The Least Disliked Episode 2023: DS9 Season 1

[BlueStuff]

Our addictive biyearly game of rapid elimination returns - now with more shows than ever. 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 favourite 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 it would threaten your preferred episode's chance to win. Pretty simple. Enjoy!

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Hall of Champions
2011 - In the Pale Moonlight
2013 - In the Pale Moonlight
2017 - Improbable Cause
2019 - Tacking Into the Wind
2021 - Duet
2023 -

Season 1

Emissary
Past Prologue
A Man Alone
Babel
Captive Pursuit
Q-Less
Dax
The Passenger
Move Along Home
The Nagus
Vortex
Battle Lines
The Storyteller
Progress
If Wishes Were Horses
The Forsaken
Dramatis Personae
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

 

[Seven of Five]

If Wishes Were Horses is a pretty dumb episode, and easily my bottom episode from S1. I always have trouble rewatching it.

Emissary
Past Prologue
A Man Alone
Babel
Captive Pursuit
Q-Less
Dax
The Passenger
Move Along Home
The Nagus
Vortex
Battle Lines
The Storyteller
Progress
The Forsaken
Dramatis Personae
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

 

[Farscape One]

I have REALLY been looking forward to the DS9 games!

I'll take out "THE PASSENGER".

Bashir hammed up was not Siddig's finest performance.


Emissary
Past Prologue
A Man Alone
Babel
Captive Pursuit
Q-Less
Dax
Move Along Home
The Nagus
Vortex
Battle Lines
The Storyteller
Progress
The Forsaken
Dramatis Personae
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

 

[Summer Solstice]

The Storyteller: the storyline with Bashir and O'Brien is particularly boring.


Emissary
Past Prologue
A Man Alone
Babel
Captive Pursuit
Q-Less
Dax
Move Along Home
The Nagus
Vortex
Battle Lines
Progress
The Forsaken
Dramatis Personae
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

 

[Seven of Five]

Despite some of the Q humor with Sisko, I've never been a fan of Q-Less. Vash appearing on DS9 was pointless, and there isn't much to recommend it.

Emissary
Past Prologue
A Man Alone
Babel
Captive Pursuit
Dax
Move Along Home
The Nagus
Vortex
Battle Lines
Progress
The Forsaken
Dramatis Personae
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

 

[Farscape One]

Except Sisko decking Q.

I'll take out "DAX".

While the concept was good, Jadzia mostly just... was there. Probably the only episode in the franchise where the episode is titled after a character and said character has basically nothing to do. (Other than "WHO MOURMS FOR MORN?".)


Emissary
Past Prologue
A Man Alone
Babel
Captive Pursuit
Move Along Home
The Nagus
Vortex
Battle Lines
Progress
The Forsaken
Dramatis Personae
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

 

[Qonundrum]

It's like they took all the most exciting bits of "Sarek" and butchered them:

Dramatis Personae

• Telepathic thingy: Check.
• Crew gettin' all angry: Check
• Fisticuffs: Check
• Studio audience chanting "Odo! Odo! Odo!" Oh wait, the Odo Springstolife Show didn't take place...
• use of a herb's name used as technobabble: Check. ("Valerian" is a plant species whose roots can induce sleep if ingested. The fun part is DS9 takes the name and uses it almost as an antithetical purpose: A species ferrying gizmos that make everyone all riled up. Wheeee!)

I think this story fares somewhat better once one sees more of DS9, but on initial viewing I wasn't too impressed.

But I will say this: Brooks and Visitor definitely rise above the rest in terms of enjoying the material. I can't blame them; they can make the worst of star drek that much better when given free reign; and for good episodes their presence makes them all that much better. Our man Bashir knows that firsthand...

What's left:
Emissary
Past Prologue
A Man Alone
Babel
Captive Pursuit
Move Along Home
The Nagus
Vortex
Battle Lines
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

 

[BlueStuff]

Allamaraine, count to four. Allamaraine, show Move Along Home the door. One of the first (and really, only) WTF-level bad episodes of DS9.

Emissary
Past Prologue
A Man Alone
Babel
Captive Pursuit
The Nagus
Vortex
Battle Lines
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

 

[Sakonna]

I have never liked "Captive Pursuit." It's rep as DS9's first great ep utterly baffles me, this story does not work at all. I can't even get past the initial setup that basically no one takes any interest in the first arrival from the Gamma Quadrant, and handling this momentous diplomatic situation is farmed out to the non-commissioned engineer.

Emissary
Past Prologue
A Man Alone
Babel
The Nagus
Vortex
Battle Lines
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

 

[Qonundrum]

Allamaraine, count to four. Allamaraine, show Move Along Home the door. One of the first (and really, only) WTF-level bad episodes of DS9.

WTF it is, but for me it's part of the charm. It also forces the actors to really act their socks off and the only thing harder to do is act in front of a green screen with completely imagined props and tiny bits of tape for eye lines, hoping the f/x designers can match up scale and shadow... but I digress.

The episode was slated to have a much larger budget - if they actually had that, then the venues would have probably helped the atmosphere of the presentation, instead of feeling like a Doctor Who episode from 1968. A fan of Doctor Who circa 1968, the smaller and self-contained set didn't bother me too much, and I liked the fact the show was trying to do something different and genuinely mysterious. Quark and the Ferengi get their first huge boost in this episode (thank you Armin Shimerman!), even if DS9 showed more could be done with the Ferengi as early as "The Emissary" had. The episode's only mistake was being too superficial and not allowing more hooks for the Wadi to get a better second impression. Even as first impressions go, we get it that they're mysterious. But it could have had a little more atmosphere. The garmets look fantastic, though - imagine a 35mm restoration where the richest color and detail could be extracted... DS9 by far had the most detailed and sumptuous costumes and sets, which no amount of computer algorithms can begin to replicate. A zillion youtube videos compared next to the 35mm restoration from the blu-ray documentary prove that "case closed" fast enough.

But it's definitely not the season's strongest episode no matter how one looks at it.

 

[Farscape One]

You took out "MOVE ALONG HOME"... I'm sorry, but I just cannot like that.

Taking out "VORTEX".

While Croden was an interesting character, this wasn't the best story.


Emissary
Past Prologue
A Man Alone
Babel
Captive Pursuit
The Nagus
Battle Lines
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

 

[Qonundrum]

I have never liked "Captive Pursuit." It's rep as DS9's first great ep utterly baffles me, this story does not work at all. I can't even get past the initial setup that basically no one takes any interest in the first arrival from the Gamma Quadrant, and handling this momentous diplomatic situation is farmed out to the non-commissioned engineer.

It was a little too quick and magical how O'Brien could whip up a new piece of alien technology despite not having schematics and if I recall, this was a new species - so the space station wouldn't have anything on file either...

My next pick is:

Vortex

There's some good acting, but it's too middling and meh. Even "Move Along Home" has stronger plotting and plot twists - despite some iffy production choices.

What's left:
Emissary
Past Prologue
A Man Alone
Babel
The Nagus
Battle Lines
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

 

[Qonundrum]

You took out "MOVE ALONG HOME"... I'm sorry, but I just cannot like that.

Taking out "VORTEX".

While Croden was an interesting character, this wasn't the best story.


Emissary
Past Prologue
A Man Alone
Babel
Captive Pursuit
The Nagus
Battle Lines
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophets

Oh pickles, I got ninja'ed.

Glad to read others who will stand up for "Move Along Home" as well. Most of its criticisms are overblown and I still argue that the song scene is designed TO make the audience feel uneasy and uncomfortable. The occasional episode should do that. Like Doctor Who's "Snakedance" where the demon-possessed Lon dons a ceremonial outfit - it's normal for their culture. Why are we looking and laughing at it as opposed to asking about their mindset and what said outfit or song or whatever represents? People may still disagree, but beneath the icing is a cake that complements it.

 

[Summer Solstice]

Despite some of the Q humor with Sisko, I've never been a fan of Q-Less. Vash appearing on DS9 was pointless, and there isn't much to recommend it.

I like that we found out what happened to Q and Vash, but it feels (to me) like a story about two TNG characters, not a DS9 story.

Allamaraine, count to four. Allamaraine, show Move Along Home the door. One of the first (and really, only) WTF-level bad episodes of DS9.

I enjoy Move Along Home because it's fun and we see that Quark does care about people, but this episode could also be a TNG, VOY or ENT episode without many changes.

 

[Seven of Five]

A Man Alone is pretty average fair. I tend to like episodes featuring Odo, but it's just kind of there.

I kind of like Move Along Home too. It has a charmingly goofy vibe to it. It's certainly not the top 10 of S1, yet I like rewatching it.

Emissary
Past Prologue
Babel
The Nagus
Battle Lines
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophet

 

[BlueStuff]

I don't really like Battle Lines; it totally wasted Kai Opaka (in more ways than one).

Emissary
Past Prologue
Babel
The Nagus
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophet

 

[Qonundrum]

I do like this one a lot, but...

Emissary

Feels more like a "TOS episode done in the mid-90s". Not quite in a bad way, since DS9 feels more like TOS in some ways and the story certainly sets up Sisko as being quite different to Picard (a good thing!)...

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(Sisko for the win)

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(not yet TOSish)

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(the episode is loaded with tons of great set pieces)

And yet the one clip I'm thinking of, which felt very TOS-like (complete with glowing alien orb thing), I could not find.
Unless that previous one is the clip and I forgot about it... The TOSish aspect being Kirk blabbering to some alien about what love is, except DS9 did it right - not with the alien babe wearing a Jiffy Time Popcorn suit but with incorporeal beings stepped in an atmospheric and ethereal environment. ah, that's it - the incorporeal glowing bits of light that TOS did for 30~70% of its episodes. That's the similarity. And is really the only one. Save for discussing what "love" is, DS9 did it better and comes across as being adult without showing foreplay on screen in a cheap and throwaway way.

A stellar episode for sure, and yet this episode is still not the best of the season and I wouldn't have it pairing next to the best because it'd be more difficult. Whatever episode is deemed "the best", of course. But of all the Trek premieres, this one is easily and by farthe best.



What's left:
Past Prologue
Babel
The Nagus
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophet

 

[Takeru]

Babel is out, how they portrayed aphasia annoyed me to no end, completely unrealistic.


Past Prologue
The Nagus
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophet

 

[Sakonna]

"The Nagus" I like it, but the season one roughness bugs me more in this one than the others.

The crazy detail that sticks in my mind is Odo catching Rom in the act of attempting to murder Quark at the end, and then just harrumphing at these wacky Ferengi and stalking off. Arrest the attempted murderer, Constable!

Past Prologue
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophet

 

[penguin44]

The Forsaken as it's one of the worst Lwaxana episodes ever, arguing computers.

Past Prologue
Progress
The Forsaken
Duet
In the Hands of the Prophet