|
|
|
|
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 Worf - Michael Dorn 
OTHER SEASONS Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 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 
|
Apocalypse RisingFollowing Odo's assertion at the end of the last series that Gowron, head of the Klingon Empire, was a changeling, the Federation order Sisko to infiltrate the Klingon homeworld and expose him. Not an easy task, but with a friendly cloaked Klingon ship and surgical operations to make them look like Klingons, a small team go in. That a team of Federation officers with no preparation time at all can successfully infiltrate the heavily armed stronghold of Gowron undetected is utterly preposterous and so is the rest of this opening episode. It is impossible to believe almost anything that happens and it is to be hoped that this doesn't set the tone for the rest of the season. There is some amusement in the chance to see Sisko, Odo and Chief O'Brien as Klingons, but that's about it. TopThe ShipOn a mining survey in the Gamma Quadrant, an away team come across a downed Jem'Hadar warship. They are surrounded by Jem'Hadar forces that badly want something inside that ship. A standoff occurs, a standoff that will cost lives and drive the team to the very edge of their nerves. Already much better than Apocalypse Rising this is DEEP SPACE NINE's submarine story. The crew are locked inside a tin can with all manner of depth charges going off around wondering if each one will spell their deaths. It's a tight story that leads to a good episode, although the moralising at the tail end is a bit hard to take. TopLooking for par'Mach in all the Wrong PlacesWhen Quark's klingon ex-wife shows up looking for help, Worf is instantly attracted to her, much to Jadzia Dax's annoyance. His troubles with the Empire, however, mean that he cannot woo the woman, except through tutelage of the Ferengi, who wants to unlock her heart (or another part of her anatomy). Meanwhile O'Brien and Major Kira find romantic complications of their own. The love lives of the station's crews doesn't seem likely to provide high drama or big entertainment value, but this is a solid enough episode with enough humour to carry it through, although it needs the viewer to be familiar enough with the characters and their situations to be truly successful. Worf gets to play Cyrano de Bergerac, but in admittedly a much more literal manner than usual. For the backstory to Quark's klingon wife, see House of Quark. TopNor the Battle to the StrongJake takes on an assignment to write a report on Dr Bashir's trip to a medical conference, but gets more than he bargained for when they are caught up in a battle between the klingons and a human colony. There, he experiences both the best of bravery and the worst of cowardice and finds that both lie within. After Looking for par'Mach in all the Wrong Places riffing on Cyrano de Bergerac, we get DEEP SPACE NINE's version of WAR AND PEACE as a young man gets to tour the battlefield and learn that war isn't about honour, courage or victory, but about death and the ugly fight for personal survival at any cost. If you're going to steal a plot then you might as well steal from the best and the source material is so strong that it shines through into a fine episode that is another high point for the show. Cirroc Lofton proves to be the weak link as Jake Sisko, not really capable of carrying the episode or showing the depth of effects of his experiences upon the boy, but the supporting cast all get to grips with a script that is strong and brutal and surprising. This is DEEP SPACE NINE at its best. TopThe AssignmentKeiko O'Brien returns to the space station, but reveals that she is not Keiko, but is an alien that has taken possession of Keiko's body and will kill her if the Chief does not make a series of minor adjustments to the station's systems. Faced with evidence of the alien's ability to carry out its threat, O'Brien makes the changes, but realises that the minor changes add up to the total annihilation of the wormhole aliens known to the Bajorans as the Prophets. As blackmail dramas go, this isn't a bad one at all. The threat to Keiko is real enough (a heart attack and a plummet from a balcony) to provide the alien with a sinister quality that comes through in all the knowing, evil expressions from the familiar face of the Chief's wife. Colm Meaney also manages to convey the helplessness that he feels as he is forced to betray his friends to save the woman that he loves. Another strong episode from what is fast becoming the best season to date. TopTrials and TribbleationsA disgraced klingon spy uses an orb to throw the Defiant back in time to a mission carried out by the original Enterprise that led to his fall from grace. Sisko and the crew must try to stop the spy from setting off a bomb that will alter the timeline whilst not altering it themselves. This is a fabulous conceit that isn't quite pulled off. The idea of taking a beloved episode from the original STAR TREK series and adding the new crew into the story through modern CGI effects is a great one, but it relies on the viewer being intimately familiar with the original episode The Trouble with Tribbles for its effect. Any newcomer would have little idea as to what the plot of that original episode was and therefore how the new crew are fitting into it. For the fans, though, it's a nostalgic riot as O'Brien and Bashir get involved in Scotty's bar room brawl, Sisko tosses tribbles onto Kirk's head and Dax gets to wear a seriously short skirt. The digital interventions are flawlessly done and the recreation of the Enterprise and station K7 with modern modelling techniques clearly were instrumental in the plans to release the original series with all new special effects. TopLet He Who is Without SinWorf and Jadzia plan a trip to Risa to work out some of the problems in their relationship. Dr Bashir and Quark come along for the ride, making an already tense situation worse. Once on Risa, however, things get even more tense when a group of fundamentalists advocating a return to the core values of the Federation as the only chance of surviving the threats of the Borg, Klingons, Dominion et al start persuading Worf that their cause is worth supporting. Being a capable Starfleet officer, Worf shows them how to turn their ideals into action. Terrorism is terrorism no matter what cause it claims to support. That would seem to be the message behind this episode, but any message that it is trying to convey is horribly garbled and lost in the telling. Worf's recruitment to the cause is so fast as to be almost as unbelievable as the abruptness of his turning away from the cause. It is, however, so much better than the tediousness of his and Dax's relationship problems. There just isn't enough of the (rather weak) comedy support from Dr Bashir and Quark's presence to take that away. TopThings PastFollowing an incident in one of the runabouts, Sisko, Odo, Dax and Garak find themselves in the time of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor and in the bodies of Bajoran slaves, three of whom are shortly to be executed. There are, however, inconsistencies with this picture of the past. One thing that DEEP SPACE NINE has been determined to do is to blur the previously black and white moral standing of the Federation. The whole Bajoran situation is one morass of gray with friends and enemies alike carrying out evil deeds from what they believed to be necessity. This is an examination of one such act. The reasons why it is being replayed is far less important than the impact that it will have on the standing of one individual in the eyes of those they considered comrades, and friends. To that end, the mystery of what is happened isn't hidden from the viewer and isn't the main focus of the episode. That proves to be the setting, the situation and the motivations. All very human, imperfect and messy things that give the story an edgy quality that the show does well. TopThe AscentOdo takes Quark on a long trip to stand judgement in an unspecified case, but a bomb on board the runabout leaves them stranded on a freezing alien planet with a transmitter that will only work if they can get it to the top of a very high mountain. Quark and Odo have been the comedy duo of the series and this is no exception. They bicker and insult their way through the various mishaps like an old married couple and there is not a moment's worry in the mind of the audience that they won't get out of it alive. The episode is therefore amusing, but little more. TopRaptureWhilst studying an ancient artefact prophesied to lead to the holy lost city of Bajoran lore, Sisko is hit by an energy discharge that affects his brain patterns, giving him visions of patterns holding together the present, the past and the future. Those visions warn him against Bajor joining the Federation, putting him in conflict with his superiors, but his determination to ignore the advice of his doctor and continue with the visions that are killing him put him in conflict with his family. Bajoran mysticism has not given the series its better episodes as a rule and this episode doesn't buck that rule either, but it is better than many of the other ones. The effect of the visions on Sisko is severe and interesting at first, but then becomes increasingly hard to understand and believe. That is the way of religious visionaries, of course, but accuracy isn't always the bedfellow of good drama. TopThe Darkness and the LightA Bajoran spiritual leader is killed and an anonymous message is sent to Major Kira. It soon becomes clear that members of her resistance cell are being systematically murdered and she is being taunted by the killer. Between darkness and light there lies only grey and that is something that DEEP SPACE NINE has been keen to exploit to set it apart from the earlier STAR TREK franchises. The moral certainties of the Federation hold less sway in Bajoran space and that is brought to the fore again here. Major Kira's actions in the resistance have long been the subject of examination, shedding questionable moral light upon the lengths that anyone will go to if driven hard enough. Is the systematic murder of those who have wronged you actually any worse in reality than indiscriminate killing in the name of freedom? Is sparing the innocent enough to justify the slaughter of the guilty? It all sounds very worthy and pompous, but it isn't. It is a fast-moving mystery tale that delves down into the dark places in people's souls and it offers no easy answers. For that, it's all the better. TopThe BegottenAs Major Kira goes into labour with the O'Brien's baby, Odo comes into possession of a sick changeling child. He sets about teaching it to fulfil its potential, but when the Doctor who taught him arrives, they find conflict in the best manner to proceed. Odo finds a bond that will change his life forever. Anyone who has seen the STAR TREK:THE NEXT GENERATION episode The Offspring has been down this road before, but that doesn't necessarily diminish its power. Rene Auberjonois gives an anchoring performance as he tries to come to terms with not only being a surrogate parent, but also dealing with a child that can acheive all that he has lost. By contrast, the story of Major Kira giving birth is a real drag with lame comedy. TopFor the UniformEddington, the starfleet officer that duped the whole of the Deep Space Nine crew before turning Maquis freedom fighter, is running rampant in the demilitarized zone. Sisko is determined to bring him down, but when Eddington's sabotage leaves the Defiant stricken and then he starts using weapons of mass destruction against civilian targets, Sisko must risk everything, including his own morals, to bring the man to justice. Following on from events in For the Cause, Sisko is on a quest that is as much about his bruised ego as it is about bringing down a traitor and killer. The fact that his prey is constantly one, two or even three steps ahead of him all the way is pretty fun and Avery Brooks manages to convey the utter frustration that Sisko is feeling much better than some of his other performances. For once, you can really believe in what he is feeling. DEEP SPACE NINE's shades of grey obsession is back, not only because of Eddington's betrayal and the whole 'weapons of mass destruction in the name of freedom' plotline, but because Sisko's motives clearly are not pure and because the steps that he takes to bring down his man are extreme to be sure. This makes for a deeper and more entertaining episode, but the late banging on about Javert and Les Miserables is tedious for those who have read it and meaningless for those that haven't. TopIn Purgatory's ShadowA desperate call for help comes from Garak's mentor in the Obsidian order, now a prisoner in the Gamma Quadrant. Worf and Garak head off in search of him, but instead find a Dominion fleet heading directly for the wormhole. They are taken prisoner and find Dr Bashir already a prisoner, which means that there is a changeling saboteur aboard the station in the perfect position to destroy the station's defences and allow the Dominion fleet to come flooding through the wormhole. This episode starts off in fairly standard fashion, but from the moment that the giant Dominion fleet is spotted it takes off and starts to soar. From the revelation about Bashir to Garak's attempts to reconcile himself with the mentor that turns out to be his father, this is excellent stuff. Nothing, though, tops the closing moments at the defence plan fails and the Dominion fleet pours through the wormhole. What a moment, and it's not even the season finale. TopBy Inferno's LightThe Dominion fleet that came through the wormhole turns away from the station and towards Cardassia. Gul Dukat joins the fleet and announces that he is now the supreme ruler of Cardassia which has allied itself with the Dominion. This brings the Klingons back to the Federation in search of help now that their war is not so one-sided. A huge fleet is gathered to counter the Dominion threat, but that turns out to be exactly what the Dominion wanted. The story started in In Purgatory's Shadow is brilliantly continued in this episode. Though it focusses more on the escape exploits of Worf, Garak and Dr Bashir in their Jem'Hadar prison, the bigger of the politics being stirred up by the Cardassian betrayal in much more interesting. The return of the Klingons to the fold, the sudden appearance of some very unexpected allies and the unearthing of a very clever plot to end the war for the Alpha Quadrant without firing a shot is all well written, well executed and well exciting. Garak's battle with his own fear of enclosed spaces might be very old hat, but the duel between Worf and so many Jem'Hadar again shows the nobility that is hidden away in the warrior race, but so missing from their masters. This two part adventure is what DEEP SPACE NINE is really all about. TopDr Bashir I Presume?Dr Bashir is chosen as the human template for the automated medical hologram programme which means an in depth study of his psychological profile. This brings his parents to the station and threatens to reveal a secret that could end his career in Starfleet. It's an odd thing about a Federation that espouses tolerance above all things that being genetically engineered would automatically see you kicked out of Starfleet. Being responsible for genetic engineering might be worthy of being considered a crime, but being an innocent child upon whom this was carried out without knowledge or consent being possible cannot possibly be a crime. The biggest crime of all in this episode is that it is so interminably dull. TopA Simple InvestigationA woman comes aboard the station searching for a contact who has already been killed by a couple of hitmen. Odo investigates and finds himself falling for the woman despite the lies that she is telling him. The truth is destined to break his heart. Now here's the thing about being a changeling. When it comes to his ability to alter the size and shape of his body then that has to be an advantage when it comes to sex. Since a changeling doesn't indulge in that particular bodily function then Odo must have made a specific study of that part of the male anatomy in order to carry it out. Neither of these issues are addressed in the show, of course, but without thoughts like this to ponder the story is pretty ordinary. A nice central performance from Rene Auberjonois, though. TopBusiness as UsualQuark's final few investments fail and he finds himself once again about to go under financially when his cousin arrives with a business proposition - the selling of arms. The money is soon rolling in, though the bar is now empty as the starfleet personnel stay away in protest. Then a man arrives wanting to exterminate 28 million innocent beings and even a desperate Ferengi's conscience starts to bother him. The selling of arms is a morally grey area at the best of times and we don't need a DEEP SPACE NINE episode to tell us that, but it is at least an episode that centres on Quark and is therefore a lot more fun and a lot less preachy than it might have been. It's certainly a much more interesting story that Chief O'Brien's problems getting his baby to sleep. Do we really need that? It's an indictment of the Dax character that she removes her friendship immediately without even trying to understand Quark's motivations. TopTies of Blood and WaterA cardassian that thinks Major Kira as the nearest thing he has to a daughter comes to the station, not to help the Cardassian underground as she hoped, but to die in her company. She's not too sure that she can see that through, even before the heavily armed Jem'Hadar warship turns up. Even with the events of Second Skin it is hard to believe that Major Kira would think of a Cardassian as a surrogate father or he of her as a daughter. It is, therefore, hard to invest in the relationship. The arrival of Gul Dukat and his political manoeuverings is both unwelcome and a relief from the emotional artificiality. That the final scene is a verbal underlining of everything that has gone before just goes to show that the writers have no faith in their audience and feel that they have to explain it all for the hard of feeling. TopFerengi Love SongsWhilst the bar is being fumigated of Cardassian voles, Quark takes a holiday home to Ferenginar to visit his mother. There, he learns that she has started up a relationship with the Grand Nagus, a relationship that could earn Quark his trading licence back if he finds a way to destroy it. In doing so, however, he learns that his mother was the only person keeping the whole of the Ferengi system operational. Episodes based around the Ferengi members of the station's complement are usually light, silly and fun affairs and this proves to be no different. Although there is a serious point about the jettisoning of the old as they become frail when a little help might be all they need, it's a point smothered in an entertaining story to the point that we actually might have just imagined it. The second string love story between Rom and his Bajoran girlfriend is dull and tedious by comparison with Quark's adventures. TopSoldiers of the EmpireWorf is invited to serve aboard a Klingon vessel and Dax comes along for the ride. The chosen ship, though, has known too many defeats and the crew are near to rebellion. The commander has also known too many defeats and needs a reminder of what it is to be a Klingon warrior, a reminder that could cost Worf his life. Whining is not something that the Klingons do very well or very often so it comes as something of a shock to see the defeated, depressed crew of this story. Of course we all know all along that things will get turned around and the ship will regain its honour again, but at least the method of its coming to pass is somewhat more surprising than we might have expected. TopChildren of TimeReturning from a long and tiring mission in the Gamma Quadrant, the crew of Defiant are looking forward to returning home, but stop off to investigate a strange planetary phenomenon along the way. They discover a settlement where everyone is a descendant of the survivors of the Defiant, which passed 200 years into the past and crashed upon leaving. Now the crew must decide whether going home is worth the potential lives of 8,000 people. There are times when DEEP SPACE NINE lifts itself to being the equal of its predecessors and this is definitely one of those times. This is the kind of story that the franchise does so well. An ethical dilemma that is made impossible by the manner in which the episode takes its time to introduce the new characters and make their existence as important as those of the crew that we have known for so long. There is an elegance about the poise with which those people accept that they must disappear and nobility in the one final gesture that they all make as a community. The deus ex machina that makes the decision that the crew cannot will have long lasting implications for one of the relationships that has been forged, another sign of how far this series has come along in its maturity. For an episode in which there are few special effects, no action and in which nothing actually does happen it is surprising how moving and powerful this story is. This sits with the very best that the show has produced. TopBlaze of GloryThe Klingons intercept a desperate Maquis message that suggests cloaked missiles carrying who knows what kind of weapons have been launched as a final vengeful strike against Cardassia. It is a move that is likely to bring the Dominion into all out war against the Alpha Quadrant and the deaths of millions. In order to prevent it, Sisko has to find a way to manipulate his despised ex-security officer Eddington. Or is it he who is being manipulated once again? Eddington, the officer who was last seen going up against Sisko in For the Uniform returns for a story that echoes that one with its pitting of one sets of wits against another. A cat and mouse game between two very clever people with opposing viewpoints. Whilst some of the bickering and philosophising might get a bit tiresome, it is part of the sparring in a story that is never quite as straightforwards as it seems nor quite as tricky as it would like to believe it is. TopEmpok NorFailing systems on the station take a boarding party led by Chief O'Brien and Garak to its abandoned counterpart in search of spare parts. They expect to find booby traps all over the place, but they are not prepared for Cardassians affected by a drug that makes them hate everyone, a drug that starts to affect Garak. War is a nasty, but often faceless thing. This is a skirmish that is just as brutal, but much more personal. Garak's transition from usual sarcastic tailor to cold-blooded murderer is well-handled and not too obvious until the shocking moment when he corrects one of the engineers on the name of an electronic tool. Then it's down to a battle of wits between O'Brien and Garak, but with Garak half out of his, the ultimate resolution is never in doubt. TopIn The CardsEveryone is understandably a bit low because of the Dominion threat, so when a vintage Earth baseball card is to be auctioned in Quark's bar, Jake and Nog attempt to buy it, but instead have to barter all over the station to find the things that will make the new owner trade it. This brings the unwelcomes attention of the visiting Dominion representative sent to talk to Bajor's religious leader about signing a non-aggression treaty. This is one of the light, almost whimsical episodes that DEEP SPACE NINE doesn't do very well. It's never convincing and, at times, really rather dull. This show is better in its darker, more challenging moments. TopCall to ArmsThe Federation determines that it is time to act against the constant supply of ships coming through into the Alpha Quadrant to reinforce the Dominion. They plan to mine the entrance to the Wormhole. The Dominion response is immediate and a fleet arrives to retake the station. Sisko mounts a defence, knowing that he cannot stop Deep Space Nine falling into Dominion hands, but then that was never really his plan anyway. Finally the battle lines are drawn and the moment that has been prepared for throughout this season comes to pass. The Federation and Dominion forces come to blows in a climactic spectacular battle that leaves none of the characters where they started or expected to be. It's a bold, dramatic finale that acheives on almost every level and succeeds in guaranteeing that we must all return to find out what is going to happen next. Top |
|
|
|
If this page was useful to you please sign our 
