| abstract | - Numerous undeveloped Star Trek episodes were written for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. These stories were submitted or developed for production, but for various reasons never aired. Reflected Robert Hewitt Wolfe, "DS9 got dozens of pitches a week and we turned down 99% of them, but it was rare that something went to story then died." [1] Many never-produced DS9 story ideas involved large-scale conflict. During the making of the series, René Echevarria stated, "People often come in and pitch Klingon and Cardassian wars – something big that we probably are working on ourselves." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 116) Many writers unsuccessfully tried to write and pitch a story about Morn; virtually everyone who attempted to write about him was stymied by the fact that he never spoke on-screen. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 523) Other undeveloped stories involved the character of Iliana Ghemor, from DS9: "Second Skin". "I've heard several pitches where people want to find [her] [...] so obviously quite a number of people were struck by [the episode]," commented René Echevarria. (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 85) Writing duo and sisters Barbara J. Lee and Jenifer A. Lee pitched, to René Echevarria, approximately seventeen unused stories in an hour-long pitch session. Echevarria listened to them all, though initially "there was nothing interesting," he remarked. During the course of the session, the narratives suggested by the Lee sisters varied from the relatively elaborate to one-liners, in that order. Echevarria decided not to pick any of the ideas until the very last one, which later became "Bar Association" . (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 315) One DS9 speculative script and multiple unused stories were devised by Christopher L. Bennett. He recollected, "My DS9 spec script actually got me a pitch invitation. I went out to L.A. and pitched to Robert Hewitt Wolfe; he didn't take any of my pitches, but his comments about them drove home the importance of focusing on character, a lesson that's been very helpful to me." (Voyages of Imagination, p. 146) Three DS9 story ideas were conceived by Armin Shimerman, Eric A. Stillwell and David R. George III. Recalled Shimerman, "David George, partnered with Eric Stilwell, asked if I would join them to pitch episode ideas for Deep Space Nine. We worked for several months honing our plot points and eventually had our shot with writer/producer René Echevarria. Unfortunately, No sale." (Voyages of Imagination, p. 245) Similarly, three story pitches were suggested by Gary Holland at a pitch session with Ira Steven Behr, Robert Hewitt Wolfe and Peter Allan Fields, toward the end of DS9 Season 2. Although one of these ended up as the genesis of DS9: "The Collaborator", the other two ideas were quickly dismissed by Behr, Fields and Wolfe. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 147) In an initial pitch session for writing partners Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, they too proposed ideas to Ira Steven Behr. They specifically went "through this incredible list," said Thompson, "pitching one-liners and stories and stuff that just didn't fit the show's needs." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 437) Multiple story pitches were likewise unsuccessfully submitted by Lisa Klink, who the producers called in to pitch. "I came back a second time," she stated, "and they basically realized I had ideas that were somewhere in the ballpark. They kept calling me back." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 101) Klink found it particularly easy to suggest story ideas during a subsequent six-week internship at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, while it was in its third season. "I think, because I already knew them and had dealt with them in the pitches," she reckoned, "I could throw out ideas more easily in the story meetings and break sessions than some other interns might have." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 6, pp. 43) One undeveloped character concept was that, in the third season episode "Second Skin" , Robert Hewitt Wolfe – who wrote the installment – wanted to establish that Kira Nerys basically wasn't, in fact, Bajoran. "Originally," reported René Echevarria, "Robert wanted to say that Kira was Cardassian, that the arc of the show was that the real [Bajoran] Kira died, but she [Kira's Cardassian counterpart] is essentially Kira now and it doesn't really matter." Rick Berman and Michael Piller objected to this proposal. "I think Rick and Mike [...] thought that it was too weird, too alien a notion for the audience to really hold on to a character they had invested themselves in [....] They were probably right in that decision." Echevarria also observed that the abandoned concept was "very similar to when we wanted to kill Will Riker and keep" his transporter duplicate, Thomas Riker, in TNG: "Second Chances" . (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 85) Another scrapped character concept was that the DS9 writing staff initially planned for Odo, in the sixth season of the show, to intentionally become increasingly withdrawn from his crewmates, locking himself away and refusing to socialize with anyone else on the Deep Space 9 space station. This would have been motivated by feelings of guilt over the fact that he had assisted the Dominion in a six-episode story arc which begins that season. For the rest of the season, the character would have been written differently from ever before. Ronald D. Moore was starting to plan this story arc when Odo actor Rene Auberjonois alerted the writing staff that he had misgivings about it. Changing the character so drastically lacked a clear motive; the writers hadn't considered precisely what to do with Odo thereafter, and alienating him from the rest of the main characters without any reason even seemed wrong. That realization led the creative staff to agree with Auberjonois and ultimately abandon the notion. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 507) Yet another discarded character concept was fallout of Dukat threatening Sisko, at the end of sixth season installment "Waltz" , that he would "learn what it's like to lose a child." Sisko would then have had to become determined to protect his son, Jake, which Ron Moore expected would be "an awkward thing to have to work into every episode" and even "a pain." As a result, Dukat's threat to Sisko instead became declaring that he wouldn't be able to save Bajor's populace. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 522)
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