"You hit me! Picard never hit me!" "I'm not Picard!"
This post is part of the 100 Things: A Blogging Challenge; please click here to learn more about the challenge and the full list of topics I've discussed.
CAPTAIN BENJAMIN SISKO
Continuing along with the 100 Things Challenge and the Star Trek theme that I started with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (entry), I chose Captain Benjamin Sisko for one of my 10 sci-fi/fantasy male characters. It was a difficult choice because all of the DS9 male characters were fantastic in their own way: Quark with his endless quest for profit and his hilarious interactions with the rest of the crew (especially Odo), Garak with his mysterious past as a spy, Miles O'Brien who started in TNG but whose character expanded during his time on DS9, etc. But in the end I chose Sisko for a few reasons. If you're planning on watching this show at any point, potential spoilers ahead! as I will be talking about his character development.
Unlike other Starfleet captains that we've seen in the series, Sisko comes to his command post with a bit of emotional baggage which we see in the pilot episode, "Emissary." He had lost his wife during the Wolf 359 battle against the Borg (an event that was featured in the TNG episode "The Best of Both Worlds I and II") and spent the three years after the event raising his son, Jake, alone. He was actually on the verge of leaving the fleet altogether when he was assigned to DS9 and to relay with the Bajorans. The discovery of a wormhole nearby made the region immensely important for commerce and exploration and Sisko eventually decided to stay. This new energy into the position helped him come to terms with the death of his wife; of course, you still see him struggle every so often, like when he saw the mirror version of his wife in two of the episodes about the Mirror universe, but it was interesting to see him cope and move on, continuing to take care of his son despite of his new responsibilities. Come to think of it, Sisko was the only Starfleet captain we've seen who was taking on his responsibilities while being a single father; it's interesting and adds another aspect to his character.
His character arc was also interesting because his role was dual to Bajor, both as an diplomatic envoy and representative from the Federation but also at the Prophets' Emissary. Sisko was pretty uncomfortable taking on the role of a religious symbol so it was especially intriguing to watch him find a balance to the role, trying to do his job but at the same time both coming to terms with his role as a religious figure and maybe even using it every now and then to steer the Bajorans along. I thought the later storylines that emerged involving the Prophets and the Pah-wraiths was also interesting and really ascended Sisko's character to a sort of mythical level. Again, another interesting turn in his character, especially a) given his initial skepticism towards the role and b) the mysterious nature of the Prophets/aliens who inhabit the wormhole.
I guess his role during the Dominion War also convinced me to add him to my list of sci-fi and fantasy characters. I'm sure all of the Trek captains that were shown in the franchise would have acted as admirably and to the best of their abilities in such a situation but I always thought that Sisko had it particularly tough--I guess actually watching his experiences on-screen just helps in that, he was out on a lot of missions during the war. Would they have come to the same decision as he did for the episode "In the Pale Moonlight"? It also really sucked when it came to the conclusion that they needed to get Bajor to sign the agreement with the Dominion in order to stay out of the fighting (especially given everything he helped achieve in the five years that he was there as well as his role as the Prophets' Emissary) and that his son remained on DS9 for the duration of its occupation. His role during the war was also interesting because it heightened the tensions between him and Gul Dukat, a Cardassian and former commander of Terok Nor and with whom he has always had this rather tense-on-the-verge-of-rivalry sort of relationship with. Their antagonism brought out another dimension to not only both their characters but also to the way that the war was perceived. It was fascinating as well how their rivalry even entered the spiritual realm so-to-speak, with Dukat becoming an emissary in his own right for the Pah-wraiths and challenging Sisko towards the end of the series. But going back to the war, being a commanding officer during a wartime period--on top of being a commander of a space station rather than an exploratory starship--really paints a distinct picture of Sisko the character.
So yeah, Sisko's character arc and the various roles he took on during his time on DS9 were the defining reasons that prompted me to add his character to this list of 100 Things fantasy and sci-fi related. Oh, and it was also great to see him participating in his past times (a must for all captains in the franchise), like how into baseball he is (like, he's really into baseball) and his love for cooking. It's just great to see the softer aspects of his personality outside work.
This entry was originally posted at http://caffeinatedlife.dreamwidth.org/378149.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
CAPTAIN BENJAMIN SISKO
Continuing along with the 100 Things Challenge and the Star Trek theme that I started with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (entry), I chose Captain Benjamin Sisko for one of my 10 sci-fi/fantasy male characters. It was a difficult choice because all of the DS9 male characters were fantastic in their own way: Quark with his endless quest for profit and his hilarious interactions with the rest of the crew (especially Odo), Garak with his mysterious past as a spy, Miles O'Brien who started in TNG but whose character expanded during his time on DS9, etc. But in the end I chose Sisko for a few reasons. If you're planning on watching this show at any point, potential spoilers ahead! as I will be talking about his character development.
Unlike other Starfleet captains that we've seen in the series, Sisko comes to his command post with a bit of emotional baggage which we see in the pilot episode, "Emissary." He had lost his wife during the Wolf 359 battle against the Borg (an event that was featured in the TNG episode "The Best of Both Worlds I and II") and spent the three years after the event raising his son, Jake, alone. He was actually on the verge of leaving the fleet altogether when he was assigned to DS9 and to relay with the Bajorans. The discovery of a wormhole nearby made the region immensely important for commerce and exploration and Sisko eventually decided to stay. This new energy into the position helped him come to terms with the death of his wife; of course, you still see him struggle every so often, like when he saw the mirror version of his wife in two of the episodes about the Mirror universe, but it was interesting to see him cope and move on, continuing to take care of his son despite of his new responsibilities. Come to think of it, Sisko was the only Starfleet captain we've seen who was taking on his responsibilities while being a single father; it's interesting and adds another aspect to his character.
His character arc was also interesting because his role was dual to Bajor, both as an diplomatic envoy and representative from the Federation but also at the Prophets' Emissary. Sisko was pretty uncomfortable taking on the role of a religious symbol so it was especially intriguing to watch him find a balance to the role, trying to do his job but at the same time both coming to terms with his role as a religious figure and maybe even using it every now and then to steer the Bajorans along. I thought the later storylines that emerged involving the Prophets and the Pah-wraiths was also interesting and really ascended Sisko's character to a sort of mythical level. Again, another interesting turn in his character, especially a) given his initial skepticism towards the role and b) the mysterious nature of the Prophets/aliens who inhabit the wormhole.
I guess his role during the Dominion War also convinced me to add him to my list of sci-fi and fantasy characters. I'm sure all of the Trek captains that were shown in the franchise would have acted as admirably and to the best of their abilities in such a situation but I always thought that Sisko had it particularly tough--I guess actually watching his experiences on-screen just helps in that, he was out on a lot of missions during the war. Would they have come to the same decision as he did for the episode "In the Pale Moonlight"? It also really sucked when it came to the conclusion that they needed to get Bajor to sign the agreement with the Dominion in order to stay out of the fighting (especially given everything he helped achieve in the five years that he was there as well as his role as the Prophets' Emissary) and that his son remained on DS9 for the duration of its occupation. His role during the war was also interesting because it heightened the tensions between him and Gul Dukat, a Cardassian and former commander of Terok Nor and with whom he has always had this rather tense-on-the-verge-of-rivalry sort of relationship with. Their antagonism brought out another dimension to not only both their characters but also to the way that the war was perceived. It was fascinating as well how their rivalry even entered the spiritual realm so-to-speak, with Dukat becoming an emissary in his own right for the Pah-wraiths and challenging Sisko towards the end of the series. But going back to the war, being a commanding officer during a wartime period--on top of being a commander of a space station rather than an exploratory starship--really paints a distinct picture of Sisko the character.
So yeah, Sisko's character arc and the various roles he took on during his time on DS9 were the defining reasons that prompted me to add his character to this list of 100 Things fantasy and sci-fi related. Oh, and it was also great to see him participating in his past times (a must for all captains in the franchise), like how into baseball he is (like, he's really into baseball) and his love for cooking. It's just great to see the softer aspects of his personality outside work.
This entry was originally posted at http://caffeinatedlife.dreamwidth.org/378149.html. Please comment there using OpenID.