characters. This is unacceptable, and when I hear people praising the arc, I am left to wonder what kind of sick people populate this world.
Um does that come with a sprinkling of irony? Otherwise I don't quite follow your argument
As for the B5 controversy, all I can say is that the studios seemed to make up, and Majel Barret even appeared on B5 as a conciliatory motion. Personally, I think it was just really bad timing, and not either party stealing from either. Both shows ended up being pretty different as they went on, or so I hear. Haven't actually watched B5 myself, but it sounds good, and I plan to see it some day. As for Old Grumpy Guy, I wonder how he feels about all the redshirts from the other shows, especially Voyager, which probably murdered more innocent civilians than all the other shows combined. I do indeed get the distinct feeling his comment may not be his 100% true opinion, but if it is, well, I hope you never watch 24, Grumpy Old Man, as you'd probably hate the loss of life in it.
I'm a geek.
Whoops, got his name wrong. Sorry!
I'm a geek.
Whether they stole some plot details or not is of relatively little importance. They owned it with the quality of the writing and characterization. Thats the real battle. Anybody can come up with an idea. Its the follow through and execution that matter. Plus having a storyline like this in the Star Trek universe has a different impact than it does in a universe that was created specifically for these types of stories.
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A lot of spinach before cake
I grew up in the nineties, when it seemed a given that Star Trek would be on TV forever. I'm glad I experienced TNG and and Deep Space Nine when I did. The whole Babylon 5 scandal was unknown to me; I thought Deep Space Nine was off the hook, yo. Shadowy sets, darker uniforms, tough amazon babes...
Having rewatched it as an adult, the Odo/Quark catfights proved timeless... and yet Dax made me want to strangle myself with my extension cords. But that's my opinion; a lot of people dig Jadzia and Ezri, and I wouldn't go around besmirching them online if I were you.
The show took forever to find its feet. The irony is that with all the criticism of DS9 being the weakest or least memorable Trek show, the show invariably sucked whenever it was aping TNG. Unfortunately, this is most prevalent in the first two seasons. The writers dragged out the tired Maquis arc, Monsters of the Week, John de Lancie, Borg, the works. This is not to say that DS9's original ideas were all that hot; on the whole, I find anything involving the Bajorans to be a total bore. They're a glorified hat. The immortal life of Dax was a cool concept, but fell flat on its face thanks to Terry Farrell's dreadful acting (though she greatly improved by the last season — just in time to screw over the writers and quit).
That said, I urge everybody to stick with it. It's painful having to watch those wheels turn and grind their way toward their goal. But eventually it pays off. For me, it was the addition of Worf in "The Way of the Warrior." Rather than throw everything into chaos, the actors hardly miss a beat with Worf around. It was also a second pilot of sorts, a way of re-introducing the expanded cast.