As a child, Julian Bashir fell behind in school, and was evaluated as having learning difficulties. Because of this, his parents, Richard and Amsha Bashir, had him subjected to genetic engineering. The procedure made him mentally superior to most humans, and greatly enhanced his physical abilities. However, because human genetic engineering is illegal in the United Federation of Planets, Bashir and his parents kept his procedure a secret throughout most of his adult life. Bashir graduated second in his class at Starfleet Medical Academy, having intentionally missed a question on his final exam. He had his choice of assignments anywhere in the fleet, and so chose Deep Space Nine for the opportunity to practice "real-life frontier medicine". He holds the rank of Lieutenant at the time of the series pilot, and Lieutenant from the fourth season premiere until the series finale. Early on, his overly enthusiastic and self-important nature made some members of the crew, such as Miles O'Brien and Kira Nerys, reluctant to spend time with him. However, he eventually becomes friends with O'Brien, Jadzia Dax, and Elim Garak. Bashir flirts with Jadzia, who rejects his advances and goes on to marry Worf. After her death, Bashir joins Worf on a dangerous mission to ensure Jadzia's soul a place in Sto-Vo-Kor. Bashir's closest friend is O'Brien, and they are frequently shown playing games or visiting the holodeck for the recreation of one of several historical battles such as the Alamo or the Battle of Britain. He is also close friends with Elim Garak, with whom he often shares lunch in the Replimat. During pre-Dominion war tensions, Bashir is kidnapped and sent to a Dominion prison camp and replaced with a Changeling. His replacement attempts to destroy the Bajoran sun, with the goal of wiping out Bajor, DS9, and a fleet of Federation, Klingon, and Romulan ships. The DS9 crew foil the plan, and the real Bashir, along with his fellow captives, shortly thereafter free themselves. The experience began a slow personality change over the course of the series into a much more somber, dark character. Later, Bashir attempts to integrate several other genetically engineered individuals into Federation culture, with mixed success. The covert operations group Section 31 also becomes interested in him and tries twice, unsuccessfully, to "recruit" him. As depicted in the series finale "What You Leave Behind", Bashir remains aboard Deep Space Nine, and begins a romantic relationship with Ezri Dax. In the Mirror Universe, the alternate Bashir is a freedom fighter in the Terran Rebellion. It is unknown whether he was ever given the genetic enhancements his counterpart was. Unlike the regular Bashir, who is friendly and personable, alternate Bashir is an angry, unkempt former slave who joins the rebellion against the Klingon/Cardassian Alliance.
Reception
The character of Julian Bashir initially sparked fan criticism. Alexander Siddig expressed his enthusiasm for the fact that he, with his English accent, unusual screen name at time of casting, and North African heritage was a main character on a prominent television show despite being not as easily racially identifiable to audiences as many other actors and characters were on TV at the time.
In 2016, SyFy ranked Bashir as the fifth best of the six main-cast space doctors of the Star Trek franchise.
In 2018, CBR ranked Bashir the 16th best Starfleet character of Star Trek.
In 2018, The Wrap placed Bashir as 15th out 39 in a ranking of main cast characters of the Star Trek franchise prior to .
Guest appearances
Alexander Siddig also played his role of Dr. Julian Bashir in the Star Trek: The Next Generation season six episode "Birthright |Birthright, Part I", a season concurrent to DS9's first season.
