Space the Final Frontier.

Join us for a bold conversation our prime directive to recap our favorite Star Trek shows, both new and old, to engage and debate about all things Trek.

Prepare to energize with Phasers Set to Stunt.

Welcome back to a new episode of Phasers Set to Stun, where we continue to show our love for everything Star Trek in this ongoing series from a film by podcast which focuses on every system of the expanding Star Trek universe by covering television, movies, animation, directors, merchandise, and much much more.

Plotting your course on this voyage through the wormhole is your Core Trek crew.

I'm Wayne Whiten, I'm David.

Byrne, and I'm Scott Hoffman.

And today we're returning to the edge of the Frontier to continue our discussion and what we like to call Starter Treks.

A chosen list list for first time viewers.

This spoiler free list focuses on the top ten episodes from each season for people diving into Star Trek Deep Space nine for the first time, showing them a great place to start and what to warp away from.

With Starter Treks, we simplify the list to give new viewers a taste from each season.

After you listen to the episode, you can find the course we plotted for you on the convenient list located in the description below.

The year was nineteen ninety four.

Star Trek the Next Generation had finished its seven year run with a hell of a series finale earlier that year.

For the first time during its run, Deep Space nine was floating in space on its own, the only Star Trek on our screens, at least for a couple of months, because that November saw the release of the film Star Trek Generations, and then just a little over a month later, the series premiere of Star Trek Voyager in January nineteen ninety five.

It was a very busy year for Star Trek.

Changes were coming, and Deep Space nine was evolving right alongside its two sister shows.

Season three brought us a new and dangerous adversary to our little station, a move towards long form storytelling and serialization, the first use of CGI for starships, newly designed combadges for Starfleet.

Odo got a belt and Cisco got a beard, and a new way to get around with the introduction of the USS Defiant.

All Right, let's start.

What do you guys think about the introduction of these tough little ship for DS nine.

I think it was needed to help the progress of the story because I think it was going to get stale with them just sitting on the deep Space nine.

So they had to move it out.

So they needed a ship, and I think to define is definitely the answer.

Gives them a lot more maneuverability.

Although I do love the Runabouts nine.

Those are great little ships on their own, but yeah, I mean it addresses a lot of the you know, mobility concerns.

It can't just stay on the station because you have a whole quadrant to explore, and obviously with the big threat it opens up the door for a lot of great CGI space bells.

Yeah, I mean the Runabouts are great, but they're not really designed for any space battles or for anything, you know, major, So it was a necessary addition.

They had a tough little ship.

It does make me kind of grit and every time I heard that in this season, I was like, and then I have to think about, like where that came up with another movie that we've talked about.

But anyway, all right, so let's begin with our list of the top ten must watch episodes from the third season of Star Trek Deep Space nine.

Scott, why don't you start us off with the first episode?

Yeah, so we're going to talk about a two parter right out of the gate.

They don't waste it any time.

So The Search is a story by Iris Steven Beer and Robert Hewitt Wolfe and directed by Kim Friedman.

Starfleet recognizes the potential threat of the Dominion and the Founders after the events of last season, and they send a ship made for the task.

The USS Defiant arrives at DS nine, and it's a tough little ship designed for battle.

Originally made to defend against the Board, The Defiant takes Cisco and the crew into the game of Quadrant on a covert mission to learn more about the Founders and, if possible, convince them that the Federation is not a threat and a potential ally.

But a catastrophe sends the crew in separate directions as Kira and Odo escape in a shuttle on unexpected side mission, where Odo seems drawn to what may be his home world.

It's a tense two parter that sets the stage for a very intense season three after that recap and after thinking about all that happens in this episode, there's genuinely part of me that's like, all right, let's move on to the next episode, because there's very little that we can say without spoiling a whole lot.

So all that to say, this is a very important episode.

I'd say, a very intense and amazing opening to the season that absolutely sets the tone for everything else it's about to happen.

Well, it's very important for Odo obviously, but this, this two parter is very very important to Odo and who he is and where he comes from.

For sure.

I do want to call out Ken Marshall, who plays Lieutenant Commander Michael Eddington.

You may remember it.

You may remember him as Colon from Kroll.

I do.

Oh my god, yep, back, it's a crawl back.

It is a while for me to realize that too, when he looks so different.

He does.

Yeah, and that's definitely a character to watch.

It is it will absolutely.

We had the new combadges, which is kind of interesting, and then our first appearance of romulents under Your Life nine.

Yeah, oh yeah, that's true.

Yeah, that was the romulin that they added to the Defiant, played by Martha Hacketts, which we see definitely more of her in Star Trek Voyager.

But I thought she was an interesting character.

It's a pity that they didn't add her to the secondary cast.

But like they did with Eddington, I thought it having a romulin stuck in the middle of them actually would have been rather interesting to the story to you know, to see the dynamics between the two.

But yeah, she's she's gone by the end of the second second episode.

Yeah, I think they got rid of her character too fast.

I agree with you, Wayne, I think that could have caused a lot of friction to add to the what's going on around Deep Space nine and between the characters themselves.

I really wish they would have kept her.

Yeah.

Now, I mean we can hear here Wright Scott.

We can't really tell too much about this episode, so just everybody go go watch it.

But let let me let me ask you guys.

This for a two parter, it starts off really good.

But what did you think, without giving any spoilers away, what did you think of the ending, either back when you first saw it or when you rewatched it.

Now.

Hm, I'm gonna be honest, I remember when we when this first aired and I wasn't it had such a great idea, and of course after the season finale last season, I was expecting big things.

I thought the the ending kind of left me confused.

Okay, that's interesting, and yeah, it's very hard to talk about this without anything.

I thought.

Overall, it helped to raise the amount of questions and give the right amount of answers at the right time.

Yeah, it left a lot of questions opened.

I think that's what confused me a lot.

Now, you know, looking back now, I understand what they were doing, and you know, when you see the series as a whole, but when you're coming into it for the first time watching it, it's like, you know, what, what?

What did I just watch?

What just happened?

Yeah, there's a a spoilery question that comes to mind at the end in terms of when there's a reunion between certain characters, the how much you can trust that reunion that happens, and that that definitely comes up later.

So it's it's an interesting rewatch moment, I would say, And you get to like, what season five, maybe just kind of season six, maybe dip back into this and see if you can see when certain things happened or when certain.

That's a good suggestion.

Yeah, yeah, just speak careful what you said.

You'll get phased on the show.

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm being very careful.

I was not expecting that our producer phasing me.

I'm very I will point out another standout performance salom Gens.

Yeah, has been on Next Generation before, wearing very similar prosthetic makeup.

I'll say, and that's a character to watch throughout the rest of the series.

I think I can say that without spoiling very much.

But it's a I think it's a standout performance.

I mean it's absolutely I mean it's it's intriguing, but it's also chilling, the consistency of her performance throughout.

So just heads up, that's one to.

Watch, all right.

Onto episode two, and this one is mine.

It is Second Skin, written by Robert Hewitt Wolf and directed by Les Landaum.

Major Kira Nurice is shocked to awaken on Dark Cardassia, where she is told she's actually a card Assi and name Eleana Gemore, a deep cover operative who only believes she was but Jordan.

As she struggles to cling to her identity, the Cardassians insist her entire life as Kiara was a fabricated cover story.

Kiera begins to doubt herself when she finds apparent evidence supporting their claim, including the affection of a man claiming to be her father.

All right, now, this is an interesting episode.

I'm glad you guys chose because I didn't put this on my list, But after rewatching it, I realized this really is such a strong episode for Major Kiera.

She has one about one really strong one per season, and this is the season three's.

It was originally wasn't going to be Kira.

It was actually going to be Chief O'Brien that was in the part, which I'm glad they didn't go with that way.

The reason they didn't use Chief O'Brien is because if he was actually no one would believe it because if he was a Cardassian, well he's got a kid.

I mean, you know, this was a lot of complications that would require a lot of explanations, something they really didn't want to get into.

But from what I understand, Nana Visitor hated this episode.

She hated it because remember last season I talked about Helen Utdi being very claustrophobic and Meg hera our Nana visitor is too, and having to wear all that makeup sent her into panic attacks, which I mean, that's just horrible.

So I can understand why she did not like filming this episode.

And it's interesting that she says that because that episode coming up, you would think she'd be claustrophobic in that episode too, that we're going to talk about soon.

I know which one you're talking about, And yes she was, Yes she was.

That one was even worth in my opinion, I've got to say, you know, without giving away anything, I thought the ending to this episode was absolutely beautiful.

Yeah, between between two characters.

Yes, it really was.

I mean it really pulled the heart strings at the end of this episode, and it just it was.

It was just beautifully done.

It reminds me a lot of I'm going to blank out on the name of the episode and even the season that it was in.

We wily talked about too so far, where she is trying to convince the Bajoran to leave a planet that's like everybody's evacuating the planet.

She has to help the Pajoran with building the fireflace.

You know that what I'm talking about during the first season.

Yeah, that reminds me a lot of this one has a very interesting look into the Obsidian order and the manipulative abilities of them and the you know, Cardassians in general.

I would say, not to make a kind of a generalization, but I mean like they they do it like no one else.

Yeah, they do.

But it gives a lot more characterization to him though.

I mean, it gives a lot more to the Cardassians.

Yeah, which is great, and I'm glad that they've given them this kind of range.

That it's now that they're two dimensional villains or anything else like that, but they really have this kind of you know, emotional depth to them.

It really helps with Grek's character as well.

I think this is this whole season.

You get that with the Kardassians.

Yeah.

Yeah, And we're going to talk about few of those episodes here where you are really starting to see them more in depth than we've ever seen them.

I mean, what we saw of them in the next generation, I mean, they were just a villain.

They you know, you didn't really care about, and we're understanding them and you get that too here at the beginning of D Space nine.

But as the show's going along, we're digging deeper into that and it makes them a whole lot more interesting, especially Gerk.

Absolutely, Yeah, Garrek gets a lot this season.

He really really grows.

Yeah, that's another new thing we got this episode two is we got a new musical composer for the series.

This Yeah, David Bell.

You know he's he'd been around for a while.

He composed for Murder she wrote and The Heat of the Night.

He also did a film called Final Justice, which I really remember from Mystery Science Theater three thousand.

He's from He's from Middletown, Ohio.

I did not interest.

He's a local boy.

Yeah, well we.

Gotta call him out for sure, since in Ohio bo boy for sure.

All right, David, you get episode three.

That is defiant interesting title written by Ronald D.

Moore and Robert Hewitt, Wolf, directed by Cliff Bole.

Kira is on the verge of snapping from all the pressure she has encountered.

She even snaps Zambashier, who immediately orders her to take some time off.

Kira is taken to Cork's Bar to relax, where she runs into none another than Commander Riker, who has leave of his own.

It seems he is on his way to the planet Riza for some pleasure.

Kiera and Riker hit off hit it off, and she offers to give him a tour around the station, but he has quite the interest in one thing.

The Defiant.

Riker eventually takes control of this ship and warps away, causing tensions to rise between the Cardashians and the Federation, bringing them to possible war.

Going and Goldcott must work together to capture Riker and the Defiant, but in doing so, even more secrets are revealed.

So we were just talking about more in depth with the Cardassians, and here is one of that.

You know, Cisco is taken to their planet to help them capture the Defiant, and they have to trust each other here, and even gald to Cott is kind of thrown off by I forget the character's name, Is it correct, Cornas?

Is that our name?

Karnass Yes?

Yeah, who who basically you know, was overseeing Dacott a little bit here because he is the military commander and he knows everything that's going on in the military.

But then he's caught by surprise of you know, I'm not going to say it because we don't want to give it away, but some of the secrets that are going on that the Kardassians are holding back from him, so it's kind of like a wait a minute here, Cisco is supposed to be the one who is you know, you know, getting surprised by the Cardassians, but gall to Coat kind of gets caught with his pants down, right for sure.

Yeah, he's definitely kind of put in his place.

And yeah, it digs a lot deeper into how the secrecy is so intertwined and so essential to Cardessian life, let alone their military structure.

Yeah, yep, and it's interesting.

Rachel Garrett plays her, and she was in Yesterday's enterprise I believe as Rachel Garrett, right, Rachel Garrett.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, she played Rachel Garrett and Yesterday's enterprise, which is kind of neat that they bring her back.

I love that Star Trek does that they bring back so many actors to play different characters.

Okay, I mean you can get away with it when they have so much makeup on them, you really can't tell they are.

According to the Star Yates, this is the last episode that plays that happens before the events of Star Trek Generations.

I was wondering about that.

There's a lot of this where I'm kind of like, where does this fit in all of the Yeah, so that's interesting context.

I will say there's there's one scene between Ducott and Cisco that I absolutely love in this episode, and this isn't giving away anything.

It's when Dacott is explaining to Cisco about his explanation of his son's birthday and what the boy will remember, you know, he will look back with hatred because his father was pulled away during the time of his birthday.

I thought that was a really cool It gave more depth to Ducott.

It really did to me, and you know because I mean he's just not this stoic leader who is a villain with the Cardassians.

He actually has a kid, He's got a family, and to hear that explain to Cisco just really puts that into, you know, a different level of this character.

Yeah, especially when you've got one father talking to another.

Yeah.

So it's not only from different planets, different societies, but just a different parenting style.

And it's not presented in such a way that this is the wrong way to do it.

It's just kind of differing styles and it's an interestingly disarming way to position Goldacott because in a lot of this.

When you look at his entire arc, He's absolutely a villain.

He started out that way, but you get these looks into him that give him a bit more relatable depth where you understand that, like you know, and that's where you get some great villain development, in my opinion, is the ones that you're afraid of because they you can you can see the logic behind what they're doing.

You don't agree with it necessarily, but you see what's drive them.

The best line of the episode, you shouldn't go fishing today, you won't catch anything.

Was weird.

Yeah, good line.

But what are you gonna do?

All right?

Yeah, all right, let's take a quick break.

We'll be back right after these messages, and we're continuing on with our starter treks for Star Trek Deep Space nine.

Our fourth pick is the second of the season's two parters, and that is Past Tense.

Captain Cisco, doctor Bashir, and Jodziev Dax are accidentally transported to the twenty first century Earth after a transporter malfunction.

Cisco and Bisher find themselves in San Francisco just before the Infamous Bell Riots, a pivotal event in which oppressed citizens from the sanctuary districts rise up against social inequality, but things take a dangerous turn when history is altered, forcing Cisco to take drastic measures to put things right.

Meanwhile, Dax works to contact Starfleet, while the crew on DS nine race to locate and retrieve their missing officers before the timeline is completely altered.

Now this another two parter, so early in the series.

This is an interesting one and I think probably one of the better of the two parters for the entire series.

I really like this.

I like this when it first aired.

I like this now.

It's it's really well done.

And I know it's uh, it can be a little preachy, but I think it works a little a little bit, a little bit, a little bit a lot, actually, but I think it's it's written.

It's so well written that you don't even you don't even notice that, and at least I didn't that much.

It's just a good episode, and uh, you know, I like it.

It's not too much you can give about.

It's about the ending of it.

I don't want to give anything away.

Right Well, the biggest win here is when I celebrated Dick Miller.

Yes, yes, yes, I was gonna say somebody's got to say.

Dick Miller is amazing and everything he does, and we always want to call him out and everything he does because he is fantastic.

We gotta call it.

Clint Howard.

Yeah, he's not a not a very big role in this one, but he he is in it.

Clint is in a lot of stuff and as we know, he's got he's been an original star Trek obviously when he was really little.

Yep, Scott, this really reminded me, especially part two, really reminded me of Dog Day Afternoon.

Yes, yes, yes, read in my mind.

Yeah, this is exactly what it felt like.

When I was watching this, I was like, this is Dog Day Afternoon, and it really it's what it felt like.

Yeah, that's true.

That's a good goal, and fans of that you'll be I think pleasantly surprised by this one.

I think it's got a lot of great development.

It's not as two dimensional as it could be.

It's a very interesting look at what they thought twenty twenty four would be like, So just watch it with that lens.

The future right exactly.

But also just interesting, like their their take on some issues of the day, Like it gets a lot into struggles of the homeless and just looking at that through it kind of a nineties lens versus today's lens.

It does get a bit preachy, but but it's it's an interesting use of a two parter, right, It's not advancing the story all that much.

It's just taking a beat to kind of look at SEMy present day and give a different perspective.

And it's convincing character development too.

Yes, No, I mean, especially with Bashir.

I mean you're you're getting a lot of Hilm in this, and it's it's it's helping them to develop each other, between Basher and Cisco for one thing.

So I like that.

It doesn't you're right, it doesn't push the story along for D Space nine, but it does push the characters, and I think that's why I like it.

But you know, it's one of those things where you when you're watching, you're kind of rolling your eyes with like, oh, start trek seing another episode where they're going back in time to to our you know, to our time.

But it's not really that.

It's got a really good story, it's got a good heart.

Pine.

Yeah, it is preachy, but some good things that are going on in this a lot of good performances and those kind of things.

And I also want to call out Deborah Van and Vaukenberg, who plays a detective president in this many of you want to know her.

Murphy and the Warriors Scott another movie we covered yep, and of course Jackie Rush from Too Close for Comfort, because I want to hear monrou.

Boughts on the major Kira Chief O'Brien adventure that we probably can't say too much about, but there's a little bit of kind of comic relief I think with that.

Didn't they add that because they were they needed to add more time to it, so they added those scenes.

Yeah, that's why they would get that that montage.

Yeah, those are films much late in the filming session.

But I do want to bring something else that's not a spoiler.

I want to point something out that I think is rather cool.

When they go back to nineteen thirty, you'll notice the camera the director is really adamant on showing this boxing poster that's that's hanging up.

Just so you know, that boxing poster is the same poster that we see hanging on the wall in the episode Sitting on the edge of Forever.

It was put there on purpose, because that means that Kira and O'Brien are at the exact same time as Kirk spocka, McCoy aar and everything.

They're both on Earth at the same time.

That's kind of cool.

And neither neither one of them goes to see the match.

No, I mean, you're right, but you know that's not the only thing too.

If you really want to talk timelines, you know this, let's see twenty twenty four.

This Picard and his bunch traveled back to twenty twenty four during in the second season of Star Trek Card, which means that and they even visited one of these sanctuary districts, which means they were on the same time as as Cisco and Basher just there in San Francisco and Picard and them, we're in Los Angeles.

So everybody visits twenty twenty four?

What is up with that year?

All this tiny white stuff come on now?

Yeah, it's kind of calling the mind.

Like, I wonder if anybody ever do like a you know, whether it's comics or novelization or whatever, but get into this time bureau that's trying to keep everybody from screwing up the timelines like this.

That's right, that's mentioned for the first time.

Series, that's mentioned for the first time here.

Yeah.

Yeah, there's a bunch you could probably do with those stories as callbacks to this skut of stuff or whatever.

So there's there's a department to handle that stuff.

You know.

I don't know why they've not gone that route, to be honest with you, because that could really open up some really cool stories.

Exactly.

Yeah.

Well, I mean especially if you say, like, well, you know, because O'Brien takes a marker back with him and rates graffiti on the car that says invest in whatever company apple.

Yeah, but like if you know, kind of the reason that that department exists has to be because something got screwed up at some point right.

Current it Yeah, they're talking about that department.

I'm sorry.

All right, David, you will bring us our fifth pick.

Heart of Stone Written by Robert Hewitt Wolf very busy guy, by the way.

In this season directed by Alexander Singer, Kira and Odo are returning to Deep Space nine from reviewing security procedures and a planet close to the Cardassian border.

On their return, they receive a distressed call from a ship that was attacked by the Machi.

They follow the ship to a moon, where Kira becomes stock and begins to be enveloped by a crystal.

Odo rushes to figure out how to save her.

While on the station, Nog had officially reached adulthood and must figure out soon what he is to become and makes a shocking decision.

Now, we kind of talked a little bit earlier about the claustrophobia stuff, because she has to go through some serious stuff here for sure, encased in that crystal, I can imagine what was going through her mind as she was doing that, but I do We kind of briefly talked about this off Mike the other day.

This is one of my favorite scenes in this this episode, and that's between Cisco and Nog.

The scene when what Nog wants to do and Cisco's basically doesn't believe him and doesn't trust him because he's not he's a ferringy, you know, they just you know, they're all after the money, and he doesn't believe what he wants to do, so Cisco puts him to the test.

To this episode and that scene when Nog finally comes to him and asks him and begs him to, you know, to do what he wants to do, and I'm beating around the bus because I don't want to ruin it for the listeners and he can.

Cisco basically confronts Nog here and you know, tries to pull out those emotions, tries to pull out the truth from Nog really what he's up to, and Cisco comes to find out Nog isn't up to something.

It's truly what he wants and the reason why he wants to do it is is very heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time because you know what his dad Ram is going through with Quirk.

You know, we all know what that is like.

And to see also what Rahm does here to stand up against Quark for Nog is incredible and it really this season really makes me love Rom more than I've ever loved him his character.

But the scene between Cisco Nog was just absolutely outstanding and is my favorite scene of this whole season.

Yeah, I love to see so just kind of looking through some trivia that this is the actor who plays Nog, Aaron Eisenberg rest in piece that this is one of his all time favorite pieces that he's done, not only from Das line but his entire acting career.

And it is clear to see why I say it pretty much every season when we get home with these little recaps, I know that there are people that find the Farrengi absolutely obnoxious and they lean into that.

They see them as you know, two dimensional and greedy.

There's so much more to see here, not that that's not central to their society, but you get so much more this one.

I mean, in my opinion, this is a cornerstone of the series.

Yep, it's absolutely essential watching.

I think if you see nothing but the first two episodes and this one, you will understand why you have to watch the rest of this series because it's just, oh, there's so many heartbreaking moments.

Even the we get a little bit of information about Odo's name and his his discussion of that rips my heart out absolutely, And there are so many of those moments, especially you know at the at the end the resolution of this Nog Cisco storyline, what Nog says about his father, it's just as a fire myself is just like, oh my god, clutching my chest.

Just the acting in this cover to cover the the effect the writing, yeah, is supreme.

And when I knew that we were going to talk about this series.

This is always what comes to mind, ye, And I was just like, I cannot wait to talk about this episode that we can't say a lot about because.

It's right boilery.

Now, yeah, that's the irony of this is this is such a great episode.

You got to go watch this one.

You know, it's it's not it's it's not a big episode.

I mean, there's no big battles or anything, because it's it's a bottle episode.

You know.

They they spent so much money doing in Past tense that they had to save some money.

But the performances are just incredible, and that's what makes this episode so great.

That's what what pulls the episode in, you know, all all of them.

Nana Visitor of course, another great performance.

Reneopistion was Odo.

He's he's so good in this episode, so so so dignified, you know.

And then of course I agree with both with I think Nog's story, which is actually the b story, is actually the best part of this episode of great.

You know, you know it could have been played for laughs, you know with the frrangi and you expect that when you get a Farringi, but this this isn't.

This is a major turning point for this character, and it's an incredible performance.

Aaron Eisenberg's just just so good, total different outlook.

You you come out of this episode looking at the Farrangi differently, they're they're they're so good.

And when you get to the end of this episode and you realize what Nog was after, you can go back in the beginning when he first you know, comes onto the ops and he wants to see Cisco, and Cisco finally says, you know, let you know let him in the look of glee on his face when he's getting to get to go see Cisco.

That that right there just shows you what incredible performance here.

H Well, it bears mentioning how Jake fits into this set, right You've got two best friends and this you know, Nog never getting the approval of his friend's father and feeling that he always has to chase that and feeling like he's not getting a lot of respect.

So his passion for his diligence in pursuing that is amazing.

But then the performance between Jake and Nog is also very very revealing in a lot of growth for kids at that age to come to that point in their lives.

So yeah, don't miss this one at all.

All right, Scott, the sixth one is yours.

So this one is Through the Looking Glass, written by Ira Stephen Beer and Robert Hewitt Wolfe.

I got through it see, directed by uh Winrich Colby.

So Cisco is kidnapped and taken into the Mirror universe, where his counter part was recently killed in a shuttle explosion.

He's needed by the rebellion against the Klingon Cardassian Alliance because his counter part, because the counterpart of his wife, Jennifer, has a pivotal role.

If Cisco can convince her to help the rebellion, he'll be sent back to his own universe.

If not, he'll die along with the rest of the rebellion and eliminate any resistance to the Alliance.

It's an exciting follow up to last season and an emotional story I would say for Cisco.

I hope I'm not spoiling too much with that overview, but it's hard not to like.

It's after the first ten minutes, a lot of that happens, but it's it's interesting that they chose to have an episode that features his wife because it feels like in the beginning of the series they tried to say, three years later, we're helping you get through that, right to help heal from that.

This one just feels it just like rips that scar wide back open.

I think that's why they did that.

Think you had a right spot on.

And it's interesting that they had a little bit of comedy at the beginning of this episode with the goal fighting that they were talking to court like, why why are they all individually numbered?

Well, we were recounting them.

A question for you, Wayne, and you might be talking about this.

Where does this fit into the Voyager timeline?

Okay, this takes place well, I mean, it doesn't take place at all in the Mirror universe, but the rest of it is pretty much right after Voyager was sent to the to the Delta Quadrants.

In effects the two episodes, Okay, when we were talking about Past Tense, Past Tense is the last story that takes place before Voyager was sent to the to the Delta Quadrant.

So this one is actually after gotcha.

Okay, so Voyager was running at this point.

Right there They're lost.

Okay, yeah, so it was running yeah, by I think three weeks now.

Yeah, okay, which is a surprise.

We saw Tim Russ in it, you know, yeah, yeah, even though it's such a small part.

He's yeah, but he's you know, given a prominent, recognizable part.

So it was just an interesting connection here.

He wasn't calming the desert anymore.

Yeah, he will be soon again from what.

I can't wait.

You know, I like this episode that I always like the Mere Universe episodes.

It actually when this first aired, it really surprised me that they went back to this.

I was expecting the last one to be a one and done thing, but uh, it just it gives the characters a chance to do something different, you know, we see it.

We see Avery Brooks and Nana Visitor playing you know, having fun with their parts and playing their their characters different or a freer, a darker version of it.

I kind of like that.

I think it's it's it's kind of neat, you know.

You know, we see a lot back then.

I mean, this was the first time deep Space and I was the first time we really revisited the Mere Universe.

You know, now after Discovery and all that, I probably go not again.

You know, it was still fresh back then, and that's why I appreciate it.

Yep.

Absolutely, there's there's probably a pause moment for for new viewers or people who are coming back to it.

I imagine if we were in a room watching this together, the meeting between Cisco and Dax in the Mirror universe and the moment that they share, I feel like that would be a hold up.

Let's talk about that for a bit.

Yeah, we're not gonna talk about it here.

But it did make me think, like, did I just see okay?

Really?

Yeah, okay, don't I don't know about that, but all.

Right, sure, Oh hey, look we got another two parts are coming up.

Shocker Daven, why don't you tell us about that one?

And the first time it start treking?

There are two different titles.

They're not part one part two, right, it's very confused that if you're not careful, I'm gonna break these up at the two to just bear with me.

So and Probably is the first episode, written by Renee Echeveria and Robert Liederman and directed by Avery Brooks.

Grek's shop has an impromptu fire sale when it explodes, It is fortunate for Gerrit that he survives, and of course, Odo quickly expects foul play.

And begins an investigation.

Garrick refuses to cooperate, which infuriates Odo.

Evidence is uncovered which leads Odo to a Flaxen who recently arrived onto the station.

Odo interrogates him, but as he digs deeper, the alien ship explode, which now forces the investigation into another direction, one that Odo realizes with some help that makes him see that he has only uncovered a small piece of a very much larger huzzle to the second episode, The Die Is Cast, written by Ronald Y Moore and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, directed by David Livingstone, and the second part to Improbable Calls.

Deep Space nine finds itself being approached by Romulin and Cardassian Fleet.

Cisco readies for a fight, but to his surprise, they passed the station and goes through the wormhole on the way to the game Maquadrant.

Cisco goes after Start, goes against Starfleet to orders and quickly follows after them.

Meanwhile, on one of the ships within the fleet, Odo is being held against his wishes, unable to change form and begins to be interrogated by someone he thought he knew.

This and more will all come to a very explosive conclusion that will continue to ripple across the star systems, that will further the danger surrounding Deep Space nine.

So we talked about Garrick before and that how his character really gets a lot of exposure in this season, and this two parter is one of those for sure.

Yeah, we get to really see Garrick who Grek really was before we got to know him, who you know, the rumors, the stories we heard about Gerrick.

We get to see him here be that person.

And you know, I don't want to give way too much.

You guys know what I'm talking about, but you get to see that side of him that you know, we haven't really got to see before.

And this two parter is it is really big, and you know, the battle that happens at the end towards the end of the second episode is huge.

You know, we don't get to see a lot of dog fighting in Star Trek.

You get to see these big ships just dooking it out back and forth, you know, torpedoes, photo torpedoes and fass this you actually get to see a lot of you know, some dog fighting going on and some ships getting blown up and move, you know, weaving in and out.

I thought that was fantastic, something you don't see in Star Trek ye.

And I think it's one of the things that I love most about DS nine, even though I know there's different opinions about like how much fighting there should be on on the series, but I think it's just so well choreographed and so well done, and it feels just so compelling to watch.

I think it raises the stakes, it makes things seem more dangerous, and I just think it's another aspect of this that just I think it's a more interesting element for new reviewers, right who might be looking for something else on the Star Trek show.

Well, you're you're starting to see the stakes get hired.

You know, as the season's gold go along and as we know what's coming, you know, the stakes are getting higher for our crew and for what's going on in this area.

So you know, this is just the tip of the iceberg of what's to come.

Yeah, Now I got a question because I didn't I didn't do the research on this.

Was this Avery Brooks first time he directed?

I don't remember seeing his name.

It is his first one.

Okay, I know he'll go on to direct some more.

But he did a great job.

Oh yeah, he had a really good job.

I guess he's going to be the Jonathan Frakes of The Deep Space nine become a director.

Nothing wrong with that, iron This this episode was phenomenal when it first aired.

It blew me away and it had that that motion picture feel to it.

And I think a lot of that comes from Dennis McCarthy's score though, And I want to point that out because you can definitely tell that this is post generations because he's it has that sound.

Yep, it definitely has the sound that he brought to that that film.

It's it's a wonderful score and it's been released to It's on the volume one from Wala Land if you ever want to want to hear it or get it.

But great episode, good return to We got Paul Dooley again returning from last season.

Yep, yep, my guy from alf.

But just this season is full of a lot of really good, good episodes and this is one of the top.

Ones for me.

It's there.

You're really getting to see these characters getting developed big time this season.

And you know what this this was only supposed to be one part, right, It was originally just one episode, but the ending of the first episode was kind of weak, so they decided to expand this and turn it into a two parter because they went ahead and filmed another episode after that.

That's why the first one and then they had to go back and shoot the second episode.

Yeah, that's why it doesn't have a part one part two.

On it that, yep, which is kind of interesting.

All I got to say is poor Bishar's pants.

Oh man, the like oh crimea river?

Right, this is hard to talk about.

Again.

I think the ending of the first episode and Probable Cause is very intriguing, and I think the dia is cast as a follow up to that ending is very unexpected because when I was watching this episode, I was like, oh, yeah, so this character is going to go in this direction and we're going to see this kind of trope and whatever.

It surprises you in a lot of ways, and the Garrick's character goes in directions that you don't necessarily expect, which makes him a little hard to trust.

At the same time, you can see where he's conflicted, so it's not you're not quite ready to dismiss him.

It's it's just another level of understanding.

And I think it's it's a it's a bold move, but I'm glad that they did it.

We're also focusing a lot on Odo this season, and my god, you feel for Odo oh so much in this episode.

His the makeup in this with out spoiling things is so.

Painful to whoa it is.

Yeah, it is surprisingly painful.

And just to think about what you had mentioned, Dave in your overview, what happens to him in this episode, it's I think essential viewing to show because you know, if you're interested in his species, it's essential to understanding it.

Agreed, without question.

All right, let's pause once again for station identification.

Welcome back to Deep Space nine starter treks.

We've given you the first seven of our picks, and I have number eight, which is Family Business, written by Ears Stephen Bear and Robert Hewitt Wolf and directed by Renee abu jan Wa.

Pork is summoned back to Ferengar after the Ringy Commerce Authority charges his mother, Hiska, with the crime of earning prophet something forbidden to Ferringi females.

Accompanied by his brother Ram, Pork tries to force It'ska to confess and return her profits, only to discover she's a shrewd and successful business woman who refuses to submit to sexist laws.

Their heated family conflict exposes a strained relationship between mother and sons, as well as revealed the different values Quirk and rom hold.

I thought to have this episode on on the list too, because I like these.

I like the FARRINGI episodes, and I think this one's a damn good one and an important one, mainly because we got we got some first appearances here that are important to the series.

Of course, we got Ishka played by the wonderful Andrea Martin from SCTV.

I love her moogie.

I could see that it was her through the makeup and it was absolute delight in every we'll see.

Yeah, she's so wonderful.

And we've got uh, we got the appearance of Liquidator Brunt, played by the Jeffrey Colmes, who's played pretty much every alien in every series there is.

And then finally we've got who will become a very important character to keep your eyes on.

That's Cassidy Yates played by Penny Johnson.

You know, like I said, I don't want to reveal too much about her, Just keep your eyes, keep your eyes on her.

She'll become very important.

But this, this is this is a fun episode.

It really really expands uh, the culture, the depth of the Faringhi while you know, introducing one of the most in my opinion, the most memorable characters of the of the series in Ishka and armand Sherman.

He is fantastic in this episode.

You know, he's so conflicted.

You know, he's he's a businessman, and he he follows the Farringi rules of acquisition and their their laws so strict.

But you know, this is his mother, this is Moogie, and and he's not really sure what he wants, What's what he's going to do.

You know, this is such a good episode, but man is it weird and.

Very uncomfortable in a couple of spots.

Yeah, and you know you got to give it to Andrea Martin for saying, like, all right, this is what I have to do.

Oh oh yeah, there the hours in the makeup chair.

She's a trooper.

Absolutely.

There's also another important thing to talk about, but I'm not going to mention it unless you give me a strip of latinum.

If you're a fan of Lower Decks and you've seen the Ferrangi episodes where you see the Frangi homeworld.

I think this is very much integral to that DNA, Like, yes, is it spoiling anything?

If I talk about the office that he goes into.

No, there's there's like cash machines all over the place, and that is like, well, if you want that chair, it's two strips of latinum.

If you want to stand, it's one strip of latinum or something like that.

Like every single thing in that society costs money.

So yeah, I mean, like, how do you walk around without sounding like you have like three sets of spurs on, like with all the latinum that has the jingle jangle in your pockets.

It kind of reminds you going to a sci fi convention, you know exactly, Yeah, except it's it's got to be the most miserable vacation spot ever.

It is always raining there, always raining, always raining, you know.

I do I do want to call out Penny Johnson to Penny Johnson Gerald because remember she played Claire Finn in The Orble.

I do remember love that series.

Yep, orb is fantastic.

So yes, all right, Scott, give us the honor of telling us about number nine.

Oh it Explorers.

This one took me by surprise story by Hillary J.

Bader and directed by Cliff Bowl.

This is where the Beard first appeared.

So happy to see that Cisco not only grows a goat tea, he builds plans to recreate history.

This fun bottled episode finds him rebuilding a Bajoran's solar sail ship that navigated the stars while humans were still sailing the seas.

His plan seeks to him to prove that ancient Bajorans were able to travel from Baijor to Cardassia with the ship without warp drive, which he pilots with his son Jake.

This trip brings them closer together and vindicates a story often dismissed as impossible by Cardassians.

Back on the station, we get an introduction to an important dab, a girl named Belita, and we also see doctor Sheer doctor Bashir face some embarrassing history as a former competitor visits the station.

When I first saw the description of this episode, I didn't have very high expectations.

I was like, well, I don't know, it doesn't seem like it's gonna drive that much, but wow, is it important to Jake?

And and I would say some some growth that we see from.

Ducat Character Development shoot, character development, and I love me some DA, so I'm excited to see her.

There's another character introduced that you've got to keep your eye on or she's going to come very important to the series.

A lot lots of introductions this season.

Matter of fact, I'm looking I'm looking at Chief Masters and photograph right now, right in front.

What you're looking up at.

I was like, yeah, roof leaking.

Yeah, no, I mean, like, you know, there's I feel like the design of the Solar Sales ship was very cool.

It was reminiscent of draw and I think and the the care that I think they took into designing this ship to make it very manual.

You know, there's no keypads, there's no electronics really on this thing, lots of cranks and they have to fly with the air that they.

Need to breathe.

Like, yeah, it's just very very interesting episode, very important for Jake and Cisco.

I'd say semi important from Bashir, like the sad episode seems like it's it's good, probably not as important, but just fantastic performances all around.

Come on, O'Brien, be here.

Drunk theme that was.

Yeah, Yeah, that's true, that's a good run singing yeah when when o Brian LiTi goes.

I really do not hate you anymore?

Right, yeah?

And the visual effects are really impressive in this episode.

That light shit is completely done in CGI, which is a first for the series.

You know, the company that does the visual effects for d Space nine, which is an image g they really weren't set up for CGI of that extent, so they had ended up having to go back to Industrial Light and Magic, and John Nolan himself created the light ship and the computer model for it.

It's obvious, it's very, very impressive, and it's a great episode.

I'm glad you guys chose this one.

So I love this.

I remember when it first aired, I was impressed with him.

Yeah, all right, David is going to close out the season with episode ten.

And that, of course is the season finale.

The Adversary written by Robert Hewitt, Wolf directed by Alexander Singer, and the season finale, Cisco finally receives a well deserved promotion, but just as the celebration settles down, he O'Brien and others take the Defiant to Thin Kathy's space, when suddenly the ship starts to have problems.

O'Brien hears strange sounds around the ship, and mishaps begin to occur, making Cisco believe someone on board is causing sabotage.

Someone or something on the ship is not who they appear to be, forcing Cisco to gather the staff and find out who exactly it is.

To their surprise, it is quickly discovered and it isn't long until their plan is revealed, which could potentially cause a war between the Federation and this in Kathy, in the fashion of John Carpenter's The Thing, the Crew, you try to find out who exactly is who and capture the impostor before it is too late.

Yeah, I mean, this is the Thing all over again, and it's done really well, you know, even down to the testing of the blood and stuff like that.

This was a really unique episode, to be honest with you, because you're you're adding more dimension to some of the stuff that we've already experienced in this season.

And I don't want to give away too much, you know, and but you this is not what you would think to be one of those gigantic battle epic conclusions to a season.

Okay, but it does have a good story to it.

That has a lot of what is on the horizon for Deep Space nine in this episode, and I think it was an incredible season finale to be honest with him.

You know, you're getting more ODO stuff, you know, because we've had a ton of that throughout this season.

You know, you get a lot of the crew here on the Defiant.

You get to see more of the Defiant than we've ever seen for right, we can see some rooms in engineering and stuff that we've never seen before.

So we're already getting more sets when it comes to Defiant.

So a lot really happens in this episode.

Even though it seems small and contained, it really.

Isn't I that this was go ahead?

Oh no, I was just gonna say that I found myself surprised to see Eddington in some of the scenes me too, true, just surprised given some of the events, which I can't say with that spoiling anything, but it's it's definitely something that I think will be thought provoking to people that are watching this for the first time.

I think it's absolutely an episode worth watching twice because you'll you'll want to see where you where you think certain things have changed, or you'll want to see where you some thinks of your guesses were wrong, has big consequences for one character in particular, and pretty chilling line of dialogue.

I will say to the end of the episode, something that's whispered, which is right when you want to watch this episode all over again.

There's one scene in particular where one character does a bit of slight of hand.

You can kind of tell that they are.

But then when you see how things resolve, and when you go further into the series, you'll want to watch this one all over again to see if there was a lot more happening.

So, if I remember correctly, there's an episode of season five that comes back to stuff that happens in this episode.

Is that Is that correct?

I feel like that's right.

Okay, yeah, all.

Right, yeah yeah.

This This was going to originally be a cliffhanger were they were planning on doing a cliffhanger, but for some reason, Paramount came to them and said, Nope, nope, don't do that.

Nobody knows the reason why Paramount said no, but they veted.

It ended up moving that the story that they had originally written for next season.

The next season is two parter, so we got this episode, and I think, in my opinion, it's probably better.

It's no, not probably, it definitely is better.

It's a it's a much better ending.

I'm glad that they didn't go with cliffhangers like they did with the Next Generation.

It gives deep space to sign a different feel, a different style, but it allows them this ominous endings without having the to be continued at the end, you know, leaving you wanting more at the end in this episode more than any of them have really let you want more.

You can't wait to see what happens for season four.

Yeah, well, it feels like it makes sense to say, like we're already running with pretty long development marks.

We're having a lot of two and three partners in this.

Let's kind of spare people from the fatigue of saying like, I've got to wait like a whole a few months at least before I can see a resolution.

Feels like that we get kind of tiring.

But yeah, and now, of course, with every season, not every episode turns out to be the classic Star Trek hit that we all love.

Sometimes an episode may not work either.

It's the script that's lackluster and boring.

The actor wouldn't or the ethics looks like something straight out of the original series.

These are the episodes to skip our dishonorable mentions, David, I'll have you go first.

You know, it pains me to pick this one because it is directed by the amazing Jonathan Freakes, and of course I'm going with episode eight Meridian.

Cisco wants to explore the Gamma Quander, so they find an area of void of planets until they find one, call it Meridian.

It is here get Sea falls in love with a scientist on a planet whose inhabitants shift between this universe and a plane of pure energy every like sixty years, I think it is.

We also see an alien on DS nine named Tyrann that is trying to romanticize Kira and it ends up request a hollow suit of her from Quirk.

Yuck yuck norins Rinse, Rinse.

No, thank you, avoid this episode.

I agree, that's that was That was my pick as well.

The star Trek Brigadoon.

Not a big fan.

I think it's interesting to I forget what episode it is, but there's an episode of Lower Decks where they kind of uh ras on this one a little bit.

Yeah, yeah, Wayne, what about.

You, well, I think I'll make a unanimous and you know, like you said, I understand what they're trying to do.

They were trying to do a Star Trek version of brigadoone, but that romance element with Jed, Zia and Durell, it just doesn't work for me.

H.

Terry Farrell is a fantastic actors.

So the fault isn't hers.

It must lie in the script, in the directing and I and that's where I place it.

It's you know, it's the whole episode is all talk, talk, talk, and there's no really no action for forty five minutes.

But the story is so obvious.

You know, there's no peril because we know Jed's he is going to return to the station.

She's not going to fall in love and stay there.

We know that's going to you know what happened.

And I'm not a big fan of episodes that do this.

You know, Deep Space nine does do romantic episodes good, but so far in the last three seasons, we've all picked the romantic episodes as being some of the worst.

And then there's, of course that's there's the quarks Hollow Sweet Program.

It's hilarious, but it's it's creepy.

It is.

Yeah.

No, I feel like there's bottle episodes and there's candle episodes, and this is.

Definitely a candle light candle episode.

I know that reference to you.

And finally, for every season, we place the spotlight on one character and give our favorite moments.

For season three, our light is shown on the station's very own Constable Odo Scott.

What's your favorite Odo moment this season?

It is so hard to pick it is and at the same time very easy for me because I would say Heart of Stone, the moment when Odo figures out the mystery of this episode.

The range of acting that Renee is able to provide through all that prosthesis is astonishing, and what he and the writers have done with this character, it's nothing short of amazing.

I think Heart of Stone is one that bears watching a second time as soon as you finish it, to try if you can see if you can figure it certain things out, but also just Renee's performance in it is definitely worth a rewatch.

That's my pick, Dave, What about you?

So?

I told her you, guys, I had picked two of them because I knew this was going to happen that was My first pick was Heart of Stone.

It was just his line where he says, how meeting Kiera Crew and even Quirk, he is no longer nothing he thinks of me.

Now, that was just absolutely amazing, Scott.

Since you've got to kind of pick that, I'm gonna I'll go with another one, just to just to be different.

So I'm gonna go with the Search part two.

When I don't know how I can say this without giving anything away.

Let's let's say just five four three two one.

There's gonna be a spoiler.

Just deal with it and come back in fifteen seconds.

So when he realizes he is home and even says it, the smile and the joy we get to see on his face, Yeah, the pure happiness on him just sets just just just warms your heart because you don't really have never seen that from Odo, that that smile, Yeah, and to see that then and there just man, it just makes you feel so good for him.

Then, of course all the crap hits the fan, of course, but still, it was that moment that really, you know, this is a great Odo moment.

It's childlike, it is right like, and it's genuine like.

It doesn't it's oh, and when you when you see all the rest that he goes through after that, mm hmm, yeah, it was.

It was a it was a pleasure to see.

So I'm glad you.

I'm glad you mentioned that moment.

You know, Wayne, what about you, I'm going to choose something different, but I love both your choices, and in fact I considered both of those.

But in order not to spoil anything from the episode, I'm going to keep this down to like one specific scene and it's from the Day is cast, and it's when Odo is being interrogated by Garrick.

You know, Grek has that device that keeps Odo from shape shifting, and he begins to waste away and peel away like little pieces or something, and Gerrek is just he's so frustrated that Odo is not talking, and he gets down on his knees and he yells, you know, tell me something anything, you know, lie if you don't, if you have to, but just say something please, And Odo, you know, comes back to him says, home, I want to go home.

But he's not talking about Deep Space nine.

He's he's talking about three Link and and just the the the the anguish that the sadness in uh Odo in rene opvision VA's eyes.

Just it makes that seem so powerful because Odo and Garrick are like polar opposites, you know, they're They're both different, so different and intellects so different in their morals.

But that makes every scene in this episode between the two and them, I'm just so tense.

It's just an incredible character moment for Odo and an incredible performance.

And that's why I chose that.

That is an amazing That is an amazing pick.

Yeah, especially what you said about home, Like you think in that moment you want to be in a place of comfort that you've always known, you would think, right.

The fact that he doesn't do that, and that he longs for a home that he still doesn't know all that well is are you telling?

And very heartbreaking?

He says, I would give up everything that I know to be in this place that I've never known.

That's wow, that's a heavy hit.

It is a lot of good order moments in the season.

Yes, there are, and there you have it.

Our top ten episodes Starter Trek Choices from the third season of Star Trek Deep Space nine.

We'd like to open a channel to our listeners and hear just what you thought about our choices and the season in general.

You can email us at a Film by Podcasts at gmail dot com, find us online at a film by podcast dot com, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and x or if you're looking for more content swag, you can join our Patreon and find out what exclusive gyms are hidden within.

A big thank you once again to my fellow trekkers David and Scott for joining me through the wormhole once again.

Yeap.

Likewise, next episode, we'll give you our top ten episodes from season four, a season full of new friends, returning characters, and Cisco's bald head.

We look forward to returning to Deep Space nine and to you our listeners on the next episode of Phasers.

Set to Stunt written by Robert Whoittt World written by Robert who witt War I cannot say his name.

It's not Warf, It's war Wolf.