Give me a top 10 list of Deep Space Nine episodes to start watching

[Admiral Archer]

"Mr. Worf, I always knew this day would come."

Well, I sure as hell didn't. But I'm getting to the point where I've seen every TNG episode at least a handful of times. So I've made the personally controversial decision to start watching DS9. In defense of the show, I haven't seen much of it; only the following episodes (to my memory - I've possibly seen more):

Emissary
The Jem'Hadar
The Search
Explorers
Homefront
Paradise Lost
The Way of the Warrior
In The Pale Moonlight
Far Beyond the Stars
The Changing Face of Evil

I realize these are the cream of the crop (or so I believe for now) but these 10 episodes aside, what is another good top 10 list to see what the rest of the series is like? I'm sure one of the suggestions will be an episode I've already seen but forgotten, but that's okay! Also I'm feeling a bit tepid towards what I've already seen. I'm not a huge fan of many creative decisions made, and the whole series feels kinda like the antithesis of Star Trek. But I won't judge anything until I've seen it at least once, so I'm gonna try to keep an open mind. Now, with all that out of the way, send me some episodes! Thanks!

 

[Tosk]

In my opinion, DS9 is not a "best eps" kind of show. One of its strengths is the build. Characters grow, relationships develop, situations evolve.

Jumping to "the best episodes" won't have remotely the same impact as getting there the long way 'round.

That's not to say you can't skip certain episodes. There are several fan guides to a streamlined viewing. But they all still keep over a hundred episodes IIRC.

I'm no help whatsoever.

If I was gun-to-the-head forced to give a list of ten eps to start with (provided they weren't the only ten) it would be:

Emissary
Past Prologue
Captive Pursuit
Dax
The Nagus
Battle Lines
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

Yeah, they're all season one. What better place to start?

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

You could try doing what I did and start by watching the first 10 episodes of season 4. The series is firing on all cylinders by that point, there's a good mix of stories (including The Visitor, Little Green Men and Our Man Bashir) and you get Worf as a regular. After that you can decide if want to finish the rest of the season and then maybe go back and watch earlier seasons.

 

[somebuddyX]

Emissary
Progress
Duet
Necessary Evil
Whispers
The Wire
The Collaborator
Hard Time
Thing's Past
The Darkness and the Light

I didn't actually do a top ten, but more best standalone episodes unconnected to arcs.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

More of a compliment to the episodes you already have to focus more on character and acting:

Progress
Necessary Evil
Blood Oath
The Wire
Improbable Cause
Little Green Men
For the Cause
Hard Time
The Quickening
Nor the Battle to the Strong

 

[TheMoonIsMadeOfCheese]

I had a similar problem with choosing episodes for my friend to try and convince her to give DS9 (or Star Trek in general) a try. There's a lot of amazing episodes of DS9, but most of them rely on the serialized nature of the show and an already established understanding of the characters/plot. Not ideal for newcomers. Additionally, a lot of good standalone episodes deviate a lot from the standard format of a typical DS9 episode, and don't give you a good idea of what to expect from the series. That said, here are a couple of episodes I would recommend for a "DS9 taster":

Duet
Necessary Evil
Past Tense
The Visitor
The Adversary
Little Green Men
Body Parts (a personal favourite)

 

[Paul Weaver]

DS9 especially benefits from actual investment. It's very different to modern shows. The OBrien/Bashir relationship grows over 7 seasons for example. You might think "The Storyteller" is trash, but without that you don't get OBrien/Bashir. Without Babel you're losing out on the Ben/Jake relationship, without If Wishes Were Horses you're being shortchanged on the Sisko/Baseball arc.

There are no "skippable" episodes in my opinion, and the lack of episodes in modern streaming shows, cutting out those "boring character" things in constant charge of an ever plodding plot, are the worst thing about modern TV.

 

[Lord Garth]

I tried to find 10 episodes that were both good and felt Roddenberrian. You can also get by watching these even if you don't know the series like the back your hand.

"Dax"
"In the Hands of the Prophets"
"Whispers"
"Past Tense, Part I"
"Past Tense, Part II"
"Destiny"
"Facets"
"Little Green Men"
"The Quickening"
"The Sound of Her Voice"

 

[XCV330]

In my opinion, DS9 is not a "best eps" kind of show. One of its strengths is the build. Characters grow, relationships develop, situations evolve.

Jumping to "the best episodes" won't have remotely the same impact as getting there the long way 'round.

That's not to say you can't skip certain episodes. There are several fan guides to a streamlined viewing. But they all still keep over a hundred episodes IIRC.

I'm no help whatsoever.

If I was gun-to-the-head forced to give a list of ten eps to start with (provided they weren't the only ten) it would be:

Emissary
Past Prologue
Captive Pursuit
Dax
The Nagus
Battle Lines
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

Yeah, they're all season one. What better place to start?

Agreed. Even DS9 suffers a little from First Season Syndrome but it's still got some great episodes, especially Emissary and Duet.

 

[carcinoGeneticist]

personally controversial decision

Why is it personally controversial?