Looking Back at "Far Beyond The Stars"

It's a fun argument, with almost too many options to consider, but, to us, the answer to the question What was the single best episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine? is "Far Beyond the Stars." The extraordinary hour of television -- which debuted on February 11, 1998 -- or 19 years ago today -- was directed by Avery Brooks and gave us a Prophets-inspired vision of 1950s science-fiction writer Benny Russell struggling to overcome racism and prejudice as he aspires to tell the adventures of Benjamin Sisko, who, centuries in the future, captains a certain space station."Far Beyond the Stars" succeeds on several levels. It’s pure science-fiction. It’s fantastic Star Trek. It’s a showcase for Brooks as both a performer and director. All of the show’s regulars and recurring actors get in on the action, playing vastly different roles than usual. It’s full of in-jokes. And best of all, we get to see the likes of Armin Shimerman, Rene Auberjonois, Nana Visitor, Michael Dorn, Jeffrey Combs, Marc Alaimo and J.G. Hertzler, among others, out of makeup.To celebrate the 19th anniversary of “Far Beyond the Stars,” StarTrek.com is pleased to share some facts, figures and anecdotes, as well as quotes we beamed up from Shimerman, Visitor, Dorn and Combs.Season 6"Far Beyond the Stars," written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler based on a story by Marc Scott Zicree, was the 13th episode of DS9's sixth season. Stars, Cold and Distant

The episode’s working title was "The Cold and Distant Stars."Oh, That's DisgustingOne of the episode's many amusing bits of dialogue, spoked by Terry Farrell as Darlene Kursky: “Oh! She's got a worm in her belly!... Oh, that's disgusting. That's interesting, but that's disgusting.”

Inside Joke