RTR Blog: Matt's DS9 Top Ten
Deep Space Nine has grown to be my
favourite Star Trek series. The shades of gray and later the Dominion
War made it a great series that I've appreciated more and more as
I've gotten older. Since we've drawn a number of Deep Space Nine
episodes so far in season two of Random Trek Review, I thought it
timely to count down my DS9 top 10. Let's go:
10: The Siege of AR-558
This is a great look at the ugly side
of war. Several of the Deep Space Nine crew are stranded on a
communications station on the front lines where they encounter a
garrison of very fatigued soldiers who are on edge. The DS9 crew deal
with the first hand reality of war as they prepare the troops for an
assault after Jem'Hadar shock troops land on the planet. We see some outstanding
performances from the guest stars who portray soldiers on the edge of
completely losing it having been in combat for months. The action at
the end was a great climax to a very intense episode that deals with
a lot of different issues associated with being on the front lines of
a prolonged conflict.
9: It's Only A Paper Moon
Reviewed in episode 15 of RTR, this
episode picks up on the events of The Siege of AR-558 as Nog deals
with PTSD and the loss of his leg. There are some fun, light moments
in the early stages of the episode as Nog bonds with Vic Fontaine.
The tension builds and culminates in the very intense climax as Nog
is finally forced to confront his feelings. This was an incredible
performance by the late Aron Eisenberg as Nog completely breaks down
and admits that he is scared of the real world. It was an incredibly
powerful scene that has had an impact in the real world. The final
scene when Nog admits to several of the crew members that he isn't
fine, but he will be was a great ending to a very memorable episode.
8: Take Me Out to the Holosuite
7: Rocks and Shoals
This episode is part of a mini arc
kicking off the sixth season which sees Sisko and crew destroy a
Dominion outpost using a captured Jem'Hadar ship. Here we have the
crew crash land on a planet where a group of Jem'Hadar had also
crashed. Their Vorta is dying and they are running out of ketracel
white. Seems like a collision is inevitable. I like this episode
because we see the crew get dirty and antsy while in a very dire
situation. We also get to see things from the point of view of the
Jem'Hadar and gain some insight into the mentality and unwavering loyalty of the
Jem'Hadar. The Vorta orders them into an obvious trap and the
soldiers don't think twice about fighting to their certain deaths.
Even when Sisko offers them an opportunity to live, their leader
scoffs at the opportunity. An interesting episode which shockingly
guest stars Phil Morris as Ramat'iklan, a major departure from his
better known role on Seinfeld: Jackie Chiles.
6: Emissary
We tackled both parts of Emissary in
episodes 30 and 31 of RTR and to me this is the best series premiere.
Although it heavily features Sisko, we do get some nice introductions
to the other crew members. It picks up nicely on the Bajoran
occupation by the Cardassians that was explored briefly through the
fifth and sixth seasons of the Next Generation. We also get introduced
to the Bajoran wormhole and the prophets which play a huge role in
the series going forward. I loved the beginning where we see the
station completely trashed and the crew running around trying to
clean things up while dealing with pillagers and other criminals. It
quickly established the darker themes of the show and that this was
not going to be your ordinary Star Trek. There was a nice little
standoff with the Cardassians, although some of the action felt a bit
forced, and the episode wrapped up nicely establishing the
Cardassians as an early antagonist. It's a solid episode that gives a
good start to the series.
5: The Visitor
Andrew named this as his favourite DS9
episode in the intro episode of RTR and for good reason. We see an
aged Jake Sisko, now a famous writer, talk with an unexpected visitor
who seeks refuge during a rainstorm. He talks to her about his
efforts to rescue his father who became stuck in time due to an
accident on the Defiant many years ago. I loved the time jumps
forward where we see Nog and many other members of the crew in the
future helping Jake in his attempts to rescue his father. We also see
Jake give up everything he worked for in his life after the accident
in an effort to save his father. He gives up his writing career,
marriage, everything to learn all he can about what happened so that
he can save his father. It was cool seeing the crew rally around him
when it came time to mount a rescue. His ultimate sacrifice at the
end when Sisko appears again to give them both a second chance was an
incredible moment. It's a great episode about the bond between father
and son and the lengths we will go to in order to save the ones we
love.
4: Improbable Cause / The Die Is Cast
A Garak heavy two part episode? Yes, please! I absolutely loved the first part of this episode where Odo
tries to unravel the mystery surrounding the bombing of Garak's shop.
The visit to his Cardassian contact who won't allow Odo to see his
face was great. Learning that it was all a ruse to draw Odo into an
investigation into some strange activity in the Orias system was
classic Garak and we learn of a plot to destroy the Founders
homeworld. In part two we learn some new things about Garak and his
background which was fascinating. We also get a pretty grisly scene
as Garak tortures Odo using a Romulan device to prevent him from
changing his shape. Kudos for the makeup team for that scene. I loved
the twist at the end when we discover that the founders cooked up the
whole scheme and had Jem'Hadar warships waiting for the incoming fleet
bent on destroying the planet. There's a nice battle scene at the end
between the two fleets with the DS9 crew swooping in on the Defiant
to rescue Garak and Odo. A nice two part episode that has everything
I enjoy in a Star Trek episode.
3: The Way of the Warrior
The appearance of the Klingons at the
start of season four was a bit unexpected but it was certainly
welcome in this episode which marks the return of Mr. Worf to Star
Trek as he joins the DS9 crew. There is some good mystery at the
beginning of the episode as we wonder what this massive fleet of
Klingons is doing hanging around the station. Once Worf arrives,
unravels the mystery and we learn that the Klingons believe the
Cardassian government has been infiltrated by Changelings, it's time
for some intense battle action as Sisko and the crew step in. There
are some moments of levity throughout. Garak's quips before and after
being roughed up by some Klingons, Sisko and Dax's bet about whether
Dukat would complain before or after thanking Sisko for rescuing him. DS9 had a knack for adding some great moments of comic
relief in the midst of a very intense episode. This was a classic
season opener that made the Klingons a major part of DS9 and began
the cold war that became a major part of the fourth season.
2: In the Pale Moonlight
An episode that could only ever happen
on Deep Space Nine, this is an absolute classic that features Sisko
wrestling with his conscience as he uses nefarious means to drag the
Romulans into the war. This is another episode where we see Garak's
full talents on display as he does all of Sisko's dirty work in the
shadows as we would expect from Garak. I loved seeing a determined
Sisko set his mind to a goal and work towards it by any means
necessary. This sort of moral debate is something we could only see
on Deep Space Nine and probably only something we could see Sisko
doing. Picard or Janeway going against their own morals and Starfleet
regulations? Not a chance. Sisko? Even though we see him wrestle with
his conscience throughout the episode, ultimately he decides to reach
his goal regardless of the cost. And in the end, he decides that his
feeling of guilt are worth getting the Romulans into the war. Oh, and
I nearly forgot, the plan he devises with Mr. Garak was really good
and watching them put it in motion and deal with the snags along the
way was really entertaining. An absolute classic DS9 episode in so
many ways.
1: Call to Arms
The moment that was teased for .. well,
the better part of three seasons finally descended upon us in Call to
Arms as the Federation and Dominion are finally plunged into war. The
episode sets things up nicely as the crew of Deep Space Nine are
ordered to mine the entrance of the wormhole to prevent further
Dominion convoys from reaching Cardassia. There are some nice light
moments in the early parts of the episode as Rom and Leeta plan their
wedding and the crew designs the mines to be used at the entrance to
the wormhole. The Dominion pleads with the Federation to abandon
their plan, leading to great scene with Sisko and Weyoun as they
discuss the situation. Of course we all knew this would lead to a
stern response and we get it in the form of a massive armada of
Cardassian and Jem'Hadar warships attacking the station. The ending
is a bit of a surprise and leads to a pretty solid cliffhanger as the
station is lost to the Dominion, but the last thing we see is the
Defiant joining an equally massive armada of Federation and Klingon
vessels. It was quite a cliffhanger to live through wondering for an
entire summer how epic the counter attack would be. This episode put
in motion a great ongoing story arc that kept us going for two years.
It had everything that made Deep Space Nine great which puts it at
the top of my list.
As always, some honourable mentions in
no particular order:
Duet
A rare gem from the first two seasons,
a Cardassian is held for war crimes at a Bajoran labour camp. It
turns out the man had cosmetic surgery to impersonate a famous
Cardassian war criminal in the hope of being tried and forcing
Cardassia to admit their wrongdoings during the Bajoran occupation.
It is a powerful story of a man who is so overcome with guilt and
remorse that he would be willing to give up his life in order to make
amends to crimes he allowed to happen without opposition.
The Ship
The episode that set up Rocks and Shoals,
this is a nice episode that puts the crew in a similar predicament when they
capture a Jem'Hadar warship, but are stranded after their runabout is
destroyed. I loved seeing the crew struggling through a dangerous
situation and the cat and mouse games between Sisko and the Vorta. It
was a suspenseful episode with some good emotional moments that had a
pretty shocking ending
The Search
The Search finally introduced us to the
Dominion in earnest and setup the conflict that would linger until
all out war breaks out three seasons later. We get introduced to the
USS Defiant and get a nice ship battle showing off its abilities. The
second part was intriguing but finding out at the end it was merely a
simulation was a bit weak. Still, this overall was a good episode
that helped steer DS9 in the right direction.
Crossover
Even though DS9 went to the mirror
universe well far too many times, the first episode was one that I
really enjoyed. We get introduced to all the great mirror universe
versions of the main characters and a few others. It was interesting
to see how the universe established in the classic TOS episode
"Mirror, Mirror" had evolved and the DS9 characters roles
in it. The accidental foray into it was believable and it was fun to
see the mirror versions of our heroes.
Faith, Treachery and the Great River
My favourite DS9 comedy episode,
O'Brien and Nog go for a wild ride on the Great River as they attempt
to make a crazy series of trades to obtain items to improve crew
morale. There were so many good moments of humor in this episode as
O'Brien and Nog struggled to make things work and faced the ire of
various characters after their stuff goes missing. Of course in the
end O'Brien and Nog are successful and everyone is happy,
making their wild ride worthwhile.
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