Today's Cinema Sunday is about a documentary. This is the 3rd documentary I've written about in this space after reviewing films about Fred Rogers and the Go-Go's.
From the beginning of our relationship, Andrea and I were major Trekkers, devoted fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation and it's subsequent spin offs, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.
Deep Space Nine was a different kind of Star Trek. No starship zipping from planet to planet, moving from problem to problem. Deep Space Nine was a space station, albeit a very important one. Stationed over a planet, Bajor, recently freed from subjugation by a Federation enemy, Bajor was a world struggling to re-learn how to be free and the re-learn the responsibilities of how to govern a world free from autocratic outside rule. Any problems on Bajor resulting from this rebuilding could not be flown away from at the end of an episode. The political, social and religious struggles of the planet created consequences for future episodes to address.
Also near the station was a wormhole, a gateway to a distant quadrant of the galaxy, filled with alien races new to the Federation and not necessarily friendly to the Federation. Like Bajor, any problems spewing forth from the wormhole could not be flown away from at the end of an episode. The consequences of whatever the Federation found on the other side of that wormhole had to be addressed in future episodes.
This concept of being forced to deal with the consequences of actions caused the writing on Deep Space Nine to evolve to long form, serialized storytelling. While Deep Space Nine may not have been fully and warmly embraced in it's first run, now in the age of streaming, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is finding greater acceptance.
It is this new found notoriety that lead showrunner Ira Steven Behr to create the documentary, What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
This documentary has the requisite talking heads, cast members reflecting back on their lives and their characters. But Ira Steven Behr is willing to put on camera warts and all what is revealed in these sessions.
Terry Farrell's discussion of her departure as Jadzia Dax at the end of season 6 is brutally frank. She was not well treated by executives during an emotionally trying time for her. Forced by studio execs into a "our way or the highway" choice, Farrell was compelled to leave a show she did not want to leave. Her time on camera recounting this experience is emotionally raw.
Ira Steven Behr also provides some brutal honesty for himself. In a segment tracking DS9's impact on certain social issues, Behr is reticent to give himself or the show any credit for tackling sexual identity. Yes, there was an episode where Jadzia kissed another woman which was ground breaking for the 1990s but it was an outlier on both a show and a franchise that otherwise did not have a great track record of addressing the LGBTQ community.
The cast is older now and wiser, looking back on their time on Deep Space Nine with humor and a clear eyed perspective that only time and distance can provide.
In addition to the interviews with the cast both individually and collectively, Behr presents an experiment of sorts. He joins up with fellow writers Ronald D. Moore, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, René Echevarria, and Hans Beimler for a writer's room to break down the premier episode of a hypothetical 8th season of the show.
It is a fascinating insight into the writer's room process as white boards fill up with ideas as each act of this episode is laid out. Behr keeps track not only of what's going to happen in this first episode but also keeps an eye on what will happen next in the subsequent season.
What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was not an easy film for Ira Steven Behr to make. Assembling interviews with the cast, pulling together clips from the show, creating interstitial segments including the writer's room, this all took a lot of time and work. And money.
Over half a million dollars came from fans through crowd sourcing. The end credits have an almost endless list of names of all the fans who contributed to the film's budget. During this part of the credits, Ira Steven Behr and Nana Visitor (Kira) have an extended and quite amusing banter session on everything that still didn't make the final cut for the film.
The film also includes two musical numbers. Max Grodenchik (Rom) in a tuxedo opens the movie with a song right out of a 1960s Las Vegas act. Grodenchik closes the movie with another song, this time joined by Armin Shimerman (Quark), Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun) and Casey Biggs (Damar).
This documentary is a lot of fun to watch as the cast banters, hurling barbs at each other good naturedly. But there is a bit of a pall hanging over the proceedings. After the film was released in 2018, there are those who participated in the documentary who are no longer with us.
Aaron Eisenberg (Nog) passed away earlier this year as did René Auberjonois (Odo).
Late in the film, René Auberjonois speaks preciently of his death. He observed that when he died, the obituaries would not be about his role as Clayton Endicott III on Benson. It would be his role as Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that would be at the top of the obituary. That is indeed what happened when Auberjonois passed away earlier this year as many of his fans fondly recalled his time as Odo on DS9.
What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is clearly a labor of love for both Ira Steven Behr as it's creator and for all the actors and crew who participated. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was not often afforded the love and respect it deserved when the show was new. It's good to see that through this documentary, that this show and the wonderful people who made it possible are finally getting their due.
Thanks for reading. Next week on Cinema Sunday, I will take a look at a holiday classic that has a special place with my family. Until next time, remember to be good to one another.
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