Summary

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine broke the mold of the original vision by exploring the impact of Starfleet's decisions on a micro and macro level.
• Commander Sisko's character arc and the depth of the cast in DS9 were major successes, adding complexity to episodes that could have been lightweight.
• "In the Pale Moonlight" is a breathtaking morality play that challenges Roddenberry's utopian vision, showing the tough decisions that must be made to maintain it.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is acclaimed for its darker and mature approach and its 20 best episodes perfectly combine the core ideals of Star Trek with a more complex morality. DS9 broke the mold of Gene Roddenberry's original vision to rebuild Star Trek with contemporary relevance. Swapping a starship for a space station, Deep Space Nine was able to explore the impact of Starfleet's decisions on a micro and macro level. Many of DS9's best episodes involve putting a fresh spin on a well-worn Star Trek trope, or interrogating the personal costs of maintaining the utopian vision of Starfleet and the Federation.

Avery Brooks' Commander Sisko was immediately a brand-new type of Star Trek protagonist. A grieving widower and devoted father, he had to juggle duties beyond those expected of him by Starfleet. Sisko begins Star Trek: Deep Space Nine disillusioned, but swiftly finds a renewed purpose. The character arc of Sisko, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's cast of characters was one of the great successes of the show, and often provided depth to episodes that could be lightweight and disposable if they were done elsewhere in the Star Trek franchise.

20 Emissary

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's pilot episode sets the show up perfectly. It retains many elements from the likes of "Encounter at Farpoint" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before", by having Commander Benjamin Sisko justifying human existence to beings of enormous celestial power. However, it also swiftly distances itself from "traditional" Star Trek with the thinly veiled conflict between Sisko and Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart). In setting the series on an orbital location, DS9 established itself as a Star Trek show that would live with the consequences of its character's decisions. Avery Brooks is immediately charming as a protagonist, smoothly working out the best way to interact with the diverse range of characters both under his command and protection on DS9.

19 Little Green Men

Although Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has a reputation as one of the darker Trek shows, it always knew when to lighten the mood. Case in point, the season 4 episode "Little Green Men", in which Quark (Armin Shimerman) Rom (Max Grodenchik) and Nog (Aron Eisenberg) end up at Area 51 in 1947. Area 51 was part of the cultural zeitgeist in the 1990s thanks to The X-Files and Ray Santilli's faked alien autopsy video. So it was great to see Star Trek take such a unique and comic approach to this iconic location and potential paranormal mystery. It's the best of DS9's Ferengi comedies as Quark senses an incredible opportunity for profit, even if it would completely change the course of human history.

18 Past Tense

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine smartly used time travel to shine a light on where society was headed if the social inequality of 1990s America was left unchecked. Stranding Sisko, Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig) and Lt. Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) in 2024, it showed the United States had adopted a dehumanizing policy of housing its homeless and disenfranchised populace in walled-off "Sanctuary Districts". Sisko and Bashir's presence in the past accidentally jeopardized their future when they derailed a crucial turning point in Star Trek's social history. DS9's Bell Riots were key to leading to a more humane and egalitarian response to social inequality. Sadly, in 2023, "Past Tense" is still a painfully relevant Star Trek story.

17 Inquisition

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5 completely changed Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) for the better, revealing that he'd been replaced by a Changeling impostor before exposing the real Julian's genetic augmentations. While this may have been a lot to take in, it laid the groundwork for "Inquisition", in which he was accused of espionage. It's a challenging episode that plays on the audience's recent suspicions about Bashir, bringing a level of ambiguity to the story being told. When it's revealed to be an elaborate simulation by shadowy Starfleet organization Section 31, there's a genuine sense of relief that Bashir's character hasn't been changed further.

16 Waltz

In "Waltz", Sisko and his arch nemesis Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) become stranded on a planet together and try not to murder each other. It's a compelling two-hander between Sisko and Dukat as they discuss Dukat's war crimes as the Cardassian slides further and further into madness and monomania. Avery Brooks and Marc Alaimo are phenomenal together, as they portray the two enemies with real nuance, drawing out their similarities as well as the huge gulf between their respective personalities. It's this episode more than most that sets up their final conflict in the Bajoran Fire Caves.

15 The Siege Of AR-558

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had previously shown the brutality of war in the episode "Nor the Battle to the Strong", but from the perspective of a field hospital. "The Siege of AR-558" puts Sisko and his team in the thick of a brutal battle with Dominion forces during a routine supply run. The most striking thing about "The Siege of AR-558" is how it deals with Nog's Starfleet career, by seriously wounding him in the conflict. There's no magic cure for Nog's injury and he has to work through his trauma in later episodes. More interesting still is how the usually comic character of Quark is affected by his nephew's injuries, adding new depth to the Ferengi in the process.

14 You Are Cordially Invited

Star Trek's best wedding episode "You Are Cordially Invited" is even better - and sadder - when viewed in the context of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 6. The wedding of Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) and Jadzia Dax takes place just after Deep Space Nine was retaken from the Dominion. It's a joyous celebration of home and the relationships between the entire DS9 crew that is also an incredibly touching and very funny wedding comedy. The unconventional Klingon wedding traditions are mined for laughs, but there's a tenderness at the heart of "You Are Cordially Invited" that becomes melancholic on rewatching it after Dax's tragic death in the season 6 finale.

13 It's Only A Paper Moon

"The Siege of AR-558" rightly gets plaudits for its portrayal of the grim realities of warfare, but the episode's spiritual sequel, "It's Only a Paper Moon" is even more affecting in how it looks at post-traumatic stress. It's a perfect example of how Star Trek: Deep Space Nine used franchise tropes like the holodeck episode to do something completely new. Ensign Nog embraces his Ferengi side by throwing himself into helping Vic Fontaine (James Darren) run his holographic nightclub. By turning his back on Starfleet and reality itself, Nog doesn't have to confront the horrors he's experienced during the Dominion War. It's a great example of how DS9 excelled at melding high-concept sci-fi with emotional drama.

12 Sacrifice of Angels

"Sacrifice of Angels" is the biggest and boldest space battle in Star Trek history as Sisko and the crew attempt to retake Deep Space Nine from the Dominion. It's utterly thrilling and pays off the whole "Operation Return" arc beautifully. However, it's also a fascinating character study of Sisko, as he ponders whether to use his status as Bajoran Emissary to request celestial intervention in the Dominion War. It culminates in Sisko making a desperate plea to the Prophets that wins him back the station but at a cost to his future happiness. Despite the episode's ominous warning, it's still utterly exhilarating to see the crew win back their home.

11 Homefront/Paradise Lost

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's retrospective documentary What We Left Behind, it's stated that a former terrorist like Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) would never have been a sympathetic character had the show been made post-9/11. That's probably true, and with that in mind, it's interesting to look at "Homefront/Paradise Lost" as an eerily prescient story about how civil rights can be lost in the fight against an unknowable enemy. Sisko's attempts to unmask the conspiracy headed by his former mentor iral Leyton (Robert Foxworth) and avert his military coup are a bold statement on how the enemy only wins when they force you to abandon your ideals.