Deep Space Nine changed Star Trek forever and these 20 great episodes led the way.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nineshouldnt have worked.
The franchise was founded on ideas of exploration, Wagon Train to the stars, as creatorGene Roddenberryput it.
How didDS9overcome that deficit and become (arguably) the greatestStar Trekseries of all time?
These twenty episodes provide the answer.
Case in point, the hilarious time-travel episode Little Green Men.
Its Only a Paper Moon might focus on the Ferengi Nog, but it drips with humanity.
The episode honors Nogs complex emotions while still affirmingTrekoptimism, grounded by an outstanding performance by the late Eisenberg.
The respected warrior Martok gets called into service and recruits Worf as his first officer.
The most chilling phrase in all ofStar Trekis Oh my child…
Nowhere is that more clear than in the season one finale In the Hands of the Prophets.
Thankfully, Rom and his friends dont experience anything like that when they unionize against his brother Quark.
Its those principles that OBrien inspires in Rom and lead him to get fair wages for Quarks employees.
Like Sean Aloysius OBrien, Rom became more than a hero.
He became a union man.
But Eddingtons best moment came in For the Cause, when he reveals his true intentions.
Rather than treat the turn to war as a loss, for either the station orStar Trekin general.
It looks bleak in Call to Arms.
And then, Dukat finds Siksos baseball.
Hard Time
Season 4 Episode 19
OBrien must suffer.
Some have criticized Hard Time for setting up a premise no other episode can or does follow.
By the time the next episode Shattered Mirror hits, no one even mentions OBriens ordeal.
In a way, Nogs achievement is just icing on the cake of an already great episode.
Most of Inquisition deals with a search for a traitor within the Federation, targeting Bashir.
Furthermore, the technology used to put Sisko et.
into scenes from The Trouble With Tribbles was so exciting that the episode didnt really have to be good.
It could have just been a celebration of all thingsTrekand that would have been enough.
Even better, Worf provides what should be the only answer for any continuity error in Trek history.
When asked why theTOSKlingons look so different, Worf simply barks, We do not discuss it with outsiders.
By the end of the episode, everyone involved understands the cost of war, especially the viewers.
By season seven, the Dominion War has reached a catastrophic pitch.
Why in the world would the command crew take a break to paly baseball against an arrogant Vulcans team?
The Visitor
Season 4 Episode 2
Benjamin L. Sisko is the best father on television, period.
And thats kind of shocking, given how little family ties play into the world ofStar Trek.
The Visitor is perfect pop sci-fi, using a far out premise to tell a heart-wrenching human story.
But Brooks doesnt play it that way.
