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It turns out I was wrong. A few weeks ago, compelled by the franchise’s improbable return to fashion, I sat on my couch with a glass of beer and a bowl of barbecue ringolos and submitted myself to the 90-minute pilot of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It had me laughing, and smiling, and shaking my head in amazement, and for a moment nearly tearing up; it’s one of the best television pilots I’ve ever seen; I loved it.

It’s good to be reminded, as Beyond arrived to less than stellar reviews, just how much Star Trek is already out there

Now I’ve just about disposed of the first season – 20 hour-long episodes, almost a full day, devoured on nights and weekends. It’s interested me more than Stranger Things or UnReal’s second season or the new episodes of Mr. Robot. (Even my wife likes it, and ordinarily she’s allergic to science-fiction.) Hallelujah! Deep Space Nine is terrific.

Deep Space Nine began in 1993, toward the end of The Next Generation, and remained on air, moderately popular, for six years and seven seasons. Like its immediate predecessor, DS9 – as it’s more commonly known among fans – is set in outer space in the middle of the 24th century, among alien species both friendly and malevolent. Unlike its predecessor, there isn’t much space-faring, or intergalactic combat, or escapades on other worlds. Other Star Trek shows are about space ships that roam and scout and battle. Deep Space Nine is about a space station. And that station stays quite still.

But oh boy, does this modulation have a seismic effect. The Deep Space Nine’s Federation crew isn’t obliged to hopscotch from one planet to another, on the lookout for weekly extraterrestrial intrigue. The Next Generation’s favored story templates – investigating an oddity that proves dangerous, happening upon strife or cataclysm, responding to a distress signal that imperils them all – don’t apply. Instead it’s what descends upon the station every week that furnishes the show with its action and drama. An alien fleeing from Running Man-style pursuit stows aboard. Warring species visit for heated arbitration. A puckish deity boards and wreaks havoc! A psychic virus infects the crew!