I think it's about time somebody says it. This will serve as a counterpoint to the "Petition for DS9's Future". The end is good.

What? you say. Traitor! Read on. I have a great deal of affection for DS9. It is the only Star Trek I have watched from beginning to end. It's had its heights and depthes, but it also managed to do something Voyager has certainly never - find its own flavour, its own texture independent of TNG. And overall it's maintained a level of quality comparable to TNG's, which is high praise.

I am sad to see DS9 go, but only because it was cancelled at all. But "The Final Chapter", however necessarily rushed it may seem, is a good thing. And final it should be. Two weeks from now, the more definite an ending we get, the better.

DS9 has always dealt more with consequences than its predescessors - this is inherent in the premise. We're on a space station, not a starship, and so we can't just warp away from everything and never deal with it. We've got to stick around and face it. This has resulted not only in countless recurring characters, but also in massive plot arcs, some series-long. Though not as complicated of those of Babylon Five or even The X-Files, they are still rather impressive and unique in Trek. The creators are smart to try to deal with them all in the series' final days, for that is the only really satisfactory ending we can possibly have. The greater the degree to which the plots are wrapped up, the better it is. When the finale rolls around, I would not be especially unhappy to see characters die and the station destroyed. If the finale has a wide enough scope, and has good enough writing, there'll be no need for a TV movie or anything like that. No need to revisit old territory. We'll have to judge the sequel potential after the finale, but to my mind, the creators would be foolish to leave any plot threads dangling to possibly be picked up at a later date.

It was different in TNG for several reasons. One - sequel potential clearly existed, the deals were all ready cut. Two - TNG never had as extensive plot arcs to deal with. Most episodes were standalones. The finale dealt with Q in an eminently satisfying way, which was good because that was the only really long-term recurring character the show had. That's just not the case with DS9. With DS9, they should just end the thing. It's better that way.

Let it be "The Final Chapter".

Yes! I agree. Deep Space Nine was a great show most of the time, but it's over. Since the demand for sequels isn't there (besides from the fans, which goes without saying), most attempts to sequelize it will probably do more harm than good. It's over, and so far it seems to be ending on a good note. The story is told.

That doesn't mean I'm against seeing a character or two pop up in a NextGen movie, though. :-)

I think the fear that a lot of us have of any attempt to continue the DS9 story is that this whole great complex plot is about to end. Neatly. Cleanly. No loose ends.

It was OK for TNG to have movies and sequels and new plots, and if DS9 had ended three seasons ago it would be OK for DS9 too. But this isn't the DS9 of three seasons ago. The last few episodes are going to tie up the entire plot. That means that to kickstart the story for a movie or whatever, the creators would have to invent an entirely new plot that still has enough connection to the old plot to hold our interest. I don't think using the same characters will be enough; to connect the new plot to the old plot there will have to be a whole bunch of loose ends in the old plot. That's just not going to happen.

OTOH, I really like this bunch of characters, and I think it would be nice to see some of them in some future movies and/or series. ("Voyager" is a skillion light years away, so we don't have to worry about Dax or Odo ending up there, thank the Prophets. I mean other future series.) Their story is complete, but they can still be part of a larger story.

Much as I, too, like this series even more now than I did a few years ago, I think it is time to move on. There is always the possibility of seeing some of our favorite characters somewhere new, methinks, if the following quote from Rick Berman in this week's TV Guide is any indication:

"...But I am developing other [Trek] TV projects." Who's involved? Hints Berman: "I find it hard to believe we’ve seen the last of all the DS9 cast."

Go to http://www.tvguide.com for their whole story.

I too am really sad it to see DS9 go , but perhaps with them ending the war and all that it's best to leave it at that. At least we will still have syndicated reruns and various products, as long as we keep these going then the series will never really die so to speak.

Anyway as with any series that is very popular and has a lot of very upset people when it ends, often after a year or two we get used to the idea of it being gone. I think the same will happen here, it will take time, but in time we will be able to still watch the reruns and remember DS9 as being a fantastic series that was arguabley the best ST series to date.

Basically it is going out on top , on a real high note. leaving us wanting more, in show buis' this is what many strive to do, I dought many people strive to stay on so long that they get canceled from losing viewers who lose interest in after so many years of it being on (not that this would happen to DS9 but why risk it?).

Right now people seem to say that a DS9 movie is unlikley but 30 years ago who would have thought that the original trek would have made 6 movies? I dought this is the absolute end for the crew and cast of DS9. But with them leaving us wanting more then you can bet that if they ever do make a movie it will be great and it will do great.

I honestly have to say too(in contrast to many in my Star Trek fan club, the U.S.S. Intrepid
http://www.ussintrepid.org -I had to get in that plug) that I think that its time for the DS9 storyline to end. I think seven years is a good time to call it quits for a Star Trek television show(I think if Next Gen stayed on television any longer it would have gotten stale, as opposed to going on to deal with great, complex
stories in movie form); also, I don't think there's much that could be added to the Dominion War storyline, as it effects DS9 anyway, without ruining it. I truly believe for freshness sake, the remains of DS9 and Next Gen should/could deal with the Dominion in movies or in the fifth Trek show. Any Bajoran issues, if any remain after DS9, could/should also be dealt with in movie form or even the 5th Trek series if Bajor becomes part of the Federation-or at least partners with Starfleet in space exploration.