The Most Generic DS9 Episode...

[DonIago]

PAST PROLOGUE
VORTEX
THE FORSAKEN

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
RULES OF ACQUISITION
RIVALS
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

SECOND SKIN
DESTINY
VISIONARY
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

APOCALYPSE RISING
IN PURGATORY'S SHADOW
BY INFERNO'S LIGHT
TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

PRODIGAL DAUGHTER
PENUMBRA
'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

I've discreetly removed "Indiscretion". Most of the plot isn't really much to write home about, but it does (at the very end) show us a bit of the softer side of Dukat, and obviously it introduces the recurring (if sadly ill-fated) character of Ziyal. Also features the somewhat rare "Kira and Dukat working together".

 

[Farscape One]

PAST PROLOGUE
VORTEX
THE FORSAKEN

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
RULES OF ACQUISITION
RIVALS
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

SECOND SKIN
DESTINY
VISIONARY
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

APOCALYPSE RISING
IN PURGATORY'S SHADOW
BY INFERNO'S LIGHT
TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

PRODIGAL DAUGHTER
'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

"PENUMBRA" is shadowed out of this list. This episode was more a setup than anything else, because it had to get the 10 parr finale ball rolling. It's not often that a 'setup' episode of this level is not a series/season premiere.


And I noticed that seasons 4 and 6 were knocked off before the others. This makes me happy, as they are my favorite seasons, with 4 being the higher favorite.

I have also been greatly enjoying this version of episode eliminations, possibly even more so than the others... this might be due to this series being my favorite.

In any case, I thank you all for posting such wonderful views and insights, a few that caught me off guard even.

 

[Sakonna]

PAST PROLOGUE
VORTEX
THE FORSAKEN

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
RULES OF ACQUISITION
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

SECOND SKIN
DESTINY
VISIONARY
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

APOCALYPSE RISING
IN PURGATORY'S SHADOW
BY INFERNO'S LIGHT
TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

PRODIGAL DAUGHTER
'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

Kicking "RIVALS." This one feels more like fanfic or a bad tie-in novel, it has so many weird points of disconnection and odd choices in it's storytelling. The focus on one-off guest characters. The meaningless fan-service tie-in of the El'Aurians. All the time spent on racquetball suddenly, like that throwaway line from earlier was something we needed to explore. It's a weird hour, it really does feel more like a tie-in product than the actual product itself.

 

[Discofan]

PAST PROLOGUE
VORTEX
THE FORSAKEN

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
RULES OF ACQUISITION
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

SECOND SKIN
DESTINY
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

APOCALYPSE RISING
IN PURGATORY'S SHADOW
BY INFERNO'S LIGHT
TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

PRODIGAL DAUGHTER
'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

"VISIONARY" is blinded. O'Brien sees the future and then changes it. Lucky for him because in some of these futures, he dies. Unlucky for him, he dies anyway. Lucky for everyone but him, an alternate version of himself takes his place. Lucky for everyone, he thwarts the Romulans who planned to destroy DS9. Those damn Romulans!

 

[sekundant]

PAST PROLOGUE
VORTEX
THE FORSAKEN

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
RULES OF ACQUISITION
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

SECOND SKIN
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

APOCALYPSE RISING
IN PURGATORY'S SHADOW
BY INFERNO'S LIGHT
TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

PRODIGAL DAUGHTER
'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

I will take DESTINY down. We see first time (a part of) civil Cardassian society and learn about their flirting habits, make up, hair styles, etc . At least for me rethink about the Cardassian society, that we know since TNG. It should not be so xenophobic and Spartan-like, as always propagated.

 

[Discofan]

PAST PROLOGUE
VORTEX
THE FORSAKEN

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
RULES OF ACQUISITION
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

SECOND SKIN
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

APOCALYPSE RISING
IN PURGATORY'S SHADOW
BY INFERNO'S LIGHT
TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

"PRODIGAL DAUGHTER" is disowned. First the title... it's weird! I mean it's either ironic or like so many Voyager titles it misses the point completely, but for DS9 it's rather unusual. Ezri is by no means a prodigal daughter who's spent all her money and comes back home with her tail between her legs!!! In fact, she's perfectly well and only goes home because it was her mother's ultimatum to help O'Brien!!! Anyway, we see that her family although very rich is quite dysfunctional with her little brother who's become a murderer, maybe partly due to the way he was treated by his mother.

 

[Sakonna]

PAST PROLOGUE
VORTEX
THE FORSAKEN

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
RULES OF ACQUISITION
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

SECOND SKIN

APOCALYPSE RISING
IN PURGATORY'S SHADOW
BY INFERNO'S LIGHT
TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

Cutting "THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS." A return trip to the MU and another appearance of Jennifer, both unexpected occurrences... it didn't occur to me we'd ever return to this after "Crossover"!

I wish they'd had more fun with Mirror Tuvok.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

PAST PROLOGUE
VORTEX
THE FORSAKEN

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
RULES OF ACQUISITION
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

SECOND SKIN

IN PURGATORY'S SHADOW
BY INFERNO'S LIGHT
TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

Removing Apocalypse Rising. Everyone dresses up as Klingons and gets Klingon lessons, then a major recurring character was a changeling the whole time!

 

[DonIago]

PAST PROLOGUE
VORTEX
THE FORSAKEN

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
RULES OF ACQUISITION
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

IN PURGATORY'S SHADOW
BY INFERNO'S LIGHT
TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

Peeling off "Second Skin". We spend most of the episode with Kira as a Cardassian, and the episode played it credibly enough that I at least thought they might really make this part of her backstory. It's also one of those rare episodes where what you think is going on the whole time turns out to be secondary to what's really been going on the whole time, but you only learn that in the final act of the episode. Also a great episode for giving us more insight into Cardassian society, and especially what the OO can and will do.

I was very much left hoping the real Ghemor would surface at some point later in the series, but I'd have to wait for the novels for that to happen.

 

[Sakonna]

PAST PROLOGUE
VORTEX
THE FORSAKEN

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

IN PURGATORY'S SHADOW
BY INFERNO'S LIGHT
TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

"RULES OF ACQUISITION" It's the only time I can remember the episode airing the first time with the title misspelled! Before they fixed it for rerun. The backdoor introduction of the Dominion amidst Ferengi hi-jinks was a pretty deft move, too, and quite original for the time.

It's also a Ferengi episode about Ferengi society and Ferengi oppression of women that's actually -- really good. I don't think there's anything accidentally offensive in this one! It's a great missed opportunity of the series, that they let the Ferengi get away from them so completely. They had it at the beginning, if they'd just kept on in this vein it would have been great.

 

[Discofan]

PAST PROLOGUE
VORTEX
THE FORSAKEN

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

BY INFERNO'S LIGHT
TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

"IN PURGATORY'S SHADOW" goes to Hell. Garak who recognizes his father's (Enabran Tain) touch in a message from somewhere in the Delta Quadrant is forced by a wily Sisko to team up with Worf to attempt a rescue of him and possibly others. They're both captured by the Jems and sent to the camp from where the message originated. Garak and Tain have a last (and only?) son and father moment before the latter dies. This story is concluded in the next episode.

 

[DonIago]

"RULES OF ACQUISITION" It's the only time I can remember the episode airing the first time with the title misspelled! Before they fixed it for rerun. The backdoor introduction of the Dominion amidst Ferengi hi-jinks was a pretty deft move, too, and quite original for the time.

It's also a Ferengi episode about Ferengi society and Ferengi oppression of women that's actually -- really good. I don't think there's anything accidentally offensive in this one! It's a great missed opportunity of the series, that they let the Ferengi get away from them so completely. They had it at the beginning, if they'd just kept on in this vein it would have been great.

I was really hopeful that Pel would return at some point (and she does in a published short story). I liked that Dax is less fazed by Pel being in love with Quark than by Pel being a woman; that was perhaps one of the most gay-positive moments we'd seen in Trek to that point. IIRC Quark himself didn't seem as scandalized by the idea that Pel could be in love with him as he did when he found out she was passing.

This hearkens back to the DS9 documentary and a Moment I had with ISB himself during the NYC preview, but I don't want to digress into a long story unless people want me to.

It's kind of sad that when they had Quark himself pull the reverse stunt in "Prophet and Lace" that it was so poorly-executed.

The almost-throwaway reference to the Dominion just makes the episode even better for me.

 

[DonIago]

PAST PROLOGUE
THE FORSAKEN

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

BY INFERNO'S LIGHT
TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

"Vortex" has fallen down a wel...vortex. While it's a bit of a red herring here, there is the first implication that Odo will be able to find his people in the GQ, and this may be the first episode that reveals that beneath his gruff exterior Odo at least has the capability to be a bit of a softie when there's children involved (that's not intended as a shapeshifter joke, but hey...).

 

[Farscape One]

PAST PROLOGUE
THE FORSAKEN

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

"BY INFERNO'S LIGHT" finds the light at the end of the tunnel. This was a game changer episode... Dukat, with Cardassia, signs on with the Dominion which gives them a strong foothold in the Alpha Quadrant, the Bajoran system was nearly annihilated, along with a large fleet of Klingon and Starfleet ships (and some Romulan ships, to boot), Ziyal makes her choice to stay... this ramped up the tensions that would later give us the war.

And with that, there are now only 10 episodes left on the list.

 

[Sakonna]

PAST PROLOGUE

THE CIRCLE
THE SIEGE
THE ALTERNATE
THE MAQUIS, PART II
THE COLLABORATOR

TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER

'TIL DEATH DO US PART
WHEN IT RAINS...

"THE FORSAKEN" DS9 begins their (weirdly successful) Lwaxana rehab project. Everyone remembers Lwaxana & Odo in the turbolift, a stand-out memorable sequence of season 1.

The story of Bashir & the ambassadors is another element that just has a different texture than most of DS9.

Also, first time we see Lwaxana without Mr. Homn -- and then he's never seen again! He could have been fun in "Fascination"...

 

[Farscape One]

We also never saw or heard of 'Pup' again. I always wondered if it tried to do some damage to the sration whike the Dominion was in control of it. They likely eradicated it the first chance it saw the program.

 

[Sakonna]

God, if they'd done the Dominion occupation for a whole season or something, that's a great episode in there. Pup gets out and it's basically "Civil Defense" with that reshuffled cast of characters. You could trap them in such great configurations or pairings (Dukat & Jake! Quark & Damar! Kira & Leeta! Weyoun & Odo & Rom! And... Female Shapeshifter & Ziyal? )

 

[DonIago]

Heh, they call Sisko in to calm Pup down, and when he tries to beam away Admiral Ross overrides him.

Or, more creepily, Sloan.

 

[Farscape One]

Even more creepy if it was Eddington.

 

[Discofan]

"The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" (1966) by Robert A. Heinlein tells the story of a computer program that's so smart that he takes the lead of a revolutionary movement on the Moon. Thanks to him they win against impossible odds. But they never know that their leader was a program because it would affect them negatively so that program basically self-destruct for the cause he was defending. Very good book and with myriads of ideas that we only see now in Sci. fi. series or movies.