The Most Disliked Episode of DS9, Season 4: 2021 Edition...

[Oddish]

Engaging "Rules of Engagement". Worf learns a sobering lesson about the burdens of command, and the need for Starfleet officers to do the right thing. It's not brilliant, but I think it's better than what's left.

INDISCRETION
THE SWORD OF KAHLESS
RETURN TO GRACE
BAR ASSOCIATION
THE MUSE
FOR THE CAUSE

 

[Brobdingnag]

"THE SWORD OF KAHLESS" is a very good Klingon story. Plus a great performance by John Colicos as always. He definitely adds a lot to the episodes he's in.

INDISCRETION
RETURN TO GRACE
BAR ASSOCIATION
THE MUSE
FOR THE CAUSE

 

[Seven of Five]

I Think that Return to Grace is the better of the two Kira/Duka/Ziyal stories this season. The way they took over the Klingon ship was pretty cool.

INDISCRETION
BAR ASSOCIATION
THE MUSE
FOR THE CAUSE

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I’ll save Bar Association. It has the problem that it focuses on DS9’s most cartoonish caricatures. But it advances Rom’s character and shows the clash between Ferenginar’s weird combination of libertarian authoritarianism and reality of dealing with other races.

INDISCRETION
THE MUSE
FOR THE CAUSE

 

[Brobdingnag]

"INDISCRETION" is a good character piece and it adds complexity to the Dukat character, making him for a while the best multifaceted villain of the series.

THE MUSE
FOR THE CAUSE

 

[Qonundrum]

"FOR THE CAUSE" - love me some Eddington! How is this one not saved long earlier? Oh well!



THE MUSE is just ʎllᴉs trasharama...

 

[Farscape One]

And "THE MUSE" is the winner for season 4.

As it is the only one that had one of the two stories that did not work, I am not surprised it won. In fact, it might have been the winner of each season 4 game.

Thank you all for playing. I'll post season 5 later tonight.

 

[Qonundrum]

"Starship Down" is DS9 redoing TNG's "Disaster", but to much better effect. 2 decades ago I pawned this story off as being a hodgepodge of TNG's best bits redone. There's a bit more going on than just that, and reusing an old story and/or its elements can be a valid springboard if there's something more refreshing or innovative to say - which can make the trope its own as a result. SD doesn't go that far, but almost.

The Way of the Warrior just gets better with age.

Our Man Bashir has a half-hokey treknobabble-laden setup, but it's timed short enough to let the actual story take focus, and is highly rewarding as a result.

Little Green Men is almost as treknobabble-laden, with Trek's 50,000,000,000,047's use of time travel as a plot device - but in this story it's deserving, and the comedy is done right. One also doesn't expect Odo, even though he and Quark are one of DS9's best double-acts.

 

[Qonundrum]

Removing The Visitor. Someone's gotta do it.

I never would... Something about the story just rubs me the wrong way. The emotional massaging wears out after the initial viewing and what's left is a bizarre plot involving a lady (named Melanie) knocking on Jake's door, who knows him only as a creative writer, and is completely unfazed when he tells her that - by him committing suicide - he will see his dad again and all will be well... but what doew she do? She just sits there without even entertaining the notion that this guy is senile and is conflating fantasy with reality and not in the actually-good Star Trek III sort of way. Doesn't even say she has to go potty and slinks out to call Section 3911 or anything! (Yes, the emotional stuff works - but doesn't hold up the best. It's still far better than "The Muse"!)

And "THE MUSE" is the winner for season 4.

As it is the only one that had one of the two stories that did not work, I am not surprised it won. In fact, it might have been the winner of each season 4 game.

Thank you all for playing. I'll post season 5 later tonight.

As much as I'd love to guess which story that the other of the two is, you know I'm still half-hoping it's "The Visitor". Especially when Jane Badler wasn't the lady visitor of the week knocking on Jake's door.

Hmmm, if Melanie had a surname, she should have one. Let's say it's "Bush" as she enjoys drinking large quantities of carrot juice, and also once traveled with an eccentric time-traveler wearing a genuinely eccentric outfit via a time machine that is stuck looking like a rickety old British police box -- that's a novel little way to explain why she's unfazed at his manic-depressive attempt to off himself...

 

[Farscape One]

Actually, the only story in the entire season that didn't work for me was the creativity vampire in "THE MUSE". The Odo/Troi was very sweet and well acted.

Every single other episode had varying levels of fantastic. The closest the franchise ever got to a perfect season.

 

[Vale]

Bloody hell, missed another one!

 

[Oddish]

If someone else hadn't saved "The Visitor", I would have. That was one of DS9's finest hours.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I thought the whole Klingon conflict felt a bit of a contrived excuse to bring on Worf, so I'm not as big on Way of the Warrior. But still top half.

 

[Oddish]

I thought the whole Klingon conflict felt a bit of a contrived excuse to bring on Worf, so I'm not as big on Way of the Warrior. But still top half.

I think people agreed with you. Kurn's fate suggested that they may have intended the Klingon conflict to go the distance. If so, then presumably negative fan response led them to reinstate the Khitomer Accords and return the Klingons to ally status.

 

[Seven of Five]

I'm surprised For the Cause wasn't saved earlier, even if Eddington now being MMaquis could have been telegraphed better. Luckily Eddington episodes get better from here.

 

[Sakonna]

I wish I'd come by at a right time to save "The Muse", I adore the Lwaxana/Odo story in that one.