If there is such a thing as a “pessimistic” version ofStar Trek, that radically hopeful cornerstone of 20th century science fiction, thenStar Trek: Deep Space Nineis as close as it gets. Premiering in 1993,Deep Space Ninequickly charted a course unique to the franchise, from the way it told its stories – in Season (and series) long story arcs – to what those stories were about – the politically tangled, emotionally complex territory of war and occupation. This was terrain that its progenitors,Star Trek: The Original Series, andStar Trek: The Next Generation, had only glimpsed. The rosy vision of the future at the core ofStar Trek– with its improbably well-adjusted human race and largely harmonious universe – was long overdue for reassessment, andDeep Space Ninedid just that, lingering in the morally opaque margins of Gene Roddenberry’s utopian fantasy, but doing so without losing the essence of what madeStar Trekso beloved.
In fact,Deep Space NinebroadenedStar Trek’s central conceit by consciously turning away from it, and thereby making it more relatable. We’renotperfect beings, the show reminds us (as if we needed it), and the road to paradise is rougher than we imagined – but we’re still trudging along, and the struggle towards perfection is no less noble than its assumption. That struggle, it must also be said, makes for more dramatically interesting TV, and it’s at the heart of what makesDeep Space Ninethe bestStar Trekshow ever made.
Not convinced? Here are ten classic episodes to change your mind:
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“In the Pale Moonlight” (Season 6, Episode 19)
How much are you willing to sacrifice when your back is against the wall? That’s not a question often asked inStar Trek, which typically presents us with protagonists who have the luxury of the moral high ground – people who have nothing to lose by doing the right thing. But when those rosy circumstances change, when the choice is between our principles and our continued survival – what choice do we make? That’s the questionIn the Pale Moonlightasks, in not only one of the best episodes ofStar Trekever made, but in one of the most gloriously bravura hours of television ever filmed.
If you’re wondering what all that “Deep Space Nineis the morally gray version ofStar Trek” fuss is about, go watch this episode and get vaporized.
“Far Beyond the Stars” (Season 6, Episode 13)
Far Beyond the Starsfinds Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) caught in a time-traveling reverie: he’s stuck in 1953, living the life of a science fiction writer named Benny Russell, and totally unaware of having ever been the captain of a space station in the far future. As if that weren’t enough, Russell must endure racism both blatant and subtle – in the form of police brutality and workplace discrimination – all while being strangely drawn to write a story about a “fictional” space station called Deep Space Nine.
Star Trekhad taken on racism before, but it always felt like something of an academic exercise – the work of writers fundamentally opposed to racial prejudice while also being safely insulated from its real-world horrors. Episodes like the original series’Let That Be Your Last Battlefield– in which an alien race segregates its members based on the pattern of color on their faces – point out the absurdity of racism without actually engaging with it, treating it like some logical fallacy to be disproven, or a primitive “idea” long since dispensed with, rather than something still out there, deeply engrained in human society.
That’s what makesFar Beyond the Starsso affecting: it doesn’t let its audience off the hook—it’s addressing itself tous. And by doing so, it creates the most vital statement on race thatStar Trekhas ever attempted.
“The Visitor” (Season 4, Episode 3)
In another victory for real live humans,Deep Space Nineshowed us a commanding officer grappling not just with grand existential concerns, like obeying the Prime Directive or avoiding a war with the Romulans, but with the decidedly more earthbound demands of parenthood. And indeed, Captain Sisko’s relationship with his son Jake (Cirroc Lofton) is the heart and soul ofDS9 –the warmth between the two is unflagging and tender (and real – actors Avery Brooks and Cirroc Lofton have remained close) so it’s no surprise thatDeep Space Nine’s most emotionally powerful hour would showcase the love, and heartbreaking devotion, of these two characters for each other.
There are precious few evocations of familial love in popular science fiction – much less the bond between a father and son – butThe Visitorshowcases both with unbelievable beauty and grace, not once misstepping into melodrama.
I don’t know if it’s the best episode ofStar Trekever made, but it’s certainly the only one to ever make me cry, and I suspect I’m not alone.
“Duet” (Season 1, Episode 19)
Deep Space Ninegets a lot of flak for its early seasons, and not without reason – in the years before it moved toward grand narrative arcs and incisive character studies, it struggled to find its footing, lost in the shadow of its wildly popular predecessor,Star Trek: The Next Generation,and attempting (largely unsuccessfully) to emulate that show’s episodic structure. But season one’sDuetwas a promising hint of things to come. The episode is essentially a stage play – simply, but powerfully, told as a series of conversations between occupation survivor Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) and her Cardassian prisoner, Marritza (Harris Yulin) a man who may in fact be one of the worst war criminals in Bajoran history.
The stage is thus set for a simple morality tale, in classicStar Trekstyle, in which good guys wag their fingers at bad guys, maybe even teaching them a lesson in the process. ButDS9,true to the murky ethical view that would come to define its universe, eschews simple answers. Instead, it never stops asking questions – even when the finger points squarely back at us.
“Who Mourns for Morn?” (Season 6, Episode 12)
As dark asDeep Space Ninecould sometimes be, it could also be fun (and funny) – particularly in its bottle episodes.Who Mourns for Morn?probably won’t place in many top ten lists, but it’s always been a favorite of mine, not just for its light-hearted tone, but for the way it highlightsDS9’s outstanding commitment to all of its characters. And I do meanallof them. Not only did the show thoughtfully flesh out the stories of its supporting cast over its seven-year run, it even made time for its extras – including one who never uttered a single line.
That would be Morn (Mark Allen Shepherd), of course – the mute, vaguely porcine humanoid perpetually parked at Deep Space Nine’s bar. Morn’s death triggers the action in this bit of frivolity from season six, sending Quark (Armin Shimerman) on a wild goose chase and giving us all more insight into everyone’s favorite interstellar barfly – and his digestive system – than we ever thought we’d need.
“What You Leave Behind” (Season 7, Episode 25)
A barn-burning series capper,What You Leave Behind– unlike many other episodes on this list – can’t truly be appreciated without first familiarizing yourself with everything that came before, a testament to how profoundly interwovenDeep Space Nine’s stories had become by the time of its finale. But once you’re prepared, get ready for a whopper of an ending: the culmination of the Dominion War in a space battle as epic as anything inTrekhistory, the final act of Cardassian Damar’s (Casey Biggs) rocky journey to apotheosis (the greatest character arc in all ofStar Trek) and – by the way – the last goodbye to all of our friends onDS9.
Though some choices proved controversial (particularly the culturally-fraught coda of Sisko’s storyline) most hit the target, andDeep Space Ninedeparted as it lived: bold, complicated, and just a bit sad.
“Homefront/Paradise Lost” (Season 4, Episodes 11 & 12)
How do you identify, let alone defeat, an enemy who can literally look like anyone? Such was the dilemma the Federation faced in its series-long conflict with the shape-shifting Changelings, a foe who brought new meaning to the phrase “hiding in plain sight.” Aside from a few episodes,DS9only occasionally focused on the psychological havoc a few well-positioned shape-shifters might cause. The most notable exception being season four two-parterHomefrontandParadise Lost.
These episodes unleash the Changelings on an unsuspecting Earth – that holiest of holies in theStar Trekuniverse – and by doing so reveal that a carefully concocted paranoia might be more of a threat to freedom and democracy than even the most fearsome army – fairly prescient, wouldn’t you say?
“The Sound of Her Voice” (Season 6, Episode 25)
ThoughDeep Space Ninethrew theStar Trekuniverse into existential crisis, in ways both subtle and profound, it was also – somewhat surprisingly – the most heartfelt of any iteration ofTrekbefore or since, as compassionate in its portrayal of human tenderness as it was unflinching in its exploration of human frailties. There’s plenty proof of that on display inThe Sound of Her Voice, another bottle episode that, likeDuetabove, draws its considerable emotional power entirely from conversations between characters.
It’s also helped along by virtue of one high concept twist – best not revealed here – that reminds us that the distance to each other is as close as the sound of our voices – and farther than the farthest star.
“Take Me Out to the Holosuite” (Season 7, Episode 4)
Following a challenge by a visiting captain, theDS9regulars find themselves drawn into a baseball game with a team of “superior” Vulcans. Our ragtag home team (the “Niners”) are – on paper at least – no match for their opponents. Can Sisko’s crew rise to the occasion and defeat their pointy-eared rivals? Will they discover there’s more to life than just winning? Will Quark catch a pop-fly with his ear? Stay tuned, holographic sports fans!
Yes,Take Me Out to the Holosuiteis essentiallyThe Bad News BearsmeetsDeep Space Nine. And, frankly, that’s just fine. As it closed in on the end of its run, the show had more than earned this kind of cheerful frivolity, which gave us some wonderful, funny character moments with our beloved cast, and also provided a much-needed respite from the monumental goings-on in the show’s final season.
Given all that, I’d callTake Me Out to the Holosuitea homerun.
“Trials and Tribble-ations” (Season 5, Episode 6)
Star Trek: The Original SeriesandDeep Space Nineare such polar opposites that it’s strange to be reminded that they both inhabit the same narrative universe, much less the same aesthetic one – Captain Kirk’s (William Shatner) moralizing soliloquies would feel as out of place aboardDS9as the original series’ boxy Playmobil sets. It’s those discrepancies that make for a campy good time in season five’sTrials and Tribble-ations,which finds the time-traveling DS9 crew aboard the USSEnterpriseway back in the Technicolor age of the 23rd century.
The plot of this episode is barely there, existing only to get our cast inserted into the original series (and interacting with the original cast) – but that’s hardly the point.Trials and Tribble-ationswas made to be pure fan service (it aired during the original series’ 30th anniversary) and in that, it succeeds brilliantly. The costumes, sets, and special effects all blend together seamlessly to create a loving ode to the show that started it all – and it’s still the greatest cross-over in all ofTrekhistory.
