DS9: Required Viewing!

[mylittleredgirl]

rosewildeirish is looking to start smoking from the wonderful DS9 crackpipe of awesome! She figures she should start at the beginning of Season 4, since that's when things kick into high gear and the ratio of OMGHOLYAWESOME to ehhhhhhwhat? is a lot better. So she asked me for my opinions on which of the first three seasons she needs to see. (Think of all the stuff she'll miss! The Jake & Nog Show! Bashir being a spaz! The Provisional Government! The CARDASSIAN VOLES!)

I picked out the ones I think are key -- but those of you who are DS9 peeps, chime in! She's not spoilerphobic (I don't think -- are you?), so you can discuss plot happenings in here. And FYI, she doesn't like Jadzia, so I avoided Jadzia-heavy episodes... but you can mention those if they're your favorites for my sake.

Google reveals this website for a list of episode titles. Clicking the titles seems to bring up the synopses for the seasson.

Off the top of my head, I think you might want to see the following episodes (with a few "oh, and this happened in this episode" fill-ins from your loving friends like me in between). Ones you really MUST see because they can't just be explained are in bold:

Season 1:

• "Emissary" - Series premiere. WORMHOLE ALIENS = AWESOME.


• "In the Hands of the Prophets" - establishes some important secondary characters & political situation on Bajor

Season 2:

• "The Homecoming" / "The Circle" / "The Seige" -- the 3-part arc at the beginning of the season is... well, you could probably skip it, but I love Bajor and it's some crazy Bajor action, and the first hinting of the awesome way that DS9 does multi-part arcs. :) So you don't need to watch these for future plottiness, but they're pretty rad and forward a lot of politicking & Vedek Winn.


• "The Maquis Part I & II" - This episode is... eh, these two aren't some of my omgfavorites, but they DO set up a lot of stuff that happens in seasons 4 + 5, so you can watch them if you feel like it. Unless you've seen Voyager, and feel like you've got a pretty good handle on who the Maquis are.


• "Crossover" - OMG. WATCH EET. MIRROR UNIVERSE IS WIN.


• "The Collaborator" - if you decide you like the Bajor Arc, this is a good one to watch. Otherwise, we can fill you in. I actually didn't see this one until a few years ago, and was all "OH MY GOD, THIS MAKES SENSE NOW!"


• "The Jem'Hadar" - The first real Dominion episode. They're mentioned a bunch earlier in the season in a "who are they anyway?" sort of way, but this is a good one to see.

Season 3:

• "The Search, Part I & II" - DOMINIONNNNN!


• "Past Tense, Part I & II" - Not necessary for plot at all, but this was my favorite DS9 episode for YEARS, because I <3 time travel.


• "Life Support" - if you decide you like Bareil or Winn, watch this one. Otherwise we can fill you in.


• "Heart of Stone" - liminalliz will want you to watch this one, because Odo & Kira are stuck on a planet.


• "Through the Looking Glass" - FUN FUN FUN.


• "Improbable Cause" & "The Die is Cast" - important Cardassia and Dominion plotty things happen here.


• "The Adversary" - season finale, WATCH WATCH WATCH.