“Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms. […] If we cannot learn to actually enjoy those small differences, to take a positive delight in those small differences between our own kind, here on this planet, then we do not deserve to go out into space and meet the diversity that is almost certainly out there.” – Gene Roddenberry

It would be no exaggeration to say that Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future as portrayed in Star Trek was revolutionary. In the midst of the space race he gave us a vision of the future. This was a future full of optimism. Humans would finally end bigotry, war, famine, poverty, and the other evils found on our current Earth and would gather for a mission greater than themselves. They would seek out other life forms and gather knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic vision has enchanted audiences over the course of almost 50 years. This optimism is what has attracted so many people to the franchise.

So no wonder Deep Space Nine has always felt like black sheep of Star Trek. It is a much darker, and arguably more realistic vision of the future. It is a vision of the future unobstructed by rose-colored glasses. Maybe that’s why people have always had such strong opinions about it. The series is more grounded in reality than any other series in Star Trek history and here is why.

10. Science and Medicine

The Quickening (S:4 E:24), Broken Link (S:4 E:26), Statistical Probabilities (S:6 E:9)