The Best of Trek- Deep Space Nine

[darth_timon]

On a whim, I'm starting a series of threads to discuss what people consider to be the best episodes from the different Star Trek shows. I'm starting with DS9 because it happens to be my favourite incarnation of Star Trek.

First up, 'The Quickening', which to me was a great episode that didn't go all showy on the explosions and action, but gave us a closer look at Doctor Bashir, especially as he faced a challenge that tested him harder in his chosen field than anything he had faced before. The end in particular, where, despite having come up with a vaccine, he is still obviously consumed with guilt and feelings of failure, is a touching moment.

'The Visitor' is one of DS9's most famous episodes and was a rare look at Jake Sisko, who was often the forgotten man of DS9. He got the opportunity to shine and struggle through life without the father he adored, before taking the huge risk of 'cutting the chord', when he couldn't at all certain it would work.

'Sacrifice of Angels'- I like this episode simply because it's pretty much all out action from start to finish, coupled with desperation.

'In the Pale Moonlight'- A nice look into Sisko's head as he sacrifices his principles one step at a time in order to protect the greater good.

[StarSword]

DS9 in general had a higher average for episode quality than the other series, IMHO.

Gotta agree with "In the Pale Moonlight". Also gets kudos for admitting that while what Sisko and Garak did may have won the Dominion War and satisfied the needs of the many, it was still morally wrong and that Sisko feeling he could live with it anyway was damning. That's something I don't think a single other episode where a main character has done something morally ambiguous has managed to pull off.

Also, "Duet", with Kira being forced to confront the fact that not every Cardassian eats babies, and then the man who taught her this without meaning to gets killed in what can only be described as a hate crime.

[Borgholio]

I liked DS9 because it wasn't as pussified as TNG and Voyager. They actually had character conflicts, character development where people ACTUALLY CHANGE over time, they had full-scale wars involving the deaths of tens of thousands, bio-warfare, the good guys not always coming out on top...etc.

My favorite episodes were the ones with large-scale fleet combats, just because that was something new for Trek and I liked watching "epic" scale stuff that really was missing from most of TNG.

[StarSword]

I liked DS9 because it wasn't as pussified as TNG and Voyager. They actually had character conflicts, character development where people ACTUALLY CHANGE over time, they had full-scale wars involving the deaths of tens of thousands, bio-warfare, the good guys not always coming out on top...etc.

It was also willing to admit that the Federation isn't a perfect society like TNG and TOS kept claiming and then not demonstrating.

My favorite episodes were the ones with large-scale fleet combats, just because that was something new for Trek and I liked watching "epic" scale stuff that really was missing from most of TNG.

That, and the GCS finally gets to win fights fair and square for a change with no technobabble, just overwhelming firepower, because they've started using them intelligently: as heavy battleships at the core of multi-starship formations (whereas the Enterprise sent in by herself could be expected to lose against anything she didn't immediately outclass because the Worf Effect got applied to the ship as much as the character it was named after). The triumphantly contemptuous way the USS Venture blows away a weapons platform in "Tears of the Prophets" without even slowing down is so awesome.

[Borgholio]

It was also willing to admit that the Federation isn't a perfect society like TNG and TOS kept claiming and then not demonstrating.

The Prime Directive can suck my ass. That was always my biggest gripe about their "perfect" morality.

The triumphantly contemptuous way the USS Venture blows away a weapons platform in "Tears of the Prophets" without even slowing down is so awesome.

The GCS was always supposed to be a very powerful combatant, but Picard always let the enemy fire first...or waited until shields were halfway depleted before even firing a warning shot. Yes I know he's a diplomat but even a diplomat needs to consider the lives of his crew (and their families) when confronted with a threat.

[Gandalf]

The more I look back on it, the more the war stories felt like a half arsed retread of Babylon 5.

"To boldly go where no one has gone before PEWPEWPEW!"

For me, the best of DS9 was based on characters and their relationships to one another during specific times. Quark and Garak are great examples of that, showing humanity through the prism of another species. Was it done well? Not always. But when they got it right, it was fantastic.

[Eternal_Freedom]

"In the Pale Moonlight" is indeed a great episode, although I have to say my favourite has to be "Homefront/Paradise Lost" as it explores just what humans will do to protect their perfect "paradise" and how people react to it and so forth. Didn't hurt that the guy playing Leyton was just awesome.

[Enigma]

I loved DS9 and too consider it the best of the Trek series but overall I found B5 to be superior.

[JME2]

"Necessary Evil".

Probably the franchise's best attempt at noir and a great character piece for Odo and Kira.

[paladin]

My two favorite episodes were "In the Pale Moonlight" and "Far Beyond the Stars."

[FaxModem1]

'Way of the Warrior' is a great action packed two-parter to get people into Deep Space Nine.

I always felt that 'Progress' was a good early DS9 episode, having Kira now realize that she's The Man and can no longer take comfort in being The Rebel and sometimes has to hurt people for the greater good.

[StarSword]

I always felt that 'Progress' was a good early DS9 episode, having Kira now realize that she's The Man and can no longer take comfort in being The Rebel and sometimes has to hurt people for the greater good.

Problem I have with that episode is that the dilemma is unnecessary. Star Trek has long had stable nuclear fusion power and it's not like they're expecting wrecking a life-bearing moon to power the entire planet anyway.

[FaxModem1]

I think the whole thing is due to time. To quote the meme, "Winter is Coming", and their big focus is on getting heat and power for over a 100,000 Bajorans right damn now, instead of doing a practical long-term solution and setting up a permanent facility. That's why whenever Kira brings up alternate solutions, the Bajoran representatives always go, "Yeah, that would be better, but people will be freezing soon if we don't do something now."

[Prometheus Unbound]

Also, the point of the episode wasn't about the technological situation. It was the dilemma she faced.

I can tend to over-look such issues in DS9 more than perhaps Enterprise or Voyager because the dilemma, if you take the episode at face value, has some meaning and with good enough acting and sets, you can ignore it.

It's like The Inner Light (ok not on that level) or similar episodes. The first and last 5 minutes of the episode aren't the important bit, it's the content in the middle. Necessary Evil was good, in that respect. Was a bit sloppy, they could have thought a bit more about the premise but still.

[Prometheus Unbound]

Also, the point of the episode wasn't about the technological situation. It was the dilemma she faced.

I can tend to over-look such issues in DS9 more than perhaps Enterprise or Voyager because the dilemma, if you take the episode at face value, has some meaning and with good enough acting and sets, you can ignore it.

It's like The Inner Light (ok not on that level) or similar episodes. The first and last 5 minutes of the episode aren't the important bit, it's the content in the middle. Progress was good, in that respect. Was a bit sloppy, they could have thought a bit more about the premise but still.

[Prometheus Unbound]

Oops, not sure what happened there, I meant to edit.

In any case, I just noticed, re-watching the episode now. Jerido (the moon), has... a big moon in the sky like ours

[JME2]

Necessary Evil was good, in that respect. Was a bit sloppy, they could have thought a bit more about the premise but still.

I like it since we'd seen the effects and immediate aftermath in "Ensign Ro" and "Emissary".

But this was the first real glimpse we had of the Occupation and set the tone nicely for how horrific DS9 had been under Cardassian rule.

It's also plays differently once you get through the series and find out about Odo's crush on Kira. While that wasn't planned at the time, it retroactively adds different context to his reaction at the end.

[Havok]

The Magnificent Ferengi
Who Mourns For Mourn
In the Pale Moonlight

Any Garek based story.
And episode with Weyun.
ANY SCENE with Gul Dukat, I mean my gawd, best villain since Darth Vader.

There are also some really good Bashir stories... The one where he tries to cure the Jem Hadar of Ketrecel White addiction. His interactions with the other genetically enhanced nutbags and all the Section 31 stuff.

Hell even Kira's religious stories were compelling.

I think the only characters I didn't really like, and I use the term in this context very loosely as me not liking a DS9 character still puts them miles ahead of the go nowhere characters on TNG and Voyager, were Worf and Dax. They always felt forced to me.

[JME2]

Yeah, I think Piller or Behr said they struggled with Jadzia for a while.

Speaking of Jadzia and Worf, I'll add "Blood Oath" and "Once More Unto the Breach".

The former is my favorite Klingon-centric episode in the franchise. A truly great idea to bring back the classic TOS characters.

The latter is my 2nd favorite Klingon-centric episode of DS9. It's not the strongest, but it makes up for it by getting three different portrayals of the Klingons through three different actors:

* Kor: Classic, noble, and Imperialistic.

* Worf: Noble, yet raised in the UFP and trying too hard to live up to the idealized Klingon.

* Martok: One of the guys and a grunt who clawed his way up the ranks.

It's also Martok's best episode; it was great seeing J.G. Hertzler going to the dark side.

[Metahive]

I don't see Martok going to the dark Side in that episode. His grievance against Kor was legitimate as Kor had almost ruined his career out of pure class prejudice and yeah, maybe repaying Kor in kind wasn't the most noble thing to do, but I can't say I really fault him for it. Let's also not forget that while he acted like a goofy comic relief in his DS9 showings, his debut in TOS portrayed him as murderous and violent.

[JME2]

True.

I meant that we'd never seen Martok that bitter and angry up to that point.

I think this had been the first time since "Soldiers of the Empire" that their friendship became really strained.

Chuck's also made an interesting point in his SF Debris review about Kor's actions and how the Dominion War may have turned out if Martok hadn't risen to command.

Kor could indirectly have doomed the Empire because of his prejudices.

[darth_timon]

I liked 'Looking for Par'March in all the Wrong Places' as a fun bit of light-hearted Trek- especially the sight of Quark seemingly besting a Klingon warrior in combat!

'The Assignment' as well, when Keiko was taken other by a Palwraith- it seemed at least once a year they wanted to torture O'Brien and this was S5's turn- also it was noteworthy for Rom refusing to confirm his own name!

'The Ship' too, putting the characters under pressure.

S6's 'The Reckoning' was enjoyable as it was quite a tense, sharp episode in the middle of S6 that wasn't about the war.

[darth_timon]

True.

I meant that we'd never seen Martok that bitter and angry up to that point.

I think this had been the first time since "Soldiers of the Empire" that their friendship became really strained.

Chuck's also made an interesting point in his SF Debris review about Kor's actions and how the Dominion War may have turned out if Martok hadn't risen to command.

Kor could indirectly have doomed the Empire because of his prejudices.

I'm trying to remember the name of the episode where Kang, Kor and Kodos convince Jadzia to join them hunting the Albino. That was a good look at Klingons.

[Gandalf]

I'll champion the episode Badda Bing, Badda Bang. It was a more lighthearted, fun episode, which was a pleasant change from everyone trying to out grimdark one another.

The crew rob a make believe 1960s casino. What's to dislike?

I'm trying to remember the name of the episode where Kang, Kor and Kodos convince Jadzia to join them hunting the Albino. That was a good look at Klingons.

Blood Oath.

[Crazedwraith]

Gandalf beat me to it but it's the second season episode 'Blood Oath' and it's Kang, Kor and Koloth. Not Kodos. Kodos is a human character from TOS.

In a similar vein I actually liked Take Me Out To The Holosuite, ie) The baseball episode.