Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Bell Riots

10. They Didn't Want To Do A Martin Luther King Jnr.

With the Bell Riots, writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe and Ira Steven Behr wanted to create an event that trickled through Star Trek history. They knew that the story would involve time travel, with Sisko replacing a crucial participant from the past. What they wanted to avoid was making Sisko one of the most recognisable figures in history.

They didn't want to make him 'Martin Luther King Jnr,' in that they wanted to avoid having him lead a march or making the speech that would reverberate through history. King was and remains one of the most well-known figures, and faces, in history. Gabriel Bell, as the character would be called, could not be so iconic.

In Little Green Men, Nog is seen perusing a PADD, specifically on Earth history. He notices that 'Gabriel Bell' bears a striking resemblance to Sisko, but the scene plays the recognition for laughs, while also highlighting that Bell's legacy, and not his face, would be what was important.