Character Insight No. 222: Joseph Sisko

Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we review Joseph Sisko, a recurring character from Deep Space Nine.

https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp222

Joseph Sisko is the father of Commander Ben Sisko and the grandfather of Jake Sisko, two of our main characters in this series. Joseph was initially alluded to be dead in the premiere Emissary, but that turns out to not be the case when he shows up in 6 episodes of the series later. That makes him a unique character as the only living parent of a commanding officer seen interacting with that officer during command (all other captains had deceased or not shown parents in their shows).

Joseph is written as an interesting character thanks in large part to the mysterious background that leads to Benjamin being the Emissary of the Prophets. To this end, Joseph's first wife Sarah was occupied by a Prophet to cause the Emissary to be born, and then Sarah and the Prophet disappear shortly after Ben's birth. There's a notable allegory to religion for you, as is common with the Bajorans in this series. Joseph re-marries and has three more children, and Ben does not discover that he has a different mother until the episode Image in The Sand, an episode where Ben finds his way again following the death of his close friend Jadzia Dax.

Joseph remains passionate about his restaurant and cooking, earning a reputation as one of the finest Cajun chefs on Earth. He passes this desire for cooking on to his son Benjamin and his grandson Jake as well, sharing the family tradition in the form of jumbalaya. Indeed, Ben was raised to work in Joseph's vegetable gardens and as a taste-tester for all kinds of new recipes.

Once this background with Joseph is established, this character comes in to interact with Ben on a couple occasions as a moral compass and guide of sorts. In the episode A Time to Stand, Joseph resists new Federation orders to blood test all Starfleet officer family members to detect any Dominion and Founder incursions. His complaints about loss of freedom at the hands of the government is an interesting allegory for where we stand today as a nation.

QUOTE:
Joseph Sisko: You know, there's something I just don't understand. You're always telling me that space is big, that it's an endless frontier, filled with infinite wonders.
Captain Sisko: It's true.
Joseph Sisko: Well, if that's the case, you would think it would be more than enough room to allow people to leave each other alone.
Captain Sisko: It just doesn't work that way. It should; but it doesn't.

Also during the Dominion War, Jospeh leaves Earth for the first time to see his son and grandson on the space station in the episode Far Beyond the Stars. Anybody with parents or grandparents who don't travel much and then are curmudgeons can relate to this story.

Joseph might have some stereotypical parent features, but he is useful in explaining what makes Commander Sisko the man that he is. Overall, this is the type of recurring character that is mixed in just enough to be memorable, while not overdoing it on silly stories. His highlight was certainly as a refuge for Ben when Ben escapes to Earth for a while following the death of Jadzia, and that is another important turning point in the DS9 Dominion story.

Joseph Sisko is played by Brock Peters, who you would also recognize as Admiral Cartwright from the Star Trek 4 and 6 movies. He also appeared in famous movies To Kill A Mockingbird and Soylent Green.
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