It’s a bit of a lackluster fifth season for Deep Space Nine, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t bright spots. Here’s our take:
- “Apocalypse Rising” – 4
- “The Ship” – 5.5
- “Looking for Par’Mach in All the Wrong Places” – 7
- “Nor the Battle to the Strong” – 5
- “The Assignment” – 2.5
- “Trials and Tribble-ations” – 9
- “Let He Who Is Without Sin” – 1
- “Things Past” – 1.5
- “The Ascent” – 7.5
- “Rapture” – 5.5
- “The Darkness and the Light” – 1
- “The Begotten” – 4
- “For the Uniform” – 3.5
- “In Purgatory’s Shadow” – 4.5
- “By Inferno’s Light” – 5.5
- “Doctor Bashir, I Presume” – 6
- “A Simple Investigation” – 2
- “Business as Usual” – 1.5
- “Ties of Blood and Water” – 2
- “Ferengi Love Songs” – 5
- “Soldiers of the Empire” – 6
- “Children of Time” – 4.5
- “Blaze of Glory” – 3.5
- “Empok Nor” – 1
- “In the Cards” – 8
- “Call to Arms” – 8.5
The average rating for the season is 4.4, not terrible but a bit weak. There are some good episodes this season, even some great ones, but there’s also a lot of crud at the other end of the scale dragging the average down.
The worst episode of the season is a rare three-way tie between “Let He Who Is Without Sin,” a character study of a grumpy Klingon; “The Darkness and the Light,” an overblown bit of noir that kills off some of Kira’s more entertaining old resistance buddies; and “Empok Nor,” another bit of noir which forces the usually sparkling Andrew Robinson to play a duller, flatter version of Garak. All of these rate a 1 for having tedious plots (if any at all) and wringing the joy and life out of the performances. In fact, a pall of noir hangs over a lot of the lowest-rating episodes this season, suffused with angst, tension, and cynicism. “The Assignment” (2.5), “Things Past” (1.5), “A Simple Investigation” (2), and “Business as Usual” (1.5) all feel like the writers’ room was full of frustrated 40s detective pulp scribes.
On the other hand, there are some brilliant episodes this season, too. The best of the lot is “Trials and Tribble-ations,” coming in at 9 with a joyful celebration of both the spirit and the silliness of classic Star Trek. The loving recreation of the classic sets, costumes, and props, plus the ingenious ways our DS9 crew get to have their own adventure in the background of one of the great comedy episodes of the original, make this episode a delight to rewatch. The same spirit of fun animates “In the Cards” (8) and “Looking for Par’Mach in All the Wrong Places” (7), two episodes that part the gloom of war and politics for a moment to let the relationships between the characters flourish. And the season ender, “Call to Arms” (8.5) is a gripping action piece that throws all of our characters into unexpected situations for the start of the next season.
There may be a lot to skip this season, but there are definitely some episodes that are well worth going back to.
Image: Sisko and Dax blending in on the original Enterprise, from “Trials and Tribble-ations” via IMDb
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