Blu-ray Review: What We Left Behind: Looking Back At Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

While folks are getting excited about the upcoming Star Trek: Picard series, a new documentary gives us an opportunity to take another look at an earlier series. What We Left Behind: Looking Back At Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which was co-directed by Ira Steven Behr, showrunner for Deep Space Nine, presents a wonderful and enjoyable look at what was the most distinct and unusual of all the Star Trek series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which ran for seven seasons in the 1990s. Unlike Star Trek: The Next Generation, which took me a few seasons to appreciate, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine excited me right from the start. Partly that was because of its cast, which included Avery Brooks (known for his character Hawk from Spencer: For Hire and its spinoff, A Man Called Hawk) and René Auberjonois (known at that time for his work on Benson, but whom I especially loved in the films M.A.S.H. and Where The Buffalo Roam). But the show also had a different feel from the other Star Trek series. I maintained then, as now, that Deep Space Nine had some of the absolute best Star Trek episodes, and really only faltered when it stepped onto the Holodeck (which I still consider the most pointless and horrible contrivance in the Star Trek universe). This series featured the most well developed and intriguing characters, as well as continuing story lines, both of which added to the show’s appeal.

This documentary itself has quite a different vibe from most documentaries. It actually opens with a goofy jazz song about Deep Space Nine, and then a few words from Andy Robinson (who played Garak on the show), reminding us that “Memory can be faulty, and emotion often obscures clarity.” Certainly an unusual opening for a documentary. The film then gets into the criticism of the show, with several of the actors reading critiques from Star Trek fans, some of them rather cruel. People were upset back then that the show wasn’t about exploration, as the other series were, and also because of the show’s darker tone. But the characters too were criticized. Ira Steven Behr mentions how the criticism hurt the actors at the time. Most of the cast, including those with supporting roles, are interviewed in this film. Avery Brooks, Alexander Siddig, Nana Visitor, Armin Shimerman, Terry Farrell, René Auberjonois, Colm Meaney, Michael Dorn, Andy Robinson, Wallace Shawn, Cirroc Lofton, Casey Biggs, Penny Johnson Jerald and Bill Mumy are among the actors interviewed. They present lots of cool anecdotes, such as about rehearsals at Armin Shimerman’s home, and about Avery Brooks (I particularly love that bit about his changing of his delivery of “old man” when referring to Dax), and about the makeup. René Auberjonois (who payed Odo) says, “It was an intensely uncomfortable makeup to wear.” Andy Robinson mentions being claustrophobic and how the wig made him feel “sealed in.” The actors also talk about the long days, and Wallace Shawn even recounts a time when he fell asleep on camera.

Key crew members are interviewed also, including writers, directors, producers, production designers and makeup supervisors. Michael Okuda (scenic art supervisor) reveals that the original design for the space station “was largely based on an oil rig, with some terracing from a shopping mall.” Interestingly, a key part of this documentary is the writing of the first episode of a hypothetical Season 8, where the writers discuss what has happened to each of the main characters. At first I thought the writers sitting around talking about a potential episode was a bit silly. But I seriously got into the tale they were telling, as if I were watching the episode. I started guessing what they might come up with, what direction the story might take. And then the damn thing ends in a cliffhanger. Okay, guys, call me and tell me about the hypothetical second episode of Season 8 please. This component is yet another that makes this an unusual documentary.

We also hear from the fans, who talk about the show’s strong female characters. The series’ continuing story lines are also addressed, something which at the time was unusual. Then each episode of a show was a self-contained story. The documentary doesn’t get into detail on too many specific episodes, but it does touch upon the episode “Far Beyond The Stars,” and so rightly draws the connection to the racism prevalent in our nation today, racism of our president and his followers, racism that seems to grow more pronounced every week. The documentary also discusses how the series was able to deal with other political and social issues, such as the cost of war. The documentary ends as it began, with a song about Deep Space Nine. The documentary’s title, by the way, is a reference to the series’ final episode, “What You Leave Behind.”

Special Features

The Blu-ray contains several special features, including a short introduction to the bonus material by Ira Steven Behre, about why certain things were cut. “A Brief History Of Deep Space Nine” is about the idea behind the show, with a bit about casting and the story line. There are also a lot of deleted scenes, including material on specific episodes and moments from the show (I love the anecdote about the argument between Avery and René, and of course the bit about the tribbles episode), and about key production positions, and about some of the makeup for the show. Many of these deleted scenes include interviews with cast members. In one of my favorite deleted scenes, Armin Shimerman and Max Grodenchik talk about their auditions. The deleted scenes total approximately forty-eight minutes.

The special features also include a discussion by the documentary’s producers led by Ira Behre, in which they talk about the film and in particular the HD aspect of it with regards to footage from the original program. Those taking part are David Zappone, Luke Snailham, Kai De Mello-Folsom and Joseph Kornbrodt. This is approximately fifteen minutes. Also included is more footage with fans of the show, as well as a short piece on the 2017 Variety photo shoot with the cast, and the documentary’s trailer.

What We Left Behind: Looking Back At Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was directed by Ira Steven Behre and David Zappone, and is scheduled to be released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 6, 2019 through Shout! Factory.