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Ben Sisko - Avery Brooks Kira Nerys - Nana Visitor Jadzia Dax - Tarry Farrell Odo - Rene Auberjonois Julian Bashir - Siddig El Fadil Quark - Armin Shimerman Jake Sisko - Cirroc Lofton 
OTHER SEASONS Season 1 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 OTHER STAR TREK SHOWS Star Trek The Next Generation Voyager Enterprise OTHER TREKS THROUGH SPACE Babylon 5 The new Battlestar Galactica 
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The HomecomingWhen Quark buys a Bajoran earring from a trader who claims to have obtained it from a Cardassian, Major Kira recognises it as belonging to a great fighter in the resistance. She learns that he is imprisoned in Cardassian space and sets out to free him, but his arrival coincides with new political manouevrings that might spell the end for the Bajoran government. Prophets preserve us from Bajoran politics. This episode is a total snorefest. It starts off promisingly enough with a particularly unbelievable jailbreak in which two Federation allies manage to sneak into Cardassian space, outwit and overcome a whole Cardassian bastion and get back safely. After that, however, it is deadly dull stuff as the rebel turns out to be less of a hero than everyone believes and the situation on Bajor is relayed in uninteresting reports. Only the surprise that Major Kira is getting kicked off the station comes as any interest. TopThe CircleMajor Kira spends some time in the retreat of one of the important spiritual leaders of Bajor and has a vision when she encounters one of the orbs that hold supernatural powers. She is then kidnapped by members of the movement planning to take over the planet from the government and a rescue attempt is raised by Sisko. The second stage of this story is even more tedious than the first. The majority of it revolves around Major Kira's spiritual retreat, which chafes at the character's need for action, but much more at the audience's need for action. By the time the orb is pushing her in the direction of the religious leader who clearly has a thing for her anyway, we're too bored to care and the kidnapping only leads to more talk about why the revolution is needed. Interestingly enough, this is one time where the Federation's hiding behind the prime directive appears cowardly and shows just how far the current makers are willing to stray from Gene Roddenberry's original concept. Of course, his view was much more fun than this dull posturing. TopThe SiegeAttack ships are on the way to take over Deep Space Nine and most of the Federation citizens are being evacuated. Sisko determines to lead those that remain in a desperate bid to get the proof about the Cardassian involvement in the revolution to the ruling council. Finally this multi-episode arc comes to life. Admittedly, the first thing that Sisko and his team do is hide and the manner in which the overthrow is thwarted is somewhat underwhelming, but there is more energy in this episode than in the last two put together and doubled. TopInvasive ProceduresIn the middle of a plasma storm that has reduced the station's complement to a skeleton staff, a mixed group of criminals take over with the single purpose of taking the symbiont out of Jadzia and place it into their leader, a failed Trill candidate. Whilst it takes many of its main plot points from Star Trek:The Next Generation episode Starship Mine (crew reduced because of radiation, criminal takeover etc) and others (making the girlfriend turn on the leader when she realises that she won't be needed etc), this episode is nonetheless entertaining. Sisko's psychological warfare is so far from subtle it couldn't possibly have any effect, but Quark's attempts to save his situation are fun enough. There is never any doubt that Jadzia is going to come through this alive, so entertaining though it may be, tense it never manages. TopCardassiansThe arrival of one of the orphaned Cardassian children left on Bajor when the occupation ended comes aboard Deep Space Nine he sparks a custody battle between a high ranking member of the cardassian government and the adoptive parents. Garak, the Cardassian tailor who trades on the station, believes that there is some darker purpose behind it all, especially when Gul Dukat comes aboard. This plot is lifted wholesale from Star Trek:The Next Generation episode Suddenly Human with a little Cardassian power politics thrown in. The only real interest that it generates freshly lies in the character of Garak. Clearly more than than the tailor he says he is, the question is what is his real purpose adn whose side is he on anyway? TopMeloraEnsign Melora comes from a low gravity world and can only function in 'normal' gravity with the aid of a wheelchair and motor units. She has still managed to carve herself out a career, but has an overdeveloped sense of independance. When Dr Bashir finds a potential way to solve the problem, it means giving up all that she is in order to function normally. Tolerance for disabled people and tolerance from disabled people is the sermon that this episode preaches and it is certainly preaching. When it is not being a lecture, it is being dull. The climactic kidnapping of a runabout full of hostages fizzles out so spectacularly that it is almost worthy of note. Almost. TopRules of AcquisitionThe Ferengi supreme leader, the Grand Nagus, returns to Deep Space Nine with a mission for Quark, a seemingly impossible mission. In this, Quark is aided by a young Ferengi who shows a real talent for negotiation, but both their lives are put in peril when she reveals herself to be a female. Ferengi females are forbidden to wear clothes, leave the home or make profit on pain of death or imprisonment. This bit of background is the only interest in this entire episode. Quark's negotiations with the Gamma Quadrant race are repetitive and tedious. The fact that there is a secret plan behind them does not make them any the more enjoyable. TopNecessary EvilA Bajoran woman asks Quark to recover a box from a shop on the Promenade, but when he opens the box to reveal a list of Cardassian names he is shot and only Dr Bashir's skill saves him. Odo starts to dig into a years old case that was the occasion of his meeting with Major Kira. Set on a space station it may be, but this is a police procedural show following Odo's case both in the past and in the present. It's not a particularly exciting investigation either. There is some interest in seeing how Odo became constable and met Major Kira, but the rest is really rather dull. TopSecond SightSisko meets a mysterious woman on the promenade and finds himself attracted to her in a way he thought was impossible following the death of his wife. Her problem is that she has the unfortunate habit of disappearing completely and then turns out to be the wife of the man who is about to reignite a dead star. Fenna is a very appealing woman and is played very attractively by Salli Elise Richardson (later Allison Blake in Eureka), but her character aside there is precious little in this episode that hasn't been done before, or better. TopSanctuaryA ship comes through the wormhole from the Gamma Quadrant with the first of a race of refugees searching for a home planet that they believe to lie just beyond the wormhole in the Alpha Quadrant. That planet is Bajor, but can the planet possibly support 3 million new inhabitants. We would admire DEEP SPACE NINE's determination to tackle current issues if the episodes weren't so determinedly dull at the same time. The subject here is immigration, certainly a subject that is high on the political agenda in the UK and other countries and the story takes a balanced view of it, showing both sides of the issue. Sadly, it doesn't make the story any more exciting, or even interesting. TopRivalsA con artist comes across a remarkable device that seems to have the power to make someone lucky or unlucky. He replicates the item much larger and opens an establishment that is set to rival Quark's. Unfortunately, the effects seem to stretch much further than the player. There is some amusement to be had with this episode, partly through the over-the-top pantomime performance of Chris Sarandon as Quark's rival but mainly through the rivalry between Dr Bashir and Chief O'Brien. The plot is threadbare, see-through and doesn't have a single surprise in its entire length, something of a disappointment considering that it's all about con men. TopThe AlternateThe scientist that worked with Odo when he was first discovered on Bajor comes aboard with news of a creature that might be like him discovered in the Gamma Quadrant. A volcanic gas affects the landing team, but they recover a lifeform with some of the same qualities as Odo and a strange obelisk. The lifeform escapes and starts to run rampant through the station. Odo's search for his roots is one of the more touching emotional stories running through DEEP SPACE NINE though it has rarely taken centre stage. The rest of the plotline is not very interesting, although the final revelation of the creature running rampant is less obvious than it might have been. TopArmageddon GameDr Bashir and Cheif O'Brien become heroes after destroying genetic weapons that have threatened the existence of two warring races. An attack on the site of their success, however, leaves them stranded on the planet below, O'Brien infected and their colleagues believing them dead. This is a better episode thanks to the surprising attack and the equally surprising reason for it as revealed towards the end. Unfortunately we have to go through an hour of Bashir and O'Brien bonding that we could easily have done without and it is hard to sympathise with the greiving colleagues when you know that they are alive and well. TopWhispersMiles O'Brien returns from a mission organising the security arrangements for a meeting on the station that might bring peace to two warring races to find that the people aroudn him are not acting normally. Keiko has sent their daughter away, he is being asked to repair things that have been sabotaged in an attempt to keep him away from the security arrangements, his security pass has been revoked. He discovers that secret messages have been passed between one of the alien powers and Commander Sisko. Finally, he is left with one option and that is to run and try and warn the people attending the conference. Though not that original a story, this episode manages to maintain the interest far longer than some of the others because it doesn't tip its hand too early. That something is going on is obvious and there are many alternatives, but it is to see which one proves to be the correct one that the viewer remains interested. Most people will snag the truth long before the reveal, but even so it is a more interesting and entertaining episode than for some time. TopParadiseSurveying for new life-sustaining planets, Sisko and O'Brien find a likely candidate only to discover that there is already a colony in place. Beaming down, they find that none of their technology works any more and that they are stranded in a community where the iron will of the female founder is law. Sisko, however, is not one for taking orders lightly. This is one of the most interesting stories that DEEP SPACE NINE has come up with to date. The set up is straightforward enough, but what gives this episode its edge is the battle of wills that develops between Sisko and the community leader (played impressively by Gail Strickland). He is willing to die for what he believes in and she is willing to let him. Their power struggle is fascinating and there is no telling quite which way it is going to go. Only the ending, in which the members of the community take being kidnapped, stranded and allowed to die with unbelievable equanimity, lets it down. TopShadowplayOdo and Dax go to the Gamma Quadrant in search of a field of Omicron particles, particles that are incredibly rare. In the middle of the field they discover a settlement in crisis. People are disappearing without trace and without reason. One of them is the mother of a little girl whom Odo befriends, so when discovers that to bring back the missing people she will have to risk the entire population a vote must be taken. Once again DEEP SPACE NINE is recycling concepts that we've already seen in STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION and not coming up with anything new out of the parts that it borrows. The result is, therefore, more than a little dull and Odo's relationship with the little girl is oversweet to the point of inducing nausea. The supporting plot of Kira almost getting it on with her favourite religious leader is ultimately a pointless addition that does nothing more than distract. TopPlaying GodJadzia receives a new Trill initiate to assess in field conditions as to his suitability for joining with a symbiont and remembers how Curzon Dax mistreated her when she was assigned to him. She is determined not to do the same, but is that in the best interests of the candidate. In the meantime, the station is threatened by a whole new universe. Whilst we're all for rounded characters and meaningful human stories in science fiction shows, if they were all as dull and contrived as this one we would change our minds immediately. The main bulk of the episode is Jadzia deciding how to treat her initiate. The story about the proto-universe is the more interesting, but is pretty much there just to provide a little threat to proceedings and the manner in which it is dealt with is perfunctory. It will continue to grow until it consumes our universe, we are told, so the solution is to tow it back to the Gamma quadrant? Last time I understood anything the Gamma quadrant was still in our universe. And as for the Cardassian voles? Well the less said about those the better. They are there only to provide an excuse for the forcefield to fail. A more convincing one could have been found. TopProfit and LossA damaged Cardassian ship docks at the station with an ethics professor and two students on board. Quark learns of this and is overjoyed that the woman is his lost love, but she no longer professes to love him. In order to win her back, Quark is ready to risk everything, but he hadn't counted on Garak, the Cardassian tailor, and his wish to regain his homeland. What cost love and betrayal? For a Ferengi that can be measured in bars of latinum, but for Garak the tailor it is a need to see the end to exile. Interesting insights into these two characters might have been hoped for, but the story runs out predictably. It's even hard to believe that a woman as lovely as Mary Crosby (even under mountains of latex) could ever love Quark. TopBlood OathThree Klingons show up on Deep Space Nine to finally carry out a blood oath that they swore many years before. Jadzia is furious when they refuse to let her go along, seeing as she also swore the same blood oath as Curzon Dax. When she realises that the trio have been betrayed, she determines to go along no matter what to ensure that it is not just a good day to die. The Dax symbiont situation allows for nice little considerations such as can a new Trill combination be held to agreements that were made by a previous combination? Add to that the Klingon code of honour that demands murder be repaid by murder and you have the basis for some ruminations about cultural differences. Instead, it's a rip-roaring adventure tale that is about as believable as an inflatable nuclear explosion, but as much fun as the larger-than-life Klingon characters inhabiting it. TopThe Maquis - Part 1When the Federation and Cardassian Empire signed a treaty, many colonies on both sides of the lines drawn on a starchart decided not to move. Those colonies are now getting restless, angry and starting to blow each other up. Gul Dukat from Cardassia comes aboard Deep Space Nine claiming that this is not the Cardassians' fault for a change. When he is kidnapped by a terrorist group known as the Maquis, his case would seem to be strengthened. Politics rarely makes for the most entertaining science fiction shows, but this story seems set to buck the trend. The big surprise at the end comes as a surprise to no-one, but the rights and wrongs of the situation are sufficiently complex and heated and the fact that it is the first part of a two-part story allows for a more studied and subtle build up. TopThe Maquis - Part 2Sisko learns that his old friend is now a member of the Maquis and that they have acquired weapons sufficient for a much larger attack on a Cardassian target. He also learns that the Cardassian Central Command have been running guns to their own colonies and have decided to blame Gul Dukat for it as he is going to be killed by the terrorists anyway. The Federation stance is untenable, but Sisko has to find a way to make it work. This two part story is now the high point of the show to date and shows that there might be more promise in this incarnation of the franchise than previously suspected. the situation is nicely complex with layers of betrayal and political manoeuvrings, all shades of grey with not even the Federation coming out of it well. The intrigue twists and turns before finally setting up a disappointingly flat combat between Sisko and his friend. If this is how the Federation fights in space it's a wonder they ever won a battle against anyone. Mention should also be made of a lovely scene in which Quark explains to his Vulcan cellmate just how the averting of the war is very much like the setting up of a business arrangement. It's completely irrelevant to the proceedings, but it throws real relief on the character of the Ferengi, is beautifully played and written and makes perfect sense, which is more than can be said for the visiting dignitaries from Starfleet and Cardassia who travel all the way to the station to speak to the commander for less than five minutes each. More stories like this and we might be more impressed. TopThe WireGarak, the Cardassian tailor, is taken ill. Dr Bashir identifies an implant that was designed to prevent pain. Garak has been using it to mask his pain at his disgrace and being forced to live on the station amongst Bajorans. Whilst the Doctor fights to save his life, Garak gives up the secrets of his past life. The character of Garak has been one of the more interesting of the minor characters in the show with his shadowy history and dubious morality. It is a shame, in a way, to learn the truth about him, because it lessens the mystery of him. Fortunately, it turns out that a good part of what he reveals is less than the absolute truth anyway. The rest of the plot is a metaphor for drug addiction that loses its nerve too early and turns into a simple search for a cure story. TopCrossoverMajor Kira and Dr Bashir suffer an accident in the wormhole and find themselves in an alternate universe where Bajor has joined with the Cardassians and Klingons in order to rule over the destroyed Terran Empire. Kira tries to negotiate with her alternate whilst Bashir discovers an alternate O'Brien working in the mines. This is a direct sequel to the original STAR TREK episode Mirror, Mirror. In that, Captain Kirk crossed over into the mirror unvierse and changed its history to the point that it created the new history that is presented here. The subversion of the normal is always fun and so it proves here. Nana Visitor has the most fun, playing up her alternate Kira as a hip swaying tyrant with a fondness for a cruel smile, but Avery Brooks is not far behind with his amoral dark Sisko. TopThe CollaboratorTwo days before the choosing of the new religious leader of Bajor, an old collaborator with the Cardassian regime arrives on the station to barter his return to his home for information as to the man really responsible for a betrayal that led to a massacre - Major Kira's lover. More Bajoran politics equals less interesting plotline. Whilst this is the least annoying of the internal Bajoran politics stories to date that's not much of a recommendation. The investigation goes in all the directions that is expected of it and the only the final revelation of the true source of betrayal comes as a pleasant surprise. The main interest comes in the grey areas that are presented such as whether the deaths of 40 rebels is a moral price to pay for the lives of thousands of innocents. In war, decisions are hard and it is easy to judge people afterwards. The nature of collaboration is only glanced at, but it gives more depth to the story than is usual. TopTribunalWhilst finally taking an enforced holiday from the station, Chief O'Brien is taken prisoner by the Cardassians and sentenced to death. A trial is to be held, but in Cardassian law a trial is only held only when the accused has been found guilty and the verdict cannot be altered. This is an entertaining episode, although it falls apart rapidly if you think about it for any length of time. The Cardassian system of justice is such a joke that no populace could ever take it seriously and so its very nature is ridiculous. The truth behind the plot to discredit O'Brien, the Federation and the treaty also makes little sense. The idea that the treaty could fall over one man's supposed guilt is nonsense considering what the Federation has been willing to do in other episodes to maintain it. TopThe Jem'HadarSisko takes his son through the wormhole into the Gamma Quadrant for a planetary survey as a science project for school. Ferengis Nog and Quark tag along. After some bonding on the paradiselike planet, they are attacked and imprisoned by a race of creatures known as the Jem'Hadar, footsoldiers of the Dominion. Using Quark's lockpicking skills and Sisko's training, they escape, but not before a full-scale battle erupts in space. For a season finale, this episode starts off with a very slow burn. Camping has never been a kind subject to any incarnation of STAR TREK (remember STAR TREK V:THE FINAL FRONTIER?) and this interlude proves only to make the characters of Quark and Nog more annoying and pathetic respectively than usual. The Jem'Hadar then step in and things become more interesting, though the scenario of beign trapped by a mysterious race of aliens isn't exactly breaking new territory. The twist in the tale is obvious from quite early on and comes as no surprise, but the outcome of the battle in space does have its surprises. The ending isn't exactly a cliffhanger, more of a promise of things to come and perhaps, finally, things are starting to look up. Top |
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