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"Far Beyond the Stars" is a season six episode of Deep Space Nine. The teleplay was written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler, based on a story by Marc Scott Zicree. Avery Brooks directed.
Plot summary
Benjamin Sisko considers leaving Starfleet, but before he makes a decision, a vision from the Prophets shows him as Benny Russell, an African-American science fiction writer on Earth in the 1950s. Dr. Bashir's tests of Sisko show the same synaptic potentials as he had when he had visions a year ago (in the episode "Rapture").
Benny Russell writes for the science fiction magazine Incredible Tales, where his colleagues are human versions of Sisko's subordinates, including: Herbert Rossoff (Quark), who often threatened to quit; Julius Eaton (Dr. Bashir), considered to be maudlin in his writing; K.C. Hunter (Kira Nerys); Albert (Miles O'Brien) who prefers to write stories about robots.
Pabst (Odo), the editor of the magazine, announces photo day and Hunter takes the hint that she should not show up that day so that the readers don't learn she's a woman. Benny Russell also realizes he's not expected to show up for photos either, but he is appalled.
Russell is inspired to write a story about a U.S. Air Force space station called "Deep Space Nine", whose commanding officer is the African-American Benjamin Sisko. The other writers like the story, but Pabst is hesitant to publish it. At length Russell convinces Pabst, but Pabst's boss does not like the story. The whole month's run of the magazine is scrapped (though the printer is presumably still paid).
Angry over the news of the scrapping, and the killing of his young friend by the police, Russell has a nervous breakdown and is taken away by ambulance. Sisko wakes up, to the relief of his father and his son. He is deeply disturbed by his vision, and now wonders what is real, his life on Deep Space Nine, or his life as Benny Russell.
Notes
Benny Russell appears in another vision in the episode "Shadows and Symbols". An often rumored but never produced ending for the series would have involved the camera panning out after the final episode to reveal the edge of the show's soundstage, showing an elderly Benny Russell watching the show's taping and clutching a script reading "Deep Space Nine", his life work finally having been produced as the television series we had been watching. This metafictional ending would have had the controversial effect of possibly reducing the entire Star Trek timeline to a dream (see The Tommy Westphall Universe).
Joseph Sisko quotes a passage from the Holy Bible, which Benjamin remarks is unusual for him (it is also unusual in Star Trek in general).
Alexander Siddig and Nana Visitor, who portray Julian Bashir and Kira Nerys, respectively, portray married couple Julius and Kay Easton in this episode; the pair were married in real life at the time.
During an argument, Julius Eaton (Bashir) says "We're writers, not vikings" in the style of the typical Star Trek doctor's line, "I'm a doctor, not a ...".
Many of the covers for the science fiction magazines list titles of original Star Trek episodes, including some by D.C. Fontana (analogous to Kay Hunter in this episode, who, like Fontana, publishes using her initials to prevent her gender being discovered).
Incredible Stories' offices are in the "Arthur Trill building", a reference to both the Trill species and the real-life Brill Building.
Aron Eisenberg (Nog) is a newsboy, vending magazines, one of which shows Starbase 11 from the original series episode "The Menagerie". Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun, and Brunt of the FCA) and Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat) play policemen. J. G. Hertzler (Martok) plays the artist at the magazine whose drawings inspire the writers. Michael Dorn (Worf) plays a baseball player, the first African-American player for the local major league team. Penny Johnson (Kasidy Yates) plays a waitress at a diner, aspiring to own the diner. Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko) plays a delinquent teenager who scoffs that black people might ever have equality with whites. Brock Peters (Joseph Sisko) plays a priest who counsels Benny Russell to write his story, boldly. Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax) is Pabst' secretary (she exclaims about the "worm" in Jadzia's belly).
At one point, Benjamin's dream slightly derails and he sees a Bajoran nose-bridge on K.C. Hunter. At another point, while dancing with his bride to be in his apartment, Benjamin sees himself dancing with Kasidy on DS9 for a brief moment.
Guest stars
- Casey Biggs as Damar
- Megan Cole as Cretak
- Jeffrey Combs as Weyoun
- J.G. Hertzler as Martok
- Barry Jenner as Admiral Ross
- Deborah Lacey as Sarah Sisko
- Brock Peters as Joseph Sisko
External links
- Far Beyond the Stars article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
"Far Beyond the Stars (DS9 episode)"