I already wrote this once with a lot of detail and angst, but it looks like it got lost somewhere out there. Here's the abridged version. I hope it's relevant to more people than those living in eastern Missouri.

DS9 is syndicated here on the ABC affiliate. They show it from 4 to 5 am on Saturday mornings and from 3:30 to 4:30 am on Sunday mornings. That's fine--it's what VCRs were invented for.

DS9 is my favorite series, but unfortunately I didn't get into it in its first run until season 6. Now, this ABC affiliate has shown TNG and Voyager from beginning to end in order (well, in Voyager's case they couldn't do it because UPN had the final season, but they showed what they had the rights to in order). They have NEVER done this with DS9. It's weird--they've shown seasons 6 and 7 in their entirety at least 3 times in the past year, and season 5 at least twice. They seem fond of showing "Emissary," "The Wire," and "By Inferno's Light" regularly, and that's a good thing.

However, they've made no attempt at showing them in order. This weekend they showed "A Man Alone," which was great because it's one of the ones I'd never seen before. They followed it the next day with "Fascination," which they've shown at least 3 times in the past 2 years. Next weekend they're showing "Past Tense 1 and 2." At this rate they'll be back to seasons 5 through 7 in no time. However, as far as I can tell since the first run, they've NEVER shown "The Visitor," "Our Man Bashir," "Shattered Mirror," "Cardassians," "Indiscretion," "Civil Defense," "Return to Grace," and at least 15 or 20 others I could list. As a Garak and Dukat fan, this is a major bummer for me.

Of course it's no big deal in the scheme of things, I was just curious if others have found it equally difficult to see the entire run. I was hopeful after "What You Leave Behind" was shown last weekend that they'd show the whole run from "Emissary" on starting this weekend, but it hasn't happened. Is this a Paramount problem, or a local one? I'd always wanted to have the whole run in order on tape, just as many people have the entire run of Babylon 5 on tape in order, but unless things change it doesn't look like that will happen.

I know how you feel Palandine. I never watched DS9 in its original run either. I got into it in reruns in the middle of the night in D.C., 4 a.m. First they bought the first four years of the show and showed that over and over. But they couldn't show certain episodes (The Jem'Hadar, The Maquis, The Search) because they showed those too many times during sweeps weeks.

I was dying and dying to see years 5-7 and see how it all turned out. Finally they bought years 5-7 but dumped years 1-4 permanently. and now they just show those years over and over. I miss the early years.

Well, thankfully things are substantially better in Canada, where Space! The Imagination Station shows DS9 Mon-Fri at 5pm Eastern, in order, I might add. I think I've watched the series three times over on Space so far.

Of course I also watched DS9 from the very beginning, so I guess I'm doubly lucky. I feel for you guys though.

I only get DS9 at 1:00 in the morining. And when I can see it I know that it follows no logical order.

I got into DS9 in about the Fourth season. But becasue of the station's quirky programing I have never seen some great episodes Like "Duet." I want highy to see this episode, but it never comes on.