Season 1 of DS9 is often sighted as the weakest, and it's easy to see why. The writers, coming off 5 seasons of TNG, were used to writing for a show about explorers. The problem was that DS9 wasn't a show about explorers, but builders, a recurring theme throughout the series. Because this was unfamiliar territory, a lot of the season feels like they were throwing around ideas and trying to see what stuck. Episodes like 'Q-Less' and 'Move Along Home' proved that the TNG style just wasn't workable for this show, and sadly remain some of its most disappointing efforts. However, episodes like 'Captive Pursuit', 'Duet', and 'In the Hands of the Prophets' proved that when DS9 was willing to move away from its sister show, it was capable of doing interesting, if not always great, stories. Thankfully, these would be the episodes that later seasons would look to for inspiration, and allowed DS9 to form its own unique identity.
Season 1: Learning to Stand Still
Season 1 of DS9 is often sighted as the weakest, and it's easy to see why. The writers, coming off 5 seasons of TNG, were used to writing for a show about explorers. The problem was that DS9 wasn't a show about explorers, but builders, a recurring theme throughout the series. Because this was unfamiliar territory, a lot of the season feels like they were throwing around ideas and trying to see what stuck. Episodes like 'Q-Less' and 'Move Along Home' proved that the TNG style just wasn't workable for this show, and sadly remain some of its most disappointing efforts. However, episodes like 'Captive Pursuit', 'Duet', and 'In the Hands of the Prophets' proved that when DS9 was willing to move away from its sister show, it was capable of doing interesting, if not always great, stories. Thankfully, these would be the episodes that later seasons would look to for inspiration, and allowed DS9 to form its own unique identity.
The characters this season, for the most part, are alright. The main cast give the strongest performances, as the guest actors, especially the recurring ones (aside from the Cardassians), were fairly poor and inconsistent. A special mention must be made for Siddig El Fadil, for doing his best to make Bashir likable in spite of the poor writing for his character. Armin Shimmerman and René Auberjonois have great chemistry, and play brilliantly off each other. Placing Colm Meany in the head Engineer role was genius, as it not only lead to a great performance, it built on an already strong character. Terry Farrell seems to be the weak link of the season, as she's never given much to chew on, even in episodes that are supposed to be about Jadzia. Contrast this with Nana Visitor, who, while not having much to do in most episodes, delivers one of the show's strongest performances in 'Duet'. The best out of the bunch though, is clearly Avery Brooks, despite the fact that he never really got an episode to himself beyond 'Emissary', which was already packed full with exposition.
Overall, while this was a very rocky season, it had great characters, and it laid an important foundation to DS9's future greatness.