Talk:Benjamin Sisko

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[edit] Discussion

This article could do with a bit of cleanup. The first reference to Pah Wraiths doesn't make clear what they are, only later. (Okay, it's a bit fussy.) I'd also suggest, given his position as Emissary, more about the relationship with Bajor's religious establishment, notably Kai Wynn. All the "STNG" & "DS9" pages need changes to the intro section. The "info box" is interfering with the character's name. --trekphiler, 16/11/05

If all you're suggesting are minor tweaks I suggest you go ahead and start doing it, instead of waiting for some ad hoc committee to approve your ideas. If you don't have time to do it all, perhaps you could just do a few edits to suggest the direction the article needs to take. ShutterBugTrekker 18:56, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Species?

Bajoran Prophet is not a species, it is more of a post/assignment. --Cat out 20:19, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

You're probably thinking of Bajoran Emissary. The Prophets were also called Wormhole Aliens. They were a species that existed in the wormhole and outside of linear time. CovenantD 20:49, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
I think it would be better to leave it at "human" in the infobox, lest anyone argue we should put a spoiler tag in there. ShutterBugTrekker 21:37, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
More to the point, Sisko's mother was a human woman who was possessed by a Prophet, not a Prophet herself. The relevant dialogue is as follows, from "Shadows and Symbols" (DS9):
Sisko: Are you Sarah Sisko? Are you my mother?
Sarah Alien: Sarah Sisko was corporeal. For a time I shared her existence.
Sisko: You took over her body - made sure she'd marry my father... so that she'd give birth to me.
Sarah Alien: The Sisko is necessary.
- Montréalais 06:36, 17 October 2006 (UTC)
A good point, and I was searching for that reference myself when I saw it pop up on the pagem though the question I have is: In the state he ended the series in is he still Human, or is he a non-coporial wormhole alien? I would tend toward the latter because of the dialog but I am not sure..EnsRedShirt 08:43, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] AA lead

Someone at an anonymous IP address has thrice removed "Sisko is the first African-American lead character in a Star Trek series." from the article. The first removal had the edit comment "LaForge was on "The Next Generation", and Uhura was on "The Original Series". Sisko is NOT the first African-American lead character in Star Trek" to which I made the response that the operative word in the excised sentence is "lead" -- Sisko is the lead character, La Forge and Uhura play supporting roles in their respective series. The second time around, s/he replaced "lead character" with "captain." This is factually inaccurate: the captain of the Yamato in Contagion and of the Saratoga in STIV are both African-American. The third time around, s/he removed the entire sentence again. I am, again, putting the sentence back in. Please don't trim it again without offering a substantive rationale for it. (FYI, as I pointed out in an edit comment, the Kathryn Janeway article identifies her as the first female lead in a Trek series -- why aren't you hopping over there editing that article?). --EEMeltonIV 05:14, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

Webishtar contends that "By definition, if you appear in the opening credits, you are a lead character, which the characters of Geordi and Uhura both did". Whose definition? Wikipedia'own definition of lead (which, granted, doesn't say TV series): "A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead, plays the role of the protagonist in a film or play. The word lead may also refer to the largest role in the piece...". Sisko's role seems to fit this definition. But, anyway, I've already reverted this three times, and will leave it to someone else to insert the material. If the hang-up is on the word "lead", then let's find another way to rephrase it, as Sisko being the first AA [whateverthehellitis] is significant. --EEMeltonIV 14:56, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
I have changed the wording to "first African-American commanding officer to be a lead character in a Star Trek series." This is correct according to wiki's definition of lead character while still keeping the original premise of the line.Gdo01 15:22, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
While this is better, Gdo01, some might take issue with the term "African-American". The nation of America is no longer in existence in the time of Star Trek, meaning that Sisco is not an American. This may seem like a small complaint, but I know many black people outside of the U.S. who get offended when they are labelled African-American, particularly since many of them have no connection to Africa or America. I'm not going to correct it, but I would like to point this out. --Wabishtar 16:35, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
He was born in New Orleans, so he would be a man of African descent who was born in the continent of North America, hence African-American. I see nothing wrong with African-American since in the future it could still refer to geographical America rather than the country USA. Gdo01 15:50, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
And for what it's worth (which may not be much), Avery Brooks himself referred to his character as being African-American. --EEMeltonIV 15:55, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sisko a "Cajun"?

Cajun history is a specialty of mine, so I'm rather doubtful of the claim that Sisko's father is a "Cajun". The reason is because Cajuns are generally considered to be white. (They are the descendants of French colonists who settled in Nova Scotia in the 1600s and resettled in Louisiana in the 1700s, and of other colonists -- Spanish, German, French -- with whom they intermarried once on the south Louisiana frontier.)

"Creole" is the more appropriate term, which I see is mentioned in the Sisko article along with "Cajun." (Creole is a slippery term, and has been applied historically to blacks, to whites, and to persons of mixed-race heritage. In its broadest sense, it merely means "Native to Louisiana," but today, in 2007, it is most commonly used to refer to Louisianians of black French-speaking heritage, whether mixed-race or otherwise.)

So, unless Deep Space Nine actually identified Sisko's father's ethnicity as "Cajun" (which I think would reflect ignorance of the term's usual meaning on the part of the script writers), I recommend that the word "Cajun" be dropped and that the word "Creole" be used by itself, since it's the more accurate term.

Note: I seem to remember the episode in which Sisko returned to New Orleans and met with his father . . . who was indeed black.

--Skb8721 15:04, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

I think the original confusion lay in the fact that Sisko's father COOKS Cajun food. That being said, I am unsure as to whether he is thus properly labeled as Creole.

--slaw0710 —Preceding comment was added at 11:30, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Homefront/Paradise lost

Adding Sisko's role in stopping a coup on earth. Sisko played a key role in stopping a Coup d'état attempt on Earth from his former Captain, Admiral Leyton. Oldag07 23:54, 27 April 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Possible Trivia Section

I am not a hundred percent certain on this, but I think that a trivia note might be in order. The character "Benjamin Sisko" shares a lot of qualities with "Hawk" a character that Avery Brooks played on Spencer For Hire and A Man Called Hawk.

Among these are an affinity for Baseball, African Art, and Cooking (I think). It is also worth mentioning that in the series A Man Called Hawk, Brooks's character, Hawk, used the nickname "Old Man" to refer to his adviser just as Sisko refers to every incarnation of Dax as "Old Man." I am uncertain of how or where to source this, but it is definitely something that I noticed.

  • See WP:TRIVIA - instead of creating a trivia section, if it is relevant it should be integrated into the article in the appropriate section. Also keep in mind WP:OR and WP:FICT. Make sure anything you add is source/cited as well. Ejfetters (talk) 05:06, 8 December 2007 (UTC)
  • I concur with Ejfetters. Trivia sections are discouraged; integrate whatever trivial content you wish to add into other relevant sections. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 07:03, 8 December 2007 (UTC)