Top 10 DS9 Episodes: 1st Half of the Series

[Lord Garth]

I'm sure there have been a lot of Top 10 Lists in this forum. I'm pretty sure no one has done one for half the series, but I'll be reaching the mid-point pretty soon, since "Bar Association" is the 88th episode and it's only three episodes away from where I currently am.

I thought about it, and I don't think the next three episodes are going to change anything, so I decided to post my Top 10 List now. I started witn 15, then I narrowed it down to 12, and now I finally have my 10. I'm counting two-parters as one.

In chronological order:

"Emissary"
"Duet"
"Necessary Evil"
"Whispers"
"The Maquis"
"The Jem'Hadar"
"Past Tense"
"The Way of the Warrior"
"The Visitor"
"Rejoined"

I had to make some pretty painful cuts to get this to 10. I'll go into more detail later, tell you which episodes I cut out of the list, and I'll figure out my order of preference. Ranking these will be even harder!

What are your Top 10 from the first half of the series?

 

[Frightscape One]

Going by production order, and counting two-parters as a single entry, my Top 10 of the halfway point list would probably be...

"EMISSARY"
"DUET"
"NECESSARY EVIL"
"THE WIRE"
"CIVIL DEFENSE"
"IMPROBABLE CAUSE"/"THE DIE IS CAST"
"EXPLORERS"
"THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR"
"THE VISITOR"
"OUR MAN BASHIR"


Honorable mentions...

"CAPTIVE PURSUIT"
"MOVE ALONG HOME"
"PROGRESS"
"WHISPERS"
"SHADOWPLAY"
"BLOOD OATH"
"STARSHIP DOWN"

 

[The Vorta-lak]

My top 10, first half, ranked:

10 Progress
9 Civil Defense
8 Improbable Cause
7 Our Man Bashir
6 The Wire
4/5 Past Tense I and II
3 Emissary
2 Necessary Evil
1 The Visitor

Yes, I didn't put in Duet. Next week, I might included it. There are some times the dialogue feels too over the top. Marritsa portrays so much arrogance, bluster, and cleverness, that I sometimes I would prefer he had actually been Darhe'el.

 

[Pumpkin Bread]

Count may not be exact, depending on how these episodes are counted...

The Visitor is #1, by a mile. No other DS9 episode comes close. And few Trek episodes period.

Emissary is #2, Way of the Warrior #3. They might switch based on my mood.

The three-part S2 opener is up there.

Accession is a personal favorite.

Others include Civil Defense, Whispers, Paradise, Shadowplay, Facets, and The Adversary.

 

[tomalak301]

I guess I can do this without including the Circle Trilogy or other 2 parters to get more variety but I really do like all these episodes.

The Visitor
The Wire
Battle Lines
Duet
Tribunal
Defiant
Destiny
Visionary
Blood Oath
Jem'Hadar

I wasn't sure if it was front half or back half but honorable mention to Hard Time.