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?

 

[Poltargyst]

Why is it personally controversial?

The tone of the OP is that he has always thought DS9 sucked, and he is reluctant to give it a try, so he's asking for the least painful episodes he can watch. This is in contrast to everyone else who posts here who think that DS9 is freakin' great and there doesn't need to be any reluctance to watch it at all.

 

[Admiral Archer]

Sorry for the late update! I compiled the following list of episodes as suggested by the first few posts. So far I've only seen the episodes in Season 1 that I'm about to review, but I wanted to get as far as I could. Before I go any further, let me admit I was at first very hesitant to watch DS9, for one reason: I was afraid I'd like it and that for some reason that would make me appreciate the other series' that I grew up less. Truth is, I love it. TNG, TOS, and SNW will always be my favorite Trek series', but DS9 is absolutely fantastic so far, and much better than I hoped.

Here's the promised list of reviews:

Past Prologue - This was the episode that won me over to Major Kira. I started to understand her motivations much easier here. Seeing her conflicted regarding her loyalties to Sisko and her feelings towards Tahna Los as a fellow Bajoran freedom fighter, and the choices she made to resolve that conflict indicated serious character growth. Also I was surprised to see the Duras Sisters! Solid second episode.

Captive Pursuit - So this is where @Tosk got his username and profile pic! Honestly I was dreading this one having a bad ending, but the chase goes on! I wonder where Tosk (the character, not the TrekBBS user LOL) ended up in his further adventures after this episode?

Dax - This one felt a lot like TNG's "The Measure of a Man" and SNW's "Ad Astra Per Aspera". I love the plot twist at the end, regarding Curzon Dax and Enina Tandro (who I recognized as the actress who played Data's mom in TNG!) and their affair. This one hit a particular personal note with me, for reasons I don't wish to discuss, but let's just say I felt for Dax in this episode.

The Nagus - I honestly love Quark. I loved him before I even liked this show, and used to say he was my favorite character. In any case, the casting of the Grand Nagus was inconceivable (see what I did there? LOL) but hilarious, even if I knew who it was from behind the scenes info long before the episode aired. This was a fun episode. I wonder if Quark is aware of the old saying about how power corrupts? Who knows, and he probably doesn't care anyway. As an aside, I adore the scene in the cargo bay with Jake teaching Nog how to read. It's little scenes like this that plant the seeds for who we all know Nog will become someday.

Battle Lines - This was an interesting episode for me. Usually on TNG a dispute between warring factions is resolved, one way or other. Also I knew Opaka gets replaced later on as Kai by someone named Winn (AKA Space Karen) but I didn't know Opaka died this early on. The twist regarding her survival is certainly an interesting one.

Progress - I don't know that I like the message of this one very much. It reminds me of TNG's "Journey's End" only ending on a sour note. I loved the old man, Mullibok, and I don't like how he lost his home and everything he had to the state. The B-plot to this episode with Jake and Nog and their various business misadventures was much more fulfilling and entertaining.

The Forsaken - I think I might have seen this one already once. It's still pretty good. I knew Lwaxana Troi and Odo had a thing at one point and I guess this is how it started. The whole B-Plot with Bashir and the Ambassadors really made me feel for the good Doctor, and it had a very satisfying payoff.

Duet - Damn this episode. I often wonder what episodes like TNG's "The Inner Light" or "Family" would have felt like watching them as an adult. Now I kinda know. The back and forth in identifying the Cardassian man in the cell kept me on the edge of my seat, and watching Kira put aside her hatred for the Cardassians upon realizing that this particular one was not only innocent, but repentant of crimes he didn't even commit, was very enjoyable to watch. Then I saw that Bajoran guy with the knife and said out loud, "no no no!" Too late. THIS episode is why I watch Star Trek, and although I can't say it's my favorite DS9 episode so far, it's objectively the best one.

So to wrap up, no bad episodes so far. Wasn't DS9 season 1 supposed to suck? Because so far it's been an absolutely amazing ride. Tomorrow I'm off to watch "In the Hands of the Prophets" and from there on to the rest of my list!

 

[Tosk]

I gotta say, I'm happy that you dove into season one despite your apprehension. And even more happy that the show is mostly working for you so early! I've always found it odd that season one is supposedly not very good. Maybe to some people the lesser eps drag it down despite the good ones?

Now that you're into it I hope you'll skip fewer episodes but that's totally up to you of course.

I'm not an ep skipper myself, but if I had to do a season two watch list this would be it: (A mix of excellent episodes, and a few "should watch because they're okay but also important for later)

The Homecoming
The Circle
The Siege
Cardassians
Necessary Evil
The Alternate
Armageddon Game
Whispers
Paradise
Blood Oath
The Maquis part 1
The Maquis part 2
The Wire
Crossover
The Collaborator
Tribunal
The Jem'Hadar

I actually like more eps than that but I'm trying my hardest to cut stuff just in case that's still where you're at.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

I think the problem I had with DS9's first season is that it doesn't seem in any rush to make use of all the things that it sets up in Emissary and that's even more frustrating when you know how good the series gets when it finally does.

In season 2 it starts to realise its own potential and there's not much there I'd recommend skipping. Except Sanctuary, that's a pretty safe choice. Also Melora and Second Sight unless you're a fan of romantic episodes. And I personally hate Invasive Procedures.

 

[Poltargyst]

TNG to me was always pretty mediocre, and Season 1 of DS9 just seemed like they were making more TNG-style episodes and felt mediocre to me too. I thought the series got better as the seasons went on until by the end I was on the edge of my seat hardly able to wait until the next episode come on.

 

[Oddish]

Nothing profound, I just liked these ten.
The Storyteller
The Forsaken
Sanctuary
Shadowplay
Civil Defense
Defiant
Facets
Acession
The Quickening
Trials and Tribble-ations

 

[AntonyF]

Move Along Home
Storyteller
Playing God
Meridian
Shakaar
Let He Who is Without Sin...
Statistical Probabilities
Profit and Lace
Time's Orphan
The Emperor's New Cloak

 

[Tosk]

Move Along Home
Storyteller
Playing God
Meridian
Shakaar
Let He Who is Without Sin...
Statistical Probabilities
Profit and Lace
Time's Orphan
The Emperor's New Cloak

Funny thing is, I like at least four of the eps on your (I presume, based on the grouping) worst-of list.

 

[AntonyF]

Funny thing is, I like at least four of the eps on your (I presume, based on the grouping) worst-of list.

Yeah. It's actually hard to find really bad episodes. I have gone with popular opinion for some, and my opinion for others (Profit and Lace should be deleted). But Move Along Home I've always found fun and enjoyable, that's totally playing to the audience when I added it.

 

[Oddish]

I always thought Meridian was OK, though of course the A story couldn't match the hologram Kira B plot.