Re-Used Planets in DS9
by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider
Brown PlanetsBlue PlanetsRecurring Planets
DS9 shows us a smaller number of different planets than TNG, and fewer planet re-uses too. Still, we can see several shots of planets more than once, representing a different planet each time. The stock footage represents up to six different planets. In most cases the shots remain unchanged in the role as a different planet, or only the color is slightly adjusted.
Conversely, in a few cases the same planets are represented by different models in different episodes.
In the following, the planets are grouped by colors and surface features, and listed in descending order of the number of re-uses. The episodes are listed in production order.
Brown Planets
     Brown planet 1 This planet can be seen in six incarnations in seven episodes:
The footage of the planet with its smooth craters is occasionally mirrored but otherwise the planets (or moons) all look the same. It is worth mentioning that this way the appearance of the Cardassian moon where Odo meets his informant in "Improbable Cause" and "Treachery, Faith and the Great River" remains consistent. |
   Brown planet 2 This planet can be seen in five episodes:
The planets all look the same, with characteristic large craters. In "Waltz" it is one of the planets on which the crew hopes to find Sisko and Dukat. |
  Brown planet 3 This planet can be seen in three episodes:
The footage remains unchanged, including the runabout. |
  Brown planet 4 This planet can be seen in three episodes:
Arawath is a mirror image of the two other planets. Otherwise they are all identical. |
Blue Planets
  Blue planet 1 This planet can be seen in three episodes:
It is curious that Jeraddo and Lunar V are supposed to be two different inhabitable Bajoran moons but look identical (only that Lunar V appears to a bit paler). |
  Blue planet 2 This planet can be seen in two episodes:
The two planets are identical. |
  Blue planet 3 This one can be seen as two different planets in the same episode:
The colors are different, but the surface features are the same. |
Recurring Planets
     Bajor Shots of Bajor were re-used for four other planets:
The footage was occasionally left-right reversed. Risa looks different than still in TNG: "Captain's Holiday" Bajor itself re-appears as slightly different looking new CGI version in "Shadows and Symbols". |
    Cardassia Prime This planet appears as Cardassia Prime in three episodes, but also as two other planets:
The color of the footage varies (the Karemma homeworld is bluish, AR-558 is reddish), but the planets are evidently the same. For the final chapter of DS9 new scenes of Cardassia Prime were filmed. |
   Earth Shots of Earth were re-used for the planet Golana.
The views of Golana are all stock footage, partially with the Defiant in orbit. At least one shot was left-right reversed. |
See Also
Planet Mutations - recurring planets whose appearance varies
Planets in TOS and TOS Remastered - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 - survey of the TOS planet models and how they were remastered
Re-Used Planets in TNG - all the planets that appeared from twice up to eleven times
