Star Trek Deep Space Nine - Seasons One and Two

Commonly viewed as the black sheep of the Star Trek universe, even being accused of being un-Rodenberry during it inception, Deep Space Nine is Star Trek at its finest. DS9 is unique for several reasons: it was the first Trek to abandon the "always on the move" space ship motif for a static locale; it was the first Trek to feature a non-white guy captain as its central character; it was the first Trek to continually tackle issues (love, spirituality, racism) and consequence of action; and it was the first Trek to feature intergalactic wars. Of course, like any great series, it was not without its growing pains, and Season One is littered with them. The tale of the Federation occupying a Cardassian space station next to the recently liberated planet of Bajor, and also the first stable wormhole, would grow to feature limitless possibilities, superb acting and compelling stories, but Season One is a "finding the footing" season. And as such, it is littered with guest appearances from Star Trek: The Next Generation and suffers from "alien of the week" syndrome, along with struggling to establish the Cardassians as a legitimate antagonist. Which doesn't make it bad, just uneven, but with strong spots. Season Two sees the show starting to stand on its own two feet, improving in story and demonstrating more chops from the ensemble cast, while also dropping in plot seeds (the Founders and the Jem'Hadar appear) that would germinate throughout the series. While the strength of Star Trek has always been its one-off episodes, of which DS9 has many, DS9's plot threads and overreaching themes made it unique and compelling. Besides its sleek packaging, Seasons One and Two contain much geeky goodness, including numerous informative featurettes about its inception, and the difficulties of getting it off the ground, numerous "hidden" interviews with almost all the main cast, features on the aliens of each season and the making thereof, as well as the development of DS9. It's all informative, and makes you feel like you'll never have sex again, but for fans, it's time to boldly go out and purchase once again. Extras: Season One: "A Bold Beginning," "Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season One," "Secrets of Quark's Bar" and "Alien Artifacts" featurettes; Crew Dossier: Kira Nerys; sketchbook; more. Season Two: "New Frontiers," "Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Two" and "New Station, New Ships" featurettes; Crew Dossier: Jadzia Dax; sketchbook; more. (Paramount)