Star Trek’sChief Miles O’Brien(Colm Meaney) was the perfect character to move fromStar Trek: The Next Generationto its first spin-off show,Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. O’Brien started onStar Trek: The Next Generationas a nameless helmsman inTNG’s pilot episode, “Encounter at Farpoint”. After gaining a name and becoming the USS Enterprise-D’s transporter chief, O’Brien’s wedding to civilian botanist Keiko Ishikawa (Rosalind Chao) was a major part ofStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 4, episode 12, “Data’s Day”.OnTNG,O’Brien became a recurring, relatable family man with a strong work ethic.
Star Trek: The Next Generationseason 4, episode 12, “The Wounded”, introduced a new alien enemy to theStar Trekmythos: the Cardassians. In “The Wounded”, the Federation-Cardassian War is retconned into theStar Trektimeline, with peace between the two powers being a relatively new development. That peace was tenuous at best throughout the rest ofStar Trek: The Next Generation, which further developedthe Cardassian Union as a strategic, coldly ruthless player among the Alpha Quadrant powers.Star Trek: Deep Space Ninewas created with the Cardassians in mind as the primary enemy.
Chief O’Brien Deserved To Become A Star Trek: DS9 Main Character After This TNG Moment
Interactions With Gul Macet In “The Wounded” Gave O’Brien New Depth
Chief Miles O’Brien deserved to become aStar Trek: Deep Space NinecharacterafterStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 4, episode 12, “The Wounded”, showed the potential complexity of O’Brien’s character as a veteran of the Federation-Cardassian War. Instead of succumbing to a personal vendetta like Admiral Maxwell (Bob Gunton) did,O’Brien recognized that his fight was not with Gul Macet (Marc Alaimo), but with how the war changed both himself and Maxwell.The Federation and Cardassians were ostensibly at peace with one another, but that didn’t eliminate O’Brien’s ingrained hostility or PTSD. In Ten Forward, O’Brien tells Macet:
“The only people left alive were in an outlying district of the settlement. I was sent there with a squad to reinforce them. Cardassians were advancing on us, moving through the streets, destroying, killing. I was with a group of women and children when two Cardassian soldiers burst in. I stunned one of them. The other one jumped me. We struggled. One of the women threw me a phaser, and I fired. The phaser was set at maximum. The man just … just incinerated, there before my eyes. I’d never killed anything before. When I was a kid, I’d worry about swatting at mosquitoes.It’s not you I hate, Cardassian. I hate what I became because of you.”
That complicated history with the Cardassians made Miles O’Brien an idealStar Trek: The Next Generationcharacter to transfer toStar Trek: Deep Space Nine.After “The Wounded” confirmedO’Brien could be a greatStar Trekcharacter, Miles was seen as a brilliant, quick-thinking transporter engineer and a family man.O’Brien’s anti-Cardassian prejudice laid dormant for most of his time inTNG, but re-emerged inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine.Patching together a Cardassian space station and having regular interactions with Cardassian characters meant O’Brien had to confront the prejudices that had been ingrained in him from the war.
Why Chief O’Brien Was So Important To DS9’s Early Seasons
Miles O’Brien Connected TNG To DS9
Chief O’Brien was important to the early seasons ofStar Trek: Deep Space NinebecauseO’Brien served as a bridge fromStar Trek: The Next GenerationtoStar Trek: Deep Space Nine.Originally, Michelle Forbes was slated to return as Ensign Ro Laren, but Forbes declined a part onDS9.Major Kira Nerys(Nana Visitor) was created to fill Ro’s place, soStar Trek: Deep Space Ninestill needed aTNGcharacter who harbored resentment towards Cardassians. As aTNGrecurring character fans already knew and loved, Miles O’Brien fit the bill perfectly, especially since he could bring his family with him.
Chief Miles O’Brien’s status as an enlisted member of Starfleet sets him apart from the rest ofTNGandDS9’s Starfleet characters, who are commissioned officers, and gives the audience a more down-to-earth perspective on events inStar Trekshows.
As a regular character,Chief Miles O’Brien’s evolution inDS9easily matchedStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s overall themes.DS9never shied away from depicting how prejudice still influenced people, even in the 24th century.Miles' casually derogatory attitude towards “Cardies” showed that even people who are otherwise kind and open-minded can harbor racist tendencies, even when they don’t mean to. By having O’Brien regularly confront his preconceptions,Star Trek: Deep Space Ninereturned O’Brien to “The Wounded”: theStar Trek: The Next Generationepisode that first hinted at the complexity of O’Brien’s character.
