The Orb 40: Commanders Have All the Fun

Sisko: Captain vs. Commander. When Deep Space Nine premiered there were a number of things that set it apart from earlier series. It was set on a space station instead of a starship. The crew was made up of many non-Starfleet members. And Avery Brooks was cast as Star Trek’s first black captain—only he wasn’t a captain. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing examine the decision to start Sisko off as a commander rather than a captain, how that decision impacted both the audience reception and the creative direction of the series, and how the character himself changed along with the number of pips on his collar.