Topic: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon

[DJ Doena]

Summer break is over, it's weekend and I'll start my next marathon. Don't worry, the Big Bang Theory marathon will fit in nicely.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Preamble

Since this is the third series within the Star Trek universe, I'd like to explain a few settings.

Geography: In Star Trek, the Milky Way is divided into for logical quadrants, Alpha to Delta. The Sol System (we) lays directly on the border of the Alpha and Beta Quadrant. The Federation consists of 150 worlds, most of them being in the Alpha Quadrant. Great parts of the Beta Quadrant belong to the Klingon and the Romulan Empire. The Klingons are our allies, while we have a fragile peace with the Romulans.
Another major power is the Cardassian Union with whom we recently (throughout the 2360s) were at war. But now we also have a fragile peace treaty with them. The Gamma and Delta Quadrant are fairly unknown to us due to the vast distances.
Which brings us to traveling. The Warp Drive allows us to travel faster than light, current Warp engines allow a constant traveling speed of Warp 8, which is approx. 1024 times the speed of light (c). The Warp scale is exponential with Warp 2 being 10 * c, Warp 9 being 1516 * c and Warp 10 an unreachable indefinite speed. With our galaxy being 100,000 light years in diameter, it's still huge even at these traveling speeds.

Races: The Federation consists of a number of different species, among them the Humans, the Vulcans, the Betazoids (telepaths). The Klingons are a proud warrior race while the Romulans are descendants of Vulcans who left a long time ago because they didn't agree with "the establishment". The Cardassians are conquistadors who try to widen their own territory.
We know that the Borg live in the Delta Quadrant. They are a biomechanical race who assimilate other life forms and their technology into their collective. In 2366 one Borg cube attacked a Federation fleet of 39 ships and destroyed them all.

And now we can start...

[DJ Doena]

Season 1

Disc 1

Emissary

Synopsis: Deep Space Nine is a former cardassian space station orbiting the formerly occupied planet Bajor. The Bajorans have lived for 60 years under cardassian rule but now they are free. The provisional government has asked the Federation for support and Starfleet takes over the management of DS9. It's commander is Benjamin Sisko, who has lost his wife three years ago in the battle against the Borg and now he must raise his son alone in the middle of nowhere. His second in command is Major Kira, a former bajoran resistance fighter. The rest of the crew are both Starfleet officers of all kind of races and Bajorans. Chief of security is Odo, a shape-shifter with unknown origins.
The spiritual leader of the Bajorans asks Cmdr. Sisko to study the "Tears of the Prophets", mythical orbs that have come to Bajor of the last ten thousand years. With their help Cmdr. Sisko discovers the only known stable wormhole in our galaxy and it leads to the Gamma Quadrant, to a point 70,000 light years away from DS9, on the other side of the galaxy. And suddenly the bajoran system has been put onto the map and the Cardassians will accept any excuse to re-take it.

My Opinion: It's very clear from the beginning that DS9 will be different than its predecessor Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG). TNG played on a all-Federation-personnel Starfleet spaceship, while on DS9 uncounted cultures clash: Starfleet personnel, Bajorans and the civilians aboard the station - for example Quark, the Ferengi bar owner. And most of the characters have a background story and their lives haven't been straight-forward. I really like that. Unfortunately I can't really remember what I thought about them, when I saw them for the first time back in the mid-90s, but DS9 is now my favourite Star Trek show and one of my favourite Sci-Fi shows.
I also liked the idea of the "handshake" when the Enterprise made an appearance in the pilot episode, something they will do again when the Voyager departs from DS9 in their pilot episode. But the meeting between Captain Picard and Cmdr. Sisko also showed that these shows will be different.

Past Prologue

Synopsis: A bajoran scout ship is being attacked by a cardassian warship but the pilot can be beamed out shortly before his ship is destroyed. He seeks asylum aboard DS9 because he was a member of the Khon-Ma, a "terrorist cell" during the occupation. Kira knows him from these days and she pleads to Sisko to grant asylum. But not all Cardassians have left the station. The local tailor Garak - who is suspected to be a spy - contacts Dr. Bashir in a rather unorthodox way and informs him about a meeting between two klingon renegades and the former terrorist.

My Opinion: The first episodes of the season will be used to introduce the viewers to the characters. While the pilot was mostly about Sisko and the loss of his wife at Wolf 359, this episode is about Kira and her past in the resistance. It was an OK episode, but I really liked the introduction of Garak, who will become an interesting guest character over the years.

A Man Alone

Synopsis: Odo tries to throw a Bajoran out of Quark's casino/bar and wants him off the station. A few hours later that man is dead and there are no traces that could explain how the murder had left the crime scene. As chief of security Odo investigates but soon becomes a prime suspects and thus having a conflict of interest. Meanwhile Chief O'Brien's wife Keiko - who was a botanist aboard the Enterprise - has nothing to do on DS9 and becomes frustrated. When Sisko's son Jake befriends Quark's nephew Nog and subsequently gets into trouble, she decides that the station needs a school.

My Opinion: This episode introduces Odo who has also been security chief during the last years of the occupation. I really like that he's a man of principles who has his own codex and who values justice above all else. It was only consequent that it was he who pointed out that only a shape-shifter could have left the crime scene without leaving a trace. The story's hole was that the doctor couldn't figure out what these DNA particles were until it grown into a whole body. After all he was second-best in his year at medical school...

[DJ Doena]

Disc 2

Babel

Synopsis: During the repair of a food replicator, Chief O'Brien accidentally activates a hidden device that was planted there during the construction of the station 18 years ago. This device injects a virus into each replicated food. After the incubation time people start to babble incoherently, then they get fever and die. Even worse: At some point the virus has mutated and has become airborne. Now the entire station is in danger.

My Opinion: It was an average episode, but we've seen Odo and Quark working together for the first time and that was fun.

Captive Pursuit

Synopsis: The first visitor from the Gamma Quadrant comes through the wormhole but he is not on a diplomatic mission. He is the prey in a hunt and the hunters are closing in. But he is no criminal nor did he do anything wrong - not even by the standards of his home world. He was bred to be the prey. The longer he stays alive and eludes his captors the more honour he brings to himself and to the hunter that kills him at last.

My Opinion: Genetically implemented "To the death!" mentality will become a common theme in DS9 and I think the characters handled this situation very well. They've bend the Prime Directive ("no interference in the business of other cultures unless asked to") without breaking it. I don't think Picard could have handled it better.

Q-Less

Synopsis: When the Runabout-class shuttle Ganges returns from the Gamma Quadrant they bring someone with them: Vash. Vash is a archaeologist who is more in the game for the money than the science. A few years back she accepted an offer by the godlike being Q to show her all the interesting places in the universe. Now she's back and Q with her. And Q always equals trouble.

My Opinion: Unfortunately this was the only appearance of John de Lancie in his role as Q on DS9. Stories with Q have mostly been interesting and this was one of them, especially (again) to point out the differences between Picard and Sisko. I really liked it when Sisko punched Q square in the face and he wasn't expecting that.

Dax

Synopsis: Three men try to kidnap Jadzia Dax from the station and bring her to a court. Jadzia Dax is a Trill, a symbiotic joined species with a humanoid host and a slug-like symbiont. When the host dies the symbiont will be transplanted into a new one. The former being - and mentor of Cmdr. Sisko - Curzon Dax has died a few years ago but now Jadzia is charged for a murder where Curzon is the prime suspect. But can Jadzia Dax being held responsible for something Curzon Dax supposedly did?

My Opinion: I liked that episode. It reminded me of the TNG episode where it was discussed whether or not Data - as an artificial life-form - has the right to make his own decisions. They had some compelling arguments for both sides and since the minds of host and symbiont have been truly merged it isn't as easy as it would be with Stargate SG-1's Goa'uld/Tok'ra. I also find it fascinating what we will learn about Curzon throughout the show without ever meeting him (except for that short flashback in the pilot).

[DJ Doena]

Disc 3

The Passenger

Synopsis: Kira and Bashir find a ship where a fire has broken out. Aboard this ship are a dying prisoner, a dead and a living guard. The prisoner dies, too and Dr. Bashir can do nothing about it. But the guard isn't convinced that this prisoner is really dead. After their return to DS9 it is seems that she has been right and now a dangerous man is loose on the station.

My Opinion: Sometimes they overdo it with technology. We've seen mind transfers more than once in Star Trek and you often need to do a "leap of faith". Often they need - even in Star Trek dimensions – huge computer banks to store a mind or it is an ability a species has. But this time the device being used to store a mind was smaller than a fingernail and that makes it unbelievable.
Even apart from that the story wasn't that interesting.

Move Along Home

Synopsis: A new species from the Gamma Quadrant arrives on DS9, but they aren't interested in establishing any diplomatic contacts. They just want to play and what better place than the "Quark's"? But when Quark cheats them they force him to play one of their games and the game counters are very, very real.

My Opinion: I always liked that episode; to see the two planes: Quark, Odo and the Wadi looking at the abstract game board and Sisko, Dax, Bashir and Kira as the pawns who try to find their way out of the mace. But I have to admit that it was not logical that Odo didn't force the Wadi to release the officers. Many people didn't like this episode but I thought it had a nice surrealistic touch.

The Nagus

Synopsis: The Grand Nagus - leader of the Ferengi Alliance - Zek comes to the station to discuss with his fellow "entrepreneurs" the new business opportunities that have opened with the wormhole. But then Zek announces his retirement and names Quark to be his successor because he had the "ears" to open a bar directly at the gateway to the Gamma Quadrant. But soon Quark realizes that being the Grand Nagus is a very dangerous position to be in.

My Opinion: When shown in groups the Ferengi are still being portrayed in a very clichéd way but at least they aren't being as barbaric as they were in the beginning of TNG. This was also the first time that the "Rules of Acquisition" have been mentioned, which can be acquired here - every Ferengi must have at least one copy!
This episode was OK, but I like later Ferengi episodes better. That's one thing I also like about the DS9, many species get a much more deeper profile than TNG has given them. If TNG was about discovering new planets then DS9 was about unfolding the characteristics of the species of these planets.

Vortex

Synopsis: Quark is doing illegal businesses again but this time someone gets killed and the murderer is a newcomer from the Gamma Quadrant. The planet he comes from wants him back to punish him for crimes he's done there, the brother of the murdered wants to see him dead, too and Odo wants to find out if he really knows something about "changelings" as he claims to do.

My Opinion: We've known since the pilot that Odo doesn't know where he's from and that he's trying to find out. I've never noticed before that the story the prisoner told actually sounds similar to that Odo's folk will tell later. But I doubt that it was consciously "planted" here to be used later. Star Trek is - after all - neither Babylon 5 nor Buffy, they just make it up as they go along.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 4

Battle Lines

Synopsis: The bajoran spiritual leader - Kai Opaka - visits DS9 for the first time and Sisko grants her her wish and takes her through the wormhole. On the other side they pick up a signal but when they reach the point of origin the runabout Yangtzee Kiang is attacked and crash-lands on a moon. Kai Opaka dies during the crash but miraculously revives. But they aren't alone on the moon. There are two waring factions  and Sisko and the others get caught in the middle.

My Opinion: Although it was only the second appearance of Kai Opaka I hated to see her leave the show because I know who will succeed her. Apart from that the story wasn't very good. First of all the premise was wrong: So they can't die because they get resurrected - but what about beheading? That's pretty final, isn't it? And if they've really fought for countless years without getting anything out of it, at some point they simply have to get tired of it.

The Storyteller

Synopsis: Dr. Bashir is being called to a bajoran village where the population fears to be dead soon. O'Brien is ordered to accompany him. But when they arrive they find only a dying old man and the rest of the village seems to be fine. But that old man is the only person who can fight back the Dal'Rok and he appoints O'Brien as his successor.

My Opinion: The begin of a beautiful friendship (even though they don't know it yet). Still a rather uninteresting episode.

Progress

Synopsis: A moon in the bajoran system has to be evacuated due to core drillings but one farmer is unwilling to leave his house. Major Kira Nerys tries to convince him to leave before he will be forcefully removed. Meanwhile Jake and Nog found the "Noh-Jay Consortium" and try to sell 5000 packs of mistakenly ordered cardassian Yamok sauce.

My Opinion: This was a great episode on both story lines. Brian Keith played a great Mullibok and the scenes with him and Kira were really good. I believe this was the first time that we learn that "Nerys" is actually Kira's given name. Although her full name was known and she is addressed as "Major Kira" even former resistance companions called her "Kira", not "Nerys". It was also funny to see Nog and Jake trying to make money out of the sauce and the stuff they've exchanged it for.

If Wishes Were Horses

Synopsis: Dax discovers that something strange is going on in the Denorios belt (where the wormhole is located). And suddenly fantasies become reality and manifest themselves. Sisko's visited by a famous baseball player, Rumpelstiltskin appears in the bedroom of Chief O'Brien's daughter and a very submissive Jadzia hits on Dr. Bashir. But that's not the worst. And there's a sub-spatial rift in the belt and it's widening and threatens to destroy the station.

My Opinion: Another average episode. The second Dax was funny but overall it was nothing special.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 5

The Forsaken

Synopsis: Four Federation ambassadors come to the station, amongst them Lwaxana Troi, mother of the Enterprise's ship counsellor Deanna Troi. But there's another guest and it came through the wormhole - only at first no one knows it's there, until the station's systems are starting to act weird.

My Opinion: I really liked this episode. It was fun to see Bashir handle the three totally different ambassadors and Odo trying to get away from Lwaxana. And I also liked the conversation between Odo and Lwaxana in the turbo lift. It felt totally right, like something Lwaxana would do and that was great.

Dramatis Personae

Synopsis: A klingon ship comes back from the Gamma Quadrant but explodes after leaving the wormhole. Only the first officer had managed to beam out but he also dies in the Ops (Operation Center). Soon after Odo registers that the command personnel seems to behave differently. Two factions are emerging, basically on the line between Federation and bajoran officers. The rescued "black box" from the klingon ship seems to indicate that something similar happened there.

My Opinion: Another good episode. I liked to see how the different people were getting more and more paranoid and how they (not) handled it. I also liked how Odo managed to play "double agent" and how he played them all.

Duet

Synopsis: A cardassian comes to the station who has a rare disease and that means he was stationed at a certain labour camp during the occupation. At first he claims to have been only a file clerk, but then evidence points to the fact that he was actually the commanding Gul of that camp. Kira and the Bajorans want to charge him with having committed war crimes.

My Opinion: One of the best if not the best episode of the first season. Nana Visitor (Kira) and Harris Yulin (Marritza; Quentin Travers [Watcher's Council] in Buffy) played perfectly. If you ever get the chance to watch that episode, do so. It's not necessary to know the surrounding Star Trek settings to understand ("enjoy" would be an ill chosen word here) it.

In the Hands of the Prophets

Synopsis: Vedek Winn visits the station and she disagrees with Keiko O'Brien's teachings about the wormhole, since it is a religious symbol to the Bajorans - the celestial temple - and not just a scientific phenomena. Sisko seeks the help of Vedek Bareil who is likely to become the next Kai and far less conservative than Vedek Winn. But then someone blows the school up.

My Opinion: It's scary how similar the main terrorist acted to nowadays's real-world terrorist. On the surface blended into Federation (i.e. western) society, friends with the Chief but under the surface deeply religious and willing to do anything to fight "enemies" of her religion. And of course, it's not only religion but politics as well.

The Season - My Opinion: A slow start to a great series. What was really noticeable in comparison to current shows was the static, stage-like direction. For example in the episode Dax, where Dax was about to be kidnapped we see Dr. Bashir come around the corner and then he stops dead. Cut. We see Jadzia struggle with her captors. Cut. Julian has understood what is happening and now he begins to run towards her. But it wasn't fluent. One has the feeling he heard an inaudible starting shot and then starts to run.
But in general I liked the setting in general and how they had an eye for details. For example: Chief O'Brien meets his wife on the promenade and he's just coming from work. He has some lubricant on his uniform as if he was crawling through a tube. On TNG I can't remember if the uniforms were ever dirty unless it had a purpose for them to be unclean.

[DJ Doena]

Season 2

Disc 1

The Homecoming

Synopsis: A new movement is growing on Bajor. They call themselves "The Circle" and they want "Bajor to the Bajorans", i.e. all out-worlders should leave the bajoran system. Meanwhile Kira learns that Li Nalas - a hero of the resistance - is still alive and he's being held prisoner on a cardassian planet. She and O'Brien disguise themselves as traders and try to rescue him.

My Opinion: I remembered this three-part season opener to be somewhat uninteresting but I really enjoyed it this time. It's "funny" to see how something that happened almost only by accident can develop into a legend and how the protagonist becomes a hero. Although they are nothing alike the story of Li Nalas becoming a hero reminded me of the Firefly episode Jaynestown.

The Circle

Synopsis: Li Nalas has become the new liasion officer aboard DS9 and Kira has been recalled to Bajor. But there fights have broken out. The Circle has acquired a lot of weapons and is now openly moving against the provisional government. What they don't know: The weapons were delivered by the Cardassians (although not directly) who are hoping that The Circle drives the Federation away and thus opening the system for another cardassian invasion.

My Opinion: That was an interesting turn of events with Frank Langella (Skeletor in Masters of the Universe) once again in the role of the bad guy. But I like him in these roles. Interesting thing - especially in comparison to later seasons and later shows - is that you only had to hear the distant rumbling of war to believe that there is one, without seeing it. I don't condemn special effects scenes, I really like them, but if a movie or series relies to heavy on them the actual storytelling moves into the background or is forgotten at all. That's the reason the Star Wars Episodes I - III didn't work for me.

The Siege

Synopsis: All non-bajoran civilians have been evacuated with the help of the runabouts Ganges, Orinoco and Rio Grande. But Sisko and his Starfleet crew remains in the hope that he can delay the surrender of the station until Kira presents the evidence of the cardassian involvement in the Chamber of Ministers.

My Opinion: A good conclusion but I hated to see Vedek Winn squirm herself out again. As I said I like good bad characters. I'Ve always liked Gul Dukat or (later) Weyoun, but I never liked Winn (Louise Fletcher; Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest). But at least life is going back to normal on the station - for now.

Invasive Procedures

Synopsis: During a plasma storm the station is running only with a skeleton crew when a nearby ship declares an emergency and has to be pulled in. But the mayday was a fake, the ship's crew takes control over DS9. Why? To get the Dax symbiont and transplant it into the group's leader who feels that he deserves to be blended with a Trill symbiont. But that will kill Jadzia and Sisko won't let that happen.

My Opinion:I didn't pay attention to the credits but when I saw Verad (Dax) I instantly knew I knew him. But it took me a while to figure it out. I assumed that - since he had not much of a mask - he usually wears one. But then it came to me. The beard and the long hair was missing: John Glover a.k.a. Lionel Luthor from Smallville.
I liked this episode because here we saw how a person can change when he/she is blending with a symbiont. This is one of the rare before/after moments since we've never known Jadzia without Dax.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 2

Cardassians

Synopsis: When a bajoran man and his adopted - cardassian - son come to the station, Garak becomes interested in the two of them. The boy was raised to hate all Cardassians and to hate all that is cardassian. But he is also not really a war orphan, he's the son an important cardassian politician and enemy of Gul Dukat's, the former prefect on Terok Nor/Deep Space Nine.

My Opinion: The end was a bit unsatisfying. While the main scheme was revealed and Dukat was exposed the writers didn't really manage to explain why Sisko chose to return the son to his biological father. Sure, he mentions it in his log entry but as I said - a bit unsatisfying. But I really liked the way Bashir and Garak have been working together and Garak's "explanation" of why he knows the things he knows.

Melora

Synopsis: DS9 gets a new crew member, Ensign Melora Pazlar. She comes from a low-gravity world and needs to use a wheelchair unless she's alone and can lower the artificial gravity. She calls it "the Melora problem" that everybody but she creates and she reacts very hostile to any attempt to help her.

My Opinion: This was an interesting mix of two different problems. The first would be the interaction with disabled persons, especially when they don't want any help. I really liked Paul Hogan's character's solution to that problem in Almost an Angel. But I found the second problem more interesting: Am I willing to make a change that will prevent me from ever going home again? It's a hard choice and I couldn't say now what I would have done.

Rules of Acquisition

Synopsis: The Grand Nagus Zek assigns a task to Quark: He is to purchase 10,000 vats of tulaberry wine from the GQ-based Dosi. The negotiations are already hard but suddenly Zek wants not only 10,000 vats but 100,000. Luckily for Quark, one of his new waiters has an ear for business. But Pel isn't what he appears to be.

My Opinion: I like Ferengi episodes (have I said that already?) and I think it's funny that things like unknowingly working with a Ferengi female always happen to the more conservative Quark who only tries do earn an (dis-)honest living. This was also the first time that there was a new force in the GQ mentioned: The Dominion.

Necessary Evil

Synopsis: After Quark has been attacked and nearly killed, Odo has to re-open a five-year old murder case. Back then he was an arbitrator for minor differences between the bajoran workers aboard Terok Nor. But Gul Dukat gave him the task of solving this murder and he encounters a certain Ferengi barkeep and a young bajoran woman by the name of Kira Nerys during that investigation.

My Opinion: This was a very noir episode with a lot of flashbacks to the time of the occupation. It was also the first time that we learn that Quark's brother Rom might not be as dumb as he seems to be. I really liked it, especially when Quark learned that his brother had access to his money vault. 

[DJ Doena]

Disc 3

Second Sight

Synopsis: It has been four years since Sisko's wife had been killed at the Wolf 359 massacre. But now Sisko meets a fascinating woman by the name of Fenna. But she keeps disappearing and Sisko has a hard time finding her again. Meanwhile the foremost expert on terra-forming has come to the station and he is about to complete his greatest project: the re-ignition of a dead sun.

My Opinion: This was an OK episode, not great though. The terraformer was a self-involved, arrogant man and thus I didn't care for his death at all. He may have done it for a noble reason and although the one conversation he had with Sisko before his death gave him a more human face, it didn't help in the end. But I liked the idea that might not end up alone 'til the end of days.

Sanctuary

Synopsis: A ship full of refugees comes through "the great eye of the universe" and they are searching for their new home world, Kentanna. According to their legends, Bajor is Kentanna and they want to settle there - all three million Skrreeans. But Bajor has already enough problems of its own...

My Opinion: Another episode I didn't care for much, because I didn't care much for the Skrreeans. But I found the end interesting, because they didn't make it into a happy end, which (not a happy end) will happen more often in DS9 than it did in TNG.
BTW: Here we've learned that the Dominion is a conquering force or at least a waring force in the GQ.

Rivals

Synopsis: An El-Aurian con man comes to the station but isn't that successful until he gets his hands on an unknown gambling device. From now on, luck is on his side and he establishes a second casino on the Promenade. But soon very unlikely events begin to occur on a regular basis and the odds for chance and probability have shifted.

My Opinion: This episode I enjoyed a lot. The only other El-Aurian we've ever met was Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) aboard the Enterprise. And while their main characteristic is maintained (they are good listeners), I liked it that they - as every other people - have dubious guys in their midst. I also liked the matches between Bashir and O'Brien.

The Alternate

Synopsis: Dr. Mora Pol is a scientist who worked with Odo from the beginning, long before anyone knew that Odo was sentient life form. Now he believes, that he may have discovered others of Odo's kind on a planet in the GQ, He, Odo and Dax fly there to discover something that could be a distant relative to Odo. But after their return the being escapes and threatens the station.

My Opinion: This was another good episode. It gave us an insight about Odo's early years and especially his relation to Mora. On the surface he doesn't like him that much but we can also see that he cares for even even though he wouldn't admit it. And Mora obviously cares for him. It was good to see that there's something beneath that cynical surface of Odo's.

[Tom]

The only other El-Aurian we've ever met was Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) aboard the Enterprise.

Don't forget Malcolm McDowell's character in Star Trek: Generations

[DJ Doena]

The only other El-Aurian we've ever met was Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) aboard the Enterprise.

Don't forget Malcolm McDowell's character in Star Trek: Generations

I'll rephrase: At that point in time. The episode was aired before Star Trek: Generations.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 4

Armageddon Game

Synopsis: Dr. Bashir and O'Brien are helping two formerly waring races to dispose of their biological weapons. But then one side is breaking the treaty and they kill all the scientists and try to kill O'Brien and Bashir who can barely escape. The crew of DS9 is informed that they've died in an accident while they have to hide out and try to contact either Starfleet or the other fraction.

My Opinion: As a general rule, I happen to like most of the Bashir/O'Brien episodes. And while their previous pairing in The Storyteller wasn't that interesting, I really liked this one. To put them together in a dangerous situation without any other characters around them was a really good decision.

Whispers

Synopsis: When Miles returns to DS9 he notices that something is different. Most of the command staff and even his wife is acting weird. And since important negotiations are coming up and he's cut off from the security preparations, he suspects that someone tries to sabotage these negotiations.

My Opinion: We have seen so many unfriendly takeovers of bodies during the history of Star Trek that O'Brien's suspicions weren't that far fetched. Another episode I really liked, especially with O'Briens sympathy he's shown to his copy and the copy's declared love for Keiko at the end.

Paradise

Synopsis: Sisko and O'Brien beam down to a planet that doesn't lie along the usual trading routes. But as soon as they arrive they find out that none of their technology is working and they can't contact their runabout. But they find a village full of people who have crashed here a decade ago. They have gotten used to the situation but Sisko doesn't give up that easily.

My Opinion: This episode reminded me a lot of the former socialistic countries. "Hey we have a good idea and now you have to live in that "ideal" whether you like it or not." I really liked it when Sisko went back into the box, not bowing to Alixus's rule. And I also liked how he interrupted her speech pointing out that she let people die for her dream to come true.

Shadowplay

Synopsis: Again looking for signs of his people, Dax and Odo are following a strange radiation signature. At the end of it they find a device in a small village, which seems to be the only settlement on the planet. But something is going on in that village: People are disappearing without leaving a trace and Odo tries to help.

My Opinion: This was a rather quiet episode and it only became interesting when the holographic generator had been disabled and we learn about the true nature of the relation between the people of that village and the only real person.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 5

Playing God

Synopsis: A Trill host candidate comes to the station. Jadzia has to evaluate whether he is suited to be blended with a symbiont. The candidate isn't very thrilled since it is widely known that Dax has declared 57 candidates as "unsuited" over the last 200 years and the worst of them all was Curzon Dax. But Jadzia is not Curzon.

My Opinion: The candidate had no real plans for the future and I have already forgotten most things about the character. The only interesting thing were some insights into Jadzia's training who ironically also was evaluated by Curzon - and failed.

Profit and Loss

Synopsis: A cardassian professor and two of her 'students' come to the station. They are well aware that they aren't overly welcome on a bajoran space station but it gets worse when they learn that there's still a Cardassian aboard: Garak. They are fugitives, the cardassian Central Command has declared them as 'terrorists'. But the Cardassian Union hasn't anticipated the involvement of a certain bartender.

My Opinion: This episode on the other hand was very interesting. Quark has broken out of his usual deceiving scheme plotting and has shown real affection towards a person/a woman. Strangely though, Quark always seems to be most interested in non-Ferengi and clothed(!) women, most of them being stronger than him, too. I wonder what he would think about Buffy - ah, yes, I remember, he expelled her from Sunnydale High.

Blood Oath

Synopsis: Kang, Koloth and Kor have come to the station. They are all klingon Dahar Masters and they look for Curzon Dax. Eight decades ago the four of them have sworn a Blood Oath to kill the murderer of the first borns of the Klingons. Kang wants to release Jadzia from that oath but she has no intentions of bailing out.

My Opinion: This is one episode I've been waiting for. I always thought that it was a great idea to bring the three klingon commanders Kirk faced in the original series once again on screen. While I didn't care much for the Klingons - or any other alien race except the Vulcans - in the original series, the Klingons have grown on me during TNG and especially DS9. Ironically Jadzia now had the very same problem Worf always had when he took off to do something very klingon-y and very un-Starfleet-y. But at least Kor survived and we will see him again.

The Maquis, Part I

Synopsis: Soon after a cardassian freighter has left DS9, it explodes. Shortly after that cardassian fighters try attack a merchant ship, but get shot down by another ship. And all that in the demilitarized zone between the Federation and the Cardassian Union. The peace treaty had moved the border an now some formerly Federation colonies are within cardassian space and vice versa. And especially the former Federation colonies feel abandoned and try to arm themselves.

My Opinion: As always when borders are moved some people are waking up on the wrong side of the fence. But to start a shooting war against a vastly superior enemy is stupid at best. And they aren't risking just their lives and those of their families. If they manage to start another full blown war, then billions of other lives get endangered, too. Do I sound like someone who hasn't much sympathy for the Maquis? Then you heard right.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 6

The Maquis, Part II

Synopsis: The Cardassians have indeed been smuggling weapons into the DMZ and the Maquis is planning to attack their secret depots. Unfortunately these depots are hidden within cardassian colonies and an attack on these colonies would force cardassian Central Command to retaliate. Commander Sisko and Gul Dukat try to prevent a new war.

My Opinion: As I said, they don't want peace, the Maquis wants that war and that I'll never understand.

The Wire

Synopsis: Garak has serious headaches but he is not willing to have Dr. Bashir examine him until he collapses. Garak has a chip in his head that causes him that pain. Dr. Bashir tries to help him by contacting the former head of the Obsidian Order - the cardassian intelligence - who has implanted the chip when Garak was his personal protégé.

My Opinion: This was a great episode. The variations of Garak's stories about his past reminded me of the way The Joker was talking about his scars in The Dark Knight. We'll probably never find out which one/part was true. And I believe it wouldn't have been good for the mystery of either character (Garak/Joker) if we would have ever found out, what really happened. Hence I really liked the closing dialogue:

Dr. Bashir: You know, I still have a lot of questions to ask you about your past.
Garak: I have given you all the answers I'm capable of.
Dr. Bashir: You have given me answers, all right. But they were all different. What I want to know, out of all the stories you've told me, which ones were true and which ones weren't?
Garak: My dear doctor, they're all true.
Dr. Bashir: Even the lies?
Garak: Especially the lies.

Crossover

Synopsis: About a century ago, Captain James T. Kirk had a transporter accident and he found himself in an alternate reality, a mirror universe. Luckily he managed to come back. And when Kira and Bashir fly through the wormhole with a defect impulse engine they find themselves in the very same mirror universe. But things have changed since Kirk's days.

My Opinion: Yet another good episode. Being a single episode in the original series, we've seen the mirror universe here again and from now on there will be more crossovers. As I've often stated, I like out-of-character episodes and the Intendant (Kira) and Sisko were really great.

The Collaborator

Synopsis: The election for the next Kai is close and Vedek Barail - as the chosen one of Kai Opaka - is most likely to become the next Kai. But Vedek Winn doesn't give up that easily. She is going to proof that Barail was a collaborator during the occupation and that he's revealed the position of a resistance cell to the Cardassians.

My Opinion: This is a sad day. Winn has become Kai and that means nothing good for the people of Bajor. And I must admit, I don't really like the episodes that are about bajoran politics. Too much intrigue and scheme is involved when it comes to Winn.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 7

Tribunal

Synopsis: While on a holiday trip with his wife, O'Brien is being abducted by the Cardassians. Back on Cardassia he is charged with aiding the Maquis and delivering photon torpedos to them. In the cardassian justice system the verdict is always the same: guilty. The tribunal is just to show why he's guilty.

My Opinion: I liked that episode. Despite the seriousness it was funny to see how O'Brien's "defense attorney" became more and more despaired. Why would his client be so unreasonable? Why doesn't O'Brien simply confess and thus proves the effectiveness of the cardassian justice system? And the face he made when he realized that his client was free to go...

The Jem'Hadar

Synopsis: Sisko invites his son to do a science project in the GQ who in turn invites Nog. And Quark is accompanying them as well. But they are caught by the Jem'Hadar, warriors of the Dominion. A message is brought to DS9, declaring their capture and the destruction of several ships as well as the destruction of the bajoran colony in the GQ.

My Opinion: And so it begins. The Dominion in shape of the Vorta and the Jem'Hadar has entered entered the chess board. And although they've only stated that they do not want any more AQ ships in their territory they've also made it clear that they've gathered intel about the races of the AQ. Now the show gets really interesting.

The Season - My Opinion: This season was half'n'half. There were a number of very interesting and great episodes mixed with rather uninteresting ones. I especially liked the character-driven episodes like Armageddon Game, Blood Oath and Crossover. And now let us see the Defiant!