I started a thread back in 2019 when I was watching DS9 for the first time and giving my thoughts on each episode. That thread can be seen here but is no longer active: https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/i-am-watching-ds9-for-the-first-time-some-observations.299822/ Part of the problem was that I hit a stretch of episodes in late Season 2 that I was having some trouble getting through, particularly "Crossover". I just cannot get into the Mirror Universe. So for that and a few other reasons, I just stopped watching for a couple of years. Finally, a couple of months ago, someone in a Star Trek Facebook group posted a list of 107 episodes that in one way or another tied into the Dominion War arch. It streamlines the series to its most important threads from beginning to end, leaving the viewer the opportunity to watch the most meaningful stories while filtering out the extraneous. The categories were by the original author; the episodes are grouped by general themes, and are in their airdate order, but categories may span over multiple seasons. Giving proper credit to the original poster, David O'Neill, who may or may not even be a member here (I honestly don't know), these are the episodes and their categories: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine The Dominion Arc Prelude: Introduction, Politics, and Religion 01. Emissary 02. Past Prologue 03. A Man Alone 04. The Nagus 05. Battle Lines 06. If Wishes Were Horses 07. Duet 08. In the Hands of the Prophets 09. The Homecoming 10. The Circle 11. The Siege 12. Cardassians Part 1: A Stir in the Night 13. Rules of Acquisition 14. Sanctuary 15. The Alternate 16. Shadowplay 17. The Maquis 18. The Maquis, Part 2 19. The Wire 20. The Collaborator 21. The Jem'Hadar Part 2: Revelations 22. The Search 23. The Search, Part 2 24. The House of Quark 25. The Abandoned 26. Civil Defense 27. Defiant 28. Life Support 29. Heart of Stone 30. Prophet Motive 31. Visionary 32. Improbable Cause 33. The Die is Cast 34. Explorers 35. Shakaar 36. Family Business 37. The Adversary Part 3: Conflicts 38. The Way of the Warrior 39. Hippocratic Oath 40. Indiscretion 41. Starship Down 42. Little Green Men 43. Homefront 44. Paradise Lost 45. Crossfire 46. Return to Grace 47. Bar Association 48. Accession 49. For the Cause 50. To the Death 51. The Quickening 52. Body Parts 53. Broken Link Part 4: Battle Stations 54. Apocalypse Rising 55. The Ship 56. ...Nor the Battle to the Strong 57. The Assignment 58. The Ascent 59. Rapture 60. The Begotten 61. In Purgatory's Shadow 62. By Inferno's Light 63. Doctor Bashir, I Presume? 64. Ties of Blood & Water 65. Ferengi Love Songs 66. Children of Time 67. Blaze of Glory 68. In the Cards 69. A Call to Arms Part 5: Into the Darkness 70. A Time to Stand 71. Rocks and Shoals 72. Sons and Daughters 73. Behind the Lines 74. Favor the Bold 75. Sacrifice of Angels 76. You Are Cordially Invited... 77. Statistical Probabilities 78. The Magnificent Ferengi 79. Waltz 80. One Little Ship 81. Change of Heart 82. Inquisition 83. In the Pale Moonlight 84. His Way 85. The Reckoning 86. Valiant 87. Tears of the Prophets Part 6: The Cost of War 88. Image in the Sand 89. Shadows and Symbols 90. Afterimage 91. Chrysalis 92. Treachery, Faith and the Great River 93. Once More Unto the Breach 94. The Siege of AR-588 95. Covenant 96. It's Only a Paper Moon 97. Chimera 98. Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges Part 7: Final Conflict 99. Penumbra 100. 'Til Death Do Us Part 101. Strange Bedfellows 102. The Changing Face of Evil 103. When It Rains... 104. Tacking into the Wind 105. Extreme Measures 106. The Dogs of War 107. What You Leave Behind I may use this thread to start up giving my thoughts again as I watch. What does anyone think of this list? Anything left out that should be included or should anything be omitted?
It's an okay list but it shows the fallacy of such lists. The Visitor and Far Beyond the Stars are omitted and they are in the top 20 ST episodes of all time.
It's probably fine but you're missing a lot of good episodes, like The Visitor, FBTS, Necessary Evil, Thing's Past. And on the other hand some of the episodes in the list, like Sanctuary or Shadowplay have the barest of links to the major arcs. And you can't get into "Crossover"?! I love the second half of Season 2.
I'd argue that anyone could skip Rules of Acquisition and Sanctuary and still fully appreciate the Dominion story. Conversely, episodes, like Far Beyond the Stars, get to the heart of Sisko, the hero, whose story is central to all DS9 arcs. ETA: I think the problem is that one can't both abridge the series but be guided by FOMO when selecting individual episodes. Some stories not only are peripheral, but also lack quality. Sons and Daughters and Valiant, for instance, merely use the Dominion as background, but are not specifically necessary for the story. Any adversary would suffice as the important stuff is the character drama.
This is probably a silly answer to you, but if you've never seen the last 5 seasons... Yeah... i just cant imagine anything else than you would be happy if you watched them all... (and probably also a little bit in love with DS9.)
I think Rules of Acquisition was included for the same reason Sanctuary was included; they have the earliest references to the Dominion.
I'm sorry, but I've always found the Mirror Universe to be a very hokey concept. I see the list as a guide rather than a series of hard-and-fast rules. I like it because it's motivated me to keep watching while also giving me the key points, but with the built-in freedom to watch anything that the list skips. Hence, why I asked if there were any omissions.
I love the mirror universe episodes as their own arc. It's nice to have the 'moral goodness' removed from everyone's characters. If you start in ENT, then go to TOS, DS9 - it's a fun little series about a topsy-turvy world. The mirror episodes from DS9 are my favourite.
I'd like to stress the point that the list does not generally concerned with quality, although some notoriously bad episodes are skipped (Move Along Home, Profit and Lace). Since the list is largely built around themes, are there any episodes that are omitted that I should watch? For example, should I watch the Past Tense two parter?
Top episodes of ANY television show. (Okay, I haven't watched every TV show ever, but at least tops among those that I've seen which includes many very good ones.)
No that's fair. I'm not fond of how the other MU episodes went but that one I always enjoyed. In regards to Past Tense, I think it's a good issue episode about homelessness and mental health but it doesn't impact anything if you miss it.
To stress how the list has motivated me to keep watching, when I started following it, I had left off (for a couple of years!) at "Crossover". Since I started using it, I am now as far as "Indiscretion".