Movies - TV
The ‘50s Western Series That Paved The Way For Star Trek: DS9
By DANIELLE RYAN
When "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" debuted in 1993, it differed from the original series and "TNG." It followed the stories of those who lived on board the space station.
Showrunner Rick Berman told StarTrek.com that he and writer/producer Michael Piller were inspired by the 1950s Western, "The Rifleman," about a father and son doing good deeds.
After watching the show, he and Piller created a story of a bitter widower, Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), sent to be captain at a distant, non-Federation space station.
"The Rifleman" followed rancher Lucas McCain (Chuck Connors) and his son Mark (Johnny Crawford) as they tried to do right, although the frontier was rough just after the Civil War.
Like Lucas, Ben has only somewhat recently lost his wife due to war and sets out to try and do some good at the extremely distant outpost of DS9.
The relationship between Ben and his son Jake is one of the strongest emotional cores in the series because it is dynamic, real, and incredibly inspirational.