Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

episode 64 production #466 written by Ira Steven Behr & Robert Hewitt Wolfe directed by Winrich Kolbe original air date: 1995.04.17

In this sequel to the second season's Crossover 'mirror-universe' episode, the Terran rebels kidnap our Sisko and enlist him to complete a mission in place of his recently-deceased counterpart.

Always fun outings which allow us to explore the possibilities and what-ifs of our characters, this episode gives Sisko a very real chance to see his dead wife again. She's not really Jennifer, but in a lot of ways she is. It also gives him a chance to set straight some of the missteps of his mirror-universe counterpart.

Smiley's confidence seems to have improved a great deal since Crossover. Though in front of the Intendant he resumes his meeker posture.

The Terran Rebels' ship is shown to be something akin to the smaller, Peregrin-class ships used by the Maquis. However the inside of the vessel seems a bit larger, no doubt due to the modest redressing of the Defiant's interior sets.

I really like the mirror-Dax's hair.

Probably the biggest treat of the episode is the appearance of mirror-Tuvok, though he seems indistinguishable from the regular Tuvok on VOY. I thought his costume was interesting. It has a very Vulcan layout, but the pattern is very reminiscent of his uniform on VOY. Oddly enough, he sounded a bit more Vulcan here in his only DS9 appearance than he did in his entire seven year stint on VOY. At one time, there were rumours of a Star Trek movie that might feature characters from several of the different series. Tuvok was always my first choice, provided that someone from DS9 had a hand in the writing of that movie. I always felt he, like everyone else, had a nice potential that was more or less wasted on VOY.

Dead Mirror Universe Character(s) of the episode: Rom

Quark quote of the episode: "Poor Morn, this is gonna break his hearts."
Quote of the episode: "I guess you could say we just stepped through the looking glass." - Smiley

episode 63 production #464 teleplay - Ira Steven Behr & Robert Hewitt Wolfe story - Joe Menosky directed by Alexander Singer original air date: 1995.04.10

While I won't say this is the worst episode of DS9 (and I do have the honour reserved), I will say that this is probably my least favourite episode of the entire seven year run. And concommitant with that is my opinion that this isn't a particularly good show. I just find it boring. The old-age makeup and acting are passable, but no matter how good old-age portrayals are done, I never buy them, it takes me out of the episode and I lose interest. And in this case, Siddig El Fadil plays into the 'old man' stereotype a little too closely for my tastes, such as they are.

What I can say for this episode is that it opens the door for more interesting things with regards to Dr. Bashir and his characterization. Though it takes us a barely tolerable hour to get to them, we learn a few hints about the good doctor's secret life. Earlier in the series it was stated that Julian mistook a pre-ganglionic fiber for a post-ganglionic nerve. It didn't mean much to me when I first saw the episode, but while I studied biology in college I realised that the two are impossible to mistake! Not only would a first year medical student not mix them up, not even a pre-graduate biology student would. And Robert Hewitt Wolfe's wife also knew this and pointed it out to him. Hence we have a rectification of the mistake in this episode. So it begs the question: just why would Julian miss that easy of a question? Here it is suggested that he didn't want to be the top of his class, so he threw the question intentionally. And why did he do that? We would find out the answer to that in the fifth season episode Dr. Bashir, I Presume?.

One funny moment for me was Quark's display of offense at witnessing Bashir and Garak eating lunch at the replimat rather than his establishment.

Points of Interest:

Cardassian hearing is not as acute as Humans'.

Dr. Bashir is now 30 years old.

episode 62 production #463 teleplay - John Shirley story - Ethan H. Calk directed by Reza Badiyi original air date: 1995.02.27

This is an average episode, focusing on Chief O'Brien and employing a rather complicated time-travel scenario to drive the plot. It is significant for following up on the loan of the cloaking device by the Romulans in The Search. The time travel element is interesting for its originality since it doesn't rely on a ship or a transporter or some other pre-established method or device.

Points of Interest:

This is the first episode to establish O'Brien and Bashir playing darts in Quark's.

Jack Shearer, who plays Ruwon in this episode, also played Ambassador Vadosia in the first season's The Forsaken and would go on to play a different admiral in both Star Trek: First Contact and in VOY's Non Sequitur.

Quark quote of the episode: "Now what if one of those darts had gotten into his eye? Do you realize I'd be liable for that? Do you know how much money an eye costs?"
Quote of the episode: "I hate temporal mechanics." - Chief O'Brien

episode 61 production #462 written by Ira Steven Behr & Robert Hewitt Wolfe directed by Rene Auberjonois original air date: 1995.02.20

Without a doubt one of DS9's finest comedic episodes, Prophet Motive exudes fun in everything from the dialog to the near slapstick level of physical action. In the episode Zek has gone to the wormhole in an attempt to convince the Prophets to let him see the future so that he might gain by it. They find him revolting and backwards and instead of granting his request they alter him, making him more like Ferengi of old who were more generous and less greedy. When Zek presents a revised book of the Rules of Acquisition, Quark at first believes Zek is engaged in an elaborate scheme. But soon he realises something is terribly amiss and he kidnaps Zek, returns with him to the wormhole in order to set things straight. In the end Quark saves the day. Nothing much of consequence has happened at the end of the episode, but it is nevertheless a fun diversion.

In contrast to the A story, the episode's B story is actually a bit more serious. Dr. Bashir is one of five nominees for this years Carrington award. At first he dismisses the laud altogether, citing the advanced age of the typical recipient. But as everyone on the station continues to build him up, he begins to believe he might have a chance. When he ultimately loses to the one candidate no one thought would win, he is crushed. The recognition of Bashir's precocious brilliance foreshadows the revelation of a secret in the fifth season.

Points of Interest:

This episode is Rene Auberjonois's DS9 directorial debut.

The Carrington Award is the Federation's most prestigious medical accolade.

Bashir is the award's youngest nominee.

Hyupyrian servants take a vow to speak only to their masters.

This episode marks the transition in Bashir and O'Brien's off-duty pastime from racquetball to darts.

The Tenth Rule of Acquisition: Greed is eternal.

The First Rule of Acquisition, Revised: If they want their money back, give it to them.
The Tenth Rule of Acquisition, Revised: Greed is dead.
The Twenty-first Rule of Acquisition, Revised: Never place profit before friendship.
The Twenty-second Rule of Acquisition, Revised: Latinum tarnishes, but family is forever.
The Twenty-third Rule of Acquisition, Revised: Money can never replace dignity.
The Two Hundred Eighty-fifth Rule of Acquisition, Revised: A good deed is its own reward.

Quote of the episode: "Actually, I've lost my taste for beetle snuff. It might be fun for you and me, but it's no fun for the beetles!" - Grand Nagus Zek

episode 60 production #461 written by David S. Cohen & Martin A. Winer directed by Les Landau original air date: 1995.02.13

This episode is significant for two reasons. First, it sees the Wormhole become capable of allowing communication between the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants. Second, Sisko takes a major step toward believing that he is indeed the Emissary.

The most interesting aspect of this episode for me is that all signs point toward Vedek Yarka's interpretation of the prophesy as correct. But at the last moment, we see that while the prophesy appears to have come true, it was fulfilled in a manner far different from Yarka's vision. Nevertheless, the audience cannot help but become convinced the Yarka was correct.

The episode is also an important step for Kira who, like Sisko, begins to acknowledge on a more concious level her belief in Sisko as the Emissary. At Yarka's behest, she begins to lose the barrier separating her professional relationship with Sisko as her superior officer and her spiritual belief in Sisko as the Emissary.

I also enjoyed the small gag concerning Quark's bad Kanar. While he initially relishes using it to woo the Cardassian scientists and the profits that would come from the patronage of those that followed them, Dax informs him that the Kanar has spoiled. So what does Quark do? He gives it away! And later Bashir off-handedly remarks that Morn has become ill after drinking free Kanar at Quarks. Not a big thing, but it's the small things that make life fun.

Points of Interest:

Starfleet codes require not one, but two backups for all systems.

This episode mentions the Bajor/Cardassia Peace treaty that was concluded two episodes prior in Life Support

The communications array model started life as the solar observatory in Star Trek: Generations and was modified for use in this episode.

The Thirty-fourth Rule of Acquisition: War is good for business.
The Thirty-fifth Rule of Acquisition: Peace is good for business.

Quote of the episode: "...I don't see myself as an icon, religious or otherwise. I'm a Starfleet officer, and I have a mission to accomplish." - Sisko

episode 59 production #460 written by Ira Steven Behr & Robert Hewitt Wolfe directed by Alexander Singer original air date: 1995.02.06

A major character-development episode, we see significant changes here to both a regular cast member and a recurring character. The A-story focuses on the Female Changeling luring Odo and Kira to a moon where she replaces and impersonates Kira in order to drive Odo back to his people. She fails to accomplish this goal but succeeds in learning Odo's deepest secret, that he is in love with Kira. The B-story revolves around Nog's efforts to convince Commander Sisko to help him join Starfleet. While the A-story should be the main focus of any episode, in this particular case it is the B-story that actually elicits the bigger response. Odo's tortured revelation is indeed compelling, but the ordeal is stretched out during the entire episode and doesn't hold anywhere near the level of interest as does Nog's story. However, both Rene Auberjonois and Aron Eisenberg both do a fantastic job in this episode. From this episode on Odo's torment over Kira would be shown more, as would Nog's future ambitions.

One thing I found interesting about this episode is everyone's reaction to Nog's desire to join Starfleet. Not so much their suprise, but their ignorance of his own personal character. Granted he's not exactly been a model citizen in the past, but it's obvious here, perhaps for the first time, that Nog is indeed a hard worker and a competent handyman. I find this interesting when Nog is contrasted with Jake. I liken Jake to a typical American teenager and Nog to a teenager from a socio-economically deprived country. Jake displays little in the area of ambition and work ethic, while Nog shows that he is willing to do whatever it takes to overcome his lot in life and make something of himself. While I'm sure it's not what the writers/producers set out to do, it nevertheless makes for an interesting commentary on international and intercultural differences in today's world.

Points of Interest:

In addition to their ill-fated Gamma Quadrant colony of New Bajor (The Jem'Hadar, we learn that the Bajoran's have a colony in the Alpha Quadrant close to Cardassia called Prophet's Landing.

The ships most often seen used by the Maquis are Peregrine class couriers.

This episode establishes that a non-Federation citizen wishing to apply to Starfleet academy must submit a letter of reference from a command level officer.

This episode features the first mention of Ensign Vilix'pran who would later be mentioned again in season five's Apocalypse Rising and season six's Business As Usual.

Odo mentions that Chief O'Brien still goes kayaking in the holosuite, just as he did on the Enterprise in TNG.

We learn that origin of Odo's name: Odo'ital means "nothing".

The Eighteenth Rule of Acquisition: A Ferengi without profit is no Ferengi at all.

Quark quote of the episode: "Of course it's your fault. Everything that goes wrong here is your fault. It says so in your contract."
Quote of the episode: "She is never going to love you. How could she? You are a Changeling." - Female Changeling

Missing crew member of the episode: Chief O'Brien

episode 58 production #459 teleplay - Ronald D. Moore story - Christian Ford & Roger Soffer directed by Reza Badiyi original air date: 1995.01.31

An episode with a super serious A-story and a super silly B-story, this oddly juxtaposed effort is significant for ending the life of one of DS9's most prominent recurring characters and turning the next page in the book of Bajoran/Cardassian relations.

The A-story concerns an injured Bareil who is dying and being kept alive, more and more, by artificial means. In a very Frankenstein kind of way, Bashir slowly transforms Bareil from a man into a machine, a being that while very much alive, is no longer a person. It also paints another portrait of Kai Winn, who is more concerned with her own business than Bareil's life. Ultimately, however, Bareil's assistance helps Winn to conclude the peace treaty with the Cardassians and Bareil dies as a man.

The B-story shows us the next chapter in Jake's love life as he embarks on a double date with Nog. It emphasizes their cultural differences but shows that, while not always easy, they are able to transcend their differences and remain friends.

Bashir is different now than he was when the series first began. He's older, more mature and confident, and just a bit wiser. All of these things are clearly demonstrated in this episode, especially in the scene in which he confronts Winn about her motivations and agenda concerning the peace talks and Bareil. Winn's lack of natural leadership ability is highlighted, her impotence relative to Bareil. She stops just short of openly admitting her inabilities while steadfastly maintaining her confidence in the Prophets' decision to cast her in the role of Kai.

A nice direction in this episode was the showing of O'Brien, Odo and the other security officers rushing out of Odo's office in response to the incoming damaged ship. Usually we only see rescue personnel arriving on the scene. Shots in the Promenade are often set up to follow one party of people, then transition to another and still another. In this case the scene between Jake and Leanne is broken up by the rescue party's rush. It's a very nice touch that adds realism and creates belief in the existence of everyday life on the station.

With all of Data's own work concerning postitronic brains on TNG, I do have to question Bashir's relatively easy time in planting something similar into Bareil's head. Granted, it wasn't an entire positronic brain, but it seems to me that even partial replacements integrated with a humanoid brain might not be so possible for anyone with the present state of 24th century technology.

Quote of the episode: "If I remove the rest of his brain and replace it with a machine, he may look like Bareil, he may even talk like Bareil but he won't be Bareil. That "spark of life" will be gone. He'll be dead. And I'll be the one who killed him." - Bashir

episode 56 production #457 teleplay - Robert Hewitt Wolfe story - Ira Steven Behr & Robert Hewitt Wolfe directed by Reza Badiyi original air date: 1995.01.02

episode 57 production #458 teleplay - Ira Steven Behr & Rene Echevarria story - Ira Steven Behr & Robert Hewitt Wolfe directed by Jonathan Frakes original air date: 1995.01.09

Every Star Trek series has one. An episode where our heroes are trapped in the past, trying to correct some accident that has changed the future (TOS's City on the Edge of Forever; TNG's Time's Arrow; VOY's Future's End). And the two-part Past Tense story is DS9's contribution to that legacy.

Without a doubt the season's finest effort, and one of the best DS9 stories of the entire seven year run, Past Tense does what Star Trek does best: social commentary. Here, the treatment of second class citizens and the escalating plight of the middle class take center stage. And the story contributes another piece of the Roddenberry Future puzzle, how our earth became the utopia of the 23rd and 24th centuries.


Points of Interest:

Sisko mentions that his sister lives in Portland.

This episode features the first mention of Starfleet's Temporal Displacement, which would later provide the basis for fourth season's Trials and Tribble-ations.

We learn another tidbit about legendary baseball star Buck Bokai (If Wishes Were Horses), that his rookie year with the London Kings was in 2015.

Clint Howard makes his second Star Trek appearance in this episode. The first was as Balok in TOS's The Corbomite Maneuver.


The One Hundred Eleventh Rule of Acquisition: Treat people in your debt like family - exploit them.
The Two Hundred Seventeenth Rule of Acquisition: You can't free a fish from water.

Quote of the episode: "Are humans really any different than Cardassians or Romulans? If push comes to shove, if something disastrous happens to the Federation, if we are frightened enough or desperate enough how would we react? Would we stay true to our ideals or would we just stay here right back where we started?" - Bashir

episode 55 production #456 teleplay - Philip LaZebink story - Ira Steven Behr & James Crocker directed by Avery Brooks original air date: 1994.11.28

This fun episode beings with a barrage of continuity: Jake's girlfriend, Mardah (see The Abandoned) has left the station after being accepted to a science academy; Keiko who left for a survey on Bajor in (The House of Quark) returns here for a short visit; Bashir mentions that he and O'Brien have been playing a lot of racquetball together as first seen in second season's Rivals; and lastly Kira and Bareil's relationship and Odo's increasingly apparent feelings for Kira.

The episode begins with what could possibly be the best teaser of any DS9 episode. Miles watches how happy Kira and Bareil are to see one another and then he hardly gets the warm welcome from Keiko he'd been hoping for. Then he asks Molly if she's ready to have some fun with her dad and she proceeds to vomit on him. All of this is followed by Lwaxana Troi stepping out of the ship verbally realising that she shouldn't have given so much candy to Molly, while Keiko sighs. Fade to black. Classic!

I enjoy the Gratitude Festival because it shows a nice side of station life that we don't often get to see. Usually, it's all business. Some serious, something phenomenal. But a portrayal of an annual cultural event adds an extra sense of depth and realism to this fictional universe. The calculated use of and camera work on the acrobats, musicians and other performers all about the Promenade was a very nice touch. It's nice to note that despite the Dominion threat which had somewhat quelled the station's Bajoran population (The House of Quark that something as important as this festival will still occur, undeterred.

Some of the more fun moments I enjoyed: Odo's moving along to the music on the Promenade. It was odd and hilarious! And when Bareil goes to punch Sisko, Ben easily deflects his throws and it is Jadzia who puts Bareil down! It was a truly memorable moment.

Despite the 'latent attraction' explanation, I cannot help but be surprised that Bashir went after Kira and Quark went after Keiko. Considering their mutual fawning over Dax, one must wonder why Bashir and Quark weren't at each other's throats over Jadzia.

Points of Interest:

This episode features the second DS9 appearance of Lwaxana Troi.

Despite the fact that Betazoids cannot read the minds of Ferengis, Quark here is nevertheless affected by Lwaxana's telepathic projections.

The 26 hour Bajoran day is established in this episode.

Quote of the episode: "Morn, it's hard to believe a handsome, fun-loving guy like yourself could have so many problems. My advice to you is to burn this as quickly as possible and don't look back." - Jadzia

episode 54 production #455 written by Ronald D. Moore directed by Cliff Bole original air date: 1994.11.21

This episode is a rare example of DS9 taking a storyline started on TNG and resolving it. In TNG episode Second Chances we learned of a transporter accident many years prior that resulted in then Lt. William T. Riker being duplicated, with one Riker being beamed back aboard his ship and the other being stranded on the planet. Later, the Enterprise returns to the planet and discovers the duplicate Riker, who chooses to call himself Tom to set himself apart from Commander Riker.

As a fan of TNG and DS9, this is a fun episode to watch. You start off thinking that Commander Riker is paying a friendly visit to DS9 and you've got yourself a chance to see how members of the two crews interact with one another. Then, Riker puts the moves on Kira - as only Riker can do - gets himself aboard the Defiant, steals the ship and rips the sideburns from his face revealing that this is not the Riker we're used to. It's Tom! Usually shows have a rule that the episode won't focus on the guest star, but that the guest star will help one of the regular cast members to learn something about themselves. Here, however, it's very clearly all about Tom Riker. Well, not just Tom, but Will too. It's about how Tom is trying to distinguish himself from Will. At first, he thinks it's by choosing a different side, but ultimately we see they both have the same heart and sense of right and wrong. Essentially, Tom does the right thing for the wrong reasons.

There's a nice humanizing moment for Dukat when he mentions that he's missing his son's birthday celebration. This is yet another way in which DS9 adds shades of gray, basically humanizing the show's Hitler.

One element of this episode, however, puzzles me. The scene in which Riker blows off O'Brien. My original reaction was that Tom Riker has a problem with transporter operators since one left him stranded on a planet for 8 years. But that doesn't seem too likely. My only real guess is that Rom was afraid that O'Brien might recognize that it wasn't Will he was talking to. I can only speculate that Tom did his homework on both the Enterprise's crew as well as DS9's. He knew about Dax's time with Will. It's interesting to note, however, that Tom Riker was discovered at the end of TNG's 6th season which corresponds to the end of DS9's 1st season, about one and a half years prior to this episode which means that they never would have met before this episode.

Points of Interest:

This is the first and only time we see the actual airlock leading to the Defiant.

This episode features the first mention of the Cardassian Detapa Council.

Sisko reveals that not only was he in charge of the shipyard where the Defiant was constructed, but he also helped design the ship.

Riker was still serving aboard the Gandhi, the ship that Captain Picard helped him join, before he joined the Maquis.

Quote of the episode: "Be a Starfleet officer one last time. Think of your crew. I know you want Tom Riker to go out in a blaze of glory that they talk about for the next ten years. Don't drag them along with you." - Kira