Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season 1 Review

No episode here today on Sci-Fi Adventures, instead I'm going to write about the whole of Deep Space Nine's difficult first season, all 19 episodes of it, and I really hope I can remember something about them otherwise this is going to be a bit of a struggle.

Uh... Q getting punched, Rumpelstiltskin, allamaraine count to four, Sisko's insanity clock, computer dog, Troi's mother, jumja sticks... if I think hard enough some of it's coming back to me.

As this is a season review it's likely to contain some SPOILERS for everything from Emissary to In the Hands of the Prophets and possibly earlier Trek episodes too, so proceed with caution. I've already spoiled that Q gets punched, imagine what else I could end up ruining for you!

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-20: In the Hands of the Prophets

Episode:

20

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Writer:

Robert Hewitt Wolfe

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Air Date:

20-06-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm going to go through the final episode of Deep Space Nine's first season and write words underneath my screencaps. This is it, the end's in sight, I just have to clear these last 40 minutes or so and I'll have fulfilled the promise I made all the way back in my Emissary review to write about every episode in season one!

In the Hands of the Prophets is the first Deep Space Nine episode with 'Prophets' in the title. I wish I could say something like "when the word 'Prophet' appears in the title you know something huge is about to go down", but to be honest it only appears in three episodes titles throughout the entire seven year run, and one of them is a Ferengi episode. The writers resisted the prophet/profit pun for two and a half years, but in the end they were only human.

Plus this is the first Trek season since The Best of Both Worlds to not end on with part one of a two-parter. Voyager would later carry on Next Gen's tradition of making people suffer for months with a cliffhanger, but DS9 preferred to leave viewers with a feeling that next year shit's going to get even more real.

Alright I'm going to go through the whole damn episode and write anything that jumps into my mind along the way, so there will be SPOILERS for this story and other Trek episodes that came before it. I'll not spoil later seasons though.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-19: Duet

Episode:

19

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Writer:

Peter Allan Fields

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Air Date:

13-Jun-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm up to the penultimate episode of DS9 season one!

Duet is the third episode of the season with Peter Allan Fields' name on it, following Dax and Progress, and it's got yet another one-word title! What is this, Voyager? Out of curiosity I checked his season two episodes and noticed that they all had two-word titles... until he ruined his streak with Crossover. And then he retired from his staff position as a producer, so no three-word titles for the third season.

I'm going to go through the whole episode, writing comments under screencaps, so you probably don't want to read any further unless you've already seen it. The episode's all about a mystery, so my SPOILERS could really do some damage to your enjoyment. I may also spoil events from earlier Star Trek episodes, but nothing that happens later.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-18: Dramatis Personae

Episode:

18

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Writer:

Joe Menosky

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Air Date:

30-May-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, the antepenultimate episode of Deep Space Nine season 1!

Dramatis Personae holds the honour of being the very first episode in Star Trek history to have a Latin phrase as its title (it refers to the cast of characters in a play). It's also the first DS9 episode by writer Joe Menosky, who didn't write a whole lot of DS9 but was considerably more prolific on Next Gen and co-wrote many of the big two-parters on Voyager with Brannon Braga. He skipped Enterprise, but he's currently on board Star Trek: Discovery as a staff writer.

I don't like a lot of his Next Gen episodes but I do like a number of his Voyager stories so I'm not sure what I'm going to think about this. Maybe the story's way better than I remember it being. Maybe it's saved by some great character scenes. Or maybe it's a season one episode and I shouldn't get my hopes up.

I'm going to recap and review the episode as I go so there'll be many many SPOILERS below, including ones for earlier Trek episodes no doubt. But the 400-something episodes that came after it are safe.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-17: The Forsaken

Episode:

17

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Writer:

Don Carlos Dunaway and Michael Piller

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Air Date:

23-May-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I've reached the final disc of my Deep Space Nine season 1 DVD set! The finish line is within sight. But first I need to make it through... a Lwaxana Troi episode.

The Forsaken is the first of three Lwaxana Troi episodes on DS9 and I'm surprised to have reached it so early; I didn't think she appeared until season 2 or 3. In fact I'm surprised she shows up on the series at all, considering how tied the character is to her daughter Deanna Troi, who was making appearances on every Trek series besides DS9.

It could've been worse though. In the series bible Lwaxana's listed as one of the recurring characters, alongside Jake, Nog, Keiko and Gul Dukat! Though the actress, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, has made at least five appearances in the series so far... playing the computer on board Starfleet ships.

I'm going to be recapping and reviewing the whole episode, with big screencaps everywhere, so there will be SPOILERS. For this episode and some of the ones that have come before it (perhaps including Next Gen eps). But I won't say a word about what happens afterwards, aside from just then when I mentioned how many episodes Lwaxana was in, and that Deanna shows up in everything.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-16: If Wishes Were Horses

Episode:

16

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Writer:

Nell McCue Crawford & William L. Crawford and Michael Piller

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Air Date:

16-May-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I've finally reached Deep Space Nine's leprechaun Rumpelstiltskin episode!

If Wishes Were Horses is an episode of Star Trek about imaginary creatures harassing the crew, because this is what happens when a writing staff is put under pressure to put out 20 something episodes a year. They start going strange, and this tends to get worse the longer the series goes on for (see: Next Gen season 7). Makes me glad that Star Trek: Discovery is only getting 13 episodes for its first season.

I have to admit that I'm dreading this one, but I don't really remember it, so it's possible that it'll surprise me in a good way! Maybe all those people who put it down near the bottom 10 in their DS9 episode lists were just being mean to it because they hate fun. Or maybe not.

Okay I'm going to recap the episode with screencaps, observations, opinions and SPOILERS, but only for this story and maybe a few that came before it. I'll give away nothing about where the series is going... except that it gets better, I promise.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-15: Progress

Episode:

15

|

Writer:

Peter Allan Fields

|

Air Date:

09-May-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm digging through another episode of Deep Space Nine. A Kira episode in fact, which means more Bajoran problems.

Progress is Peter Allan Fields' second episode of DS9 after co-writing Dax with D.C. Fontana, and he'd have his name on eight more scripts before the end of its run. Stories like Necessary Evil, For the Uniform, In the Pale Moonlight, Duet... oh plus he also wrote The Inner Light for Next Gen. It's been a long while since I've seen either series, but I feel like they were some of the good ones. So you'd think that I'd be getting my hopes up right about now, but there's another piece of writing I need to take into account and that's the words "SEASON 1" on the box this episode came in. It's rarely a good omen for science fiction series, especially this one.

I'll be recapping the entire episode and sharing my opinions along the way, so you should expect SPOILERS for any episode (or movie) so far. Everything that comes after is safe though.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-14: The Storyteller

Episode:

14

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Writer:

Kurt Michael Bensmiller and Ira Steven Behr

|

Air Date:

02-May-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm going through another episode of Deep Space Nine season 1. Though I'm kind of tempted to just sit here and listen to the gentle hum of the DVD menu for a bit longer because I've been dreading this one. I've been dreading a lot of episodes actually, but my enthusiasm for this season drips away a little more each time.

The Storyteller actually started out as an old Star Trek: The Next Generation script, so it's a little slice of Next Gen season 7-style "Crap, we need a story, any story!" desperation in your Deep Space Nine. Plus I'm not superstitious, but if I was I'd probably make note of the fact that this may be the 14th 'hour' of DS9, but it's the 13th story.

As usual I'm going to recap the episode and share my thoughts along the way, so this will be filled with SPOILERS. But I'll only spoil episodes up to this point, nothing afterwards.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-13: Battle Lines

Episode:

13

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Writer:

Richard Danus and Evan Carlos Somers

|

Air Date:

25-Apr-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I've reached episode one on the fourth DVD in the first season box of Deep Space Nine. I'm still tenaciously clawing my way through season one, chipping away at it one story at a time.

Battle Lines was written by Richard Danus and Evan Carlos Somers based on a story by Hilary J. Bader and I can't off the top of my head remember what other episodes they've done. But the Memory Alpha wiki tells me that Somers wrote just three DS9 stories in the end, and the other two are Melora and Meridian, contenders for the worst episode of season two and season three respectively. I don't know where people generally rank Battle Lines in season one though, somewhere in the middle maybe? I doubt it blew anyone away but this is the season where the senior staff have to play hopscotch and a leprechaun Rumpelstiltskin shows up to steal O'Brien's daughter so it'll have to do worse than 'mediocre' to earn a spot in the lower half.

As usual I'll give no SPOILERS for future episodes, except for just then when I spoiled Rumpelstiltskin, but I will be spoiling the hell out of this episode as I recap it and share my opinions.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-12: Vortex

Episode:

12

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Writer:

Sam Rolfe

|

Air Date:

18-Apr-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm going through Vortex, the 11th episode of... Deep Space Nine? Really? With that title I thought it was a Voyager episode.

It'd be nice if there was an easy rule to tell what series of Trek an episode belongs to just from its names, but they all have their share of dull one-word titles. All the spin-offs anyway; old school Trek writers generally put a little more effort in (one title even goes to eleven!)

But I've noticed that if the title on screen is something short and weird like Cathexis, Parturition or Tsunkatse, then you're likely watching Voyager or Enterprise (or X-Files). If it begins with 'The' then chances are you're watching an episode from one of the first three series. And if it's something half-way poetic with four or more words in it then it's got to be DS9 or classic Star Trek. Or Babylon 5.

Right, I'm going to spoil the hell out of Vortex now and likely a few of the episodes leading up to it too, but I assure you there'll be no SPOILERS for anything that comes afterwards.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-11: The Nagus

Episode:

11

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Writer:

Ira Steven Behr

|

Air Date:

21-Mar-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, it's the first of Deep Space Nine's Ferengi comedy episodes, yay. Though it's also the first script written by Ira Behr, who would later take over as executive producer for the good part of the TV series, so that's... encouraging, maybe. 

I'm not actually one of the people who hates DS9's Ferengi episodes, mostly because I can't remember most of them. Because I stopped watching them. Because they're terrible and I hate them. But I am willing to give The Nagus a second chance because I'm endlessly reasonable... plus I promised I'd rewatch all of season one; if I have to write about it I might as well try to enjoy it.

Be aware that if you carry on reading past this point you'll encounter a wider selection of SPOILERS than in your average racing game. I may even mention events from earlier Trek episodes, but later eps are off limits.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-10: Move Along Home

Episode:

10

|

Writers:

Frederick Rappaport and Lisa Rich & Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci

|

Air Date:

14-Mar-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I've reached the halfway point of Deep Space Nine season 1 with Move Along Home, an early contender to be the worst episode of the whole run!

That's what the internet seems to think anyway. After two minutes of research I've discovered it sitting in almost every '10 Worst DS9 Episodes' list I've glanced at, usually near the top. It's not one of Avery Brooks' favourites, that much I'm sure of. Personally though my biggest problem with it at this moment is that title. I keep getting Move Along Home mixed up in my head with A Man Alone, even though I know the stories are about as different as you can get. But which of them will I ultimately hate more? You'll have to keep reading to find out.

The following text will contain SPOILERS for Move Along Home and perhaps earlier Star Trek episodes too, though I won't ruin anything that came after it.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-09: The Passenger

Episode:

9

|

Writer:

Morgan Gendel & Robert Hewitt Wolfe and Michael Piller

|

Air Date:

21-Feb-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm back to Deep Space Nine season one. I've got this season box set sitting here, so I might as well watch it.

But first I need to fill this introduction section with interesting and relevant text! Okay The Passenger is the eighth episode of the series, but the first to start with 'The'. It doesn't have a stardate, but it probably comes after Dax, which was probably meant to take place far later in the season than it aired. Uh... the title is anagram of 'Strange Sheep', it's not the episode that guest stars Iggy Pop, and it was first shown on US television the day before Star Trek: The Next Generation visited the station for the only time in Birthright, Part I. Sorry, that's all I've got.

But before I spoil the hell out of this episode, remember that anything that aired before it is fair game for SPOILERS too. Not that there's really any continuity at this point.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-08: Dax

Episode:

8

|

Writer:

D.C. Fontana and Peter Allan Fields

|

Air Date:

14-Feb-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm still working my way through the worst season of Deep Space Nine, which hasn't actually been that bad so far to be honest. It hasn't been all that great either though. It's just kind of existed, like the dull droning sound of a fusion reactor, with the occasional chat between Odo and Quark thrown in to make sure I was still paying attention.

Somehow I doubt Dax is going to break this streak, but I don't know, I can barely remember it. Though I do remember that it has the distinction of being the only Star Trek episode with just a main character's name as its title. There's Spock's Brain, Data's Day and Our Man Bashir (and Q-Less, but he's a guest star) but this is the only one with the name on its own. So now we're both stuck with knowing that.

Additional Dax facts: it originally aired on Valentines Day in the US, and it's legendary Trek writer D.C. Fontana's only episode of Deep Space Nine. Funny that she'd write the seventh episode of the series (it says 8 up there because Emissary counts twice), seeing as she'd go on to write the seventh episode of Babylon 5 as well. Another spooky B5/DS9 coincidence for you.

There will be SPOILERS for this episode and everything that led up to it, but what comes afterwards will remain unspoiled.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-07: Q-Less

Episode:

7

|

Writer:

Robert Hewitt Wolfe

|

Air Date:

07-Feb-1993

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Today on Sci-Fi Adventures, it's a Deep Space Nine episode starring two Next Gen guest stars! I try not to spoil anything about an episode until after the Read on » but they've made that a little difficult for me this time by putting one of the characters under the title and the other one in it. It's Vash and Q btw.

Here's some trivia for you: omnipotent pain in the ass Q shows up in more Star Trek episode titles than any other character, and they're almost always a play on his name. Q-Less isn't the worst title the writers came up with (that'd probably be Hide and Q) but it's not a top-tier Q-pun like Déjà Q or The Q and the Grey. Or Next Generation episode Qpid, which this is a sequel to. We're already getting continuity in Deep Space Nine, it's just with another series.

There'll be a lot more SPOILERS beneath this point, for Q-Less, previous episodes of DS9 and relevant episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. But everything that aired afterwards is safe.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-06: Captive Pursuit

Episode:

6

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Writer:

Jill Sherman Donner and Michael Piller

|

Air Date:

31-Jan-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm going to be going through the fifth-ish episode of Deep Space Nine: Captive Pursuit.

This one's fairly well regarded I believe, for a season 1 episode. That's hardly a guarantee of quality, but it's an O'Brien story so I'm sure it'll be bearable enough. Bearable for me I mean; O'Brien himself will probably spend the whole thing tormented and miserable. Especially if his wife Keiko is in it.

Like always I'll only be writing SPOILERS for this episode and the ones that come before it, not the ones afterwards. So if you haven't seen Voyager, Enterprise, the Next Gen movies, the reboot films or the last 170 episodes of DS9 it's still perfectly safe to read on!

Man there's a lot of Star Trek.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-05: Babel

Episode:

5

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Writer:

Michael McGreevey & Naren Shankar

|

Air Date:

24-Jan-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm up to the fourth episode of Deep Space Nine season one, called Babel.

The episode's named after the Old Testament myth of the Tower of Babel, which ends with God deciding it'd be best if humanity didn't have one common language any more, as it was encouraging them to build giant towers. I always assumed it was pronounced 'bay-bell', but it's apparently supposed to be read like 'babble', as in 'technobabble'. Which is something Star Trek has too much of, in my humble opinion.

I'll be writing SPOILERS for this episode and maybe even the ones that came before it, but everything after it is off limits. This is a New Viewer Safe review.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-04: A Man Alone

Episode:

4

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Writer:

Michael Piller

|

Air Date:

17-Jan-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm watching episode three of Deep Space Nine's first season, A Man Alone. Though if your going by production order it's actually episode two and if you count the pilot as a two parter it becomes episode four!

Swapping episodes around like this didn't happen all that often in Deep Space Nine, but it doesn't seem all that rare for television; I know Babylon 5 and Doctor Who both filmed episodes out of order for various reasons. Sometimes a series has to arrange production to take advantage of an actor's availability, make use of a location, or to give more time for the CGI effects to be completed etc. And sometimes the producers just want to put their better episodes at the front to show that their series isn't all bad.

It's not worth worrying about though, as I remember DS9 season one barely had any continuity to it anyway. US television in '93 still shunned serialisation outside of soaps, so the producers had to fight for their arcs, and at this point they were more interested in making it easy for new viewers to jump on board.

I do have continuity though, so I'm going to be dropping all kinds of SPOILERS for this story and every episode that aired before it. But not the ones coming after it, they're all safe. For now.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-03: Past Prologue

Episode:

3

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Writer:

Katharyn Powers

|

Air Date:

10-Jan-1993

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, the sci-fi continues with the first normal length episode of Deep Space Nine. Well the first one aired anyway, as A Man Alone was filmed first. Sometimes TV series move a later episode forward like this so that they can make a better first impression and show off the cast when they're more comfortable in their roles, so that's my theory for what happened here.

I knew a lot about Emissary going in, but I remember next to nothing about Past Prologue, except that it has flashbacks in it... maybe. It could be an early gem that's slipped my mind or it could be utterly unworthy of being stored in my brain cells, I don't know. I haven't even checked the plot summary on the box.

One thing I do know though is that my writing is going to be filled with SPOILERS for the entire episode (but nothing that aired after it), so stop here if that bothers you.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1-02: Emissary, Part II

This is the second and final part of my Emissary article. You can go to part one by clicking the text that says 'part one' here: Part one.

WARNING: THIS IS BASICALLY ALL SPOILERS.