Favorite Episodes of "STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE" Season Six (1997-1998)

 

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from Season Six of "STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE". Created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller; the series starred Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin Sisko:

FAVORITE EPISODES OF "STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE" SEASON SIX (1997-1998)



1. (6.19) "In the Pale Moonlight" - In an effort to acquire more allies for the Federation's war against the Dominion, Captain Benjamin Sisko recruits former Cardassian spy Garak's help to manipulate the Romulans into joining the war effort. Stephen McHattie guest starred.





2. (6.07) "You Are Cordially Invited" - Lieutenant Commander Worf and Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax endure a week of Klingon trials that include a four-day bachelor party and dealing with a potentially hostile "mother-in-law" in preparation for their rushed wedding.





3. (6.13) "Far Beyond the Stars" - Sisko experiences a full sensory vision from the Prophets in which he is science-fiction writer who struggles with civil rights, inequality and his own demons in 1950s New York City.





4. (6.26) "Tears Of The Prophets" - Sisko ignores a warning from the Prophets and leads a Federation invasion into Cardassian territory with fatal consequences.





5. (6.20) "His Way" - Deep Space Nine's Security Chief Odo seeks advice on how to romance Major Kira Nerys from a holographic lounge singer from the 1960s named Vic Fontaine. James Darren guest-starred.

R.I.P. James Darren (1936-2024)

Favorite Episodes of "STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE" Season Five (1996-1997)

 

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from Season Five of "STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE". Created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller; the series starred Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin Sisko:



FAVORITE EPISODES OF "STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE" SEASON FIVE (1996-1997)



1. (5.10) "Rapture" - While Bajor prepares to join the Federation, Captain Benjamin Sisko begins having visions that may show him how to best help that planet in the near future, but they are killing him. Penny Johnson and Ernest Perry, Jr. guest-starred.

2. (5.13) "For the Uniform" - When former Starfleet officer-turned-Maquis leader Michael Eddington returns, Sisko will go to any lengths to capture him. Ken Marshall guest-starred.

3. (5.06) "Tribbles and Tribble-ations" - During a visit from two offices of the Temporal Investigations, Sisko reveals how he and the U.S.S. Defiant crew went back in time to when Captain James Kirk of the second U.S.S. Enterprise had exposed a Klingon spy with the help of Tribbles. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy guest-starred.

4. (5.08) "Things Past" - Sisko, Lieutenant Jadzia Dax, security officer Odo and former Cardassian spy Garak find themselves in the past when the Cardassians controlled Deep Space Nine and a younger Odo was knee deep in a curious case. Kurtwood Smith guest-starred.

5. (5.16) "Doctor Bashir, I Presume" - A family secret is exposed when Dr. Julian Bashir is selected to be the model for the next-generation of Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH) and his parents are invited to the station to be interviewed by Starfleet's EMH programmer, Dr. Lewis Zimmerman. Brian George, Fadwa El Guindi and Robert Picardo guest-starred.

Honorable Mention: (5.23) "Blaze of Glory" - Driven to desperation by the Dominion, the Maquis launch a massive bio-weapons strike towards Cardassia. Sisko recruits Eddington to stop them. Ken Marshall and J.G. Hertzler guest-starred.

Favorite Episodes of "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE" Season Four (1995-1996)

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from Season Four of "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE". Created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller; the series starred Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin Sisko:



FAVORITE EPISODES OF "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE" SEASON FOUR (1995-1996)



1. (4.08) "Little Green Men" - Deep Space Nine's bar owner Quark and his brother Rom take the latter's son Nog to Starfleet Academy on Earth. But a malfunction with the ship sends the crew back in time, to 1947 Roswell, New Mexico. Megan Gallagher, Charles Napier and Conor O'Farrell guest starred.





2. (4.10) "Our Man Bashir" - When a transporter emergency turns the station's command crew into holosuite characters in Dr. Julian Bashir's James Bond program, the situation takes on a deadly reality. Ken Marshall guest-starred.





3. (4.03) "The Visitor" - Sometime in the future, an aspiring writer named Melanie, wants to know why an older Jake Sisko stopped writing at age 40. Jake reveals how his father, Captain Benjamin Sisko, had died in an accident and then suddenly reappeared. Tony Todd guest-starred.





4. (4.20) "For the Cause" - Sisko must face betrayal when evidence surfaces that his girlfriend Kasidy Yates is smuggling for the Maquis. Meanwhile, former spy/tailor Garak makes acquaintance with Gul Dukat's daughter, Ziyal. Penny Johnson and Ken Marshall guest starred.





5. (4.20) "Shattered Mirror" - When the Mirror Universe counterpart of Sisko's deceased wife, Jennifer Sisko, lures Jake to the other side; Sisko must follow and help the Terran resistance against the Alliance forces. Felecia M. Bell guest starred.





Honorable Mention: (4.26) "Broken Link" - Station security chief Odo is suddenly struck by illness and he is barely able to hold shape. Bashir and Odo see no other alternative than going to the Founders. Salome Jens guest starred.

Favorite Episodes of "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE" Season Three (1994-1995)

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from Season Three of "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE". Created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller; the series starred Avery Brooks as Commander Benjamin Siesko:

FAVORITE EPISODES OF "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE" SEASON THREE (1994-1995)

1. (3.26) "The Adversary" - The Federation's Ambassador Krajensky informs newly promoted Captain Benjamin Sisko that there has been a coup on Tzenketh. During the journey to Tzenketh, Sisko and the crew discover that a Changeling from the Dominion may be hiding aboard and sabotaging Deep Space Nine's only ship, the U.S.S. Defiant. Lawrence Pressman guest starred.

2. (3.09) "The Defiant" - Commander William Riker of the U.S.S. Enterprise shows up unannounced and the station's second-in-command, Major Kira Nerys shows him the Defiant, where he reveals his true motives for coming to Deep Space Nine. Jonathan Frakes and Tricia O'Neil guest starred.

3. (3.21) "The Die is Cast" - Former Cardassian spy-turned-tailor Elim Garak reluctantly tortures Odo for information to prove his loyalty to his former mentor, Enabran Tain, as a joint Tal Shiar/Obsidian Order attack on the Founders in the Omarian Nebula is underway, without Starfleet's involvement. Paul Dooley and Leland Orser guest starred.

4. (3.11-3.12) "Past Tense" - A transporter accident sends Sisko, Dr. Julian Bashir, and Lieutenant Jadzia Dax back to Earth's dark past in the 21st century, a time just before the Bell riots, a violent civil disturbance in opposition to Sanctuaries which are controlled ghettos for the dispossessed. Bill Smitrovitch, Jim Metzler and Clint Howard guest starred.

5. (3.19) "Through the Looking Glass" - Sisko is kidnapped and forced to impersonate his deceased mirror universe counterpart in order to convince Jennifer Sisko to defect to the Terran Rebellion. Felecia M. Bell and Tim Russ guest starred.

Honorable Mention: (3.24) "Shakaar" - Vedek Kai Winn, who has become a political leader on Bajor, needs Kira to convince the former resistance leader Shakaar, now a farmer, to return soil reclamators needed elsewhere in Rakantha, which used to be Bajor's most productive agricultural region. Duncan Regehr and William Lucking guest starred.

R.I.P. René Auberjonois (1940-2019)

Five Favorite Episodes of "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE" Season Two (1993-1994)

Below is a list of my five favorite episodes from Season Two of "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE". Created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller; the series starred Avery Brooks as Commander Benjamin Siesko: 




FIVE FAVORITE EPISODES OF "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE" SEASON TWO (1993-1994)



1. (2.23) "Crossover" - First Officer Major Kira Nerys and Dr. Julian Bashir accidentally cross into an alternate world known as the Mirror Universe, where a Klingon-Cardassian alliance rules over the quadrant's former rulers, Terrans (Humans), who are now the enslaved.





2. (2.24) "The Collaborator" - When a Bajoran collaborator named Kubus Oak announces his intentions to return home from exile and is denied passage by Kira Nerys; he contacts Vedek Winn, who is engaged in a power play to become Kai against Vedek Bareil, with evidence that the latter may have been partially responsible for a Cardassian massacre during the latter's occupation of Bajor. 





3. (2.10) "Sanctuary" - The Skrreea, displaced humanoid farmers and political refugees from the Gamma Quadrant, seek to make Bajor their new home, despite opposition from the Bajoran government.





4. (2.22) "The Wire" - Dr. Bashir fights to save the life of former Cardassian spy-turned-tailor when a device implanted in the latter's brain, designed to alleviate pain in the event of torture, begins to malfunction and slowly kill him.





5. (2.08) "Necessary Evil" - When Deep Space Nine's local bar owner Quark is shot, the station's constable Odo relives memories of a five year-old investigation when he served under the Cardassians.

Five Favorite Episodes of "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE" Season One (1993)

Below is a list of my five favorite episodes from Season One of "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE". Created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller; the series starred Avery Brooks as Commander Benjamin Siesko: 




FIVE FAVORITE EPISODES OF "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE" SEASON ONE (1993)



1. (1.19) "Duet" - Deep Space Nine's executive officer and former Bajoran freedom fighter, Major Kira Nerys, suspects a visiting Cardassian to be the notorious war criminal Gul Darhe'el, butcher of Gallitep Labor camp.





2. (1.01-1.02) "Emissary" - Starfleet officer, Commander Benjamin Sisko arrives at the newly freed Deep Space Nine station to command a joint Federation/Bajoran force. His life is changed when a wormhole is discovered near the station and he is declared the Emissary to the Prophets by a Bajoran priest.





3. (1.20) "In the Hands of the Prophets" - In this charged season finale, friction escalates on the station when the Federation and Bajoran inhabitants clash over Federation schoolteacher Keiko O'Brien's lessons that the aliens in the newly discovered wormhole are aliens - a topic that the Bajorans find blasphemous.





4. (1.08) "Dax" - The station's science officer Lieutenant Jadzia Dax finds herself accused of a murder committed by her symbiont in another lifetime.





5. (1.05) "Babel" - A mysterious virus plagues Deep Space Nine, causing speech distortions and death.

"STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE" RETROSPECT: (5.04) "Nor the Battle to the Strong"

"STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE" RETROSPECT: (5.04) "Nor the Battle to the Strong"

It has been a long time since I have watched an episode of "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE". A long time. I have several DVD box sets for "STAR TREK VOYAGER" and the Syfi Channel now airs "STAR TREK NEXT GENERATION" episodes on a daily basis. So when I had decided to re-aquaint myself with the 1993-99 series, I chose the Season Five episode, (5.04) "Nor the Battle to the Strong". 

To understand the background for "Nor the Battle to the Strong", I had to recall the series' political background that sometimes came off as slightly chaotic. Between the series' late Season Four and early-to-mid Season Five, the Federation had been embroiled in a war against the Klingon Empire. Captain Benjamin Sisko, his senior staff and the Federation learned that the Founders - the Changeling leaders of the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant - had planted another Changeling to impersonate the Klingons' head of state, Gowron in the Season Five premire, (5.01) "Apocalypse Rising". Despite this discovery, the Second Federation-Klingon War continued to rage. The war eventually ended, but not before the airing of "Nor the Battle to the Strong".

In a nutshell, "Nor the Battle to the Strong" began with Dr. Julian Bashir and Jake Sisko traveling back to the Deep Space Nine space station after attending a medical conference. Jake had accompanied the Starfleet doctor to write a story about the latter, who had given a lecture. The pair receive a distress call a Federation colony on Ajilon Prime. Despite the recent cease fire after the events of "Apocalypse Rising", the Klingons have resumed their war with the Federation. The Ajilon Prime colony is under attack by the Klingons has requested assistance. Bashir is reluctant to bring Jake along, but the latter convinces the doctor to respond to the distress call. Jake suspects that situation on Ajilon Prime might prove to be a better story than Bashir's conference lecture.

Once the pair arrive at Ajilon Prime, Jake realizes that he has landed into a situation beyond his control and understanding. The colony endures repeated attacks by the Klingons, while Bashir and the base's Federation personnel (medical or otherwise) deal not only with the warfare raging outside the field hospital. At first, Jake lends his assistance as an orderly. But the bloodshed, the cries of the wounded, the bombardment and the varied reactions of the Federation personnel prove too much for him. And in the end, he has to resort to desperate and non-heroic actions in order to survive.

"Nor the Battle to the Strong" has become one of the most highly regarded episodes of "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE" by fans and critics alike. And I can see why. Writers René Echevarria and Brice R. Parker, director Kim Friedman and production designer Herman F. Zimmerman did a top-notch job of creating a somewhat realistic vision of war in the STAR TREK universe. I noticed there seemed to be very little technobabble in this episode . . . for which I utterly am grateful. I suspect that the writers wanted to emphasize the grittier aspect of war and focus less on the science aspect. One example of the episode's gritty style proved to be dialogue spoken by the medical and military personnel at the Federation base. For some reason, the dialogue reminded me of that found in war movies . . . especially those set during the Vietnam War. There were other aspects in "Nor the Battle to the Strong" that practically reeked "combat" - Jake's encounters with a young Starfleet combatant who claimed that his foot had been shot by a Klingon disruptor, a badly wounded Starfleet soldier outside of the base, and a dead Klingon; and the Klingons' final attack upon the base. What made episode's gritty atmosphere really effective was the writers' decision to make Jake Sisko the main character. Jake was an eighteen year-old with ambitions to be a writer and not follow in his father's footsteps as a Starfleet officer. So it only seemed natural that his character would react to the conditions that he and Dr. Bashir had encountered at Ajilon Prime; which included reacting with horror to the violence and blood he had witnessed, running away to avoid further scenes and defending himself from attacking Klingon troops.

The episode also benefitted from first-rate performances. The supporting cast did a solid job in conveying Federation troops and medical personnel under siege. This was especially apparent in the performances of Andrew Kavovit as the orderly named Kirby, Karen Austin as Dr. Kalandra, and Danny Goldring, who strongly impressed me as the dying Starfleet soldier, Chief Burke. Alexander Siddig gave a nuanced performance as Dr. Julian Bashir, who became guilt-stricken for bringing Jake with him to the Ajilon Prime battlefront. But for me, the best performance came from Cirroc Lofton, who gave a superb performance as Jake Sisko. Lofton did a skillful job of conveying Jake's emotional journey in this episode - from the cocky adolescent who wanted to prove his journalistic skills with an exciting story to the guilt-ridden young man, traumatized by his experiences in combat.

Although I was impressed by most of the cast, there was one performance that failed to impress me. It came from an actor named Jeb Brown, who portrayed the Starfleet ensign who claimed he had been wounded by the Klingon. Try as he may, Brown simply failed to convince me of a young man expressing guilt over and attempting to hide what may have been an act of cowardice. I simply found his performance a bit heavy-handed. In fact, it was Brown's performance that led me to take a closer look at the episode. There was something about "Nor the Battle to the Strong" that prevented me from fully embracing it. I could not put my finger upon it, until I asked my sister. She believed that "they" hard tried too hard. By "they", she meant the episode's production staff. She thought they had tried to hard to convey the atmosphere of a gritty war drama. And I agree. 

Starting with the wounded Starfleet ensign, it seemed as if the writers, Friedman and the producers tried to utilize every war drama cliché to create an effective combat episode. Even worse, there were plenty of moments when their efforts struck me as heavy-handed. If it were not for the setting, the props and the Federation/Starfleet costumes, and those scenes at Deep Space Nine and aboard the Defiant, I would have sworn I was watching a war movie, instead of TREK episode. Some might see this as a good sign - a TREK episode venturing beyond the usual franchise's umbrella. I cannot agree with that opinion. I see no reason to do so in the first place. Why? Because the TREK franchise managed to produce plenty of dark and gritty episodes that were not only first-rate, but also managed to maintain its science-fiction style. The ironic thing is that two years later, the production staff for "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE" made another attempt to present an episode about the grittiness of combat. Only (7.08) "The Siege of AR-558" was set during the Dominion War. 

I have to admit that my original opinion of "Nor the Battle to the Strong" is not as positive as it used to be. It has its virtues - namely a solid narrative and some excellent performances by the cast - especially from Cirroc Lofton. But for me, the episode possesses a heavy-handedness that I found a little off-putting. After all, this is supposed to be "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE", not"PLATOON".

Top 10 Favorite Episodes of the "STAR TREK" Television Franchise

Below is a list of my ten favorite episodes from all five "STAR TREK" television series: 


TOP 10 FAVORITE EPISODES OF THE "STAR TREK" TELEVISION FRANCHISE



1. (5.12 VOY) "The Bride of Chaotica!" - Ensign Tom Paris' latest holodeck adventure, "The Adventures of Captain Proton", takes an unexpected turn when the U.S.S. Voyager gets stuck in an interdimensional reef in this hilarious and imaginative episode.





2. (4.18-4.19 ENT) "In a Mirror, Darkly" - This surprisingly entertaining two-part episode features the back-stabbing antics of Jonathan Archer's Enterprise crew in the saga's Mirror Universe.





3. (3.16 VOY) "Blood Fever" - While enduring pon farr, a lovesick Ensign Vorik unexpectedly passes it to Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres, affecting her relationship with Tom Paris during an Away mission.





4. (4.10 DS9) "Our Man Bashir" - While playing a 1960s secret agent inside one of Deep Space Nine's holosuites, he is forced to make life and death decisions for those crew members, whose transporter patterns are stored in the program during an emergency in this wildly entertaining episode.





5. (4.07 VOY) "Scientific Method" - Unseen alien intruders used Voyager's crew as specimens for series of experiments that affect their physical and mental health in this weird and spooky episode.





6. (6.19 DS9) "In the Pale Moonlight" - This fascinating episode depicted Captain Benjamin Sisko and former Cardassian spy Elim Garak's efforts to manipulate the Romulans into joining the Federation in its war against the Dominion.





7. (1.28 TOS) "City on the Edge of Forever" - In this Hugo Award winning episode, Captain James Kirk and Commander Spock are forced to go back in time to the early 1930s to prevent Dr. Leonard McCoy from changing time, when the latter accidentally disappears through a time portal, while heavily drugged.





8. (5.10 DS9) "Rapture" - An accident causes Captain Sisko to have prophetic visions involving the Bajorans' religious beliefs and their future with the Federation.





9. (5.18 TNG) "Cause and Effect" - The U.S.S. Enterprise-D becomes stuck in a time loop involving another Starfleet ship, but the crew manages to retain some memories of previous instances.