After all the viewing guides to date, we finally arrive at Deep Space Nine (DS9). While I love several other Star Trek series a whole lot (as you probably picked up on), this one remains my favorite for a multitude of reasons, not just for the root beer.
No, this spinoff with no Enterprise –and not even set on a starship– is where the producers kept pushing the envelope for how much serialization they could insert despite most shows of that era, including The Next Generation, defaulting back to Status Quo. (and yes, there’s another space station show to scratch that serialized itch, but take another sip of raktajino and stay focused).
The result is not only characters you come to know and love like other Trek shows, but character arcs you didn’t know you were missing. In addition, you get a whole host of supporting characters that sometimes take center stage for an episode — and often steal the show.
And then there’s the show itself. Like many Treks, it takes a while to get to warp, but when it does, you’ll get all the moral quandary, philosophical musings, and space opera action you desire. Plus, you’ll see the cost of upholding the ideals of the Federation while surrounded by shades of grey.
In short, I can’t guarantee your reaction to DS9 will be better than Garak’s reaction to root beer, but I’m willing to make that bet.
Now here’s the part where I once again caution completionists and avid Niners who can’t bear to miss a minute of their favorite crew strolling the Promenade or taking the Defiant out for a spin: this is not your list. The Prophets understand your devotion and the fact that there’s fun character moments in “If Wishes Were Horses…” not just the origin of Sisko’s baseball. Go in peace.
For those of you who want to revisit DS9 and its vast worldbuilding, but not be caught up in whatever weird technobabble caused the “Brigadoon effects” in “Meridian,” you will find this a leaner list to binge. And for those of you who want to introduce Deep Space Nine to a friend, this viewing guide does so in an effort to maximize continuity without getting bogged down. There’s plenty of episodes, especially early on, that give the smallest hint of the Dominion, while mainly being a standalone episode. They’re also not always banner episodes, so you skip them on a quicker binge.
At the same time, we’re not going to ignore some standalone episodes that give some great character moments or explore great ideas, just like TNG. Where to draw the line made this viewing guide especially tricky as a DS9 fan, because believe me, if you do a completionist rewatch, you’re going to rewarded with a cornucopia of character moments. I hope many of you do.
For now, the die is cast, so let’s hope fortune favors the bold list.
Season One
- #s1&2 – “Emissary”
- #3 – “Past Prologue”
- #13 – “Battle Lines”
- #19 – “Duet”
This is a tricky season to pare down, as the series premiere is excellent, but the next two episodes I’ve listed are… not at the same warp speed. They do, however, introduce the important character of Garak and explain why Kai Opaka is no longer around. Yes, the Nagus gets short shrift here, but he’s got enough beetle snuff to tide him over until season 2. Fans of the DS9 religious storylines may want to include #20, “In the Hands of the Prophets,” which introduces Winn Adami, but I feel she gets a good introduction in the three-parter that opens season two .
Finally, if you watch “Duet” and your reaction is “meh,” this is not your series. For many of us watching back in 1993, unsure of this spinoff of a spinoff, this was the episode that sold us. If you, like us, said “Damn, I’m in,” you will be rewarded. On to the next season!
Season Two
- #1 – “The Homecoming”
- #2 – “The Circle”
- #3 – “The Siege”
- #7 – “Rules of Acquisition”
- #8 – “Necessary Evil”
- #12 – “The Alternate”
- #19 – “Blood Oath”
- #s20&21 – “The Maquis” (Parts I & II)
- #22 – “The Wire”
- #24 – “The Collaborator”
- #26 – “The Jem’Hadar”
With these 12 episodes, you begin to see how different this series is from its predecessors, as one can’t simply warp away from Bajor after everyone learning valuable lessons about Topic of the Week. Some situations simply must be endured. Speaking of enduring, I realize this viewing guide has cut out a lot of the “O’Brien must suffer” episodes. You hear that DS9 writers? His suffering is unnecessary! But if you want to stick it to the only working man in Starfleet, you can add #14 “Whispers” and/or #25 “Tribunal.”
And if you like Quark, Garak, and Casablanca, add #18 “Profit and Loss.”
Season Three
- #s1&2 – “The Search” (Parts I & II)
- #4 – “Equilibrium”
- #5 – “Second Skin”
- #9 – “Defiant”
- #s11&12 – “Past Tense” (Parts I & II)
- #14 – “Heart of Stone”
- #20 – “Improbable Cause”
- #21 – “The Die is Cast”
- #22 – “Explorers”
- #23 – “Family Business”
- #24 – “Shakaar”
- #25 – ”Facets”
- #26 – “The Adversary”
15 episodes for this season gives you the first appearance of the Defiant, some revelations about the Dominion, plus Ferengi shenanigans. At first glance, episodes “Heart of Stone” and “Explorers” may not seem consequential, but they have big character moments that create many motivations as the series progresses.
Feel free to add #7, “Civil Defense” if you need more Gul Dukat, Garak, and general Cardassian mischief.
Season Four
- #s1&2 – “The Way of the Warrior”
- #3 – “The Visitor”
- #5 – “Indiscretion”
- #7 – “Starship Down”
- #11 – “Homefront”
- #12 – “Paradise Lost”
- #14 – “Return to Grace”
- #15 – “Sons of Mogh”
- #16 – “Bar Association”
- #17 – “Accession”
- #22 – “For the Cause”
- #23 – “To the Death”
- #26 – “Broken Link”
These 14 episodes give a wide variety of fun space opera and sci-fi allegory. In fact, if you’re finding you’re really loving the series and want to lighten-up on the expeditious binge-watch mission, consider the following episodes:
- If you want to add in Ferengi shenanigans and Roswell, watch #8, “Little Green Men”
- If you want holosuite shenanigans and a James Bond parody, watch #10 “Our Man Bashir”
- If you demand O’Brien suffer, you can’t do better (or is it worse?) then #19, “Hard Time”
- If you want the technobabble details of how Kira winds up carrying Keiko’s baby –plus more Ferengi shenanigans– check out #25, “Body Parts”
Season Five
- #1 – “Apocalypse Rising”
- #2 – “The Ship”
- #5 – “The Assignment”
- #6 – “Trials and Tribble-ations”
- #10 – “Rapture”
- #11 – “The Darkness and the Light”
- #12 – “The Begotten”
- #13 – “For the Uniform”
- #14 – “In Purgatory’s Shadow”
- #15 – “By Inferno’s Light”
- #16 – “Doctor Bashir, I Presume?”
- #19 – “Ties of Blood and Water”
- #21 – “Soldiers of the Empire”
- #23 – “Blaze of Glory”
- #24 – “Empok Nor”
- #26 – “Call to Arms”
16 episodes give you some prime DS9 and yes, technically you could skip #6, “Trials and Tribble-ations,” but that would be a crime worse than 17 separate temporal violations.
If, like season four, you want to relax your binge-watch a tad, you could add #8 “Things Past” for a tale from the Occupation (sorta) and to lighten everything up (which you’re really going to want soon), you should add #25 “In the Cards” — unless you work for the soulless minions of orthodoxy.
Season Six
- #1 – “A Time to Stand”
- #2 – “Rocks and Shoals”
- #3 – “Sons and Daughters”
- #4 – “Behind the Lines”
- #5 – “Favor the Bold”
- #6 – “Sacrifice of Angels”
- #7 – “You are Cordially Invited…”
- #10 – “The Magnificent Ferengi”
- #11 – “Waltz”
- #13 – “Far Beyond the Stars”
- #16 – “Change of Heart”
- #17 – “Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night”
- #18 – “Inquisition”
- #19 – “In the Pale Moonlight”
- #20 – “His Way”
- #21 – “The Reckoning”
- #25 – “The Sound of Her Voice”
- #26 – “Tears of the Prophets”
18 episodes that will put the opera in space opera with a couple well-deserved comedic breaks plus a season finale that is, well, aptly named.
Season Seven
- #1 – “Image in the Sand”
- #2 – “Shadows and Symbols”
- #3 – “Afterimage”
- #6 – “Treachery, Faith, and the Great River”
- #7 – “Once More Unto the Breach”
- #8 – “The Siege of AR-558”
- #10 – “It’s Only a Paper Moon”
- #16 – “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges”
- #17 – “Penumbra”
- #18 – “‘Til Death Do Us Part”
- #19 – “Strange Bedfellows”
- #20 – “The Changing Face of Evil”
- #21 – “When It Rains…“
- #22 – “Tacking Into the Wind”
- #23 – “Extreme Measures”
- #24 – “The Dogs of War”
- #s25&26 – “What You Leave Behind”
Another 18 episodes and we reach the end… which goes where no Trek series has gone before.
Now I’m committed to the goals of a lean viewing guide, so I’ve cut out some episodes that I think are just fine, but don’t contribute to the increasingly serialized storyline. If you’ve come to love the characters (highly likely by this season) or you just need some lightness during the grim Dominion War, you should add in #4 “Take Me Out to the Holosuite,” which showcases Sisko’s –and science fiction’s— longstanding love of baseball, plus #15 “Badda-Bing Badda-Bang,” a casino heist episode. Both are delightful respites.
There you have it, 98 episodes and just about 73 hours of space opera with space battles, moral complexity, a suffering Irishman, and some great jambalaya. What more could one ask for?
May your walk with the Prophets be a fruitful one.