The least disliked episode 2021 - DS9 Season Six

[BlueStuff]

Our addictive biyearly game of rapid elimination returns - now able to include Disco's third season as well as the debut years of Picard and Lower Decks. It's generally a lot of fun, providing a chance to mentally revisit those episodes you may not have thought about in a while. With that in mind, why not play again?

So, here's the game. The basic idea is your standard elimination game. I'll provide a list of the episodes for each season and you need to eliminate your least favorite or the one you deem the 'worst.' Please provide an EXPLANATION for why you are eliminating your choice and be sure to copy and paste the list with your choice removed. Finally, leave at least 2 eliminations by other posters before you eliminate another episode.

No tactical voting! You cannot remove an episode just because you feel they would threaten your preferred episode's chance to win. Pretty simple. Enjoy!

Hall of Champions
2011 - In the Pale Moonlight
2013 - In the Pale Moonlight
2017 - Improbable Cause
2019 - Tacking into the Wind
2021 -

Season Six

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Sons and Daughters
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
You Are Cordially Invited...
Resurrection
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Who Mourns for Morn?
Far Beyond the Stars
One Little Ship
Honor Among Thieves
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
His Way
The Reckoning
Valiant
Profit and Lace
Time's Orphan
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[Seven of Five]

Profit and Lace is a terrible episode, so I'm more than happy for it to be my first elimination. Quark becoming a woman to replace his mother in negotiations hasn't really aged well.

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Sons and Daughters
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
You Are Cordially Invited...
Resurrection
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Who Mourns for Morn?
Far Beyond the Stars
One Little Ship
Honor Among Thieves
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
His Way
The Reckoning
Valiant
Time's Orphan
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[Swedish Borg]

I reckon "The Reckoning" is the weakest of this great season.
It's a bit ironic that Sisko was willing to sacrifice his own son like that guy in the bible (what was his name?) and was saved from it by the villain!!! Prophet-wise she definitely is the villain.

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Sons and Daughters
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
You Are Cordially Invited...
Resurrection
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Who Mourns for Morn?
Far Beyond the Stars
One Little Ship
Honor Among Thieves
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
His Way
Valiant
Time's Orphan
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Eliminating Valiant. A bunch of arrogant dummies be dumb and get themselves killed for no reason. And Nog gets sucked into the dumb, when he's usually more intelligent.

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Sons and Daughters
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
You Are Cordially Invited...
Resurrection
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Who Mourns for Morn?
Far Beyond the Stars
One Little Ship
Honor Among Thieves
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
His Way
Time's Orphan
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

Edit: To remove Reckoning after my post got ninjad.

 

[Orphalesion]

Alright here it is. I'm sorry but the rules of the game say you have to be honest.
I very strongly dislike Far Beyond the Stars and it is among my least favourite episodes in DS9. Simply because it is not an episode of DS9. It is some random story about completely unrelated characters in the 1950s played by the same actors.

Now I agree that racism and the problems minorities continue to face in our society is a very important topic and there are many excellent movies and shows that illustrate and discuss these problems as they appeared in our history and present.
However, when I'm watching DS9. I want DS9. And if they decide to make an episode about racism and the problems faced by people belonging to minorities, then I think that they should discuss that topic within the setting of their show with the established characters. Like for example, reveal that there is a discriminated ethnic minority among the Bajorans and idk there's a group of painters who look forward to a visit by the Emissary, but one of them is part of that minority and their leader wants to keep that guy away during the Emisarry's visit. Basically make the same episode, but please set it on Bajor. Or anywhere else in the Star Trek universe. Yes, it would not be as raw, but at least it would be an episode of the show.
I cannot bring myself to care about Benny Russel, because I'm here to watch Benjamin Sisko. Sorry.

If there was a separate show about Benny Russel the minority writer living in the 1950s, unrelated to DS9 and Star Trek, I would most likely watch it.

Plus, if I am allowed to be irreverent for a moment, regardless of the content and the setting of the episode, I think the whole "oooh this show might just be in this character's head" trope is trite, navel-gazing and not nearly as clever as it is often painted. I found it trite on Buffy, I found it trite here and nearly led to the most meta-nonsense heavy series finale in all of Star Trek.

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Sons and Daughters
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
You Are Cordially Invited...
Resurrection
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Who Mourns for Morn?
One Little Ship
Honor Among Thieves
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
His Way
Time's Orphan
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[BlueStuff]

^ to each their own.

Sons and Daughters is out; sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the otherwise excellent opening arc episodes.

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
You Are Cordially Invited...
Resurrection
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Who Mourns for Morn?
One Little Ship
Honor Among Thieves
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
His Way
Time's Orphan
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[Swedish Borg]

"His Way" aka DS9 the musical.

Yeah, the best way to get the girl of your dreams is to play "air piano" in front of a holographic audience! That'll do it.

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
You Are Cordially Invited...
Resurrection
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Who Mourns for Morn?
One Little Ship
Honor Among Thieves
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
Time's Orphan
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Removing One Little Ship. It's the only episode left I think is a bad episode. It's got some decent moments but feels more like a Voyager premise than a DS9 one.

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
You Are Cordially Invited...
Resurrection
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Who Mourns for Morn?
Honor Among Thieves
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
Time's Orphan
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[Orphalesion]

"His Way"

Awwww. I was going to remove that next. Because, not only did I never care about the whole Odo/Kira romance in all of Star Trek, there is not a character, not a concept I loathe as much as Vic Fontaine.
I hat his singing. I hate his nightclub. I hate his slimy persona. I hate how he is shoved in more and more episodes as time goes on. The only good scene involving him is when Sisko dresses him down about how shit that era was in real life.
And unlike Benny Russel, whom I'd most likely find interesting if he was in his own non-Star Trek related series, I would loathe Vic no matter where he'd appear. Screw Vic, Screw Vic with a large, painful metal object.

 

[BlueStuff]

Honor Among Thieves is gone - I found the Orion Syndicate a total bore.

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
You Are Cordially Invited...
Resurrection
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Who Mourns for Morn?
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
Time's Orphan
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[Orphalesion]

Who Morns for Morn. As the seasons progress in DS9 and it gets more serialized and character-driven, I find myself less interested in these random episodes. Plus I never got the whole thing about Morn. Yes the mask is quite good, but so are many of the other Promenade Aliens.

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
You Are Cordially Invited...
Resurrection
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
Time's Orphan
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[Sakonna]

Some nice moments in the B story aside, "Time's Orphan" is otherwise a total dog. We must send our daughter back to a life of solitude and deprivation and early death on an abandoned planet, because that is kinder than making her do more therapy... sure.

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
You Are Cordially Invited...
Resurrection
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[Qonundrum]

You Are Cordially Invited... Forgetting the fact that there's little onscreen chemistry between Dax and Worf, wedding episodes work better in sitcoms, of which this episode is trying to do halfheartedly by throwing in comedy. Now as they got Henry Gibson on the show, they could have gotten Paul Lynde to be in this one. Assuming he were willing and still alive... went way too young, he did...

What's left:

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
Resurrection
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Who Mourns for Morn?
Honor Among Thieves
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
Time's Orphan
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[Qonundrum]

Awwww. I was going to remove that next. Because, not only did I never care about the whole Odo/Kira romance in all of Star Trek, there is not a character, not a concept I loathe as much as Vic Fontaine.
I hat his singing. I hate his nightclub. I hate his slimy persona. I hate how he is shoved in more and more episodes as time goes on. The only good scene involving him is when Sisko dresses him down about how shit that era was in real life.
And unlike Benny Russel, whom I'd most likely find interesting if he was in his own non-Star Trek related series, I would loathe Vic no matter where he'd appear. Screw Vic, Screw Vic with a large, painful metal object.

Odo/Kira felt forced from the start. Why not Kira/Bashir? The acting chemistry would double up with the real life chemistry since they were dating in real life. Yes, the two were introduced in less than savory circumstances, but that doesn't mean much a couple years later. Or why at all; this need for sci-fi to introduce "romance" for its own sake rarely works as an ongoing plot strand. It's usually bland and adds nothing. Not that I often cared for one-offs, like when Kirk had to watch Edith get splattered either, the proceedings felt artificial sans chemistry (despite the weight of the plot in of itself being fairly strong.)

Lastly, one date with me ought to do it. It's ironic; Vic's the hologram but he'd see right through me... Never understood the popularity of Vic. Not even the Vic-20, what an underpowered piece of junk... the only Vic I know of that's actually cool is Vic Tayback.

 

[Farscape One]

Surprised "RESURRECTION" is still left, so it goes. It wasn't that good, plus no matter what you put directly after the 6 episode arc and the wedding, it was going to be a letdown.


A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Who Mourns for Morn?
Honor Among Thieves
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
Time's Orphan
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[BlueStuff]

Just correcting the list; the votes are coming thick and fast.

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[Orphalesion]

Odo/Kira felt forced from the start. Why not Kira/Bashir? The acting chemistry would double up with the real life chemistry since they were dating in real life. Yes, the two were introduced in less than savory circumstances, but that doesn't mean much a couple years later. Or why at all; this need for sci-fi to introduce "romance" for its own sake rarely works as an ongoing plot strand. It's usually bland and adds nothing. Not that I often cared for one-offs, like when Kirk had to watch Edith get splattered either, the proceedings felt artificial sans chemistry (despite the weight of the plot in of itself being fairly strong.)

Yeah I'd actually also prefer Kira/Bashir, for the same reasons. There never even was much payoff to the whole Kira/Odo thing...like what was it? That one scene where Kira smiles as Odo shows her his non-solid state? "woooo"

Never understood the popularity of Vic.

Plus the whole mixed messaging he caused. We spend a whole episode changing the show into something completely different to point out how the mid-20th century was not fun for minority people....and then we constantly glorify this crappy singer with his club that's modelled after a time period when segregation still existed and paint the whole thing as the most amazing thing ever everybody has to fall in love with, even aliens.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Removing Statistical Probabilities. I found the Jack Pack annoying, but the whole thing about a few genetically engineered being so smart they think they can figure out the whole war in a day was just silly. And then they don't get punished for high treason because 'They meant well'.

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[Orphalesion]

Why is "The Magnificent Ferengi" still on the list? My reasons for removing it are basically the same as for "Who Morns for Morn", plus tying the plot of this episode tot he Dominion War kinda trivializes the Dominion War storyline and the Dominion as antagonists if the freaking Ferengi can outsmart them.

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
Waltz
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

 

[Oddish]

Rocks and Shoals can beat it. I found this one really depressing.


A Time to Stand
Behind the Lines
Favor the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
Waltz
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets