lizlet = liz shannon miller online

Get ready for some nerd talk, guys. See, apparently awhile back, I went on some epic rant at Barrett about how the show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was subversive and revolutionary for its time, eschewing previous Star Trek formula to instead push the limits of multi-arc storytelling in the sci-fi genre — essentially proving to be a training ground for Ronald D. Moore prior to his equally groundbreaking work on Battlestar Galactica.

I have no memory of this rant, but it sounds like something I’d say. (Put a drink in my hand and ask me about DS9 sometime — results will not vary.)

Cut to Sunday, when Barrett tells me that he has acquired all seven seasons of the show and will be watching them on my recommendation. To which I essentially said “shit.”

See, the problem with DS9 is that it WAS subversive and revolutionary for its era, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of dead weight along the way. It takes at least two seasons for the show to really kick into gear, and in the meantime Lwaxana Troi shows up TWICE. In TWO DIFFERENT EPISODES. Letting someone watch the show as is is a terrible thing to do to a friend.

So to help Barrett out, I created the below episode guide for season one, based upon my own memory of the show, and figured that, hey, someone else might be interested in watching the series without sitting through its worst moments. As Barrett progresses through the series, I’ll continue to push these out. In the meantime, enjoy!

STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE — SEASON 1
(Liz’s What To/What Not To Watch Guide)

1 Emissary, Part I
2 Emissary, Part II — This is the pilot. It is unskippable. Lots of stuff gets set up.

3 Past Prologue
4 A Man Alone
5 Babel
6 Captive Pursuit — All of this is good character stuff, worth watching to get a feel for the show and its crew.

7 Q-Less — Lacking in goodness. Unless you’re a giant Q fanboy, skippable.

8 Dax
9 The Passenger — Not memorable on a character or plot level, skippable.

10 Move Along Home — I actually remember this one fondly as being pretty entertaining (and I remember few first season episodes, period). Watchable.

11 The Nagus — At this point in the season, you’ll probably know how you feel about Ferengi. If you’re interested in the political aspects of their culture, this is actually one of the better Ferengi episodes made and worth watching. (Wallace Shawn as the Grand Nagus!)

12 Vortex — Meh. Skip it.

13 Battle Lines — This episode is the catalyst for all future Bajoran politics stuff, making it pretty essential. Fortunately, it’s also good.

14 The Storyteller — Skippable from a narrative POV, but there’s some good stuff with O’Brien and Bashir.

15 Progress — Again, not part of the larger narrative, but good character stuff.

16 If Wishes Were Horses — Kinda silly. “Wishes come true!” Rumplestiltskin shows up (played by Michael J. Anderson, though, if you’re a fan of his). Eh.

17 The Forsaken — DS9’s biggest weakness is that episodes focused on romance tend to be absolutely terrible. This is the first example of said trend.

18 Dramatis Personae — Meh.

19 Duet — A good one, some juicy political stuff and lots of background on the Cardassian occupation of Bajor.

20 In the Hands of the Prophets — This one might be the first to make you punch your computer (warning: creation vs. evolution debate within) but let’s just remember that this was 1994 and tackling issues like that then was kind of a big deal. Also, more Bajoran politics stuff, leading into a pretty bad-ass three-parter at the beginning of season 2.

So to recap:

ESSENTIAL:
1 Emissary, Part I
2 Emissary, Part II
13 Battle Lines
19 Duet
20 In the Hands of the Prophets

WORTH WATCHING FOR CHARACTER/BACKSTORY REASONS:
3 Past Prologue
4 A Man Alone
5 Babel
6 Captive Pursuit
10 Move Along Home
11 The Nagus (at your discretion)
14 The Storyteller
15 Progress

For the record, the essential episodes will increase every season. I just scanned through Season 2 — I totally forgot how much shit went down there.

Watch in good health!