So, I just finished watching Deep Space Nine for the first time, and I have to say this is perhaps the greatest Star Trek series. More emotional depth than The Original Series and darker in tone than The Next generation, how Voyager and Enterprise compare I can't say as I've yet to get to them. Deep Space Nine tells the story of Benjamin Sisko who is placed in charge of the titular space station as he and his crew deal with everything from the religious and political issues of the planet below them to all out war with a foe more powerful than anything the universe has ever seen. This show was a pioneer of serialised story telling and I love it, as such I decided to count down my favourite episodes.
10 – Facets
Jadzia Dax is a joined Trill and the host of the Dax symbiont, which has had seven previous hosts and the time has come for her to undergo the ritual of Zhian'tara, where she can temporarily transfer the memories of her previous hosts to her closest friends and effectively meet her former selves. This episode makes the list for the enjoyable performances from all the people who play host to the memories; particularly Kira as Lela Dax (the first host), Odo as Curzon Dax (the previous host) and Sisko as Joran Dax (the insane host).
9 – Past Tense
In this two parter Sisko, Dr. Bashir and Dax are accidentally transported into their past, but our future. 2024 the site of the Bell Riots which is one of the turning points in the foundation of the federation as with the death of Gabriel Bell the attitudes towards the poor and homeless started to change. However Bell dies a few days before the riot is due to start and Sisko must take his place. This is a great episode for taking on a more political view than one might expect based on previous iterations of Star Trek and helped to cement Deep Space Nine as one of the more intelligent and interesting shows on TV at the time.
8 – The Siege of AR-558/It's Only a Paper Moon
While this isn't technically a two parter I feel the episodes are intrinsically linked so I'm going to cheat and include them both. From the end of series 5 through to the end of series 7 the show was mainly about the Dominion War; a heavy conflict that costs many their lives. In The Siege of AR-558 Sisko and crew help a small band of Starfleet members hold a communications array captured from their opponents. This is a dark, grim episode where many people die and Nog loses his leg. In It's Only a Paper Moon Nog returns to the station with a new mechanical leg but is walking with a cane and can't stop listening to a recording of the hologram singer Vic Fontaine. He eventually goes into Vic's holographic world and begins to recover. It was just nice to see a pair of episodes dedicated to the realities of what a war like this could cost and have a way for it to really hit home in the shape of the recurring character of Nog.
7 – Children of Time
The Crew of the Defiant investigate life signs on a planet surrounded by an anomaly and find their own descendants as they apparently are destined to crash due to the anomaly and be sent back through time by 200 years. Now they must make a decision, do they find a way back to their lives, family and friends and stop these people who are essentially their own families from ever existing or do they let it play out and allow this society to grow. This episode makes the list for the sheer power of it's ethical dilemma and how well it delivers upon the ideas raised, with an ending that I don't feel any other Star Trek would have gone for, with no magical solution that serves everyone's needs.
6 – In the Pale Moonlight
The Dominion War is going badly for the Federation and Klingons, their numbers are beginning to dwindle and very little progress is being made; it is agreed that if they could get the Romulans on their side the balance could be tipped in their favour. Sisko sets out to try and persuade the Romulans that the Dominion will target them after they're done with the Federation and Klingons. He does this through some decidedly underhanded tactics and the help of Garak, a brilliant Cardassian spy who is without a doubt my favourite character in the whole show. This episode displays exactly the kind of darker side of the Star Trek universe that Deep Space Nine was fond of revealing. Avery Brooks and Andrew J. Robinson give terrific performances to top it all off.
5 – Our Man Bashir
Without a doubt the most light hearted episode on the list, this sees Dr. Bashir and Garak in a James Bond style holosuite program when the rest of the senior staff's transporter patterns are saved into the program (because transporter malfunctions can do anything). What follows is a wacky spy adventure with the crew taking on many roles ranging from a Russian femme fetale to an eye-patch wearing henchman to a giggling super villain. This is just one of the most ridiculous episodes ever, but it embraces how silly it all is and just has a whole lot of fun with the premise.
4 – Favour the Bold/Sacrifice of Angels
The two part finale to the first major arc of The Dominion War sees Starfleet retaking Deep Space Nine from the rule of the Cardassians and Dominion while Kira's resistance works to stop them from the inside and Odo must choose whether to side with his people or his friends. This is about as epic as the action gets in the show with space battles, internal conflicts, prison breaks and some serious personal loss on both sides. Obviously to really appreciate this episode it helps to have seen the preceding episodes to see how they got there, but it is worth it just to see this brilliant pay off.
3 – Trials and Tribble-ations
Upon recovering the Bajoran orb of time from the Cardassians the crew are sent back in time and find themselves at the scene of the original series episode The Trouble With Tribbles. Now they must hunt down the same villain from that episode as he appears in their time and get rid of a bomber tribble all while occasionally interacting with the original crew in inventive and fun ways. This episode, on top of being hilarious and a fitting tribute to Star Trek's origins, is remarkable to see just how well integrated footage from the original episode is, with virtually every moment feeling fairly seamless and not at all overplayed. Just a genuine joy to watch.
2 – Empok Nor
Cheif O'Brien, Garak, Nog and a team of red shirts head to the abandoned Cardassian station of Empok Nor to find replacement parts for Deep Space Nine. Once there they inadvertantly release two Cardassians from stasis who have been exposed to a drug making them more violent and dangerous than ever. What follows is a tense and exciting hunt as they try to achieve their mission all while avoiding the enemy, and when the drug starts effecting Garak? Well then they're really in trouble. This is just brilliant, as tense as any horror film and with Andrew J. Robinson and Colm Meaney playing off each other excellently, especially in the later parts of the episode, further proving that Garak is just the coolest character.
Honourable Mentions
Emissary
The episode that starts it all, with some great introductions to the concept and characters, a cameo from Jean-Luc Picard and a mind bending first appearance of the prophets it was a strong start.
The episode that starts it all, with some great introductions to the concept and characters, a cameo from Jean-Luc Picard and a mind bending first appearance of the prophets it was a strong start.
Hard Time
Chief O'Brien is implanted with 20 years of memories of life in a prison and must deal with the issues raised in his mind and what he remembers doing. One of the classic O'Brien must suffer episodes.
Chief O'Brien is implanted with 20 years of memories of life in a prison and must deal with the issues raised in his mind and what he remembers doing. One of the classic O'Brien must suffer episodes.
Broken Link
Odo can no longer hold his shape and must be taken back to his people to be judged in the great link. I mainly like it for this Garak scene...
Odo can no longer hold his shape and must be taken back to his people to be judged in the great link. I mainly like it for this Garak scene...
Waltz
Sisko and Dukat are trapped together on a planet. Dukat has gone insane with guilt over the loss of his daughter. Fantastic performances from Avery Brooks and Marc Alaimo.
Sisko and Dukat are trapped together on a planet. Dukat has gone insane with guilt over the loss of his daughter. Fantastic performances from Avery Brooks and Marc Alaimo.
Badda-Bing Badda-Bang
Deep Space Nine does an Ocean's Eleven style heist. Fun ensues and Sisko sings.
Deep Space Nine does an Ocean's Eleven style heist. Fun ensues and Sisko sings.
1 – Far Beyond the Stars
In the 1950s a black Sci-Fi writer called Benny begins writing about the adventures of Captain Benjamin Sisko and the crew of Deep Space Nine. All the while he must deal with the prejudices of the time and what is perhaps his loss of sanity as more of his stories begin to take over his thoughts. Is this all a vision that Sisko sees through the prophets, or is Benny the reality having visions of Sisko? This is a brilliant episode that feels like something straight out of the Twilight Zone; the regular actors get to play outside of their make-up for a change and Avery Brooks delivers one of the finest monologues of the whole series. My absolute favourite episode from any of the Star Trek series I have seen so far.