In 1995, during the week of November 27, just a few weeks after James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) made a massive comeback on the big screen in the film GoldenEye, the Star Trek franchise delivered a shaken and stirred tribute to the world of 007. Of all the Deep Space Nine episodes, “Our Man Bashir” was one of the most elaborate productions, necessitating wardrobe, sets, and props that weren’t part of the usual 24th-century repertoire. And while the humor and whimsy of “Our Man Bashir” hold up today as one of the better holodeck malfunction Trek episodes, its legacy is perhaps more surprising than many fans might know.
As a Bond spoof, “Our Man Bashir” is funnier than most, and I’d argue smarter than say, Austin Powers (which first hit theaters in 1997, outperforming an actual Bond movie, Tomorrow Never Dies) The point is, in addition to Spy Hard in 1996, the 1990s, for whatever reason, were a time lousy with Bond spoofs. But nobody did it better than Star Trek, and the proof lies in the fact that an actual, real-deal, canonical James Bond universe Double O agent exists today because of “Our Man Bashir.”
