Episode 1: I kind of didn’t care about the whole life falling apart backstory. Idk you yet this is weird you’re weird. You’re kind of a cool dad though.

Finale: I would bleed and fight for this man and rally the banner at any beckon of his guidance. Wisdom patience and just enough edge to him. He’s human and delightfully rounded out and fully replaced the janeway as my lead captain.

I said almost the same here a few weeks ago. Sisko got results, and wasn't afraid to fight on occasion. I will love Picard cause he was the first captain I knew as a kid. But being a paragon will only get you so far. Sometimes you need to bend/break the rules & get your hands dirty if you want shit to get done!

When I start a rewatch of DS9, it still grates on me that he seemingly felt justified in holding Picard responsible for what happened to his wife. The guy was assimilated by the Borg, and Sisko has had years to come to terms with what happened before the conversation with Picard.

Later, I was able to appreciate the appeal of a flawed, complex, possibly more realistic Star Trek captain, but it did make him pretty unlikable, right off the bat, especially when I first saw it as a kid. I grew up on TNG, and Picard was my main man. Still, Brooks did a hell of a job on the series, and Sisko was a fantastic character.

A real straight shooter.

Come on buddy, gotta seperate the actor from the role.

It's funny... In some ways, I think he adored the stories they were telling, and particularly the potential the characters and the setting held, but he really seemed to dislike the production environment and many of the specific decisions that were made. He is an artist with a very specific voice (lol, literally even) and mindset that was maybe poorly suited to making Star Trek his "thing."

God though, can you imagine if the brooding-to-manic Sisko acting roller coaster had become iconic in the broader culture like Shatner's staccato shouting and dramatic pauses?

I would guess he didn’t like having to go through a bunch of shit Patrick Stewart didn’t have to. Looking at DS9 now, it’s hard to imagine the original context of it airing. Every new Trek gets shit on but people were out of line with DS9 for way too long. That’s a ridiculously huge lift with little support and - who wouldn’t be unhappy with that.

It’s only in hindsight that people started to appreciate what a great show it was. Which is much like TOS.

I have to wonder if that's part of what made him good for the role? The series was trying to break the Trek mold anyway, so it was maybe for the best that the head of the ensemble cast didn't have any particular reverence for the source.

It is, but at least he was on and seemed to be a positive influence for the series. I can't recall a creative decision that he advocated for which wasn't an improvement of the character and the world.