 As the 30th anniversary of Star Trek was approaching , a number of plans were being put into place . The film Star Trek : First Contact was entering production , a television special was planned to celebrate the franchise and George <unk> had been cast to appear in the Star Trek : Voyager episode " Flashback " . Producer Ira Steven Behr later recalled that he thought that Deep Space Nine might end up being missed out as he considered it to be the " middle child " of the franchise . However , Rick Berman contacted Behr and asked him if he would be interested in doing something to celebrate the anniversary . Behr agreed to discuss it with the staff writers . Initially , there was concern that if the proposed episode aired during the actual anniversary week ( around September 8 ) , that it would have to serve as the season opener , pre @-@ <unk> the already planned opener . 
