Benjamin Sisko

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Benjamin Sisko
Star Trek character
BenSisko.jpg
First appearance Emissary (1993)
Last appearance What You Leave Behind (1999)
Portrayed by Avery Brooks
In-universe information
SpeciesHuman
Affiliation United Federation of Planets
Starfleet
FamilyJoseph Sisko (Father)
Sarah Sisko (Mother) (Deceased)
Unnamed (Stepmother) (Deceased)
Judith Sisko (Half-sister)
Spouse Jennifer Sisko (Deceased)
Kasidy Yates
Children Jake Sisko
Unnamed Child
Origin New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America, Earth
Posting Deep Space Nine
PositionCommanding Officer
Deep Space Nine
(Seasons 1–7)
Temporary Acting Head of Starfleet Security
(Season 4)
Adjutant to Admiral Ross
Starbase 375
(Season 6)
USS Defiant
(Seasons 3–7)
Rank Captain
(Seasons 3–7)
Commander
(Seasons 1–3)

Benjamin Lafayette Sisko is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise portrayed by Avery Brooks. He was the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), which was originally broadcast between 1993 and 1999. The character has also appeared in various books, comics, and video games within the Star Trek franchise.

Contents

Character history

Born in 2332 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Benjamin is the son of Joseph Sisko and a human woman named Sarah, who was possessed by a Bajoran Prophet, in order to conceive Benjamin. Sarah disappeared a short time later, when the prophet left her body, and died in an accident several years later. Joseph eventually met and married another woman, who raised Benjamin as her son. Benjamin remained unaware of these events until well into his adulthood. Sisko loves baseball, a sport that has largely disappeared by the 24th century but is kept alive by a small group of aficionados.

Sisko entered Starfleet Academy in 2350. During his sophomore year, he was in a field-study assignment on Starbase 137. He met a woman named Jennifer in Babylon, New York, on Gilgo Beach, shortly after graduating from the Academy. The two eventually wed and had a son named Jake. [1] As a Starfleet officer coming up through the ranks, Sisko was mentored by Curzon Dax, a joined Trill serving ambassador to the Klingon Empire.

In 2369, Sisko is assigned to the Bajoran sector to command Deep Space Nine and help Bajor's recovery from the recently concluded Cardassian occupation, shepherding them toward possible membership in the Federation. Upon Sisko's first visit to Bajor, the Kai (Bajor's spiritual leader), Opaka Sulan, labels him "the Emissary of the Prophets" and gives him one of the Bajoran Orbs. By studying the orb and nearby stellar phenomenon, Jadzia Dax finds a stable wormhole; the other end of which connects to the Gamma Quadrant. Sisko and Dax encounter the mysterious entities living within it, named "Prophets" by the Bajorans. Although most Bajorans immediately accept Sisko as their highest spiritual leader, this causes conflicts with his standard role as a captain, his personal discomfort with it, and the Bajorans that resent that the emissary is not a Bajoran.

The Gamma Quadrant is home to the Dominion, an aggressive and expansionist empire, which led to the Dominion War. Klingons, Romulans, and even the Cardassians eventually joined forces with the Federation against it. Sisko fulfills the Prophets' destiny for him in the series finale, "What You Leave Behind", by confronting the Kosst Amojan-possessed Gul Dukat. Sisko throws himself and Dukat into the fiery abyss of the Bajoran Fire Caves, and Sisko is pulled into the Prophets' plane of existence to live with and learn from them. Sisko imparts a farewell to his new—and pregnant— wife, Kasidy Yates, informing her that although he does not know when, he will eventually return to her.

Cultural references

Reception

In 2009, IGN ranked Sisko as the 8th best character of Star Trek overall. [2] In 2012, Paste Magazine rated Sisko as the #9 character of all Star Trek live-action television shows up to that time. [3] In 2016, ScreenRant rated Benjamin Sisko as the fourth best character in Star Trek overall as presented in television and film up to that time. [4] In 2016, Sisko was ranked as the 2nd most important character of Starfleet within the Star Trek science fiction universe by Wired magazine. [5]

In 2017, The Washington Post ranked Sisko as the second best Captain of Star Trek, and compared him to the American WW2 General and US President Eisenhower. [6] [7] They note how he tried to raise his son on the wayward space station despite being widowed, while contending with crew of dubious loyalties. [6] In 2017, Space.com ranked Sisko the fifth best captain of Star Trek. [8] In 2017, Screen Rant ranked Sisko the 3rd most attractive person in the Star Trek universe, in between Seven of Nine and Nyota Uhura. [9]

In 2019, Cinema Blend ranked Sisko the fourth best Star Trek Starfleet character of all time. [10] Sisko was rated as one of the top seven time travelers of the Star Trek franchise by Nerdist in 2019, especially for his time traveling adventures in "Trials and Tribble-ations" and "Past Tense". [11]

In 2018, CBR ranked Sisko the third best Starfleet character of Star Trek, in between Janeway and Picard. [12]

Related Research Articles

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the Star Trek media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from January 3, 1993, to June 2, 1999, spanning 176 episodes over seven seasons. Set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of a United Federation of Planets, its narrative is centered on the eponymous space station Deep Space Nine, located adjacent to a wormhole connecting Federation territory to the Gamma Quadrant on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardassian</span> Fictional extraterrestrial species from Star Trek

The Cardassians are a fictional extraterrestrial species in the American science fiction franchise Star Trek. They were devised in 1991 for the series Star Trek: The Next Generation before being used in the subsequent series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bajoran</span> Fictional extraterrestrial species from Star Trek

The Bajorans are a fictional species in the science-fiction Star Trek franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, owing to decades of subjugation under a military dictatorship which saw many of their species enslaved or forced into exile away from their homeworld. They were first introduced in the 1991 episode "Ensign Ro" of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and subsequently were a pivotal element of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and also appeared in Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Picard.

Dukat (<i>Star Trek</i>) Fictional character from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Dukat is a fictional character from the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. A member of the fictional Cardassian species, he is introduced as the former overseer of the series' namesake space station but goes on to become the leader of his species' governing body, the Cardassian Union. At times an enemy, while at others an ally of Benjamin Sisko, Dukat appears in 35 of the series' 176 episodes. He was portrayed by Marc Alaimo throughout. Dukat became a fan favorite among Star Trek fans and he is widely considered to be one of the most iconic villains in the Star Trek franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kira Nerys</span> Fictional humanoid in the TV Series Star Trek Deep Space Nine

Kira Nerys is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999). She was played by actress Nana Visitor. The character is from the fictional planet Bajor, a world which has recently emerged from a brutal foreign occupation. She was a member of the resistance, and the decades-long conflict has left her tough and uncompromising, but she is sustained by her strong faith in traditional Bajoran religion. She has been assigned to Deep Space Nine, a space station jointly operated by the United Federation of Planets and the new provisional Bajoran government, where she serves as second in command as well as the ranking representative of her people.

"Emissary" is the series premiere of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It was aired as a single two-hour episode on its initial broadcast, but was divided into two one-hour episodes when it aired in reruns.

Miles OBrien (<i>Star Trek</i>) Fictional character from the Star Trek universe

Miles Edward O'Brien is a character in the Star Trek franchise, portrayed by actor Colm Meaney. O'Brien appears occasionally in all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and is a main cast member of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. O'Brien was originally the transporter chief of the USS Enterprise-D. He was later promoted to chief of operations of Deep Space Nine. Being portrayed in 225 episodes overall, O'Brien is the Star Trek character with the second most appearances in the Star Trek franchise, second only to Worf.

"Call to Arms" is the 26th and final episode of the fifth season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 124th episode overall. This episode marks the start of the show's celebrated Dominion war story arc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What You Leave Behind</span> 25th and 26th episodes of the 7th season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

"What You Leave Behind" is the series finale of the television show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 175th and 176th episodes, the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. The episode was written by showrunner Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler and directed by Allan Kroeker. It originally aired the week of May 31, 1999.

"Penumbra" is the 167th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 17th episode of the seventh season. It aired on syndicated television the week of April 5, 1999.

"'Til Death Do Us Part" is the 168th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This episode first aired the week of April 12, 1999 on syndicated television.

"The Changing Face of Evil" is the 170th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It was first aired on syndicated television on April 26, 1999.

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"Image in the Sand" is the 151st episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the opening episode for the series' seventh and final season. It was first aired the week of September 28, 1998.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deep Space Nine (fictional space station)</span> Fictional space station in Star Trek

Deep Space Nine is a fictional space station, the eponymous primary setting of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which aired from 1993 to 1999. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens. It is run by a joint crew of Starfleet and Bajoran officers and it is the home port of a number of Starfleet runabouts, as well as the starship USS Defiant.

References

  1. ↑ Episode "Emissary"; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Episode 1 of Season 1
  2. ↑ "Top 25 Star Trek Characters". IGN. May 8, 2009. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  3. ↑ "The 10 Best Star Trek Characters". July 23, 2012. Archived from the original on March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  4. ↑ "The 20 Best Characters In Star Trek History". ScreenRant. November 19, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  5. ↑ McMillan, Graeme (September 5, 2016). "Star Trek's 100 Most Important Crew Members, Ranked". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  6. 1 2 Ahrens, Frank (September 26, 2017). "The ultimate ranking of the best "Star Trek" captains". The Washington Post . Retrieved March 17, 2019– via The Denver Post.
  7. ↑ Ahrens, Frank (September 22, 2017). "The ultimate ranking of the best 'Star Trek' captains". The Washington Post .
  8. ↑ Entertainment, Elizabeth Howell 2017-09-22T21:09:10Z (September 22, 2017). "6 'Star Trek' Captains, Ranked from Worst to Best". Space.com. Retrieved June 23, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "Star Trek: 20 Most Attractive Characters". ScreenRant. December 15, 2017. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  10. ↑ "The Best Star Trek Characters Of All Time". CINEMABLEND. June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  11. ↑ "The 7 Best Time Travelers In STAR TREK". Nerdist. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Star Trek: The 25 Best Members Of Starfleet, Ranked". CBR. October 27, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2019.

Sources

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