Understanding this is a golden episode of Star Trek, it turns out the logic of the plotline is a tad bizarre. All of the Sisko hallucinations don’t really add up to the theme of Benny being the Imagineer of Star Trek nor of the Prophets communicating with Sisko through some convoluted delusion. Why not start and end the episode in the 1950s?
The main plot is actually based on a real-life scenario where a work of science fiction was kept from publication because of a black character.
“Far Beyond The Stars” Synopsis:
Experiencing a vision from the Prophets, Sisko sees himself as Benny Russell, a science-fiction writer in the 1950s, who struggles with civil rights and inequality when he writes the story of Captain Benjamin Sisko, a black commander of a futuristic space station
One of the main novelties of this episode is the cast of Deep Space 9 shedding their makeup to play regular human roles. All of them seem to be recognizable, even to the most casual fan with the exception of Michael Dorn. His 1950s character is so disparate from Worf that it might be surprising to some he’s not just a day player.
The plotline ends up being weak because of its toothless execution. This perspective might be a consequence of retrospect, but it’s hard to view subject matter such as racism and segregation in context seventy years later. Avery Brooks was approached to direct which he wholeheartedly accepted in spite of managing an entire production and shouldering the screen heavy role of Sisko being in every single scene.
Knowing how teeth function, the question of why Klingons don’t afford themselves teeth correction was broached. Yes, they eat live meat, but that doesn’t mean straight, aligned teeth wouldn’t be more effective in eating.
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