...I guess 1993 *was* a while ago.

[bironic]

Holy crow, you guys. This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the U.S. premiere of Deep Space Nine. How did all that time pass so fast?

I remember watching the pilot in my parents' bedroom when I was 11, rapt, and feeling absolutely bereft at the final zoom-out shot of the station when I was 18. My preadolescence was saturated with and remains inextricable from the series - crushes first on Odo and then Bashir (and half the Cardassians), obsession with the characters and plot arcs, appreciation for the complicated morality. Heart-shaped cutouts from fan magazines, VHS tapes, tie-in novels, posters, trips to museum exhibits, you name it. I had grown up on Trek, but DS9 was the only one of the first four series that I watched "live" from beginning to end. I had these vivid dreams and daydreams for years until the Vampire Chronicles supplanted them when I turned 15 or 16. To this day, no fannish experiences have been as intense.

My first long fic/Mary Sue story was a DS9 one, 44,000 words when I was in high school, and while my writing has improved in the years since then, my desire to play around in that universe hasn't changed. How appropriate that after a months-long dry spell, I started adding to the latest WIP this week (4,700 words and counting! stay tuned!). And rewatching some season two eps. I remember that when the DVD sets finally came out, the ambient station noises started playing on the menu screen and it brought tears of nostalgia to my eyes, like coming home. It's still comforting to keep on in the background in my apartment.

Here are some occasional links that are not so me-centric:

• http://www.startrek.com/article/ds9s-emissary-at-20-an-appreciation
• http://io9.com/5973009/how-star-trek-deep-space-nine-helped-to-invent-everything-you-love (although a lot of it doesn't seem to be true)
• http://io9.com/5937525/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-star-trek-deep-space-nine (or at least a few, anyway. Aero-cow!)

(Oh, the things I will do that are not finishing my Festivid.)

Comments

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Oh Deep Space Nine! *hearts in eyes* I hear you. I would sa more if I could.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Indeeeed.

I've been tempted to send you the Karin draft to ask your opinion on part of it, but didn't want to impose on your extremely limited time! It should be ready to post soon enough, anyway.

[zulu.livejournal.com]

DS9 was the first canon I ever made up fanfic for, before I even knew what fanfic was. I think I invented pagh wraiths before the show did (well, evil wormhole aliens; probably the specifics were very different). Back then I thought I'd be a famous tie-in novelist! Ah, being twelve.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

You could probably knock out a tie-in novel in a weekend or two, now!

[zulu.livejournal.com]

Hee, perhaps! But these days I wouldn't want to stick to the bible if something more enticing popped up. *grin*

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Next Gen was my first "live" Trek series. I didn't develop any crushes on those characters, though - I was still yearning after Spock and McCoy, and then I transferred those affections to Bashir (must be the blue uniforms).

My first long fic/Mary Sue was Classic Trek. I don't think I'll ever write in it again, though. Kudos to you!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I was still yearning after Spock and McCoy

Aww. McCoy was my first fangirl crush, too. And I think I might not have had any TNG crushes, either. Maybe Data, in that "want to be a little name-the-planet orphan he can rescue" kind of way.

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

Oh, what a beautiful post this is! DS9 wasn't "my" Trek -- TNG was the one I watched week after week -- but I completely resonate with the kind of fannish love you're expressing here. (And I hear you on feeling nostalgic and teary upon hearing the ambient station noises on the dvd menu. <3)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

♥

Which isn't to say my childhood wasn't filled with TOS reruns and then TNG reruns & new eps! WPIX in New York used to play episodes at 6 p.m. every day, and my dad & sister knew that block of time was sacrosanct. (My mom watched with me most of the time. All of this is her fault.) :)

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

Twenty years? Where has the time gone?

I loved DS9 at the beginning, but then lost track of it and trailed off somewhere around 3rd season, before Worf became a series regular. I should go back and finish the series.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I trailed off at the beginning of season six or maybe season five, but my boyfriend at the time insisted that I start up again, and I'm glad I did, because there were some real gems, especially in season seven. It's interesting, too, how episodes seem to change over time - stuff that was boring picks up new interest, stuff I enjoyed on a plot level reveals new depth, etc.

Where has the time gone?

Right?!