The Most Disliked Episode of DS9, Season 6: 2021 Edition...

[Farscape One]

This is a twist on a game that is played here, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

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 most favorite or the one you deem the 'best.' 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 because you feel they would threaten your preferred episode's chance to win. Pretty simple. Enjoy!

Hall of Champions (or Failures?)
2011 - "PROFIT AND LACE"
2018 - "LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN..."
2019 - "THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK"
2021 - "THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK"


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

 

[Farscape One]

I'm going to start season 6 with a very obvious one... "IN THE PALE MOONLIGHT".

This isn't just one of the best episodes of DS9, it's one of the best episodes of TELEVISION. Period.

Excellent script, excellent dialogue, excellent acting, excellent directing... I can't say enough good things about this one. And having Sisko play off Garak was a stroke of genius. In every possible way, this was brilliant.

ALWAYS a rewatch.



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
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
VALIANT
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
THE SOUND OF HER VOICE
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[Vale]

The other very obvious choice is "Far Beyond the Stars". The regular cast playing alternate (human) characters in Sisko's visions as Benny Russell is a great concept, and the episode's uncomfortable moments are necessary and thought-provoking. A passion project and a personal triumph for Avery Brooks.

If only they'd stuck with the original idea of integrating it into "What You Leave Behind"...

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
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
VALIANT
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
THE SOUND OF HER VOICE
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Saving Rocks and Shoals

This is the best episode of the six episode arc. RDM produced a cracking script with great dialogue that elicited great performances from the entire cast. Vedek Yassim's suicide is the franchise's greatest gut-punch: evil must be opposed indeed.

A TIME TO STAND
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
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
VALIANT
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
THE SOUND OF HER VOICE
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[Farscape One]

"ROCKS AND SHOALS" is one of the best Moore scripts he ever did, and that is high praise considering how consistantly great his episodes tended to be.

Which is why I am picking "YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED" next.

This was a fun episode, and was needed directly after the 6 part beginning. The humor worked well, which is to Moore's credit because I feel he had the best handle of humor, at least on page, than anyone else in any of the writers' room of any of the shows.

And good Martok scenes, particularly when he explains to Worf just how hollow the sound of victory is when you are lonely.

And seriously, how can anyone NOT like the Nog dance?


A TIME TO STAND
SONS AND DAUGHTERS
BEHIND THE LINES
FAVOR THE BOLD
SACRIFICE OF ANGELS
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
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
VALIANT
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
THE SOUND OF HER VOICE
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[Qonundrum]

So many good ones... But it's not like me to make VALIANT posts, but once in a while...

Ronald D Moore has a certain style, and the themes of misapplied beliefs, performance enhancing drugs, teenagers who otherwise act refreshingly mature for their age (dare I look up 90210 to compare?), cultism of all things, et cetera... so many aspects, but few ever get to being so close to "over the top" that credibility/suspension of disbelief is shattered... (but I can fathom why people have assorted nitpicks against it. Few stories are so pristine, even the "10 out of 10" ones, whose overall effect render the nitpicks less than what they otherwise might be.)

If the Federation is low on ships and humanpower, thanks to the Borg with the Dominion nipping at their heels, fast-tracking cadets is not implausible...

...but cadets managing to expertly crew a starship and are vying to show they're going to be better and eclipse the adults (shades of Icarus and Daedalus, with backup shades of "Lord of the Flies"? At the same time trying to do their part, but little did they know that the Dominion were doing their own form of misdirection against their enemy too...) - but certainly not in the patented Wesley Crusher sort of way? It's probably the biggest point of contention, but gloss over that just enough and there's a belter of a story waiting to unfold and, damn, the ending gets to me every time. Both for the sake of the ill-fated crew, but a stark reminder of how utterly ruthless the Dominion is. If this is a filler episode, as far as filler episodes go, this one's a bit unique in that it can straddle between a tangential story while placing fresh emphasis on "the big bad". This show feels like it was written on a dare and imposing some high stakes. And, damn, in lesser hands it would have flopped but what we got instead is a near-masterpiece, one highly worthy of the season in what it succeeds in doing.

I suppose another point of contention might be the drinking game song "Red squad, red squad, red squad's the best." Every time you hear "Squad", replace it with "Kang", drink a shot of drambuie, and watch "Paradise Towers".


What's left:
A TIME TO STAND
SONS AND DAUGHTERS
BEHIND THE LINES
FAVOR THE BOLD
SACRIFICE OF ANGELS
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
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
THE SOUND OF HER VOICE
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[Oddish]

I'll take Sacrifice of Angel's. Great action sequences, and a gut-wrenching conclusion. Ziyal was the closest thing DS9 had to an underdeveloped character, but there were people who cared for her.

A TIME TO STAND
SONS AND DAUGHTERS
BEHIND THE LINES
FAVOR THE BOLD
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
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
THE SOUND OF HER VOICE
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[Seven of Five]

A Time to Stand is a great opener to the season, showing how everything has gone to hell. Bashir's change from someone who always had a spring in his step to just feeling weary from everything that had happed was particularly effective.

SONS AND DAUGHTERS
BEHIND THE LINES
FAVOR THE BOLD
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
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
THE SOUND OF HER VOICE
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[Brobdingnag]

"THE MAGNIFICENT FERENGI" is one of the best ferengi episodes.

SONS AND DAUGHTERS
BEHIND THE LINES
FAVOR THE BOLD
RESURRECTION
STATISTICAL PROBABILITIES
WALTZ
WHO MOURNS FOR MORN?
ONE LITTLE SHIP
HONOR AMONG THIEVES
CHANGE OF HEART
WRONGS DARKER THAN DEATH
OR NIGHT
INQUISITION
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
THE SOUND OF HER VOICE
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[Farscape One]

Damn straight it is.

A lot of people hate this one, but I loved "WALTZ". Rene Auberjonois did an excellent job directing, as it can easily become boring when an episode is just two people in a cave.

I can really see how Dukat went the path he did. It was all there from the jump. Everything centered on his ego, and this was a natural extension of that.


SONS AND DAUGHTERS
BEHIND THE LINES
FAVOR THE BOLD
RESURRECTION
STATISTICAL PROBABILITIES
WHO MOURNS FOR MORN?
ONE LITTLE SHIP
HONOR AMONG THIEVES
CHANGE OF HEART
WRONGS DARKER THAN DEATH
OR NIGHT
INQUISITION
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
THE SOUND OF HER VOICE
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[at Quark's]

I'm not sure it's the greatest of the lot left (there are some pretty good episodes still there), but I think it's definitely a great episode, and therefore doesn't deserve to be in the last 5 or so, For that reason, I'm eliminating The Sound of her Voice.

Why? Because of two main reasons.

First of all, because it shows us the crew being war weary (understandably), and tired, and feeling stuck, and how a compassionate stranger is able, merely by voice contact, to lift them out of it, even while she is in a much direr situation herself. So, even though the episode ends a bit on a downer (they find out she's been dead for a long time) the episode exudes encouragement, the idea that there's always hope to be had, there are always friends even if you tend to forget that, even if things look bleak. And the tribute the crew gives her for reminding them of that at her 'funeral' is more than fitting.

Then, because of its original mode of story telling. Even though she's the central character of the episode, forming a nexus all the other characters connect with on an emotional level, (and around her with each other), she's never seen onscreen (except when they find her long dead body).

All in all, an awesome episode.

SONS AND DAUGHTERS
BEHIND THE LINES
FAVOR THE BOLD
RESURRECTION
STATISTICAL PROBABILITIES
WHO MOURNS FOR MORN?
ONE LITTLE SHIP
HONOR AMONG THIEVES
CHANGE OF HEART
WRONGS DARKER THAN DEATH
OR NIGHT
INQUISITION
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[Oddish]

The premise is downright silly, and the "Jem'Hadar race war" concept doesn't go anywhere, but I'm still standing up for "One Little Ship". It had a creative fight scene at the end.

A TIME TO STAND
SONS AND DAUGHTERS
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
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
THE SOUND OF HER VOICE
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Removing Favor The Bold. My top tier episodes are already saved so next go to the Occupation arc episodes that don't have Alexander.

A TIME TO STAND
SONS AND DAUGHTERS
BEHIND THE LINES
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
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
THE SOUND OF HER VOICE
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[Sakonna]

Did some editing, 5 eliminated episodes had been re-added somewhere.

"Who Mourns For Morn?" is my current season 6 highlight, as my most recent "discovery" -- I never got it's appeal before, until a recent rewatch suddenly had me laughing the whole time. It feels like a lost great DS9 I just saw for the first time.

SONS AND DAUGHTERS
BEHIND THE LINES
RESURRECTION
STATISTICAL PROBABILITIES
HONOR AMONG THIEVES
CHANGE OF HEART
WRONGS DARKER THAN DEATH OR NIGHT
INQUISITION
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[Seven of Five]

Inquisition is next for me. Section 31 is a controversial creation, but it's one that I loved. Bashir is the perfect character to work for them, as he was always into the James Bond holosuite program. Season 6 was a good season for him, on the whole.

SONS AND DAUGHTERS
BEHIND THE LINES
RESURRECTION
STATISTICAL PROBABILITIES
HONOR AMONG THIEVES
CHANGE OF HEART
WRONGS DARKER THAN DEATH OR NIGHT
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Behind the Lines. Very plot heavy, but a great episode for Rom, perhaps being his most competent and heroic. And what about Captain Dax!

SONS AND DAUGHTERS
BEHIND THE LINES
RESURRECTION
STATISTICAL PROBABILITIES
HONOR AMONG THIEVES
CHANGE OF HEART
WRONGS DARKER THAN DEATH OR NIGHT
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN
TEARS OF THE PROPHETS

 

[Verteron]

Tears of the Prophets. Dax's death was heart wrenching and had shades of Tasha Yar in some ways, but this episode (unlike Skin of Evil) had great character development in it, showing what it's like to lose someone who has become family so suddenly and to such evil - with Dukat finally showing his colours again as the monster we knew he was. Worf's death howl and Sisko talking to Jadzia's body always makes me well up. Word and Jadzia two seemed like such a genuine couple and the actors had such great on screen chemistry and the Sisko friendship was one I'd grown to appreciate. Plus growth for the Kira/Odo relationship. And a giant space battle!

SONS AND DAUGHTERS
BEHIND THE LINES
RESURRECTION
STATISTICAL PROBABILITIES
HONOR AMONG THIEVES
CHANGE OF HEART
WRONGS DARKER THAN DEATH OR NIGHT
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Behind The Lines, the remaining non Alexander occupation arc ep.

SONS AND DAUGHTERS
RESURRECTION
STATISTICAL PROBABILITIES
HONOR AMONG THIEVES
CHANGE OF HEART
WRONGS DARKER THAN DEATH OR NIGHT
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN[/QUOTE]

 

[Seven of Five]

Wrongs Darker Than Death of Night is a good look at Kira's past, and I was always a sucker for seeing Terok Nor, whatever the reason.

SONS AND DAUGHTERS
RESURRECTION
STATISTICAL PROBABILITIES
HONOR AMONG THIEVES
CHANGE OF HEART
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN

 

[Sakonna]

"Resurrection" I think I've saved every DS9 MU ep yet.

This one does not fit well in DS9's larger MU arc, but as a standalone ROTW, it's quite successful. And any chance to see Nana Visitor turn in two fantastic performances in one episode is appreciated.

SONS AND DAUGHTERS
STATISTICAL PROBABILITIES
HONOR AMONG THIEVES
CHANGE OF HEART
HIS WAY
THE RECKONING
PROFIT AND LACE
TIME'S ORPHAN