"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"

1993-1999
A sometimes darker TREK...yet it also took us to spiritual places that undermined the classic vision. And that's not merely about dipsy wipsy religiosity (though that would have been sufficient)...in the wraith/prophet plot line, DS9 became about the struggle between "good and evil", as opposed to knowledge vs. ignorance. Once that happened, the show effectively stopped being STAR TREK. As if that weren't bad enough, the writing was occasionally substandard, and the cast chemistry never quite gelled. The visual effects were wonderful, but could have made us feel the enormity of the station better (something that would have helped would have been an episode or three portraying a yearly spacewalk race from the bottom of the station to the top...tell me that worf wouldn't have acquired another trophy or two). No other TREK relied so heavily on recurring characters, a wise reaction to the misfiring in some of the regulars. DS9 without garak, gowron, dukat, vic, martok, weyoun, or leeta? A grim thought indeed. DS9 was also supposedly the "friendship" TREK, but the most-celebrated example (julian/o'brien) wasn't even the best on the show...odo/quark and jake/nog had better resonance. With multiple albatrosses (religion, two marriages, and the ferengi) around its neck, it's amazing that the show flies at all. Speaking of religion, is it a coincidence that the most holy TREK is also the most death-spattered? DS9's most enduring contribution to the zeitgeist is, of course, an african-american captain...yet the original TREK vision was so far-reaching, that many of us who grew up with TREK never even saw sisko's skin at all. If you don't believe me, ask yourself whether you ever watched a worf/sisko scene and thought "nothing but black actors here". I sure didn't. We're a little conflicted that the show's turnaround coincided with a four-season war arc; it feels a little violence-pandering and un-TREKy...though we can't deny the final seasons were better. Did upping the action simply cover up the many flaws? Yeah, probably...although the worf factor is in there as well. And still, in the face of all that, there are gems.
SERIES EPISODE AVERAGE: 2.6
BY SEASON:
1) 2.5
2) 2.6
3) 2.6
4) 2.7
5) 2.6
6) 2.7
7) 2.7
FOUR-STAR EPISODES (season)
-Blood Oath (2)
-Defiant (3)
-Way of the Warrior (4)
-The Visitor (4)
-Sons of Mogh (4)
-Apocalypse Rising (5)
-Trials and Tribbalations (5)
-In Purgatory's Shadow (5)
-By Inferno's Light (5)
-Children of Time (5)
-A Time to Stand (6)
-Rocks and Shoals (6)
-One Little Ship (6)
-Change of Heart (6)
-The Siege of AR-558 (7)
PERFORMANCES (# of episodes)
avery brooks (benjamin sisko, 173) ****
Even saddled with an emissary thread that never popped and a romance that never sizzled, you can't imagine the show working with anyone but him. The only unfortunate aspect of the sisko character is the fact that TREK's first black captain appeared on TREK's most religious-oriented series, thereby (if only subconsciously) reinforcing the unfortunate association of black people with the holy belief system of their former slave masters. But avery himself was perfect. Have they released A MAN CALLED HAWK on dvd yet?
SISKOTHON
-Emissary
-Explorers
-Sacrifice of Angels
-Far Beyond the Stars
nana visitor (kira nerys, 171) **
I understand that filming a series is hard, fast, and unforgiving. But no other TREK regular ever had as many "that wasn't the best acting" moments. The spark between her and sisko in the pilot was intriguing, but her simpering religiosity was quease-inducing, and her romances lacked spark.
rene auberjonois (odo, 170) **
Plus UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, and "Oasis" ENT. Why did odo never pop? They had the right actor - rene could deliver any nuanced performance you might want. He had his moments, but...did the writing let him down? The mystery of ever-elusive chemistry? The budgetary rein they kept on his shifting? The devotion of so much of his storyline to a flaccid romance? He too directed nine episodes.

ODOTHON

-Necessary Evil

-The Search, pt. 1

-Heart of Stone

-Chimera
RENETHON

-Spaced Out WONDER WOMAN

-Oasis ENT
-The Other Side STARGATE SG-1
-Shadowplay
alexander siddig (dr. julian bashir, 169) ***
Plus "Birthright" TNG. He was sadly saddled with a best-friendship that never popped, and a dax-romancing that never perked. His name was more fun as siddig el fadil - it was nice having an arabic presence in the TREK universe. But he's a delight by any moniker. He directed two episodes.
BASHIRATHON
-Melora
-Statistical Probabilities
-Chrysalis
-Dr. Bashir, I Presume?
colm meaney (miles o'brien, 159) ***
Plus 51 NEXT GENs. Who doesn't love a little o'brien? But his albatrosses held him down...his meh friendship with julian, and his pheh home life (and i don't say that just because 24th-century humans will NOT have a marriage institution that resembles our own...).
MILES-O'THON
-The Wounded TNG
-Armageddon Game
-Time's Orphan
-Hard Time
armin shimerman (quark, 157) ***
Plus 4 NEXT GENs, "Caretaker" VOY, and INSURRECTION (sort of). A brilliant performer...you just know he's the kind directors love to work with. It's very possible he was the most crucial actor of the series. With the continued focus DS9 gave the ferengi, and the fact that they were never able to rise above the flaccidity established in TNG...just try to imagine another actor in his place. Forget dorn, HE may have been DS9's MVP. I may be strongly tempted to delete this later, but if you must, here's your...
QUARKATHON
-Move Along Home
-The House of Quark
-Who Mourns for Morn?
-The Ascent
terry farrell (jadzia dax, 146) ***
A fascinating character(s), and not just because she's the only female regular in the TREK universe with a sexual appetite to match kirk (and a willingness to act upon it). The writers were very good to her in all but a couple unfortunate instances, so she usually shone. Is it possible to imagine an actor of greater range? Okay, yeah. But we liked her and worf...and we're pretty hard to please.
JADZIATHON
-Facets
-Playing God
-Meridian
-Rejoined
michael dorn (worf, 98) ****
Plus 5 films and 173 NEXT GENs...the most prolific actor in TREK history, all under makeup in which many wouldn't last a day. Not impressed? Okay, you forced me to me say this...31 episodes of CHiPS! Hail the son of mogh! What effect did worf have on the series? Was their seven-year run in more jeopardy than we knew? Yes kids, the man is sexier than jeri ryan. He directed one ENTERPRISE and three DS9s.
WORFATHON
-The Emissary TNG
-Sins of the Father TNG
-Reunion TNG
-Redemption TNG
-Parallels TNG
-Change of Heart
-Tacking into the Wind
cirroc lofton (jake sisko, 71) **
He had some nice moments...but it's also quite possible that the producers carefully kept him within his "talent comfort zone".
aron eisenberg (nog, 47) ***
Plus "Initiations" VOY. A sweet character arc, going from snotty, scheming kid in a believable friendship with jake, to the first ferengi in Starfleet.
max grodenchik (rom, 37) ***
Plus 2 NEXT GENs, and INSURRECTION (sort of). A fun arc, going from dim, exploited brother, to civilian engineer, to kinder/gentler grand nagus. His "dimness" was of course due (well, partly) to his inferengi personality. Do we buy that babe-goddess leeta would fall for him? Nah, but as long as she's getting screen time, we don't much care. And it is kind of progressive, in a way.
andrew robinson (garak, 37) ****
Delightful...andrew scalpeled his way through this complex character, an exiled tailor with a far-from-simple past. He directed one DS9 and two VOYAGERs.
GARAKATHON
-Improbable Cause
-The Wire
-Empok Nor
-In the Pale Moonlight
marc alaimo (dukat, 35) ****
Plus 4 NEXT GENs. The slimily megalomaniacal dukat, with his attempts at retribution and need to be loved, was played with unending verve by marc (HILL STREET BLUES, NAKED GUN 33 1/3). Not many characters (or necks) like this.
DUKATATHON
-Indiscretion
-Return to Grace
-Waltz
-Covenant
jeffrey combs (weyoun/brunt, 32) ****
Plus "Tsunkatse" VOY, and 11 ENTERPRISEs. His obsequious vorta was a chilly delight. Brunt was...well, ferengi. He'd go on to be ENTERPRISE's irascible commander shran. Three recurring TREK characters? Unprecedented. For the COMBSATHON, see:
http://nakedmeadow.blogspot.com/2011/08/enterprise.html
j.g. hertzler (martok/laas, 27) ****
Plus "Tsunkatse" VOY, and 2 ENTERPRISEs. Why, a blanketed horta could see martok's greatness!
HERTZLERTHON
-Soldiers of the Empire
-When it Rains...
-Chimera
-Judgment ENT
nicole de boer (ezri, 25) ****
Nobody could have asked for more from a beloved character replacement. Could we have one more season?
BOERATHON
-Chill Factor TEKWAR
-Quality of Mercy THE OUTER LIMITS
-Penumbra
-Whispers STARGATE: ATLANTIS
casey biggs (damar, 23) ****
Plus "Damage" ENT. From fiendishness to alcoholism to semi-redemption to death...well-played, casey.
rosalind chao (keiko, 19) **
Plus 8 NEXT GENs. A skilled actor dealt a losing hand.
chase masterson (leeta, 17) ****
Only 17? Someone on the production staff was afraid of greatness.
penny johnson (kasidy yates, 15) *
Plus "Homeward" NEXT GEN. Noooo, a thousand times no! We adore penny, but she and sisko have as much zip as a drowned tribble. We love having his love interest NOT look like she stepped off a catwalk, but...no. A shatner no.
salome jens (female founder, 15) **
Plus "The Chase" NEXT GEN. Not bad.
louise fletcher (kai winn, 14) *
Bad, and not this lovely actor's fault.
barry jenner (admiral ross, 12) **
Had three stars until he agreed to utter the line, "Godspeed."
hana hatae (molly o'brien, 11) ***
Plus "Rascals" NEXT GEN. What, i'm going to pick on a child?
ken marshall (eddington, 9) **
Nice performer, questionably-written part.
philip anglim (vedek bareil, 8) **
Lovely acting. Of course, back when we still had hope for kira, we knew this noodle didn't deserve her.
robert o'reilly (gowron, 8) ****
They should have done a whole episode of complete silence and total darkness, except for once in a while his eyes would pop open, but you would never know where or how far away.
james darren (vic fontaine, 8) ****
Sometimes the right guy is in the right place at the right time, pally. And sometimes that guy did T.J. HOOKER.
DARRENTHON
-Surfin' Fred THE FLINTSTONES
-Visitors from Beyond the Stars THE TIME TUNNEL
-His Way
-It's Only a Paper Moon
-Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang
-the lounge scene from "What You Leave Behind"
wallace shawn (grand nagus zek, 7) **
THE PRINCESS BRIDE, MY DINNER WITH ANDRE...it's inconceivable that he gets less than four stars! Inconceivable!
brock peters (joseph sisko, 6) ***
Plus 2 films. Nice presence.
melanie smith (ziyal, 6) ****
Lordisa help me, i want to hump a cardassian (and a wonderful actor).
camille saviola (kai opaka, 4) ****
See? I can love a religious leader, now leave me alone.
paul dooley (tain, 4) **
Deserved better.
john colicos (kor, 3) ****
From TREK's first klingon to GALACTICA to DS9...we love you, john.
COLICOSATHON
-Errand of Mercy TOS
-The Goddess Calabra THE STARLOST
-Baltar's Escape BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
-Once More unto the Breach
duncan regehr (shakaar, 3) ***
Plus "Sub Rosa" TNG. Loved him in V! Here, he's another one just not right for kira.
felecia m. bell (jennifer sisko, 3) ****
Ben, you'd have had our whole-hearted blessing if you'd taken jake and moved to the mirror universe for keeps.
frank langella (minister jaro, 3) ***
When is it not a good time for some langella?
TRILLATHON
-The Host TNG
-Invasive Procedures
-Equilibrium
-Prodigal Daughter
BAJORATHON
-The Next Phase TNG
-Shakaar
-Progress
-Lower Decks TNG
CARDASSIATHON
-Cardassians
-Duet
-Tribunal
-Chain of Command TNG
HADARATHON
-The Abandoned
-To the Death
-Hippocratic Oath
-Rocks and Shoals
SHIFTERTHON
-The Man Trap TOS
-The Dauphin TNG
-The Begotten

-Chimera
DOMINIATHON
-The Jem'Hadar
-The Ship
-In Purgatory's Shadow
-By Inferno's Light
DEFIANTATHON
-Defiant
-The Adversary
-Starship Down
-Valiant
LEFTOVERTHON
-Call to Arms
-...Nor the Battle to the Strong
-Tears of the Prophets
-A Time to Stand
DS9ATHON
-Trials and Tribbalations
-The Siege of AR-558
-Defiant
-Children of Time
-The Visitor

Deep Space Nine, season 7

FOUR-STAR EPISODES: 1
AVERAGE EPISODE RATING: 2.7
-Image in the Sand **
On Earth, sisko receives a vision of his unknown mother. On the station, a newly-promoted col. kira deals with underhanded romulan allies. Step right up! Howzabout some dipsy wipsy? Howzabout some tepid? One-star land is barely avoided, thanks to a sweet number by vic to a grieving worf, plus the button-cute debut of nicole de boer (THE KIDS IN THE HALL, STEPHEN KING'S DEAD ZONE) as ezri dax.
-Shadows and Symbols **
Ezri joins sisko's family in orb-questing. Kira blockades an illegal romulan dump. Everyone else joins worf on a mission of death, in order to get the dead jadzia into heaven. Inane, implausible...one star is avoided, but i'm not sure how. I mean, a non-temporal race of aliens who create an orb of...time?
-Afterimage ***
Ezri ponders whether to stay in Starfleet, as she tries to slip into jadzia's life. Worf shuns her. Conflicted over helping in the war effort against Cardassia, garak experiences life-threatening attacks of claustrophobia. Ezri tries to counsel him.
-Take Me Out to the Holosuite ***
An Academy rival of sisko's challenges the DS9 crew to a baseball game. Ignore yet another poorly-portrayed vulcan, and just embrace the silliness. The writers have the good sense to show the home team getting creamed, but celebrating nonetheless. A rollicking fun time. Probably the DS9 episode with the most heart.
-Chrysalis ***
Bashir brings one of his genetically-engineered genius friends out of her semi-catatonic state. Hmm...any chance someone might fall in love, but it won't end well?
-Treachery, Faith, and the Great River ***
As nog wheels and deals for an exasperated o'brien, odo tries to bring a vorta defector back in a runabout. A delightful dual performance by the always lovely jeffrey combs. Plus a sweet hat-tip to henry blake's desk. Fun.
-Once More unto the Breach ***
A fitting farewell to john colicos, in the last role of his life. Martok leads a strike force of five birds of prey behind enemy lines. The aged kor dies with honor.
-The Siege of AR-558 ****
-written by ira steven behr, hans beimler
-directed by winrich kolbe
TREK's most stark portrayal of war. Focusing on characters who have no battle experience, the Federation defends a pathetic planetoid against waves of jem'hadar. Desperation, death, and dismemberment abound...and not just with the redshirts. Bill mumy (LOST IN SPACE, PAPILLON) is wonderfully resonant as an engineer who befriends ezri (sadly for the series, she has more chemistry with him than either worf or julian). Patrick kilpatrick (MINORITY REPORT, BEASTMASTER: THE EYE OF BRAXUS) is very, very good. Raymond cruz (ALIEN RESURRECTION, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER) couldn't be better. Searing.
-Covenant **
Kira is kidnapped by a pah'wraith cult led by...dukat. Simpering religiosity aside, it's a jonestown allegory that works on a number of levels.
-It's Only a Paper Moon ***
A thoughtful exploration of shell shock, as nog comes to grips with losing a leg. He retreats into a holosuite, to live in vic fontaine's world. The first opportunity for either aron eisenberg or james darren to carry an episode, and they acquit themselves well. Too often, TREK can be a little blase about war, its characters exempt from pain or the ramifications of violence. Not here. Vic's world and music are a delight.
-Prodigal Daughter ***
Can nicole de boer carry an episode? Yes she can. A dysfunctional family drama that's a compelling mirror for our society, as she returns home for the first time in years. Kevin rahm (JUDGING AMY, MAD MEN) shines as her troubled brother. The writing falters during the climax, with a murder reveal that feels forced.
-The Emperor's New Cloak **
Quark and rom try to rescue grand nagus zek from the mirror universe. Mirror ezri is saucy, not simpering (and NOT into men). This one almost gets three stars just for damning the torpedoes. Kira sexes up ezri...and wallace shawn! A real-life vic fontaine! Ezri gets debriefed...by leeta! Sadly, they don't actually show that last one...hopefully it will appear someday in a deleted scenes release. It all looks like four stars, but it's puddle deep, almost as if the writer resented having to write it.
-Field of Fire **
To solve a murder, dax calls up memories of her psychopathic host, joran. The potential dissipates in the final act.
-Chimera ***
A non-founder changeling finds odo, and wants them to travel the galaxy looking for others of their kind. Poking and prodding in all the right places, laas (a nifty performance by the ubiquitous j.g. hertzler - ZORRO, PIRATES OF SILICON VALLEY) has disdain for humanoids. Existential angst beautifully rendered.
-Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang ***
Due to a programming glitch, mobsters take over vic's holo-club. Crew no happy...but they can't reboot, as vic's memory would be erased. So they have to right things on the program's terms. The fatal flaw (one that another writer pointed out, but which i hope i would have perceived on my own) is that it feels wrong to propose that sisko, a 24th-century human, would still bear the scars of 20th-century racism. Aside from that, this one's all sweetness and fun.
-Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges ***
Section 31, a Federation shadow agency that does the dirty jobs no one else can, was explored in both DS9 and ENT. There is a flaccidity to all such episodes, which i hope isn't just because one doesn't like the idealistic TREK vision undercut. I'd rather hope that the main reason is iffy writing. But it was an idea worth exploring, and this is the best of the batch. Julian is pressured into collecting intelligence (and more) at a romulan medical conference. A fine performance by john fleck (ENTERPRISE, HOWARD THE DUCK), and the identity of the actress playing cretak will taunt you. Go watch it now, while i tell everyone else it's adrienne barbeau (MAUDE, SWAMP THING). No, really! Really. Plus, much of the action takes place aboard an intrepid-class (Voyager!) vessel.
-Penumbra **
Worf is MIA. Ezri disobeys orders, in order to search. Quease alert - sisko proposes to kasidy. DOUBLE QUEASE ALERT - as he's doing so, somebody strategically placed an out-of-focus object behind them. The appearance? A crucifix. Accidental? Oy. How does this hot holy mess avoid one star?
-'Til Death Do Us Part **
The wormhole aliens don't want sisko to marry kasidy (at least SOMEBODY is showing sense). Ezri and worf have sex...and are captured and tortured by the breen, who hand them over to their new allies, the Dominion. Dukat surgically becomes bajoran...and seduces kai winn. Lost in the muck is perhaps the most delicate, nuanced performance of marc's TREK career.
-Strange Bedfellows **
Witness winn's dukat-led plunge into the dark side (bad), domestic doings with the yates-siskos (worse), ezri and worf's incarceration (good), and damar's realization that his are a conquered people (even better). It would have been nifty to have both kira and dukat separately beseech winn to "pray on it", using the same language.
-The Changing Face of Evil ***
While worf and ezri await execution (and explore their attraction/repulsion), the breen lead a strike on Earth. The Defiant is nastily destroyed. Dukat's identity is revealed...but winn is too far gone to care. Finally rejecting the yoke of second-class citizenship, damar leads Cardassia in revolt. Casey biggs' (LEGACY, THE PELICAN BRIEF) finest hour.
-When it Rains... ***
Kira must train cardassian resistance fighters, led by damar. Gowron replaces martok as fleet commander, and the narcissistic bungling begins. Julian discovers that the genocidal changeling virus was manufactured by Section 31 and installed in odo three years ago.
-Tacking into the Wind ***
Worf challenges and kills gowron, installing martok as chancellor, while kira and the cardassians (including garak) execute a high-risk raid. Odo tries to conceal from her the extent of his illness. So long, robert o'reilly, and the most memorable eyes in TREK history. We had to get to the other side of the worf/ezri romance to come to a fantastic scene between them, when she makes him face the systemic corruption which has long been the fatal flaw in the Empire. Can you spot j. paul boehmer, TREK's favorite nazi? The A plot is four-star loveliness.
-Extreme Measures **
In chasing a cure for odo's disease, bashir and o'brien take...well, y'know. They capture a Section 31 agent and project themselves into his dying brain, in order to gather information. It's not awful, just a bit uninspired (not just derivative, but self-derivative). And the decision to have the female founder be disease-ridden sends an unfortunate message equating ugliness with evil. Where are you, "Devil in the Dark"?
-The Dogs of War ***
As the Dominion crushes the cardassian resistance, kira, garak, and damar become stranded on Cardassia. Damar takes to the street, to turn failed resistance into revolution. Zek names a successor to lead a reformed Ferengenar, but due to a garbled transmission, quark doesn't realize that it's rom who is the new nagus.
-What You Leave Behind ***
Julian wakes up in bed with ezri, as a rebuilt Defiant is off to the the war's final battle. Damar dies, as the remnants of the cardassian fleet turn on the Dominion. Dukat and winn die, trying to free the pah wraiths. The Federation Alliance closes in on Cardassia, and only a gesture of healing from odo prompts the female founder to end the war before the final cataclysm. Some of the most awesome space battles in TREK history, plus a farewell scene in vic's lounge as o'brien, odo, worf, and sisko leave the station. Vic sings "Just the Way You Look Tonight", touching the heartstrings just right. And no, it's not the resolutions to the spiritual aspects of the series that keep this from four stars (though that doesn't help)...it's the whiff of petty nose-cutting in the omission of any jadzia visuals in the beautiful flashback collage. Well, maybe that plus an unending ending worthy of LOTR. And no leeta.

Deep Space Nine, season 6

FOUR-STAR EPISODES: 4
AVERAGE EPISODE RATING: 2.7
-A Time to Stand ****
-written by ira steven behr, hans beimler
-directed by allan kroeker
Well-seasoned with guest spots (martok, joseph sisko, garak, dukat). The new cardassian occupation of Bajor is relatively benign, while the Federation is losing the war. Sisko is given a captured jem'hadar ship to raid a ketracel depot. Jeffrey combs (ENTERPRISE, THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS) come into full bloom as weyoun, balancing heartless autocracy with unilateral obsequiousness. Tight and dangerous.
-Rocks and Shoals ****
-written by ronald d. moore
-directed by michael vejar
This...is one badass episode. Sisko's stolen raider is forced to crash onto a planet where a jem'hadar ship has crashed. The lone vorta (christopher shea - 'TIL DEATH, MR. SUNSHINE) knows that the ketracel-white will soon run out, at which point the jem'hadar will kill everyone and themselves. He offers sisko an easy chance to kill them. Just when you think the grim ending will be averted, they choose to die, knowing full well they've been sold out. The landscape is barren and beautiful. The acting and writing provide one punch after another. Phil morris (STAR TREK III, SEINFELD) is haunting as the jem'hadar leader. Meanwhile, kira is stunned by a suicidal protest into realizing she's become a collaborator.
-Sons and Daughters **
Serving with his son, worf finds their relationship strained (and that on a new series with a new actor, alexander episodes are still lame). Kira and dukat experience acrimony on the reoccupied station.
-Behind the Lines **
Ensorcled by a renewed experience with the Great Link, odo betrays the resistance on DS9. A promoted sisko relinquishes command of Defiant to dax, leading to perhaps the most mawkish, uncomfortable acting moment of terry farrell's career. She gives a gung-ho speech, and it rings excruciatingly false. Bad acting in a situation the creators never should have handed her.
-Favor the Bold ***
Sisko plans a daring recapture of DS9, while rom faces Dominion treason charges.
-Sacrifice of Angels ***
Breathtaking. The Federation sends a fleet to liberate the station, in hopes of keeping the minefield intact. They fail...until the wormhole aliens erase the thousand jem'hadar ships coming through. Dukat's moment of triumph dashed, he sees damar cut down a treasonous ziyal before his eyes. Odo repents, sisko returns, and a deranged dukat babbles...
-You are Cordially Invited... *
Funny, i feel more "colonically invaded". The wedding (and bachelor parties) of worf and jadzia, who is put through hell by her prospective mother-in-law. Even with jadzia's interest in the male party entertainment, this one won't stand any test of time. To actual people of the 24th (or even 22nd) century, these attitudes on marriage and monogamy will be chillingly barbaric.
-Resurrection **
Bareil is back from the dead! Or not. Kira takes this atheistic thief from the mirror universe into her bed anyway, blind to his real intent. Say what you will about Bajor's spiritual retardation (and i do), they at least have a more evolved sexuality, with far less hangups and possessiveness.
-Statistical Probabilities ***
Four genetically-enhanced, socially-maladjusted geniuses who have been institutionalized most of their lives are sent to the station. Julian is able to make their genius more accessible. A sweet episode made so by hyperactive tim ransom (DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, COURAGE UNDER FIRE), compulsive flirt hilary sheperd (ADDAMS FAMILY REUNION, THE 40 YEAR-OLD VIRGIN), personal space-ignorant michael keenan (DALLAS, PICKET FENCES), and cataleptic faith salie (ALIEN AVENGERS, WILD THINGS 2).
-The Magnificent Ferengi **
Quark's mother must be rescued from the Dominion! Adding leeta might have saved this one (well, maybe), and made their number seven, which would have justified the title, oh producer morons.
-Waltz ***
A scorching psychological drama between sisko and dukat. Escaping from an attacked ship that had been carrying them to a hearing, dukat rescues sisko, who has plasma burns and a broken arm. Stranded on a planetoid, they play cat and mouse. Dukat is deranged, and hears voices. One star lost for the decidedly non-TREK nonsense about "good and evil".
-Who Mourns for Morn? ***
A dead bar patron leaves everything to quark...including four scheming, dangerous associates who crawl out of the woodwork (or the mudbath). This one's done so well, you might laugh out loud. Let's raise a glass to mark allen shepard - 93 episodes as the same character (on three different series). Five or six hours a day getting in and out of makeup, every single time. He finally gets a storyline, but does he get an ACTUAL line?
-Far Beyond the Stars ***
Sisko has a vision of being a sci fi writer in 1950s California, struggling to publish a story about a black space captain. The only episode to show the entire cast as humans...which is wonderful, especially for a cast which is percentage-wise more hidden by alien makeup than any other TREK. It's particularly wonderful to see, after nine years, a non-klingon, non-dour michael dorn.
-One Little Ship ****
-written by david weddle, bradley thompson
-directed by allan kroeker
A lovely execution of a fantastic idea. A runabout enters an anomaly that shrinks it to a teeny fraction of its size. Outside the anomaly, the Defiant is captured. The shrunken runabout (with jadzia, julian, and o'brien aboard) must fly inside the Defiant to help liberate it. A rollicking good time with wonderful visuals - the only time a runabout has ever moved the excitement meter.
-Honor Among Thieves **
O'brien goes undercover in the Orion Syndicate. Even if you're willing to buy the premise of an engineer spy, and the ease with which he achieves his infiltration, the relationships play out falsely - an execution that feels contrived, and a friendship that feels too shallow to justify all that follows (including a non-execution that feels...contrived).
-Change of Heart ****
-written by ronald d. moore
-directed by david livingston
Worf and jadzia are assigned to retrieve a cardassian defector. They hike through 20 kilometers of jungle - the visuals are strikingly beautiful, and the couple have never been more natural and playful. After they're forced to ambush a jem'hadar patrol, jadzia is critically wounded. Worf can complete the mission, or save her. His choice results in a dead would-be defector, plus a loss of military intelligence that could have saved millions of lives. As a consequence, he'll likely never again being promoted - a realistic, messy character choice which rings true (and perhaps never would have been shown on TNG). Perhaps the deftest touch comes after sisko gives his reprimand. Ben says that had he been in the same situation, he would have done the same thing to save the woman he loved...and it's not kasidy he invokes, but jennifer (the writing staff was willing to tell the truth, on more than one level). And what does it say about how far we've come, that it's probably never occurred to you that this episode shows a black man and white woman cavorting in bed? The power of science fiction...
-Wrongs Darker than Death or Night **
Kira goes back in time to find out whether her mother was a collaborator. In some ways (seeing a youthful dukat in charge of the occupation), this tale is charming. The writers inject shades of grey into nerys's black and white world...but perhaps not quite enough to underscore the point that under brutal oppression, it's pollyannish bullshit to hold people up to any "normal" measure of moral accountability. The point should have been given to sisko at the end, perhaps by simply cutting kira off with "She saved her family." And then cutting her off with the same line once more.
-Inquisition **
Section 31 arrests bashir on suspicion of treason. An ambitious effort, trying to encapsulate the notion of moral ambiguity and the end justifying the means. It's a worthy argument. But despite some high points, one more rewrite was needed.
-In the Pale Moonlight ***
How bizarre. Two episodes in a row presenting an identical theme. It is too much to hope that the next one will be the four-star version? This one is darker, and more believable. To bring the romulans into the war and save the alpha quadrant, sisko violates the Federation's most basic principles. Garak is shown at his most efficiently, chillingly amoral. Again it's tempting to get drawn into the debate, as though morality has some meaning in war. One of the most pernicious and blinding of all conceits is the notion that there is a moral way to conduct immorality.
-His Way ***
The romance between odo and kira never quite pops...in no small part because their separate characters never pop. But this one's pretty damned sweet. He spends the episode being coached in love by 50s holodeck lounge singer vic fontaine (james darren - GIDGET, T.J. HOOKER). Cool cat vic will return for seven more episodes. After years of buildup, these crazy kids finally kiss.
-The Reckoning *
Sisko deals with disturbing prophecies, and bajorans who are uncomfortable with an alien emissary. I think the creators had to be concerned about the franchise losing its path (or its audience), because they rarely let DS9 get so nauseatingly religious as this. Perhaps they wanted to backpedal, but knew they couldn't entirely, and so loaded all their festering ovum into a few baskets.
-Valiant ***
A ripper...that could have been an all-time classic with one more rewrite. Jake and nog are chased by jem'hadar into Dominion territory. The Valiant, a defiant-class training starship trapped behind enemy lines, rescues them. Their officers dead, the cadets are running the ship. Nog becomes chief engineer, as they try to finish an impossible mission. But tensions are high, and questionable choices are made. The destruction sequence is molto impressivo.
-Profit and Lace **
Grand nagus zek becomes a feminist...and is deposed. Quark is surgically-altered to pose as a female (if you have nightmares, don't say i didn't warn you). Henry gibson (LAUGH-IN, THE BLUES BROTHERS) joins the fun, and this weak product ain't his fault.
-Time's Orphan **
Molly o'brien is caught in a time displacement, and returns much older, having grown up alone in the wild. This one very possibly claims the all-time TREK plot hole record - orifices of every ilk that almost beggar description. Saved from one-star land by a feral female asian teen in a bar fight, and a sweet child-rearing subplot with worf and jadzia.
-The Sound of Her Voice ***
Perhaps TREK didn't do often enough what this episode does - play upon the quieter end of the emotional spectrum. Take away the excitement and danger of exploration, and the concomitant moral dilemmas, and ask yourself - how often does TREK feel like a mirror for our own quiet, lonely humanity? Part of that is unavoidable, if you accept the notion of a healthier human future. If so, the average 24th-century earthling will be far less neurotic and damaged than us. How do we then use TREK as a mirror, as good drama must? Two ways - use aliens as substitute humans, and put humans in exceptional circumstances...in this case, a crew that has been at war for months, with no end in sight. The Defiant speeds to the rescue of a stranded officer (debra wilson - MADtv, AVATAR) slowly asphyxiating. Everyone takes turns talking to her. They arrive to discover that she's been dead for years, an atmospheric barrier having time-distorted their communications. They each face their own loneliness and mortality, and her death becomes a metaphor for something the war has killed in them all.
-Tears of the Prophets ***
Jadzia is killed by dukat as he frees a pah wraith, sealing the wormhole. It's moving, but terry farrell's death feels a little forced. A jam-packed season finale, with nearly every standout recurring actor. Stunning space battles. The symbiont lives...

Deep Space Nine, season 5

FOUR-STAR EPISODES: 5
AVERAGE EPISODE RATING: 2.6
-Apocalypse Rising ****
-written by ira steven behr, robert hewitt wolfe
-directed by james l. conway
Sisko, worf, o'brien, and odo pose as klingons, to infiltrate the Empire and expose gowron as a changeling. They are transported aboard dukat's bird of prey. There ain't much funnier than colm as a klingon; avery was born to be one. A gripper.
-The Ship ***
An away team takes refuge in a crashed jem'hadar ship, as their runabout is destroyed in orbit. They fend off attacks as they attempt to discover why their Dominion foes don't simply destroy them. Great character work as worf and o'brien come to blows over a dying comrade. Trying to make an upside-down ship fly again is a visual feast - has no show thought of this before? A ripper.
-Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places **
Worf helps quark pursue his klingon former wife, until jadzia attacks him for lusting after another woman. (um, attacks worf, that is). O'brien and kira become uncomfortably comfortable. Rough klingon sex is rampant! Um, for everyone except kira and o'brien, sadly.
-...Nor the Battle to the Strong ***
Bashir and jake respond to a distress call from a besieged outpost. At a front line hospital, they come under fire. Jake abandons the people he's trying to help, and tries to come to grips with his fear. The writers seem to be selling the notion of the "nobility" of sacrifice under fire, but then a funny thing happens - just when you think he'll redeem himself, he saves the day through...another act of cowardice! Story-wise, this is one of the franchise's most ambitious moments. TREK is occasionally guilty of ennobling war and heroic sacrifice, but this one goes to a darker, more conflicted (and realistic) place.
-The Assignment **
A malevolent alien entity possesses keiko! Hmm...motherhood allegory department, cleanup in aisle 3!
-Trials and Tribble-ations ****
-written by ronald d. moore, rene echevarria
-directed by jonathan west
The crew follow a history saboteur (classic klingon charlie brill - ROWAN & MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN, SILK STALKINGS) back in time. Classic footage from "The Trouble with Tribbles" is spliced into a new story. What puts this one over the top are, as in the original, the deft touches of humor.
-Let He Who is Without Sin **
A vacation on Risa, as fundamentalist protesters blah blah blah...some sharp character work for worf, as he opens up to jadzia about a boy he accidentally killed as a child. But the writers blew this one. A scene that should be searing feels obligatory and rushed. Plus, the "villains" are two-dimensional. Bajoran romantic breakups are shown as being non-possessive, mutually-supportive, even joyous transitions - the most spiritually-retarded Federation planet's one saving grace? And oh yes, leeta gets a massage. Gulp.
-Things Past **
Sisko, garak, odo, and dax find themselves mysteriously transported to the station's cardassian past, where everyone treats them as though they're bajoran inmates. A fascinating odo-heavy opportunity is bogged down by less-than-deft story choices and a script that needed one more pass. Where is the scene where sisko tells odo to stop crucifying himself...that no one is born fully realized, and growth usually only comes through mistakes?
-The Ascent ***
Odo and quark crash land, and must work together to survive. Their relationship's greatest moment. Jake and nog find out they make terrible roommates.
-Rapture *
What's that soul-sucking whoosh? That's the creeping dread that incapacitates you as you realize you're watching the worst episode of a long-running series. One feels that sometimes TREK intentionally tossed all their rotten apples in one perverse basket. Lwaxana & ferengi...ferengi neelix...beverly with ghosts...alexander & lwaxana...and now kasidy plus religion? Perhaps berman had a streak of "damn the torpedoes" gallows humor? Sisko has visions that may save Bajor, but at the cost of his life. This one would go well with seasons 3-4 of GALACTICA. That's not a compliment.

-The Darkness and the Light **
An assassin targets members of the Shakaar resistance cell. It's interesting to ponder the difference between gates mcfadden's season 2 TNG maternity absence, and the decision to write nana's pregnancy into kira's storyline. Imagine those decisions being uniform, or even reversed...i'm not taking the cheap shot, just pondering.
-The Begotten ***
The discovery of an infant changeling gives odo a chance to avoid the cruelties of his own infancy...but he gets in over his head, necessitating help from the bajoran scientist (james sloyan - OH MADELINE, DR. QUINN MEDICINE WOMAN) who discovered him. This episode shines a light on what was perhaps the missing element in odo's development. He had the potential to be DS9's spock or data...yet unlike them, he almost never burst free of his starched demeanor. A shame, for his moments of bliss here are priceless. Thank you, rene.
-For the Uniform *
Traitorous maquis eddington returns, and sisko becomes obsessed. Brisk, sharp, and dangerous, with plenty of Defiant dandiness, and a fine guest captain turn by eric pierpoint (ALIEN NATION, ENTERPRISE). But giving more than one star here would be like dating someone just for their looks. The idea of any 24th-century human consumed by vengeance is just wrong. The last time we saw a Starfleet officer this disturbed, was in the classic "Doomsday Machine". Commodore decker had shell shock - what's your excuse, ben?
-In Purgatory's Shadow ****
(see following)
-By Inferno's Light ****
-written by robert hewitt wolfe, ira steven behr
-directed by gabrielle beaumont, les landau
It's rare that such flawed products get highest ratings, but this two-parter is an adrenal burst across the bow. A message from tain sends garak into the gamma quadrant. Sisko orders worf along. An uncloaked scout ship effecting a rescue from the Dominion is ridiculously implausible (at least they get captured promptly, showing that the writers have more military sense than ben). Ziyal promises to wait for garak, which infuriates dukat. Worf and garak are thrown into gladiator prison, where bashir has been for a month, and martok for two years. A changeling has replaced julian, and sabotages an attempt to close the wormhole. A jem'hadar fleet comes through and heads to Cardassia, where dukat heads a new puppet government. At the station, a Federation task force joins the klingons...and romulans!. An incoming fleet turns out to be a sensor phantom, as the saboteur changeling nearly explodes the system's sun. As tain dies, we learn he is garak's father. Gladiator worf bests seven jem'hadar, despite broken ribs. Garak overcomes claustrophobia to facilitate a mass prison break. It's rushed, but too rich to be denied.
-Dr. Bashir, I Presume? ***
A thoughtful episode...starring VOYAGER's robert picardo as dr. lewis zimmerman! Starfleet has chosen julian as the template for a long-term medical hologram, and lewis arrives to upload julian's specs. His estranged parents arrive, and a dark secret comes to light - julian was a dumb child made brilliant by genetic engineering. He accepts that his Starfleet career is over, until his father (brian george - SEINFELD, THE BIG BANG THEORY) makes a sacrifice. Dr. z falls for leeta, who is falling out of her towel. He wants to set her up at his own station, prompting rom to finally declare his love. This one flirts with greatness...but beyond minor faults in the writing, the big revelation scene with julian and miles doesn't quite nail the pathos.
-A Simple Investigation **
Odo becomes romantically involved with a woman working for the Orion Syndicate. Plot holes and writing lapses mar an episode bursting with potential.
-Business as Usual **
Quark deals with arms merchants, and his conscience.
-Ties of Blood and Water **
When a dying cardassian legate who thinks of kira as his daughter offers to reveal vital intelligence, ugly memories are dredged up. The whipping-post treatment nana generally earns from me notwithstanding, she absolutely nails it in the post-mortem scene.
-Ferengi Love Songs **
Quark doesn't know whether to be aghast or overjoyed upon learning that his mother is the grand nagus' new love. You've gotta admire the producers' willingness to keep playing a losing hand. The failed villains of NEXT GEN keep getting DS9 love. This one is a suspicious cornucopia of damn near every ferengi character ever. Maybe ferengi tales are so far ahead of the curve, that centuries from now they'll be hailed as TREK's greatest moment. Or not.
-Soldiers of the Empire ***
Dax and worf accompany martok on his first command since escaping Dominion prison, but morale is mutinously low. Great character work, including a fine turn from rick worthy (ENTERPRISE, GALACTICA). Set on a bird of prey, there's scant little to not love...
-Children of Time ****
-written by rene echevarria
-directed by allan kroeker
A compelling, impressively dark moral meditation. In a time accident, the Defiant crew discover a thriving culture who are descendants of their own crashed ship. They can now avoid the accident, but doing so will eliminate thousands of people from history. In the end, the castaway odo (a better shifter, and 200 years wiser) sabotages their attempt to re-create the accident, because it will kill kira. The deftest touch of greatness in the writing, is how worf gently redirects those of his descendants who took his klingon teachings too literally...perhaps he's finally willing to admit that the central ethos of klingon society is flawed. Rene auberjonois' greatest episode.
-Blaze of Glory **
Have desperate maquis launched a bio-weapon assault on Cardassia? Sisko must trust eddington, whose character arc is almost redeemed, but for the clumsy writing.
-Empok Nor ***
While salvaging components from DS9's abandoned sister station, the crew unwittingly release demented cardassian soldiers from stasis. Garak is exposed to the virus infecting them. Nasty.
-In the Cards **
To cheer up sisko, jake and nog go to unexpectedly fraught lengths to get a baseball relic. A harmless soporific.
-Call to Arms ***
Sweepingly adrenalized, but (like the franchise re-boot movie) all visual and no story. The war is on! A jem'hadar/cardassian fleet attacks, while the Defiant mines the wormhole. Starfleet abandons the station, leaving kira, odo, and quark to welcome the Dominion and dukat. Garak joins the retreat, while jake stays behind to cover the occupation as a reporter. Sisko gives a stirring goodbye speech...um, while the station is being assaulted by an armada? What, he couldn't pre-record it? The final image, of martok's bird of prey and the Defiant joining a task force, is stunning.

Deep Space Nine, season 4

FOUR STAR EPISODES: 3
AVERAGE EPISODE RATING: 2.7
-The Way of the Warrior ****
-written by ira steven behr, robert hewitt wolfe
-directed by james l. conway
This double-length season premiere starts with jadzia and kira engaging in bathing suit holopursuits. Klingons invade Cardassia, convinced that the Dominion has engineered a coup. Starfleet assigns worf to the station. He is considering resigning his commission. He and jadzia spar (with bat'leths, not words). The Defiant rescues the leaders of the cardassian government. Klingons pursue. The station is boarded, its weaponry brought to bear for the first time. One of the most breathtaking space battles in TREK history (pre-CGI, no less). Dukat and garak fight side by side. Worf accepts a promotion and permanent post.
-The Visitor ****
-written by michael taylor
-directed by david livingston
Literate, tender, and touching. An aged jake (tony todd - PLATOON, LEAN ON ME) tries to undo an accident that claimed sisko's life sixty years before. He's a writer who wrote one masterpiece, then disappeared. He tells his sad tale to an aspiring writer (rachel robinson - LOSER LOVE, CAN'T BE HEAVEN, and daughter of andrew) who has found him in his seclusion. It's also sweet (and a little redemptive) to see a timeline wherein jadzia lives to an old age.
-Hippocratic Oath ***
Phew...for a second, i was concerned this one was going to be called "The Nana". To o'brien's consternation, julian tries to help a group of renegade jem'hadar break their ketracel addiction. Worf thinks odo's security isn't worth a damn. A fine turn by scott macdonald (CARNIVALE, JACK FROST 1-2), and a shame they never availed themselves of the chance to bring back his character, as the only ketracel-free jem'hadar.
-Indiscretion **
Kira and a secretive dukat go after a lost prison ship. Will he kill his half-bajoran child?
-Rejoined ***
Boldly going where no TREK had gone before...a lesbian kiss! Jadzia goes on a Defiant mission with a group of trill scientists, one of whom is host to a symbiont who was a mate to one of dax's former hosts. Trill society forbids romantic reassociation, under penalty of exile (meaning death for the symbiont). Jadzia and lenara (susanna thompson - VOYAGER, GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI) are deeply drawn to one another, and jadzia is willing to pay the ultimate price. Some of the climaxes are underearned, as this one should have been a two-parter, but it's beautiful and touching.
-Starship Down **
A damaged Defiant plays cat and mouse with two jem'hadar ships inside a gas giant. Another TREK first, and unholy god, hopefully last - a regular prays over a fallen comrade. This one could have been four stars, but for that and some writing that samples the simplistic, "Up With People" vibe. Yet another dandy TREK turn by james cromwell (W., THE ARTIST), as a conniving alien.
-Little Green Men *
Ewwwwf. Quark, rom, and nog pilot a ship into a time accident, ending up in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. With game turns by megan gallagher (CHINA BEACH, 24) and classic veteran charles napier (B.J. AND THE BEAR, MEN IN BLACK: THE SERIES), it's so silly it almost works, but...worthy of consideration for worst TREK ever.
-The Sword of Kahless ***
Kor convinces jadzia and worf to join him on a quest to find the greatest icon in klingon history. Pursued by enemies, they find it in the Gamma quadrant. Worf and kor squabble, as self-serving goals clash amid dreams of empire reunification. The ending is striking, if a bit of a cop-out. Worf has a moment of genuine darkness, something never seen on that other series...but it feels forced. It feels like that rarest of all TREK flaws, a character misstep.
-Our Man Bashir ***
Sisko, kira, dax, o'brien, and worf are accidentally trapped in the transporter pattern buffer. Huge chunks of station computer memory must be wiped to make room for their neural patterns. They suddenly appear as non-sentient characters in a superspy holoprogram julian is running. Kira is eye-popping. The safeties go off, and he must keep them all alive until their patterns can be retrieved. Sweet and fun.
-Homefront (see following) ***
-Paradise Lost ***
These episodes were perhaps what the producers had in mind when they promised a darker TREK. After a changeling terrorist attack on Earth, sisko and odo take over planetary security. A plot to institute martial law is uncovered, amid fears that the President doesn't understand the severity of the situation. A promising premise is compromised by ham-handed writing. Admiral leyton is turned into a mustache-twirling, one-dimensional baddie, which is a shame...the storyline has genuine ethical merit. Susan gibney (TNG's dr. leah brahms) plays a Starfleet captain.
-Crossfire **
Shakaar visits, and falls in love with kira. Odo no happy. Quark and odo steal the show, with their attempt to move beyond antagonism...but despite lovely performances, some missing chemistry can't quite be overcome.
-Return to Grace ***
Dukat, stripped of his position and prestige, escorts kira to a conference. The klingons attack en route. Promising, but a deftness deficit in the writing holds this one down.
-Sons of Mogh ****
-written by ronald d. moore
-directed by david livingston
Kurn arrives, stripped of all honor and possessions because of worf's failure to support gowron. He asks to be ritually killed, allowing him to join their ancestors with honor. Worf knifes him in the chest, but he is saved. Worf gets him a job in security. A klingon battlecruiser mysteriously falls out of cloak, having suffered a tremendous explosion. A plan to mine the sector is uncovered. Rife with no-holds-barred reflections of klingon life, it's a tight, powerful ride. The first flirtations between jadzia and worf are intoxicating.
-Bar Association ***
Unfair conditions cause rom to organize a bar worker's union. Chafing from the non-Starfleet disorder all around, worf moves his quarters to the Defiant.
-Accession **
An episode that could only have been cooked up in a denobulan drum of depravity, with heaping dollops of religiosity and the o'brien/keiko home life - a level of quease not seen since "Menage a Troi". A stranger claims to be the real Emissary, and sisko gladly accedes.
-Rules of Engagement **
Worf destroys a klingon civilian shuttle during battle, and an extradition hearing is held. I'm not sure i buy the conceit that he made a mistake. It feels ridiculous to suggest that he should have waited to ascertain that the de-cloaking ship was anything other than the bird of prey again. His number one priority was protecting the lives in the convoy, and you can't protect anything when you're dead. Of course, it's also preposterous to suggest that "rules" can apply to anything as perverse as war.
-Hard Time ***
O'brien tries to re-integrate into station life after spending twenty virtual years imprisoned. Starkly dark. Sure, there are one or two pulled punches that keep it from four stars, and it will never join any best-of-TREK marathon, because it's not really a TREK episode, from a story standpoint. But...colm meaney's finest hour? Probably.
-Shattered Mirror **
Mirror jennifer kidnaps jake to lure sisko to the other universe. Wonderful chemistry. They should have left more of the focus on the main three characters - the other plots feel a bit forced. Can mirror jennifer be the anti-kasidy? Pretty pleeeease? Oops, she dies.
-The Muse ***
A pregnant lwaxana needs odo's help (and hand in marriage) - i know, this has Titanic written all over it, but it actually holds together. A vampiric woman takes great interest in jake's writing.
-For the Cause **
Commander eddington defects to the maquis, but the potential is diluted by weak writing. His farewell speech is too much polemical rhetoric and not enough humanity, and sisko's response is too vengeful for a 24th-century human. In a delightful subplot, garak meets ziyal...and they date. Awww. For sisko fans hoping to avert to the unfolding kasidastrophe, she's off to jail for smuggling! But just like herpes, she'll be back...
-To the Death ***
Renegade jem'hadar plunder the station. Sisko agrees to a joint retaliation with Dominion forces.
-The Quickening ***
Bashir tries to help a planet in the grips of a Dominion-engineered plague. The visuals are striking, and the ending realistically grim. Fine guest turns by ellen wheeler (DARK SHADOWS, TONYA AND NANCY: THE INSIDE STORY) and michael sarrazin (THE FLIM-FLAM MAN, THE SEDUCTION). Alexander siddig's finest hour?
-Body Parts **
Quark learns he's going to die. Should he profit from his auctioned body parts while he still can? Keiko is injured, and her fetus transferred to kira (sensible, given that nana is pregnant). Nerys gets melded into the o'brien home life. Oy.
-Broken Link **
A critically-ill odo is rushed to the founder homeworld. As punishment, he's turned into a solid...and discovers that gowron is a changeling.

Deep Space Nine, season 3

FOUR-STAR EPISODES: 1
AVERAGE EPISODE RATING: 2.6
-The Search 1&2 ***
The station is assigned the Defiant, an overpowered cruiser with a cloak, originally designed for fighting the borg. Sisko takes her into the gamma quadrant in search of the founders, to initiate negotiations. They retreat after a fight, only to find the Federation already giving major concessions to the Dominion, including ceding them Bajor. The crew goes renegade and collapses the wormhole...only to find that these events were only playing out in their minds, while they were studied by their Dominion captors. Kira and odo find his homeworld, and discover that his people are the founders. A nice red herring tease, with appearances by martha hackett (VOYAGER, CARNOSAUR), john fleck (ENTERPRISE, TRUE BLOOD), and the debut of ken marshall (KRULL, THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY II) as commander eddington, a Starfleet security officer assigned to the station, much to odo's chagrin.
-The House of Quark ***
Great googily, don't blink...a good ferengi episode! Quark claims responsibility for the death of a klingon, then is kidnapped to Kronos and forced to marry the widow.
-Equilibrium ***
A compelling, beautiful journey on the trill homeworld, as jadzia deals with violent, musical visions, and discovers that memories of a homicidal host have been surgically repressed.
-Second Skin **
Kira finds herself on Cardassia, as a cardassian (if this sounds like a warp breach waiting to happen, trust your instincts). She's told she's been a surgically-altered sleeper agent. The writers can't be faulted - without nana, this might have been a winner, especially with a fine performance by lawrence pressman (NINE TO FIVE, DOOGIE HOWSER M.D.) as her "father", who has also been duped. One of garak's finest episodes, too.
-The Abandoned ***
An infant is discovered in a wreck. When he ages at a phenomenal rate and starts attacking people, they discover he is jem'hadar, genetically manipulated to be a killer addicted to a drug only available from the founders. Odo tries to offer him a better life. To sisko's dismay, teenaged jake is romantically involved with a dabo woman (jill sayre - SPIDER-MAN 1-2). It's a shame the writers dropped this relationship after mardah's only appearance.
-Civil Defense ***
A cardassian counter-insurrection program is accidentally initiated, which takes control of all station functions. Without the command codes, the station approaches self-destruct. Dukat offers help, but at a price. A tight episode that rises as high as three stars can go. I find it implausible, however, that garak doesn't know how to pronounce "interrogative".
-Meridian ***
Dax falls in love with a resident of a multi-dimensional planet (brett cullen - SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT, THE WEST WING) and decides to go with him on his next shift...which will take sixty years. Quark tries to fill an order for a holosuite sex program of kira - without her permission. The story and visuals are standout; if the chemistry and writing were just a touch sharper, this would be top-tier.
-Defiant ****
-written by ronald d. moore
-directed by cliff bole
Will Riker!!! Wait. Back up. Tom Riker!!! Jonathan frakes visits, and schmoozes kira into giving him a tour of the Defiant. When she reveals the command codes, he stuns her (literally) and takes the ship for the maquis. He goes into the heart of the cardassian empire to expose a secret invasion fleet. Kira's psychoanalyzing is a tad obvious, but hot damn, we got a winner.
-Fascination **
Lwaxana visits, unaware she has a syndrome which causes her to empathically infect people with intense sexual longings. A premise that falls short of its promise.
-Past Tense 1&2 ***
Through a transporter malfunction, dax, sisko, and bashir are accidentally stranded in 2024 San Francisco. In a beautiful crystallization of life's butterfly-wing unfairness (or perhaps an affirmation that cute chicks can skate through life as long as they remain cute), she falls into the lap of luxury while they wind up in a concentration camp. In order to prevent the timeline from unraveling, benjamin must take the place of a man who wasn't supposed to die. A fine effort helped by dick miller (THE TERMINATOR, GREMLINS 1-2), deborah van valkenburgh (TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT, FREE ENTERPRISE), and most sweetly clint howard (SPACE RANGERS, AUSTIN POWERS 1-3) in his first TREK appearance since 1966, when he was seven.
-Life Support **
After an horrific accident, bashir uses extraordinary measures to prolong bareil's life long enough for him to complete a peace negotiation. Jake has a disastrous date (with lark voorhies - SAVED BY THE BELL, HOW TO BE A PLAYER), thanks to nog's cultural chauvinism.
-Heart of Stone ***
Chasing a fugitive, kira becomes trapped in a growing crystalline structure. Odo tries to free her before she suffocates. His love for her comes to the surface for the first time, until he figures out that it's not kira at all - it's a changeling trying to understand odo's bond with the solids. A genuine surprise, something not often achieved by TREK.
-Destiny *
As a defrocked vedek (erick avari - HEROES, HOME ALONE 4) agitates against cardassian participation in a joint venture, sisko becomes conflicted between his roles as emissary and Starfleet officer. By the end, he starts believing ancient bajoran scripture...and roddenberry's ashes scribble a memo - "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" A lovely B plot is wasted, in which o'brien experiences antagonism and sexual tension with a cardassian scientist (tracy scoggins - LOIS & CLARK, BABYLON 5). Colm has more chemistry with her than he ever had with rosalind. Sadly, the following episode does not find dr. gilora permanently posted to the station, while keiko runs off with a couple of nausicaans.
-Prophet Motive **
Grand nagus zek starts giving away money. Quark realizes his personality was shifted by an encounter with the "prophets"...so he has a wormhole alien showdown.
-Visionary **
While romulans visit, o'brien gets disturbing visions.
-Distant Voices **
Bashir is attacked, and begins aging rapidly.
-Through the Looking Glass ***
Sisko is kidnapped to impersonate his deceased, mirror universe self. Beautiful moments with mirror jennifer.
-Improbable Cause **
After an assassination attempt on garak, odo must figure out why.
-The Die is Cast ***
Rejoined with his former Obsidian Order mentor in a cardassian/romulan attack fleet headed for the founders' home planet, garak tortures odo for information.
-Explorers ***
Sisko and jake reconstruct an ancient bajoran space vessel, to try to prove that bajorans left their system without warp drive. The darling debuts of leeta (chase masterson - ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS, OF GODS AND MEN) and ben's beard.
-Family Business **
Quark and rom return to Ferenginar, because their mother has broken the law by conducting business (and wearing clothes). A fine turn by andrea martin (SCTV, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING).
-Shakaar ***
Winn becomes kai, and asks kira to negotiate with an old flame (duncan regehr - V, ZORRO).
-Facets ***
Great idea, good result. In a trill ritual, the spirits of dax's former hosts inhabit her friends' bodies. Odo as kirzon? Brilliant. Nog prepares for Starfleet Academy.
-The Adversary ***
Sisko is promoted to captain. An ambassador takes the Defiant on a mission to prevent a war. Once under way, systems' control is lost, and a founder plot to start a war is uncovered. The crew races to find the changeling. It's fascinating how much the show brightens on Defiant episodes...does this mean my spirit is more moved by "serial novelty"?

Deep Space Nine, season 2

FOUR-STAR EPISODES: 1
AVERAGE EPISODE RATING: 2.6
-The Homecoming **
Kira and o'brien rescue a supposedly-dead resistance hero from cardassian prison, while an isolationist faction grows on Bajor.
-The Circle **
Kira and vedek bareil (philip anglim - THE ELEPHANT MAN, DALLAS: WAR OF THE EWINGS) become close. Lifeless...
-The Siege **
A Circle-led militia tries to occupy the station. Steven weber (WINGS, STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP) is wasted.
-Invasive Procedures ***
A fine tale about an unjoined trill (john glover - GREMLINS 2, ROBOCOP 2) who tries to steal the dax symbiont. In some juicy guest casting, VOYAGER's tim russ plays a klingon mercenary, and megan gallagher (THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW, HILL STREET BLUES) is glover's love interest. They don't resolve quark's storyline, but otherwise...
-Cardassians ***
The presence of an adopted cardassian orphan on the station causes unrest. A hearing determines his fate (and uncovers some shady doings). A lovely performance by robert mandan (SOAP, THREE'S A CROWD). The writers were asleep at the switch for the ending, but otherwise it's tight with nice chemistry.
-Melora ***
Julian falls for a gravity-challenged officer, touchingly played by daphne ashbrook (HOOPERMAN, GIMME AN 'F'). His familial backstory will later be changed...would the writers just say that he's lying here, to hide his past?
-Rules of Acquisition **
A ferengi posing as a male because of the sexist laws of their society, falls for quark. A nice effort, with an uninspired ending.
-Necessary Evil ***
A flashback tale about odo's first case as constable, when the station was called Terok Nor and run by dukat. Kira is a murder suspect with secrets to hide. Dark visuals set the tone beautifully.
-Second Sight ***
Sisko feels romantic stirrings for the first time since jennifer's death, over a mystery woman who keeps disappearing...literally. She turns out to be a subconscious teleprojection of an unhappily married woman - a condemnation of the unhealthy affects of enforced monogamy, anyone? Guest star richard kiley (MAN OF LA MANCHA, JURASSIC PARK) brightens things, as does the away mission aboard USS Prometheus. The ending is a bit contrived.
-Sanctuary **
Three million refugees come to the alpha quadrant seeking a home...and choose Bajor. With andrew koenig (GROWING PAINS, INALIENABLE)!
-Rivals **
Quark's business is squeezed when a rival casino opens. A curious episode...at times fun, but it never fully feels like STAR TREK. Did the director or writer have no franchise experience? Indeed no, quite the opposite. Do too many recognizable guest stars take us out of the TREK reality? Chris sarandon (THE PRINCESS BRIDE, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS), barbara bosson (HILL STREET BLUES, COP ROCK), and k callan (AMERICAN GIGOLO, LOIS & CLARK) all put in fine work. The writing alternately delights and frustrates - use of the correct "couldN'T care less", but then the embarrassing 20th-century euphemism "pass away". Okay, i'm overthinking this one...
-The Alternate **
The bajoran scientist who "raised" odo discovers a similar life form on a gamma quadrant planet. Is there any writerly contrivance which could explain why sisko thinks his father is dead?
-Armageddon Game **
Bashir and o'brien help two species destroy the biological weapons with which they waged war on one another...only to find out that all who have knowledge of the weapons are slated for death. They're suddenly on the run (with a plague-infected o'brien) on an alien planet, while DS9 is diplomatically told of their "accidental" deaths.
-Whispers ***
A tight exploration of paranoia, inside the mind of a sleeper agent double of o'brien who isn't aware of his own nature. Very sharp, with an ending that's a genuine surprise (a rare feat in TREK).
-Paradise ***
Sisko and o'brien are stranded in a colony that has forsaken technology...but a dark side emerges. There are plot holes, yet it's hard-hitting, as sisko demonstrates powerful non-violent resistance techniques. And he delivers a withering dismissal of the religious impulse...which is a stunning breath of fresh air, given DS9's dipsy wipsy inclinations (and his part in it). The ending feels just a bit contrived, perhaps because one doesn't see enough of the positive side of the colony's life, and the remove technological life creates from "core" behavior. Could this have been a four-star two-parter?
-Shadowplay ***
Odo and dax investigate mysterious disappearances in an alien village. He helps the local protector (kenneth mars - THE PRODUCERS, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN), and strikes up a touching friendship with a child. Kira and bareil fall into each other's arms. Their first kisses are quite moving, and surprisingly erotic for TREK.
-Playing God ***
A trill visits, for mentoring by dax. She is surprisingly cold.
-Profit and Loss **
Mary crosby (DALLAS, THE ICE PIRATES), as quark's former flame, is the first actor to make cardassian sexy.
-Blood Oath ****
-written by peter allan fields
-directed by winrich kolbe
Kor. Koloth. Kang! Three aged klingons arrive, to fulfill a blood oath they shared with kirzon dax eighty years before. Jadzia feels compelled to join their quest. The klingons are played by john colicos (THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, CREEPSHOW), michael ansara (ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY, GUNS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN), and william campbell (DEMENTIA 13, THE RETURN OF THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN AND THE BIONIC WOMAN), reprising their classic TREK roles. Formerly smooth foreheads are now ripplingly ridged. It's possible this one only achieves four stars through its retro X factor...but it's a great ride all the way.
-The Maquis 1&2 ***
A group of border colonists being harassed and attacked by the cardassians, resort to violence without Starfleet's blessing. The first part crackles with life - an old friend of sisko's (bernie casey - BRIAN'S SONG, REVENGE OF THE NERDS I,III,IV) is the ranking Starfleet officer in the demilitarized zone, and their scenes together bring more believability to ben's past than anything DS9 has heretofore shown. The older style uniform is a nice touch, too. Part 2, with a fine appearance by john schuck (ROOTS, THE NEW ODD COUPLE) as a cardassian legate, is a bit simplistic and illogical...but has a fine scene wherein quark out-logics a vulcan. TNG's natalija nogulich makes an appearance as admiral nechayev.
-The Wire ***
Bashir struggles to save garak's life, when a torture-coping device implanted in his brain malfunctions. Paul dooley (SIXTEEN CANDLES, A MIGHTY WIND) makes his first (and best) appearance as tain, former head of the cardassian Obsidian Order. The ending is a trifle simplistic.
-Crossover **
Kira and bashir enter a mirror universe, where the other kira is an amoral tyrant who favors milk baths and sex slaves...i'm just saying. Could the writers have come up with a MORE obvious scene for establishing the link between this and the mirror episode of classic TREK? And while nana's skill set as an actor is less than bursting, do the writers have to go out of their way to make her look stupid?
-The Collaborator **
Kai candidate winn (louise fletcher - ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, MAMA DRACULA) outpolitics bareil to become Bajor's religious leader.
-Tribunal ***
O'brien is shanghaied by the cardassians, and stands trial. Under cardassian law, accusation equals conviction. Odo uses his never-rescinded cardassian credentials to get onto o'brien's legal team, and his presence is seamless. Dark and tight.
-The Jem'Hadar ***
Sisko, jake, nog, and quark go on a science field trip to the gamma quadrant. The adults are taken prisoner by jem'hadar, the Dominion shock troops. A rescue is mounted by runabouts and the galaxy-class starship Odyssey, which is destroyed, heralding a dark storm heading the alpha quadrant's way. A vorta pretends to be a jem'hadar prisoner as well (and she has telekinetic powers...which will never appear again). Quark compellingly defends the ferengi way of life, pointing out that humanity at its worst was, well, worse. This one's about as good as three stars gets.

Deep Space Nine, season 1

Picard, q, o'brien, keiko, lursa, b'etor, and troi (no, the other one) - no other TREK got so much first-season love from established franchise characters...or needed it. If you accept that DS9 is the most flawed TREK, you can relax enough to appreciate the occasional gem.
FOUR-STAR EPISODES: 0
AVERAGE EPISODE RATING: 2.5
-Emissary ***
A pilot that scores as legitimate sci fi. In a far corner of the quadrant, the Federation assumes command of an abandoned cardassian space station at the planet Bajor, which has suffered a brutal occupation. Starfleet and non-Starfleet must work side by side, with alien ships coming and going. Inside a stable wormhole, a race is discovered which experiences time as a single moment. Commander benjamin sisko must convince them that we are no threat, while explaining how anticipation, reminiscence, hope, and loss inform human life. Flawed...but with many four-star elements. Guest star patrick stewart (as picard and locutus) hits the right notes, compelling yet not show-stealing. Not as "Up With People" as earlier TREKs, with sisko a damaged, grieving single parent. Plenty of pilot-itis too, with kira's hair, quark's nose, and odo's look rather embryonic.
-Past Prologue ***
A "former" bajoran terrorist asks for asylum, and bajoran first officer kira must decide where her loyalties lie. The callow, eager doctor bashir has suspicions about the tailor garak, the station's lone cardassian. Plus...lursa and b'etor!
-A Man Alone **
Security chief odo, the sole station holdover from the cardassian regime, is a shape-shifter who has never met another of his kind. He's also the prime suspect in the death of a murderous criminal. Keiko starts a school. Rom (max grodenchik - BRUCE ALMIGHTY, SISTER ACT) debuts, his voice a far cry from what it will become.
-Babel ***
A lethal, verbal gobbledygook-inducing plague left by bajoran terrorists eighteen years earlier accidentally gets loose aboard the station.
-Captive Pursuit ***
The first alien from the gamma quadrant (scott macdonald - ENTERPRISE, AMERICAN CRUDE) arrives through the wormhole, followed by hunters. O'brien befriends him, and tries to teach him self-determination. A stellar meditation on cultural relativity.
-Q-less ***
Q and vash (jennifer hetrick - 500 DAYS OF SUMMER, CIVIL WARS) show up on the station after she refuses to be his companion any longer. Bright and bursting...anything with john de lancie is a must-see, i say.
-Dax ***
Jadzia is put on trial for a murder her former host allegedly committed, thirty years before. If not for an obsequious homage to monogamous marriage, this one is knocking on four stars.
-The Passenger ***
A criminal dies in bashir's arms. Is he really (or only mostly) dead?
-Move Along Home **
A game-loving species visit from the other side of the wormhole. Quark underestimates the seriousness of their game...or does he? The senior staff find themselves pawns. If the puzzles had been better thought out, we might have had something.
-The Nagus **
The grand nagus comes for a visit...and dies, leaving quark the supreme ferengi leader. Can wallace shawn (MY DINNER WITH ANDRE, THE PRINCESS BRIDE) save the ferengi from flaccidland? Probably not.
-Vortex **
A shady stranger tells odo of the existence of others of his kind...and takes him on a wild goose chase.
-Battle Lines **
Sisko, bashir, kira, and Bajor's spiritual leader (camille saviola - THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO, PENN & TELLER GET KILLED) crash on a moon on the other side of the wormhole, and find themselves embroiled in a local war between factions who come back to life after even the most brutal murder.
-The Storyteller **
Bashir and o'brien try to cope with an emergency in a superstitious bajoran village. Dreary and desultory. The only thing keeping it from one-star is the B plot, in which jake and nog crush on a teenage bajoran leader...the writing is equally feeble, but the chemistry is nice.
-Progress ***
Kira must convince an old farmer to abandon his home, because the provisional government needs the land cleared. Brian keith (FAMILY AFFAIR, HARDCASTLE AND MACCORMICK) is understatedly brilliant, offering one of the greatest guest turns in TREK history.
-If Wishes were Horses ***
People's imaginations come alive! Or wait...are these figments non-corporeal aliens? They should have left an idea this juicy to a cable series, of course. But not bad TREK, as these things go. One star added for making the greatest baseballer ever, NOT come from 20th-century Earth.
-The Forsaken **
TNG's lwaxana (majel barrett - WESTWORLD, EARTH: FINAL CONFLICT) visits, and hounds odo for some lovin'! An electronic alien child, visiting ambassadors...an awful lot of balls in the air. In all fairness, majel actually became a fair actor after a few decades' practice.
-Dramatis Personae **
The command staff mysteriously become power-mad, plotting alliances and assassinations.
-Duet ***
The performance of harris yulin (GHOSTBUSTERS II, THE HURRICANE) as a suspected war criminal is scenery-chewing the way it was meant to be. This is a tricky take on issues of great subtlety...and it absolutely works.
-In the Hands of the Prophets **
A bajoran religious leader begins a boycott of the station's school, for not teaching religion. The most sexually-repressed, quease-inducing teaser in TREK history. With all this holiness and anti-humanistic monogamy, this should be one star...but the writers were striving for something meaningful, and succeeded a tiny bit.