 |
| The reason writer Joe Menosky had Sisko making a clock was to try to convey to the audience that he had become "an obsessive quirky Emperor Rudolph-type" who fussed about with mechanical bits and pieces. |
" The next real literary "rebels" in this country might well emerge as some weird bunch of anti-rebels, born oglers who dare somehow to back away from ironic watching, who have the childish gall actually to endorse and instantiate single-entendre principles. Who treat of plain old untrendy human troubles and emotions in U.S. life with reverence and conviction. Who eschew self-consciousness and hip fatigue.
These anti-rebels would be outdated, of course, before they even started. Dead on the page. Too sincere. Clearly repressed. Backward, quaint, naive, anachronistic.
Maybe that'll be the point. Maybe that's why they'll be the next real rebels. Real rebels, as far as I can see, risk disapproval.
The old postmodern insurgents risked the gasp and squeal: shock, disgust, outrage, censorship, accusations of socialism, anarchism, nihilism.
Today's risks are different. The new rebels might be artists willing to risk the yawn, the rolled eyes, the cool smile, the nudged ribs, the parody of gifted ironists, the "Oh how banal".
To risk accusations of sentimentality, melodrama.
Of overcredulity.
Of softness.
Of willingness to be suckered by a world of lurkers and starers who fear gaze and ridicule above imprisonment without law.
Who knows. "
David Foster Wallace, 1993,
"E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction"
Ronald D. Moore mentioned the story of Moses as an inspiration for the developments in Sisko's life. (AOL chat, 1997)
In the script for "Emissary", Benjamin Sisko was described as "a rugged, charismatic man in his late thirties," as of 2366. [2]
The original Writer's Bible for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, created in 1992, [3] gave this biography for the character:
Benjamin Sisko, human Starfleet commander with a twelve year-old son, whose gentle, strong, soft spoken demeanor belies the temper that he is constantly trying to control. And when he loses it, he gets furious with himself. He's a man of action who gets impatient with too much talk, but as he has become more mature, he's learned to stop and think twice about losing control. He has a weakness for baseball, a sport that died out in the 22nd century and he frequently goes to a holo-suite to have a chat and a catch with one [of] his legendary ballplayer heroes. Sisko was on a starship with his wife and son at the famous encounter with the Borg led by the Borgified Picard, and his wife was killed. That leads to bitterness toward Picard. Picard: Have we met before? Sisko: Yes, we met in battle. Since that tragedy, he has been assigned to shore duty on Mars where he was on the team reconstructing the fleet at Utopia Planitia Yards. Sisko objected to being assigned to DS9. He told Starfleet he had a son to raise and had been asking for an Earth assignment, not this. His important work on DS9 gives him a new direction, but his is still very much a life framed by tragedy.
Casting
When Avery Brooks' agent first rang him to tell him that there was a role available in a new Star Trek show, Brooks laughed, because he instinctively felt he was going to be offered a role requiring heavy prosthetics, which he wasn't interested in doing (though he ended up doing so anyway, in "Apocalypse Rising"). After finding out the role was that of a Human, Brooks was still unconvinced, and of his pursuit of the role he said, "This will never work."
Indeed, on his way to his audition for the part, the transmission in his car began to slip, so he called the producers and nonchalantly told them he couldn't make it; he was surprised when they rearranged his audition. It was ultimately the quality of the script for "Emissary" which convinced Brooks of the value of the show. ("Crew Dossier: Benjamin Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)
Speaking in 1992, shortly after filming had begun on "Emissary", Avery Brooks said of Sisko, "He is very, very human. He shows what he feels, wears what he feels. He is a quick thinker, but yet a deep thinker. He is a single parent, and thus is worried about raising his son. In this case, of course, he is a widower, so that part of his history is there, especially every time he looks at his son, he is seeing that part of his life, indeed, seeing his wife, and we have to assume that he loved her very deeply. So there are indeed conflicts, Human conflicts, which make it a wonderful experience because you can play everything." (Hidden File 01, DS9 Season 1 DVD special features)
In 2012, Brooks recalled his role as Sisko: "When I read the pilot script, it was the presentation of a man dealing with loss and raising a son, and how he handled those situations, that really got my attention. Certainly the fact you have a black man in a command position is very important. That is something that goes far beyond just having black people working on a show, which itself is also very important. It goes to children being able to see themselves on screen and visualize that in the future they will be doing something of importance to the world at large. It addresses the situation of having all kinds of people interacting and cooperating for the mutual survival of the planet. The writing was exceptional, and the funny thing is I initially said no to Star Trek. My wife convinced me to go to the audition. She was the one who said, 'You can't say no to this'." [4]
Characterization
According to Michael Piller, "It was harder to define Sisko as a character than perhaps any of the others, and ultimately it took us probably a season and a half to reach the conclusion that Sisko was a builder, a man who built things, stayed with projects, as opposed to the driver, the captain of a starship who went off and moved from place to place." (New Frontiers: The Story of Deep Space Nine, DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) Piller also talks about this aspect of Sisko's character, the builder in contrast to Picard's explorer, numerous times in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion.
Hans Beimler also saw Sisko as a builder. Beimler commented, "Captain Sisko is a complicated man. He's a family man. He's a builder, a man who has come to this place and is trying to do something – he's not some kind of transient. Picard and Kirk were both captains who were 'passing through, ma'am', but Sisko is here to stay, to build something more lasting. I certainly can relate to that situation and that kind of man; he's a different kind of hero, more complex in a way." (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine issue 15)
Speaking in 1999, just after filming on "What You Leave Behind" had finished, Ira Steven Behr said, "Sisko's arc is pretty clear. He came to the station, it was an assignment he did not want, he was not happy to be there, and he became a man who talks about living on Bajor for the rest of his life. So, I think it was a healing process for Sisko. I think he's a wonderful leader, and he's a great family man. And he came to the show a wounded man, who had just lost his wife, was somewhat bitter, and he became a religious icon." ("Crew Dossier: Benjamin Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)
Avery Brooks has stated of Sisko, "The relationship with his son was critically important, aside from the fact that I have children, but knowing how tenuous, how fragile, how fleeting, ultimately, the moment, or moments that you have with your children, how important and critical the time that you spend early on in sowing these seeds that you hope will help your child survive and then pray that you've done the right thing." ("Crew Dossier: Benjamin Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)
Cirroc Lofton also says, "With Jake's character, he brought out the human-ness in the captain because otherwise you would just see the captain as an authoritative figure, you'd see him as just being someone who just gives orders, and someone who's really firm and aggressive, with Jake he can be playful, and you see the father side and the Human side of this icon, this character, this person who you respect, but there's another side to him, the loving, caring side, the playful side." ("Crew Dossier: Jake Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)
Brooks has also commented, "The investigation of self, or the discovery of self, is an internal journey. The investigation of the unknown is not outer, ultimately, but inner. So, the idea of this man reluctantly wrestling with this idea of being the chosen one, to make this journey, this internal journey, towards the discovery of self, something that human-kind does, until they leave the planet I'm sure, certainly that's what I'm doing." ("Crew Dossier: Benjamin Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)
Brooks commented: "When people come up to me and ask what being Benjamin Sisko meant, I understand why they are asking me that," Brooks said. "I don't get mad or upset. I just let them know he was one aspect of my life, one role that was good to me, but not one that defines who or what I am. But I'm happy so many people remember it and remember me, and I hope the full message of Star Trek, that humanity must interact and evolve and survive in all its different experiences and embodiments, is what they really remember". [5]
One of the plans for a six-episode arc which started season six was to promote Sisko to admiral, even if only temporarily. This was vetoed after extensive discussion involving Ira Steven Behr, who "felt it took the lead character out of the Star Trek pantheon." He did, however, briefly serve as adjutant to Admiral Ross, temporarily turning over his command to Dax. (Star Trek Monthly issue 38) Around the same time, Ron D. Moore in an unrelated matter described Sisko as having evolved since the start of the series in that he had "grown accustomed to the idea that he may never get admiral's stars" and preferring to remain a captain on the frontier. (AOL chat, 1997) (AOL chat, 1997)
In Black and Brown Planets: The Politics of Race in Science Fiction, the authors write: "Perhaps after watching black actor Avery Brooks play Captain Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–99), Americans no longer were alienated by the idea of electing a black man as the U.S. President".
Sisko underwent a major change of appearance between Seasons 3 and 4, shaving his head and growing a beard. This coincided with Avery Brooks reprising the role of Hawk in a Spenser: For Hire TV movie in which Hawk sported the same look.
Other actors who auditioned for the role of Sisko were Robert Gwilym, Keith Allen, Pip Torrens, Ralph Brown, Anthony Head, Jolyon Baker, Peter Firth, Nick Brimble, Stefan Kalipha and Peter Capaldi (who later became the Twelfth Doctor in Doctor Who). [6]
In the script for "Emissary", Benjamin Sisko was described as "a rugged, charismatic man in his late thirties," as of 2366. [2]
The original Writer's Bible for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, created in 1992, [3] gave this biography for the character:
Benjamin Sisko, human Starfleet commander with a twelve year-old son, whose gentle, strong, soft spoken demeanor belies the temper that he is constantly trying to control. And when he loses it, he gets furious with himself. He's a man of action who gets impatient with too much talk, but as he has become more mature, he's learned to stop and think twice about losing control. He has a weakness for baseball, a sport that died out in the 22nd century and he frequently goes to a holo-suite to have a chat and a catch with one [of] his legendary ballplayer heroes. Sisko was on a starship with his wife and son at the famous encounter with the Borg led by the Borgified Picard, and his wife was killed. That leads to bitterness toward Picard. Picard: Have we met before? Sisko: Yes, we met in battle. Since that tragedy, he has been assigned to shore duty on Mars where he was on the team reconstructing the fleet at Utopia Planitia Yards. Sisko objected to being assigned to DS9. He told Starfleet he had a son to raise and had been asking for an Earth assignment, not this. His important work on DS9 gives him a new direction, but his is still very much a life framed by tragedy.
Casting
When Avery Brooks' agent first rang him to tell him that there was a role available in a new Star Trek show, Brooks laughed, because he instinctively felt he was going to be offered a role requiring heavy prosthetics, which he wasn't interested in doing (though he ended up doing so anyway, in "Apocalypse Rising"). After finding out the role was that of a Human, Brooks was still unconvinced, and of his pursuit of the role he said, "This will never work."
Indeed, on his way to his audition for the part, the transmission in his car began to slip, so he called the producers and nonchalantly told them he couldn't make it; he was surprised when they rearranged his audition. It was ultimately the quality of the script for "Emissary" which convinced Brooks of the value of the show. ("Crew Dossier: Benjamin Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)
Speaking in 1992, shortly after filming had begun on "Emissary", Avery Brooks said of Sisko, "He is very, very human. He shows what he feels, wears what he feels. He is a quick thinker, but yet a deep thinker. He is a single parent, and thus is worried about raising his son. In this case, of course, he is a widower, so that part of his history is there, especially every time he looks at his son, he is seeing that part of his life, indeed, seeing his wife, and we have to assume that he loved her very deeply. So there are indeed conflicts, Human conflicts, which make it a wonderful experience because you can play everything." (Hidden File 01, DS9 Season 1 DVD special features)
In 2012, Brooks recalled his role as Sisko: "When I read the pilot script, it was the presentation of a man dealing with loss and raising a son, and how he handled those situations, that really got my attention. Certainly the fact you have a black man in a command position is very important. That is something that goes far beyond just having black people working on a show, which itself is also very important. It goes to children being able to see themselves on screen and visualize that in the future they will be doing something of importance to the world at large. It addresses the situation of having all kinds of people interacting and cooperating for the mutual survival of the planet. The writing was exceptional, and the funny thing is I initially said no to Star Trek. My wife convinced me to go to the audition. She was the one who said, 'You can't say no to this'." [4]
Characterization
According to Michael Piller, "It was harder to define Sisko as a character than perhaps any of the others, and ultimately it took us probably a season and a half to reach the conclusion that Sisko was a builder, a man who built things, stayed with projects, as opposed to the driver, the captain of a starship who went off and moved from place to place." (New Frontiers: The Story of Deep Space Nine, DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) Piller also talks about this aspect of Sisko's character, the builder in contrast to Picard's explorer, numerous times in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion.
Hans Beimler also saw Sisko as a builder. Beimler commented, "Captain Sisko is a complicated man. He's a family man. He's a builder, a man who has come to this place and is trying to do something – he's not some kind of transient. Picard and Kirk were both captains who were 'passing through, ma'am', but Sisko is here to stay, to build something more lasting. I certainly can relate to that situation and that kind of man; he's a different kind of hero, more complex in a way." (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine issue 15)
Speaking in 1999, just after filming on "What You Leave Behind" had finished, Ira Steven Behr said, "Sisko's arc is pretty clear. He came to the station, it was an assignment he did not want, he was not happy to be there, and he became a man who talks about living on Bajor for the rest of his life. So, I think it was a healing process for Sisko. I think he's a wonderful leader, and he's a great family man. And he came to the show a wounded man, who had just lost his wife, was somewhat bitter, and he became a religious icon." ("Crew Dossier: Benjamin Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)
Avery Brooks has stated of Sisko, "The relationship with his son was critically important, aside from the fact that I have children, but knowing how tenuous, how fragile, how fleeting, ultimately, the moment, or moments that you have with your children, how important and critical the time that you spend early on in sowing these seeds that you hope will help your child survive and then pray that you've done the right thing." ("Crew Dossier: Benjamin Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)
Cirroc Lofton also says, "With Jake's character, he brought out the human-ness in the captain because otherwise you would just see the captain as an authoritative figure, you'd see him as just being someone who just gives orders, and someone who's really firm and aggressive, with Jake he can be playful, and you see the father side and the Human side of this icon, this character, this person who you respect, but there's another side to him, the loving, caring side, the playful side." ("Crew Dossier: Jake Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)
Brooks has also commented, "The investigation of self, or the discovery of self, is an internal journey. The investigation of the unknown is not outer, ultimately, but inner. So, the idea of this man reluctantly wrestling with this idea of being the chosen one, to make this journey, this internal journey, towards the discovery of self, something that human-kind does, until they leave the planet I'm sure, certainly that's what I'm doing." ("Crew Dossier: Benjamin Sisko", DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)
Brooks commented: "When people come up to me and ask what being Benjamin Sisko meant, I understand why they are asking me that," Brooks said. "I don't get mad or upset. I just let them know he was one aspect of my life, one role that was good to me, but not one that defines who or what I am. But I'm happy so many people remember it and remember me, and I hope the full message of Star Trek, that humanity must interact and evolve and survive in all its different experiences and embodiments, is what they really remember". [5]
One of the plans for a six-episode arc which started season six was to promote Sisko to admiral, even if only temporarily. This was vetoed after extensive discussion involving Ira Steven Behr, who "felt it took the lead character out of the Star Trek pantheon." He did, however, briefly serve as adjutant to Admiral Ross, temporarily turning over his command to Dax. (Star Trek Monthly issue 38) Around the same time, Ron D. Moore in an unrelated matter described Sisko as having evolved since the start of the series in that he had "grown accustomed to the idea that he may never get admiral's stars" and preferring to remain a captain on the frontier. (AOL chat, 1997) (AOL chat, 1997)
In Black and Brown Planets: The Politics of Race in Science Fiction, the authors write: "Perhaps after watching black actor Avery Brooks play Captain Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–99), Americans no longer were alienated by the idea of electing a black man as the U.S. President".
Sisko underwent a major change of appearance between Seasons 3 and 4, shaving his head and growing a beard. This coincided with Avery Brooks reprising the role of Hawk in a Spenser: For Hire TV movie in which Hawk sported the same look.
Other actors who auditioned for the role of Sisko were Robert Gwilym, Keith Allen, Pip Torrens, Ralph Brown, Anthony Head, Jolyon Baker, Peter Firth, Nick Brimble, Stefan Kalipha and Peter Capaldi (who later became the Twelfth Doctor in Doctor Who). [6]
