Production History
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the third Star Trek series, after The Original Series and The Next Generation. It was launched by Paramount Pictures, and premiered in the US in January 1993, the first time two first-run Star Trek series had been in production at the same time. Deep Space Nine is a syndicated series, meaning it is sold to local stations across the US, who air the show at no fixed time. The Next Generation's resident Klingon, Worf, was added to the cast in the fourth season in an effort to boost ratings, which have fallen from about 9.5 average in first season, to about 7.0 average in third season. Despite this, ratings have continued to slip to about a 6.0 average in the fourth season. Much production and behind-the-scenes information on the series and on television generally is given in the excellent book, 'The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens.
Basic Premise
Deep Space Nine is the first Star Trek series not set on a starship. Instead, it is set on a space station on the edge of newly explored space in the late 24th Century. Deep Space Nine is a station acquired from a warrior race known as the Cardassians, who withdraw from it as they ended their occupation of the planet Bajor, near which the station lies. This sets the backdrop for a rich variety of alien culture and interaction: the Bajorans still deeply resent the Cardassians for brutally occupying them for a century; the Bajorans are suspicious of Federation motives; the Cardassians are also concerned about Federation expansion, and much reconstruction work has to take place of the battered Bajoran infrastructure. To add to this, the station's commander, in the first episode discovers a stable wormhole that opens up the Gamma Quadrant to Federation exploration - a feat otherwise impossible due to the 70 years travel time needed to reach it without aid of the wormhole. This wormhole places Bajor and DS9 at the centre of commerce between alien races from both sides of the wormhole.