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Star Trek DS9 - Season 6

Star Trek DS9 - 6x01 - A Time to Stand

Originally Aired: 1997-9-29

Synopsis:
Sisko and his crew are given an undercover mission that could change the balance of the Dominion war. [DVD]

My Rating - 9

Fan Rating Average - 6.9

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 42 2 1 3 5 41 2 4 17 57 88

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
- 14 ships out of the 112 in the 7th Federation fleet made it back.

Remarkable Scenes
- Garak poking at Bashir regarding his genetically engineered past, and Bashir giving Garak the odds of their survival.
- Bashir: "It's strictly a matter of mathematics." Garak: "No, it's strictly a matter of our lives!"
- Dax, regarding the wedding plans: "Okay. Have it your way. First we'll shed blood, then we'll feast." Worf: "As it should be."
- Sisko banging his hand and breaking the glass on the table after he received the news of the 7th fleet.
- Joseph Sisko: "You're always telling me that space is big, that it's an endless frontier filled with infinite wonders." Ben Sisko: "It's true." Joseph Sisko: "Well if that's the case, you would think it would be more than enough room to allow people to leave each other alone."
- Jake discussing an interview and his articles with Weyoun.
- Admiral Ross sending Sisko and crew on a mission into Dominion space using their captured Jem'Hadar ship they acquired in DS9: The Ship.
- Everyone complaining about the design of the Jem'Hadar ship. There aren't any viewscreens, chairs, food replicators, or medical facilities aboard. :)
- O'Brien to Garak upon boarding: "Pull up a chair!"
- Dukat's conversation with Kira, trying to justify his actions to her.
- Garak, upon putting on the headset: "It's like having a viewscreen inside your brain."
- The Federation Starship Centaur attacking Sisko and crew aboard the stolen Jem'Hadar ship.
- Odo walking up to Weyoun, demanding things, and instantly getting what he wants.
- Julian: "We have to go to full impulse 1.3 seconds before the bomb detonates." Sisko: "Dax?" Jadzia: "The computer agrees with Julian." Garak: "Well of course it does. They think alike."
- The bomb exploding early, destroying the facility and nearly destroying their ship.
- Garak: "Forgive my ignorance, but if we don't have warp drive, how long is it going to take us to reach the closest Federation Starbase?" Sisko: "A long time, Mr. Garak." Garak: "How long?" Bashir: "17 years, 2 months, and 3 days. Give or take an hour."

My Review
A fantastic episode to begin the season. This episode gets across one message clearly: war is ugly business and it's spread out over vast distances. There are numerous character threads moving about right now. There's Kira and Odo thinking of a way to undermine the occupation, there's Jake trying to get a story out to the Federation, there's Dukat and Weyoun's constant bickering, there's Dukat and Weyoun trying to destroy the minefield, there's Sisko and his crew fighting on the front lines, and there's Worf and Martok fighting on the front lines. While granted we don't much of Worf and Martok in this episode, this episode does a great job of outlining the rest. These are very exciting times for DS9. As a final note, I love how the writers are openly using Bashir's genetic enhancements now. He's kind of like a replacement for Data. Cool. :)

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Jeff Browning on 2011-11-27 at 5:33pm:
    Logic problem: in the opening sequence, the admiral tells Sisko that he is going to be at the star base for a long time - hence the need for an office.

    Immediately after the intro, the admiral announces that the Defiant crew is going to be taking the captured Jem Hadar fighter behind enemy lines. Soooo, apparently Sisko is not going to be at star base for a long time after all?

    In the context of the rest of the episode, the Admiral's comment makes no sense at all.
  • From L on 2013-08-03 at 4:56am:
    This episode does a great job of setting up psychological and motivational tensions between Dukat and Weyoun, and also just the general stress the old DS9 crew are under.
    The scene with Odo reluctantly trading in his star power for favours with Weyoun was brilliant.
    As was that between Dukat and Kira. If she could only spit acid. I cringed at him touching her.
    As we've invested so much in the situation, everything was compelling in this episode.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x02 - Rocks and Shoals

Originally Aired: 1997-10-6

Synopsis:
Sisko and his beleaguered crew are captured by the Jem'Hadar. [DVD]

My Rating - 10

Fan Rating Average - 7.52

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 26 2 1 2 3 8 4 5 17 31 84

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This episode is a candidate for my "Best Episode of DS9 Award."

Remarkable Scenes
- The teaser. Thrown right into the action!
- Seeing the Jem'Hadar ship sinking into the ocean background.
- O'Brien lamenting about tearing his pants, then laughing as he realizes that it's the least of his problems.
- Nog to Garak: "You tied me up and threatened to kill me." Good connection with DS9: Empok Nor.
- Sisko to Remata'Klan regarding his proposal: "Would you make a deal like that?" Remata'Klan: "No." Sisko: "Then why should I?" Remata'Klan: "You shouldn't."
- I like how when Nog and Garak are released, Nog walks ahead of Garak. ;)
- Yassim committing suicide.
- Keevan betraying his men.
- Everyone debating the morality of slaughtering the Jem'Hadar in this manner. Sisko: "Given the choice between us and them there is no choice!"
- Kira, lamenting about becoming a collaborator: "Half the Alpha Quadrant is out there right now fighting for my freedom, but not me."
- Sisko to Remata'Klan regarding his "decisive advantage": "To fight a battle under these circumstances would serve no purpose."
- Sisko: "Do you really want to give up your life for the 'order of things'?" Remata'Klan: "It is not my life to give up, captain. And it it never was."
- O'Brien: "What'd he say?" Sisko: "All the wrong things."
- The slaughter.
- Keevan showing up just after the slaughter, very pleased with himself.

My Review
An episode exploring the morality of conduct during war. On the station, the monotony of Kira's daily routine is depicted and we begin to see her slowly realize she's becoming a collaborator. In the end, she decides to go against Sisko's advice and form a new resistance after Vedek Yassim kills herself publicly to protest the Dominion occupation. More interesting though is Sisko and crew's situation stranded on the planet they crashed on. The Vorta leader, Keevan, decided to betray his own men by giving Sisko and crew his exact plan of attack so that instead of being stranded on the planet, he could surrender as a prisoner of war and spend the war resting comfortably in a Federation prison. Sisko is left with the choice of whether or not to go through with Keevan's plan. He doesn't like the shady morality of it, but he realizes that "given the choice between us and them there is no choice." He tries one last time to appeal to the Jem'Hadar's wits, informing them that Keevan betrayed them and that they'll surely all die if they decide to fight this battle. But instead of surrendering, we're shown instead just how insanely loyal Jem'Hadar soldiers are. They knew Keevan betrayed them and they walked into their own deaths knowingly, and proudly. Because obeying the command structure and the "order of things" means more to them than their own lives. A fantastic episode.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Hugo on 2012-11-10 at 5:17pm:
    I don't really get it - how did the Dominion ship get there? We saw two jem'hadar fighters chasing our heroes and attacking them - then we saw the ship with the heroes crashing towards the planet in the nebula - but... ? Just before we saw the two enemy fighters breaking off, and no shot was fired against them...
  • From L on 2013-08-03 at 5:33am:
    A fantastic exploration of the poignant relationship between the Jem Hadar and their Vorta. The Jem Hadar's blind and doomed loyalty to 'the order of things' was somehow noble, akin to the Samurai ethic.
    Kira's situation as a frustrated civil servant to a bureaucracy she despises was interesting too.
    Lots of moral complexity here.
  • From Axel on 2015-07-02 at 12:10pm:
    I like the dual storyline here depicting people wrestling with the morality of what they are doing. At the same time Kira is questioning whether she is a collaborator with evil, Ramata'Klan is being asked to question his own loyalty to the Vorta. Kira ultimately decides that she is playing the very role she fought against during the Cardassian occupation. Meanwhile, Ramata'Klan is well aware of the flaws of the Dominion command structure and the treacherous ways of the Vorta, but has resigned himself to his own role within that system. He chooses obedience-the overarching Jem'Hadar value-over his own freedom and self-determination.

    This episode has lots of great scenes and dialogue: Garak and Nog's conversation just before being captured; Jakes interview with Kira and Odo; Ramata'Klan standing up to Keevan and insisting that only he should be able to discipline his men; and of course, Yassim's chilling suicide on the Promenade. Overall, a really well done episode and some fantastic acting by the guest stars who played Remata'Klan, Keevan, and Vedek Yassim.
  • From Rick on 2023-11-29 at 10:21pm:
    Ummm, couldn’t sisko have just stunned all of them at the end?

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x03 - Sons and Daughters

Originally Aired: 1997-10-13

Synopsis:
Worf is reunited with his estranged son, Alexander. [DVD]

My Rating - 4

Fan Rating Average - 5.88

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 23 3 5 12 12 13 27 20 17 22 26

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Worf nitpicking the wedding again.
- Bashir and O'Brien lamenting about the Klingon food and the Klingon singing.
- Martok: "War is much more fun when you're winning!"
- Worf to his son: "You heard what I expect from the others; twice what I expect from you!" Ouch.
- Ch'Targh picking on then fighting Alexander.
- Ch'Targh to Alexander: "Keep a close watch! There might be more hostile simulation programs out there!"
- Dukat: "You don't like the dress?" Kira: "The dress is fine. I don't like you."
- Dukat giving the dress to Ziyal instead. Opportunistic indeed!
- Martok: "You are both stubborn, tiresome, qu'vatlh. The only difference is I need him. I do not need you."
- Alexander joining the house of Martok.

My Review
Kira walks the collaborator line again, Jake is frustrated with his inability to send news to the Federation and wants to join the resistance, and we get another episode taking place largely on the Rotarran. Unfortunately, this particular combined rehash is kind of a miss compared to the originals. While I enjoyed the basic story and appreciate its contribution to the current arc, the episode leaves one somewhat underwhelmed. I appreciate the basic theme. The episode title "Sons and Daughters" refers to Alexander and Ziyal. Alexander is having trouble gaining acceptance as a soldier and Ziyal is having trouble gaining acceptance as a student. I'm also glad the writers are tying up the whole "Hey, you know Worf has a son, right? What's up with him?" loose end. Other than that the episode is kind of unremarkable. Even the battle with the Jem'Hadar seemed routine.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From David Chambers on 2009-11-26 at 4:58pm:
    Is it me, or does the actor that played Alexander look a lot like Tom Cruise?

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x04 - Behind the Lines

Originally Aired: 1997-10-20

Synopsis:
Various Deep Space Nine crewmembers must play a part in the battle with the Dominion. [DVD]

My Rating - 7

Fan Rating Average - 6.14

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 31 4 6 4 2 7 3 13 26 27 32

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
- Eons ago, the Changelings were like the solids, but then they evolved, according to the female shapeshifter.

Remarkable Scenes
- The crew collecting empty phaser power cells.
- Kira and Rom orchestrating a brawl in Quarks, getting the Cardassians to fight the Jem'Hadar.
- The female shapeshifter's appearance.
- Odo: "She's just trying to teach me about myself. About what I'm capable of becoming." Kira: "An intergalactic warlord maybe? Because that's what she is."
- Nog: "You mean if I had to take command, I would be called captain too?" O'Brien: "Cadet, by the time you took command, there'd be nobody left to call you anything."
- Sisko and Dax both responding when O'Brien said, "All done here, captain."
- Quark to Damar: "Wait a minute. You started a fight in my bar and now you're getting a promotion? What kind of way is that to run an army?"
- Rom: "Brother! Are you all right?" Quark: "No, I'm not all right. I just shared a bottle of Kanar, with Damar!" Quark begins laughing profusely.
- Quark: "I tried. I tried my best to run my establishment under this occupation. But you know what? It's no fun! I don't like the Cardassians, they're mean and arrogant. And I can't stand the Jem'Hadar. They're creepy, they just stand there like statues, staring at you. That's it. I don't want to spend the rest of my life doing business with these people. I want the Federation back! I want to sell root beer again!"
- Odo: "You haven't told me your name." Female shapeshifter: "What use would I have for a name?" Odo: "To differentiate yourself from the others?" Female shapeshifter: "I don't." Odo: "But you are a separate being, aren't you?" Female shapeshifter: "In a sense." Odo: "When you return to the Great Link, what will become of the entity I'm talking to now." Female shapeshifter: "The drop becomes the ocean." Odo: "And if you choose to take solid form again?" Female shapeshifter: "The ocean becomes a drop." Odo: "Ah, yes, I think I'm beginning to understand." Female shapeshifter: "Then you can answer your own question. How many of us are there?" Odo: "One. And many. It depends on how you look at it."
- The Jeffery's tube Rom crawled into was labeled "A51". ;)
- Rom getting caught.
- Jadzia adding another empty phaser power cell to their collection.
- Kira's pissed off approach to Odo's quarters.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Seen behind Damar, just before the brawl. 2. Behind Dukat and Damar as the cleanup from the brawl begins. 3. At the bar while Quark declares that he's renovating.

My Review
A large improvement over the last episode; the Defiant crew has a fetish for collecting empty phaser power cells they use up, the resistance movement on the space station is starting to take shape, the female shapeshifter has appeared again to manipulate Odo, Sisko has been promoted to a fleet captain, and Rom got caught trying to sabotage the station because Odo's being manipulated by the founder. All in all, a complicated episode, but well placed within the arc and thoroughly entertaining. Once again, I'm a bit annoyed that like in DS9: Soldiers of the Empire there's this big buildup at the beginning of the episode concerning a mission against the Dominion, and once again we don't get to see that mission action, only the aftermath.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From MJ on 2011-01-23 at 5:09pm:
    Not a bad episode. For the first time, we get a glimpse of the truly arrogant nature of the Changelings and their apparent lack of concern for the ruinous policies of their Dominion. They simply don't want to be bothered by the solids, and so they are content to dwell in their ocean community and allow genetically engineered soldiers and brainwashed diplomats wreak havoc on the rest of the galaxy, intervening only to ensure their overall plans succeed. They clearly consider themselves a superior life form, and in the Great Link, all the troubles of the galaxy are trivial. It might be easier for the viewer to understand the Changelings if we had some more background on this "persecution" they once experienced at the hands of solids. But for now, they seem even worse than the Borg. At least the Borg were consistent: their collective nature and desire to assimilate explained their indifference to the suffering they caused. Changeling indifference is a bit harder to grasp because it's all so intangible, a big mystery that one could only understand if one is in the Great Link.

    Anyway, a good "continuity" episode, continuing to show life on the station and with the Defiant and Federation. This is certainly not the episode you want to watch if you're checking out DS9 for the first time, or else nothing will make sense.

    I will say this for the writers of DS9: they incorporate humor, wit, and sharp comedy into their scripts better than any other series of Trek. One-liners like the one O'Brien gave to Nog about nobody being left to call him captain are typical of this series. Then you have characters like Quark and Garak, whose sole purpose at times seems to be to deliver comic relief in tense situations. It's a hallmark of DS9, and it's one I thoroughly enjoy. This series probably has the best "quotations" list of any.
  • From L on 2013-08-04 at 2:07am:
    Damn Odo, you'll have to do something pretty big to redeem yourself from this massive lapse in reliability, now that you're a Great Link junkie.
    Slap him Kira. Slap him hard.
  • From AW on 2015-12-29 at 1:14am:
    Not showing the mission is good character development. Overall this show has always been presented from Sisko's perspective. Star Trek has almost exclusively presented envy themes in hokey, usually filler, episodes. Conflict between members of Star Fleet rarely surfaces in such a naturally personal level.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x05 - Favor the Bold

Originally Aired: 1997-10-27

Synopsis:
The Federation continues to lose the war with the Dominion/Cardassian Alliance and morale is sinking fast. [DVD]

My Rating - 10

Fan Rating Average - 5.07

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 92 2 6 2 3 2 3 5 9 27 72

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This episode is a candidate for my "Best Episode of DS9 Award"
- This episode establishes that Changelings do not age. Perhaps this works by the Great Link constantly rejuvenating itself somehow? Perhaps a Changeling which never returns to the Great Link would eventually die of old age?
- This episode establishes that the Vorta lack a sense of aesthetics.
- This episode establishes that the Vorta have poor eyesight and that the Jem'Hadar have excellent vision.
- This episode establishes that the Vorta have very good ears and can hear very well.
- The enemy Dominion fleet at the end of this episode consisted of 1254 ships. Bashir claimed that a fleet that size outnumbered the Federation fleet two to one.

Remarkable Scenes
- Seeing the Defiant on the front lines. Finally.
- O'Brien singing his "engage, retreat" tune he started in DS9: A Time to Stand again. Bashir: "Well we'd better think of a new tune fast or the only song we're gonna be singing is hail the conquering Dominion."
- Dax: "We're not going to win this war by running away from the enemy."
- Sisko announcing he wants to retake DS9.
- Sisko presenting his plan to retake DS9 to the admirals.
- Weyoun examining one of Ziyal's paintings.
- Weyoun: "Gods don't make mistakes."
- Weyoun's response to Kira asking him to release Rom: "You can't release a man and then execute him. It makes no sense."
- Martok, regarding his plans to bring Worf with him when he talks to Gowron: "What could be better? An ally and an enemy both telling him the same thing. He'll have no other choice but to agree!"
- Weyoun: "You're not sure? Two large enemy fleets break off from the front lines and rendezvous at a Starbase and you're not sure why?"
- Kira beating up Damar. Ziyal: "Did you kill him?" Kira: "No, but I thought about it."
- Sisko's lofty description of Bajor to Admiral Ross.
- Nog promoted to ensign! Cool.
- Weyoun: "Weak eyes, good ears."
- The sight of the massive Federation fleet and the sight of the massive twice as large Dominion fleet of 1254 ships.
- Sisko: "There's an old saying. Fortune favors the bold. Well, I guess we're about to find out."
- Morn Appearances; 1. Supposedly just finished bemoaning to Quark about having to attend his mother's birthday party. 2. At Quark's, wrapping a present. His present is used as the method to get a message off the station.

My Review
Another spectacular performance by Salome Jens as the female shapeshifter, manipulating Odo, as well as Jeffrey Combs as Weyoun, manipulating the Cardassians. Even Dukat and Damar get great roles in this episode. We get to see how dedicated Damar is to his job and how maniacal Dukat can be. We get to actually see the Defiant on the front lines for the first time since DS9: A Call to Arms, we get numerous tidbits of cool information and factoids regarding the Dominion, and the episode slowly but surely builds to the best cliffhanger since TNG: The Best of Both Worlds, DS9: A Call to Arms, and Voy: Scorpion.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From AW on 2015-12-29 at 2:07am:
    Props to Morn for plot relevance.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x06 - Sacrifice of Angels

Originally Aired: 1997-11-3

Synopsis:
Dukat loses a daughter, while the Alpha Quadrant gains a victory. [DVD]

My Rating - 10

Fan Rating Average - 7.52

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 25 13 5 6 3 3 3 6 9 13 133

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This episode is a candidate for my "Best Episode of DS9 Award."
- In this episode alone, 2800 Dominion ships were destroyed in the wormhole and at least some of the 1254 ships the Dominion sent against the Federation had to have been destroyed as well, along with some of the ~600 Federation ships that engaged the Dominion and some of the Klingon task force too. That's quite a body count. It must have been in the hundreds of thousands at the very least!

Remarkable Scenes
- The sight of the two fleets in formation before the battle. Impressive stuff.
- O'Brien: "Canon to the right of them. Canon to the left of them. Canon in front of them. Volleyed and thundered." Bashir: "Stormed at with shot and shell. Boldly they rode and well into the jaws of death. Into the mouth of hell rode the six hundred."
- Sisko ordering the fighters to attack.
- The entire fleet charging into the battle.
- Dukat: "War is such thirsty business, don't you agree?" Weyoun: "Perhaps if you didn't talk so much, your throat wouldn't get so dry."
- Dukat and Weyoun discussing the Bajoran occupation, the current occupation, and future plans. I love how they casually discuss whether or not to completely wipe out Earth's population to quell possible resistance. This conversation really shows you how insane Dukat is. Weyoun? He's a bit twisted. But Dukat is a maniac.
- Watching ships get picked off left and right as the Defiant charges through the lines.
- The Klingons showing up and joining the battle.
- The Defiant breaking through enemy lines.
- Quark rescuing Kira, Leeta, Rom, and Jake.
- Dukat detonating the minefield literally one second before Rom disabled the station's weapons.
- I love the speechless looks on the Defiant bridge as they watch the mines go one by one.
- Sisko: "Take us into the wormhole." O'Brien: "What the hell. Only going to meet a couple thousand Dominion ships." Dax: "One ship against an entire fleet? That's a hell of a plan B!"
- Female shapeshifter: "Send a message to our listening posts in the gamma quadrant. Tell the reinforcements that the alpha quadrant awaits them."
- Sisko charging the Defiant into the wormhole.
- Sisko to the prophets: "You want to be gods? Then be gods. I need a miracle. Bajor needs a miracle. Stop those ships!"
- Weyoun, realizing they've been defeated somehow: "Time to start packing!"
- Damar murdering Ziyal.
- Sisko and crew reboarding the station.

My Review
And so ends the DS9 occupation arc. This episode is the biggest roller coaster ride ever displayed on Star Trek so far. The massive space battle is indescribably awesome, and the immense use of characters was truly sublime. This episode is everything the conclusion to this magnificent arc should have been and more. Aside from general declarations of the episode's awesomeness, there are some interesting details I'd like to point out. For one, I enjoyed watching Garak fight for the Federation all through the arc. From Call to Arms and onward, Garak chose his side very clearly. He's no longer the ambiguous player of both sides he was in the first season. Another detail I enjoyed was how it was Odo and the Bajoran security officers that ultimately allowed Rom to sabotage the station's weapons and kept the Defiant from being destroyed. If you remember back to earlier in this arc, Dukat and Damar expressed dismay about the idea of armed Bajoran security officers on the station. Seems their fears were justified. :) Last, but not least though is Dukat. The way he fell apart at the end of this episode was absolutely perfect. He went from being absolutely sure of victory, to confused, to realizing he'd been defeated, to despair over Damar murdering his daughter, to totally insane and disconnected with reality in the span of a few minutes of on-screen plot. One of the most brilliant performances I've seen on Star Trek. When you add it all up, this episode is a stroke of utter brilliance.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From RichD on 2006-06-19 at 8:18pm:
    What a fantastic episode. It incorporated brave, bold ideas that were missing in say, the last 2 Star Trek movies. Dukat's meltdown at the end after witnessing the death of his daughter Ziyal was truly gut wrenching. The battle scenes were epic in nature. DS9 is my favorite among all the Star Trek series. This episode ranks among the top five or Six along with In the Pale Moonlight, A Call to Arms, Rocks and Shoals, The Siege of AR558 and The Visitor.
  • From Pete Miller on 2006-07-13 at 1:14am:
    The scenes over the past two episodes where the female shapeshifter is talking to Odo about leaving the pathetic solids behind and joining the great link are really quite disturbing. This reminded me alot of Emperor Palpatine trying to turn Luke Skywalker to the dark side in 'Star Wars: Return of The Jedi'. That shapeshifter lady is so evil, it's unbelievable. She just dismisses all solids as irrelevant and constantly manipulates Odo to turn to the Star Trek dark side. I was waiting for her to start shooting lightning bolts out of her fingers at the end.

    For all the female shapeshifter's smugness, condescension, superior attitude, and downright xenophobia, it was quite a pleasure to see the prophets destroy the Dominion's ships like flies. It's nice to know that there are those out there who would consider the shapeshifters limited and pathetic, as the shapeshifters consider the solids. It also reveals that the dominion and the shapeshifters are nothing but petty dictators and conquerors. If they were as superior and detached as they claimed, they would be in a situation similar to the prophets, not messing in the affairs of the solids as they currently do.
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2010-03-09 at 11:55am:
    This episode marks the end of the fun Dukat, and the beginning of the insane Dukat. I love DS9, but I think this is the single biggest mistake in the DS9 story arc.
  • From Zaphod on 2011-05-18 at 7:33am:
    What a letdown, what foolish decision to let the prophets conjure away that Dominion fleet just like that.

    Btw, I stopped watching DS9 after that bullshit ending to such a promising and exciting story arc, because I just dont trust the authors of the series anymore, dont want to give them the chance to fool me again. ^^
    And I wont read your site anymore btw, guess, the reviews on this site are more to my taste:

    http://www.cynicscorner.org/ds9_6/ds9_6s.html
  • From Bernard on 2011-05-25 at 12:50pm:
    And I'm sure our webmaster is truly devastated by that announcement Zaphod.

    This is by no means the best television I have ever watched, but it is a super conclusion to the 7 episode story arc. It really is. As usual with DS9 it is what's going on with the characters that is important. Here, Marc Alaimo gets to take centre stage and he doesn't disappoint.

    This episode also has a rare commodity in Star Trek... genuine suspense. It builds up and up continuing from where the last episode left off. Will they make it? Will Rom do it? All the pay-offs here are brilliant.

    The only thing that brings this episode down slightly is the problem with many major episodes later in the DS9 run - too much pointless space battles. I just don't want to see another CGI sequence, that's not why I watch Star Trek. TNG had that aspect nailed, used just enough to show what was going on. DS9 in episodes like this hits you over the head with shot after shot of ships exploding... I want to see more of what's going on in Sisko's head, Dukat's head.

    The conclusion that Zaphod takes such exception to is fine with me. In fact they could have used a similar 'get out' in Voyager by using Q to save their bacon instead of the preposterous watering down and then besting of the Borg in 'Endgame'.

    The aspect of the prophets that I dislike as shown here, and I already discussed this in a comment on 'Ascension', is that they become more and more interested in Bajor as the series progresses. Instead of Science Fiction you almost feel like you are watching 'Spiritual-Fiction'. Throughout all other incarnations of Star Trek religious belief was continually held up as ancient superstition by our heroes. Everytime there is a culture or being that holds some beliefs they are shown to be backward or erroneous in some way. This show actually starts to suggest that the spiritual people of Bajor are being watched over by beings that didn't even understand the concept of time in the pilot.

    Anyway, none of that takes away from this episode as a dramatic piece. As our webmaster describes it, 'utter brilliance'. I would say ALMOST flawless, but not quite.
  • From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-18 at 2:56pm:
    Deus Ex Machina. That's that only problem I have with the conclusion. Too many things worked out in this epsiode. The change of h eart Odo had seemed a bit too quick as well. They should have played up the conflict more with Odo in that respect - almost like a drug addict having to give up his fix for the ones he loves. I LOVED the Weyoun's quick retreat comment and body language. I can see why this episode is highly rated, I just wish the resolution was more creative.
  • From JR on 2012-06-12 at 3:04am:
    There are so many good episodes in seasons 5 & 6 and this one is non-stop action. It seems like I find ways to nitpick a bit in each one.

    I could not, and still cannot, figure out how a mere Captain, on one of the lead ships no less, is commanding the entire fleet of ships. That would be the responsibility of someone three or four grades higher. They even had an admiral (not sure how high) in the last couple episodes that could easily have been included.

    I understand Sisko commanding maybe one attack wing, but giving orders to all of them while making a rapier himself is a bit ridiculous.

    I also agree with the above sentiment that having the prophets "disappear" all the dominion ships in the wormhole was pretty cheesy. It would have been cooler if Rom's minefield ended up working after the dominion thought it was clear and ordered their ships through. But, I gather there will be some repercussions to Sisko for asking the prophets to act, and I guess that will make for a good storyline down the road.
  • From Captain Keogh on 2013-03-17 at 7:20am:
    I remember the first time I saw this episode, I was only 8, I was amazed at how many ships there were.

    I alos loved the ending where Dukat is being led away and O'brein is holding a baseball bat, I just thought there was a bit of humour in that.
  • From L on 2013-08-04 at 4:05am:
    I didn't see any O'Brien with a baseball bat.

    This was a fitting climax. Hard to see how the rest of the season can compete.

    I was as shocked as Dukat was when his daughter was killed. Why did they have to do that? I really liked her. Almost made me cry, especially coming straight after the honest exchange between them of their love for each other.

    The Changeling's callousness and superiority is becoming more evident and sinister.
    The head changeling's apparent blandness just increases this evil.

    I did not like the Prophet's cliched intervention, and the demanding of a 'price' to do so. I don't see any reason they had to deny Sisko his future happiness, other than the usual psychopathic motivation of those who call themselves gods.
    A very slight anti-climax to a moving story arc.
  • From TheAnt on 2013-09-15 at 7:22pm:
    It really is a great episode, tension and quite some excitement how the situation will resolve with such impossible odds.
    A remarkable scene in my book is when Quark stand stunned after killing the two guards.

    Odo comes around all of a sudden, sadly it does not feel altogether convincing. Ok Kira have given him a verbal kick in the gonads, yet even so he shrugs off the lure of the changelings from having been all enthralled.

    The reason I cannot give the episode a solid 10 is the fact that the Dominion is defeated by a Deux ex machina - that's where the storytelling depart from the style which have made Star Trek great - not even 'Q' did any supernatural rescue from the Borg for example. I shake my head and give a thumbs down on this detail.

    Now if we accept that, and watch this as Space opera in the Star Trek universe.
    Then Dukat's madness is rather fitting, and as such t can be viewed as one heck of an episode for entertainment value, with good action and multiple story lines that make it top notch drama.

    A small correction, it's actually Weyoun who push for the idea of wiping out Earth's population. Whereas Dukat appear to think it might not be necessary if only the will to resist can be broken by a decisive victory.
  • From Axel on 2015-05-09 at 8:13pm:
    Sure, this does end with a deux ex machina as other comments have pointed out. It's made a little more bearable by the fact that the wormhole aliens (hate calling them Prophets) do extract a price from Sisko in exchange for intervening purely at his insistence. Without that aspect, it would've been a lot more ridiculous to simply have them make the Jem'Hadar fleet disappear. It would've begged the question as to why Sisko doesn't just go to the wormhole aliens every time he needs help fighting the Dominion.

    I would've preferred an ending that involved the minefield too. Far too much time was spent on that plot element for it to simply end as abruptly as it did. But the episode still gets an 8 from me for all its other awesomeness.

    It's been suggested that Roddenberry might've included more space battles in TOS if he'd had the budget and technology. This episode shows what that can add: a fantastic visual to go along with the plot. It's also beautifully acted especially by Alaimo.
  • From Zorak on 2016-06-21 at 12:48am:
    All other things aside, the ending with Dukat was surprisingly heart wrenching. As much of a villain as he is and as much as he had it coming to him, I couldn't help but feel for the guy. That was brutal.
  • From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-11-26 at 2:17pm:
    While Gul Dukat definitely doesn't deserve any statues on Bajor, Marc Alaimo should have one built for his portrayal in this episode. Fantastically played turning point in Dukat's character arc.
  • From jobu on 2024-02-26 at 8:49am:
    On to this episode and arc. All I remembered from my first watch was the deus ex machina which irritated me so much I stopped watching for a while. Even knowing it was coming, I still found it just as ridiculous.

    The prophets wiping out the dominion ships is just such a massive missed storytelling opportunity. The DS9 creators loved to mock and boast about flouting Star Trek and Sci-Fi tropes about technobabble and reset buttons. So their conclusion to a 7 episode galactic invasion story is a magic wave of the hand without a scratch on any of the main cast? My mind immediately went to the original V Mini-series where after thought provoking allegorical storytelling a little girl with super powers stops the evil enemy on the brink of destroying humanity with the wave of a hand. This was just as awful to me. There will be a "penance" is not enough.

    I could think of more compelling story turns off the top of my head and I'm not a writer. How about the Prophets meeting the Founders? How about Weyoun and Dukat meeting the Prophets ? Weyoun questioning his entire belief system leading to a Dominion dissident movement? Or if you really want to do the epic divine intervention, do a DS9 take on the TOS Organians or TNG Q . Render all weapons useless passing through the wormhole. Make the Federation immune to Dominion weapons and vice versa. Hand wave the Jem'Hadar drug dependence away and see what happens. Create an even graver threat forcing them to cooperate. Anything other than Poof! All the Bad GuysTM are gone. Its far too simplistic like the Vedic who killed herself to "oppose evil."

    What really bothers me is the moral implication. This show already has Founders who have no respect for lifeforms other than their own. They literally create two races of disposable beings to do their bidding. Now the Prophets just wiped how many Dominion troops out of existence, tens of thousands? So apparently in DS9, all powerful beings have absolutely zero regard for life. What, its okay because the Dominion were "the enemy"? That's just an awful message. For a show intent on exploring moral ambiguity that's again way too simplistic.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x07 - You Are Cordially Invited...

Originally Aired: 1997-11-10

Synopsis:
Worf's plans for a traditional Klingon wedding are threatened when Martok's wife refuses to accept Dax into their family. [DVD]

My Rating - 6

Fan Rating Average - 6.36

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 31 9 6 1 4 9 23 19 23 21 55

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
- Curzon Dax negotiated the Khitomer accords.
- Dax is 356 years old in this episode.
- The goofy dance Nog did with Jadzia at the bachelorette party was made up entire on the spot by Aron Eisenberg as kind of a joke, but everybody loved it, so they went with it.
- Terry Farrell actually (accidentally) hit the actress playing Sirella in one of the takes when Sirella barges in on her bachelorette party.

Remarkable Scenes
- Sirella challenging Dax.
- For the ritual of blood, Worf asks who will be first. O'Brien, Sisko, and Alexander step back while Worf isn't looking. Bashir does not, because he isn't paying attention. Worf says: "I did not expect that it would be you, doctor." Bashir, now paying attention: "Neither did I."
- Bashir and O'Brien's "vision" of killing Worf.
- Martok: "We are not accorded the luxury of choosing the woman we fall in love with. Do you think Sirella is anything like the woman I thought I'd marry? She is a prideful, arrogant, mercurial woman who shares my bed far too infrequently for my taste. And yet... I love her deeply."
- The wedding.
- Bashir and O'Brien unable to contain their desire to participate in the ritual attack on Worf.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Seen in the opening scene when the flags are unfurled. Is kissed by a woman before he enters Quark's. 2. At Dax's party. Watches Lt. Atoa's fire dance. He gets in a fight with a Bolian offscreen. Later, he happily slam dances with the Bolian. 3. The morning after the party Morn wakes up behind a couch with Lt. Atoa. They get up and leave. 4. Attends the wedding.

My Review
A fair episode. Everyone is in a giddy mood because they have the station back. And Worf and Dax get married. The little feud didn't interest me much, and the episode has no other contention to offer. I mostly gave it extra points for the hilarious Klingon stuff. The wedding itself was fantastic, as was O'Brien's and Bashir's role in the episode.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Jason on 2009-11-22 at 1:20am:
    The talented polynesian flamestick twirler, a lieutenant, had been given the day off by a request from Dax. Dax mentioned that "Captain Shelby owed me a favor." This seems to be a reference to the excellent and ambitious first officer, Commander Shelby, that served briefly on the Enterprise under Will Riker in TNG Episode 3x26 - The Best of Both Worlds, Part I & Part II. Evidently she's been promoted to captain. Great continuity!!
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2010-02-22 at 1:54pm:
    I give this an 8, a higher grade than people are giving here. There's a lot of interesting one-on-one character interaction here: Martok and Sirella, Sisko and Dax, Worf and Dax, O-Brien and Bashir, Odo and Kira, Dax and Sirella, etc. There's also many comedic momements. The wedding at the end was remarkable to watch. The story told during the ceremony adds many more pages to Klingon lore.

    "Remarkable Scenes" I would add:
    -Dax: "Good, I like a challenge"
    Sirella: "I will not be challenged"
    -Dax reciting Sirella's family history and noting the lack of noble blood
    -Martok admitting to Worf that Sirella doesn't like him
    -Martok reciting the stages of the road to Calhia (something like "pain, death ..."). Bashir then says, "Sounds like marriage to me."
    -Dax punching Sirella
    -Worf catching the firedancer and Morn leaving Dax's quarters
    -Hungover Dax finding Odo and Kira in the closet
    -Quark: "No refunds for those on the road to Kalhia, either."
    -the hitting of the wedding party with mallets
  • From John on 2011-12-18 at 7:46pm:
    I really like this episode. It works well in the context of season 6, and serves to drive home the point that the Klingons are no longer adversaries, but allies.

    Also, I guess it's cause I'm sort of a romantic, but I really enjoyed the Klingon wedding. You can tell the writers spent a lot of time thinking about it -- it was very well done.

    Finally, I have to agree with Orion on his "remarkable scenes", particularly the one where Sirella draws a knife and then Dax clocks her across the jaw. I lol'd.
  • From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-19 at 3:22pm:
    I gave this episode a 10 even though some parts of it were uncomfortably silly and forced. I agree that the writers did put a lot of effort into this episode, and the conversations between Worf and Malak and Sisko and Dax showcase the amazing talents of both the cast and crew. Was it me or did Malak's wife have normal teeth in the scene where Dax had the buckets?
  • From LKell on 2012-08-14 at 5:59am:
    Dax says to the guy dancing with the fire 'Captain Shelby owes me a favor'

    Perhaps a reference to COMMANDER Shelby of The Best of Both Worlds - who has since been promoted?
  • From Harrison on 2012-08-25 at 8:03am:
    An elaborate episode, celebrating the Federation culture in in glorious detail. The story of the Klingon hearts recited at the wedding is simply awesome.
  • From L on 2013-08-04 at 5:50am:
    Klingon culture is insane, and their women all look alike.

    "A concubine living outside the Imperial stables." Snap, Dax.

    "But the second heart beat stronger than the first, and the first was jealous of its power."
    Hooray for politically correct sexism.

    Still, this episode was right in coming after the previous ones, and a genuinely feel good one. Loved Odo and Kira talking in the closet all night.
  • From McCoy on 2017-02-25 at 5:06am:
    Well, I don't like Jadzia at all, but this is probably the first episode in which I was on her side. I just don't buy all that Klingon "samurai-nordic-honor" bull***. They're just murderers with twisted ego. And racist. Why Jadzia should respect someone, who wants only to humiliate her? Sorry. If you want to be respected, you need to respect others. Chief and Julian should break some ribs, and not only Worf's:)

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x08 - Resurrection

Originally Aired: 1997-11-17

Synopsis:
When a stranger beams aboard the station and takes Kira hostage, she is shocked to see that he looks exactly like her dead love, Vedek Bareil. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 3.78

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 15 19 17 10 6 12 10 9 8 3 5

Filler Quotient: 3, bad filler, totally skippable.
- Usually the mirror universe episodes are not filler, but this one is.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- The opening scene, with a mentioning of captain Boday, a Gallamite with a transparent skull.
- Kira, regarding a prospective date: "His eye bothers me." Dax: "Which one?" Kira: "The middle one."
- The station crew's expert handling of the hostage situation.
- Bariel: "I suppose it must be nice to have that kind of faith. I've always preferred to believe in nothing. That way I'm never disappointed."
- Bariel stealing Worf's Mak'Leth.
- Quark's subtle hints to Kira.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Is seen when Bariel walks by Quark's. 2. Behind Bariel in Quark's.

My Review
This is the worst mirror universe installment yet, mostly because it doesn't actually take place in the mirror universe. Mirror Bariel and mirror Kira show up on DS9, trying to steal an orb, for no discernible reason. They claim they'll use it to form a religion to unite the mirror Bajorans in which they're the central religious figures, but I think that it's questionable whether or not the stolen orb would function at all in the mirror universe, especially the capacity they were expecting. That said, the episode was actually doing pretty good until mirror Kira showed up. The writers just can't stand to waste an opportunity to use that character for some reason. Nana Visitor does a fantastic job playing as her, but the character was totally inappropriate for this story. It would have been a much better story if Bariel really was trying to escape the mirror universe and ended up playing some kind of semi permanent role on the show in later episodes. Instead, the episode was one cup filler with a tablespoon of cliche. In the middle of the Dominion war no less!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From rpeh on 2010-08-02 at 6:06pm:
    Dreadful episode.

    Having built up the tension of the Dominion war then taken a quick break to let Worf and Dax get married as they had always promised, one expects a return to action. Instead... we get a banal episode in the awful mirror series that takes the story nowhere and just acts as a method to assist sleep after a late night Trek-thon.

    I'd like to know if *anybody* was surprised by the plot "twist". He's from the mirror universe! Of *course* he's going to be evil!
  • From Rob UK on 2023-12-06 at 7:56am:
    This gets my vote for worst DS9 episode, definitely puts it in contention for worst Star Trek episode too, right up there with Move Along Home, i'm sure we all remember that one

    Allamaraine, count to four, Allamaraine, then three more, Allamaraine, if you can see, Allamaraine, you'll come with me.

    But this episode is bad for totally different reasons, it is as if Disney bought it for a single episode with the intent of destroying the mirror verse storyline and then gave it back.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x09 - Statistical Probabilities

Originally Aired: 1997-11-24

Synopsis:
With the secret of his genetically-engineered past out in the open, Bashir is asked to work with a group of others like him. [DVD]

My Rating - 9

Fan Rating Average - 5.85

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 28 5 7 2 4 4 10 21 21 30 16

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- This is the first episode in which we see Damar in his new position. It also introduces Bashir's "mutant" friends who will recur later and their various predictions about the war has some intriguingly accurate foreshadowing; some of it is correct, though not all of it.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- The opening scene. I especially liked Jack.
- Bashir meeting the "mutants." I especially like Jack's "test" of Bashir's mental abilities.
- Bashir discussing the "mutants" with the senior staff and the debate that ensued.
- Jack: "Well why don't you fix it, dear fellow, dear fellow, well why don't you fix it before I go mad!"
- The "mutants" inferring all kinds of correct information just from Damar's speech.
- Patrick staring into Weyoun. Hilarious if you don't know it's all holographic on first viewing.
- Bashir presenting his and the mutants' predictions and analyses to Sisko.
- The whole dancing scene.
- According to Jack, O'Brien is "uncomplicated."
- Sisko's reaction to Bashir's suggestion that the Federation should surrender to the Dominion because there's no hope of winning.
- Patrick walking up to a random person and saying, "I'm Patrick!"
- Weyoun: "Odo!" Odo: "Yes, I know, I honor you with my presence."
- Morn Appearances; 1. Behind O'Brien in the bar when Bashir tries to convince O'Brien that the Federation should surrender.

My Review
This is a great episode with a remarkable set of new guest stars. A group of four genetically engineered "mutants" with mental disorders from their genetic background are taken to the station in the hopes that Dr. Bashir can help them assimilate better into society. Together, the five start working for Starfleet Intelligence, making grandiose predictions about the Dominion. As the episode progresses, their predictions get more and more grandiose to the point where they predict the Federation can never beat the Dominion. In the end, Bashir convinces them that their assumptions might have been flawed, and that they can't predict everything. The experience, however, leaves them feeling like they've finally contributed something, as some of their analyses were very useful to Starfleet. Most remarkable about the episode though was the characters. First there's Jack, an energetic, athletic, egocentric, super smart, fast talking guy unstable guy who seemed unable to control his behavior. Then there's Lauren, who seems to be sexually attracted to every man she sees... to the extreme; unable to think of anything else. Then there's Patrick. An old man who still acts like a child. And finally, Sarina, who seems unable to focus her attention on anything. She just stands and stares. All things considered, this is one of the most original and entertaining episodes I've seen in a long time.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Krs321 on 2011-08-24 at 8:38am:
    This episode offered a ton of potential but squandered it on poor writing. The idea of a bunch of intelligence savants is intriguing but used kind of foolishly. They only had 1 hour to build an arc so I can't complain too much but the conflict/resolution could've been so much better.

    Never has an existing inside joke had a better chance at being used in an episode centered around Julian (and his relationship with O'Brien): the Battle of Britain.

    Instead of having Julian get punched and released by Deus Ex Sarina (b/c of Love? lame):
    - Julian wakes up and is found by Miles.
    - Miles says he was going to find Julian to go "play" (derisive joke from earlier) the Battle of Britain in the holosuite
    - Julian has an ah-ha moment
    - Cut to Julian intercepting the augments and dropping some logic on Jack about how all their statistical methods predicted certain defeat for England in the face of a German invasion in 1940. That way we can at least give some kind of credence to the fighting spirit of humanity/the Federation rather than Julian just proving the already obvious fact that probability estimates are just estimates. Zzzzz

    I wanted to like this episode and I'm glad they stayed away from the "Julian starts to over identify with the augments and everyone gets mad at him" trope, but they left a lot on the table.
  • From John on 2011-09-24 at 2:30pm:
    I have to say I really enjoy this episode, though I do think the writing is a bit ridiculous.

    I like the way Jack is depicted as a sort of Mad Hatter, while Lauren is a genius nymphomaniac. Patrick is more along the lines of a classic, introverted autistic personality. We don't learn a lot about Sarina in this episode, but I'm glad they included her, because the later episodes will feature her more prominently.

    It's also interesting to note how the group of them become a sort of "Bletchley Park" for the Federation in the Dominion War. In case you don't know, in WW2, Bletchley Park was where the Allies had their code-breaking operation: a lot of mathematicians worked there, trying to crack the German Enigma codes -- by all accounts these analysts were brilliant, but quite quirky. Kind of neat to see the Federation with such an operation of their own.

    It does lose a point from me though, only because the savants (especially Jack) are written so over-the-top.
  • From Zorak on 2016-06-22 at 2:31am:
    I didn't read Asimov's Foundation series until I was in my 20's, well after DS9 ended. When I did read it I could tell I'd seen it's theme referenced (or simply mirrored) by something I'd previously seen or read. It seems to have been this episode. Asimov's idea of predicting the future through probability and statistical data is very interesting, but it's a bad fit for Star Trek. Aside from that annoyance (which was made more annoying by how seriously it was taken, and then completely dismissed), this was a fun episode. I enjoy the group of misfit "mutants".
  • From Armsauce on 2017-06-10 at 9:01pm:
    When Sisko dismisses Bashir's surrender proposal, he should have brought up the prophet's actions in Sacrifice of Angels. There's no way the mutants could predict something like that, and it showed that there's no real way to know how the war will turn out.

    It really seems like something Bashir would have realized himself but it seems like everyone would rather forget about it.

  • From Tooms on 2021-04-08 at 3:13am:
    A decent idea sunk by awful writing and even worse acting. Siddig wasn’t able to carry the episode and the mutant crew is just plain bad. The knockoff Twelve Monkeys Brad Pitt act is painful to watch. One of my least favorite DS9 episodes & I’m honestly puzzled that people liked it.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x10 - The Magnificent Ferengi

Originally Aired: 1998-1-1

Synopsis:
The Grand Nagus calls with news that Quark's mother, Ishka, has been captured by the Dominion. [DVD]

My Rating - 10

Fan Rating Average - 7.29

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 17 0 3 2 3 5 10 11 19 26 47

Filler Quotient: 1, partial filler, but has important continuity. I recommend against skipping this one.
- Outside of Keevan's ultimate fate, there is nothing significant here from a continuity standpoint. But I strongly recommend watching the episode anyway simply due to how hysterically entertaining it is.

Problems
- Why is Empok Nor shown titled in exterior shots? Why is the station abandoned still? Surely either the Federation or the Dominion would be interested in moving it somewhere to be used as a supplementary defensive position?

Factoids
- This episode is a candidate for my "Best Episode of DS9 Award."
- Vorta are supposed to commit suicide when they're captured, according to Keevan.
- The Vorta Yelgrun in this episode was played by famous musician Iggy Pop.

Remarkable Scenes
- The Starfleet officers stealing Quark's audience. Poor baby...
- Quark telling Rom about the Ishka's relationship with Zek.
- Quark and Rom getting showing up in Sisko's office.
- Leck: "I don't care about latinum." A surreal statement from a Ferengi.
- Brunt to Quark: "A child, a moron, a failure, and a psychopath. Quite a little team you've put together."
- The holosuite practice session.
- Keevan's appearance.
- The whole running scenes on Empok Nor when they thought they lost their prisoner, then running back to the infirmary when the Dominion ship arrived.
- Quark, Rom, and Nog's first meeting with Yelgrun.
- Keevan's final words just after being shot by Gaila: "I hate Ferengi."
- Yulgrun: "And I thought the Breen were annoying."
- Puppet Keevan with his tilted head.
- Puppet Keevan walking into the wall.
- The Ferengi ambushing the Jem'Hadar and capturing Yelgrun. I especially liked Leck throwing a knife into a Jem'Hadar's chest.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Opening scene, listens to Quark's story. 2. Behind Rom in the bar when he talks to Quark about the holosuite practice session results.

My Review
Marvelous; the best Ferengi episode yet. Good connections with DS9: Ferengi Love Songs, with regards to Ishka's relationship with Zek, good connections with DS9: Empok Nor since we get to see Empok Nor again, and good connections with DS9: Rocks and Shoals; we learn the true fate of Keevan. It's a shame we don't get to see Quark tell Sisko the story. I think Sisko would have said something like, "Keevan got exactly what he deserved." Iggy Pop's cameo as Yelgrun was fantastic; the musician makes one hell of a Vorta! The episode features good continuity all around and the team of the six "magnificent Ferengi" is wonderfully constructed and brilliantly played out. I couldn't be happier with this wonderful episode that mixes humor and danger so successfully. Bravo!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-07-14 at 11:16pm:
    Yelgrun has a barely tolerable lisp that annoys the hell out of me. It sounds like he's wearing a retainer.
  • From onlinebroker on 2009-11-15 at 12:53am:
    The scene where Nogg checks his grandmas blood is just hilarious. Loved the whole episode, and I agree, great performance by Iggy Pop!
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2010-02-18 at 4:40pm:
    The laughing between Quark and Nog at the end of the episode seems to be an ad-lib. Out of character, but I always laugh with them when I see it.

    I'd probably give it an 8. There's one part that I dislike. It's when Nog, Quark, and Rom first come out to greet Yelgrun. The three stare at each other with these bad-ass looks on their faces. Maybe it was a parody of some old movie, but I thought it was a stupid moment.
  • From rpeh on 2010-08-03 at 3:20am:
    It's a great episode that manages to mix fun and suspense well. The references to westerns make it even better.

    @Orion Pimpdaddy, Gene Roddenberry created star trek as a western in space: "Wagon Train to the Stars" was his description, so homages to the genre are entirely appropriate. It's tough if you don't understand them.
  • From Popescu on 2010-09-21 at 10:55pm:
    This episode is absolutely fantastic! I've never laughed so much watching a ST episode. Watching those little Ferengi banging their heads to form a commando and confront the Dominion was simply amazing.

    "Two slips of latinum to the first who makes it to the infirmary" - I couldn't believe my ears hearing that :)

    A very nice relief episode during the Dominion war and a very very good reuse of characters! Bravos!
  • From MJ on 2011-01-26 at 1:18pm:
    Well, both the Vorta may hate Ferengi, but I love them! Or rather, I love the Ferengi as they are portrayed in DS9, which did the same thing with the Ferengi that TNG did with the Klingons.

    DS9 really made itself better and more rounded by expanding on the Ferengi through episodes like this. The Dominion War, the Maquis, Sisko's struggle with his wife's death, Odo's separation from his people, Kira's stories and the horrific history of the Bajoran persecution...all of these are very serious topics that deal with complex issues. How nice to have the comical Ferengi episodes enter the series every now and again!

    My two favorite scenes in this episode are the bungled rescue operation in the holo suite, and the prisoner exchange at the end. I couldn't stop laughing...very well done!

  • From attractionmagnetical on 2011-07-11 at 2:59am:
    I have to say, Keevan really made this episode for me. His constant disgust while being dragged around the station, his bored expressions while the Ferengi planned, his over-the-top predictions of doom, his dying words, and of course, the behaviour and expressions of puppet Keevan were all priceless. Christopher Shea (the actor who played Keevan) did a delightful job with puppet Keevan; I haven't laughed that hard in awhile. Plus, Iggy Pop made a delightful appearance, too.

    As an old movie buff, I really appreciated the many references to the classic "Magnificent Seven" film, although I suspect that DS9's younger audience may miss a lot of them.
  • From Axel on 2015-08-16 at 11:30pm:
    DS9 really found a great crop of actors to play the recurring Ferengi characters. This episode is their crowning achievement. The ensemble works well together, each one bringing his own hilarity to the group. The return of cousin Gala, the assassin Leck, and of course Jeffrey Combs as ex-Liquidator Brunt combined with the usual trio made for a spectacularly humorous and adventurous episode. Close runner-up to "Little Green Men" as far as Ferengi episodes go. Not a dull moment in this one, and great continuity with other story arcs as well. One of my favorites.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x11 - Waltz

Originally Aired: 1998-1-8

Synopsis:
En route to Gul Dukat's war crimes investigation, Sisko meets with the former Cardassian leader, now a prisoner. [DVD]

My Rating - 7

Fan Rating Average - 6.74

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 13 1 2 16 1 6 9 19 27 29 24

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This is one of the favorite episodes of Marc Alaimo, the actor who plays Dukat.

Remarkable Scenes
- The sight of a new Federation starship. Sure we've seen the design before, but not so up close and personal.
- Dukat's hallucinations.
- Sisko discovering that the comm. system was in fact not working and Dukat was faking it.
- Sisko repairing the comm. system while Dukat was away.
- Dukat confronting Sisko about what Sisko "really thinks" about him. I love how Dukat was talking to his hallucinations in front of Sisko and how Sisko slowly began to realize what was going on; how crazy Dukat had really become. I also loved the behavior of the Kira hallucination.
- Sisko's angry conversation with Dukat after Dukat beat him with a metal pipe.
- Dukat justifying his actions as Prefect of Bajor.
- Sisko egging Dukat on, getting him to boast about how much he hated Bajorans and how he should have killed them all when he had the chance.
- Dukat: "I should have killed every last one of them! I should have turned their planet into a graveyard the likes of which the galaxy had never seen! I should have killed them all!" Sisko: "And that is why you're not an evil man?"
- Sisko: "You know old man, sometimes life seems so complicated. Nothing is truly good or truly evil. Everything seems to be a shade of gray. And then you spend some time with a man like Dukat and you realize that there is such a thing as truly evil."

My Review
A great episode that shows us just how truly sadistic Dukat has always been. The dialog between Dukat and Sisko in this episode is very well crafted; Dukat clearly has always had this obsession that goes far beyond rivalry with Sisko. While I liked the episode in the sense that it shows us what happens to Dukat, which was kind of a loose thread, it is kind of a cheap way to get Dukat out of Federation hands and back into bad guy land again. And I would've liked to have seen the battle between the Cardassian ships and the Federation ship Dukat and Sisko were on, so I subtract from the score a bit.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Remco on 2009-06-26 at 4:24pm:
    I liked how Dukat's rationalizations in this episode echoed some of the Iraq war rationalizations. As the western world was going to bring a superior but bloody democracy to Iraq, Dukat was going to give Cardassian superiority to the Bajorans.

    The Iraqis, like the Bajorans, did not quite accept that superiority.

    Of course, then Dukat pulls a Hitler, and starts terrorizing the population, which is where the comparison ends.
  • From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-20 at 8:04pm:
    Musically speaking a waltz has three beats per measure which lines up with the three voices in Dukat's head. Sisko's arm cast thingy reminded me of C-3PO. Brilliant performances by both main actors in this one.
  • From Zorak on 2016-06-22 at 11:04pm:
    I have to agree. That was a fantastic performance by the actor who plays Dukat. I think he might be my favorite Star Trek villain in the entire franchise.
  • From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-11-27 at 4:13pm:
    Dukat is the anti-Sisko, this episode is a phenomenal insight into the post-Ziyal Dukat... but he shows that there has always been shades of his depravity from the very beginning. Fantastic acting, fantastic character. Easiest 10 I have given.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x12 - Who Mourns for Morn?

Originally Aired: 1998-2-4

Synopsis:
The crew is shocked to learn that Morn has been killed in an ion storm. [DVD]

My Rating - 8

Fan Rating Average - 4.74

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 44 8 2 13 2 7 11 16 27 19 9

Filler Quotient: 2, filler, but an enjoyable episode nevertheless. You can skip this one, but you'd miss out on some fun.
- There is nothing significant here from a continuity standpoint. But I strongly recommend watching the episode anyway simply due to how hysterically entertaining it is.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This episode's title is a parody of TOS: Who Mourns for Adonais?
- According to Worf, Morn was an excellent sparring partner. They held weekly combat exercises in the holosuites.
- Jadzia used to have a crush on Morn... Morn wasn't interested.
- According to Quark, the first time Morn came into Quark's bar was about 10 years ago. he still had his hair then.
- The painting smashed over Quark's head is the same one Morn bought from Quark at the auction in DS9: In The Cards.
- Gregory Itzin, who played Hain in this episode played Ilon Tandro in DS9: Dax.
- Morn's hair fell out because he kept latinum in his second stomach.

Remarkable Scenes
- Remarkable inside joke: Odo, regarding Morn's hologram: "Why doesn't it talk?" Quark: "Do you have any idea how much an interactive holo projector costs? Besides, it's a relief not to have to listen to him go on. You know Morn, he never shuts up!"
- The revelation that Morn is dead.
- Quark meeting Morn's ex-wife.
- Quark's conversation with the business associates of Morn.
- The scene when all three separate parties chasing Quark for the inheritance money show up at the same time.
- Quark regarding the lack of latinum in the gold pressed latinum: "There's nothing here but worthless gold!"
- Quark reunited with Morn.
- Morn Appearances; ...well, the whole episode is about him. So listing all dialogs pertaining to him would be the entire script. But here's some remarkable appearances: 1. First scene. Odo talks to him. But he's only a hologram. 2. The Bajoran whom Quark places in Morn's empty seat at the bar during the memorial service is Mark Allan Shepherd, the extra who plays Morn. 3. At the end, gives Quark 100 bricks of gold unpressed latinum which he was hiding in his second stomach.

My Review
An episode focused around a minor character. Not just any minor character though, the episode is centered around Morn. To fully comprehend the greatness and hilarity of this episode, you have to understand the Morn character. In DS9 season one, he was an extra, usually seen in Quark's bar. To fill background space. Eventually, people started to notice that he appeared in virtually every episode. He kind of stuck out like a sore thumb because of his odd alien appearance. So the writers attributed him a name and a small backstory over the last five years. Finally, the inside joke culminated to this point, where the writers thought it would cute to write an episode all about him. The thing is though, part of the fan attraction to Morn's character was the fact that by tradition he's not ever spoken one line. Not one word. He's never once spoken anything onscreen, even though the writers have other characters make references to his talkativeness. So the greatness surrounding this episode is that the writers managed to craft an episode around Morn without ever giving him a single line. And there you have it, the inside joke is complete. Very well done.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From chrisw357 on 2006-06-16 at 9:01pm:
    Some fans may not know this, but Morn's name came about because of his role as a bar regular. It's an anagram for Norm, the bar regular in "Cheers". :D

    Goodbye, sweet Morn! :(
  • From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-20 at 8:52pm:
    I wish the writers of Enterprise were as good as the ones for DS9...they would have also realized that gold was worthless to the Ferengi and Capt.Archer could have never used it to lure them in that god-awful episode.
  • From hugo on 2012-12-21 at 2:16pm:
    great episode! Not too fond of the seductive lady, but the other characters were great - especially the alien brothers!
  • From Zorak on 2016-06-23 at 1:01am:
    Wow. Morn's name really is an anagram and intentional reference to Norm. It's so obvious. I don't know how I never realized it.

  • From Mike on 2016-10-27 at 12:48am:
    Re: Zorak,

    And, to make it even more fun, Morn's corner spot in Quark's bar is similar to Norm's corner spot in the Cheers bar.

    My favorite exchange:

    Quark: Why would the Royal family of Luria give Morn that kind of money?

    HAIN: He was the Crown Prince.

    Quark: Morn was a prince?

    HAIN: You didn't know?

    Quark: Morn was a prince?

    HAIN: That's what I'm saying.

    Quark: Morn was a prince.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x13 - Far Beyond the Stars

Originally Aired: 1998-2-11

Synopsis:
After a friend's ship is destroyed and Sisko considers leaving Starfleet, he begins having visions of his crew as 1950s Americans. [DVD]

My Rating - 7

Fan Rating Average - 7.17

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 21 26 3 5 3 5 5 16 20 27 110

Filler Quotient: 1, partial filler, but has important continuity. I recommend against skipping this one.
- This is one of DS9's most famous episodes, but strictly speaking there is not much here that's relevant to the overarching story. There is a small connection to this episode in DS9: Shadows and Symbols, but it's pretty minor.

Problems
None

Factoids
- Armin Shimerman, who plays Quark, has said that this is his favorite episode of Deep Space Nine.

Remarkable Scenes
- It's a lot of fun figuring out which actors are which character with their make up off.
- O'Brien, who has trouble choosing his words.
- Quark, constantly complaining. No change there.
- Odo, the editor, and control freak. Not much a change there either.
- Kira, discriminated against because she's a girl.
- Sisko, discriminated against because he's black.
- Dukat and Weyoun. Fascist police officers. Not much a change there.
- Worf, a slick baseball player.
- Dax the secretary.
- Dax: "Oh! She's got a worm in her belly! Oh that's disgusting. Interesting, but that's disgusting."
- Odo, referring to Quark: "Herb's been angry ever since Joseph Stalin died."
- Sisko's breakdown.

My Review
Another fantastic episode in a season that's shaping up to be phenomenal. Far Beyond the Stars is an episode exploring perseverance in the face of insurmountable opposition. A war weary Sisko receives a vision of the prophets in which he is the main character in a story of racism in 1950s America. If Bennie the writer can persevere, then Bennie the soldier can persevere as well. There are drops of humor in this episode with regards to the odd behavior of the displaced crew, O'Brien was my definite favorite, but the subject matter is quite serious and Sisko's performance during his breakdown at the end is marvelous. Up there with the kind of performances we've seen from Patrick Stewart as Picard in TNG: The Inner Light or TNG: Chain of Command. This episode is a fan favorite for these reasons, but I'm slightly more critical. I'm not fond of "it was all a dream" plots, as I've noted in DS9: Distant Voices and Voy: Waking Moments. Despite my objections to the premise though, the episode is well done and very original. Another shining star of a spectacular season.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From MJ on 2011-02-02 at 11:59am:
    This episode is one of the things that sets DS9, and Star Trek in general, apart from other TV series. The powerful social message and creativity of this episode is so rarely seen on TV these days. This episode also convinced me that Star Trek has found some of the most talented actors in the business. In this case, Avery Brooks!

    His mental breakdown as Benny Russell is breathtaking in its intensity. Had I been on the stage during the filming of that scene, I probably would've neglected my job because of being drawn into his performance. Sometimes Brooks overdoes the emotion just a tad, but in this episode it was stunningly real. It reminded me of "The Ship" when he contemplates his dead comrades at the end.

    The concept of the episode is well executed. I share the webmaster's dislike for "it was all a dream" episodes. In TNG's "The Inner Light" for example, I couldn't believe how the Kataan aliens could reconcile abducting a person, making him live his entire life in their world having doubted his sanity, only to reawaken him back on his ship to once again doubt his sanity. But in that episode, Patrick Stewart's performance helped overcome this glaring problem. In this episode, the performance of Brooks and all the others does the same. And the ending is a nice twist in the sense that DS9 is sort of getting in touch with its roots. Gene Roddenberry lived in a time of social upheaval, and dreamt of a future where all humanity is united regardless of petty differences. Benny Russell shares that same dream.

    This episode reminds us that Star Trek is more than just another TV series. It's a form of social commentary. It forces us to look at ourselves in new ways and keep our imaginations going. This episode is a gem for sure.
  • From djb on 2011-04-15 at 4:11am:
    This episode was painful to watch, but very powerful, and still enjoyable. Viewers in the 90s, especially younger ones, can easily take for granted that a popular show could depict a "negro captain." Just 50 years previous, this was unthinkable, and it is good to be intimately reminded of how hard it is to be an oppressed minority. Sisko, a 24th century man in the Trek universe, most likely has no direct experience of racism, and probably doesn't appreciate what his ancestors were up against. The experience probably gave him some good perspective.

    It was great to see all the actors without their makeup! It was also a pleasure to see them playing different characters. I'll bet it was refreshing for all of them. I liked how each character had some similarity to their corresponding DS9 character, but was also markedly different. Michael Dorn's character was very different from Worf, but like Worf, was very good at a physical skill and competed in it. Marc Alaimo and Jeffery Combs still played villains, but their villainy was much more overt. Shimmerman's character may have been annoying, like Quark, but he was also very idealistic and principled, very unlike Quark.

    A unique and fascinating episode.
  • From Jay on 2013-02-26 at 1:36am:
    I had half a mind to stop watching the series after this episode, because after Sisko said, "I'm a human being" I knew the series couldn't possibly get any better. Honestly, maybe the best acted anything I've ever seen. Definitely a performance deserving of an Emmy.
  • From L on 2013-08-06 at 3:48am:
    I couldn't work out if the pulp artist was an un made-up regular or not, he looked familiar but I couldn't place him.

    The rocket model on the table in the writer's office seems to be inspired by the Tintin on the moon books, which came out in the early 50's.

    I loved Jake's character, he played it well. The two cops were really disturbing.

    'You are the dreamer, and the dream.'
    Powerful episode.
  • From Dstyle on 2013-12-02 at 7:53am:
    L, the pulp artist was Martok. I admit, I had to check IMDB, but he was so familiar and it was driving me crazy!
  • From Zorak on 2016-06-23 at 5:38pm:
    I both like and dislike this episode. On the upside, the acting was great, the sets were well done and it was definitely powerful and expertly written and directed. On the downside, there's just something about them doing an episode like this that just doesn't seem right. Focusing on Sisko being black feels very out of place to me. I can't quite articulate why this felt cheap, but it did. That being said I still really enjoyed the episode.
  • From McCoy on 2017-02-26 at 3:37pm:
    11/10 and a winner of my personal Best Trek Episode Ever. It's not only a story about racism. It's a story about how other people and ideology can destroy you (but not your idea). I've experienced something similar in my life, so I'm taking it probably more emotional.
    One more thing - it's not "it was all a dream". It's more meta-level. Similar to Dick's "The Man in the High Castle". A character, who suspect, he's fictional.
    Masterpiece!
  • From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2017-09-08 at 3:11pm:
    I was wondering about the pulp artist too, I thought either Garak or Morn. I hadn't thought it could be Martok?! I have to watch it again. Oh, twist my arm :-)

    I also liked seeing Michael Dorn without klingon make up. Such a good-looking guy forever covered up with THAT make up! sigh... (he looked even better when he was a few years younger, in TNG: Homeward, where worf was surgically "altered" to look human for a mission. Hah!)

    I usually don't like "it was all a dream" episodes either, as a concept. But I agree with the other reviewers that this one had so much going for it, that it really makes up for the cop-out device. Also, it's not absolutely clear that it was JUST a dream. It could be the wormhole aliens sending him visions.... although as I hear myself say it, I don't think that makes it better at all :-(

    But really great episode thought provoking in a serious, deeply star-trek way, but also super funny. A solid 8 from me.
  • From J B on 2020-11-20 at 1:39am:
    This is a fun episode, but it is just too heavy-handed and over-the-top for me to understand why so many people love it so much.

    The main storyline (in Sisko's dream) contains no moral ambiguity, something which regularly adds interest to this series. Instead, it comes off as straightforward and excessively melodramatic. There is no resolution either--it ends abruptly during Benny's breakdown which makes for an unsatisfying, incomplete story. It feels like the director is trying for some emotional impact here, but the whole thing is so overdone that it almost comes across as camp.

    The fun part is seeing the whole regular cast in their new roles in the dream.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x14 - One Little Ship

Originally Aired: 1998-2-18

Synopsis:
In order to investigate a rare subspace phenomenon, Dax, O'Brien, and Bashir board the Runabout, U.S.S. Rubicon, that is shrunken to four inches long. [DVD]

My Rating - 9

Fan Rating Average - 7.15

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 8 3 2 2 3 8 11 15 21 30 22

Filler Quotient: 2, filler, but an enjoyable episode nevertheless. You can skip this one, but you'd miss out on some fun.
- There is nothing significant here from a continuity standpoint. But I strongly recommend watching the episode anyway simply due to how hysterically entertaining it is.

Problems
None

Factoids
- The Defiant's registry: NX-74205.

Remarkable Scenes
- The Defiant being taken over by the Jem'Hadar.
- The revelation that the Rubicon is still small. I like the panning shot outside the Rubicon and the Defiant.
- O'Brien suggesting that they take the Rubicon inside the Defiant. Dax' reaction: "I love it. Let's go."
- Dax and O'Brien navigating the impulse exhaust tubes to board the Defiant.
- Dax and O'Brien analyzing Sisko's escape plan.
- Dax flying through the ship stealthily.
- Little O'Brien and little Bashir bypassing huge circuits in the Defiant's computer.
- The little Rubicon firing on Jem'Hadar.
- Odo and Quark picking on Bashir and O'Brien, making them think they're shorter than they actually are by standing on things to make them taller.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Listens to O'Brien and Bashir tell their story.

My Review
An interesting episode. It justifies the shrinking by claiming that the space between their atomic structure is actually decreasing. I was equally impressed with Bashir's claim that the oxygen molecules outside would be too large for a one centimeter man to breathe. So this episode is in the tradition of TAS: The Terratin Incident in more ways that one. First, we have crew shrinkage, and second, we have exceptionally good science for it which is very pleasing. The rivalry between the gamma quadrant and alpha quadrant Jem'Hadar was not pleasing though. I found it all quite annoying. But it was a necessary plot device to create a way for Sisko and crew to escape with the Defiant. In the end, it does little to spoil the awesome ride. This episode takes full advantage of the visual effects that Star Trek is now capable of and features several very impressive external shots of the Rubicon, the Defiant, and the Rubicon within the Defiant. Another fantastic showing for a great season.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From GDorn on 2011-10-16 at 7:53pm:
    This episode has the classic shrinking problem shared with Honey I Shrunk The Kids and Inner Space. If you simply remove some of the empty space between atoms to decrease volume, the mass will remain the same and the density will increase. So even though the runabout is six inches long, it weighs the same as a normal sized runabout. O'Brien and Bashir walking around in the circuitry would have destroyed it, ramming the control panel would have destroyed it, and there would have been no need to fire torpedos at the Jem'Hadar - ramming them alone would have been more than sufficient.

    This leads to all kinds of physics abuses, like building a excessively large ship, shrinking it to normal size, and noticing that the ablative armor is almost completely immune to conventional weaponry due to sheer density...
  • From Mike on 2016-10-28 at 2:21pm:
    Even with the point about increased density, I think Dax would've found firing a torpedo at the Jem'Hadar far less risky than ramming into him. It seems like having the Rubicon ram its way out of the plasma vent when they first entered the engine room was tricky enough.

    I also don't know that O'Brien and Bashir simply walking around the circuit would've destroyed it, but the mass/volume/density relationship would've probably allowed them to much more easily lift everything. That's hard to show on TV, however. I agree with the original review that getting the air molecule thing right is pretty impressive.

    Anyway, I enjoyed this one. It had some good action and an interesting story. I also prefer the episodes of DS9 where the Jem'Hadar are shown to be more than mindless hordes of soldiers.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x15 - Honor Among Thieves

Originally Aired: 1998-2-25

Synopsis:
Starfleet Intelligence recruits Chief O'Brien to infiltrate the Orion Syndicate, the Alpha Quadrant's leading organized crime ring, to find a Starfleet informant. [DVD]

My Rating - 7

Fan Rating Average - 5.42

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 23 3 16 2 4 7 11 22 22 16 11

Filler Quotient: 1, partial filler, but has important continuity. I recommend against skipping this one.
- You'll need to watch this episode to understand the context of how and why O'Brien acquired a cat, which becomes somewhat relevant later. Understanding that context later on is useful for understanding a few scenes in later episodes, but not essential, strictly speaking.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien spiking one of Bilby's people.
- Quark and Odo speaking at the same time.
- The numerous system glitches.
- Bilby to his cat: "Well, what do you make of that, Chester? I've found me an honest man."
- O'Brien: "There's a Klingon ambassador here? Gowron must not like him much."
- The Orion Syndicate conspiring with a Vorta...
- O'Brien and Bilby robbing the bank of Bolias digitally.
- Bilby to O'Brien: "I'm going to take care of you. I don't forget my friends. 'Cause friends; they're like family. Nothing's more important. Nothing."
- O'Brien revealing himself to Bilby.
- The final scene with O'Brien feeling bad about what he had to do.

My Review
An Orion Syndicate episode in the tradition of DS9: A Simple Investigation. Though this version of the plot is far more successful. O'Brien begins working for Starfleet Intelligence, attempting to infiltrate the syndicate to try and find out who the traitor to Starfleet is. In this process, he discovers the Dominion is working with the syndicate, and so his mission is extended to discover the full extent of the Dominion's plans. But by the time he finds out, he realizes that he'd have to betray Bilby, the man he worked so hard to earn the trust of all this time. Feeling that it would be dishonorable to let Bilby die like this, O'Brien warns him. But Bilby knew his fate was already sealed. O'Brien let him go reluctantly, but as a final honorable gesture, when O'Brien left he honored Bilby's request to look after hist cat, Chester. I love the final scene, showing a distraught O'Brien petting Chester. A moving episode.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From packman_jon on 2012-05-14 at 9:57pm:
    Watching this episode made me think about how lucky Miles is having him live in the 24th Century versus late 19th or early 20th century. Having him go undercover in a gang/mob/crime syndicate indirectly lets him experience what life might have been like for someone of his heritage - mostly if he would have grown up poor as an Irish-American - would have had to do to make ends meet. Another good DS9 episode!
  • From hugo on 2012-12-31 at 6:39pm:
    So is this classified as an "O'Brien must suffer" episode? I liked the setup and the setting, but I felt the ending was a bit dull. And everything was a bit cliche too. I don't think the emotional trust/connection between Bilby and O'Brien came out really in the buildup to the end.

    @packmanjohn - don't exaggerate, you make it sound like most poor irish-americans (one of the biggest immigrant groups!) were mobsters...

  • From L on 2013-08-07 at 3:55am:
    A genre episode that didn't quiet work.
    They laid on the male-bonding/betrayal of trust dilemma so thick that it was hard to tell if it was a spoof or a homage to the trope. It was just a bit much.
    The Vorta being so 'evil mobster'-like seemed really out of character for what they were supposedly cloned to be.

    The most interesting thing was the remote hacking via implant.
    Still, I like O'Brian episodes.

  • From Dave on 2016-04-17 at 10:28pm:
    This episode is basically Donnie Brasco in space. Very strange.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x16 - Change of Heart

Originally Aired: 1998-3-4

Synopsis:
Worf must choose between Starfleet duty and his wife. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 6.5

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 10 5 6 7 8 19 13 15 25 21 29

Filler Quotient: 2, filler, but an enjoyable episode nevertheless. You can skip this one, but you'd miss out on some fun.
- A decently entertaining story, but not relevant to the overarching story of DS9.

Problems
- So tricorders don't work in the jungle, but Worf uses one to scan Jadzia to determine her medical status?

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Worf and O'Brien judging Tongo.
- Worf and Dax discussing their honeymoon plans. Worf wanted to go to the Vulcan Forge. Nice reference to TAS: Yesteryear, and other episodes.
- Worf: "I have a sense of humor! On the Enterprise I was considered to be quite amusing." Dax: "That must have been one dull ship." Worf: "That is a joke! I get it! It is not funny. But I get it."
- O'Brien and Bashir playing Tongo.
- Bashir playing Quark at Tongo. I love how Quark manipulated Bashir into losing by appealing to his love for Dax.
- Worf explaining to Sisko his motives for leaving Lasaran behind and saving Jadzia.

My Review
A moving story showing how dedicated Worf is to his wife. It must have been incredibly difficult for Worf to make the choice between saving family and saving the mission, and I'm sure it was hard to have Sisko chew him out in the end like that. I rather liked how Sisko told him he would have done the same thing though. The B plot regarding Quark and his unending Tongo winning streak was nice as well for some light hearted humor to cheer up a depressing story. I just wish that Quark had actually lost in the end instead of manipulating Bashir so cruelly. In the end, it ended up being fairly average and borderline filler.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-07-16 at 11:48pm:
    Tongo is such a wonderful game! All the writers kept on adding more rules to it as the show progressed until it eventually became the most ridiculously complex game ever devised. No one on the Star Trek crew even fully understands it.

    However, the writers and directors always make it appear to be easy to understand and commonly played in the show, which is a kind of inside joke. For example, Bashir takes one look at the padd of the rules of Tongo and is like "oh okay, I get it now", as if it's tic tac toe. I also love how they keep on coming up with hands as the show progresses, like the "complete monopoly". What a Ferengi game!!!
  • From MJ on 2011-02-17 at 12:29pm:
    The premise of this episode was a bit hard to accept. Surely Starfleet is aware of the potential problems in sending a husband and wife together on a life-and-death mission...seems like this kind of thing would've been prohibited long before Dax and Worf. And even if Starfleet didn't, I would think Sisko is aware of such problems given his own loss and wouldn't allow it.

    So that knocks it down a few pegs in my view. The dialogue between Worf and Dax in the shuttle about honeymoon plans, Worf's sense of humor, etc. was very funny. It was nice to see some Worf as something other than a stern warrior. And on the planet, they had some touching moments.

    As is typical for DS9, everything was wrapped up very quickly at the end. But it was especially bad here, because this episode completely lacks a denouement. I was hoping for some kind of encounter with Lasaran or failing that, some other climactic event, but nothing. The episode builds up to Worf's rather strange change of heart moment in the jungle, then fast forward to him on the station with Sisko and Lasaran is dead.

    This is a below average episode, with even the subplot accomplishing nothing.
  • From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-21 at 6:24pm:
    Did anyone else notice Worf's line about being a "married man" sounded a lot like his "But, Captain, I am not a merry man!" Line from that Robin Hood TNG episode?
  • From Bronn on 2013-07-22 at 2:18am:
    Those darned anti-coagulants again. They've shown up a couple of times. Jem'Hadar weapons are just about the only weapons on the show that are consistently dangerous. People sometimes get shot by phasers set on kill and end up with just second degree burns on their shoulder.

    It's a shame they didn't kill off Jadzia Dax here. It would have had a ton more impactful than what did end up happening. And even though Worf is often fatalistic, he spent so much time on the Enterprise that I figure he'd attempt to escape the moral dilemma-to find a way to save Jadzia AND complete the mission. He could have thought he'd be able to get back to the runabout and somehow use the transporter. It would have been quite effective for him to have been in denial until the absolute last minute, realizing he'd left his wife behind to die alone.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x17 - Wrongs Darker than Death or Night

Originally Aired: 1998-4-1

Synopsis:
Kira finds out some shocking news about her mother. [DVD]

My Rating - 1

Fan Rating Average - 4.6

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 13 9 6 12 13 15 11 10 8 8 5

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Unfortunately without watching this episode, you won't understand an important conversation between Dukat and Kira which takes place in a much more plot-relevant episode next season.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien and Bashir discussing participating in a possible new holosuite program: the battle of the Alamo.
- Kira as a comfort woman telling a Cardassian officer why she hates Cardassians so much.
- The Cardassian officer predicting exactly what Dukat would say.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Behind Quark when he gives flowers to Kira.

My Review
Another "flashback to Terok Nor" episode, and all because Kira wants to know if Gul Dukat and her mother were really lovers. Not that I'm insensitive, but isn't this all a little pointless? The only contention the episode presents is the possibility that Kira might alter the future, but as the episode progresses, it becomes clear that the only thing she could do is kill Dukat or her mother. She'd either alter several seasons of Star Trek's history, or erase herself from history. Both options were obviously not going to happen, so the ending was obvious and anticlimactic. A total dud.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Krs321 on 2011-09-11 at 8:18pm:
    Problem: The Bajorans have an orb that allows you to travel through time now? WTF?
  • From Cory on 2011-11-10 at 12:08am:
    Yes, The Orb of Time was introduced in Trials And Tribble-ations. However the fact both the Bajorans and Sisko will risk altering the timeline just so Kira can figure out for sure if Dukat and her mother were lovers is the biggest problem which knocks the episode down to a 1 in my eyes
  • From Armsauce on 2017-06-15 at 8:57pm:
    It didn't take much for Kira to convince Sisko. There's no way he'd agree to her plan like that, at least no so easily.
  • From Jan on 2019-03-18 at 3:59pm:
    I didn't think the episode was that bad, but this 'Orb of Time' is way too powerful in the wrong hands.

    A bit of nit-picking: As we all well know, Nerys has dark brown eyes, but 3-year-old Nerys had very lightblue/grey eyes.
    It's possible that this is one of these 'differences' between Bajorans and humans, but I don't believe that.
    I AM aware that eyecolour can change even after a child hits one-year-and-a-half, but they won't turn from light blue to dark brown.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x18 - Inquisition

Originally Aired: 1998-4-8

Synopsis:
Dr. Bashir is interrogated by a member of Section 31, a branch of Starfleet Intelligence that answers to no one. [DVD]

My Rating - 4

Fan Rating Average - 6.22

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 18 4 2 3 5 13 13 27 19 29 12

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
- A security officer says 98 ships were lost in the Federation's 7th fleet. This is good continuity with DS9: A Time to Stand.
- This is the first episode to feature Section 31.

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien injured from kayaking... again...
- Bashir: "I'm going to a medical conference, not on vacation!" Not exact, but I'll count it. Count 23 for "I'm a doctor, not a (blah)" style lines, which McCoy was famous for.
- Bashir being served Worf's gagh.
- Sloan regarding the events of DS9: In Purgatory's Shadow and DS9: By Inferno's Light: "Why would the Dominion leave your Runabout orbiting the camp unattended?" Bashir: "They didn't think we'd be able to contact it."
- Sloan drilling Bashir.
- Weyoun beaming Bashir off of DS9.
- Bashir realizing that he's in a simulation.
- Bashir: "You function as judge, jury, and executioner. And I think that's too much power for anyone to have."
- Morn Appearances; 1. Watches as Bashir is arrested.

My Review
Introducing Section 31: an autonomous branch of Starfleet that answers to no one, established 200 years ago when the Federation was founded, sanctioned by the Federation charter. It is the equivalent to the Romulan Tal'Shiar or the Cardassian Obsidian Order. Bashir has been "recruited" into it by Sloan, who is seemingly their leader. The episode ends with this; it's obviously meant to be the start of a longer term arc. While the ending is somewhat unremarkable, the ride taking us there is a decent amount of fun to watch. I was worried this would turn into another TNG: The Drumhead, but fortunately Sloan wasn't a crazed madman but in fact had an ulterior motive, and quite the ulterior motive at that. In the end, the episode is a pretty balanced mix of annoying and cool. It all kind of averages out. In the end though, I just plain don't like misdirection plots, which I ranted about in Voy: Waking Moments. The writers shouldn't have to create layers of deception and revelation to hold an audience.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Jaap on 2010-10-29 at 3:54pm:
    I gave this a 9, because i think it was well written. The few layers in the story presented quite a surpise. Besides, it introduces section 31 and with that a darker side of Starfleet.
  • From Martin on 2014-04-15 at 8:46pm:
    I liked the episode...though i was really disapointed that Garak didn't even appear! Being a cardiassian an a sort of close friend of bashir's i really though he should've taken a part of the deception for bashir!

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x19 - In the Pale Moonlight

Originally Aired: 1998-4-15

Synopsis:
Sisko goes to great lengths to enlist Romulan support in the Dominion war. [DVD]

My Rating - 10

Fan Rating Average - 8.25

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 23 10 10 4 18 14 7 11 10 89 247

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This episode is the winner of my "Best Episode of DS9 Award."
- This episode is the winner of my "Best Episode Ever Award."
- This is the 143rd episode of DS9 and the 512th episode of Star Trek, not counting the films. It's the 520th episode counting the films.
- Garak's 29th episode.
- Bio memetic gel is strictly controlled by the Federation and is not for sale at any price.
- The Dominion conquers Betazed in this episode.
- The Romulans declare war on the Dominion in this episode.

Remarkable Scenes
- The teaser, showing the frustration with Romulan inaction and Sisko's determination to put an end to it.
- Dax citing to Sisko the Romulan position from their perspective, pretending to be the Romulan procouncil responding in turn to Sisko's pretend propositions.
- Sisko: "The founders see it as their sacred duty to bring order to the galaxy. Their order. Do you think they'll sit idly by while you keep your chaotic empire right next to their perfect order?"
- Sisko: "Very good old man. You would have made a decent Romulan." Dax: "I prefer the spots to the pointed ears."
- Sisko's initial conversation with Garak, enlisting his help.
- Sisko: "My father used to say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions."
- Garak outlining his plan to manufacture evidence that the Dominion is planning an attack on Romulus.
- Tolar's decidedly negative reaction to his discovery that Garak is aboard the station and that he is to work with him.
- Sisko: "What happened?" Odo: "As I understand it, Mr. Tolar there came in about two hours ago, ordered a bottle of Whelan Bitters, fifteen minutes later he ordered a second bottle, and then a third, half way through his fourth bottle, he decided to dance with Empella; she was otherwise engaged running the Dabo wheel, declined his invitation, he decided to force the issue, a brief struggle ensued, and Quark in an uncharacteristic display of chivalry, attempted to intervene, so Tolar stabbed him."
- Quark, as part of the bribe he requests of Sisko: "I'm also having a problem with station security. Some cargo containers which I've been waiting for because of some missing import license or something--" Sisko: "I'll handle it."
- Garak: "Mind if I join you?" Sisko: "Be my guest." They enter a turbolift. Sisko: "Ops." Garak: "Hold. The less I'm seen parading through ops the better." Sisko: "I couldn't agree more." Garak: "You seem angry." Sisko: "Who's watching Tolar?" Garak: "I've locked him in his quarters. I've also left him with the distinct impression that if he attempts to force the door open, it may explode." Sisko: "I hope that's just an impression." Garak: "It's best not to dwell on such minutia."
- I love Sisko's initial reaction of rejection and then slow acceptable when Garak asks for bio memetic gel to purchase a genuine Cardassian optolithic data rod with.
- Bashir's objections to Sisko's request for bio memetic gel.
- The fake holo recording of Weyoun and Damar plotting against Romulus.
- Sisko freaking out at Tolar.
- Sisko's meeting with Vreenak.
- Vreenak commenting about how for a moment he almost forgot the Romulan drink wasn't the real thing. But only for a moment. Some great foreshadowing there.
- I like how Sisko's conversation with Vreenak went exactly the way Dax predicted it would.
- Vreenak watching the fake holo recording.
- Sisko: "I'm not an impatient man. I'm not one to agonize over decisions once they're made. I got that from my father. He always says worry and doubt are the greatest enemies of a great chef. The souffles will either rise or it won't. There's not a damn thing you can do about it."
- Vreenak: "It's a faaake!" One of the most legendary DS9 quotes.
- Worf delivering the news to Sisko that Vreenak's shuttle was destroyed. I love how Sisko instantly knew Garak did it.
- Sisko confronting Garak about the murder.
- Garak explaining to Sisko why the plan in fact worked perfectly; that the Romulans would in fact declare war on the Dominion.
- The final scene with Sisko trying to convince himself that he can live with what he did, then erasing the entire log entry.
- Rules of Acquisition; 98. Every man has his price.

My Review
In the Pale Moonlight exemplifies everything that made DS9 great. It's an episode in the middle of the Dominion war, which is the best arc ever written on Star Trek and it's a pivotal episode in that arc. Also, it manages to stand on its own very well; even without the backstory as a premise, it would remain most touching. For Avery Brooks puts up one of his best performances ever as Sisko in this episode behind some of the most spectacular directing ever featured on Star Trek. Moreover, the episode's narration is unique. Few, if any Star Trek episodes are told in this original manner, nor is there is a single bit of wasted dialog. Every line is carefully crafted. Every discussion is nicely pointed.

But most importantly, this episode examines the moral center of the human condition at its deepest levels. Captain Sisko is overwhelmingly distraught over the nonstop casualties the Federation is facing in the war with the Dominion. He knows that if the Federation doesn't procure an advantage, a big advantage soon, the Federation will either crumble before the Dominion, or exhaust most of its resources defeating the Dominion. To rectify this situation, Sisko decides he must determine a way to bring the Romulans into the war on the Federation's side. But convincing an empire of billions to go to war for you is no small task...

Well, that's where Mr. Garak comes in. How fitting for the best episode of DS9 to center itself around my favorite character? Sisko approaches Garak, asking him to steal proof from his former homeland that they're planning to attack Romulus so the Romulans will join the war. Garak responds by saying that such a mission would use up all the favors owed to him on Cardassia. And that would be a very messy, very bloody business. Garak asks Sisko if he's prepared to accept the consequences of his services. Sisko responds by saying he's already involved in a very messy, very bloody business. It seemed Sisko didn't realize at first the full extent of what Garak was proposing, perhaps consciously anyway, but subconsciously Sisko knew he was willing to do anything to lessen Federation casualties and if that meant cooperating with Garak in some shady business, then Sisko was willing to do it.

Even more interestingly though is Garak's plan in the first place. Garak knew exactly from the beginning that blowing up Vreenaks's shuttle and making it look like the Dominion did it would be the only way to get the Romulans to declare war on the Dominion. From the impressions I get from Garak, he'd have already done something similar to this deed by now if he had the chance. Yes, Garak skillfully manipulated all of the events of this episode to achieve the result both he and Sisko wanted, even if the means weren't quite what Sisko expected. I saw it in his eyes from his very first scene in this episode: Garak was actually using Sisko to get the Romulans into the war just as much as Sisko was consciously or unconsciously using him.

In the end, Sisko and Garak both knew the same thing: winning the war was going to require the assistance of the Romulans. And as Sisko said in DS9: Rocks and Shoals, "given the choice between us and them, there is no choice." There's no choice but to pay any price to get the Romulans on his side. In this episode of deception and great moral dilemmas we get to see the darkest side of Sisko's personality. We watch as he turns a blind eye to atrocities like murder because the "cause was righteous" and the ends most certainly justified the means.

But even when it was all over, that wasn't the end of our story. Sisko couldn't personally forgive himself for his actions and he felt that maybe recording it all in his log would make him feel better. In the final scene, Sisko tries to convince himself that he can live with what he did, but it's clear that he's having trouble doing just that. So instead of trying to live with it, he tries instead to forget it all by erasing his entire log entry. That act signifies the hypocritical nature of human morals and how easily we abandon them when the situation calls for it. That said, there is certainly enough evil done in this episode in the name of good. And so you have it, the best episode ever done on Star Trek.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Vlad on 2006-03-31 at 7:55am:
    I finally watched this last night. Is the best Star Trek episode ever? I don't know. But it made the list of my favourite episodes. And mine is a short list.

    We've always known that Sisko is human. That's not the issue here. What we come to realize, painfully so, is that he is just as flawed as any 20th century human being. Faced with the paradox "Doing something wrong to do something right", he makes a choice that will cost him his self-respect. And perhaps, it cost him our respect as well.

    Ira Behr said that Trekkies see the captains as gods. Well, this God just sinned!
  • From RichD on 2006-05-02 at 5:56pm:
    In the Pale Moonlight is an astonishing episode. It ranks in my top 5 among any of the 5 series. I remember how tense and riveted I was when I first saw this episode. A stroke of genius retelling this story through Sisko's log entry. The opening scene immediately captures your attention. We all knew one way or another, the Romulans were going to be key players in the war. What we didn't know, is that Sisko would trick them into it?! Would Picard ever do this? I doubt it. He didn't in The Wounded and he wouldn't here. I do believe Kirk would do it.
  • From JTL on 2008-08-17 at 4:37pm:
    This is without a doubt one of the best Star Trek episodes ever done. It is an excellent probe into the human system of moralities and epitomizes what this franchise is all about. Yes, "Favor the Bold" and "Sacrifice of Angels" are awesome, but if there is one postmortem episode I think Gene Roddenberry should be shown if it were at all possible it would be this one. Absolutely astounding. The best? I can't say whether it is or not. However it is very, very high on my list of great episodes.
  • From Abigail on 2008-12-17 at 2:47pm:
    Although I greatly enjoyed the plot, I thought the confession-in-personal-log style of telling the story was very cliche. I'm not so into the confessions. If I ignore that minor annoyance, though, it really was a terrific episode.
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2009-05-05 at 10:00am:
    Sisko's treatment of Tolar (holding him up against the wall, threatening to send him back to the Klingons for execution) is not really consistent with his character. I think they should have cut that part out. Although, he seemed to regret it later by saying "Maybe I was under more pressure than I had realized."

    Other than that nitpic, this is an episode that never gets old.
  • From Jaap on 2010-10-31 at 4:06pm:
    The review says: "Sisko couldn't personally forgive himself for his actions and he felt that maybe recording it all in his log would make him feel better".

    I don't say I don't agree but another possibility occured to me. Sisko has grown to be a very "self-aware" person. He's very confident and has grown more confident in the years on DS9. Like he said: HE fell like he just walked through a door and locked it behind him. HE was going to get the Romulans to enter the war; HE was going to convince Vreenak; HE was going to turn the war around; HE was going to defeat the Dominion; HE was going to get the credits with SF Command (and the rest of the quadrant).

    But then... he didn't see through the plot, he was outsmarted by Garak; he didn't turn the war around but a Cardassian did.

    So i don't think it troubled him all that much that two "innocent" men got killed. Innocent people get killed by the hundreds of thousands at this stage and Sisko has - in some way - been responsible for quite a few deaths himself, just look a the Maquis.

    No, I think the thing that pains him most is the damage inflicted to his self esteem. And that's why he got what he wanted but can't be really happy about it.
  • From Tallifer on 2011-04-21 at 2:18am:
    The point of the Federation is the vision of a utopian future where men have learned to forgo money and concomitant greed, militarism and fascism; where men of all races live in harmony and peace. The moral of Kirk and Picard's inevitable victories of the warlords, maniacs and monsters of outer space was that the Good and the Just will triumph over the Wicked and the Mighty.

    If the Federation must resort to Section 31 and murder, forgery and manipulation, then it is just another sinful empire. Parallel to this is the increasing respect for the militaristic and barbaric Klingons and the selfish and honorless Ferengi through the successive generations of Star Trek.

    I did enjoy this episode, but these stories should not be told about the Federation: it would have been better to set this Deep Space Nine series in a different polity, perhaps someone neutral like the Tholians. Then the stories could be as free of utopianism as the writers want.

    0/10 despite the fun. Simply not Star Trek for me.
  • From Gul Darhe'el on 2012-04-04 at 11:01am:
    During its initial run I didn't get to see much of DS9 beyond early season 4. Also, at the time I was unsure on the direction the series was taking as I found the whole Klingon war story a bit contrived. With that being said, I was stunned at this instant classic years later catching it at random in re-runs. This episode is flawless. Every one (especially the guest stars) turned in spot on performances, the story is completely original, all of the dialogue was interesting and meaningful, I can't say enough. I love the dynamincs and conflict that arise when Sisko employs a small group of professional liars to deceive someone from an ever-skeptical and paranoid race. Simply perfect. I was even more pleasantly surprised upon purchasing the series DVD's that this episode was just one from possibly the best season of Star Trek ever done.
  • From DK on 2013-04-23 at 2:18pm:
    Tallifer got it exactly right.  I can understand making this your best episode ever but not best Star Trek.  The artistic vision of this series is most definitely different from the creators of the Star Trek universe.  I happen to like the direction this series took but it is not the "Star Trek" way.  Witness what Roddenberry did when he got a second bite at the apple and created The Next Generation and contrast it with the gritty nature of DS9.  DS9 is a fine vision of the future and a wonderful premise for a show but the differences Tallifer mentions between it and what the vision of the future the creator of Star Trek  had preclude this episode from being the best of what Star Trek has to offer (IMHO).  
    I completely understand the dilemma.  If put on the spot to name my favorite I suppose, like many others, I would choose The Wrath of Kahn.  Ricardo Mantalban was a formidable presence.  Much criticism could be leveled at TWOK too but in the end entertainment is the highest measuring stick but may be different from what Star Trek was all about.
  • From BigBoss on 2013-10-08 at 5:39pm:
    To claim that the episode doesn't mesh with Roddenberry's "Trek" is a bit of a misnomer, since Roddenberry's closest vision of Trek was Season 1 of TNG (which is almost universally derided as the worst season).

    The issue is that TNG/TOS are well, cartoonish in their morals. You can still tell a great store, but, their stories preclude the possibility of a no-win scenario. Or, to put it even more bluntly, that the only right solution is a morally corrupt one.

    This is what makes this episode, and conversly DS9, such a breath of fresh air in the series. Characters have baggage, they have decisions that they wear the repercussions of as scars, instead of everything getting neatly trimmed up at the end of each episode and perhaps not mentioned again. In TNG we never really see anyone make the tough decisions because plot contrivance always foregoes that possibility. The weight of decisions is where DS9 really shines.
  • From OmicronThetaDeltaPhi on 2014-06-29 at 9:43pm:
    Wow! This is one of those episodes where you leave the TV screen and tell yourself "Now THAT'S what a perfect 10 episode looks like".

    It's impressive. It's captivating. It's full of moral dilemmas. Bravo, Deep Space Nine!

    As for the claims of this episode being "Un-Roddenberry", I disagree. Sisko simply had no choice, but to do what he did. And he didn't do it to save his ship, or even to save the Federation. He did it to save the entire Alpha Quadrant - including those Romulans he lied to.

    And I think that the very fact that Sisko agonized over the whole affair of "presenting a lie as truth", demonstrates how far the morals of humanity have come in the 24th century. A 21st century person wouldn't even blink an eye over this, when the stakes are so high. Yet Sisko feels wretched by what he did. And Why? Because as a Starfleet officer, he values the truth. And this, in my opinion, makes this episode very Roddenberry.
  • From Phil on 2015-08-22 at 1:03am:
    I don't necessarily see this as being against the spirit of Star Trek if you frame Roddenberry's two series in a slightly different light from what's been presented in the comments so far.

    Rather than "Mankind will eventually evolve beyond militarism and pettiness" I believe the takeaway of TOS and TNG should be "if technological progress leads to eradicating scarcity, then mankind can put aside its pettiness, etc."

    This leaves room for the Dominion arc--in the first two series you never see the Federation face an existential threat that lasts more than an episode or two. Here you see what would really happen to a society that has its back against the wall, and I believe that both this portrayal and the TNG portrayal are in line with human nature--it's only the context that has changed. Technology and progress can remove the internal causes for base, primitive behavior, but they can't change human nature.
  • From Phi on 2015-09-13 at 11:56am:
    This episode also reminded me of this quotation from Frank Herbert's "God Emperor of Dune":

    "I know the evil of my ancestors because I am those people. The balance is delicate in the extreme. I know that few of you who read my words have ever thought about your ancestors this way. It has not occurred to you that your ancestors were survivors and that the survival itself sometimes involved savage decisions, a kind of wanton brutality which civilized humankind works very hard to suppress. What price will you pay for that suppression? Will you accept your own extinction?"
  • From tigertooth on 2017-01-06 at 12:10am:
    I gave this a 10 so this didn't hang me up too terribly much, but...

    One the Romulan learned the recording was a fake, wouldn't he have transmitted that info to Romulus immediately? Like even before meeting Sisko? If he does that, the whole plan flops.

    I think Garak's plan could have been identical if he had just gotten the Romulans to come to the station for any old reason. He can still hide the rod on their ship then blow them up and he gets the same result.

    Though, of course, I'd think Romulus would be wondering why the killed Romulans didn't send them a message saying they had come into possession of extremely vital information.

    But whatever. I'm not going to let that seriously get in the way of such a great episode.
  • From McCoy on 2017-03-02 at 12:49pm:
    While I love DS9, I can't agree it's the best episode ever made. DS9 has without doubt best characters in all Trek (not so boring, soulless mannekins as i.e. TNG or Voy). Even secondary characters, like Weyoun or Garak, are greatly written and performed (why they couldn't write interesting characters in other series is beyond my imagination). However, I'm not a fan of military space opera. I like different kind of s-f - speculations about "what if...", about mystery things in Universe, about human's place in Universe. But not war with aliens. You can make film about war without all that s-f stuff, it's irrelevant. And it's irrelevant here. Maybe it's good episode, mabybe Dominion story arc is good, but... It's not good s-f for me. It lacks that "something". 7/10 is max I can vote for Pale Moonlight, sorry.
  • From Axel on 2018-06-17 at 12:10am:
    Interesting takes on this episode. I can't really go along with the notion that this, and DS9 in general, go against Roddenberry's Trek vision, though.

    First, TOS and TNG episodes weren't always neatly packaged stories about good triumphing over evil. Kirk faced a comparable moral dilemma to Sisko's-allowing one to die so millions could be saved-in TOS: City on the Edge of Forever. Picard wrestled with numerous Prime Directive violations, showing that Federation values were sometimes at odds with another, perhaps more moral, course of action. And what about when Nechayev scolded him for not sending Hugh back to the Borg and wiping them all out? Moral dilemmas indeed.

    Second, as Phil pointed out, the Federation faces an existential threat in the Dominion. Under such circumstances, things are bound to get messy. Nothing like that was ever quite shown in TOS or TNG, although in TNG: BOBW, Picard is co-opted by the Borg.

    Third, I don't even agree that this goes against Roddenberry's "vision" of what the future or the Federation were supposed to be. It wasn't a future where all moral problems, ethical dilemmas, and human shortcomings disappeared completely. It was a future where the modern societal problems of poverty, hunger, racism, sexism, corruption, and lack of opportunity had disappeared. Faced with an external threat, though, that future society may make decisions that are still human and survival-driven. And even if the DS9 Federation didn't meet Roddenberry's standards, it's a reminder that the course of human history has a "bunny-hop" rhythm to it: sometimes taking two steps forward, one back.

    Anyway, this episode is an amazing story. Sisko and Garak, as it turns out, were using each other. But Garak has no moral qualms about the outcome; Sisko does. This didn't feature a lot of "science-fiction" but it did what Star Trek does best: it gives you multiple points of view and makes you think, all with a gripping plot from beginning to end. Definitely one of the best Trek episodes ever.
  • From Thavash on 2019-01-01 at 7:25am:
    The final scene between Garak and Sisko is a masterpiece
  • From Cthulu on 2023-02-06 at 1:06am:
    I didn't see it mentioned in any of the other comments. But there's a line of thinking that Garak used the bio memetic gel as the bomb to blow up Vreenak's shuttle. His claim that it was to be exchanged for the data rod was a ruse, and he simply needed to get material that the Romulans wouldn't be able to detect. That blew my mind when I first heard it, but it makes sense.

    Unlike the deal with Tolar, we never learn the identity of the person Garak claims is requesting gel in exchange for the data rod. This mystery person never comes aboard the station, nor does anyone witness the transaction. That could've been to keep the episode within the time limit. But then, why focus so much on this bio memetic gel to the point that we have a separate scene with Bashir arguing over it, and specifically mentioning it can be used to make weaponry?

    If true, that would be the one piece of the puzzle that Sisko did not figure out and which Garak got away with. It's also interesting that, when Sisko realizes Garak planted the bomb on Vreenak's shuttle, he never questions how Garak got ahold of a bomb. He probably just assumes Garak used his Obsidian Order skillset to make one.

    Of course, this would also mean that Garak had another way of getting ahold of the data rod, or maybe he just traded some of the gel and used the rest for the bomb. That would fit with his claim that the quantity is "open to negotiation".

    Anyway, enough of that rabbit hole. It's definitely one of the best episodes in all of Star Trek.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x20 - His Way

Originally Aired: 1998-4-22

Synopsis:
A new Holosuite program gives birth to "Vic," a 60's crooner who also provides advice for the lovelorn. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 4.94

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 24 12 5 12 9 14 13 18 12 13 14

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This is Vic Fontaine's first episode.

Remarkable Scenes
- The crew's reaction to meeting Vic.
- Odo "playing" the piano.
- Vic describing how difficult it was to get an holographic image of Kira. He got it from one of Julian's spy programs ;) Good connections with DS9: Meridian and DS9: Our Man Bashir.
- Vic transferring himself to the other holosuite to talk to Kira.
- Vic setting up Kira and Odo.
- Odo figuring out that he's been on a date with the real Kira all along.
- Odo and Kira's frustrated public display of affection on the promenade.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Is sitting at the bar when Bashir walks in to talk to Quark. 2. Can be seen barely when Kira goes into Quark's. 3. Watches Kira and Odo kiss.

My Review
Well, all I can say about this episode is "finally!" DS9 fans have had to wait for five years for Odo and Kira to finally realize they're in love with one another. While I'm not fond of the episode in general, nor am I all that fond of Vic Fontaine, the fact that this episode finally brings Kira and Odo together is worth a few extra points. Talk about tying up a loose end.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Abigail on 2008-12-18 at 12:11am:
    I sometimes feel that the writers of DS9 were unaware that you can develop characters through normal sci-fi epsiodes. You don't have to invent an episode with no external plot to do so. If I wanted to watch a goofy soap opera, I would. No need to turn "Star Trek" into one.
  • From Christopher Wright on 2012-01-16 at 4:20pm:
    I disagree with the previous comment. I am not normally one for sappy romance stories, and redcuing this episode down to such isn't fair. The romantic tension between Odo and Kira has been so well-developed and stretched out that when the kiss came I almost jumped up and yelled "yeah!" with clenched fist. I also liked Vic a lot. This episode should have a higher rating. Lastly I would like to say that the costume design on DS9 if by far the best. Odo's tux and hologram Kira's dress were very nice touches. Those combined with Quark and Garak's wardrobes in other episodes really show off the designers' talents.
  • From hugo on 2013-01-20 at 2:40pm:
    through the first half of this ep, i thought this was developing into a yawner - no suspense or sense of urgency. Then I found myself smiling through the rest of it, don't really know why. I liked vic too!
  • From carsonist on 2013-09-29 at 12:36am:
    I can't believe how annoying this episode is. Instead of a second plot, they have four unbelievably long songs. Vic is fine, but takes up a lot of time in a series in its next to last season during a major war.

    Kira and Odo getting together is great, but there's nothing else that happens in the whole episode. You could cut the whole thing down to maybe ten minutes.
  • From Scott on 2018-10-14 at 10:15pm:
    I didn't think I would like it, but I did. Normally the holosuites are an overused story device, but Vic's just a great character. Wouldn't it be great to have a guy like that you could talk to about your problems?

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x21 - The Reckoning

Originally Aired: 1998-4-29

Synopsis:
Sisko is called to Bajor when an ancient tablet addressing the Emissary is discovered. [DVD]

My Rating - 7

Fan Rating Average - 5.4

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 16 2 5 5 9 9 13 18 14 11 6

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- This episode addresses the "penance" the Prophets wished to exact on Sisko for stopping the Dominion ships from coming through the wormhole in DS9: Sacrifice of Angels. It also explains why the Dominion has not tried sending another fleet through. There's also some interesting foreshadowing about future events.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Dax: "I had a pretty good idea what this was the moment I laid eyes on it. That confirms it. It's a slab of stone with some writing on it."
- Kira discussing with Sisko the reason why the Kai doesn't like him.
- Jake talking to Sisko about his worries about the Emissary business.
- Sisko: "I just had this uncontrollable urge to smash the tablet." Dax: "Oh I get those urges all the time. I just never act on them."
- Possessed Kira.
- Prophet Kira ignoring the Kai.
- The Pah-wraith Kosst Amojan taking over Jake.
- The battle.
- Kai Winn ending the battle.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Witnesses possessed Kira.

My Review
A prophecy predicts that if the Prophets are able to defeat the Kosst Amojan at the gate to the Celestial Temple, a golden age of peace and prosperity will be bestowed upon Bajor. The prophecy comes true, and the battle is waged on Deep Space Nine. But just as the prophets are about to win, Kai Winn interferes and stops the fight, revealing just how evil she really is. She claims to walk the path the prophets have laid out for her, but her motivations are purely greed and the desire for respect and power. As Kira said, she couldn't stand the fact that the Emissary had a stronger faith than she did, and that he would sacrifice his son to exact the penance the Prophets asked of him. There are many nice details in this episode, contributing to this overall theme. For example, Kai Winn admits that the prophets have never spoken to her. My favorite detail, however, is when Kai Winn begs the Prophet within Kira to speak to her, it utterly ignores her. It's disgusting and a little sad, but Winn did what she did as a sort of petty revenge against her gods for their disrespect of her. And she did it to protect her power. She said herself, that the golden age of Bajor would no longer require a Kai. She's so incredibly nasty. A great episode.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From spock on 2007-01-07 at 6:51am:
    Entertaining, but unnecessary. I don't think we needed an entire episode devoted to showing how evil Kai Winn is. The ghostbusters style showdown was truely the worst piece of writing since "profit and lace"
  • From Curtis on 2009-11-28 at 10:53pm:
    I thought this one was pretty awful. That "battle" was pure baloney and, again, we didn't need a whole episode to show that Kai Winn was evil. This one just seemed to heavy-handed to me.
  • From L on 2013-08-12 at 11:23pm:
    This is where my mild dislike of the spiritual/religious theme in DS9 turns to outright contempt and DS9 really loses me. (though I'll finish the last season before starting on Voyager)

    Sisko is willing to let his son be killed for the sake of a ridiculous light and dark battle of some sanctimonious and patronising energy aliens (who don't even exist in linear space and time or understand cause and effect, so how would that even work?), because 'it's the will of the prophets'? Screw that.

    The willingness to subjugate one's will and self to a mysterious force simply because it's bigger than you has no place in Star Trek or any supposedly enlightened future. How many times has something god-like turned out to just be a fallible energy alien that lives on a different scale to us?

    Any sympathy I had for Bajoran culture is gone as all I can see is a superstitious people's brain-washed chanting.

    It is true that our tendency to repeatedly fall for this nonsense and find something to worship so as to ease our tiny little frightened minds is the human condition, and so it is perhaps where the traditional idealism of Star Trek really ends and maybe the writers wanted to take it in a more realistic direction. It can be excused on that level if it's being presented as a common tendency of all sentient beings alone in the universe, but it seems to be presented here as a noble quality with all the talk of 'faith' and so on.

    I thought at least Dax was the one hold-out with her "They'll always just be 'wormhole aliens' to me" line, but even she prays to them in the last episode.

    Maybe the final season exposes and properly condemns this fetishising of the abandonment of rational questioning in the name of 'spirituality' and payment for the granting of favour. I certainly hope so.
  • From Alex on 2021-03-18 at 7:31pm:
    The initial conflict of Sisko taking away the stone tablet was so artificial. Why did they need to take it with them at all? Energy readings (of which there was none) could've been examined at first with the tricorder, and since the inscriptions were the focus of attention, couldn't they basically work with a photo? When the need to return it becomes pressing enough, apparently Dax can work just fine with a holographic projection of the tablet. Why not just work with that from the beginning?
    Yeah, he had to shatter it. But he just as well could've beamed down to the cave with a sledgehammer, or something.
    An annoying episode. Sometimes there's slow episodes, silly episodes, or ran-out-of-material episodes. This one is more "characters ignore basic logic and fumble cluelessly for half an hour before something anticlimactic happens". For me it's 4, at most.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x22 - Valiant

Originally Aired: 1998-5-6

Synopsis:
Jake and Nog find themselves on board a rogue starship, piloted by a fresh-faced crew of Starfleet cadets. [DVD]

My Rating - 8

Fan Rating Average - 5.17

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 30 6 8 5 14 8 12 13 33 19 7

Filler Quotient: 2, filler, but an enjoyable episode nevertheless. You can skip this one, but you'd miss out on some fun.
- A fun, action-packed episode, but nothing significant in the story arc actually takes place.

Problems
None

Factoids
- The USS Valiant's registry is NCC 74210.
- Earth's moon was named Luna at some point. Some people, like Jake's father, still call it "the moon, like it's the only one or something."

Remarkable Scenes
- A squadron of Jem'Hadar ships attacking the starbase.
- The Valiant's appearance.
- The Red Squad crew telling their story to Jake and Nog.
- Collins describing what it's like to live on Luna.
- Jake being accosted by Watters and Farris.
- The battle with the battleship.
- The destruction of the Valiant.
- Morn Appearances; 1. First scene.

My Review
An episode exploring groupthink. Some of the greatest tragedies in our histories were the result of groupthink, a consensus driven mindset in which achieving unity in decisions is more important than making the best decisions. In this case, Captain Watters was a bad captain. He was driven too much by his pride and the crew blindly followed him, despite the fact that some of them knew he was in error. This leads me back to quote Tuvok made in Voy: Year of Hell. He told Seven of Nine never to question the captain because "the captain is always right." At what level is groupthink tolerated and even promoted in Starfleet? This tragic story is but one example of how powerfully negative groupthink can be and it's very touching and well acted all across. Nicely done.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Dio on 2009-02-05 at 12:17pm:
    This one got a 9 from me, really enjoyed seeing the young officers trying to fill roles of mature officers. After hearing about "Luna" I wanted to see a shot of it, perhaps to see the girl reunited with her family, oh well. Still, very well done and one of my favourites!
  • From MJ on 2011-01-31 at 11:56am:
    The most interesting scene in this episode to me is when the escape pods are leaving the Valiant. We're used to seeing escape pods get away successfully in Star Trek, but the Jem'Hadar ruthlessly target and destroy some of the pods; others don't get away in time and are consumed by the exploding ship. I think this scene was reinforcing the brutal dose of reality these cadets got. It's as if their mistake was pursuing them even in the end, denying them of the chance to learn from it.

    But all the other lessons about the cult of personality, the arrogance of youth, and the danger of the group mentality are aptly explored and upheld here. Nicely done episode, including some interesting moments between Jake and Nog.
  • From Christopher Wright on 2012-01-18 at 8:53pm:
    I agree with the other comment how it was a dose of harsh realism to see escape pods being destoyed, but having only one escape (the one with our heroes) was a little too contrived. Anyone else wonder why the secret battleship even allowed their pod to survive? I mean was the dominion captain like, "oh well, we missed that pod with one torpedo, better let it get back to federation space with knowledge of our top secret ship."? Other than the plot holes like that a very well-acted and entertaining episode.
  • From McCoy on 2017-03-03 at 11:44am:
    Hm... J.J. Abrams obviously didn't saw this episode before filming his first Star Trek film. If you give a ship to cadets, you can expect nothing more than a disaster.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x23 - Profit and Lace

Originally Aired: 1998-5-13

Synopsis:
When Zek's status as the Ferengi Grand Nagus is in jeopardy following his revolutionary ideas about female rights, Quark temporarily changes sexes to prove a point. [DVD]

My Rating - 1

Fan Rating Average - 3

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 66 18 11 9 8 7 10 8 6 9 11

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- As obnoxious as this episode is, it's essential to the Ferengi arc, as Zek passes a law in this episode allowing Ferengi females to wear clothes.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Odo's reaction to Quark's odd behavior after he was turned back into a man.
- Rules of Acquisition; 94. Females and finances don't mix.
- Morn Appearances; 1. In the bar after Quark is turned back into a man.

My Review
An episode that's so bad that it's embarrassing to watch. The whole thing is an excuse to get Quark in drag. I can't believe Armin Shimmerman agreed to do it. The only thing that makes this episode worth watching is Zek passing a law allowing Ferengi females to wear clothing and earn profit.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Paul on 2007-05-16 at 4:28pm:
    Remarkable scenes:

    Maihar'Du and Uri'Lash facing off.

    As for the rest of the episode...the less said about it the better.
  • From EKH on 2007-07-13 at 4:15pm:
    A wonderful set-up. What a shame that it wasn't followed up on. Ferenginar conquered by the Dominion? That would have made for an interesting story, and hopefully would have finally gotten Ishka, Zek and Brunt killed off so that we didn't have to ever see them again, except in reruns. What we get, instead, is not only the worst episode of DS9, not only the worst of Star Trek, not only the worst science fiction episode ever, but the single worst hour of television ever written. An hour that really, truly hurts, in the most physical, literal and direct sense of the term. An hour that, luckily, I shall never, ever have to ever watch ever again, ever. Now, to suppress all memory of this travesty...
  • From rpeh on 2010-08-03 at 4:25pm:
    I think most of what needs to be said has already been said. This is a very, very bad episode.

    There's one bit that made me laugh. Shimmerman's timing to deliver the final joke is absolutely spot on. Otherwise... what were they thinking???
  • From Tallifer on 2011-04-21 at 6:29pm:
    Don’t listen to the critics! This episode was hilarious!
    1. Each rival Nagus has his own tall silent servant.
    2. Rom reveals his feminine side to his disconcerted friends. The look on his wife’s face was priceless.
    3. Sluggo Cola: the slimiest drink in the galaxy.
    4. How the initally annoying feminism of the episode is subverted: Quark persuades the Ferengi to clothe the females because they will become irrationally voracious consumers.
    5. Countless other offensive jokes about gender relations.
  • From OmicronThetaDeltaPhi on 2014-06-29 at 8:49pm:
    I guess I'm in the minority, but I thought this episode was quite entertaining. Now, I do wholeheartedly agree with the critics, that the cross-dressing thing wasn't funny at all. But most of the jokes WERE funny. And as usual, Armin Shimmerman gets 110% out of the script.

    Not a masterpiece by any means, but a decent (pardon the pun) episode nevertheless. I would give it a 5.
  • From tigertooth on 2018-02-26 at 11:11pm:
    I think this was a decent idea for an episode, but the execution was awful. Every now and then the humor worked -- the main example being Rom teaching Quark how to be female -- but most of it missed the mark big time. The Nog gag where he was running around the hallways made no sense. Why was he having such a hard time following a guy who was walking? And why would a Starfleet cadet be so out of shape? And even if you ignore that stuff, it just wasn't funny.

    They hardly even worked the obvious "Quark learns how hard it is to be a persecuted Ferengi female" angle. They sort of hit on that at the end, but again, it was done really poorly.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x24 - Time's Orphan

Originally Aired: 1998-5-20

Synopsis:
While on a picnic, young Molly O'Brien disappears in a mysterious vortex, only to reapear as an 18-year-old woman. [DVD]

My Rating - 7

Fan Rating Average - 5.33

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 15 6 4 6 9 16 13 16 14 11 8

Filler Quotient: 1, partial filler, but has important continuity. I recommend against skipping this one.
- Worf's impassioned speech about his various accomplishments qualifying him to be a good babysitter is relevant to later Dax episodes. The line is in fact quoted in full at least once. If you haven't seen this episode, then you won't fully understand the reference. It is however a fairly minor detail.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Seeing O'Brien's family again. Keiko, Molly, Yoshi, and even Chester! Keiko hates Chester. :(
- O'Brien and Keiko helping Molly assimilate back into society.
- Worf: "I am a Klingon warrior and a Starfleet officer. I have piloted starships through Dominion minefields. I have have stood in battle against Kelvans twice my size. I have courted and won the heart of the magnificent Jadzia Dax. If I can do these things, I can make this child go to sleep!"
- Old Molly saving young Molly.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Is seen when Molly freaks out at Quark's.

My Review
Keiko's return! We haven't seen her since DS9: The Begotten and it's a welcome reunion. I'm kind of miffed that Keiko hates Chester, but I suppose it's only natural. After all, O'Brien "acquired" him without her consent. What a control freak. :( Getting to more serious topics, this is Molly's episode. An innovative and original premise to make Molly prematurely grow up. Michelle Krusiec does a superb job playing the older Molly, convincing the viewer that she was a feral child for the last ten years. The ending is the obvious best moment for the episode; there's no doubt in my mind that she knew what she was doing when she sent her younger self through the little time portal. That's one of those moments that makes you sad and happy at the same time. Well done.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Abigail on 2008-12-25 at 10:58pm:
    Maybe time travel isn't really supposed to make sense, but I never got a good explanation out of this episode for how the 8-year-old Molly and the 18-year-old Molly could end up in the portal simultaneously. If it was just because the 18-year-old was sent back a few moments after the 8-year-old arrived, that's not really a good enough explanation. If they had sent her back four years later, would she have found 12-year-old Molly?

    Also, it disturbed me that Keiko and Miles were even willing to send the 18-year-old back. I didn't see that as the best option. However, since she ended up finding her younger self, it was still a satisfactory ending (minus the fact that I'm a little confused about how she found her younger self ...)
  • From Damien Bradley on 2013-02-18 at 2:56am:
    Bah! Reset button episode. The whole time I was thinking, "they had better not get the 8 year old Molly back." ... but they did. That kind of ruined it for me. I thought it would be really cool to see how this new, 18 year old "feral" Molly would progress and re-integrate herself into society, but no, they of course found a way to magically get the original Molly back. I'm surprised you liked this episode, Eric; you mention reset buttons all the time and how annoying they can be.
  • From OmicronThetaDeltaPhi on 2014-06-29 at 10:14pm:
    It was an interesting episode. It was a moving episode. But one thing deeply bothers me about it: The outrageous attitude of the Federation Magistrate towards Molly.

    He wants to take a frightened girl away from her parents by force, and lock her up in a "special care center". Without even seeing her. Without consulting her parents. Without even having a hearing.

    What's the deal with that??!! Is this Star Trek, or "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"?

    Fans usually target episodes like "For the Uniform" and "In the Pale Moonlight" as being anti-Roddenberry. But to me, it is episodes like this one which put the biggest stain on the utopian future that Star Trek is supposed to be.


  • From ChristopherA on 2021-04-05 at 3:55pm:
    @OmicronThetaDeltaPhi: I don’t remember it that way. The dialog is set up in such a way to make the protagonists sympathetic and the Federation official seem heartless. But actually, she is in jail for knifing someone, presumably she had a hearing but it is irrelevant since we know she is guilty, they don’t need her parents’ permission to detain her, in fact it would be inappropriate to just ignore the crime and release her to her parents. Moving her to a detention facility where she can actually get psychiatric help is actually far more helpful than just a normal prison.

    The works into one of Abigail’s points, that even though the narrative is designed to support the O’Brians’ belief that the only solution is to return her through the time portal, that is pretty questionable. Sure, her parents tried to help her and failed, but maybe, just maybe, a staff of experienced psychiatric expert actually COULD help her acclimate where her layman parents could not. Humans are social animals, they could at least give it a try before they commit various crimes and muck around with time travel equipment they don’t understand in order to condemn her to a life of eternal solitude.

    I thought the concept of the episode was worthwhile and interesting to think about, but it was kind of boring to actually watch, definitely not my favorite.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x25 - The Sound of Her Voice

Originally Aired: 1998-6-10

Synopsis:
The Defiant unknowingly picks up a time-displaced distress call. [DVD]

My Rating - 6

Fan Rating Average - 5.76

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 11 6 7 4 3 10 14 21 21 11 7

Filler Quotient: 2, filler, but an enjoyable episode nevertheless. You can skip this one, but you'd miss out on some fun.
- There is foreshadowing about what will take place in the next episode here, but it is not actually necessary to move onto the next episode.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Odo badgering Quark about station regulations and his sudden mood change as soon Kira walked in.
- Cusak playing a practical joke on Bashir.
- Odo eavesdropping on Quark's conversation wtih Jake.
- Quark believing he beat Odo.
- Odo and Kira letting Quark win for once.
- Seeing the Defiant's shuttlepod!
- Sisko discovering the long dead corpse of Cusak.
- Rules of Acquisition; 285. No good deed ever goes unpunished.
- Morn Appearances; 1. First scene. 2. In Quark's the second time Odo walks in. 3. Is present the third time Odo walks into Quark's bar to show the gift he picked out for Kira to Quark. 4. Is present in the bar when Odo takes Kira to the holosuite.

My Review
A moody episode on the Defiant, a fun episode on DS9. The point about how DS9 could lose a crewmember to the war at any time is well made and the foreshadowing is effective and moving. It was also awesome to see the Defiant's shuttlepod. But the real fun in this episode was the story that developed between Quark and Odo. This episode is all about respect, and in a quirky way, Odo has a deep respect for Quark and visa versa. I've talked about their half adversarial half friendship relationship before, and this episode exemplifies it. I almost couldn't believe it; Odo let Quark get away with smuggling out of a sense of guilt. He felt he owed Quark something. I also found it rather amusing that Odo didn't let Quark know he was letting him get away with it; rather he let Quark think he won. He did this because Quark told Jake in confidence that he respects Odo and he tries to be his friend when he can. The circle of respect is complete.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Dave on 2007-07-17 at 6:36am:
    Just a minor detail. Surely when Captain Cusack tells the crew when her ship left to go exploring deep space eight years ago, they would have looked it up and realised that the time differential much earlier than they did. Doesn't spoil what was a great episode, however. Just a niggle.
  • From Christopher Wright on 2012-01-21 at 5:51pm:
    I agree with the previous comment about the lack of record of the vessel, but the writers might have been making fun of their own plot hole with all the complaints about how the federation keeps such precise records on everything. Perhaps they are so full of records and logs that sometimes things get lost. Maybe the vessel that crashed had a typo on one of its records. It does seem to be quite a big plot hole though.
  • From Damien Bradley on 2013-02-25 at 12:57am:
    Just a little nitpicky thing: one month isn't an anniversary. You could call it a "one-twelfth year anniversary," I suppose ...
  • From Axel on 2015-05-24 at 3:14pm:
    One of the most amusing things to me about DS9 is all the subtle digs that O'Brien makes at his time aboard the Enterprise. In a previous episode he mentioned how bored he was as a transporter chief there, and I think when Sisko was promoted, O'Brien hailed him as the finest captain in Starfleet :) In this episode, he takes a swat at ship's counselors. It's hard to ignore the possibility that the writers, or simply the O'Brien character, had Troi in mind during that whole segment perhaps hinting at the character's uselessness in many cases. Or maybe it's just my imagination. Either way, it was funny to me.

    This one turned out to be better than I thought it would be at the start. Some depth given to all the characters in this episode, both on the Defiant and back on DS9 with the Quark/Odo relationship.

  • From ChristopherA on 2021-04-17 at 8:18am:
    My wife found Captain Cusack's neediness really annoying and couldn’t stand her. I didn't think she was quite that bad but still had little interest or empathy for her and didn't really care much about the plot. The resolution was clever but, as other commentators have pointed out, it didn't make any sense they wouldn't have already figured that out.

    The plot with Odo and Quark felt odd and made me realize how little we understand the stakes of the “game” that Odo and Quark had been playing during the show. This episode seems to say that we should feel good that Odo decided to be kind and allow Quark to break the law with impunity, implying the laws Quark is breaking are basically meaningless. Is that really true? What laws are these anyways? Is the Federation in the habit of making things illegal just because they're a bunch of controlling killjoys? Are these regulations Bajoran tariffs and Odo is basically giving Quark a free gift from the Bajoran treasury? Is he smuggling dangerous goods and some random person we know nothing about is going to get blown up in order to make Quark happy? It just seemed odd that a lawman would not only let Quark off the hook, but would intentionally let the crime be committed. For the morality of this show to make sense you have to assume that the laws Quark is breaking are mostly petty bureaucratic nonsense, but it would be less disquieting if they would actually come out and say so.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x26 - Tears of the Prophets

Originally Aired: 1998-6-17

Synopsis:
A valued Deep Space Nine crewmember meets an untimely end. [DVD]

My Rating - 9

Fan Rating Average - 6.87

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 12 3 6 2 3 2 5 6 11 41 17

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Martok: "By this time next year, the three of us will drink blood wine in the halls of Cardassia Central Command!"
- Dukat showing up at Cardassia Central Command.
- Romulan senator: "Klingons can be quite entertaining, can't they? Every Romulan zoo should have a pair."
- Quark: "What, is he a telepath?" Vic: "No, I'm a hologram." Not exact, but I'll count it. Count 24 for "I'm a doctor, not a (blah)" style lines, which McCoy was famous for.
- Jake: "But Dad! We're talking about the invasion of Cardassia! A savage thrust into the very heart of the Dominion!"
- Damar: "How do you fight a god?" Dukat: "I'll show you. You see, we have an ally we never knew we had."
- O'Brien to Jake: "If you ask me, it's an ungodly hour to go to war. You can quote me on that."
- The Jem'Hadar mounting kamikaze attacks on the Klingons.
- The joint Federation and Romulan fleet destroying the weapon platforms.
- The weapon platforms becoming operational and destroying Federation and Romulan ships.
- Dax saying a prayer to the Prophets.
- Dukat attacking Jadzia and sealing the wormhole.
- Kira taking command of the Defiant.
- O'Brien tricking the weapon platforms into attacking their own power generator.
- Jadzia's last words: "Our baby... would've been so beautiful..."
- Worf performing the Klingon death ceremony for Jadzia.
- Sisko taking his baseball with him...
- Morn Appearances; 1. Behind Worf and Dax as they exit the holosuite.

My Review
Got mixed feelings here. It was rumored quite a bit before the season finale that Terry Farrell wanted to leave the show because of her inability to come to terms with the producers regarding a contract for season 7. So they had to kill her off in this episode and the writing reeks of a scramble to achieve that goal. As a result, we have a story where Sisko leaves Bajor at a critical moment, allowing Dukat to attack the wormhole, to seal off the Bajorans from their Celestial Temple and he kills Dax in the process. While I love the way the writers wove everything together, there is one major inconsistency. Why is Dax on the station at all? And Bashir for that matter? Bashir and Dax always joined the Defiant for missions. Personally, I find it funny how Kira goes and they don't. Oh... wait... I remember... the writers had to kill off Dax and they needed them to stay. ;) Aside from this minor inconsistency, the story is pretty concrete. I'm willing to bet they already had the finale written and that they revised it to include Dax' death. Though perhaps it is unwise to speculate about what the writers did and did not intend. The idea to get the Dominion to appeal to the Pah-wraiths was intelligent writing and despite my unhappiness with how Jadzia died, the episode is fantastic. I loved watching Dukat meticulously carry out his plan, I loved the anguish in Sisko's eyes when he realized he never should have left, and the battle for Chin'Toka was spectacular. I like how Garak once again very clearly chooses his side, he's a bridge officer on the Defiant in this battle! I may complain, but this season finished off with just as big a bang as it began with. This has possibly been the best season ever done on Star Trek.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From TheAnt on 2013-09-18 at 4:13pm:
    This is the episode where DS9 really loose track and derails completely.
    Our favourite Cardassian villain becomes some sort of ersatz 'Dart Dukat' and Sisko feeling a disturbance in 'The force' etc etc.
    I have no idea what the scriptwriters thought they were doing, or had they taken a vacation and left the stage to some juvenile fan of another fiction universe?
    A lot of 'Boom crash bang & fireworks' and very little substance.
    Many fans have been screaming blue murder over this episode, so do I.
  • From MJ on 2019-03-11 at 7:21pm:
    ROSS: "Starfleet has chosen you to plan the invasion of Cardassia."

    Um, wouldn't an operation like this involve a bunch of admirals with years of experience coordinating fleets of starships, rather than a captain who'd been running a space harbor and serving as a Bajoran liaison? Don't get me wrong, I like the Sisko character, but having him plan something like this is a stretch. It's like if Eisenhower had told Lt Col Rudder that he was responsible for planning the Normandy invasion.

    The storyline involving the Chintaka battle was pretty cool. I liked watching the difficulties in getting all three alliance members on board with the same plan. Seems pretty realistic. The orbital weapon platforms were a cool idea. The Dukat storyline was a bit of a bore, but that may be because I agree with Ant that this Pah-Wraith stuff is where Dukat goes off the deep end.

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