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Algernon_Asimov's guide to 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'

I've compiled an episode guide for 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'. This shows major milestones and character development - hopefully without giving away too many spoilers.

If you want to know which episodes are essential to watch (and which to avoid!) in the early seasons of Deep Space Nine, this is the page for you!

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Season 1

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1 & 2	Emissary	Commander Sisko, a man still suffering the consequences of the Battle of Wolf 359, takes command of space station Deep Space Nine in orbit around Bajor, after the end of the Cardassian occupation. A wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant is discovered nearby.	All	Engage!
3	Past Prologue	First appearance of Garak. Cross-over appearance of Lursa & B’Etor.	Kira	meh
4	A Man Alone	Jake and Nog first meet. Keiko starts a school.	Odo Keiko Rom	meh
5	Babel	Gibberish virus.		Avoid
6	Captive Pursuit	First visitor from the Gamma Quadrant.	O’Brien	Just for fun
7	Q-Less	First and only appearance of Q.	Sisko Q Vash	Just for fun
8	Dax	Examination of Trill host/symbiont relationship.	Jadzia	meh
9	The Passenger	Mysterious dead/non-dead person.	Odo Bashir	Avoid
10	Move Along Home	First official delegation from Gamma Quadrant. Commonly regarded as one of the worst episodes of the series. (But I like it!)	Quark	Just for fun
11	The Nagus	First appearance of Grand Nagus Zek. Development of Jake/Nog friendship.	Zek Quark Jake Nog	Just for fun
12	Vortex	Odo character development. First mention of "changelings". First time Morn is mentioned by name.	Odo	meh
13	Battle Lines	The end of Kai Opaka's story.	Opaka	Engage!
14	The Storyteller	O'Brien the storyteller. Beginnings of O'Brien/Bashir friendship.	O'Brien	Avoid
15	Progress	Kira versus crusty old Bajoran farmer. Jake and Nog and self-sealing stem bolts.	Kira Jake Nog	Just for fun
16	If Wishes Were Horses	Dreams become real. Sisko gets his baseball.		Avoid
17	The Forsaken	First appearance of Lwaxana Troi. Nice character development of Odo.	Lwaxana Odo	Just for fun
18	Dramatis Personae	Psychic invaders take over the crew.		Avoid
19	Duet	Widely acknowledged as the best episode of 1st season DS9, and one of the best of the series. Kira and a Cardassian war criminal.	Kira	Engage!
20	In The Hands Of The Prophets	First appearance of Winn (huzzah!) and Bareil. Keiko's school in trouble with Bajoran religion.	Winn Kira	Engage!

Season 2

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1	The Homecoming	[Part 1 of 3] Bajoran war hero turns up.	Kira	Engage!
2	The Circle	[Part 2 of 3] Coup on Bajor.	Winn Bareil	Engage!
3	The Siege	[Part 3 of 3] Take-over of Deep Space Nine.		Engage!
4	Invasive Procedures	Threat to the Dax symbiont.	Jadzia	meh
5	Cardassians	Controversy about Cardassian war orphans on Bajor.	Garak Dukat	Engage!
6	Melora	Wheelchair-bound Starfleet Officer.	Bashir	Avoid
7	Rules of Acquisition	Grand Nagus Zek sends Quark to Gamma Quadrant. First mention of the Dominion.	Quark Zek	Just for fun
8	Necessary Evil	How Odo got started in law enforcement during Cardassian Occupation.	Odo Kira Dukat	Engage!
9	Second Sight	Sisko meets a mysterious woman.	Sisko	Avoid
10	Sanctuary	Refugees from Gamma Quadrant, fleeing the Dominion.	Kira	Engage!
11	Rivals	Quark has a business rival.		meh
12	The Alternate	Odo's mentor visits. Odo character development.	Odo	Engage!
13	Armageddon Game	Development of Bashir/O'Brien friendship.	O'Brien Bashir	Just for fun
14	Whispers	O'Brien gets worried about his colleagues' behaviour.	O'Brien	meh
15	Paradise	O'Brien and Sisko stuck in a pre-technological paradise.	Sisko O'Brien	meh
16	Shadowplay	Odo and Jadzia investigate disappearing people from a colony. Odo makes a friend. Jake tries apprenticing with O'Brien. Bareil/Kira sparks.	Odo Jadzia Jake	Just for fun
17	Playing God	Jadzia mentors a Trill initiate from the joining program.	Jadzia	meh
18	Profit and Loss	Quark's old flame is a Cardassian dissident. We learn something about Garak's background.	Quark Garak	meh
19	Blood Oath	Three old Klingons - Kor, Kang, and Koloth - invite Jadzia on a mission of revenge.	Jadzia	Just for fun
20	The Maquis, Part 1	Introduces the Maquis [for the purposes of setting up 'Voyager'].	Sisko Dukat	Engage!
21	The Maquis, Part 2	Sisko and Dukat work together against the Maquis. Sisko's famous "It's easy to be a saint in Paradise" speech.	Sisko Dukat	Engage!
22	The Wire	Garak is getting headaches - but nothing is ever simple with Garak.	Garak	Engage!
23	Crossover	1st "mirror universe" episode.	Mirror	Just for fun
24	The Collaborator	The election of the Bajoran Kai: Winn versus Bareil. Did Bareil collaborate with the Cardassians?	Bareil Winn Kira Odo	Engage!
25	Tribunal	O'Brien on trial in Cardassia for being a Maquis.	O'Brien Odo	Engage!
26	The Jem'Hadar	We meet the Dominion's soldiers: the Jem'Hadar.	Sisko	Engage!

Season 3

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1	The Search, Part 1	The Defiant arrives. A new security officer. The search for the Dominion's Founders. Odo searches for his people.	Odo Sisko	Engage!
2	The Search, Part 2	The Dominion makes approaches to the Alpha Quadrant. Odo meets the Changelings.	Odo Sisko	Engage!
3	The House of Quark	Quark kills a Klingon and gets involved in a Klingon feud.	Quark	Just for fun
4	Equilibrium	Jadzia learns about a new previous Dax host.	Jadzia	meh
5	Second Skin	Kira is really an undercover Cardassian operative and meets her father.	Kira	Engage!
6	The Abandoned	Quark finds a Jem'Hadar baby. Odo raises it (they grow fast!). Sisko meets Jake's girlfriend.	Odo Jake	Engage!
7	Civil Defense	An old anti-slave-uprising program is accidentally triggered on the station. Dukat comes to help and gloat.		Just for fun
8	Meridian	A planet shifts in and out of existence. Quark tries to capture Kira's image for a special hologram request.	Jadzia Kira	Avoid
9	Defiant	Commander Will Riker (from the Enterprise) comes to Deep Space Nine. Sisko and Dukat try to prevent a Maquis attack.	Riker Kira Sisko Dukat	Engage!
10	Fascination	Lwaxana returns to DS9. Everyone's in love with the wrong people at the Bajoran Gratitude Festival. More Odo development.	Lwaxana Odo	Avoid
11	Past Tense, Part 1	Sisko, Bashir, Jadzia find themselves on Earth in 2024, and get involved in the Bell riots.	Sisko	Engage!
12	Past Tense, Part 2	The timeline is broken and needs fixing.	Sisko	Engage!
13	Life Support	Bareil is dying, but is needed by Winn for peace negotiations with the Cardassians.	Bareil Winn Kira	Engage!
14	Heart of Stone	Odo and Kira trapped in a cave. Essential Odo character development. Nog wants to apply to Starfleet Academy.	Odo Nog	Engage!
15	Destiny	Emissary "trilogy" I: An old Bajoran prophecy predicts that three Cardassians and the Emissary will destroy the wormhole.	Sisko Kira	meh
16	Prophet Motive	Grand Nagus Zek has rewritten the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition.	Quark Rom Zek	Just for fun
17	Visionary	O'Brien gets flashes of the future while Romulans demand information about the Dominion.	O'Brien	meh
18	Distant Voices	Bashir finds himself on an abandoned Deep Space Nine, with Garak and the crew acting strangely.	Bashir	Avoid
19	Through the Looking Glass	2nd "mirror universe" episode.	Mirror	Just for fun
20	Improbable Cause	[Part 1 of 2] Garak's tailor shop gets blown up, and Odo investigates. As usual with Garak, there's more to things than meets the eye. We meet Enabran Tain.	Garak Odo	Engage!
21	The Die is Cast	[Part 2 of 2] The Cardassian Obsidian Order and the Romulan Tal Shiar are working together. Garak and Odo have some intense moments. The Battle of the Omarian Nebula changes things irrevocably.	Garak Odo	Engage!
22	Explorers	Sisko builds an old-style Bajoran lightship, and he and Jake enjoy some father-son time while flying it to Cardassia. Jake tells his father he's going to be a writer. First mention of Kasidy Yates.	Sisko Jake	Engage!
23	Family Business	Quark's mother is in trouble with the Ferengi Commerce Authority. First appearance of Brunt. Sisko finally meets Kasidy.	Quark Nog Brunt Sisko Kasidy	Just for fun
24	Shakaar	Election for the new First Minister of Bajor. Kira's old leader, Shakaar, runs against Winn. Kira/Shakaar.	Kira Shakaar Winn	Engage!
25	Facets	Jadzia performs the zhian'tara ritual, which allows her to meet Dax's previous hosts "in the flesh". Nog passes the Starfleet Academy tests.	Jadzia Odo Nog	Just for fun
26	The Adversary	Sisko is promoted to Captain. The Defiant is sabotaged. Changelings enter the Alpha Quadrant.	Sisko Odo	Engage!

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Serialized Deep Space 9 Episode Guide

- /u/Darth_Rasputin32898

Introduction

The goal of of this guide is to provide an episode order to watch Deep Space 9 (DS9) that will deliver maximum impact of the series' overall story arcs in a minimum of episodes. My personal motivation in this matter was to introduce someone I know to Star Trek, a person interested in Star Trek who overwhelmingly favors non-episodic story-telling (a fan of HBO's Game Of Thrones). As such, I decided DS9 would be most appropriate.

Put another way, the purpose of this guide is enable new viewers to quickly 'rush' through the DS9 series without losing the benefits of essential plotlines or character development. No prior Trek experience is required, though reference to the 'Background' section may be helpful initially. All you need is simply the patience to sit through about the first and/or second seasons, which are quite abbreviated in this guide (since they're more episodic and generally considered lower quality).

The total number of episodes by my count is 125.

About Spoilers

This is a non-spoiler guide. Spoilers for any given episode will not be used in the Key Points for that episode. Spoilers for episodes may be included in the Key Points for episodes after that episode. These details will be contained in the spoiler code. Here is an example:

SeasonXEpisodeY

So, if you'd seen episode Y of season X, you'd be able to view that spoiler.

Background

The year is 2369. Humans have, over the past three and a half centuries, have made contact with aliens and helped form an interstellar government, the United Federation of Planets (simply, Federation) that is at the time of DS9 one of the major powers of the known galaxy. It is a post-scarcity, democratic, idyllic society dedicated peaceful to contact with other species and other inter-species governments. Its 'navy,' so to speak, is Starfleet, a 'peacekeeping and humanitarian armada,' jointly operated by its members. It is an exploratory organization, and the main focus of all Star Trek.

Unfortunately, most other known interstellar governments are not as peaceable. The chief rivals of the Federation at present are the Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire, and the more recently encountered Cardassian Union. All of these are expansionist military powers, and all of them have been at war with the Federation at some point. (However, the Klingons are now allied with the Federation.)

Anything else important is quite clearly shown in episode 1.

Episode List

Right! On to the episodes at last!

Season 1

Episode	Title	Key Points
1&2	Emissary	This is the pilot of the series. It is often cut as a single feature-length episode, so don't panic if it's only shown as one. This episode does have spoilers for one of the best Star Trek: The Next Generation two-parters, but addressing those would far overcomplicate things.
3	Past Prologue	Introduction of Garak: a very important character. More development of Cardassian-Bajoran history.
4	A Man Alone	Keiko begins a school at DS9, and Odo deals with an odd murder case.
11	The Nagus	Background on the Ferengi and Quark. Introduction of Zek.
12	Vortex	Odo character development and background and more visitors from the Gamma Quadrant.
13	Battle Lines	One of the best early DS9 episodes. Changes up the dynamic in the Bajoran government for future seasons.
19	Duet	This is often considered the best episode of season 1. It's more development of Kira and the Occupation of Bajor.
20	In The Hands Of The Prophets	Tensions mount between traditionalist Bajorans and the Federation citizens on DS9 regarding Keiko's school. Important episode in the SE1EP13.

Season 2

Episode	Title	Key Points
1	The Homecoming	Bajoran extremism and history with the Cardassians. The first multi-part episode of DS9.
2	The Circle	A continuation of the story begun in Homecoming.
3	The Siege	A continuation of the story begun in Homecoming and continued in The Circle.
5	Cardassians	More Dukat development and Cardassian/Bajoran history. An excellent dilemma regarding orphaned Cardassians left on Bajor.
7	Rules of Acquisition	First mention of the 'Dominion.' Pay close attention to the Gamma Quadrant developments.
8	Necessary Evil	Odo and Dukat development and background; includes flashbacks to the Occupation.
10	Sanctuary	More visits from the Gamma Quadrant and mentions of the 'Dominion.'
12	The Alternate	Great Odo background and character development. Some more exploration of the Gamma Quadrant.
20&21	The Maquis	This is a two-part episode and is hugely important. It establishes a new political force and a new source of conflict between the Federation and the Cardassians.
22	The Wire	Garak gets a headache...
24	The Collaborator	It all comes down to this: SE1EP13.
25	Tribunal	One of the first 'O'Brien must suffer' episodes. Development of Cardassian culture and background.
26	The Jem'Hadar	The title is self-explanatory: the Jem'Hadar species is introduced. More about the Dominion is revealed.

Season 3

Episode	Title	Key Points
1&2	The Search	The DS9 crew gets a new toy, and a new officer, Michael Eddington. More development for Odo, the Founders, and the Dominion.
5	Second Skin	A really mindbending Kira episode. More Cardassian background and development.
6	The Abandoned	Extensive background on the Jem'Hadar, Founders and Dominion.
9	Defiant	Commander Will Riker (from the Enterprise in The Next Generation) pays DS9 a visit. The Maquis story progresses, and Federation-Cardassian politics become more tense.
13	Life Support	The winner of the election for Kai needs the runner-up's help in important negotiations with the Cardassians.
14	Heart of Stone	Odo, Kira, Founder, and Nog development.
20	Improbable Cause	Further advancement of the Alpha-Gamma Quadrant tensions.
21	The Die Is Cast	The second part to 'Improbable Cause.'
22	Explorers	This episode is more stand-alone then most, but introduces an important new character (Kasidy Yates), has more background on the Bajorans and Cardassians, and has more Sisko relationship development, like in the Visitor.
24	Shakaar	Shakaar is introduced. The election for First Minister of Bajor begins.
26	The Adversary	Sisko development, and advancement of Founder-Federation tensions.

Season 4

Episode	Title	Key Points
1&2	The Way of the Warrior	An old friend arrives on DS9 as the new Strategic Operations Officer. Tensions with the Klingons and the Founders escalate.
4	Hippocratic Oath	More development of the Jem'Hadar, O'Brien, and Bashir.
5	Indiscretion	Kira/Dukat development. Introduction of Tora Ziyal. Kasidy moves to DS9.
11	Homefront	Founders step up interference in the Alpha Quadrant. The crew goes to Earth. Brilliant 9/11 terror allegory, even though this episode is from 1996.
12	Paradise Lost	Continuation of Homefront.
13	Crossfire	Odo, Kira, and Shakaar development. Follows up on SE3EP24.
14	Return to Grace	Further development of Cardassian-Bajoran SE2EP24 and tensions with the Klingons.
15	Sons of Mogh	Except for a bizarre and off-putting decision by Bashir and Sisko, this is a very good Klingon-centered episode.
16	Bar Association	Rom takes a stand against Quark's exploitative business practices.
17	Accession	Development of Bajoran culture, the Emissary, and Miles O'Brien.
22	For the Cause	Is a member of the DS9 crew a Maquis? Garak/Ziyal development.
23	To the Death	Introduction of Weyoun. Jem'Hadar tensions escalate. Further development of the Jem'Hadar.
25	Body Parts	Quark, Kira, and O'Brien family development.
26	Broken Link	Odo and Founder development. Essential advancement of the Klingon plot.

Season 5

Episode	Title	Key Points
1	Apocalypse Rising	The DS9 crew's response to what they learned at the very end of Broken Link. Advancement of the Klingon plot and tensions with the Gamma Quadrant.
10	Rapture	Is Bajor ready to join the Federation?
12	The Begotten	Odo development and plot advancement.
13	For the Uniform	Further development of the Maquis.
14	In Purgatory's Shadow	Dominion tensions advance. Development of Garak.
15	By Inferno's Light	The continuation of In Purgatory's Shadow.
16	Doctor Bashir, I Presume?	As the title indicates, Bashir development. Very important Bashir development.
19	Ties of Blood and Water	Kira and Cardassian development.
21	Soldiers of the Empire	Worf, Martok, and Klingon development.
23	Blaze of Glory	Maquis and Dominion plot advancement.
24	Empok Nor	More of a standalone episode than most, this still sets up a plot device which becomes important later on. Cardassian development.
25	In The Cards	Advancement of Dominion tensions.
26	Call to Arms	Advancement of Dominion tensions.

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#Algernon_Asimov's guide to 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'

I've compiled an episode guides for 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. This shows major milestones and character development - hopefully without giving away too many spoilers.

Whether you want to track the development of Worf during Next Generation, or skip the Wesley-heavy episodes, this is the page for you!

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Season 1

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1 & 2	Encounter at Farpoint	Captain Picard takes command of the Enterprise-D. The new crew faces a dilemma at Farpoint Station, and an unknown adversary called "Q".	All	Engage!
3	The Naked Now	The Enterprise crew is infected with a virus which causes drunk-like symptoms. Data proves himself "fully functional" to Tasha.	All	meh
4	Code of Honor	The leader of the Ligonians wants Yar as a wife. A fight to the death ensues between Yar and the Ligonian's First Wife.	Yar	Avoid
5	The Last Outpost	The Enterprise deals with some Ferengi, and both get caught on a random planet. Introduction of the Ferengi.		meh
6	Where No One Has Gone Before	A Starfleet engineer arrives to upgrade the Enterprise's engines. We meet the Traveller. Picard appoints Wesley an Acting Ensign.	Wesley Traveller	Engage!
7	Lonely Among Us	An energy creature takes over various Enterprise crew.		Avoid
8	Justice	Paradise has thorns. Wesley is sentenced to death.		meh
9	The Battle	The Ferengi present Picard with the wreckage of his old ship, the USS Stargazer.	Picard	Engage!
10	Hide and Q	Q returns, and gives Riker the power of the Q.	Q Riker	Just for fun
11	Haven	Troi has to fulfil her duty - an arranged marriage. First appearance of Lwaxana Troi (Deanna's mother).	Troi Lwaxana	meh
12	The Big Goodbye	Picard plays detective Dixon Hill on the holodeck. Naturally, the holodeck malfunctions.	Picard	Just for fun
13	Datalore	The Enterprise crew find another android, identical to Data: his "brother", Lore. Some background on Data.	Data Lore	Engage!
14	Angel One	Riker has some sexy time in a female-dominated society.	Riker	Avoid
15	11001001	The crew has some downtime while the Bynars upgrade the Enterprise computer. Riker creates a fantasy woman on the holodeck: Minuet.	Riker	Just for fun
16	Too Short a Season	The Federaton negotiator, Admiral Jameson, seems to be getting younger...		Avoid
17	When the Bough Breaks	The Aldeans kidnap some children from the Enterprise during negotiations.	Wesley	meh
18	Home Soil	Terraformers discover unexpected life on a supposedly barren planet.		Just for fun
19	Coming of Age	Wesley sits the exams to enter Starfleet Academy, while an Admiral is investigating the Enterprise.	Wesley Picard	Engage!
20	Heart of Glory	Enterprise takes some Klingons on board. Lots of background on Worf.	Worf	Engage!
21	The Arsenal of Freedom	An automated weapons-selling demo. LaForge in command. Picard and Crusher have a moment.	LaForge Picard Crusher	Just for fun
22	Symbiosis	Two planets and their medicine trade tests the Prime Directive. Worst anti-drug speech EVER.	Picard Crusher	meh
23	Skin of Evil	Data learns about grief after a crew member dies on an away mission.	Data	meh
24	We'll Always Have Paris	Picard meets an old flame, while experiments with non-linear time go awry.		meh
25	Conspiracy	Picard investigates a conspiracy at the top levels of Starfleet.		Engage!
26	The Neutral Zone	The Enterprise is sent to investigate what is destroying outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone. Three humans from 20thC are unfrozen.		Engage!

Season 2

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1	The Child	Troi gets impregnated by an alien. Staff changes: Dr Crusher gone, Dr Pulaski arrives; Worf is Chief of Security; LaForge becomes Chief Engineer; Guinan runs Ten-Forward; Riker grows a beard. Data: "One is my name; the other is not." Uniform change: no collar stripes.	Troi	meh
2	Where Silence Has Lease	A curious energy entity toys with the Enterprise. Musings on death.		Just for fun
3	Elementary, Dear Data	LaForge challenges the holodeck to create an adversary to match Data's Sherlock Holmes. It does: Moriarty.	Data Moriarty	Engage!
4	The Outrageous Okona	A charming rogue inspires Data to investigate comedy.	Data	Just for fun
5	Loud As A Whisper	Troi is attracted to a deaf negotiator.	Troi	meh
6	The Schizoid Man	The man who mentored Dr Noonian Soong, Data's creator, tries to take over Data's body. This is the only time we see Doctor Selar.	Data	Engage!
7	Unnatural Selection	Pulaski catches an old-age disease from genetically engineered children. The Transporter Chief, who we've seen five times before, finally gets a name: O'Brien.	Pulaski	meh
8	A Matter of Honor	Riker serves aboard a Klingon ship.	Riker	Engage!
9	The Measure of a Man	A hearing to determine Data's personhood. Widely acknowledged as the best episode of the first two seasons of TNG, and one of the best of the series.	Data Picard	Engage!
10	The Dauphin	Wesley falls in love with a girl who's destined to rule a planet.	Wesley	Avoid
11	Contagion	Enterprise infected by a computer virus. Discover Iconian gateways. First mention of 'Earl Grey'.		Just for fun
12	The Royale	Crew discovers a real-life replica of a hotel from an old book.	Riker	Avoid
13	Time Squared	A duplicate Picard from six hours in the future arrives and "present" Picard must prevent the destruction of the Enterprise.	Picard	Engage!
14	The Icarus Factor	Riker is offered a promotion. His estranged father visits. Worf celebrates anniversary of his Rite of Ascension.	Riker Worf	Just for fun.
15	Pen Pals	Data corresponds with a young girl from a doomed planet. Prime Directive.	Data	Engage!
16	Q Who	Q transports Enterprise to meet... the Borg!	Picard Guinan Q	Engage!
17	Samaritan Snare	Picard and Wesley bond while on a shuttle together. Enterprise and Pakleds.	Picard Wesley	Just for fun
18	Up The Long Ladder	~~Irish~~ Bringloidi refugees help a colony of clones.		Avoid
19	Manhunt	Lwaxana has a hyperactive sex-drive, and is looking for a man. Picard hides in the Dixon Hill holodeck program.	Lwaxana	Just for fun
20	The Emissary	Worf meets an old flame, K'Ehleyr, and old feelings re-ignite.	Worf	Engage!
21	Peak Performance	Picard versus Riker in war games. Data out-competes someone in a table-top game: "I 'busted him up'!"	Data Riker	Just for fun
22	Shades of Grey	Worst! Episode! Ever! Due to a writers' strike: a clip show.	Riker	AVOID!

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Algernon_Asimov's guide to The Animated Series

Star Trek: The Animated Series (previously 'The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek') is the unloved and rejected stepchild of Star Trek series. For decades, it wasn't even considered canon. However, after CBS' acquisition of the rights to TAS in 2006, they incorporated all of its episodes and elements into their canon articles on StarTrek.com, thus making it officially canon. (Although, this might simply have been due to the fact that they released the DVD box set of the series that year, and wanted to encourage people to buy it...)

Yes, it's cheesy. Yes, it was made for children's television. But, it was produced by Gene Roddenberry and Dorothy (D.C.) Fontana, two of the main creative talents behind the original series. It was voiced by (most of) the actors from the original series. Many of the writers had also written episodes for the original series. And, some of its episodes are better than some episodes from the original series. For all its faults, it's still Star Trek. It deserves our attention, as much as any of the other series.

Beyond The Farthest Star (1x01)

Production number: 22004

Summary: "Kirk's crew come across an ancient derelict vessel, but something is still living inside it."

Rating: Engage!

Points of interest:

This first episode of the new series was written by Samuel A Peeples, who also the (second) pilot of the original series, 'Where No Man Has Gone Before'.

The crew have personal lifebelts which are humanoid-shaped forcefields (instead of using spacesuits). This series is the only series that uses these lifebelts: they are never referred to in any Star Trek series - but they'd be handy devices. Imagine the fight scene on the deflector dish in 'First Contact' if Picard and Worf weren't wearing spacesuits!

The Enterprise is out "beyond the fringe of the galaxy", "mission: star charting".

The science is not strong in this episode: we have a star with negative mass, which attracts the Enterprise more strongly, whereas negative mass should actually repel other mass; there's a reference to a civilisation which existed three hundred millions years ago, "before life existed on Earth", when life has has existed on Earth for billions of years (maybe Kirk meant before Human life...?).

However, it takes good advantage of the new medium of animation: there's an alien ship unlike any we've seen before (and unlike most we've seen since); there's a three-armed crewman of a new species at the navigation console on the bridge.

Yesteryear (1x02)

Production number: 22003

Summary: "Spock travels back in time to prevent his own demise during his youth on Vulcan."

Rating: Engage!

Points of interest:

This episode was written by Dorothy (D.C.) Fontana, who was story editor during the first two seasons of the original series. She wrote a few classic episodes, including 'Journey to Babel', which 'Yesteryear' builds on.

This episode contains a number of firsts:

• It's the first time we see the planet of Vulcan (what we saw in 'Amok Time' was just one ceremonial arena).
• It's the first time we see that great big round non-moon object in Vulcan's sky. (It seems that both Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana wrote "NO MOON!" on the preliminary sketches they were shown... and were ignored.)
• It's the first time we see a sehlat.
• And... more importantly, it's the first time that anyone acknowledges that Vulcans do actually have emotions. Until this time, it's been assumed or implied, at best.

It's interesting to note that Spock, despite the stereotype that Vulcans can't lie, does actively lie about his identity in the past: he tells his father that's he's a cousin, and his name is Selek.

It's a great episode, and essential viewing for any Star Trek fan.

A weekly episode discussion about this episode in /r/StarTrek.

One of Our Planets is Missing (1x03)

Production number: 22007

Summary: "The Enterprise crew learns that a massive, planet-destroying cloud has entered Federation space."

Rating: Just for fun

Points of interest:

This was actually the first animated episode produced; the standard episode order is based on the order the episodes aired.

This is the first time that Lieutenant Arex speaks - he's the three-armed, three-legged Edosian who sits at Navigation in Chekov's place.

The Enterprise gets swallowed by the planet-eating cloud, and Captain Kirk has to decide whether to kill a possibly intelligent being to save a planet of over eighty million people.

A weekly episode discussion about this episode in /r/StarTrek.

The Lorelei Signal (1x04)

Production number: 22006

Summary: "The Enterprise is drawn to a planet populated solely by women who dominate the male crew members's minds to the point where Uhura must assume command to rescue them."

Rating: Just for fun

Points of interest:

Lieutenant Uhura takes command of the Enterprise for the only time in any series or movie.

Nichelle Nichols voices the Enterprise's computer - probably to prevent Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel talking to herself as the computer! In fact, because of the high number of female characters, both Nichols and Barrett do a lot of work in this episode (there were no guest stars).

Captain Kirk says "Beam us up, Scotty" in this episode - which is the closest he ever comes to saying the classic phrase "Beam me up, Scotty." (He does say "Beam me up" and "Scotty, beam me up" at other times.)

The writer of this episode, Margaret Armen, also wrote three episodes in the original series, and another animated episode.

More Tribbles, More Troubles (1x05)

Production number: 22001

Summary: "While escorting a shipment of grain to Sherman's Planet, the Enterprise encounters three "old friends:" Koloth, Cyrano Jones - and tribbles!"

Rating: Just for fun

Points of interest:

This was written by the same writer who wrote the original tribbles episode: David Gerrold. Gerrold managed to get himself drawn in as a cameo appearance (he's the unknown Ensign in the transporter room).

Also returning was the actor who played Cyrano Jones (although Koloth was played by James Doohan).

It's a light bit of fun, but it's good fun.

It also has one of my favourite lines of the series, from Scotty to Kirk: "But we've got tribbles on the ship, quintotriticale in the corridors, Klingons in the quadrant... it can ruin your whole day, sir!"

The Survivor (1x06)

Production number: 22005

Summary: "The Enterprise encounters the ship of a noted Federation philanthropist, missing for nearly five years, near the Romulan Neutral Zone."

Rating: meh

Points of interest:

This is the first appearance of Communications Officer Lieutenant M'Ress, a female Caitian (she's a feline humanoid). She is voiced by Majel Barrett.

And, while Uhura doesn't say or do anything in this episode (her function is filled by M'Ress), Nichelle Nichols voices the guest female role of Security Officer Lieutenant Anne Nored. Quite confusing!

I was a little disappointed that they used the Klingon Birds-of-Prey for the Romulans rather than the Romulans' own Warbirds.

The Infinite Vulcan (1x07)

Production number: 22002

Summary: "A species of intelligent plants, led by a clone of a Eugenics Wars-era scientist, clones Spock with the intentions of creating a master race to keep the peace."

Rating: Engage!

Points of interest:

This is the only Star Trek episode ever written by a main cast member: Walter Koenig. Even though Keonig wasn't included as one of the voice actors in this series due to budget constraints, he was still asked to contribute a script (Gene Roddenberry had seen another screenplay that Koenig was working on, and was impressed). Keonig auditioned to voice the guest character role, but was rejected (this character, like many many other guests characters in the series, was voiced by James Doohan). Koenig still managed to write himself into the show in a subtle way: the plant that Sulu discovers is called a "retlaw", which is "Walter" spelled backwards.

Captain Kirk says "Beam us up, Scotty" again in this episode: the second and last time he says this phrase. (See also 'The Loelei Signal'.)

We meet another refugee from the Eugenics Wars - one of the genetic scientists.

This episode includes only the second reference to the Vulcan IDIC.

And... we see Spock do a "Vulcan mind-touch" with himself!

This unit has been assigned to recover valuable content submitted by organic units to the reddit.com/r/DaystromInstitute wiki. This unit does not claim authorship over the contents of this post.

Kraetos' guide to Star Trek

You know. 1966? 79 episodes, about 30 good ones.

- Phillip J. Fry

Ah, The Original Series. Where it all started. The show was tragically cancelled after three seasons, but on the other hand, it's easy to see why: the show missed more than it hit.

This guide has two sections:

• Complete guide. This is a list of all the episodes, sorted by production order with a quick description and it's rating, on a simple four tier scale: Engage, Just for Fun, meh, and Avoid.
• "30 good ones." If we take Fry's comment as gospel, which thirty episodes comprise the "good ones?"

Complete Guide

Season 1

Episode	Title	Description	Rating
00	The Cage	Aborted pilot, didn't air until 1988. No Kirk—instead, it's Captain Pike. Rejected for being "too cerebral."	Just for fun
01	Where No One Has Gone Before	Pilot, but didn't air until after the next two. The Enterprise leaves the galaxy and some crew members exhibit extraordinary powers.	Engage!
02	The Corbomite Maneuver	Kirk attempts to bluff his way out of a scrape with a much meaner alien ship.	Engage!
03	Mudd's Women	The Enterprise encounters freighter captain Harry Mudd, who travels with three beautiful women.	meh
04	The Enemy Within	A transporter accident splits Kirk into two halves—a "good" one, and an "evil" one.	Engage!
05	The Man Trap	Something is not as it seems when the Enterprise runs into one of McCoy's old romanic interests.	Just for fun
06	The Naked Time	The Enterprise crew becomes infected by a virus that has a similar effect as alcohol.	Engage!
07	Charlie X	A human boy raised by aliens has supernatural powers—can he adapt to Federation culture?	meh
08	Balance of Terror	A Romulan warbird strikes against Federation border outposts. Kirk must defeat the Romulan commander.	Engage!!
09	What Are Little Girls Made Of?	The Enterprise encounters Dr. Roger Korby, leading medical archaeologist, and Nurse Chapel's once fiancée.	meh
10	Dagger of the Mind	The Enterprise inadvertently picks up a stowaway from a penal colony.	meh
11	Miri	The Enterprise investigates a planet where virus kills everyone once they reach puberty.	meh
12	The Conscience of the King	A mass murderer may be loose on board the Enterprise.	meh
13	The Galileo Seven	McCoy, Scott, Spock and four other crewmen crash land on a planet, and not everyone gets along with Mr. Spock.	Engage!
14	Court Martial	When an officer (and friend) under Kirk's command dies in an ion storm, Kirk is accused of foul play.	Just for fun
15	The Menagerie (Part I)	Spock kidnaps his former captain, Pike, and takes the Enterprise to forbidden planet Talos IV for reasons unknown.	Engage!
16	The Menagerie (Part II)	Kirk discovers why Spock has stolen the Enterprise.	Engage!
17	Shore Leave	Kirk orders shore leave for the Enterprise crew, but the planet they've selected seems to be fulfilling everyone's fantasies.	Just for fun
18	The Squire of Gothos	The Enterprise is captured by Trelane, a seemingly omnipotent being.	Just for fun
19	Arena	The Metrons, an advanced alien species, pit Captain Kirk against a Gorn captain in personal combat.	Engage!
20	The Alternative Factor	The Enterprise is sent to investigate a mad scientist after a galaxy-wide spatial disruption.	Avoid
21	Tomorrow is Yesterday	The Enterprise accidentally travels back to the 20th century where they destroy a US Air Force aircraft and rescue the pilot, creating a time paradox as the pilot gains foreknowledge of events to come.	Engage!
22	Return of the Archons	The Enterprise visits a planet where an Earth ship was last seen before reported missing, 200 years ago.	meh
23	A Taste of Armageddon	The Enterprise discovers two civilizations fighting a computerized war—but the casualties are real.	Just for fun
24	Space Seed	The Enterprise rescues the SS Botany Bay without realizing the war criminal and genetic "superman" Khan is aboard.	Engage!
25	This Side of Paradise	The Enterprise investigates a colony where everyone should be dead from radiation exposure, only to discover the colonists are alive.	Just for Fun
26	The Devil in the Dark	The Enterprise crew must find a creature that has killed more than 50 workers at a vital Federation mining colony.	Engage!
27	Errand of Mercy	War breaks out between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, and Kirk is sent to fight the first battle over a planet called Organia.	Engage!
28	The City on the Edge of Forever	Dr. McCoy changes history in a manner which prevents the Federation from even existing. Kirk and Spock must follow him back and stop him.	Engage!
29	Operation: Annihilate!	Colonists on a distant planet are taken over by neural parasites.	Just for fun

Season 2

Episode	Title	Description	Rating
01	Catspaw	Kirk and co. beam down to a Halloween themed planet.	Avoid
02	Metamorphosis	The Enterprise finds Zefram Cochrane, inventor of warp drive, on a distant planet, even though he's been believed dead for 150 years.	Just for fun
03	Friday's Child	Kirk attempts to negotiate mining rights with a primitive, honor-bound civilization.	Just for fun
04	Who Mourns for Adonais?	The Enterprise encounters an entity which claims to be the Greek god Apollo.	meh
05	Amok Time	Spock undergoes Pon Farr and must return to Vulcan to mate or he will die.	Engage!
06	The Doomsday Machine	The Enterprise encounters a planet killer and must stop it before it strikes again.	Engage!
07	Wolf in the Fold	Scotty is accused of murder during shore leave.	Just for fun
08	The Changeling	The Enterprise encounters Nomad, a human-built probe which has been altered to have one mission: the sterilization of all life.	Engage!
09	The Apple	A landing party explores a beautiful planet with primitive natives, before the planet begin killing redshirts.	Avoid
10	Mirror, Mirror	A transporter accident sends Kirk, Scotty, McCoy and Uhura to the "mirror universe," where good and evil seem to be inverted.	Engage!
11	The Deadly Years	The Enterprise crew becomes infected with a rapid-aging virus.	Just for fun
12	I, Mudd	The Enterprise bumps into Harry Mudd once again after a new crewman hijacks the ship.	meh
13	The Trouble with Tribbles	The Enterprise responds to a distress call from Space Station K7 when Klingons arrive at the station.	Engage!
14	Bread and Circuses	The Enterprise discovers a parallel Earth where Rome never fell.	Just for fun
15	Journey to Babel	The Enterprise transports Federation ambassadors to a conference on Babel. One of the Ambassadors is Sarek, Spock's father.	Engage!
16	A Private Little War	Kirk suspects that a primitive culture may have been armed by the Klingons.	Just for fun
17	The Gamesters of Triskelion	Kirk, Uhura and Chekov are kidnapped while preparing to beam down to Gamma 2. Spock must determine where the landing party has gone.	Avoid
18	Obsession	A cloud creature kills a number of redshirts on an away mission—but Kirk has encountered this creature before, and is determined to kill it.	Just for fun
19	The Immunity Syndrome	The Enterprise investigates the loss of the Federation starship Intrepid.	Just for fun
20	A Piece of the Action	The Enterprise encounters a planet where the culture is based entirely on 1920's mobsters.	Just for fun
21	By Any Other Name	While investigating a distress call, the Enterprise discover survivors who need the Enterprise to get home.	Just for fun
22	Return to Tomorrow	The Enterprise receives a distress call from a distant planet.	Just for fun
23	Patterns of Force	In search of Federation historian John Gill, the Enterprise discovers a planet modeled after Nazi Germany.	Just for fun
24	The Ultimate Computer	Kirk is ordered to test M-5, an advanced computer which can command a starship.	Engage!
25	The Omega Glory	A Federation captain breaks the Prime Directive and arms a primitive civilization.	Avoid
26	Assignment: Earth	The Enterprise travels back in time to 1968 and encounters secret agent Gary Seven.	Just for fun

Recently a user on Mastodon had a thought about Lt. Ortegas. She is clearly part of the Engineering/Operations division, which is abnormal given the triad of gold that normally sat on the bridge during Kirk's five year mission.

So I began to dig. José Tyler wore Command gold with an engineering insignia. Detmer wears bronze on the Discovery, which continued into the 32nd century. Gary Mitchell wore the darker operations color with a Sciences insignia. I think this suggests Helm can be a multidisciplinary position, though it is typically staffed by a young Command officer. The Command division tends to be more administrative or dedicated to control functions, but we also have Vice Admiral Toddman who wore Security yellow and Earth Starfleet's Maxwell Forrest who also did not wear Command colors.

Continuing forward the exceptions to the rule become less frequent. Lt. Leslie manned the helm as an Operations officer several times under Kirk and Demora Sulu wore Operations gold as the Enterprise-B's helm officer.

I have not dug terribly further, but outside of the 23rd century, the only notable helm officer not wearing command colors is Hector Illario.

Are there any other notable helm officers who don't wear Command colors?

To answer that question, let's talk about Starfleet's expectations for a new class of heavy cruiser/explorer. The Constitution class was in service for at least 50 years. NCC-1701 was commissioned in 2245, but it wasn't the first Constitution class ship. So lets say that the first one was launched in 2243. They were in service until at least 2293, but probably even later than that. It also had three significant refits over the course of it's 50-year service life.

The Excelsior was commissioned in 2290 after the great experiment failed. By 2293 it was Starfleet's pride and joy, and the first Federation ship named Enterprise that wasn't a Constitution class was an Excelsior. The basic Excelsior frame is apparently extremely durable and versatile, since Starfleet began producing them en masse.

It was Starfleet's biggest, meanest ship for about 20-30 years, from the 2290s until the 2320s. This mirrors the Constitution's service life as well. When Starfleet designs a new front-line heavy cruiser/heavy explorer, they apparently expect it to serve for at least three decades in that capacity, and then at least another two as an auxiliary cruiser/explorer.

The Ambassador was clearly slated to replace the Excelsior as the pride of the fleet. But for whatever reason, the Ambassador didn't have as privileged a run as the Excelsior.

Why?

Politics.

In the early-mid 24th century, the Federation didn't have many enemies. It was a time of relative peace. The Romulans had withdrawn behind their own borders, the Klingons were still recovering from Praxis, the Ferengi were unknown and the Cardassians were upstarts. They didn't really need another big mean ship like they needed the Excelsior in the 2280's, at the height of the Federation-Klingon Cold War.

Furthermore, because the Federation is in such a strong position relative to the other galactic powers, Starfleet has returned to it's original mandate: exploration and humanitarian operations.

Think about it from the perspective of the admiralty. The year is 2340 and you're the admiral with ultimate authority over the construction orders at all of Starfleet's various shipyards. The situation is as follows:

• The Rear and Vice admirals commanding fleets out of frontier Starbases tell you they need more ships to support the expanding Federation border.
• The Romulans are quiet.
• Peace negotiations with the Klingons are proceeding smoothly, especially since Capt. Garrett gave her life, ship and crew to defend a Klingon outpost.
• First contact with a race called the Cardassians has occurred recently. They have some bad blood with the Klingons due to a dispute over a dilithium-rich planet in the Betreka nebula, and the Klingons are our allies now, and they might require our assistance. However, all intelligence on the Cardassians indicates that they are several decades behind Starfleet in terms of technology and they don't appear to be catching up to the Federation's tech level.

So, Admiral, Utopia Planitia wants to know: what are we building for the next few years?

• Build more Ambassador class ships. The Ambassador class design is about 15 years old now, tried and true. Ambassador class ships are expensive, both in terms of time and material. However, they easily outclass the known Cardassian counterparts of the time. On the one hand, building more of them would be a potent show of force, but on the other hand, we need a larger fleet more than we need tougher ships.

Or,

• Build more Excelsior class ships. The Excelsior space frame is aging at this point, over 50 years old. But the Excelsior class is one of the most successful ship classes the Federation has ever built. They are durable and easily refittable, and they have enough internal space to be fitted for a wide variety of missions. In fact, the Excelsior herself is still in service at this time, 50 years after her commissioning. Unlike the Ambassador class they are no more powerful than Cardassian counterparts, but we have perfected the manufacturing process at this point and we can build a lot of them cheaply and quickly, and we need lots of reliable, speedy ships to support our growing network of colonies.

The choice is pretty obvious. The Ambassador class, despite being a better ship by just about every measurable metric, gets sidelined. Meanwhile, Excelsior production accelerates because the Federation needs more ships. This is why, by 2365, there appear to be more Excelsiors in service than Ambassadors, despite the fact that the design is 80 years old.

No worries, we'll figure out how this works someday.