#ds9 past tense part 2

[filmjunky-99]

s t a r t r e k d e e p s p a c e n i n e created by rick berman, michael piller Past Tense, Part II [s3ep12]

[trek-tracks]

Happy Bell Riots Day.

To celebrate, please do something good for the universe, however small.

"You know, Commander, having seen a little of the 21st century, there is one thing I don't understand: how could they have let things get so bad?" "That's a good question. I wish I had an answer."

[stopthatbluecat]

The Search Part 2 3x02 - Past Tense Part 1 3x11 Siskoshir "Bodies"

[demilypyro]

You're a DS9 fan? Name every Deep Space.

(fr tho, what's your favorite episode/plotline?)

DEEP SPACE TWO, DEEP SPACE THREE, DEEP SPACE FOUR, DEEP SPACE FIVE, DEEP SPACE SEVEN, DEEP SPACE NINE, DEEP SPACE ELEVEN, DEEP SPACE TWELVE, DEEP SPACE TWENTY THREE, DEEP SPACE TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THREE

MY FAVORITE EPISODES ARE IN THE PALE MOONLIGHT, PAST TENSE PARTS 1 AND 2, AND THE WIRE

[trekkie-polls]

For fun, here are examples photos! Except transporter psychosis because they never actually show it. It’s just like in-world urban legend.

1. Transporter doubling - technically the same but one ineffably evil (shown: LD, kayshon, his eyes open)

2. Transporter doubling - one evil one good (shown: TOS, the enemy within)

3. Transporter splicing (shown: voy, Tuvix)

4. Stuck phasing (shown: LD, "Much Ado About Boimler")

5. Reverse aging (shown: tng, rascals)

6. Pattern lost (shown: first star trek movie)

7. Time travel (shown: ds9, past tense part 2)

8. Mirror universe (shown: tos, mirror mirror)

9. Incorrect coordinates (shown: tas, bem)

10. Bodies sent to holodeck, brains sent to station computer (shown: ds9, our man bashir)

[nicklloydnow]

“Back in the 21st century, however, not everything was rosy. Indeed, the two-part "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode "Past Tense" (January 2 and 9, 1995) threw its main characters back in time — via a transporter accident — to the year 2024 when everything seemed to be at its worst. Earth in 2024 was overrun with poverty, and Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) had to explain to Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig) that housing insecurity had reached epidemic proportions. Indeed, the population of unemployed and unhoused people in major cities had reached such high levels, that the American government had built special "Sanctuary Districts" where the unhoused were rounded up and imprisoned in a ghetto.

The mentally ill weren't treated, and the hungry were fed with a malfunctioning rationing system. It wouldn't be until an activist named Gabriel Bell rose up in protest and led a riot against the police that conditions would change. The Bell Riots were said to be a significant part of Trek's history.

Given the recent news that Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order to sweep the state of unhoused encampments, "Past Tense" — set in 2024 — is beginning to feel weirdly prescient.

Housing insecurity and homelessness, it should be said, is a serious problem in California. Rents are high, and there is little effort made to provide low-cost housing or shelters for the state's many unhoused citizens. At last count, there were over 181,000 unhoused people in the state, 28% of the entire country's unhoused population. Many people live in tents, often set up under freeways or other sheltered areas, and form miniature encampments. There is little sanitation in such encampments, and the quality of life isn't great. Every so often, the police department is called in to sweep these encampments off the streets, forcing the people to move on to another neighborhood. However, they are not taken to shelters but merely told to go elsewhere. They then set up camps under another freeway and the cycle continues.

On July 25, Gavin Newsom signed an order that would only exacerbate the problem, an order stemming from a Supreme Court Decision that allowed states to ban public sleeping at their own discretion. While Newsom has pledged billions of dollars to build shelters, the measure to "sweep the streets" of encampments has been called a wonton and unhelpful measure by critics.

It's a strange coincidence that "Star Trek" should have written a story, back in 1995, about how 2024 will be the year the housing insecurity problem in the United States will boil over. Gavin Newsom has essentially signed a measure that opens the door for the cruel "Sanctuary Districts" seen in "Deep Space Nine." If Newsome is a "DS9" fan, he seems to have taken the wrong lessons from "Past Tense."

(…)

On the DVD commentary track for "Past Tense," the episode's writers — Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Ira Steven Behr, and René Echevarria — said they were inspired by a previous mayor's actions. The Republican Richard Riordan (who was mayor of Los Angeles from 1993 to 2001) suggested in the early 1990s that the city build what he called "havens" for the city's homeless, essentially herding them into tent cities. Riordan said he wanted to keep the streets clear because it was good for local businesses, but he never suggested how these fenced-off "havens" were meant to be run, or how the homeless insides of them were to be helped.

The writers of "Deep Space Nine" were trying to invent a fictional, near-future scenario where the world was too far gone to save. Outside their windows, politicians were merely suggesting it in real life.

While Newsom's new measure doesn't spell out the same kind of "havens" that Riordan suggested, it is uncanny that the new homelessness measures should come tumbling down the pipeline in 2024, when "Past Tense" takes place. We'll have to wait to see if Gabriel Bell is also real. It's starting to feel like it.“

[pine-farr]

Into my DS9 re-watch and have to say Past Tense parts 1 and 2 are incredible. Star Trek at its absolute best.

[deathpowerphantomjester5110]

one of my favorite moments in ds9 is in past tense part 2 when kira and obrien are cycling through different time periods in san francisco to try and find julian and sisko, and they arrive at whats clearly the late 60s and two hippies (in cheesy high school theatre-level costumes) walk up to them, they all stare at each other, then the hippies make peace signs and kira and obrien, unsure of what to do, slowly make peace signs back until they dematerialize in the transporter beam. then the hippies just nod and walk away

[filmjunky-99]

s t a r t r e k d e e p s p a c e n i n e created by rick berman, michael piller [past tense, part II, s3ep12] 'Peace ✌️'

[staringdownabarrel]

I've seen a couple of posts where people are getting caught up on the time travel aspects of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow because they aren't really sure how it's meant to work. This is an aspect of Picard's second season that people got caught up on as well, so I want to go over how time travel works in Star Trek.

I think the part people are getting caught up on is that time travel in Star Trek is largely based on two rules, but neither of them are explicitly stated in canon. They've both largely gone unstated.

Rule 1: Time travel doesn't make a difference unless it causes a difference

What this means is that just the act of going back in time isn't enough to cause huge changes in the timeline. This isn't the kind of franchise where you can go back in time and move a leaf and suddenly cause all of history to drastically change. It's only if you actively go out of your way to change things--e.g., killing one historical figure or saving another--that it makes a difference.

This is the reason why in The Voyage Home, when Kirk and co. go back and save the whales, they're not presented with this drastically changed Federation when they get back to the 23rd century. Bringing two whales and a marine biologist to the future isn't enough to cause drastic changes to the timeline. It's not enough of a difference to make a difference, essentially.

It's also why Sisko was able to take the place of Gabriel Bell in DS9's Past Tense two-parter without it causing issues down the line. While Bell not being there and doing what he did cause a ripple effect, as long as someone was there to fill that role, things would all go according to plan. Sisko playing the part of Gabriel Bell during the Bell riots kept his timeline intact because while it was a difference, it also wasn't enough of a difference to make a difference.

The third example of time travel by itself not causing a difference is something like TNG's Time's Arrow two-parter, where just the TNG crew going back to the nineteenth century isn't enough to cause ripples down the line. It just means they're there.

Rule 2: When it does make a difference, it overwrites everything that happens afterwards

The best example of this rule in practice is Voyager's Year of Hell two-parter. Annorax's temporal weapon ship is built to be able to cause changes in the timeline that ripple out and change everything afterwards. He's also obsessed with restoring the timeline to what he considers its proper course, and that's an ongoing thing during the story.

There's other examples of this rule in practice, too. The other obvious example of this is TOS's The City on the Edge of Forever, where if Edith Keeler survives, the Nazis win World War II and cause the Federation to never exist. In DS9's Past Tense, if the Bell riots don't happen, the Federation never exists. In VOY's Endgame, Admiral Janeway going back in time causes Voyager to be able to get back to the Alpha Quadrant years earlier than it had in her timeline.

This doesn't mean that the timeline splits off and causes a new universe to form. It means that everything that happens after the significant change in the timeline, everything after that change is different.

This is why Guinan didn't remember Picard during the 21st century scenes in Picard's second season. Because the timeline had been changed so that the Federation didn't exist, it'd also been changed so that he probably hadn't been to the nineteenth century in this version of the timeline. There wasn't an evil Federation version of Time's Arrow in this timeline essentially, so there was no reason for Guinan to have met Picard because from her perspective, they hadn't.

This is also one of the reasons why the 2009 movie tends to be such a contentious thing in some circles. Its presentation of time travel causing a change in the timeline so bad that it causes it split off and create a new universe isn't really in line with how time travel has traditionally been presented in the franchise. The flow on effect of this is while the writing team for the Kelvinverse films are pretty adamant that Enterprise as shown is canon to both the Prime universe and the Kelvinverse, there are fans who don't really buy into that idea.

Keep in mind that during First Contact, when the Enterprise-E is chasing the Borg sphere through the temporal vortex, nobody's saying, "Oh, we're in a new universe now." What they do say is that the Borg assimilating the Earth in the past is a major difference and therefore needs to be prevented.

That's in direct contrast to an episode like TNG's Parallels, where when Worf goes to each new universe, they're able to run some tests on him and find he's not meant to be in that universe. Stuff like that wouldn't work if there wasn't a difference between going to a different universe and traveling in time.

So the opening scene of the 2009 movie, where the Narada came in and destroyed the Kelvin, is really better explained by one of two options. One is that this was a different kind of time travel that hasn't been expanded upon since or even replicated in canon that caused the new timeline to split into a new universe, or the Kelvinverse was always a separate universe. Either would be fine, in my opinion.

How this is all relevant to Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is that this episode is another example of how a change in the past was enough of a difference to make a difference. While there is room for debate on where the line is for what constitutes enough of a difference, this episode clearly framed this set of changes as enough. This is a pretty straight example of how time travel is supposed to work in Star Trek.

[youngpettyqueen]

just finished Bloodletter! thoughts under the cut

tl;dr: SUCH A GOOD FUCKING BOOK easily one of my top favs of the DS9 books ive read so far

this book was a fucking RIIIIIIIDE and I loved it so much. some absolutely INSANE scenes, and such fantastic character exploration. just, holy shit, what a good book. I had a hard time putting it down. this was supposed to be my book for work but I couldnt stop myself from reading it at home as well. it was gripping, it was fun, it was beautifully written, it was everything I could've wanted

first of all, incredible Kira story. so brutal and so real, focuses so much on the heart of her character, her history with the resistance and how shes still so haunted and traumatized. this is early s1 Kira, still very hotheaded and clashing with Sisko, really feeling torn between two worlds and struggling to do right by Bajor. her story with the Redemptorists was INCREDIBLE. K. W. Jeter doesnt shy away from Kira's bloody past, and does so without condemning her, and god if you somehow managed to watch literally anything with Kira and NOT feel for her, this book will make you feel for her. Jeter has a fantastic grasp of Kira as a character and explores her beautifully, giving her this tense, gripping story that showcases all parts of her, viciousness and vulnerability holding hands and making for a wonderfully layered and complex story

I LOVED the villain of this novel. Hören was delicious to read, he was written super well, and im particularly a fan of the spirituality that permeates everything with him from the way he speaks, thinks, and even to the way he's described. he's terrifying in how realistic he is as a villain- a sadistic, fanatic man with followers in his echo chamber, mercilessly hunting and tormenting Kira. the sequences in this novel that were onboard the substation, with Kira having to hide from him and figure out how to defend herself while shes completely alone and he has the advantage, were genuinely nerve-racking. he's a very easy villain to hate, just so genuinely fucked up. I would've loved to actually see him on the screen, he would've made for a fantastic recurring villain in the early seasons, or even if just this novel had been a 2 part episode

the Sisko POVs of this novel were fascinating. again, this novel is set in early s1, so this is Sisko very early on, still trying to figure all this shit out. he's struggling with the Bajoran side of everything, struggling to find his place, and all the while he's butting heads with Kira and wrestling with the Cardassian government and his own morality as he finds himself stooping to their level in order to try to succeed for the sake of DS9 and the Federation and Bajor. Sisko really cant catch a break ever, especially not here, where he has to juggle officers determined to rebel against him, Cardassians breathing down his neck and lying to him, and Bajor relying on him while the Federation looms over his shoulder. its all just such fascinating insight into this character who has so much on his shoulders right from the get go, and who has to constantly try to make the best decisions in impossible situations

Julian's part in this novel is WILD. first of all- Julian and Kira besties agenda. I fucking LOVE that they genuinely dont like each other, it lines up really well with how they were in early s1. Kira cant stand Julian, and he doesnt particularly care for her, and theyre going on this mission together and they both nearly get killed and in the end they come to a sort of understanding. but what really got me with Julian was his sequence where he's trapped in the wormhole and actually communicates with the Prophets?? that was INSANE. god, its so fucking wild to think of Julian talking with the Prophets. these books are beta canon, I know, but the implications of Julian being one of the VERY few people who gets to talk to them... fascinating. and we get to see an early glimpse of just what Julian is willing to risk in order to save people- he gets himself sent to the literal death of the universe because thats the only way he can get to Kira without harming the Prophets. I love that the last scene of the novel was these two, Julian patching Kira up, and Kira agreeing to go get a drink with him. it felt like a natural progression in their relationship, going from hostile to an understanding, having gone through this really horrific thing together. Julian and Kira's relationship in the show isnt a big focus, and theyre friendly coworkers at best for the most part, but in my heart. they are besties

I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a really solid Kira story with some characteristically Trek insanity. this book is truly wild from start to finish, with some fantastic concepts and wild ideas, and I loved every second of it. Kira is shining brightly throughout, with a lovingly crafted and masterfully executed story behind her, and some of the best character writing ive encountered for her thus far in my journey into reading DS9 books. on top of that, youve got an amazing villain who will make your skin crawl, some great Julian character development, great Sisko moments, and even some fun stuff with Odo and Quark I didnt get to in my overall thoughts. seriously, go read this book, and thank me later its so so fucking good

[slippery-domjot-balls]

DS9 S3 E12 Part 1 and Part 2 "Past Tense"

So....I watched these episodes for the first time about one month ago. This is not a review of the episode, but a quick look at some things I enjoyed. I just realized the play on words of the episode title....past......tense.....Past.....Tense.....PAST TENSE. Got it. Good!

Anyway, Jadzia looks professional and ready to mingle in the suit, very flattering, even the feather is great. It looks just different enough to feel unfamiliar to our 2020s, but similar to the point we recognize the potential trends humanity could have experienced and maybe still should.

I love the refined silly look! Hair is fantastic. Great job everyone! High fives all around.

Look at that vest! Can there be too many stripes? NOPE. And before you ask, yes those stripes go ALL the way down girl. All the way. Whoever decided that our vests need to be tailored to be worn upside down is an innovative magician. The fabric beneath that is also wonderful. Looks paisley in design? Either way it is beautiful!

Just look at that smile! No wonder Worf fell in love with Jadzia just like many others before him and all of us viewers! Magnificent molars!

Geometric fashion was really cutting edge....heheheh....

However, art did was not done any favor by that odd Tron Crosshair throwback thing. Maybe it is the Bell Riot Era version of retro? it isn't terrible, but would you hang that on the wall of your 2020s AU penthouse suite? Would you though? I genuinely don't know if you would, so please tell me because I have to decorate in an hour.

You might think that hot fashion would not be allowed in the slums and that the Sanctuary does not permit hotties to dress as provocateurs', but you would be wrong. Julian is sporting a lovely horizontal stripe vest that fits perfectly with his heavy hoodie. He looks VERY comfortable against the concrete.

Julian cannot steal the spotlight though. He might be Garak's main squeeze, but Ben Sisko steps aside for no one. Flannel is the future people.

Perfect outdoor wear for a BBQ with the family or for saving timelines from suffering, Sisko stands front and center showing off a delicious cutoff flannel top with the breast pockets needed for snacks. His overalls also boast great maneuverability and certainly flatter his glutes.

Commanding a room has never been so chic. But we still need to enjoy Kira and Miles.

Do you know why Miles needs to wear such a HUGE belt? It is because he carries so many tools in his pockets. The man is a walking toolbox I swear. You might think that the two tone top is common place in Star trek, and you would be right. But wrapped around the unmatched muscle of O'Brien we get a sight that captured Keiko from day one. Manly magnificence on the bridge!!! Let's take a closer look at Kira. She is always worth it.

No one else could pull off nose tape with such panache and flair! She is a beauty. I think I am smitten! Short hair has never looked better than it does right now. Her knitted vest draws out the color in her hair. The bag she wears proves that she totally snuck a disrupter to the past.....probably. She is always ready for action.

Rest up you lovely man. You deserve it. The purple pjs just work. They make sense since Sisko is DS9 royalty.

OH THERE IT IS! My favorite mug! That thing shows up sometimes and I guarantee Sisko bought that from a gift shop on the promenade.

When all is said and done Star Trek is about fashion. This is a fashion show disguised as the best science fiction franchise ever made.

[dragontamerno3]

DS9 S3 E12 - Past Tense 2

Another rough one but for the right reasons.

I knew this one would be more character driven stuff, given that the first part was heavy on the set up, but I am happy where everything took us.

I'm gonna start with BC. I wanted to punch that dude in the face most of the time he was on screen but the episode did such a good job from taking him to brutal Ghost to a dude willing to do what was right. He didn't really have much left for him and I didn't expect him to live, so it wasn't a surprise to see that he died. I wasn't sad really, and I didn't think of his character as a waste IRL, but pretending I was in this timeline and in this actual episode, it did feel like a waste in a "maybe he could have turned over a new leaf" kinda way.

Vin was the other one that I was super surprised and happy about to watch his character grow. There have been times when I've had to forcefully sit down with a relative and point to all the things wrong with the world and how it hurts me specifically (disability, queer topics, being broke, etc) and to slowly chip away at their stubbornness so they can actually see whats ACTUALLY wrong with the world. He felt like that. It was hard to sit through his scenes at first, and they're supposed to be, but I'm very glad he was the character at the end fighting for those in the Sanctuary Zone.

Webbs death actually made me sad. He was a damn good man just trying to do what was best for his family, for all those trapped inside those fucked up zones. He didn't deserve death. I get why, from a story stand point why they did what they did but still, it was sad.

I wanted to laugh every time that Webb and Sisko were dealing with the government, but one of those cold bitter laughs. The way the government was going to hand out pebbles in a way to try to appease folks without actually listening to any of the problems. I was happy to hear later when she was on the phone with the governor that other uprisings were happening in other Zones.

I think the scene that got me the most was when the people from the Zone were telling their stories. Simple stories about who they were. Little two minute things of what they did, why they were sent there to begin with, and maybe of the family they had. Real people telling real stories. Something the public couldn't hide from. It made Jadzia's whole deal with the rich folks in the previous episode kinda worth it.

Also, side note, the whole "aliens want to suck our brains out" scene was supposed to be funny, I think, and it some ways I can see how others might see that, but I can't. Mental illnesses getting ignored because no one wants to care about healthcare sucks. I do think it was sweet that he saw Jadzia as a "good one" though instead of fighting them.

Kira and Miles popping in and out of times, though, was funny. Kira being awkward in each of them and Miles just trying his best to not to make it worse. It was the breath of air between heavy moments.

I once again thought they ended the episode a bit too soon, Bashir and Sisko went through some hardcore shit, it felt like they rushed through dealing with it, but overall it was a great episode.

This is the year of the Bell Riots and they apparently start a week after my birthday this year... with a literal Nazi running for office, I'm wondering if the episode might be onto something.

8.5/10 - would be a 9 but I am a little unsatisfied with the ending

[butchniqabi]

Hi!!! I’ve been following for YEARS and I just started watching ds9 and wondered if you had some favorite episodes + which one the im a human being quote is from. Really enjoying it so far. Hope ur having a good one ! <3

hello! this has been sitting in my ask box for a hot minute -_-'

the "i am a human being" is from "far beyond the stars" which is unequivocally my favorite ds9 episode (and my favorite star trek episode Period) because its just so....UGH its so good

some of my favorites are: Progress, Sanctuary, Whispers, Blood Oath, The Wire, Second Skin, Past Tense: Part 1 & 2, The Visitor, Hippocratic Oath, Rejoined, Trials and Tribble-ations, Doctor Bashir I Presume?, Ties of Blood and Water, You Are Cordially Invited, In the Pale Moonlight, Take Me Out to the Holosuite, and What You Leave Behind...

these are all technically in chronological order btw sdfghjhgfds

[sshbpodcast]

To Be Continued: Multi-parters in Star Trek (Part 2)

By Ames

Last week, we touched on Trek two-parters from TOS and TNG, and the resounding refrain from your A Star to Steer Her By hosts was “Well, that was uneven.” Most of the time, the two-parters we got seemed so deliberately stretched that we questioned if it was even worth dedicating two episodes. Sure, you can apply more budget, but if there isn���t enough story, then you might as well have scaled back and used that week’s monetary allotment for a new, better story.

Deep Space Nine, on the other hand, more frequently knew what to do with serialized storytelling. They were ahead of their time in a lot of ways, and telling Trek stories over the course of a couple of weeks was even more common. What made them so good? Was it just that the writers clearly planned things out better and had characters that developed more than Picard’s crew? Let’s take a look through the two-, three-, six-, and even ten-parters of DS9 by reading on below and listening to the week’s chatter on the podcast. When it comes to bigger stories, fortune does favor the bold!

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

DS9: “The Homecoming,” “The Circle,” “The Siege”

Okay, our first example may not be the best, as the pacing is still not entirely fleshed out. From the three-parter that opens season two, we definitely found that the middle episode, “The Circle,” spins its wheels a little bit to make sure the bulk of the resolution could be delivered in the third. Poor Li Nalas has to sit around questioning what he’s doing there so much that the audience also starts to question what he’s doing there!

We have a good suggestion here: Excise the whole Li Nalas plot to his own episode. It’s a good story: someone who doesn’t deserve his hero status being upheld as this figurehead and finding out what that means for him. He could have contrasted nicely with Sisko, the emissary to the Prophets who ALSO doesn’t entirely accept his role [yet]. And then you can leave the Circle plot to its own two-parter. Or better yet: clean it up even more and cut it down to its own single episode! As long as we retain all the great Winn plotting, we’re cool here.

DS9: “The Maquis”

Later on, we get another retread of the ethical conundrum that is the Maquis in the eponymous two-parter “The Maquis.” Our biggest takeaway is YAWN! Somehow, this one not only didn’t feel like it should have been a two-parter, but it barely felt like it should have been a one-parter! How was there so little to say about the cause of these people who’ve been screwed over so much by the Federation-Cardassian alliance?

How do you fix this? I dunno. Maybe making Cal Hudson a more interesting character. And definitely killing him off by the end OR endeavoring to ever revisit him again. There are just no stakes this whole two-parter long and it doesn’t keep our attention long enough for us to feel anything for his character. TNG’s “Journey’s End” first aired a month before this, so there was already a foundation to build on… and these episodes somehow just don’t.

DS9: “The Jem’Hadar,” “The Search”

It’s when we really get into the Dominion material that Deep Space Nine turns a new leaf in serial storytelling. The season 2 finale “The Jem’Hadar” does a lovely job opening that door by introducing the eponymous Jem’Hadar and the Vorta and allowing season 3 to launch right in with the two parts of “The Search,” which introduce the elusive and wily Changelings, and where would this series be without them?

And as a two-parter (or three-parter if you include “The Jem’Hadar”), “The Search” is stellar at slowly revealing more and more information, twisting and teasing the expectations of the audience until the facade is dropped and we learn the true identity of the Founders. For perhaps the first time, we see serial storytelling not only being worth the episodes they take up, but also setting the stage for the whole rest of the series. Praise be to the Founders!

DS9: “Past Tense”

Maybe it’s just the serial storytelling that DS9 gets right, because when it goes for another one-off two-parter that isn’t really connected to the rest of the series arc, it falls into the same tired devices and poor pacing of some of the TNG two-parters we talked about last week. Our jaunt back in time to the Bell Riots feels stretched and starts to get boring. This is yet another plot that could easily have fit into one episode if they’d trimmed some fat.

Per Jake in this week’s podcast episode, “it takes way too long to get through this episode,” which is a sign of a multi-parter that hasn’t earned its runtime. The Jadzia-Brinner plot lags. There’s way too much exposition in Part I. The O’Brien-Kira appearances, while providing much-needed levity, don’t fit the episode. Condensing down to one episode might also fix the biggest flaw of this two-parter: running out of things to do with the BC character until he becomes a series of tactless jokes in a stupid hat.

DS9: “Improbable Cause,” “The Die Is Cast”

You know what makes a two-parter worth it? Elim Fucking Garak. Just let Andy Robinson chew the scenery and you’ll have enough material to stretch for as long as you like and no one will complain. When the writers of “Improbable Cause” couldn’t find a way out of their episode and they decided to extend it to another episode, they couldn’t have known how much paydirt they’d struck.

And maybe that’s just the way to do it: don’t just stretch your story into two episodes when you hit a wall. Take a hammer to that wall and extend into a new room. A story about the investigation into who’s blowing up Garak’s shop is fine… for one week. But using that as a launch pad to tell an even bigger story the next week, with the Obsidian Order and the Tal Shiar and Changeling spies and Garak torturing Odo all over the place, then you’ve got something there. What was the rest of the crew up to during all this? Who even cares?

DS9: “The Way of the Warrior”

Star Trek’s first feature-length episode, all released together as one big behemoth thing, really feels like a movie. The great thing about this new Klingon-Cardassian War is that it raises the stakes not just for this double-length episode, but for the whole season 4 of DS9, and they do it in style!

While this whole left turn into Klingon politics does sidetrack us from the ever-intensifying Dominion arc (we learned in the season 3 finale that Changelings Are Everywhere™), it’s worth it to keep upping the stakes. Having the Klingons pull out of the Khitomer Accords not only changes our relationship with a legacy species, but also provides the perfect entry point for Worf! And sure, characters like Kira and Dax have some very excisable scenes for padding, but there’s enough going on throughout.

DS9: “Homefront,” “Paradise Lost”

This renowned two-parter was originally planned to be the season three finale / season four premiere. And frankly it’s much better served after a couple months of ramping up the action. Ending season three with “The Adversary” was a much better landing because it sets up possibilities for the following season, which these midseason episodes capitalize on because things have been simmering in the meantime.

And this Starfleet plot builds so nicely across both episodes! The tension that Joe Sisko embodies because of all the increased military checkpoints and constant blood screenings for Changelings really starts to boil by the end. And yet another corrupt admiral is stirring up trouble, as they are wont to do! It all adds up to a suspenseful two-parter that is excellently paced and which pays off with revelations every couple of scenes to keep viewers satisfied.

DS9: “In Purgatory’s Shadow,” “By Inferno’s Light”

We’re in for a treat with another Garak-heavy two-parter! Deep Space Nine has really mastered the continuous plot by this fifth season dynamo. For a change, both sides of the plot (on the station and in the Dominion prison) hold their own and play off each other, especially when we learn that each side has its own copy of Bashir. 

And like in “Homefront” and “Paradise Lost,” there is no shortage of plot twists that continuously increase the momentum of the two episodes. Bashir’s been a Changeling for the last while, Martok is alive in a Dominion prison, Tain is ALSO alive in a Dominion prison AND he admits to being Garak’s father, and Cardassia allies with the Dominion. Somehow under all that weight, the episodes don’t crumble because the pacing has been spot on, the acting has been superb, and the revelations have been jaw-dropping.

DS9: “A Time to Stand,” “Rocks and Shoals,” “Sons and Daughters,” “Behind the Lines,” “Favor the Bold,” “Sacrifice of Angels”

Season 6 opens with a six-parter, which has been unheard of up until this point in Star Trek. The show really was ahead of its time, and has been seeing a whole new appreciation with the ability to binge seasons without the risk of missing an episode and finding yourself entirely lost. If only streaming had been around in the 90s, DS9 would have been everyone’s favorite show.

The long plot to take back the station from Dukat and his Dominion buddies is a master class in serialization. Everything builds to a frenzy and it’s so clear the writers were in constant communication to keep as many characters busy as possible. It all culminates in “Favor the Bold” and “Sacrifice of Angels,” which are the most two-parter-y of the bunch. The prophets ex machina does end up feeling like a cop out when Sisko flies headlong into the wormhole like a maniac; it could have just been fixed with an explanation that he intended to blow up the wormhole because he had an actual plan, but whatever. Sisko’s gotta Sisko.

DS9: “Image in the Sand,” “Shadows and Symbols”

The opening of season 7 is a bit of a weird one. We start the final season of DS9 by dealing with loss. Jadzia is dead. The wormhole has closed. Sisko has taken his ball and gone home, clearly at his lowest point. I’d argue less for cutting the fat to make this one episode, and more for cooking up that fat a little better because not everything is fully baked. We’ve complained in the past that Quark and Julian regress as characters when they make Jadzia’s death somehow about themselves when Worf is the one mourning. So knock that off, for one.

But the emissary plot with Sisko learning that he’s part Prophet is a little… out of the blue. Were there ever hints of this? And some of the Benny Russell scenes caused by the pah-wraiths muddy the near-perfect episode “Far Beyond the Stars.” It’s a little more gimmicky and murky in its messaging, especially when we saw Benny before and it was the Prophets directing him. Now it’s the pah-wraiths? I’m confused. Oh, and Ezri’s here too, I guess.

DS9: Season 7 ten-parter!

The whole series climaxes with a great big ten-parter that concludes with a very uneven finale (but we ragged on that the other week already). Most modern shows on streaming have seasons that are basically ten-parters, give or take, but they don’t have sixteen previous episodes in their season building up to it. And many current series aren’t as successful at moving a plot forward and continuing to develop their characters over those episodes as Deep Space Nine was.

That’s not to say the ten final episodes of the show were perfect. There were definitely places where they lagged. Clearly, the writers quickly ran out of things for Ezri to do and fell back on a tired and unnecessary romance gimmick. And though it solved the Changeling disease plot, the whole of “Extreme Measures” felt like it dragged the pacing of the story arc to a gross and unethical halt.

On particular display is some absolutely excellent work from Marc Alaimo and Louise Fletcher, which we could watch for hours if you’d let us. A lot happens over these ten episodes, and for the most part, the storytelling is so skilled that it rarely feels like too much or too little is happening at once. Certain plots are left to brew until it’s their time, and other threads like the Gowron plot and and the Nagus plot wrap up tidily before we get to the finale. Oh, and Damar is great.

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Things will be a little less serial (even when they should be) when we talk more two-parters next week, this time as we revisit Voyager. So keep your eyes here for that. Additionally, you should keep up with our watchalong of Discovery on the podcast via SoundCloud or wherever you get your podcasts, and debate who’s a Changeling with us on Facebook. And watch out for Breen—they change everything!

[thoughts-i-have-had-in-passing]

Isn't that the dude who was in DS9 Past Tense Part 2 who stole Jadzia's combadge?

Small world.

I completely wiped from my memory that Fringe gave the outline from Star Trek 2009 days before it was released (via Clint Howard no less).

JJ Abrams’ has an interesting way of doing cross-promotion, but we got Leonard Nimoy back on TV from them working on 2009 Star Trek.