Star Trek: Deep Space Nine showrunner Ira Steven Behr hosts a nostalgic look back at the franchise’s oft-maligned middle child, interviewing stars, writers, producers, creatives and fans in this two-hour love letter to Terok Nor.

If this is the future of crowdfunded filmmaking then count me in! Sourced on the IndieGoGo platform, Behr and his co-director David Zappone have constructed an affectionate look at DS9, from troubled reviews to troubles with the studio for daring to be episodic, to troubles with the cast. It’s a brutally honest portrayal of how it feels to be the perceived underachiever, and just how cruel fans can be (fan behaviour has not improved in the 20 years since the show finished, but luckily the love for the show has).

Quite apart from the access to most of the main cast – Behr is able to put them at ease, and they disagree over anecdotes – the ace up this doc’s sleeve is its 22 minutes of footage which has been scanned in HD. In the after-show round table that viewers worldwide were treated to following the screening on 26 June, the painstaking process involved in locating the original reels, getting them scanned, colour graded and re-sequenced is covered in detail.

The other theme running through the show is a reunion writers’ room where five of the show’s former scribes get back together and break the story for the first episode of Season 8, 20 years later. Quite apart from getting the inside track on how the process works, we’re treated to animated frames of how the story would look. Favourite moment? They all struggle to remember the Klingon home world. Kronos? Qo’noS? Ronald D Moore remembers it correctly – as he should!

One of the show’s strengths was its fine cast of recurring villains, and it’s great to see Marc Alaimo (Dukat), Andy Robinson (Garak), Casey Biggs (Damar) and Jeff Combs (Weyoun) on great comedic form. There’s a lot of humour here – not the smug, self-referential type – but proper belly laughs, as the actors play heightened versions of themselves, trolling their co-stars, recalling fun moments and… just wait till you hear how Andy Robinson plays out Garak’s true reason for befriending Bashir!

There’s also heartache and tears – Terry Farrell on why she shouldn’t have been allowed to leave, Aaron Eisenberg on how his on-screen loss of a limb helped real veterans deal with their losses, and just tears on remembering the best of times. By the end of the film, the show has been validated, it has been recognised for what it brought to the table, and how it is no longer in the shadows.

Verdict: After you’ve watched this joyous ode to DS9 you’ll immediately want to watch all seven seasons over again, you’ll want it to be remastered in hi-def, you’ll want Season Eight to be made with this bunch of writers, and you’ll want to look as good as Alexander Siddig and Michael Dorn still do. Essential viewing. 10/10

Nick Joy